by Lynne, Donya
“I haven’t.” His eyebrows popped as his gaze quickly danced around her bedroom. “Well, except for here the last few days, of course.”
Her mouth opened, but she couldn’t speak. Had he seriously withheld himself from other women for the last year?
“Is that so hard to believe?” he said, curling toward her, his hand on her hip. “That I didn’t find anyone else worthy enough to share a bed with?”
She shrugged. “I don’t know. I guess. I just…” But she couldn’t find the words. “What about New Year’s Eve?”
He frowned. “New Year’s Eve? What do you mean?”
“I saw a picture of you. It was New Year’s Eve. You were with a woman. I thought…didn’t you…? Are you saying you never slept with her?”
Mark’s face was the picture of confusion as he tried to follow along, and then realization dawned. He chuckled. “That was just a blind date.” He rubbed his palm over his face. “And not a good one, I might add.”
“But…” All this time, she thought he’d been dating that woman. That she’d been his girlfriend, at least for a little while. She’d been wrong on all counts.
He pulled himself up on one elbow and ran his hand down her cheek. “Karma, no one else measures up to you. How could I sleep with someone else when I was in love with you? It’s only you I wanted. It’s always been you.”
In that moment, she knew without a doubt. There would never be another man in her life. Ever.
Mark was it.
* * *
Later, after another quick shower to wash away the sex and sweat, they returned to the kitchen, finished preparing the truffles, made the stuffing, and then loaded everything into her car.
“Thanksgiving dinner is more like a late lunch with my family,” she said as they fastened their seatbelts. “Then everyone eats leftovers for dinner…if they’re still hungry.”
Mark settled into the passenger seat. “My family does a huge, formal dinner. Since I was a baby, they’ve invited members from their studio and do up a massive table.”
This was nice hearing about the more personal details of Mark’s life. For all he’d told her, he hadn’t revealed much about his family.
“Were you supposed to spend the holiday with them?”
“Yes, but I’d rather be here.” He squeezed her hand. “This is where I need to be.”
The man could render her speechless with just a look, and she leaned across the seat and kissed him before putting her Civic in gear and pulling out of her parking space.
“You sure you’re up to this? My dad’s probably going to flip when he sees you instead of Brad.”
“Then I’ll just have to prove his worries are unfounded.”
Her dad wasn’t one to easily forgive and forget. He wouldn’t care that Karma was happy and in love. All he would see was a man who had hurt his daughter and would hurt her again. It would take a lot more than a handshake and a promise of Mark’s faith to win her dad over.
But this was what Karma wanted. In nine months with Brad, she hadn’t been nearly as happy as she was after only two days with Mark. But then, she had history with Mark. A wondrous, incredible, life-changing history.
Mark was the reason she was the woman she was today. He was the reason she’d overcome her insecurities. The reason her confidence was at an all-time high and her closet was filled with a wardrobe of fashionably sexy clothes and high heels. Mark had helped her find her voice when she’d thought it would be lost forever. Today, she would need that voice to silence her father’s misgivings. Because, without a doubt, Dad was going to blow a fuse when she walked in on Mark’s arm.
Her brother Johnny’s Audi was in her parents’ driveway when she turned onto their street.
“Shit.”
“What?”
“I forgot that Johnny was going to be here today.” She had told Mark all about Johnny last year. How he’d made her childhood a living hell and was the cause for much of the insecurity Mark had helped her clear.
“Your brother?”
She nodded. “When he sees you with me, he’s going to know that Jolene was telling the truth last summer.” Jolene. Johnny’s friend. Ex-Solar employee who’d gotten the boot at Mark’s hands.
“I can handle him.” Mark patted her thigh.
She shrugged and pulled into the driveway behind Johnny’s car. “I guess everyone’s going to learn about you sooner or later. Might as well be sooner.” She shut off the engine and started to get out.
“Hey, wait a minute.” Mark grabbed her wrist.
She turned. “What is it?”
He cupped her face in his palm. “I love you. No matter what happens in there, we’ll get through this.”
Just hearing him say the words emboldened her. “I love you, too. And, yes, we will.” They were ganache, inseparable, better together than apart. Her family would just have to deal.
He held her gaze a moment longer then kissed her. “I’ll be right by your side the entire time.”
They gathered the truffles and stuffing and approached the front door. The partially melted snow crunched under Karma’s boots, and a cold wind bit her face.
“Here goes nothing.” She opened the door and led him inside.
Warmth embraced her, and the smell of roasted turkey and homemade rolls made her mouth water. Her mom refused to have store-bought rolls on Thanksgiving. She made what she called three-leaf clover rolls. Karma had helped her make them as a child. They were always the highlight of the Thanksgiving dinner table.
The sound of today’s pregame show and a baby crying came from the family room. Johnny and Estelle’s one-year-old daughter, Whitney.
“Shall we go say hello?” Karma gestured in the direction of the voices.
“Sure.” He raised his eyebrows and nodded toward the family room as if to say it was now or never. “Might as well.”
Mark seemed to be taking the potential for pending chaos better than she was, but that was probably only because she knew what they were in for. He didn’t.
Still holding the containers of truffles and stuffing, she led him into the family room and promptly stopped.
“What’s she doing here?” Not only were Johnny and Estelle there with Whitney, but so was Jolene. Her nemesis. The devil herself.
Jo’s eyes formed into slits the second she saw Mark. “I knew it!”
As if today wasn’t going to be hard enough, seeing Jolene there was the icing made of shit on a rock cake.
Karma spun around and stormed into the kitchen. “What’s Jo doing here?”
Her mom turned away from the stove. Her dad was pulling a perfect, golden brown turkey out of the oven.
“Honey, hi. We didn’t hear you come in. We were beginning to think you wouldn’t make it in time.” Her mom stepped forward to hug her.
Her dad set the turkey on the counter. “Where’s Brad? Have you two lovebirds set a date, yet?”
“Not exactly.” She clunked the bowl of truffles on the counter. “Now, will one of you please tell me what Jolene is doing here?”
In the living room, she heard Jolene bitching to Johnny and Estelle about her and Mark.
Her mom and dad exchanged exasperated glances. They didn’t like Jolene, either, so it made no sense why they’d invited her for Thanksgiving dinner.
“She didn’t have anyone to spend the holiday with. Her parents moved to Florida last winter, and she couldn’t afford to fly down and be with them.” Her mom sighed. “So I told Johnny she could join us. It is Thanksgiving, after all. No one should spend Thanksgiving alone. Surely we can all get along for a few hours, right?” She nodded, looking from Karma to her dad.
Her mom had no idea. Tensions were already going to spike once Dad saw Mark, but with Jolene there they would be catastrophic.
From the living room, Jo’s voice grew more shrill, as did Whitney’s wailing.
“Come on, honey,” her dad said. “I’m willing to suck it up for the day if you are.” He patted her shoulder
. “Having you and Brad here will make things a lot ea…sier.” His voice dropped, which was Karma’s cue that Mark had just entered the kitchen behind her.
She turned as he set down the stuffing beside the truffles.
“Mr. and Mrs. Mason.” He held out his hand.
Her dad glared at Mark’s polite gesture and pointedly stuffed his hand in his jeans pocket. Her mom looked like she’d just seen Adolf Hitler’s ghost as she glanced back and forth between them. Karma could almost hear the questions racing through her mind. Who’s this and what happened to Brad?
Mark lowered his hand and she slipped hers around it. “Mom, Dad, I want you to meet Mark. He’s my…” What exactly was he? Friend with benefits? Fiancé? Lover?
“Boyfriend. I’m Karma’s boyfriend.”
She turned and smiled at him. “Okay, yes. He’s my boyfriend.”
Her dad cursed and threw the oven mitt he’d been holding onto the counter. “Damn it, Karma.”
“But…what about…?” Her mom looked completely lost. “What happened to Brad?” Her gaze dropped to Karma’s hand as if searching for the engagement ring she’d been wearing only a few days ago.
“I broke up with him.” Karma jutted out her chin, forcing her shoulders back.
“You what?” Her dad slapped his palm against the counter. “No, I won’t let you do this, Karma. Absolutely not.”
“It’s done, Dad! You can’t stop it.”
Jolene rushed into the fray, Johnny right behind her. Estelle must have stayed back with the baby.
“You bitch!” Jo said, glaring between her and Mark. “I knew it! You made me out to be a liar. I lost my job because of you.” She surged forward as if preparing to take a swing.
Mark’s arm shot out, and his hand latched on to Jo’s shoulder, forcing her to stay at arm’s length. “Let’s get one thing straight. You lost your job because you were completely inept, pawned off your work on everyone else—mostly Karma, weren’t accountable to your job, and stirred up trouble everywhere you turned. That’s why you lost your job. And the extramarital affair with your boss didn’t help.”
Jolene gasped and jerked backward as if slapped. “Fuck you!”
Mark smirked. “No thanks. I’m perfectly happy with what I’ve got right here.” His hand tightened around Karma’s.
“I bet you are.” Jo lunged forward again, getting past Mark this time. Her hand shot out and slapped Karma across the cheek.
Oh hell no!
Karma let go of Mark’s hand, cocked her arm, and punched Jo in the chin before Jolene even knew what hit her.
Jolene cried out and shielded her face from further assault as Johnny stepped between them to help break things up.
Tense silence unfolded over the next several seconds as the aggression calmed.
Her dad still wasn’t finished, though. “Karma, I won’t have this man in my home.” He jabbed his finger toward Mark.
Her mom turned concerned eyes toward him and covered her mouth. “John, don’t—”
“No, Cathy.” Her dad waved off her mom. “This man is the reason our daughter has been in therapy since last Thanksgiving.” He slashed his arm through the air as if that indicated going back in time. “He took advantage of our baby, used her, then left when he was finished. And he’ll do it again, mark my words.”
Karma’s hand latched onto Mark’s with such ferocity it was a wonder she didn’t snap the thing clean off.
“That’s not true!” She refused to let her father belittle what she and Mark had.
“I never meant to hurt her.” Mark pulled her against him as if protecting her. “I love her. I’ve always loved her. I want to marry her.”
What! Karma’s gaze flashed to his. Had he just said he wanted to marry her?
“Over my dead body!” Her dad took a menacing step forward, fists clenched.
Her mom grabbed onto his arm. “John, calm down. Don’t.”
“Get out of my house!” Her dad swung his finger toward the door.
“Dad!” She couldn’t believe her father was kicking her out on Thanksgiving.
Her dad’s gaze met hers. His pain and disappointment sliced into her. “I love you, honey, but you’re making a mistake. A big mistake. He’ll only hurt you again, and I won’t stand by and watch this time while he does.”
Karma glanced around at the accusing faces. Jolene seethed with self-satisfaction, even though her face was swelling. Johnny frowned as he looked from her to Dad and back again. Her mom’s shocked and dazed expression made Karma feel sorry for her. But her dad’s stern, resolute scowl spoke the loudest of them all.
“Fine.” She let go of Mark’s hand and grabbed the truffles off the counter. Mark picked up the stuffing. “If you’re going to make me choose…” She scanned the room one last time then glared at her dad. “Then I choose Mark.”
This hadn’t gone at all as she’d wanted, but that wasn’t her fault. Shoving Johnny and Jolene out of the way, she marched to the front door and back out into the cold.
The door slammed behind Mark as he joined her at the car.
“Would you like me to drive?” he said quietly.
As tears formed on the rims of her eyelids, she nodded. “Yes, please.” With trembling fingers, she pulled her keys from her purse and handed them over.
He helped her into the passenger seat, took his place behind the wheel, and didn’t say a word as he drove them away from her parents’ house.
After a few minutes, he reached for her hand. “You okay?”
She wrapped both her hands around his, leaned across the seat, and placed her forehead on his shoulder. “Yes.” Shit had gone south with her dad, but as long as she was with Mark, everything would be fine.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to cause so much trouble.”
“It’s not your fault.” Hopefully, it would just take her dad a little time to come around and realize Mark was good for her. That he was here to stay this time.
They drove around for a while until they found an open convenience store. Inside, there was one cooler devoted to frozen foods, and they pulled out two turkey and gravy TV dinners.
At home, they turned on the football game, heated the dinners, then took the stuffing, the truffles, and the white sectioned trays of heated food into the living room and parked behind the coffee table.
“Not exactly what you’d anticipated for Thanksgiving, is it?” Mark swirled his fork in his instant mashed potatoes.
She smiled. “No, but at least you’re here.”
A puff of air burst from his nose. “Are you sure that’s such a good thing? I’m the reason you’re not stuffed with a real Thanksgiving dinner right now.”
She set down her fork and took his hand. “This is a real Thanksgiving dinner. What would have been fake is if I’d shown up at my parents’ house today with Brad. I didn’t love him. Not like I love you.”
She kissed him, letting the perfection of her feelings pour from her soul into his. She didn’t care what they ate, as long as they were together.
“I’ll make it up to you,” he said. “This weekend, I’ll make you a real Thanksgiving dinner.”
“With pumpkin pie?”
“Absolutely.” He caressed her face. “And we can stay in, just the two of us. We’ll watch football and make love.”
She smiled. “And get to know one another again.”
His lips brushed hers. “Definitely. I have so much to tell you. So many things I wanted to say and never did.”
“Me, too.”
After dinner, Mark helped clear the dishes then disappeared in the bedroom for a couple of minutes before meeting her back in the living room. He held a shallow white box and set it in her lap as he sat down beside her on the couch.
“What’s this?” She picked up the box. It weighed hardly anything.
“I bought it for you last Christmas. I grabbed it yesterday when I went to my apartment, so I could finally give it to you.”
“You bought me a Chr
istmas present last year? Even though we weren’t together?”
He nodded. “I was trying to be optimistic.”
“I see.” She ran her fingertips over the white box, touched by how much he’d thought about her in their time apart.
He gestured toward the box. “Go ahead. Open it.”
She lifted the lid to find the most beautiful pleated Hermès scarf in vibrant shades of green and blue. She didn’t know much about scarves, but she knew Hermès was expensive.
“Mark…”
He lifted it from her hand and wrapped it around her neck, securing it with a loose knot. “It looks perfect on you.”
Her fingertips caressed the rich silk. “You didn’t need to buy me a gift.”
He leaned forward and rested his forehead against hers. “Yes I did,” he whispered. “It allowed me to feel closer to you and gave me hope I’d be with you again.”
Since he put it that way, she could understand. She’d done the same with the pillowcase and sheets she’d tucked away in her keepsake box for similar reasons.
After a long, intimate moment, he pulled back, grabbed one of the truffles from the bowl, and lifted it toward her. “Would you like to do the honors?”
“What? See whether I got it right this time?”
A serious expression fell over his face as he slipped the truffle into her mouth. “No. To see whether we did.”
She bit into the truffle and succulent, smooth, perfect ganache spilled over her tongue. “Mmmm.” She nodded. They’d most definitely gotten it right. “It’s perfect.”
“Because we’re perfect,” he said. “Perfect for each other.” His lips closed over hers, once more sending her heart into orbit.
* * *
Mark gazed drowsily at the ceiling, his body still loose and relaxed from the orgasm he’d just had. Karma lay curled on her side against him, his arm around her.
Today had been a disaster, but at least they were public now. There were still a lot of questions that needed to be answered, especially about her job, but that could wait another day or two. He wasn’t finished soaking up just being with her again.
