by Clare Revell
Staying as professional as she could, Jacqui turned back to the laptop. He was married and off limits. The good looking ones always were. Either that, or they were creeps—and she’d had her fill of them. “I’ll answer any questions you may have at the end.”
She started the program and sat. Watching the presentation with a critical eye, she winced over a couple of the sentences, wishing she’d phrased them differently. The borrowed laptop had an older version of the program and it had completely messed up her text. A smaller font than the one she’d spent so long choosing to compliment the pictures filled the screen, and it was much too close to the images. A couple of slides were also the wrong way around, but hopefully no one would notice the order, and it wouldn’t sway them against giving her the contract.
Taking her eyes off the screen for a moment, she caught Liam watching her and quickly looked away. The presentation had finished. Jacqui closed the program and rose to her feet. “Does anyone have any questions?”
****
Liam was more than a little distracted as Miss Dorne gave her presentation, unable to take his eyes off her. He barely heard what she said, instead watching the way she moved and used her hands as she spoke. Like Sally. So much about this woman reminded him of Sally. He wasn’t sure why. Sally was as fair as Miss Dorne was dark. Perhaps it was simply the cross around her neck. He’d bought Sally one as a wedding present, and she never took it off. Not even in the shower.
The following debate was short, with the majority liking the designs. The headmaster thanked Miss Dorne and dismissed everyone.
Liam stayed in his seat, watching her pack away her things. Then he unfolded his legs and stood, moving over to her. “Miss Dorne?”
Jacqui’s gaze met his, pulling him into their depths. “Mr. Page. Did the presentation live up to your expectations?”
“Yes, it did. I, uh, I wanted to apologize again for earlier. Did you get the laptop working?”
“It wouldn’t even boot up. I had to get a replacement from work or there would have been no presentation this afternoon. Fortunately, all the files were backed up on the Foundation servers, so my work wasn’t destroyed.”
“That’s good. I’m glad I didn’t ruin your presentation completely.”
She pushed a stray hair behind her ear. “Only the laptop.”
Liam’s supposedly dead conscience twisted hard within him. His stomach plummeted. “Again, I’m sorry. Well, you’ve got my number. Give me a call, and we can work something out.”
“I’m afraid I don’t have your number anymore. I must have used it to mop up the—” Jacqui broke off as someone else came over to them. “Mr. Forbes, thank you again for the opportunity.”
“Not at all, Miss Dorne. Thank you for a very enjoyable presentation. We’ll get back to your office by Monday at the latest. May I walk you to your car?”
“Yes. Thank you.” Snapping the laptop case shut, Jacqui gathered her things. She inclined her head in Liam’s direction. “Mr. Page.”
“Miss Dorne.” Liam watched as she followed Justin from the room. He headed back to the staff room to pick up his things and then out to the car. He dumped his papers on the roof and pulled the keys from his pocket.
“Mr. Page.” Her voice rang like a bell in the evening haze.
Liam twisted around. “Miss Dorne. We’ll have to stop meeting like this. People are going to talk.”
Jacqui walked over to his car.
Liam watched the way her hips moved and wondered if she knew the effect she was having on him. Then he chided himself for such thoughts. He had principles, after all. “Nice wheels,” Landscape architecture must pay better than teaching.
“Thank you. Uh, I’m afraid I used all the serviettes to try and save the laptop. So I no longer have your number.”
“No problem. I can give it to you again.” He pulled his diary from his jacket pocket and tore out a sheet. He scribbled the number down and handed it to her.
“Thank you.” She folded the paper and slipped it into her bag.
“You’re welcome.” He turned to go, and then turned back. “Can I buy you dinner by way of an apology?” The words were out before he even realized his mind had formed them. What was he thinking? Or not thinking as the case may be.
“Dinner?” She sounded as surprised by his invitation as he was.
He studied her, not sure if he wanted her to accept or not. “Dinner, it’s usually the last meal of the day.”
A wry smile crossed her lips. “I know that. I can’t do tonight.”
“What about tomorrow? Say seven o’clock? I could pick you up.”
“What about your wife? Won’t she object to you taking me out to dinner?”
Liam looked at her. He hadn’t said anything about being married. “My wife?”
Jacqui nodded to his left hand. “You’re married. I don’t date married men.”
“Oh…” Liam hoped Sally would understand. “This isn’t a date, it’s an apology.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes, I’m quite sure. Shall I pick you up?”
“How about I meet you at six? Is pizza all right?”
“Pizza sounds great. Do you know the restaurant on the Riverside?”
“I know it. I’ll see you tomorrow, Mr. Page.”
“Until then, Miss Dorne.”
She walked back to her car and drove away.
Liam unlocked the car and shoved his papers onto the back seat. What am I thinking? I don’t need dates. Especially with a woman who could distract me from what I need to do ensure that what happened to Sally never happens again. Another portion of his brain kicked in. It’s not a date, it’s an apology. Right. And if she believes that, then I’m a monkey’s uncle.
****
Liam let himself into his empty flat and put his keys on the counter along with the papers. He’d mark them later. He automatically paused, waiting for the “Hi darling, I’m in the kitchen/living room/upstairs,” which never came. Not that he had an upstairs anymore. He’d sold the house and bought something small, unable to live in a home filled with memories.
Where he lived now was technically a maisonette. A house divided into two halves, he owned the ground floor. An older couple he hardly ever saw owned the floor above him.
Shrugging out of his jacket he hung it up, only for it to slide to the floor. He grunted with annoyance, picked it up and shoved it hard onto the coat hook. He glared at it, daring it to fall off again. Was the rest of the day going to go downhill, too?
His steps echoed in the empty hall, emphasizing his loneliness. He’d been alone for what seemed like a lifetime, although it wasn’t. Alone with his memories and his nightmares and thoughts of what used to be. Sally had been the only woman he loved, his sun, moon and stars, the one he wanted to live with forever. Until someone decided on a whim to take her away.
Why? The familiar question welled within him. Not that he’d get an answer. There was no one to give him an answer. God had chosen to turn His back on him and Sally and the others and let them die. And that was unforgivable. They were out there doing God’s work and that was how He repaid them. Shouting and screaming at God had made no difference. Neither had begging, or making promises, or trying to strike a bargain. So he had turned his back on the God who’d abandoned him.
His hands curled into a fist. And now, today, he’d met a woman who reminded him so much of Sally. An incredibly, insanely beautiful woman—full of innocence and youth and totally unaware of the allure she exuded. And he didn’t just meet her once, when he stupidly ruined a very expensive piece of equipment, but three times. For some inexplicable reason, she kept wandering back into his path. And then he did something even more stupid and asked her out!
Asked out a total stranger, yet someone his body seemed to feel an instant attraction for. He dug his fingers into his palms and groaned. He didn’t need his body betraying Sally’s memory or betraying him, come to that. That part of his life was over.
And h
e definitely didn’t need God, not that he believed in Him, dangling a possible future in front of him like a carrot. He detested carrots. He knew what he was missing without having it rubbed in his face—home, wife, family, love. That wasn’t going to happen. He would never know love or family again. He was cursed, destined to be alone.
What he did need was a drink. The one thing guaranteed to numb the pain and torment flooding the hole where his soul used to reside. Walking to the lounge he undid the bottle on the sideboard and poured a glass. Raising it to his lips, he was about to down it, when his gaze fell on the photo on the mantelpiece.
Sally. She hated him drinking. She knew he had a drinking problem—OK was a recovering alcoholic before she married him. He struggled with what it said in the Bible about drinking. And with some Christians drinking and some spurning it, he was even more confused at times. When he first became a Christian, not drinking was easy, but the craving was still there and one drink with a friend led to another and another.
With Sally’s help he’d gone to AA classes and climbed on the wagon. He’d be lying if he said it was easy. It was one of the hardest things he’d ever done, but Sally had been there every step of the way. Loving him, supporting him, not letting him give in. She refused to have anything remotely alcoholic in the house—not even the food flavorings. Shop-bought Christmas puddings were also banned, she made her own nonalcoholic version.
He started drinking again after she’d gone. Gone. Left him. Passed on. Passed over. Died. All euphemisms for what was such an ugly, heart breaking, soul destroying word. Just a small word with such massive repercussions that had frozen his soul and stopped his life.
Murdered.
He raised the glass in a mock salute and swallowed.
Sally was dead. Slaughtered in a terrorist attack on the mission field, in a massacre that hadn’t even made the news here. And he’d barely escaped with his life. He’d tried to save the others, but had failed in the attempt. Phantom pain from the scars shot through him and he rubbed his chin.
Nothing he said or thought could change the fact she was gone. But there was something he could do. And when he caught up with the people responsible, they’d pay. Revenge was a dish best served cold and vengeance would be his. No matter how many years it took.
He ran his fingers over Sally’s picture, a sudden surge of guilt filling him over this dinner “not-a-date” he’d arranged. He ought to explain to Sally.
“Her name’s Miss Dorne. Jacqui Dorne. And it’s not a date. It’s just an apology dinner. Nothing more—I knocked a vase of flowers over her computer and killed it. You don’t mind, do you? It’s been eighteen months, but I still love you.” He paused. “You know, I’ve never even looked twice at another woman before today. I don’t know if it’s just that she reminds me of you, or because I feel guilty for ruining her laptop, or what. But, yeah, I looked at her twice. More than twice.”
Liam set the photo down and looked at the glass. It was empty already. He picked up the bottle and poured another. Then he stared at the photo. “Fine, you’re right. No more.” He put the glass down and sighed. “I should go mark those papers.”
He turned, seeing in his mind the figure on the swing. He gave her one final push and ran around the other side to smile at her. Only this time the hair flying around her face was long and dark, not long and fair.
Another stab of guilt pierced him for letting this woman he didn’t know get under his skin and into his thoughts. He had no right to think of anyone but Sally.
****
Jacqui washed the casserole dish and handed it to Holly. “So what’s Kyle doing tonight? Not still cutting hair at this hour?”
Holly shook her head as she dried the dish. “No, he’s preaching.”
Surprise filled her. “Preaching? I didn’t think he was into that side of the ministry.”
Holly nodded. “Pastor Jack asked him to speak at the old folk’s home on Crescent Road. He was looking forward to it.”
Jacqui smiled. “Well good for him. Of course he might end up doing it forever now.”
“I don’t think he’ll mind. It’s only once a month.” Holly paused. “So how did the presentation go? You were a bundle of nerves when we spoke on the phone last night.”
She looked at the bubbles coating her hands as she cleaned the saucepan. “And with good reason, my whole career is resting on this one.” She scrubbed hard at the pan before setting it on the draining board. “It was fine, eventually. There was this one guy, Liam Page. We met in the cafe at lunchtime when he knocked a vase of flowers over onto my laptop and killed it. He teaches at the school and spent the entire presentation making eyes at me before asking me out at the end of it.”
“Oh, aye? What’s he like, then?”
“He’s tall, dark, and handsome, has a cute beard and looks like a movie star.”
“Very nice. You know that’s a pretty romantic way to meet someone. He throws flowers all over you.”
“You’re a fine one to talk. You thought Kyle was a mass murderer when you first met him.” Jacqui flicked soap bubbles at Holly.
“Hey, in my defense, it was a dark night and he accosted me while I was lying under the car trying to fix it.” She winked. “But you know it is kind of funny meeting someone like that.”
“Please don’t look at me like that. I already got the “say it with flowers” joke from Eve, more than once, and it wasn’t funny then. Besides, there is one very big hitch in any matchmaking plans you might have. He’s married.”
“Oh.” Holly looked at her, aghast. “Married?”
Jacqui nodded. It sounded worse when she spoke it aloud. She needed to distract Holly. “Yes, he’s married. The good ones always are. We can’t all land the perfect man, you know. And they don’t all save us from serial killers, either.”
The smile on Holly’s face lit her eyes. “Yeah, Kyle was rather heroic, wasn’t he?”
“Is Kyle’s head as big as it ought to be?” Jacqui teased her friend.
Holly laughed. “He gets rid of spiders, too. Want me to send him over?”
Jacqui handed her another dish. “It’s fine. I’m not scared of spiders.”
“So this Liam…what does he teach?”
“He’s head of English at the secondary school. And please no jokes about it being ironic that a Mr. Page teaches English. Eve’s done that one to death, as well. He offered to pay for the laptop, so I guess he can’t be all bad. And he’s taking me to dinner tomorrow to apologize.”
Consternation flooded Holly’s face. “But you said he’s married. Jac, is that the wisest option? You don’t want to give him the wrong idea.”
“I’m not. I made it perfectly clear it’s just dinner and nothing more. He looked flustered when I asked if his wife would mind. He was adamant she wouldn’t.”
“Hmmm, must be a very understanding woman then. Not sure I’d like Kyle taking another woman to dinner. Not even to apologize. Unless he took me along, too, then I guess it’d be all right. Where are you going?”
“He’s taking me to the pizza place on the Riverside. Why? What are you thinking?”
“Maybe I could get Kyle to take me there. That way if this Liam makes a move you don’t like, Kyle can do his superhero bit and save you, too.”
Jacqui chuckled at the image of Kyle in tights, shorts and a cape that sprang into her mind. “That’s not necessary, but if you two just happened to be there around six or so, it’d be good. I’m meeting him there—figured if I took my own car I could leave whenever I wanted and he wouldn’t have to drive me home.”
“All right, we’ll be there. Just promise me you won’t do anything you’ll regret.”
“I promise. Liam is a nice enough guy, but he’s married. I’m not going to cross that line, no matter what.”
3
Liam glanced up from the menu to the woman sitting opposite him. He smiled, still surprised she agreed to come and still unable to believe he’d actually asked her. Keep in mind this is
just an apology and nothing else. “What would you like?”
Jacqui smiled back. “I think I’ll have the Hawaiian.”
Does she know how pretty she is when she smiles? I don’t suppose she does. “That happens to be my favorite. Shall I order a large and we can share?”
“Sounds good. Can we have onion rings as well?”
“Of course, with potato wedges?”
Her smile grew. “Is there any other way to eat pizza?”
“If you’re my brother-in-law, yes there is. Jared eats it with a knife and fork.”
Jacqui’s laugh was beautiful like the rest of her. What was it about this woman that made him feel so out of control? And why? He didn’t want to get involved with anyone, especially someone who reminded him so much of the past.
The waitress came over and he ordered the pizza, a side of onion rings, potato wedges, and salad. He glanced at Jacqui. “What would you like to drink?”
“Diet lemonade.”
Shaking his head in amusement, he turned back to the waitress. “A diet lemonade and a regular one, both with ice and a slice of lemon, please.” He grinned at Jacqui after ordering.
“What?”
“We’re having pizza, which is about as fattening as you can get, never mind the onion rings and potato wedges, and you want diet lemonade?”
“I just got a taste for the diet stuff when I worked abroad.”
“I don’t like the aftertaste. Give me the sugar and calories any time.” Liam watched as she beamed and waved at a couple sitting three tables away from them. “Friends of yours?”
Jacqui nodded. “That’s Holly and Kyle. They go to the same church I do. They’re getting married in the autumn.”
“Cool.”
She smiled. “They’re fortunate. Being married beats being alone like I am.”
