The Parking Space (19 page)

However, the thought of someone leaving me again, when I didn’t live up to their expectations stopped me.

“I think you should take me back to the hotel. You’re leaving tomorrow and I’m leaving the day after tomorrow and I think we both need some time alone to . . . to pack.”

“I don’t think we’re done talking about this.”

“Yeah, we are. I’m sorry, but we’re done.”

Before he could open his mouth to argue, I strode out of the clinic.

I OPENED MY eyes, looking up at the palm leaf ceiling. My head pounded like I’d stayed up all night drinking, and yet, I hadn’t had even one sip of alcohol. The fight replayed in my mind. Over and over again like a broken record that wouldn’t stop no matter how many times I tried to slap at the needle sitting on the vinyl.

I’d walked away as soon as Rick stopped the boat, ignoring him as he called after me and even tried to stop me. I’d yelled at him to leave me alone and that I didn’t want to see him again or talk to him anymore and alone he left me.

A hard knock pounded on the door of my villa. Relentless, the pounds, one after another, became louder and louder.

I can’t see him right now. I just can’t.

“Helen, open the damn door,” Lisa shouted. “Open it right now.”

I crawled out of bed, slipping my arms through my robe as I staggered through the villa.

“All right. All right.” I yanked the door open, my volume at a near shout. “What the heck is going on?”

“Helen, he’s here.” Lisa grabbed my robe, twisting the lapels in her fingers. “He’s here.”

I rubbed my eyes then pushed against her, trying to free myself. “What? Who’s here?”

“Tom.”

In my sleepy daze, I laughed. “Yeah, Lisa, great joke. Oooohhh, Tom’s here.” I laughed again. “You’re starting to sound like me.”

“Helen, I’m serious. I just saw him.” She grabbed my arm again. “He’s in the hotel lobby yelling at the receptionist because she won’t give him your villa number.”

Her words punched me in the gut, deflating my lungs. I stumbled backwards and my body slammed into the wall as I pressed my index fingers into my temples with the crippling knowledge my ex fiancé had decided, for whatever reason, to crash my vacation.

“Did he see you?”

“No, I darted out of there as soon as I walked around the corner and saw him.”

I slapped my hand over my forehead and closed my eyes.

This can’t be happening. This can’t be happening.

“Do you know why he’s here?” she asked.

“I’ve got a pretty good idea.” A low growl vibrated through my chest. “I guess . . . I guess I’ll go talk to him.”

“I’ll wait for you to change and go with you.”

My breath trembled as I slipped on a pair of jean shorts and a simple tank top. I shoved past Lisa, tugging on the back straps of my sandals as I trotted down the dock path. My feet slapped against the wood.

Questions shot off like fireworks—one after another after another—in my mind, and by the time I’d reached the lobby, sweat dripped down my neck, making my already messy hair, frizzy.

Tom paced in front of the desk. He rubbed his forehead with one hand, while the other waved around. His dark brown hair was disheveled on his head as though he’d yanked on the strands in frustration far too many times.

He looked the same as he did the morning of our wedding. With the same sleek shoulders, that I once believed to be broad, only now seemed like that of a gangly teenager compared to Rick’s. He still lacked any sense of style in his chosen clothes, and he had the ever-present five o’clock shadow of a beard that never seemed to grow no matter how long he went between shavings.

“Please, ma’am, please, I need to speak with her. I’ve been here for days and I’ve searched for her everywhere. Can you please just give me her room number?”

“I’m sorry, sir, but I’ve already told you that I can’t. I can telephone her room and let her know you are here, but that is all I can do.”

“But you said her phone was on
do not disturb
.”

“I’m sorry, sir, that is all I can do.”

He paced again.

With a deep inhaled breath, I strode toward him. “Tom?”

He spun around to face me. An odd sense of both relief and tension resonated in his chocolate eyes. Almost as though while he’d wanted to find me, now that he had, he didn’t know what to do or say.

“How did you know I was here?” he asked.

Really? He thinks he can ask the questions?
“Lisa saw you and she came to my room to tell me. What are you doing here?”

“I came here to talk to you.”

“To talk to me? You flew ten hours down to Bora Bora to talk to me? You couldn’t just, oh I don’t know, call me?”

“I tried that, but you never called me back. Not to mention, your phone has been off ever since I got here.”

Wait a second?

“Ever since you got here? How long have you been here?”

“A few days. I’ve been walking around this stupid resort looking for you. It’s not like it’s a big hotel, you’d think it wouldn’t be that hard. Although, I suppose you were probably just locked up in your room all day.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Oh come on, Helen, you were never one for fun and adventure. You’re a homebody. Always have been, always will be.”

I opened my mouth to spew a harsh response, but thought better of it. Instead, my anger turned into sadness.

“Why did you have to come here? Why can’t you just leave me alone?”

His brow furrowed, forming a deep crinkle in his forehead. He glanced around then reached for my arm, his fingers whispered across my skin as I jerked away from him and shook my head.

“Can we please just go someplace quiet?”

“Don’t you mean private? So that no one around can hear whatever absurd words that are sitting on your tongue about why you left me in a church, standing in my wedding dress without so much as a good-bye or I’m leaving for whatever reason? No. Whatever you have to say, you can say it right here.”

He crossed his arms, as his eyes danced around. “All right, all right. I guess that seems fair.”

Oh, you bet it is, jerk.

“So what is it that you want to talk about?”

“I made a mistake, okay. I made a mistake walking out on you like that. I shouldn’t have done it.”

“No, you shouldn’t have.”

“I’m sorry for what I did. I’m sorry I just left without talking to you. I can’t imagine what you had to go through that day.”

“You’re sorry? And that’s just supposed to make it all go away? That’s just supposed to make it all better?”

“No, not just that I’m sorry, but that . . . that . . .”

“That what, Tom? What? I stood in a room of a church filled with people, in a wedding dress, for a wedding I had spent thousands of dollars on, while someone told me that you just decided you couldn’t marry me. Do you even know the embarrassment that I’ve faced? The utter humiliation I’ve had to live with from my family and friends?”

“Hey, I had to deal with my family and friends, too. Wanting to know what happened.”

“Oh, don’t even try to compare my pain to yours. You chose to leave, not me. You didn’t have to live with everyone knowing that someone just decided you weren’t worth anything.”

“Look, I made a mistake, Helen, all right. I shouldn’t have left you, I know that now. Heck, I’ve known it for several months.”

“Several months? And you couldn’t have told me weeks ago? Months ago? How did you even know I was here?”

“I called your office and Michael told me where you were.”

Of course he did.

“And you couldn’t wait until I got back?”

“He said you came here for a wedding, but wouldn’t give me any other details than that. I thought . . .”

“You thought the wedding was mine?”

He shrugged his shoulders.

“Yes, because ruining one of my weddings wasn’t enough for you.” I chuckled under my breath as I folded my arms across my chest. “Lisa and Ben got married, not me.”

“Oh. So did you come here alone?”

I opened my mouth, but stopped myself. Exactly how much information I wanted to give Tom in this very moment, I didn’t know. Did I want to divulge in meeting Rick and tell him all that we’ve done here?

“Yes, I came here alone.”

“Listen, I didn’t come here to ruin your vacation. I thought I’d make it better.”

My head jerked backwards. “Better?”

“I love you, Helen. I still love you. Jeannie wasn’t who I thought she was. Our relationship is over and—”

“And so you thought you’d just show up in San Francisco and I’d just take you back. Like I’m some pathetic creature who only gets a man when he can’t make it work with some other woman?”

“Oh come on. I was the best thing that ever happened to you.”

I slapped my hand over my forehead and turned away from him. A long time ago, I used to wonder how I’d react if I’d ever heard
I love you and I’m sorry
or even the simple
I made a mistake
uttered from his lips.

Would I feel happiness? Would I feel sadness? Or would I feel nothing at all? Would I take him for his word, taking him back? Or would I tell him to never contact me again?

Tom’s arms wrapped around me as he leaned in to whisper in my ear. “You know that it’s not too late. You know that you’re just going to forgive me, so why don’t we just go back to your villa and work on getting back to us.”

He spun me around to face him. His hands gripped my shoulders tight with a force I hadn’t seen in him ever before. His eyes pierced into me with a heated seduction while lips were inches from mine. “Just forgive me already. You know you will.”

I closed my eyes for a moment. When I opened them instead of meeting his brown eyes, I met the gaze of another.

Rick stood mere feet from us. His fists clenched as he watched our every move. Whether or not he could hear us, I didn’t know, however, I doubted it mattered. A wave of sadness, and yet, fury washed through the deep greenish brown of his eyes.

Tom glanced over his shoulder then turned back to me. “Who is he?”

Before I could answer, Rick spun away from us and stomped off.

“Rick!” I called after him.

He didn’t respond or look back.

“Rick!” As I called again, I lunged forward, trying to follow him. Tom grabbed my arm, stopping me.

“Helen, wait, where are you going?”

“I’m going after him.”

“Who is he?”

“That’s none of your business.”

“Is he . . . did you come here with him? Did you lie to me?”

“I said that’s none of your business. Now let me go.” I twisted my arm, but his grip tightened.

“But what about us?”

“Us? There is no us. There never will be an us. In fact, there never should have been an us.”

“You don’t mean that.”

“Yes, I do, now let go of me.” My words hissed through my gritted teeth. I jerked my arm from his grip. “You can just go pound salt for all I care.”

Before he could say another word, I darted away from him, rushing down the path after Rick. I didn’t know where he’d gone, but I would scour the resort to find him.

“Helen!” Lisa shouted behind me. “Helen, wait.”

“I’ve got to find Rick.”

“Helen, wait for me, I’ll help you look.” She panted behind me, catching me faster than I thought she would. “I tried to stop him before he saw you. I tried to explain the situation to him, but he just wanted to see you.”

“It’s okay. It’s not your fault. After our fight yesterday, I can’t even imagine what he’s thinking.”

“What did you guys fight about? Is that why you cancelled dinner? Why didn’t you tell me?”

“This whole job thing.” I shook my head, waving my arms in the air. “I’m sorry, but I don’t really feel like rehashing it at the moment.”

“He’s got to understand that you didn’t ask Tom to come here or that you wish to get back together with him.”

“I don’t know if he will. His ex-fiancée didn’t exactly leave the best taste in his mouth when it comes to women and cheating.”

I stopped running and spun around in a couple of circles, searching for any clue; the rustle of some bushes from someone rushing past them or even the sight of him. Nothing. He wasn’t anywhere that I could see.

“Maybe he went down the beach?”

I scratched my head. “Um, I guess it wouldn’t hurt to take a look.”

We darted down toward one of the beaches. Guests sunbathed along the white sand, while others lay in hammocks or one of the many beach beds. They were either reading or talking to their significant others while they enjoyed the sunshine.

The hot grains burned my toes and exhausted my legs. By the time I’d trudged what felt like a mile, I turned to Lisa.

“I don’t think he’s on the beach.”

“I don’t think he is either.” She panted heavy breaths. “Man, I’m too hung over for this.”

“Where do you think he went?”

“Back to your villa?”

“I don’t think he’d go there.”

“What about his villa?”

I lunged forward several steps then halted in my tracks. Coldness ran through my veins, freezing my blood.

“I don’t know where his villa is. I know it’s not one of the overwater ones, but I don’t know if it’s a beach front or an inland one near the main resort.”