Jaded (26 page)

But if there was one thing that she’d learned about Luke, it was that he didn’t follow the set of rules that most people did.

“Come on, Isabella,” he said, bounding up the stairs after her. “I can’t stand the thought of you being angry about this.”

She let an exasperated sigh. “Me? Be angry? How absurd!”

“I want you to know what happened, and why I did what I did.”

“I don’t care, though. That’s what you’re not understanding—
I don’t care
.” She turned and walked a few steps toward her bedroom but Luke grabbed her wrist.

“Isabella, I’ve never felt this way before.” He paused, gulping. His eyes were piercing her heart, tempting her to forgive and forget. “I told you I’d never been in love before...but...”

A few tears escaped. “Oh
great
! Just throw that on top of everything else!”

“No, you don’t understand! Isabella—I-I’ve never done this before; I’ve never felt like this toward
anyone
! I-I...” He sighed, shoulders hunching. She’d never seen Luke at a loss for words. “I know you’ll never feel the same way.”

“No. I won’t.” As soon as she said it, the word ‘lie’ flashed across her mind in huge, bright red letters. She was crazy, though. How
could
she love him after that? She’d fallen for him, and then he’d revealed to her what an asshole he was. She might never get over the betrayal.

“I’m a fucking idiot,” he whispered, hanging his head. She noticed a tear slide down his cheek.

The presence of his tear startled her.
Luke cries?
Impossible considering how macho he pretended to be. She willed herself to keep her mouth shut as he turned and walked down the staircase. A part of her longed to reach out to him, to pretend as though nothing had ever happened. But her anger was still raw; the pain was still raging through her veins. She needed time before she could expect to have a civil conversation with him.

***

Later that day, she was sitting at a table in the middle of a ritzy restaurant, debating the newest list of most popular baby names.

“Aiden? What is
Aiden
?” Their mother was examining the list of baby names with a perplexed look.

“It sounds like Hayden,” Kitty said, “which Kevin and I have agreed on as being our first baby boy’s name.”

Isabella feigned interest and took a gulp from her mimosa. It was just after noon, but she’d been ready for a drink for hours.

“What a beautiful name,” their mother gushed. “Kitty, you have excellent taste. You must take after me.” She winked and the two laughed. When they noticed Isabella staring blankly into space, mimosa firmly in hand, their mother asked, “Isabella, are you okay this afternoon? You look a bit black.”

“I’m wearing all black, mother.”

“Well, I mean, your personality seems a bit...how should I say it? Gloomy.”

Isabella sighed. “It’s nothing, mom. I’m just recovering.”

“From what, dear? A hangover? Is that why you’re drinking at noon?”

She hesitated. “It’s nothing.” Mentioning Luke would only spur more questions that she wasn’t ready to deal with. Her mother and sister had never learned the tactful art of subtlety, and wouldn’t think twice of pressing her for information to the point of tears.

“Oh! Isabella, I
completely
forgot to tell you!” Her mother’s face lit up and all thoughts of Isabella’s gloominess were forgotten. “David stopped by the other day!”

Her stomach twisted further as she set down the mimosa. “He did?”

“Yes! And not to drop anything off, I know you were thinking that! He just wanted to say hello...and he had some questions about how
you
were doing!”

“Fantastic.”

“Oh, don’t frown, dear. You’ll get wrinkles when you’re older. Anywho, he was just
dying
to hear about how you were doing and who you were seeing and how work was going and...let me tell you, Isabella, I think David’s feeling a bite from the bug of remorse!”

She knitted her brows. “The bug of
remorse
? Mom, he’s incapable of feeling anything except his dick pressing against his pants.”

Her mother stifled a giggle. “Darling, we’re in public!”

Isabella crossed her arms across her chest, narrowing her eyes. “I don’t understand why David would come see you.”

“He apologized, Isabella.”

“He doesn’t exactly owe it to you, though.”

Her mother sighed. “Well, dear, what can I say? He’s probably thinking back on what he’s done and realizing what a great girl he lost.” She winked. “And sometimes it’s worth it to forgive.”

She shook her head. “No, I think I’m perfectly content right now. I don’t need men.” The ache in her heart and the constant pressure behind her eyes reminded her that she was far from content. But she was right about one thing—she didn’t need men.

Kitty let a small sigh. “But you’re missing out on so much.”

“Am I?”

“Isabella, love is beautiful,” Kitty said breathlessly, a faraway look coming to her eyes.

“When you can find it. If you ever do.”

“Don’t be so cynical, dear. It ages you faster than smoking or poor eating habits,” her mother softly chided. “Besides, I think he’s got some tricks up his sleeve, this David. Good tricks, I might add.” She winked at Isabella.

“What is he planning? Do you know something?”

“Oh, no, nothing at all.” Her mother shared a secret look with Kitty.

Isabella rolled her eyes. “I couldn’t care less, honestly. He cheated on me—don’t you remember? And not only that, he was a dick to me after cheating on me. Why would I ever consider him?”

Her mother sighed. “You’re right, dear, but I just have one thing to add: people make mistakes. And sometimes it’s worth a second look. Even if it means you just look to remind yourself that you don’t want that. Do you understand?”

Isabella grunted.

“Well dear, your time will come,” her mother said with a smile. “I know it will. Then, maybe someday, we can all be sitting here, celebrating
your
upcoming wedding!”

Isabella rolled her eyes.

“Mom, I’m so excited.” Kitty beamed.

“Less than a month away, dear! Less than a month away!”

Isabella sighed and sank deeper into her chair, trying to disappear completely. Their banter was making her sick and she wanted to leave—but her house was no longer a haven for her. Not until six o’clock, at least. But once she’d drained her mimosa and withstood all the giddy conversation she could tolerate, Isabella had to excuse herself. Going home was better than hearing about Kitty’s upcoming wedding and her pending marital bliss for the millionth time.

Leaving the restaurant helped her feel only slightly better, as she was still at a loss as to what, exactly, would take her mind off her situation. As she got into her car, her cell phone vibrated against her thigh. Still irritated at life, she failed to look at the caller, simply wanting to convey her annoyance at the interruption.

“Hello?” Her annoyed tone was evident.

“Issy, it’s David.”

She cursed under her breath, feeling her irritation grow tenfold. “Yeah?”

“How have you been?”

“I’ve been better.”

“What are you doing right now?”

“Um...” she struggled to formulate a lie, ignoring the tug on her heart. “I’m out with my family...and even if I was free, I wouldn’t want to see you.”

He paused on the other end. “I want to see you, though.”

“Sorry, David.” She pressed End before he could use that anger-melting voice any more. She groaned, feeling like life was totally conspiring against her today. She drove tentatively, not eager to find out what sort of frustrations awaited her in the rest of the day.

She pulled into her driveway and got out of the car, smoothing down her jacket and pants. She strode up to the front door, mentally prepping herself to see Luke again. But as soon as she entered her house, all thoughts of Luke floated away as she noticed what was occupying most of the space in her foyer.

“What the hell are these?” she demanded, approaching the huge vase of flowers sitting near the foot of her staircase.

“Flowers,” a nearby worker muttered.

“Yeah, I know that. Who sent them?”

He shrugged.

She searched the expansive bouquet for a note. “When did they get here?”

“While you were gone.”

She sighed, reminding herself to ask more specific questions. “Did a person drop them off, or a flower company?”

He shrugged. “I was on break then. Luke might know.”

She shuddered, loathing the thought of approaching him. Knowing the mystery of the flowers would plague her until she found out; she sucked in a deep breath of air and sought him out.

She went into the backyard, squinting in the sunlight. He was sipping a beverage, staring off into the distance, obviously taking a solitary mini-break. She hung around for a few moments, hoping he’d notice her and mention the flowers. He didn’t, so she broke him out of his trance.

“Luke?”

He swiveled to face her. His big, puppy-dog eyes were wide and innocent and made her heart twist—although she was pretty sure it was out of anger. Just the sight of him made her sick.

“Yeah?”

“Who sent those flowers?”

He paused. “Who’s David?”

Her heart stopped beating in her chest for what felt like a full minute. “You’re kidding.”

“Who is he?”

“Nobody.”

“Well he sure was hell-bent on delivering those to you.”

She turned and walked away from their conversation. Luke followed her.

“Is he your ex-boyfriend?”

“It’s none of your business.”

“Just tell me. Is he the one who hurt you?”

She stopped walking and stared straight ahead. “Yes. He is.”

“I figured.”

She didn’t know what to say to him, so she started walking away. He let out a small noise, as though he was about to say something, but she ignored him. She glanced at the huge vase of flowers on the way up the stairs and sighed.

Between David and Luke, she was going crazy. Having two men clamoring for her forgiveness was sure to wear down her resolve. But she knew it was just a test, sent from the heavens or from god above or perhaps the relationship underlord, to prove to herself and the world that men—and love—didn’t belong in the same breathing space as Isabella Moreno.

Chapter Thirteen

Luke had left a gaping hole in her life.

For a week, Isabella had fought to keep her emotions in check, to be firm in her decision and just cut out the men, the drama, the pain, everything.

And for a week, Isabella had struggled.

It wasn’t like she had forgiven Luke. Her heart clenched in her chest whenever she saw him, and thoughts of what she’d learned still plagued her. She knew she would get his side of the story eventually; she wanted to know the whole story, both sides, because that’s the type of person she was. It was what she did for a living, for god’s sake. But she couldn’t deny the hole he’d left in her heart.

She missed the crinkles by his eyes when he laughed, the soft edge his voice got when he spoke tenderly, his curiosity about her life and her ways, the feel of his arms around her...

And goddamn it if she didn’t think about him all the time.
Still
.

“Isabella, there’s someone here for you.” A worker popped his head into her office, startling her out of thought. They were like personal servants at times. Ones she’d never even asked for.

“Thanks.” She stood and walked to the front door, wondering who it could be. Lizzie was at work; Kitty had left a few hours ago and had no plans to return. Her mother was at the spa for the day, and she couldn’t think of anyone else who would stop by randomly.

She hesitantly pulled the door open and her knees grew weak when her eyes landed on her visitor.

“Hi, Isabella,” said the dark-haired, Mediterranean ex-boyfriend at the door.

“David.” She was speechless; her mouth opened and closed several times before she found the words. “What the hell are you doing here?”

“I want to talk to you. You avoid me every time I call. This was the only way.”

She locked eyes with him and felt herself falling into the past. She could remember the scent of his cologne and the way he whispered into her ear every night before they fell asleep together. She looked him up and down and could remember the way his arms felt around her, the way their lovemaking had felt. Her stomach flopped violently.

“Come on in, I guess,” she said, holding the door open for him.

He stepped inside and looked around. “Are you getting your house remodeled?”

“Yeah. It’s still a work in progress.” At that moment, a worker walked past and nodded his head at them. “They have a little less than a month to go.”

“Nice. I like the staircase.”

“Well, what did you want to talk about?”

He gazed at her for a few moments and then reached out for her hand. “Did you like your flowers?”

She forced a smile, pulling her hand away. “They were nice.”

An awkward silence settled between them.

“Can we go someplace else besides your foyer?” he asked.

“Let’s go into the kitchen. They’re pretty much done working in there.” She led him to her new table in the breakfast nook and they sat down. Outside, in plain view, was a shirtless Luke, directing a few workers. She forced her gaze off him and onto David, feeling queasy. Already, she could see the thousands of different poor endings this encounter could have.

“I’ve been doing a lot of thinking,” David said, leveling her with his gaze. She gulped and succumbed to his powerful trance. “I thought we should talk about what happened...between us.”

“Between us?” she repeated. “Well, you dumped me for your secretary—only after you’d been screwing her behind my back for a month. Then you avoided all contact with me until”—she checked her watch—”a couple weeks ago. Save some random visits to my mother’s house.”

He winced. “Right. And I never gave you any explanation...or an apology.”

“It seems a little hard to believe you’re here just to apologize to me,” she said.