On Second Thought
Page 47

“I love it,” Marley said. “If you were ten years older, Jon.”
He smiled at her.
Huh. I couldn’t say I’d ever seen him smile before. It was an unexpectedly sweet smile, just a curve of the lips and a slight crinkle to his eyes.
And he was still wearing the suit he wore to work, except his tie was a tiny bit loosened, and...well...he was suddenly...attractive.
“I’d better head off,” he said.
“Would you give me a ride home?” I heard myself ask.
The smile was gone. “Of course.”
“It was great meeting you,” I said, putting down my share of the tab as well as a healthy tip. “Hope to see you again.” They answered in a chorus of goodbyes.
We walked out to Jonathan’s car, a very sleek Jaguar. Maybe the magazine industry wasn’t so bad after all.
He held the door for me. I got the sense that his nanny would beat him with a cane if he didn’t. “So why did you get a divorce, Jonathan?” I asked as he got in.
He didn’t answer for a minute, just pulled carefully onto the street. “I’d rather not discuss it,” he said.
“Okay. Sorry.”
“It’s all right.”
“I really could coach you on dating, you know,” I said.
“I appreciate the offer, but no, thank you.”
“How old are your children?” Apparently, I was not the sit in comfortable silence type.
That smile, though. That had been a very nice smile.
“Emily is eight, and Lydia is six.”
“Do you get to see them a lot?”
“Yes. My ex-wife and I share custody. A week with me, a week with her.” He turned, knowing where Kate’s house was, I presumed, because he knew everything about this area. It was a famous house in our fair city.
“Does your ex live in Cambry-on-Hudson?”
He glanced at me. “Yes. We didn’t want the girls to have to experience any more change than was necessary.”
“Right. Of course.”
We were quiet for a minute, and I looked out the window at all the pretty houses. If we took a right at the stop sign, and then a left, and another right, we’d be on the street where I used to live.
Used to.
“I won’t say anything,” I said, still looking out the window. “About your divorce or anything. You don’t have to worry about that.”
“I’m not.”
That was all he said. I wasn’t sure if it was a compliment or a threat.
A minute later, he pulled into Kate’s driveway. The house was lit up, glowing from the exterior lights that my sister couldn’t manage to turn off. Several trees and a modern statue were lit from the base.
“How is your sister these days?”
“Quiet. Sad.”
He nodded. “Please give her my best.”
For once, his formal language didn’t put me off. He looked at me for a long minute, not blinking.
If I’d been with anyone else, I would’ve thought he wanted to say something.
I wasn’t used to just looking at him; in fact, I rather specialized in avoiding exactly that, since he was usually frowning in disapproval at me. But in the glow from the car light, it seemed that one of his eyes had a flake of gold in it. Yes. It did. The other one did not.
“Your eyes don’t match,” I said. My voice was a little strange.
He blinked. “Sectoral heterochromia,” he said, glancing at his hands, then back at me. “A color abnormality in one part of a person’s eye.”
“Oh.” It was rather hypnotic, that mysterious bit of gold in the pale green...or blue. His eyes weren’t the lifeless alien pale color I’d always thought. No, on closer inspection, they were made up of pieces and shards of blue and green, and that one little patch of pure gold sitting at eight o’clock in his left iris.
I was staring.
Jonathan’s mouth moved. It wasn’t exactly a smile as much as...well... I didn’t know what.
“Good night, Ainsley. Try to be on time tomorrow.”
I cleared my throat. “Will do. Thank you for the ride.”
Then I got out, the spring air cool on my surprisingly hot face.
* * *
The next morning, I made it to work at 8:31. I would’ve been in at 8:30 if not for a school bus driver who decided he had to have a chat with a kindergartner’s dad. I slid into my desk, but not before Jonathan looked up, irritation quirking his mouth downward. Because I was sixty seconds late.
If there had been a moment in the car last night, it was probably only in my imagination. In fact, thinking about it, I was sure it was.
Ten minutes after I sat down, Rachelle’s voice came over the intercom. “Ainsley, there’s someone here to see you.” Her usually mellow voice was tense.
Oh, God. Eric. Was it Eric? Finally! My knees and elbows tingled, and my heart seemed to lurch into my throat. “I’ll be right out.”
Everything was going to be all right. Everything would go back to normal. He’d have the ring. He’d apologize. Once I saw him and how sorry he was, all the love would come flooding back and I’d forgive him. We’d never gone so long without seeing each other, and just the thought of being close to him again made my whole body thrum. I hadn’t let myself miss him yet, too consumed with anger and embarrassment. But God, I’d missed him.
I checked my reflection in my computer screen, fluffed my hair a little and pinched my cheeks, like Scarlett O’Hara. Eric! I was about to see Eric at last. My knees tingled as I walked into the reception area.
It wasn’t Eric.
It was his mother. My heart fell into my shoes.
“Honey,” she said, rising, tears filling her eyes. “Can we talk?”
“Is Eric okay?” I asked.
“See, I knew you’d ask. I know you still care, I do, honey. Yes, he’s fine. Well, if you can call this grizzly bear fixation fine. Can we go somewhere private? He’s losing his mind!”
I ushered Judy into the conference room. Jonathan came in almost immediately, as I knew he would. It was his magazine, after all, and he had to monitor all activity, especially anything personal.
“Good morning,” he said, leaning in the doorway. “I’m Jonathan Kent.”
“Judy, this is my boss, Jonathan Kent. Jonathan, this is Judy Fisher. Eric’s mother. Did you meet at Eric’s...um...” My voice trailed off.
“You were so wonderful to try to help poor Nathan,” she said, holding his hand with both of hers. “And of course, Eric loved having his blog here. Oh, dear, this is such a mess.”
“Would you like some coffee?” he asked.
“No, no, I’ll just be a moment. Thank you.”
He glanced at me, and I could see the irritation in his special hetero-something eyes. “So. Ainsley, you’ll have that piece on Labor Day events for me soon?” The reminder that we were at work, in case I forgot.
“You bet.” I would have to start it soon, actually. He left, closing the door behind him.
“Did you see Eric on TV?” Judy asked. “Our hearts are broken! He looked so handsome, though, didn’t he? I don’t know what to do, Ainsley! Please don’t give up on him yet.”
“Judy, believe me, I—”
“You know how he is with stress. He wet the bed when he went to camp the first time! When he was eleven and had his first erection, he was afraid it was cancer. Oh, God. How’s that for irony? Maybe we should’ve taken him to the doctor back then. Maybe we would’ve caught it early.”