Chapter 16
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
“Will I see you again tonight, or tomorrow?” asked Matthew. He was seated at the dining table in his apartment, the following morning, dressed in jeans and a gray T-shirt. His feet which were crossed at the ankles, were bare. In front of him sat a cup of half-finished coffee.
He looks like a rugged sex god, after a night of hot and sweaty bed action.
Rachel—who was standing in the center of the room, purse in one hand, while finger brushing her semi-damp hair with the other—didn’t hesitate to answer. “Yes.”
Last night had been nothing short of magical. For the first time in a long time she’d felt that someone wanted her just for her. Matthew had taken her to the highest peaks of pleasure. Places she didn’t know even existed. Not until last night.
They’d made love, slept, then made love again. Sleep had finally caught up with them after their third coupling. Given half a chance she’d do it all over again.
Could her love life be finally on the up?
“I know you’ve just moved to Aspen and so your life is still in a period of change, but I really like you, Rachel. I’m keen to see where this might go. That’s if you’re interested.”
“I like you too, Matt.”
But I don’t want to lead him on.
“I am interested, but I’m not sure how long I’ll be in Aspen. Let’s see how things go but agree not to put any pressure on ourselves.”
That sounded really awful. Cold hearted. Her wounded pride was still some way from healing.
He rose from the table and came to her. As he slid his arm about her waist, Matthew leaned in and planted an easy, tender kiss on her lips. This man was more than nice. He deserved better than being used as a means to plaster over the cracks in her heart.
“It’s a deal. We’ll take it one day at a time. Who knows, we might find that our paths continue in the same direction once we are both ready to leave this town.”
Her heart skipped a beat. That’s for the future. In the meantime, keep it simple. Uncomplicated. I don’t need another heartbreak.
“One day at a time sounds like a good plan.” She drew out of his embrace. “I’d better go. I need to get home and change before I head into work later this morning.”
“I can drive you and we can go get a barista made coffee on the way. And muffins?”
Shoot. He was so sweet. Rachel glanced at the door, embarrassed that she’d already booked an Uber. “I’m really sorry but I don’t have time for coffee this morning, and um … I ordered a ride while you were in the shower.”
She felt guilty over having done that but was determined to avoid the situation where Matthew pulled into the driveway as either Dan or Kellie or heaven forbid both , were leaving the house. This relationship, or whatever the connection between them was, belonged to her and Matthew, she didn’t want to share it with anyone in her family. Being around her sister and brother-in-law was awkward enough, but them meeting the guy she was having a casual thing with, would only serve to make things worse.
I’m thirty, I don’t need to have my lovers scrutinized by my family.
“How about I book somewhere for us to go out for dinner tonight? Though I am warning you, it might be a bit more boots and jeans than fancy cocktails. I hope you like steak.”
The disappointment on his face lifted at the mention of meat. “Okay, I’ll pick you up at seven. Oh, actually can we make the booking for closer to eight? I have a bit of work to get through today.”
Her day was also full. “Eight is late, but yeah, I’ve got a lot to do today. See you then. Have a great day.”
After another slow, toe-curling kiss that had her body screaming for him to take her back to bed, Rachel reluctantly headed out the door.
With the planning meeting just over a week away, she had to finalize the rough costings for her proposal to save the ski lodge site. Whatever plans possible buyers for the resort had in mind, it was important that she prepared a viable alternative for the Brock family to put in front of the city council. A plan that could be used to shoot down any proposal that might include demolishing the old lodge. She’d do everything in her power to stop the bulldozers.
Kellie was slumped over the kitchen table when Rachel arrived back at the house, take-out coffees in hand. Stomach dropping, Rachel rushed to her sister’s side.
“If Dan has hurt you, I’ll …”
“It’s not Dan. It’s Dad,” sobbed Kellie.
The mention of their father had bile rising in Rachel’s throat. She hadn’t spoken to Scott Davilla since the end of the trial. His call list from prison didn’t seem to include her. Considering that she’d been forced to testify against him, she wasn’t surprised by his silence. Rachel set the coffees down.
“What happened?”
Kellie wiped at her face with the sleeve of her sweater. “Dad called this morning, just after Dan left for work. Like always, dad’s timing sucks. He would never call when he thought Dan might be around. His first words were to ask if Dan and I had finalized our divorce. He wanted to know when I expected to see the settlement money. He wants to borrow some.”
Kellie added air quotes to her last remark. They both knew that any money which found its way into Scott Davilla’s greedy hands, would never be seen again. So very typical of their father. He’d never been one for niceties, not even with his family. All he’d ever cared about was money and status. Not that he had either of them these days.
Rachel dropped into the chair next to her sister’s with a tired sigh. “I’m so sorry.”
“When I told him that Dan and I were back together again, he went ballistic. Demanded that I give him the number of my divorce lawyer. He didn’t even bother to ask how I was or how you were. Can you believe that?”
Rachel could. “I don’t think he even knows where I am.”
From talking to their mother, Rachel had been led to believe that if their father got enough money, he would try to appeal the court verdict. Or maybe pay back some of the money he’d embezzled to see if he could get his sentence reduced. With Scott Davilla there was always an angle. His family was more of a hinderance than anything. Or at least until they could serve his self-centered purposes. And money was at the center of his everything.
“I just wish there was something I could do to make it easier for you, Kellie.”
If she were honest about it, she was still trying to get her own head around the whole Kellie and Dan reuniting thing. Before arriving in Aspen she’d been convinced her sister’s marriage was all but over. Kellie was just waiting on the paperwork.
Kellie sniffed back a tear. “Actually there is something you could do. Something that would make my life a darn sight easier.”
“Name it.”
“You could start being nicer to Dan. I know he has a vested interest in the financial outcome of the ski lodge, but he did get you a job when you had no money in the bank. And he’s not the one who you should be pissed at—it’s me.”
Rachel’s brows furrowed. Why should she be angry with her sister?
Silence sat heavy in the room for a moment, during which the hairs on the back of Rachel’s neck prickled. She had no beef with Kellie.
“I made a mistake on a drunken girls weekend in Denver. I did something really stupid. Something unforgiveable,” explained Kellie.
Cold dread filled Rachel. She didn’t want to hear what she knew was going to come next.
“When I eventually confessed my one-night stand to Dan, he was heartbroken. He moved out that night.” She reached across the table and took a hold of Rachel’s hand. “I’ve never seen a man so crushed. I took our dream, and I destroyed it.”
Rachel’s head swam, she gripped tightly to the edge of the table. Her sister had been the one who’d cheated. Not Dan. She’d just assumed it had been him. The truth was a bitter pill, one she was struggling to swallow.
Kellie cheated? Dan came back. And all I’ve done since I got here is, be horrible to him.
Dan had come back. She couldn’t understand how that could have happened. For her infidelity was a hard line. Once crossed, there was no coming back.
I don’t know if I would have that in me if my partner cheated.
“You two are together again. How ... how did you get Dan back?”
Kellie nodded. “We are reunited, and happy, but it took a long time for us to get to this place. The man I love is capable of such a degree of forgiveness that I still can’t fathom it. Dan did file for divorce, and I couldn’t blame him. I broke my vows, and I broke his heart.”
Tears welled once more in her reddened eyes. “And then just when I thought it was all lost, I was granted a miracle. We ran into one another at the grocery store. Dan took one look at me, realized I was suffering as badly as him, and the next thing I knew he was hauling me out of there and into his big ol’ SUV. He cancelled the divorce proceedings the following morning.”
While it would take some time for her to come to terms with what her sister had done, Rachel had no problem in understanding the reason for their father’s rage. He would have been counting on Kellie’s divorce settlement to try and buy himself out of some serious prison time. The notion of forgiveness would never have crossed his mind. As for his eldest daughter’s happiness, that had never figured in their father’s life.
But now I can finally fix something in my family.
“I promise I will be nicer to Dan. I’ll talk to him, let him know that I wasn’t aware of the situation.”
It hadn’t occurred to her that her sister might have been the one at fault. With their checkered family history she was naturally predisposed to blaming the male whenever things went wrong.
I have to stop thinking that every man is like my father.
“Kellie, why didn’t you tell me what had happened? When you said you were getting a divorce, and that there had been an affair, I assumed it had been Dan who’d cheated.”
I was judge, jury, and executioner when it came to him.
Her sister raked her fingers through her short, fair hair and sighed. “I was so ashamed. And being in the middle of dad’s trial, I didn’t want to add more pain to our family. Everything was broken.”
Rachel rose from the table, her taste for the coffee gone. “I’m going to go change, then I might head out to the lodge to do some final work. Are you okay if I take your car for an hour or two?”
Kellie’s chair scraped over the tiled floor. “Hang on a minute, you’ve just got home.”
“Yes.”
“How did last night go? You haven’t mentioned anything about this mystery man.”
And this is why I didn’t let Matt come to the door when he picked me up.
She gently waved her sister’s demands away. The privacy of her bedroom beckoned. “Drink the coffee I bought you. All you need to know is that he’s a really great guy, and I am seeing him again tonight. And yes, I will make a point of being nicer to Dan.”
She’d rather put the shock of Kellie’s revelation to the back of her mind, and deal with it later. When she had capacity.
Right now her head was already filled with the thought of spending another night with Matthew. And finishing up the plans for the ski lodge .
If I can save the ski lodge, it will give me the credentials and money to decide where I want to go. To follow my heart’s desire.
It was great that Kellie and Dan had their future sorted, but she was still a long way from figuring out her own. This new thing with Matthew had just added another layer to her life. She was determined to not make another mistake and pin her hopes for happiness on a man.