Tomorrow Will Be Too Late (33 page)

‘All right
,
then.’ Suddenly she
had
had enough, the load she was carrying for the last few days too heavy to be lifted alone. Maybe
confiding
in him
wouldn’t
so bad
.
He was a stranger
,
after all. Not her family, not her friend
,
and certainly not her lover in the true meaning of the word. Just a passerby
who
happened to make an imprint
on her heart two years ago, time unable to erase its lines. If anything
,
they
had
deepened, etching themselves into her very core and refusing to vanish.

‘I thought I
was dying
,’ she said in a low voice, barely more than a whisper. It hurt to get the words out,
and she was
unable to look at him. Instead she looked at the silvery water, distracting herself with the movement of the waves.

‘I
had
been told I would die very soon
.
’
She cleared
her throat
,
sounding stronger. ‘
The
doctor thought I had a rare form of cancer that has no treatment so far. He gave me a year at most
.
’

‘When did it happen?’
h
e asked calmly, nothing in his voice betraying any agitation. She risked a look at him, his chiseled features totally impassive.

‘He called me when we went for the wedding rehearsal, remember?’
s
he whispered, dreading
having
to go on. She could sense that under this calm exterior
,
an inferno
was
brewing inside him, threatening to spill over at any moment.

‘I remember that, of course
.
’
He
nodded, his gaze thoughtful. ‘
You
seemed very shaken, but
then
hid it very well. I would have never guessed something that important happened.’

‘Well, he made a mistake
.
’
She
wanted to get it over with, hurrying now. Her words
spilled out, slurred in her rush to get them to him. ‘Soon afterwards
,
it turned out the samples weren’t from two labs but one, the results inconclusive. My doctor consulted a specialist and
together they figured it all out. It was a misdiagnosis, completely wrong.’

‘Are you sure?’
His
rough voice surprised her. He sounded shaken and concerned, not exactly the reaction she
had
expected.

‘
Yeah
, all is fine. I
still
had to visit the oncologist
,
and my doctor insisted on extra tests, but the verdict is in
.
I
’
m fine.’ She smiled sadly, her voice low as she added
,
‘I just wish they
ha
dn’t sound
ed
the
alarm in
the first place. For a short time
,
I was convinced those were my final months.’

‘I think it’s safe to assume that this is the part where you decided to bring your unusual offer to our relationship
.’ His voice hardened, the traces of worry vanishing and replaced with slow anger. ‘I
becam
e your escape from reality, a consolation prize
,
if you will
.
’

‘
It
wasn’t all like that
.
’
She shook her head
,
desperate to deny it. ‘I thought we had chemistry and
—
’

‘And you thought it was ok to have sex with me, just purely for the kicks of it?’
He
was
slowly losing his
iron self-control
, she could tell. ‘
You
thought you’d die anyway, right? This mindless coupling was meant to distract you from the fact you had only so much time left
.
’

His voice shook, fury mixed with some other, stronger emotion she couldn’t quite decipher.

‘You never stopped to think how I would feel if you died, Kate? Did you assume me a heartless prick
who
would just provide the stud service and disappear, never to learn the truth
?
’

‘No, of course not,’ she whispered, swallowing the bubble of hysteria that threatened to explode in a sob. ‘I just was afraid to be alone,
that’s
all. I knew you didn’t really like me as a person
,
so you’d be all too happy
to
go your own way once we were done.’

‘
So
,
you didn’t care if I liked you as a person
.
’
His
voice was quiet now, almost pensive. He looked at her, his eyes incredulous. ‘
You
really thought I wouldn’t care what happened next,
Kate
?’

‘
W
hy should you?’
M
aybe it wasn’t too late to make him see her side of the story. If he understood what she
had been
trying to
do,
he would have to admit there was some logic to
her
madness. ‘
We’re
adults, Justin. If we happen to indulge in casual sex
,
it doesn’t mean I expect you to put a ring on my finger.’

‘
You’re
damn right about that.’ He sighed, his long slim fingers raking through his hair in a gesture of pure frustration. ‘I just can’t believe you
would
think so
little
of me, I guess. But
then
again, after what I asked you to do, no wonder
.
’

Suddenly, he was alert again, his gaze piercing.
‘
What
was the plan for
this
weekend?
You
know you’re not about to leave this world anytime soon, Kate. Would you still go through with us having sex
,
or would there be a convenient reason for you to change your plans?’

‘I agreed to a bargain, so I’d keep my part of the promise
,
’ she said hesitantly, falling silent as she heard his swift, harsh intake of breath.

‘You’d suffer through it
,
even though the thrill of knowing we’d have only so much time isn’t there any longer? How very heroic
.
’
H
e rose to his feet in one fluid motion
and
paced back and forth a few steps, his eyes going to her sitting, huddled frame.
‘I would certainly not expect such a sacrifice from you, my dear.’
A
nger
radiated
from his stiff silhouette
,
seeping into her bones, immobilizing her into a lifeless doll.

‘
You
know, maybe Victoria was right after all
,
’
he
added,
causing
the pain in her chest
to
intensify.
He came to stand over her
as she
bent
her
head.
‘She said a lot of insane things, but one of them is true. I know what to expect from her, even if it’s not exactly what I would want to have in a partner. She is selfish, greedy,
self-obsessed
,
and vain. But she doesn’t pretend otherwise with me, not anymore. And whatever she thinks of me, I don’t think she considers me as cold
-
blooded and heartless as you do
.
’ He shook his head as if he
were
trying to wake up from a bad dream.

‘I’d like to go home,’ she said calmly, her heart bleeding as it broke into
a
thousand little pieces.
‘
You don’t need me here, Justin. Not now, after you feel the way you do. Please, don’t make me live up to my promise and stay, just so we can be miserable longer. If I leave, you have nothing to fear from Marcy. Victoria took care of it
;
she told me so herself.’ She didn’t mind laying out the cards anymore. Time for secrecy was over, things as bad as they could get with no hope for improvement.

‘
When
would that
have
be
en
?’
h
e asked calmly, not a muscle in his face
showing emotion
.

‘
She
came to see me a few days ago, asking me to cancel my plans with you. She
said she made Marcy leave you alone and explained what she wanted to do.’

‘Well, what do you know, the night of surprises never ends
.
’
He
laughed bitterly, his voice quivering. ‘Was it another thing you never planned to tell me? It surprises me, to be honest. If you
had
let me know earlier, you might actually
have
gotten off the hook without the
hassle
of coming all the way here with me.’ He offered her a hand and pulled her to her feet.

‘Or maybe you decided it was a good place to visit, Kate? After all
,
there would be quite a few eligible bachelors here, each of them a great catch for a girl who knows how to play pretend?’

He
didn’t really offer her any time to answer, his words fast and bitingly cold.

‘
As
it is, I can’t really give Vic the satisfaction
of having you take off right away. As much as she might be honest in her newfound interest in me, it’s something I can’t share. So
,
no, we will go back in and stay the night together. Tomorrow
,
you’ll have a family
emergency, which
isn’t that unusual, given the fact your sister is getting married in a week. I’ll leave the creative details to you
.
I trust you’ll be able to come up with something plausible.
’

She nodded, unable to say anything.

‘As for tonight, you don’t need to worry, Kate
.
’
He
was already walking back
up
the path, his steps brisk. ‘
The
deal is off, and you won’t need to put up with my advances. You can go up to our room now
.
I’ll follow when I
’
m drunk enough to be able to go to sleep. Thank
G
od for the comfortable sofa in the living area.
Let’s
go
.
’
He
took her hand, the pressure of his fingers on her
s
almost painful. ‘
There
is a last part of our play, and I’ll be damned if I
’m going to
wreck it all now. Keep smiling
,
darling
,
and think of tomorrow.’

‘You look absolutely amazing
.
’
Her
eyes misty,
their mom
looked at Alice and smiled, the pride in her voice unmistakable. ‘And to think I wasn’t here to help you pick out the flowers.’ She glanced at the white and pink roses woven into
Alice’s
intricate
up
-
do
, the small flowers matching those in her bouquet.
‘Still, you girls did a marvelous job yourselves,’ she admitted graciously, winking at Kate.
‘It must have been difficult to get our Al
ice
to commit to anything. I should know.’

‘She’d been accommodating
.
’ Kate smiled, smoothing a wrinkle in her blue dress.
‘
And yes, sis, you look stunning. But
then
again, I didn’t expect
anything less
.’

She let her eyes travel over her sister’s elegant
,
simple wedding gown, the shape making her think of
a
calla lily. Delicate and ethereal, Alice looked
as radiantly happy as any bride should on her special day. Clever make
-
up brought out the beauty of her huge eyes and soft lips, only a few select pieces of jewelry completing the perfect picture.