Perfect Timing (19 page)

M
ya slipped into a pair of jeans and pulled a tank top over her head, grateful to be home a day earlier than planned. She was to have remained in Orlando to meet with Robert Noble today but he had called and left word with Simon Prentice that his trip from Miami would be delayed. He suggested that Mya return home then make plans to meet with him again in Orlando in a few weeks. Although she didn't relish the thought of having to return to Orlando any time soon, she was glad to be home.

She had arrived just before the boys' nap and they had been happy to see her. Since Garrett had already left for practice when Mr. Prentice had gotten word to her that she could leave, she had no way of letting Garrett know she was returning home a day early. She hoped he would be happy to see her. She knew he was going through a bad time about Mark being cut from the team and regretted she had not been here for him.

She checked her appearance in the mirror. She was going to surprise Garrett and show up at practice hoping to catch at least the last two hours of it. Then maybe later they could go someplace to eat like they'd done the other time. She was determined to resolve the problems they were having in their marriage, not sure how much more she could take of his attitude regarding her job.

Less than thirty minutes later Mya was pulling her Lexus SUV into a parking space. She quickly grabbed her purse and got out. She met Nathan Phelps, one of Garrett's teammates, coming toward her to get into his own vehicle that was parked nearby.

“Hey, Nat, practice over already?” she asked smiling at him.

“Yeah, the coach let us out earlier than expected and I'm glad. Today was one grueling day. If you're looking for Garrett, he's still in the locker room but should be heading out in a few shakes.”

“Thanks.”

Mya walked toward the vicinity of the locker rooms and stopped at a distance when she saw Paige Duvall standing in front of the doors as if she was waiting for someone. Mya couldn't forget the fact she had seen her openly make a pass at Garrett that time at the party. So instead of joining Paige in her wait for whomever it was she was waiting for, Mya decided to hang back near the trees and wait for Garrett to come out. That way she wouldn't have to make phony conversation with the woman.

Moments later Mya smiled when Garrett walked out. A frown then covered her face when it was apparent that Garrett had been the person Paige Duvall had been waiting for, too. Mya watched as the woman smiled radiantly at him before reaching out and grabbing him around the waist, getting all in his face. Mya then watched as Garrett walked the woman to the side of the building, away from prying eyes, and stood there talking to her. She blinked back tears as she turned and headed back to the parking lot. Before starting her vehicle she ran a trembling hand down her cheek to wipe away her tears. If she hadn't seen it with her own eyes she would not have believed it. Garrett was cheating on her.

 

“Mya, please calm down. You may have misread what you saw.” Maxi's soft voice tried to coax Mya into calming down. She had called her, crying and upset, and had told her about the incident she had witnessed at the stadium.

“I know what I saw, Maxi. How could he do this to us?” Mya asked fighting back more tears. She felt so hurt her body felt numb. She had barely made it home without having an accident, she'd been crying so hard. Once she had let herself inside the house she was grateful that Mrs. Butler had taken the boys to the park. She would not have wanted anyone to see her in such a pitiful state.

“Just give him a chance to explain, Mya. You may have jumped to the wrong conclusions. Garrett loves you, you know that. Please give him a chance to explain.”

“There's nothing to explain. I know what I saw. Look, Maxi, I'll talk to you tomorrow.”

“Mya, what are you going to do? Where are the boys?”

“The boys are fine. They're spending the night at Mrs. Butler's house. I told her I wanted to spend the evening alone with Garrett.” Mya smiled to blink back more tears. “She thinks I've planned this romantic evening for just the two of us. Boy, is she wrong.”

“Promise you'll call me later, Mya, no matter what. Promise me.”

“I promise. I got to go. I want to have myself together when Garrett gets here.”

After ending her conversation with Maxi, Mya just sat there for a long moment before she rose wearily from the chair and went into the bathroom to wash her face and reapply her makeup. She then went back and sat in her favorite chair in their bedroom to wait. By her estimation he was an hour late in coming home already.

No sooner than she thought that, she heard the sound of his key rattling in the door. She heard him call her name but she refused to answer him. Then suddenly he appeared in the doorway.

“Mya, I didn't know you were coming back today. Welcome home.”

She lifted her eyes and looked at him and she felt a sharpness cutting at her heart. She loved him so much and he had trampled her pride. She wondered if anyone else had seen him and Paige together the way she had. Just how long had it been going on? “You're late,” she said softly as she continued to look at him.

Her statement seemed to take him aback since she had never in all the years they'd been married kept tabs on his comings and goings before. The smile on his face wavered somewhat. “Yes, I stopped by Mark's place to see how he's doing.” After a few moments when it became apparent she didn't have a comment to what he said, he asked. “Where are the boys?”

“They're with Mrs. Butler. They're going to stay overnight.”

Garrett lifted a brow. “Really? Why?”

When Mya didn't say anything Garrett continued to look at her. He walked closer into the room. He had known her long enough to know when something was wrong. “What is it, Mya? Something is going on here. You're not yourself.”

She made herself respond to the question in his eyes and the question that had come from his lips. “No, I'm not myself, Garrett.” She then stood and crossed the room to stand in front of him. “I arrived back early today and thought I'd surprise you and show up at practice again.”

She watched his brow lift. “Really, I didn't see you.”

“But I did see you, Garrett. I saw you and Paige Duvall together.”

He looked at for a few brief moments then asked in a low voice. “What are you accusing me of, Mya?”

“You tell me, Garrett. Should I be accusing you of anything?”

“No, and if you're insinuating that I've slept with the woman, you're wrong. I've told you countless times not to pay attention to women who come on to me. You're the only woman I love and want.”

“And I have always believed you all those countless times. And no, I'm not accusing you of sleeping with her, although I may be wrong about that, but I do know something is going on between the two of you.”

“You don't know anything, Mya.”

“Yes, I do. Trust me, Garrett, a woman knows. And I know what I saw. She was all over you, all in your face. And she touched you in a way that she felt comfortable with doing. She touched you,
my
man, in a way that only I should touch you. In a way that only I have a right to. But you let her do it, Garrett. You let her get into
my
space. Space that should belong only to me, your wife, the mother of your sons, your former girlfriend, your best friend. And whether you admit it or not, Garrett, there is a reason she felt that comfortable with you, and it's more than you sending out some pretty strong signals that you may be interested in her. It's more than that, Garrett, admit it.”

Mya's words echoed loudly between the walls of their bedroom. Garrett looked at her as a bout of guilt tore into him. He reached out for her and his heart ripped in two when she took a step back as if his touch was poisonous. “It's not what you think, Mya. It meant nothing.”

She swallowed the thick lump in her throat and asked softly. “What meant nothing?” She watched Garrett and knew from the look on his face, the regret lining his eyes, that she hadn't misread what she had seen that afternoon. Her heart began to ache.

“It was the night all of us went over to Mark's place to console him after being cut from the team. Paige was there, too. She didn't have a way back home and asked me to drop her off at her apartment and I did. She wanted me to walk her to the door since it was late and I did that too. I was in a bad way that night, Mya. What had happened to Mark had me pretty uptight and when she invited me in for a drink I accepted.” He held her gaze for a while before adding. “I was kind of lonely that night and you weren't here.”

“So going into her apartment and getting all cozy with her was my fault? Is that what you're saying, Garrett?” she asked hurt and betrayed.

“I wasn't inside her place but a few minutes.”

“But something happened in those few minutes, didn't it, Garrett?” She watched him battle with his inner self, with the knowledge that what he was about to say would undoubtedly hurt her.

“Yes, we kissed. But that's all we did, Mya. And I knew it had been a mistake as soon as it happened. I felt bad about it, baby. But try to understand that I was lonely that night,” he implored, trying to keep his voice calm. “I was missing you. A lot has been happening between us since we came back from the cruise. Your work became all that mattered to you and this thing with all the players getting cut had me in a bad way. I made a mistake that night, Mya. I know it was a bad mistake but it meant nothing. The kiss meant nothing. And what you saw tonight was me telling Paige that it meant nothing so she wouldn't get any ideas that I would be coming back for more, because there won't be anymore. You and the boys are my life, Mya. Please believe that and please forgive me for a moment of weakness.”

Tears filled Mya's eyes. “I can't forgive you, Garrett, and the reason being is that I was lonely that night as well. I had missed you. But I wasn't that lonely that I turned to my client, Robert Noble, who is a very handsome man, I might add, to ease my loneliness. I didn't invite him to my hotel room nor did I let him kiss me. I behaved in a manner that was befitting your wife. And the reason for doing so is because everything about me, everything on me belongs to you and no other man. Just like everything about you and everything on you belongs to me. But you let Paige Duvall violate what was mine, Garrett. You gave her that right. She put her tongue in a mouth that belonged only to me. She put her arms around a body that was supposed to be mine. Only mine.”

“Mya, please—”

“No, Garrett. You broke your marriage vow to love and honor me as your wife.”

“No, honey, I do love you and I do honor you.”

She shook her head as she wiped her tears away. “No, what you did was let another woman disrespect me and I'm not sure I'll ever be able to forgive you for that.”

“Please, Mya, we can work through this. We love each other. Our love is strong. We've had some pretty tough times before.”

“But never like this, Garrett. There has never been an issue of trust between us.”

“Yes, but we can still work through this. You're my life. I love you so much, Mya, you've got to believe that.”

“I don't know what I believe anymore. I used to believe that I was all the woman you needed, now I see that's not true. You've hurt me, Garrett. You have hurt me so much.”

“For heaven's sake! I didn't sleep with her. It was just a kiss, Mya. You are all the woman I need. Surely, you're not going to throw away what we have because I had a moment of weakness and kissed another woman! Can't you find it in your heart to forgive me over a kiss?”

“No, at the moment I can't. I can't erase the picture from my mind of seeing the two of you together today, with her all in your face, all in my space. My mind is too filled with that.”

“Okay, then we'll give it some time, Mya. We'll work through this. All you need is time.”

“What I need is for you to leave.”

“What?” he said with wide eyes focused on her.

“I want you to leave. I don't want to spend a single night under the same roof with you.”

“Mya, surely you don't mean that. I—”

“No, I want you gone, Garrett. I can't handle the pain of seeing you every day. You can make arrangements to come by and see the boys when I'm not here but I don't want you here.”

“And just where am I supposed to go?”

“Back to your girlfriend.”

“Mya, you are being irrational about this. Paige is not my girlfriend. I explained how things happened. It was just that one night and that one kiss. A night and kiss I will regret for the rest of my life. Surely you're not making me leave my home for that.”

“No, not just for that, Garrett, but also for the lack of respect and the violation of vows.”

“Mya, please—”

“No!” She said, crossing her arms in front of her. “Either you leave or the boys and I will. I will not sleep under the same roof as you so please pack your things and go.” She then walked around him to leave the room. Grabbing her car keys off the kitchen table she went outside and got into her SUV. She needed to take a drive around town to relax her nerves and she hoped that by the time she returned Garrett would be gone.

 

Garrett's hands shook as he placed the last piece of clothing into the luggage, not believing what was happening. It was evident from the way Mya was handling things that he had hurt her deeply. His heart ached at the thought that he had put that look of pain in her eyes.

He took a deep breath, wondering where he could go. He decided to call Mark and Danielle to see if he could at least crash on their couch for the night then tomorrow he would have to look into finding more permanent housing.

He shook his head. No, he needed temporary housing. His permanent house was here with Mya and his sons. Hopefully in time she would see that, and hopefully in time she would forgive him for his transgression with Paige. He loved Mya with all his heart and admitted that he had made a mistake. A huge mistake. It was one that was costing him his family.