1022 Evergreen Place
Page 37

Her sister rolled her eyes. “Yeah, right.”
“I have so.”
Teri released an exaggerated sigh. “It’s taken you long enough, but thank goodness you’re coming to your senses.”
“What do you mean?” Christie asked, defensive now but still curious.
“You finally got up the nerve to ask about James,” Teri said, smiling down at the baby as she spoke.
“Has he asked about me?”
Teri nodded.
“Tell me,” Christie urged, and edged slightly forward, eager for the tiniest bit of information.
“This might come as a surprise but James can be stubborn, too,” Teri said.
No kidding.
A hundred questions flashed into her head. Did James miss her half as much as she missed him? Did he love her? She desperately wanted to believe he did. But if so, why hadn’t he made the slightest attempt to patch up their differences? For that matter, why hadn’t she? Why did she always sabotage herself like this?
Instead of approaching James with the goal of reconciliation, she’d plowed ahead with her studies, getting A’s on several tests, working long hours and doing everything she could not to think about him. She’d even cleaned her oven, which gave her a sense of accomplishment and a feeling of righteousness.
“What did he ask about me?” Christie inquired, unwilling to pretend disinterest for another minute.
“Oh, nothing much. He wanted to know how you were—that sort of thing.”
“Oh.” Disappointment fell heavily on her shoulders.
“He’s been traveling a lot,” Teri reiterated, placing emphasis on the he.
“Traveling with Bobby?” Her sister was trying to tell her something important, although Christie had never been much good at reading between the lines.
“Traveling with and without Bobby,” Teri clarified.
Christie frowned. “Whatever you want to say, would you just say it?”
“I would’ve told you a whole lot sooner if you’d asked,” Teri said, and pressed her lips primly together.
“Okay, fine. I’m asking now.”
Teri’s face lit up and she grew excited. “James invented an online game that he and Bobby have been working on day and night for weeks.”
“Online game?” Christie repeated. “A chess game?”
“Sort of,” her sister explained. “It starts out with a chessboard and two players.”
That didn’t seem to warrant the enthusiasm Teri displayed. “Okay, but what’s the big deal? I’m sure there are plenty of those.”
“This one’s different. When a player makes a particular move on the chessboard, he or she enters a parallel universe, which is set in medieval times. The player is confronted with knights and beasts and can end up in the same world or in different worlds at different times. It’s complicated. The game’s been compared to World of Warcraft. There are sixty levels and James has been asked to create more.”
“Is Bobby involved?”
“Yes, but minimally. This has been great for Bobby and James. The idea came from James and he did most of the work. It sold, Christie, and it sold big.”
“Big?”
“Really big.”
“Oh.” James hadn’t shared any of this success with her. No wonder he hadn’t been in touch. He had lots of things on his mind—and they didn’t include her.
“Is that all you have to say?” Teri looked dumbfounded by her lack of reaction.
“I’m…happy for him.”
“You don’t act very happy.”
She made a genuine attempt to smile. A moment later she noticed that Teri was staring at the entrance to the kitchen; Christie glanced up to see James standing there, looking healthy and vital and just so…good.
Her sister immediately stood. “I’m putting Robbie in his crib,” she whispered, blatantly an excuse to leave Christie and James alone.
Christie waited until her sister had left. “I…I understand congratulations are in order.”
“Thank you.” He moved slowly into the family room, hands buried in his pockets. “It’s nice to see you.”
“You, too,” she returned cheerfully, wondering if the intense effort that required was as obvious as it felt.
“I’ve missed you.” So he was the first to admit it….
Gazing down at the baby, she whispered, “I’ve missed you, too.”
“I guess Teri told you about Polgar World?”
“That’s the name?” she asked, looking up.
James took the seat across from her that Teri had vacated. “Bobby was kind enough to lend his name. We got word of the sale yesterday….”
“Just yesterday?”
James leaned back. “My agent’s been in negotiations with two companies.”
“You have an agent?” That made her question how many other secrets he’d kept from her.
He didn’t respond. “I’ve been waiting, Christie.”
She looked up, struggling to hide how hurt she was. “Waiting?”
“You said you’d come to me when you were ready to forgive and forget.”
“Didn’t I say the same thing to you? It doesn’t do any good for me to forgive and forget if you can’t, does it?”
“No, I don’t suppose it does.”
He didn’t say anything else for another lengthy moment. Christie almost wished Christopher would wake up and wail to distract her from this anguish—and to give voice to her own discontent.
“Where do we stand, then?” he finally asked.
“I…don’t know. I…I’d give anything to be able to wipe the slate clean and be the woman you deserve.” Her mouth was so dry she could hardly speak. “I can’t do that, but I can’t live with the threat of you throwing it in my face every time we disagree, either.”
“And I can’t live with you constantly bringing up the fact that I let you down when I…left.”
“I…”
“Yes?” James urged when she hesitated.
“Why didn’t you tell me about Polgar World?” she blurted out.
The question seemed to hang in the air. Before he answered, James exhaled deeply. “I feel that I’ve failed at almost everything I’ve tried to do in my life. The idea for the game came to me two years ago. I’ve been developing it for the past year and a half. I didn’t even tell Bobby until six months ago. I could live with failing, but I couldn’t live with disappointing you.”
“Oh.” An inadequate response, but the best she could manage.
“I figured if and when it was a success, I’d come to you.”
“You didn’t, though.”
“I’m here now. I didn’t just happen to stop by the house. I saw your car outside and I couldn’t stay away.”
Christie stared up at him, eyes wide.
“The thing is, I thought I’d be the happiest man alive when this game sold.”
“Aren’t you?” He had every reason to celebrate.
“Not if I can’t share it with you.” A tentative smile came and went.
She smiled back.
“I love you, Christie. I’m tired of being alone, tired of my pride.”
“Pride doesn’t really keep you warm at night, does it?” She was speaking for herself as well as him.
He stood then and moved toward her with his usual long strides, taking the seat beside her. “I want us to get married.”
“Okay.” Not the most elegant answer, perhaps, but it got the point across.
“It’s not like we’re kids who don’t know what they want.”
“I want you,” she said, her voice cracking.
“Bobby and Teri were married in Vegas….”
“We could make it a family tradition,” she suggested.
James grinned. “I couldn’t agree with you more. Hey, are you doing anything this weekend?” he asked.
“Yeah, I am,” she said, then sent him a huge smile. “I’m getting married.”
“Good, because so am I.”
He reached for her and she went willingly into his arms, almost forgetting Christopher.
Between kisses James murmured, “No more arguments.”
“Well, that’s unlikely, but at least we know we can get past them.” Her lips lingered on his. “Oh, James, I’m so happy for you.”
He gave her a loving kiss. “I’m marrying you and that makes me happier than anything.”
“Should we tell Teri and Bobby?” she asked.
“We heard,” Bobby said from the kitchen.
James straightened and looked over at them. “I’m going to need a best man.”
“He’ll be there and so will I,” Teri said, standing next to her husband. Bobby had his arm around Teri’s shoulders. “I’ll be the matron of honor,” Teri added.
Christie wouldn’t have had it any other way.
Twenty-Seven
Gloria needed to tell Chad that their night together had consequences. She was pregnant. He had a right to know. It’d been more than a month since he’d moved away. When she’d called his old phone number, she was given a number with a Tacoma area code. So she’d guessed correctly. Chad had taken the job with Tacoma General to work in their E.R.
What surprised Gloria was how much she missed him since he’d left. That wasn’t even logical. They weren’t a couple; in fact, she’d refused to see him again. The only thing to which she could attribute this sense of loss was the comfort she’d found in knowing he was close at hand. If she’d wished to, she could’ve sought him out. She hadn’t, though. Instead, she’d made every effort to banish him from her thoughts. But nothing had worked.
And now…now she was pregnant with his child. This baby was the result of their irresponsible behavior, yes, but…she’d never been happier. While this new life was about to turn her own upside down, she felt the most incredible sensation of joy. She wanted Chad’s baby, and she was sure that when she told him, Chad would be happy, too.
Because of the baby, she had no choice but to confront her fears about her relationship with Chad. He’d knocked down all the protective barriers she’d so carefully set up. Because of the baby she couldn’t rebuild them. The baby made her vulnerable. She had to admit she did love Chad. She needed him.
Her parents’ deaths had forever shaped her future. When she’d found her birth family, Gloria had expected these strangers to fill the empty places in her heart. That was unreasonable; she saw that now.
It was while she was struggling to reinvent her life, to find a new family, that Gloria had met Chad. A few weeks ago, when she suspected she might be carrying his child, she’d nearly panicked. This couldn’t be happening. But despite her fears, she’d gradually come to accept that this baby was her new family. Hers and Chad’s. Once she saw the pregnancy in this light, she began to feel a sense of peace.
After she’d done the home pregnancy test, she made a doctor’s appointment. The next step was to tell Chad. She realized the news would come as a shock; it had to her. She assumed his reaction would be similar. She’d give him time to adjust, and then they could make their decisions about the future. Decisions and plans…