Full Circle (26 page)

She squeezed his hand, drawing his gaze to
hers. Shaking her head, she said, “It’s not your fault.”

“It’s no one person’s fault, but if I hadn’t
fallen in love with you, you and your dad wouldn’t be at odds with
one another, so I have to take responsibility for my part in this,
whether I would change it or not.” He turned back to her dad. “And
I wouldn’t. I will never stop loving your daughter. I can’t. She’s
everything to me, and there’s no way I can see a future without
her.”

Her mom was practically holding her breath,
as if she sensed what was coming. As for her dad, a combination of
shame, acceptance, and prideful resistance fell over his
expression.

Mark lifted her left hand to the table.
“Which is why I’ve asked her to marry me.” He removed his hand,
revealing the ring.

This was not how they’d planned to tell her
parents about their engagement, but, in a way, it was perfect. Even
better than their plan.

Score one for spontaneity. Maybe there was
hope for Mark yet.

Her mom squealed and reached for Karma’s hand
to get a closer look at the diamond.

Her dad, on the other hand, recoiled and
frowned. His upper lip curled in disgust. But at least he didn’t
make a scene. Instead, he sat quietly, seething.

“Dad?” she prompted. “Aren’t you going to
congratulate us?”

She deserved that much. He could at least
give her that.

He cleared his throat and said,
“Congratulations.” But the word came out like a tight, dissatisfied
grumble instead of a sincere expression of good will. And he didn’t
offer to shake Mark’s hand, either, to welcome him to the
family.

Still, his response was a step in the right
direction. It showed her dad was making strides, even if they were
teeny-tiny baby strides only a microscope could record.

“Thank you,” Mark said, maintaining a low
key.

“Goodness, Karma.” Her mom gushed over the
ring. “This is beautiful. Just gorgeous.” She hugged her, obviously
delighted even if her dad was still cool to the idea. “So, when’s
the wedding?”

“Well . . .” Karma glanced at
Mark. What was she supposed to say? They still hadn’t set a date.
Surely, now that they were through the hard part with the house and
all that remained was moving in, they could choose a date.

Mark’s face paled, and he hastily said,
“Well, Solar’s coming in to spring, which is the busiest time of
year, and I’ll be doing a lot of traveling and working a lot of
late nights, and Karma is swamped with her classes and adjusting to
her new job, so we’re waiting until things settle down to pick a
date. That way, we can focus all our attention on the wedding.”

Hold up.

Wait a second.

When had they decided this? The last time the
subject of setting a date came up, he had told her they would pick
one after they got settled into the house. That was less than two
weeks away, so she’d been mentally preparing, looking at her
calendar, even doing a little casual legwork to check out the
availability of possible venues. And now he was telling her parents
they were going to wait until after spring? Until after work calmed
down and her classes eased up.

She had news for him on that front. Her
classes lasted a year. They wouldn’t ease up until
next
spring. And then Solar would be back into the busy season again.
So, what? Was he saying they weren’t even going to pick a date
until next
year
? Next summer, to be exact?

She was starting to get a little peeved.

“I thought we’d decided we would choose a
date after we moved into the house,” she said, her voice edged with
suspicion.

“House? What house?” her dad said.

Mark cringed and closed his eyes.

Oops. She hadn’t meant to reveal they were on
the verge of living in sin, at least not like this. They’d been
saving that conversation for later in the meal, after letting her
dad first get used to the idea they were engaged.

“Oh, um . . .” She felt the
color drain from her face. “About that. Mark and I are moving in
together.”

“You’re what?” Her dad’s booming voice drew
the attention of several nearby diners. “You just got engaged.” He
shook his head, eyes wide. “You were engaged to Brad less than four
months ago, Karma. You and Mark are barely back together, and
you’re moving in with him?”

“Dad—”

“No, Karma. I’ve heard enough.” He stood. “I
was keeping an open mind about your relationship. I even had a
feeling the two of you had done something as ill-advised as getting
engaged when you haven’t even been together four months, but I was
willing to let you sort it out. But now you’re moving in with him?
No, Karma. This is too much. You’re not ready. You haven’t been
back together with him long enough to be ready for this.”

She stood and threw her cloth napkin on the
table. “Who’s trying to talk for me now, Dad? Huh?
‘You’re not
ready’?
How about you let
me
decide when I’m ready? How
about you let
me
make my own decisions and you simply
support them? Because I would really appreciate that.”

They were causing a scene, but Karma didn’t
care. She’d walked into the restaurant already emotionally keyed up
about breaking bread with her dad and Mark at the same table. And
then her dad had started in on Mark and ticked her off, and now
Mark dropped this huge bomb on her that he still wasn’t ready to
set a date, and now it felt like her entire evening was crashing
like a defunct satellite into the ocean, the wreckage sinking
fast.

“I need some air.” Her dad started for the
door.

“John!” Her mom stared after him then looked
back up at Karma.

She slumped into her chair. “Just go, Mom.
I’m sorry.”

Her mom took her hand and squeezed. “I’m
sorry about this, honey. I’ll talk to him. He’ll come around. Just
give him time.”

“Well, hell, I seem to have all the time in
the world right now, so, sure . . . whatever.”
Humiliation and anger wrestled inside her chest, making her heart
hurt.

Her mom gave her a sympathetic, if not
confused, look then stood and addressed Mark. “Thank you for
inviting us to dinner. I wish . . .” She shrugged
sheepishly. “I’m sorry.” With that, she hurried off after her
dad.

Silence engulfed them, the air feeling like
dead weight.

Mark tried to take her hand, but she snatched
it away and spun on him.

“When did you decide to postpone setting a
date until after spring?”

“Karma—”

“No, Mark. You told me we would set a date
after we moved into the house. We’re doing that this week. And now
you surprise me during dinner with my parents by announcing you’ve
decided for
both
of us that we’re still not ready?”

“I—”

“Just forget it. Take me home.” She got up,
clutching her pocketbook, and shoved her chair under her table.

Chagrined, Mark slowly stood and followed her
back to the entrance, where he retrieved their coats. But she
refused to let him help her into hers. She yanked it from his hands
and put it on herself then didn’t wait for him as she stormed out
the door.

At her apartment, they climbed into bed as
silently as they’d driven there. It took forever to fall asleep,
but she must have, because she awoke in the morning nestled in his
arms.

Damn traitorous sleep, always betraying her.
She wanted to stay angry with him. Wanted to make him hurt as much
as he’d hurt her. But lying there, listening to his peaceful, even
breathing, smelling the subtle remains of his cologne from the
night before mixed with the scent of his sweat, all she wanted was
to cuddle closer.

She had to force herself to pull away.

He wouldn’t win her back over that easily.
She needed to make a statement. To let him know she wasn’t happy
about what he’d done, nor about how he’d made her feel.

Not even trying to be quiet, she went to the
bathroom and flipped on the water for the shower then shut the
door. She didn’t slam it, but she also didn’t let the latch quietly
snick closed. Mark was an early riser, anyway. He could get his ass
up and suffer knowing she was still upset.

He instinctively knew to give her space,
because when she got out of the shower, he was no longer in the
bedroom and the shower in the hallway bathroom was running.

The apartment smelled of eggs, toast, and
sausage, though. Then she saw the plate of food he’d left for her
on the dresser alongside a small cup of tea and a note.

Aw, so okay, that was sweet. No denying it.
Still, a sweet gesture wasn’t enough to get him out of the dog
house just yet.

She set the note down, dressed, and then sat
on the edge of the bed while she ate. Still, she wasn’t going to
give him the satisfaction of forgiving him. Not yet.

By the time she finished breakfast, brushed
her teeth, and tossed the last few items in her overnight bag for
their trip to Chicago, it was six forty-five. Mark appeared from
the bathroom dressed and clean-shaven.

“Good morning.” He cautiously eyed her.

“Morning.” She raised her chin and carried
her bags to the living room after shutting off the bedroom
light.

He sighed and joined her, holding a small
duffel. “You still haven’t forgiven me for last night?” He set down
his bag and grabbed their coats from the rack by the door.

“No.” She took her coat from him and slid it
on then crossed her arms as he made one last check of the apartment
to make sure everything was turned off.

When he returned and took her bags before she
could pick them up, she relented a little and said, “By the way,
thank you for breakfast.” But like her dad, she was too stubborn to
give more than an inch.

“You’re welcome.” He smiled and met her eyes
knowingly then opened the door.

With a quiet huff, she exited and started
down the stairs.

This was going to be a long, uncomfortable
ride to Chicago.

Chapter 16

Sometimes couples have to argue, not to prove who’s
right or wrong, but to be reminded that their love is worth
fighting for.

-Nishan Panwar

They were on their way back to where it all began.
Chicago.

The Chicago Arts Coalition’s annual benefit
wasn’t for a couple more months, but she and Mark had already
received their invitation. Well, Mark had. She was his plus
one.

And right now, staring out the passenger
window of his BMW, she was a brooding, still-upset-with-him plus
one. And conflicted.

Maybe it was last night’s fight or the fact
he continued putting off choosing a date, but that tiny part of her
that still dwelled in insecurity’s realm poked its head from around
the corner of her mind and took a step into the light.

Did she really fit into his world? Look at
how refined he was. She was simple, unaccustomed to extravagances
like gold silverware and real china on her dining room table,
attending elegant parties with the Who’s Who of Chicago’s elite,
and dropping ten thousand dollars on chartered flights to the
Caribbean.

For the past few weeks, she’d been excited
about moving in with Mark, but now the fact she was shacking up
with a rich man unsettled her. He hadn’t changed, but something in
her perspective had. She blamed the voices of self-doubt, though,
not him. And not the woman she’d become. It was her past coming
back to haunt her. The voices telling her she wasn’t good enough.
That she and Mark were too different. That they would never work,
because she would always be too humble to handle his wealth.

Of course, reason scoffed at such claims. But
right now, fear took the floor, so whatever words reason offered
fell flat.

She was going to meet his parents today, for
God’s sake. His worldly parents who owned homes in Italy, London,
and Paris. They were people who walked in small circles open only
to card-carrying members, of which she wasn’t one.

The question assaulted her thoughts again.
What if she didn’t fit into Mark’s world? What if, after she met
his parents, it became clear she was like a glass of milk served
with grapefruit salad? The two just didn’t go together and damn
near curled your toes clean off if you tried to mix them.

Karma didn’t want to be milk. She wanted to
be sugar. A sweet, perfect complement to tart grapefruit

Despite their argument, she still wanted
inside his world. Not as a bystander, but as an active participant
who belonged there.

The fact he came from money and possessed
enough to bathe in was her problem, not his. This was
her
hang-up. She needed to figure out a way to deal with her concerns,
but she also needed to make sure he knew she didn’t want to sponge
off his inheritance. As she’d told him before, she wasn’t a gold
digger, and she didn’t want to come off like one. That wasn’t why
she’d fallen in love with him.

Why did money have to be such an issue?

Hopefully, over time, she would get used to
this new dynamic. Maybe in a year she would look back and laugh at
how neurotic she’d been over the fact he had millions.

Right. She didn’t think she would ever get
used to that.

Sighing softly, she forced herself to think
about happier memories, such as the night they’d met.

She’d been so nervous sitting at that
blackjack table while Daniel was off playing poker.

And then there he was. Dark. Mysterious.
Handsome.

Magnanimous.

Her Mark. Warning her not to take a hit on
her cards. But she had anyway. She’d asked for another card only to
bust. That had been the start of what she could only describe as an
incredible, breathtaking, heartbreaking, and magical journey that
led them to right now. In love, engaged, and embarking on both a
scary and exciting path into the future.