Matchmakers, no. 1

by Bernadette Marie

  He shook his head at his friend’s stare.

  “Your steaks are on fire.” David laughed as Jeremy turned back to the grill.

  “Dammit!” He moved the steaks from side to side and rolled cobs of corn into different positions. “You’ll stay at Katie’s then?”

  “I looked at a house.”

  “Nearby?”

  “You could say that. It’s over on Cherry Street.” He smiled, lifting the beer to his lips as Jeremy realized what he was talking about.

  “Your old house?”

  “Yep.”

  “Why?”

  “I asked Sophie to marry me.”

  “Wow! That was fast.” He pulled the steaks from the flame and slapped them onto the serving tray.

  “Not really. It’s been a long time coming. I figure if I keep asking, sooner or later I’ll make it all the way to the altar with her. I don’t want to waste ten more years.”

  “Well, you always did have the patience of a saint.” He pulled the corn from the grill and closed the lid. “What else is going on? You look lost, my friend. I can see it.”

  There were many secrets he could hide from Jeremy, and he wasn’t sure he wanted to keep it all a secret anymore. It was only going to fester if he didn’t talk to someone.

  “Mandy’s back.” He felt the churning in his stomach as he watched Jeremy’s face change.

  “Shit.”

  “Tell me about it. Thing is”—he took a breath and dragged his fingers through his hair—“she’s pregnant.”

  Jeremy turned, and his face had gone white. “You didn’t.”

  “No. Not me. Not this time.” He waved off any inquisition.

  Jeremy nodded, and David took another long pull from his beer.

  “She wants me to take the baby.”

  “She’s crazy. But then I’ve always told you that. Why you?”

  “She’s dying.”

  “Sure she is.” He snorted.

  David let it simmer a moment. “She says that her past drug use has destroyed her heart. I guess having this baby will kill her.”

  Jeremy’s mouth gaped. “What does Sophia say?”

  “I haven’t told her yet.”

  “You’re thinking about it though. I can see it in your face. Are you nuts?” He was keeping his voice at a whisper, and David appreciated it.

  “The baby is Carissa’s blood.” He shrugged. “It’ll be her sister I turn away if I say no.” He looked toward Sophia. She and Mary Alice were laughing as they set the table. “Besides, it’s Sophia’s chance to have a baby.”

  “Do you really think she’ll go for that? It’s Mandy’s baby.”

  “I don’t know. But I do know she’ll stay for Carissa. Why wouldn’t she accept this as her opportunity to have a family with me? To have Carissa’s sister?” When he said it, it almost seemed logical.

  “God, I sure am glad I’m not in your shoes.”

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  Hand in hand, they left their friends’ house and strolled in the warm air of the August night. It was almost eleven o’clock, but the moon was full and lit their way.

  David watched Sophia as the moonlight played softly on her hair. If she left him now, he was sure he wouldn’t recover this time. He was anxious about everything.

  He’d told Sally Foster he wanted the house on Cherry Street, and he wanted the new house put up for sale the moment he closed on it. She’d told him she’d already had two other offers on the house. She’d let him know on the progress, but of course, she’d be happy to list the other.

  Sophia caught his glance and smiled.

  “You seemed very preoccupied tonight. Are you all right?”

  “Yes.”

  “You’re worried about Carissa, aren’t you? I mean, you mentioned the house and about her having to drive back here all the time.”

  “I guess I’m worried about her.”

  “Tell me about her. Tell me all about her.”

  “What don’t you already know?”

  Sophia stopped, and David turned to her. “David.” She closed her eyes and inhaled. “I was foolish enough to not stick around and ask questions ten years ago. I want to know about her and Mandy. I want to hear it all from you. I’m here now, and I’m asking.”

  He wiped his brow.

  “What do you really want to know?”

  “Who was she? Where did you meet her? How did you get involved with her? How…” The expression on her face was open and sincere. But would she feel the same way about him once she knew the truth?

  “Okay…okay.” David took a deep breath and dove in. “I was twenty-three years old. I was starting my first job with a charter company. Mandy was the daughter of one of the executives that used our company a lot. We met at a holiday party. I think I’d had a few drinks and, well, she was more than a little tipsy.” Sophia squeezed his hand, and he continued.

  “She seduced me, and I let her. Right there in the hangar, I did something I’ve never been proud of, but…” he paused. “We saw each other for a few weeks. Hell, we had sex for a few weeks. I guess I’m a big enough man to call it what it was.”

  He chewed the inside of his cheek. What he was telling Sophia had to be hurting her. He’d never regretted his mistake with Mandy more, yet how could he when she’d given him Carissa?

  “I got a new job with the airline. I transferred, and that was the end of it.”

  “So you left her and didn’t see her again until the day you walked out our door?” She’d tied up the story in a neat, little package and pulled him closer. “Doesn’t seem like much, does it?”

  “Sophie, there’s more.”

  He felt her brace herself against him as they walked.

  “She found me in Chicago. That’s where I was for about a year before moving back to Kansas City. She was pregnant and thought I should know.” Her grip on his hand tightened. “Then she told me she was seventeen.”

  Sophia stopped. He turned to her. The moonlight shimmered on her tears.

  “Sophie, I was stupid. I know that.” He lifted her chin and looked her in the eyes. “I never loved her. I never would have...well, had I known how young she was or what kind of person...”

  She gasped for breath. It broke his heart to see her cry. He wiped away her tears with his thumb.

  “Oh, Sophia, you have to understand...”

  “Stop! Stop!” She pushed his hands away and wiped away her tears as fast as they fell. “Carissa was seven when she came to our house.”

  “Yes.”

  She set her jaw and her eyes narrowed on him. “God, I wish I would have taken the time to talk to you about this.”

  “So do I,” he confessed and took a step toward her.

  Her hand shot up between them and stopped him from touching her. “You knew Mandy was pregnant.”

  “Yes. She came to me and told me, but said she didn’t want anything from me, which was a lie. I wanted to know my child, and she wouldn’t let me. She disappeared.”

  “But you knew.”

  He let out a breath. “Yes, I knew.”

  “You son of a bitch.” She pounded her fists into his chest. “You never told me!”

  “Why? What would it have changed?”

  “It was honesty. It’s called honesty!”

  “Dammit, Sophia. She lied to me.”

  She jerked away from him and ran down the sidewalk.

  “Sophia!” He caught up with her and spun her toward him. “She called and told me Carissa died at birth. I believed her. Do you have any idea how that tore me up? I had no idea that for seven years I’d been a parent.”

  “God, David, that’s not the point.” Again, she wiped at her cheeks and looked up at him. “I wanted a baby.”

  “I know.”

  “You got someone else pregnant. Don’t you think that’s a pertinent fact?”

  “I got someone pregnant four years before I fell in love with you. No, I didn’t see it as pertinent, especially since I couldn’t get y
ou pregnant.”

  Her face crumpled. His careless words had hurt her more than the truth about his fling with Mandy. All he wanted was to take care of her, but he couldn’t seem to stop from ripping at her.

  She turned and ran again. He ran after her, but she didn’t slow.

  “Sophia! God, I love you.” He finally caught her in the front yard of her grandmother’s house. “What in the hell is wrong with you?” He sucked in a breath.

  “You should have told me. Dammit, you owed me that much.”

  “You would have left me.”

  She only stood there, looking at him.

  “Well, I guess had I asked questions instead of running away, things would be clearer now.”

  “Yes, they would.” He held his breath, praying she’d forgive him.

  “Instead of considering your proposal, I would have just stayed away forever.” She ran through the front door, up the stairs past Carissa, who was sitting in the shadows waiting for them. Sobs shook his daughter’s shoulders.

  Carissa stood as Sophia ran past her. She would have followed her had her father not burst through the door at the same time calling after her.

  “Dammit!” He bent over, bracing his hands on his knees.

  “What happened? Why do you always fight with her? Why are you trying to push her away?”

  He stood, his mouth gaping in an expression of hurt.

  Tears burned her eyes, and she brushed them away as they began to fall.

  “Please, don’t mess this up. I want her to stay. This is my first real opportunity to have a mother.” She moved in closer to him. “I want that. I deserve that. You can’t mess this up for me.”

  Her dad sat on the step and buried his face in his hands.

  Carissa sat down next to him, and he took her hand in his.

  “Can’t you fix this?”

  “Sweetheart, I think this is only the beginning of our troubles.”

  “I know.”

  “You do?”

  “She came by the shop tonight when I was at work.” She looked at him. His eyes searched hers as though they were looking for confirmation. “Mandy.”

  “I figured.” He stood and took her hand. “C’mon, let’s make some coffee. This could be a long night.”

  Carissa sat at the table and watched as her father collected his thoughts while he made coffee. She felt sorry for him. He was being put into positions he’d never asked to be put in, and she was about to make it worse.

  “I want you to think about it,” she blurted out as he poured the water into the coffeemaker.

  “Think about what, Carissa?”

  “She told me she wants you to raise the baby.”

  “Yes, well, it isn’t my responsibility. Even considering taking the baby would push Sophia right out of my life, if I haven’t already done that.”

  He pulled down two mugs from the cupboard and set them on the counter.

  Carissa chewed her fingernail. It was a nervous habit she’d never been able to control.

  “I have a vested interest in this, you know.”

  “I assumed you’d say something like that.” He filled the mugs and carried them to the table. He sat down next to her. “Why do you think I should do this?”

  “No matter what she’s done, no matter how much I hate her, she’s carrying my sister in there.”

  “Did she tell you the rest of the story?”

  “She said she was clean, and she’d had an affair with some married man.” He nodded. “Dad, she’s going to die.”

  “Well, at least her stories are holding up. How do you feel about that?”

  “I don’t give a shit.” The obscenity made him snap his head up. “I’m not thinking about Mandy. She’s never done anything to warrant my respect or my love. To be honest with you, I think of Sophia more as my mother, and she’s only been here a week. But Hope doesn’t deserve this.”

  “Hope?”

  “That’s what I named the baby. It’s what she deserves. A little hope.” She curled her hands around the mug in front of her.

  “You named the baby?” She nodded, her eyes averted. “What did Mandy say to that?”

  “I didn’t tell her. I really only listened to her.” Her eyes shifted back to his. “Really, Dad, all I wanted to do was push her out of the store and lock the door.”

  He laughed behind his mug.

  “Don’t you think we need to discuss this with Sophia?”

  “Why?”

  “I’ve asked her to marry me.”

  “So, you’re getting married?” Her voice rose with the anticipation of finally having a mother and seeing her father happy.

  Her dad cracked a smile, and this time he didn’t try to hide it.

  “I’ve asked. She hasn’t answered me, and I asked her to wait to do so until she’s ready. But if I’m thinking about going along with this, she should be involved, right?”

  “Do you think she’ll go for it?” Her voice caught. She’d never wanted two things so much in her life. She knew the chance of getting them both was slim.

  “Honey, I don’t know what to think. Right now my head is spinning.”

  “Together we can make her consider this.” She tried to remain calm as she laid her hand on her father’s.

  “But what if she doesn’t want the baby? What if she doesn’t want Mandy’s baby?”

  The warmth in Carissa’s face cooled. Tears pooled in her eyes.

  “Dad, she’s my sister. I can’t just let her go.”

  David lay in bed and stared at the ceiling.

  In his heart, he didn’t want to think that Sophia might consider leaving for good, but his head knew better. Add a baby to the mix—correction, add Mandy’s baby to the mix—and she was all but gone. But he couldn’t break Carissa’s heart like that.

  He blew out a breath. What in the hell was he going to do?

  He rolled to his side and pounded the pillow into place. Sleep evaded him no matter how hard he tried.

  He’d come to grips with the fact he’d be a father again to another one of Mandy’s daughters. He’d considered not doing it. And with Carissa not being of legal age, she couldn’t step in and take the baby either. But he couldn’t let her down.

  Sophia, he knew, was going to be a bigger challenge. He needed to have everything in place before he could even consider telling her. He’d have to make sure Carissa didn’t tell her either.

  He’d call Jeremy’s brother in the morning. He was a lawyer. They’d need to draw up some paperwork. He’d be damned if he agreed to do this, and she didn’t die. He wasn’t going to foot her medical bills or take care of her again. This was an all-or-nothing deal, and he needed it legally stated.

  Then he’d call Sally Foster. The house on Cherry Street would be perfect for them. But it would be more perfect if Sophia were there with them. If he could secure the house on Cherry Street, maybe she’d consider his proposal again, but still, Sally had said she already had two offers on it.

  He looked at the clock. It was four o’clock in the morning. He wanted to go to her room, but he didn’t. Instead he fought with himself and tossed in bed until it was time to get up.

  Sophia sat by her window looking out at the empty street, the streetlight illuminating her isolation. It was four-thirty in the morning. She’d walked down the hall to David’s room. She’d wanted to tap on the door. She had wanted to open it and climb into bed with him. She needed him. Instead, she’d kept quiet and walked back to her own room.

  In the morning, she’d make some changes to her life. First of all, she was going to learn to apologize and forgive. Dammit, it was about time. She was going to ask Carissa if she’d be her daughter, and she was going to tell David she’d marry him if Carissa’s answer was yes. She was ready for that, too.

  Maybe a baby would arrive on their doorstep. Maybe, just maybe, after another call to Sally Foster, the house on Cherry Street would be that very doorstep.

  She’d yet to hear from Pablo, and she gues
sed he’d have found her at all cost if things had worked out with new venues.

  Only one venue had ever escaped them. She often wondered if they’d ever get the chance to perform at the Vatican. Perhaps it was just a dream that would never be reality. However, at that very moment, it didn’t matter. She loved David more.

  In the morning, well, later in the morning, everything would be okay.

  She’d missed him.

  “He said he had business and left very early. He dropped Carissa off at work. That’s all he said.” Katie relayed the information as she poured Sophia a cup of coffee. “Sit down. Let me make you some breakfast.”

  “I’m not very hungry, Grandma.”

  “You should eat something.”

  “I’ll get something. Maybe I’ll go for a run.”

  “You’re already dressed.”

  “Yeah, I guess I am.” She sat down in the chair at the table.

  She’d had all of her words worked out. David would understand. If she said the words I’m sorry, he’d forgive her. After all, even after ten years, he’d asked her to marry him.

  The doorbell snapped her back to reality. “I’ll get that.”

  She could see the figure beyond the frosted glass of the front door. Without seeing the face, she knew whom it belonged to. An enormous smile crossed her lips, and her heart began to flip in her chest.

  “Pablo!” She flung open the door and herself into his arms, which were already out and waiting for her.

  “Bella!” He kissed her square on the mouth. Photographic flashes flickered in the street.

  “Get in here.” With a grimace, she pulled him through the door and into her arms again. “Where have you been? I’ve called and called. Oh, Pablo, I’ve needed you.”

  She stepped back from him and looked him over. His beauty seemed marred by worry. His dark eyes were heavy, and his wavy, black hair was longer than he usually wore it. His perfect physique was hiding behind a sweatshirt and a snug pair of jeans. The world was used to seeing him looking exquisite. Even Sophia rarely saw him in such relaxed attire.