Completely Captivated Page 16

  With the phone call on speaker, I knew how unfair life had been to her the second I heard her voice. I’m not usually overly sentimental, but something in her tone resonated with me. Determination. Grit. The drive to rise above her circumstances and be what no one believed she could be. That was when I decided to handle the terms myself and instructed my Realtor to let her have it at a ridiculously low price for such a prime location. Per normal protocol, we conducted a thorough background check on her—much more in-depth than the standard. Every aspect of her life was investigated, giving me a full picture of her current and past circumstances.

  That was when she became my personal responsibility, though I’ve never told her. That was when I decided anyone who hurt her would deal with me.

  .

  Just Friends

  Christa

  * * *

  “Jared, Aaron just came to see me.” I blurted out the news the second he answered the phone, barely giving him enough time to say hello.

  “What did he say? Don’t leave anything out.”

  I repeated the entire conversation, including Aaron’s claims to have hit his head and suffered a seizure that robbed him of any memory of our wedding night.

  “At first, I was genuinely concerned about him. I thought he had total amnesia, and I couldn’t imagine how terrible that would be. Then he so nonchalantly said only the week before our wedding was missing.

  “But then what he didn’t say hit me. What about the rest of the time we were together? Those memories were still intact. Yet he had no problem throwing me to the wolves—or wolf, in this case.

  “The more I thought about what he said, the harder it was for me to believe a single word of it. I’ve been vacillating between hurt, anger, and disbelief. Then he urged me to call Logan to verify his story, as if Logan wouldn’t lie for his best friend.”

  “Did he say what his doctor’s name is?” Jared asked, bringing me back to our conversation.

  “Yes, he said he went to Dr. Batton.”

  “It’d be almost impossible to subpoena his medical records and get them back in time at this point, especially since he’d have to agree to release them without a court order. But we can use this information to help your annulment request. He hit his head before the wedding, and he doesn’t remember any of the events surrounding it now. He wasn’t of sound mind during the ceremony and proposed a settlement to get you to agree to a divorce.”

  “Thank you, Jared. I’m sure you’re busy with other work and don’t need my drama right now. But I really do appreciate your help.”

  “You’re not bothering me, Christa. In fact, I’d love to see you tonight. How about I pick you up around eight and take you out to eat?”

  “That’s so sweet of you. I’d really love to, but I wouldn’t be very good company after today. We’ve been so slammed in the shop. I haven’t been off my feet all day, and they’re killing me. I’ve already planned a hot date tonight—with a good book and an entire bottle of wine.”

  “You’ll hurt my feelings if you don’t have dinner with me. I’ll have to sit there all alone.”

  I conceded with a soft sigh. “Fine. Only because you’ll guilt-trip me forever, otherwise.”

  “Great. I’ll pick you up at your place. See you tonight.”

  “Where are we going?”

  “Somewhere nice. It’ll be a surprise. You deserve to be spoiled.”

  “Dressy. Got it. See you later, Jared.”

  With my phone back in my pocket, I turned to start another carafe of coffee and found Allie staring me down. The expression on her face said she was less than pleased with me. “What?”

  “You’re going on a date with Jared tonight?” She put her fists on her hips and pinned me with her irritated gaze, daring me to deny my plans for the evening.

  “It’s not a date. I’m only having dinner with a friend, and he’s helping me with this mess with Aaron.”

  “Going to dinner somewhere with a dress code isn’t just a friendly outing, Christa. And that man doesn’t look at you as just a friend. Don’t be naïve.” She grabbed the towel from under the counter and began cleaning. Angrily.

  “Wow. Where is this coming from, Allie?” I stepped in front of her to make her stop and talk to me.

  “Christa,” she started, already exasperated with me, and threw the towel down. “You know I love you. You’re my best friend, and I want nothing but the best for you. I’m warning you now, nothing good will come from this.”

  “Allie, I love you too. I’ve told you we’re only friends. But I seem to remember you offering to make Jared your own personal pogo stick. So, why the sudden change?”

  “He’s handsome.” She shrugged. “I’m not looking for a forever kind of love. A night or two with him would be enough for me. He’s no different—I know guys like him.

  “What Aaron did to you was really shitty, and part of me would like to feed him a sandwich using his balls as the sliced lunch meat. But he showed up here for you, didn’t he? He came crawling back, asking for forgiveness, trying to explain what happened. Your husband asked for your forgiveness, Christa.”

  She stomped off to the back of the shop, leaving me to digest her words alone. Hearing Allie call him my husband felt like a knife stabbing me directly in the center of my heart. I looked down at my left hand and could still feel the weight of my wedding rings even though they were long gone. My tether to Aaron was still very real, whether I was wearing the rings or not. Pride wouldn’t let me show him how much he hurt me…or how very much I still loved him.

  Then I remembered the betrayal. The sting of his disloyalty. The utter disregard for my feelings when I cried and begged him in Lance’s office. The way he didn’t defend me against his brother’s accusations. And just like that, I was right back in the raging storm of anger and depression.

  I marched to the back, where Allie was hiding after making her cutting remarks, ready to throw a few barbs of my own. “I know you think you’re helping, in your own twisted way. But if you recall, my husband admitted he remembered everything except the week leading up to our trip to Vegas. That means he remembered me. He knew who I was. He knew how he felt about me and how I felt about him. But none of that mattered when I begged him—in front of his asshole brother—to just talk to me. Like an adult. Like a human being. I asked him if he wanted a divorce, if he truly didn’t want to be married to me. He didn’t. So, excuse me for trying to protect myself from that kind of hurt again. Apparently, Jared is the only one on my side, helping protect me.”

  “If you think Jared is only trying to protect you from Aaron, you’ll end up making another colossal mistake because you’re fucking blind. Aaron fucked up, no doubt. But he loves you, and he’s trying to make amends. I’m not saying to run and move in with him. But you can give him a chance.”

  “Give him a chance, huh? A chance to hurt me again? A chance to humiliate me? A chance to toss me aside like I mean nothing to him—just like my parents did? Hell no.”

  “Then you’ll miss a chance to be truly loved for who you are. He’s not your mom or your dad. He’s a man who had a medical condition and freaked the fuck out. I don’t know how I’d react if I woke up married one day and my spouse had already moved in, but I had no clue how any of it happened. I’d probably beat the shit out of him with a baseball bat, no matter how long I’d been with him. Or maybe I’d play it off like I knew exactly what was going on because I’d finally convinced someone to marry my crazy ass. The point is, neither of us knows how we’d react because we’ve never been put to the test before.”

  Allie and I finished the day speaking only when we were forced to and only about work. She wasn’t mad at me—she was disappointed in me, and that was almost worse. She waited for me to call Jared and break our friendly dinner reservation, but I didn’t.

  It was not a date.

  As I locked up for the night, my phone pinged with a text.

  Jared: I’m looking forward to our date tonight.

&n
bsp; The inadvertent cringe that message caused was impossible to ignore. I never wanted to date again. Not Jared, not any man. Because my heart and soul still belonged to Aaron.

  Damn you, Aaron.

  Me: I’m sorry—can’t make it tonight. I’m too tired, and I’m definitely not ready to date.

  He answered immediately. Date was the wrong word. Just dinner with a friend.

  When I didn’t reply for a minute, he sent another text.

  Christa, let me be there for you. I haven’t been for so long.

  Me: All right. Dinner with a friend it is.

  When I reached my apartment, all I really wanted to do was sink down into my tub and stay home for the night. But I showered and dressed instead. No doubt Jared would take me to one of the best restaurants in the city. The ones where it takes months to get a table unless the right names are dropped and connections contacted. Jared’s family had those contacts, so I had no doubt he’d called in a favor.

  When he showed up at my door promptly at eight, wearing a fresh suit and tie with hair perfectly styled, I knew he went home after work to change. He cared about his appearance, I got that, but I couldn’t help comparing him to Aaron. Jared took time to primp and groom himself to the exact right degree. Aaron was sexy and striking without even trying.

  “You are absolutely stunning. I love you in heels and a sexy dress.” His eyes raked over me from top to bottom, then back up again.

  Though he meant it as a compliment, his actions only made me feel uncomfortable.

  “Thank you. You look very handsome yourself.” I grabbed my clutch and locked my apartment door on our way out. “Where are you taking me?”

  He rattled off the name of the newest, most exclusive restaurant in the San Francisco area, as I expected. The memory of the impromptu picnic with Aaron in the wildflower clearing popped into my mind. How relaxed I felt with him on our first date. How I never wanted it to end. How I’d give anything to be back there again in his arms right now. It was all I could do to keep from running back into my apartment and barricading myself inside.

  But I didn’t. Because I had to move on no matter how much it hurt.

  The drive to the restaurant was quick, or maybe it just seemed it was because I was lost in my head. I blamed it on the long day I’d had and apologized for my silence. Inwardly, I was thankful Aaron allowed it. I meant Jared. Jared allowed it.

  The chic restaurant was a refurbished two-story warehouse, with floor-to-ceiling windows covering the front. We climbed the few steps to the front door, and a doorman was there to greet us. Once we were seated, I took a minute to absorb the posh and pomp surrounding me, and I felt completely out of place. An older couple stopped briefly to say hello to Jared, filling the dead air in our nonexistent conversation. When we were close friends before he left, I couldn’t remember a single time we ran out of conversation topics.

  “I’m sorry I didn’t introduce you to them. I couldn’t remember his wife’s name, and all I could think about was making a fool of myself if I called her by the wrong one.”

  That visual made me laugh, and it felt good to hear myself make that sound again. Apparently, we needed the laugh over his discomfort to break the tension and get the conversation flowing. He was still the same person I remembered from so many years ago, and right then, I needed all the friends I could get.

  After we finished eating, Jared and I chatted while we waited for the valet to bring the car around. I felt relaxed after the bottle of wine and the exhausting day, and I realized maybe I’d let my guard down a little too much when a text set off my phone alert. When I looked at the screen, my hands shook so much I nearly dropped my phone.

  It was a message from Aaron.

  What I would give to be holding you right now.

  Realization

  Aaron

  * * *

  I took Delilah’s challenge to heart. A week ago, she asked how I planned to win Christa back, and that made me realize I needed a legitimate plan if I had any hope of succeeding. After my disastrous apology, it was clear I had to change my tactics completely to break through the walls she’d constructed around her heart.

  She was still mine, and I’d make her remember before it was too late.

  Part one of my “win Christa back” campaign was to send her short text messages to let her know I was thinking of her. I tried to figure out what to say as a follow-up to the first message, something more heartfelt, when my ringing doorbell stopped me.

  When I opened the door, I couldn’t decide if I was more disappointed that my visitor was not Christa…or that it was Lance.

  “What do you want?”

  “Is that any way to greet your brother?” He brushed by me and into my condo, glancing around as if he was looking for someone.

  “She’s not here.” I closed the door and walked into the room behind him. “Yet.”

  “You convinced her to take you back?”

  Even though his reply rubbed me the wrong way, the inflection in his tone was sincere. The thing was, I wouldn’t have to convince her to take me back had I not listened to him in the first place. I couldn’t put the blame on him, no matter how much I wanted to do just that.

  “No. She had a great argument for not accepting my apology.”

  “I’m very good at arguing and negotiating. Let me help.”

  “No fucking way. Why are you here anyway?”

  “Come on, Aaron. I’m your brother, I can help you.”

  I hated to admit how stupid I was, but that was the truth. “She pointed out what an idiot I am. There were a few days missing, yes. But we’d been together a lot longer than that, so I shouldn’t have handled it the way I did.”

  “You mean the way we handled it.” Lance shook his head then found an interesting spot on the floor to stare at longer than normal. “I’m sorry you’re going through a tough time. But if I had to do it all over again, I wouldn’t change my initial reaction. My first thought is to protect you—always. Maybe I don’t always respond in the best way, but you’re always my first thought.”

  He walked to my kitchen table and picked up the packet the process server delivered. The older brother in him didn’t hesitate to open the envelope and snoop. The lawyer in him needed to know every single detail, especially when he realized what he held. He took a seat then took his time reading every word at least three times.

  He finally looked up at me. “When did this happen?”

  “As soon as I got back from San Diego. The process server was waiting for me in the garage. Served me at my car.”

  “She wants an annulment. This is perfect.” He had the nerve to sound excited. “It’ll be like it never happened. She won’t have any claim to anything you own. You are one lucky son of a bitch.”

  “You must be fucking kidding me. Did you not just offer to help negotiate to get her back? I’m not accepting an annulment. I’ll fight tooth and nail to stop it.”

  “Aaron, come on. You can have the marriage annulled and still date her. It’s not like you knew her long enough or well enough to get married anyway.”

  “Why are you here? You have about thirty seconds to tell me, and then I’m tossing you out on your ass.”

  “You’re needed back at work. You’ve had your sabbatical, but now it’s time to get back on track. Kylie was thrilled with the models you selected, and the results of their dry run are better than she expected. Word will spread fast, and more major designers will contact us to stay in league with Kylie.”

  “I’ve told you, I’m not staying. I’m done.”

  “You really mean it this time, don’t you?” His brows furrowed, and he cocked his head to the side. He finally stopped calculating every move and countermove to take a good, long look at me.

  “Yes.” My fists went to my hips, and I stood tall. Determined.

  “Can you at least work out a two-week notice and train one of our up-and-coming junior agents?”

  It was the least I could do for the company we built
from the ground up. “Two weeks, Lance. I’m not traveling, and I’m not staying any longer than that. If you ask me to do either of those things, you’ll piss me off.”

  “No travel and no extensions. You have my word.”

  “Then you have mine. I’m yours for two weeks. After that, you buy my half of the company.”

  “I’ll get started on the paperwork. So, you’ll be back in the office Monday morning?”

  “Yeah, I’ll see you then.”

  Lance left, and I glanced at the clock. It was too late to text her again and finish what I wanted to say, knowing how early she got up for work in the mornings. Instead, I sat at my laptop and did the next best thing—I arranged for special delivery sent directly to her shop the next day.

  As I closed my laptop, a memory flashed in my mind, and I saw her as clearly as if she were standing in front of me right then. She was tossing a bouquet of flowers over her shoulder at our small reception party. Several other people we didn’t know were there, but they were all wearing black-tie attire, as if they were members of other wedding parties.

  “The chapel held a joint reception for everyone who got married there that evening. We were laughing because our party of four was the smallest one they had all day.”

  She threw a bouquet of Stargazer lilies, with dark pink centers and a bright white edge. Her favorite flower. The girl who caught the bouquet waggled her brows at her date, and then the rest of us pointed and laughed at his terrified expression.

  I grabbed my phone and opened my contacts. I stared at her name with my thumb barely hovering over the button. Just a slight movement more and I’d hear her voice again.