Invitation to Love (23 page)

“Like
it, or not, Taryn, you’re still my wife. When that’s no longer the case, you
can nurse him to your heart’s content.”

When
she heard him walking away, she perched herself down on a stair and dropped her
head to her knees. How in the world is she going to get through this? How is
she going to be able to face each day from now on, knowing that he can barely
look at, or talk to her? How is she going to make it up to the moment he comes
to her and tells her that he’s back with Karen? The night they made love still
encircles her soul like an old friend whispering every sweet detail in her
ear—A night she will never know again. It’s Karen he’s probably kissing and
making arrangements to…She rushed up to her room and threw herself across the
bed to cry.

vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv

For
the third time that morning, Taryn picked up the phone to dial Michael’s number
only to feel her courage buckling, and then replacing it back in the base. He
left for work three days ago, and hasn’t been home since. Where is he? Why
can’t he at least call and tell her something? The girls have been asking about
him, but all she can say is he’s busy and has to work a lot. Has he gone off with
Karen? She willfully pushed that sickening thought from her mind. If he has,
there’s only one way to find out: Go to his office and confront him. If he’s
chosen to make a life with her, she certainly has a right to know. She’s been
putting off her own plans of moving back to Nashville, waiting, hoping they
would work things out despite Karen. But, how foolish is that? He has no more
use for her. And even if he refuses to discuss his future with her, she’s
definitely going to make him aware of hers—face to face.

After
dropping the girls off at school, she headed for his building. As soon as she
stepped out of the elevator she felt self–conscious that the entire floor had
zeroed in on her; And as she walked toward his office, she felt the perceived
shaking of the heads, the “tsk, tsk”, and “poor thing”. The door to his office
stood ajar. She mustered up an extra pound of courage before inching it all the
way open and marching inside. But, thank heavens the almost identical figure
turning toward her wasn’t him.

“Hi,
Chris.”

A
bit surprised, he tossed the papers in his hand onto the desk behind him.
“Taryn, hi. What are you doing here?”

“I
need to speak to Michael.”

“I
see.”

“Uh,
do you know where he is?”

He
crossed his arms against his chest as he studied her for a long moment. “Do you
really care, Taryn?”

“What?”
the question stunned her. “Of course I care, Chris. How can you ask that?”

“I’m
sorry,” he shrugged. “But, I had to ask that in light of what’s been going on
between the two of you.”

“Oh—of
course you would know.”

“About
Karen, David? Yeah.”

Her
eyes began to shimmer with tears as she forced the next question from her mouth.
“Has—has he gone off with her?”

His
brows shot up, followed by a short, incredulous laugh. “Is that what you think?”

“Well,
hasn’t he?”

“No,
Taryn. He’s at his cabin up in the mountains. He’s been there for the last
three days. Karen’s back in England.”

She
leaned forward and inclined her head to make sure she heard him right. “Did you
say Karen’s in England?  Are you sure about that?”

“Very
sure.”

“So—they
aren’t together?” she nudged her smile back. (Can’t celebrate too prematurely)
“What’s he doing at his cabin?”

“He’s
going to kill me for this. He’s pining—over you.”

“Pining?
Over me?” she indicated with a hand to her chest. “I don’t understand.”

“Like
a wounded dog,” he dropped his head and laughed then he was serious. “He loves
you, Taryn. I ought to know, he’s been at my place for the last week and a half
pouring his heart out to me over beer and pizzas.” He tilted his head to one
side, amazed as he regarded her. “You mean, you really thought he was with
Karen?”

She
shrugged and nodded an affirmative.

“I
told him to go to you and tell you everything. But, he said you didn’t care;
That you wanted him to be with her.”

“That’s
not true. I love him. I was going out of my mind just thinking he might be with
her.”

“That’s
good to hear.” He stepped forward and put an arm around her shoulders to
comfort her. “Want some friendly advice? Go to him and let him know how you feel.
Go now, before he wastes away from heartbreak alone in that cabin.” He kissed
her cheek. “He needs you. Most of all, he needs to know how you feel.”

“Thanks,
Chris,” she put her arms around him and gave him a grateful hug. “Thank you so
much. Oh, I can’t leave just now. I have to find someone to take care of Remi
and Rachel.”

“Don’t
worry about them, they’ll be fine. I’ll pick them up from school and stay with
them until you and Michael return. I promise,” he held his hand up in an oath and
crooked a smile. “No beer and pizzas.”

She
now allowed that surge of joy to bust. Now that the girls are taken care of,
she’s free to go to Michael and straighten things out. “I owe you.”

“What
are uncles for? Take as long as you want.”

She
didn’t bother returning home to change, she was floating too high. Michael
loves her. He—loves—her. When Chris said those words, she almost fainted. All
those nights he was late coming home, he wasn’t with Karen; He was pouring his
heart out to Chris. Her high spirits kept her company the entire journey inland
into the mountains. The lonely highway was paved through vast forests of trees
and massive hills made of sheared rock, with glimpses of sharp peaks of the
mountains pointing upward in the distance. She remembered him saying that when
she drove through the small town of Madina, to drive another three miles, then
turn off onto the dirt road that would lead to his cabin. She smiled to herself
because he had said “our cabin”, and tugged her shirt.

The
private sign he told her about, stood at the end of the dirt road. A trail of
dust streamed up from behind the car as she sped toward the cabin with her
heart now picking up its pace. Finally, it came into view. She parked the car
behind his SUV and exited, all the while studying the wooden structure for any signs
of life inside. She wondered if he heard her coming, and was watching her from
behind the green curtains in the front window. She guardedly approached the
steps with her purse clutched to her chest.  An entire minute passed before she
found the courage to knock on the pine door. After a few high-strung moments,
it finally opened. Her breath caught in her throat when she came face to face
with him.  His shocked expression lasted a brief second before the pain
returned. Her heart sunk as she glanced over the worn look on his face, as if
he hadn’t slept in the three days he’s been here; There was a shadow of a
beard.

“May
I come in?” she asked when he just stood there.

He
widened the door for her to enter. She walked to the middle of the hard-wood
floor, eyeing the gray overstuffed couch under the window; Pass the cobblestone
fireplace in front of her. A narrow hallway led back to the kitchen. She caught
a glimpse of the refrigerator before turning to face him.

“Why
are you here, Taryn?”

“I
came to see you. I was worried about you.”

His
anguished laughter implied disbelief. “Now, why were you worried about me?”

“You
haven’t been home in days. I thought—”

“You
thought what?” he thrust his hands into the pockets of his pants. “That I was
with Karen? Is that it?”

She
turned from his unrelenting defiance to the empty fireplace that reminded her
of his attitude toward her—so cold and dark. He exhaled an acrid breath,
scuffled passed her to the fireplace, and brace an arm against the hard stone
of the mantle with his head held low.

“Sorry
to disappoint you. I know how much you want out of this farce of a marriage.”

“That’s
not true, Michael,” she countered softly.

He
stiffened, as if wondering if he heard correctly, then he turned. “What’s not
true?”

She
held her purse to her even tighter for support. Now’s the moment to say those
well-prepared words she’s been rehearsing the entire time here. “I—I don’t want
this marriage to end, I never have. And, I didn‘t want you to go back to Karen.”

His
brows drew into a puzzled crimp.

She
cleared her throat before saying those three words she’s been dying to shout to
the world since they married. “I love you, Michael.”

He looked
as if he’d stopped breathing. She wondered desperately what he could be thinking.
And, why won’t he say something, anything?

His
eyelids half lowered suspiciously. “Why are you saying this? Did you talk to
Chris? Is that how you found me? He told you everything, and now you feel as if
you have to say that?”

“No,”
her voice began to break under the emotional pressure. “I do love you, you have
to believe me. But, how could I tell you when all you saw was Karen?”

Deep
torment shadowed across his face. “I paid no attention to her. You were the one
who practically threw me in her arms when she returned. You were the one who
said there was nothing holding us together, and who was so willing to walk away
from us.”

“I
only said what I thought you felt.”

“You
didn’t give me a chance to tell you what I really felt, did you? After she and
Raven left that night, I came into the kitchen to tell you that her coming back
meant nothing to me. That I Ioved you, and wanted to be with you. But, you just
stood and relegated what we had to a deal. My whole world began collapsing in
on me. I couldn’t believe it.” He sighed, shook his head, and stared into the fireplace.
“Finally, I couldn’t take your rejection anymore, so I came here to think.”

She
wanted to go to him, pull him in her arms and never let go, but was too afraid
he wouldn’t accept her. “I’m sorry, Michael. I was so convinced that you still
loved her. You weren’t the only one hurting, you know.”

He turned
and closed the space between them. “Taryn, I never meant to hurt you. I love
you. And, I made Karen well aware of that when she came into my office with
hopes of us getting back together.” A painful smile appeared. “I love you so
much, it hurts.”

“Michael,”
she barely whispered. “You mean it?”

“Yes,”
his hands came up and cupped her face so he could shower it with kisses. “With
all my heart.”

She
threw her arms around his waist and held him. “I just knew I’d lost you when
she came back. After all, you once loved her enough to want to spend the rest
of your life with her.”

“I
thought I loved her, too—until I met you.” Pain gave way to sheer happiness as
he studied her face. “I’ll be eternally grateful to Remi for smashing my
sunglasses. I looked up, and
the
most exciting, most beautiful woman
I’ve ever seen was rushing toward me. I couldn’t let you disappear out of my
life, so I grabbed your invitation to share your lunch, and worked from there.”
His thumbs began rubbing back and forth on her neck in soft motions. “Then
after a month of being away from you, I couldn’t stand it any longer. So, I
flew all the way to Nashville just to see you. When you told me about your
dilemma with your father-in-law, it presented me with the perfect opportunity
to forge a life with you.”

“So,
it wasn’t really about your clients’ approval?”

“Not
really. Although, that was the added bonus I needed. I wanted to make a life
with you and the girls. I was beside myself when you chose to marry me instead
of going to court. You had given me a chance and I was going to make it work.

But, you always seem to push
me away. You wouldn’t respond to me no matter how hard I tried. I had no idea
that all this time you actually felt the same way.”

“I
don’t know when I first realized it. It could have been when we were on the
beach; Or when you showed up on my doorstep that day. All I know, is that I was
never the same once I met you. I went into this marriage with every intent of
keeping myself emotionally detached, but with each day that passed, you made it
harder and harder. I wanted to tell you how I felt, but was too afraid. Then
you became distant, and I thought you had regretted marrying me.”

“I
had to pretend indifference. I couldn’t expose my true feelings for you. Not
until I was sure you felt something, anything, for me. Then that night we first
made love, I knew there was no turning back. I was in heaven, and you were
right there with me.” There was a short somber pause. “Then Karen came back and
almost ruined everything. I was so angry with her; And Raven came close to a
quick death.”

“We’re
together, now. And, that’s all that matters.”

“Forever,
now,” he added and kissed her. After a long, passionate minute, they finally
pulled apart. “Who’s watching the girls?” he asked, striving to control his
desire to kiss her again.