Second Chances (11 page)

It was that thought that hurt the most. She wouldn't be seeing him again. The last day had been disturbing, even terrifying at times, but it had also been mesmerizing and exciting. Maybe even a bit magical. What woman hadn't dreamed of a handsome stranger sweeping them off their feet? And wasn't that what Nathan had done to her? Certainly it hadn't been done in the traditional fairy tale way, but wasn't it essentially still the same?

Well all fairy tales have to end sometime
, she thought to herself as the cab began to slow and then stop. She realized that she wasn't just sad to see their ride come to an end, but was also a little scared. Scared of what might become of Nathan when he was finally forced to accept the truth. Scared even more of what would happen if he didn't. Sad and scared. The emotions twisted and battled inside her as she stepped out of the taxi.

Antonio's was the name of the restaurant, though there was no actual Antonio. In fact, the place was owned by a man named Clarence O'Neal who as far as he knew had zero Italian blood in his family. And if there was no Italian in his blood, Clarence was quite certain there was even less in Juan's, the restaurant's head chef. Italian or not, Juan was an excellent cook and coupled with the low prices, Antonio's always did a brisk business. Today being a bright sunny day, it was business as usual, which meant nearly a full house even with them being well beyond the lunch crowd and before the dinner rush. All tables inside were crammed to capacity, as well as the dozen on the outside patio which bordered the street. Wait time was nearing thirty minutes. Well worth such a short time the smiling receptionist would happily tell any inquiring potential customers.

Nathan got out of the cab after Paige and nodded for her to go ahead while he fumbled for his wallet to pay the cabbie. He heard the driver give him an amount and started to turn his attention back to his wallet but then stopped. He watched as Paige walked past those eating out on the patio. He saw that she gave the patrons a passing glance, but never slowed her stride. He also saw a blond woman in a dark red pantsuit begin to smile and rise and then stop and sit back down. The woman opened her mouth but then immediately closed it again.

The blast from the horn startled Nathan and snapped his attention back to the taxi.

"Hey pal, I got places to go. You want to zone out that is fine, but can you do it after you pay me?"

Nathan blinked at the man behind the wheel, almost as if he were seeing him for the first time.

"Yeah, sorry." He grabbed a couple of bills from his wallet and absently handed them to the driver, his attention turning back to the woman on the patio.

The driver's eyes went wide as he took the money. The guy was obviously on something the driver figured, but he wasn't going to refuse a monster tip. And he sure as hell wasn't going to ask if the guy wanted change. He slipped the car into gear and eased away, doubtful that the man had any clue how much he had just given him. Hell, given the look on his face, the driver was doubtful the man realized he'd even been in the cab only moments ago.

However, Nathan knew. He was well aware of the entire cab ride. Aware too that he had overpaid. He simply did not care. Money was not exactly an issue of great concern for him at the moment. His attention was focused on the reactions of Paige and the woman on the patio. Or rather Paige's lack of reaction.

His mind raced. A number of possibilities jockeyed for top spot, but he dismissed most of them immediately. Only one of them even seemed remotely possible. Perhaps the woman had thought she'd recognized Paige. Perhaps she had mistaken her for someone else. He almost laughed at himself. Almost.

Yeah, that was almost it
, he mocked himself.
Sure, Paige just has that kind of look. Everyone mistakes her for someone else, right?

He shook the thoughts from his head, but he couldn't shake the dread that was building. No, that woman hadn't mistaken Paige for anyone else. She knew who she was, there was little question of that. And perhaps that should have been a relief. He had to admit to himself that while he hadn't wanted it to be true, perhaps, just perhaps this Paige was exactly who she had said she was.
 

Sure that would still leave a lot of questions. Who exactly had his wife been? Why the lies? How was it possible for them to look so alike? Why the near exact pasts? Why the same pasts and yet differences in time?

Yes, there would still be all those questions and more. And while many of those would likely occur to this Paige, they would not completely consume her as they would Nathan. They might perhaps cause her a restless night or two, but they wouldn't likely become the focal point of her existence. She'd likely be able to resume a normal life. She'd have an interesting story to tell her friends. A story that was a bit scary, a bit mysterious, and certainly rather unique. Sure, everyone knew you should shred your documents and not give out private information, but still identity theft was definitely not unheard of. The person stealing your identity didn't usually look exactly like you. However in the age of plastic surgery even that could possibly be explained. Right?

All this had flashed through Nathan's mind many times since encountering Paige. Consciously he had not wanted to believe it and yet on some level he had actually hoped that perhaps it would be true. Either way there were questions to be asked and answers to be searched for. Which set of questions or rather which set of answers would be easier to deal with?

He wanted his Paige back, had wanted it more than he had ever wanted anything in his life. However, if this wasn't his Paige then he did not want to wreck her life. He thought of her as his Paige, for the most part believed her to be his Paige, but still there were so many questions. More then anything he wanted for this to all be over. He saw the pain and anguish she was going through and it hurt him, hurt him tremendously knowing he was the source of it all.

Did that even make sense? No, he doubted it did, but then his thinking hadn't been exactly crystal clear these last couple of days. He wanted it this way. He wanted it that way.

Can't have it both ways, Buckeroo.

And he knew that was true. He also knew if he could have it any way he wanted it, then none of this would have ever happened. Paige would never have...have what? Died? Faked her own death? Had her death faked?

Yeah, well if wishes were trees then you'd be living in one hell of a forest.

Again it was the blast of a horn that pulled him back to reality. For a moment he looked and actually saw the cab driver again, but it wasn't the cabbie. He was long gone, Nathan's money in his pocket. This horn belonged to a silver Toyota Camry. The man behind the wheel waved his hand at Nathan, who got the message loud and clear. Get the hell out of the road you nut!

Nathan stepped back up onto the sidewalk, not remembering ever having stepped off it. He turned back toward the restaurant and saw Paige was looking at him. He did his best to act natural and smiled. She returned it, but there was an unquestionable look of puzzlement in her eyes. Even at this distance it was unmistakable. It was a look she had given him many times in the past.
 

Well someone that looked like her had given you that look before.

"Aw, shut up," he muttered to himself as he started after her.

"Yeah? Well screw you too buddy. Next time I'll just run you over," the man from the Camry yelled out his window at Nathan, who didn't even try to explain he hadn't been talking to him.

He sighed and moved to join Paige. He glanced briefly at the woman on the patio, but not long enough to draw her attention. Not that he thought he could. She was still sitting there alone, her gaze locked on Paige. Nathan had a sickening feeling he knew exactly who she was waiting for. And if he was right, then this meeting was only going to leave him with even more questions.

"Yes, your party is waiting for you," the hostess told them. "Right this way."

Nathan did not realize that a single person constituted a party, but he wasn't about to argue. He walked beside Paige, following the hostess as she led them through the restaurant. His stomach turned as he saw where they were being lead. He'd known the patio was where they would end up, just as he knew who the rest of their party was, yet he'd still been holding out hope that he'd been wrong.

He kept his eyes in constant motion as they walked. Paige. The restaurant patrons. Paige. The door to the patio. Back to Paige. He could see just how nervous she was, though he doubted anyone else could.

They emerged out onto the patio and instantly he sought out the woman in the red pantsuit. He stole a quick glance at Paige and then his attention snapped back on the woman. She appeared to be a few years older than Paige, though exactly how much older Nathan was not sure. He'd never been good at estimating ages, especially in the age of plastic surgery, not to mention the magic some women seemed to be able to perform with makeup. However neither surgery nor makeup could change the fact that they weren't the same age and something about that gnawed at Nathan and he filed it away in the back of his mind. She was an attractive woman, not overly thin, but by no means chunky.
 

She saw them approaching, had been watching for them for the last few minutes. She began to rise. Nathan made himself take his eyes off the woman and swing his attention back to Paige. His stomach did another backflip.

"Paige!"

The excitement in her voice ran down his spine, chilling him. He kept his eyes on Paige.

"Linda," she called back, a smile blooming on her face.

The hostess stepped aside and let Paige rush by her. She nodded to Nathan as if to say well I guess you can find your way from here, then turned and left.

He hadn't even realized he'd stopped until Paige turned towards him, a huge smile on her face, and waved for him to hurry over. Reluctantly and by no means in a hurry, he joined them.

"Nathan, I would like you to meet my best friend from college. Linda, this is Nathan."

Linda smiled at him, nice and big. It was too well practiced to be genuine. It was a politician's smile.

Nathan reached out and shook her hand.

"Hello, best friend from college."

She gave an easy, gentle laugh. That too sounded long practiced. She was meeting him for the first time, a total stranger who she'd only learned about in the last day. A stranger who had caused her friend to blow her off at the airport and perhaps had placed the job she'd arranged in jeopardy, yet Linda's reaction seemed to indicate that this was the most natural occurrence in the world. Nathan had been right, he instantly disliked her.

"So," she began with that too easy smile of hers. "If I'm best friend from college, what does that make you?" She laughed as soon as the words were out of her mouth, much too quickly. A nervous laugh this time.
 

Paige didn't seem to notice and laughed along with her, though hers at least sounded somewhat genuine.
 

Linda smiled at Nathan, trying to put him at ease. He saw no smile in her eyes to match the one on her lips, which to him appeared a bit smug. To Nathan it appeared as if she were saying,
Sure I am making a joke here, but what is your deal? Just who the hell are you? I'm not going to wait this out. No mindless chit-chat. Let's just cut to the chase and put our cards on the table right now. Certainly Paige will see this as simple banter, but you and I know differently. Don't we?

"We sure do," he murmured to himself.

"What was that?"

Nathan smiled back at her. He doubted his was as convincing as hers, but he did his best.

"Let's just say," he began as he held a chair for Paige. "That I am her best friend from the airport."

Paige laughed, a mixture of genuine amusement and nervousness.

"Oh really? Well, well, well. Paige that is just so unlike you."

"Yes, she assured me of that numerous times."

"Though I will say that you still have excellent taste, Paige."

Nathan muttered a thanks at the compliment. He knew she was trying to put him at ease. She could no doubt see that he was a bit on edge, but she likely attributed that only to the suddenness of having to meet an old friend of Paige's.

"Yeah. Things have been kind of wild lately. I've hardly been myself," Paige said.

They had discussed it and had agreed to keep the real details of the last day to themselves, but still until just now Nathan had been unsure of just how Paige would play it. He was thankful that she hadn't decided to just unload the entire story on Linda. He hadn't truly thought she would, but the possibility had danced through his mind more then once.

Oh hey Linda, this is Nathan. He happens to think I am his dead wife. Pretty crazy don't you think?

"So best friend from college, eh?"

"Yeah, and if she had doubled up or taken a few summer courses she could have graduated early like me."

"Really? You didn't mention that."

Paige offered him a cockeyed smile.

"I don't think we actually talked much about your college days at all. When did you two meet?"

Paige opened her mouth and then closed it, a puzzled look crossing her face. She bit down on her lower lip.

"Just after orientation," Linda piped in. "I missed it. Paige was just coming out of Jones Hall and I almost ran right into her. She had her head down reading her orientation packet. Can you believe that? Actually reading that crap they give out. I knew right then that this girl needed someone to teach her how to loosen up."

Nathan had his eyes locked on Paige. She was focused on Linda, her head tilted a little to the left. She wasn't so much looking at Linda, as she was looking past her. Looking through her. A smile began to form on her face.

"I wasn't that bad," Paige insisted.

"The hell you weren't."

"So she..."

Nathan stopped as a shadow fell over him. They turned their attention to a smiling waiter. He handed them all menus and introduced himself as Oliver, then inquired if they'd like to place a drink order. Paige asked for a Diet Coke, as did Nathan. Linda went with a vodka tonic.