A Secret Fate (21 page)

“At least look through the peephole first.” When she looked at him as though he were an imbecile, he added, “Just sayin’. You know, in light of the missing crystal and all. One can’t be too careful.” He let her slip by him and he stood there like an idiot wishing he’d gone down with her just to make sure everything was okay. He knew he needed to respect her wishes, but for someone she wasn’t involved with, this Aiden character sure seemed to be able to make her a bit more flustered than Cael liked. Okay, so he wasn’t completely respectful, he thought as he realized he now stood at the top of the stairs eavesdropping like a jealous lover. He wasn’t actually jealous, just being cautious, he told himself.

He strained to sneak a peek as he heard the creak of the heavy front door, then, “Hi, Aiden,” Addison’s soft voice barely audible. If it hadn’t been for his acute gift of hearing, he’d never be able make out what was being said. Was she hiding something from him?

“Hey, gorgeous. Did I wake you?” Aiden’s voice sounded lazy and suggestive and Cael started to take a step down but caught himself. As much as he wanted to go and make the guy leave, that was no way to win the affections of a lady. And Addison MacKenna was very much a lady.

“Yeah. I was trying to catch up on some sleep.”
Good girl
, Cael thought.
Way to keep your reputation intact
, but he hated that she lied. He would have preferred she’d told the truth, especially to Aiden. That would have put the guy in his place for sure.

“I’ll, uh … let you get back to sleep. I just wanted to make sure you were okay. After our conversation at the bar, I was worried. I haven’t seen you there the past couple of nights. I thought maybe you were upset with me. Are you?” What conversation had they had? The one while they were dancing, no doubt, when Cael left because he couldn’t stand to watch them any longer. But now that he knew the situation, he really did want to know what was going on between them.

“No. I’m not upset. Not with you, anyway. I am worried about the crystal, but you know that. I saw you today at the bar, remember?”

“Of course, I remember. But you …” Cael heard the door squeak closed and realized she had stepped outside to talk and now he couldn’t hear anything other than muffled speech. He wanted to know what they were saying, so he dematerialized, only to re-appear right back at the top of the stairs, sighing before banging the back of his head against the wall a couple of times. He would give her the respect and privacy she deserved. Just because they made love didn’t give him the right to listen in or interfere. Besides, this was by far a better situation than when he’d thought they were married.

Chapter 17

Addie was surprised when she came back upstairs to find Cael lying comfortably in the bed, his head resting on top of his beautifully muscled arm, his eyes following her as she walked around the bed to the other side, her side. This was so unlike him. She half expected him to be lurking at the top of the stairs ready to bombard her with twenty questions about Aiden and why he’d come by, but not a word was spoken as she slipped in beside him and curled against his chest like nothing had ever happened. But she knew it had. The Cael she knew would never have let Aiden’s visit go without an inquiry. Did that have anything to do with his memory loss or did this “new” Cael just not care about her the way he used to? She wanted him to stay, hoped he would and when she came in and discovered him still naked and in bed, her heart began pounding in her chest at the possibility that he would remain with her forever. Maybe forever was too much to ask at the moment, though, and she should concentrate on the here and now. She needed to make him fall in love with her once again. This was a good start, she thought, squeezing her eyes closed as if by shutting them tight, they would lock in this moment in time and she would never have to let him go. Would this one episode even lead to more? She needed to believe it would but first things first. Whether he wanted to bring it up or not, she needed to clear the air about Aiden. “Cael, I …”

He cut her off with a soft kiss then sat up. “I need to get going if I’m going to help you find that crystal.”

“Oh.” The idea startled her and she fought to control a plea for him to stay. In a more calmed voice, she said in the sexiest tone she could muster, “Are you sure you wouldn’t like to stay the night? I could make it worth your time.” Her finger gently trailed down the top of her breast and lingered at the edge of her areola and she did her best to lick her lips in an erotic way.

Cael laughed. He actually laughed at her and she couldn’t help giggling herself as she tossed one of the fluffy pillows at him. “Stop laughing!”

“A little overzealous aren’t we? That looked so unnatural for you.” He continued to laugh. “Baby, you don’t need to try so hard to look sexy when you already are.” He lay back down and pulled her close. “Come here.” He kissed her before saying, “I’ll stay if you want me to. Besides, this bed is so much more comfortable than the one I have at Bart’s.”

“You can stay here as often as you want. Make yourself at home.”

“I just might do that. In fact, I’m a little hungry. What about that ice cream? Do you mind if I go see what I can find down in the kitchen?”

“No, go ahead. I think there is some chocolate fudge, caramel.” Aiden brought over two gallons of the stuff when he insisted she needed to fatten up some. She’d only had a little, but remembered it being very yummy.

He got out of the bed and glanced around the room before turning toward the closet. “Got anything in here I might be able to fit into, like a T-shirt or something to wear downstairs?”

Before Addie could say anything, he had the door to the walk-in closet wide open, the light turned on and was stepping inside. She stopped breathing.

She managed to get out of the bed and stood beside it, waiting for him to walk out of the closet, not sure what she would say to him after he saw all of the men’s clothes hanging there. His clothes.

***

At first Cael thought he was seeing things. Why did Addison have all these men’s clothes in her closet? There were several pairs of jeans hanging neatly in a row and a multitude of shirts, both short-sleeved and long-sleeved. A few pairs of black pants hung beside a couple of khakis. And shoes; a half dozen pairs of men’s shoes lined the shelves beside a dozen or so pairs of women’s shoes. He stood in shock for a few seconds trying to comprehend what he was seeing. Then it dawned on him. She
was
in a relationship with someone. Maybe not Aiden, but someone else. Had she lied? He’d decided not to press her about Aiden’s visit, wanting to give her the privacy he thought she deserved, but this was different. He couldn’t let the discovery of all these clothes go without a mention.

He slowly emerged from the closet, holding a pair of black shoes and a long-sleeved dark purple shirt out in front of him and asked, “Addison, who do these belong to?” When she didn’t answer, he stood aside, turning and pointing back at the closet, adding, “Who do all these men’s clothes belong to?”

“Um … it’s not what you think,” she said.

“No? What do I think?”

“I … I guess I don’t really know what you think, but I know how it looks. I wish I could explain …”

“Try. I know I don’t have any right to ask. I hardly know you, but in light of what we just did and how I’m beginning to feel about you, I think I need an explanation. Who do these belong to?”

“I’m sorry. They …” She looked as if she was searching for something to say. Was she about to lie to him? Christ, he wished he had some sort of his intuitive ability around her. Why was it he couldn’t read her? “They don’t belong to anyone. Not anymore,” she finally said.

“What is that supposed to mean, exactly?”

She wrapped her arms around her waist and said, “They belonged to my fiancé.”

“Your fiancé?”

“I said ‘belonged.’ As in past tense.”

“Where is this fiancé now?”

“He’s gone. He disappeared.”

Cael blinked. “What do you mean disappeared?”

“It’s a long story.”

“Baby, I’ve got all night.”

She took a deep breath and sat on the edge of the bed. “Do you want to get ice cream first?”

“No. I’ve suddenly lost my appetite. I’d rather hear about this missing fiancé.”

“Okay. I was engaged to be married. In fact, that ring you saw was the one he gave me. I kept it on, especially at work for some of the reasons I told you, but also because I didn’t have the heart to take it off.”

“But you did take it off.”

“Yes, I … found myself attracted to you and I didn’t want you to think I was still engaged.”

He felt his eyebrows rise and almost smiled, but realized he still needed more of an explanation. “I see. Do you still have feelings for this man?”

“Yes. I won’t lie to you. I do have feelings for him and was devastated when he left. I loved him very much.”

“‘Loved’,” he said to himself more than to her. “Do you still love him?”

She sighed. “A part of me does, yes,” she admitted and a part of him wished she’d lied.

“But … I don’t expect you to understand and I’m not sure I can explain to you why I am attracted to you and still have feelings for him, but
that
man is not coming back. I know that and I also know that I need to move on.”

“Keeping his clothes in your closet is not exactly moving on.”

“I know. I actually forgot about them. I know that sounds strange because there they are staring at me when I turn on the light, but I really don’t think about them. They are just there. It seemed normal to me. Please don’t let this spoil what we’ve only just begun.”

As he sat down on the bed beside her, she sighed and wiped at her glossy eyes. Christ, all of a sudden he felt like a heel. He should appreciate her honesty. It was stupid of him to ask. Addison was suffering and he was acting like a jealous dog. “I’m sorry that you’ve lost someone you cared so much about. I shouldn’t have insisted on knowing every detail.”

“No, you have a right to know. I would have told you sooner about … him, but when you found out Aiden and I weren’t a couple I didn’t want to give you something else to worry about.”

“Your fiancé wasn’t Aiden,” he stated, rubbing his hand over the nape of his neck, tilting his head from side to side to take out the kink that threatened to turn into a headache.

“No. I told you, Aiden and I are only friends. He’s been here helping me get through my loss. We’ve become good friends but there’s never been anything romantic between us, though I know he would like there to be. Please, Cael, please stay. Come back to bed and hold me.”

He wanted to give in, wanted to ignore the clothes in the closet, wanted to be with her more than any other place in the world. “I’d love to do that.” He knew he was opening himself up for a world of hurt if that asshole who’d left her ever came back into her life, but at the moment, he didn’t care. He slipped into bed beside her and pulled the covers up as she snuggled against him. His eyes quickly grew heavy and as he drifted off to sleep, he found himself back in the dream with the woman in flames. Only this time, she had a face.

Chapter 18

Addie barely registered Cael’s sweet voice in her ear. “Addison, your phone is vibrating.”

She rolled over and opened her eyes. “Huh?” The darkness in the room suggested it wasn’t morning, yet.

“Your cell phone is vibrating. This is the second time it’s gone off. It must be important.”

She sat up, swung her legs over the edge, tossed the covers off and hurried across the room where her phone hummed and vibrated against the hard walnut surface of the dresser. When she saw Maia’s name appear on the screen she thought she’d swallowed a troll. The lump in her throat was choking and her heart raced with fear. The only reason why Maia would be calling at four in the morning was if something was wrong with the twins. “Oh no.”

“What’s wrong, who is it?” Cael asked, now also on his feet and walking toward her.

“It’s Maia.” She pushed the answer button and held the phone to her ear. “Maia? What’s wrong? No. You didn’t disturb me.” She shot an apologetic look at Cael. “Okay. I’ll be there as quickly as I can.” She ended the call and turned to him. “I need to get to Maia’s. She’s bleeding.”

“Bleeding? Oh. The babies. They’re coming?”

“I hope not. She’s only about twenty-six weeks along, toward the end of the second trimester.”

“Only the second trimester?”

“Cael, are you going to stand there asking questions or are you going to get dressed and take me over there?”

“Sorry, of course I’ll take you. Is she going to lose the babies?”

“Not if I can help it. She’s having some cramping and light spotting. They’ve called Red but he can’t get there without your mother and he doesn’t know where she is.”

“That’s strange. Where could she be?”

“I don’t know, but if I can get there in time, maybe I can save the babies.”

Addison sounded so confident, so strong. So different from the woman he’d witnessed outside crying by the archway.
 

***

The room was dark even though the curtains were open. The sun had only just begun its ascent over the mountains but Addie could still make out Maia’s pale face as her aunt looked up when they materialized in the bedroom. Cael released his hold on Addie and she ran to her aunt’s side. Maia lay in the bed, knees propped up with a pillow under them.

“Addie, I’m so glad you’re here,” Maia cried, her voice weak and breathy, her body trembling.

“Shhhh,” Addie said. Maia gave her a small smile, but Addie thought it was forced. Maia would smile if for no other reason than to make Addie feel better. She wore a thin cotton nightgown and although Addie thought it rather cold in the room, perspiration beaded on Maia’s upper lip.

“I’m here.” Addie would not let Maia lose her children, not after everything Maia had already gone through with those babies—the way they’d helped her during that awful fiasco with Careen Faraday. If it hadn’t been for the twins’ abilities, helping Maia project her future self back in time, Maia might have been convicted of murdering Careen. Then there wouldn’t have been a wedding where Finn had gotten drunk and confessed to the murder. But if Finn hadn’t confessed and tried to take Maia hostage, Cael never would have disappeared and lost his memory. What a bittersweet and strange turn of events that had all been. Addie wasn’t too clear on the technicalities of it all. In the future—only one of many possible futures since the future is not set, as they’d all learned—the twins as young adults visit a much older Maia. With their help, Maia returned to the present in hopes of warning her younger self about what might happen. The twins accomplished the feat using the abilities they inherited from Gerry. An older Maia had come back in time and visited the present Maia several times with warnings and advice. She showed up first as an old woman, then as the twins grew in her womb and became stronger, a younger Maia appeared. Eventually the vision of Maia appeared on the day of the wedding as the same age and place in time as the bride herself, and things were resolved. With the help of the twins, Maia was cleared of all suspicion. It was very confusing and not something Addie would ever want to go through herself.