Fire In His Eyes (Secrets & Seduction #1)(58)

“Well, I’m home now. It took me awhile, I had to stop a couple of times, keep falling apart, you know,” I sniffled, “but I just got in,” I answered truthfully the tears still falling silently.

She didn’t ask me to elaborate. She probably could guess at the truth. “I’m glad you are home safe. We all are. And, I wanted to apologize to you, Monica. I hope I didn’t set that whole thing off down there, but I felt Victor needed a reality check.”

“No, Kat. It’s all right. I had been thinking those things, and hopefully you saying it, then me saying it will get him to see the truth. I love him, Kat. Tell him I said that. With every fiber of my being. Okay? But tell him I meant the other things, too. He’ll know what I mean.” I clutched the phone to my ear.

“I’ll tell him, sweetie. He loves you, too. He does. You take care, and I hope this idiot doesn’t blow it. You are the best thing that has ever happened to him, and if he doesn’t realize it, I’m going to kick his ass. Hang in there, okay?” she said. I could hear the sympathy in her voice.

“I will, and if he doesn’t come for me, Kat,” I choked up, “well, I want you to know that I liked you, and all of Victor’s friends. You and Joe be happy. Goodbye.” I held the phone to my ear to hear her final words.

“Goodbye, Monica. Talk to you soon, I hope.” And, with that she hung up. I cradled my cordless phone back onto the receiver softly, and climbed into my bed with my clothes still on. I had a good long cry for all I that might lose. Please, Victor! I prayed. Pick me, pick us.



The next day, I woke somber, tired, and drained physically and emotionally, but I was determined not to be miserable and allow myself to waste away as I had done the last time Victor and I broke up. I went for my run, as usual, and had a decent breakfast of juice, toast, and coffee. I wasn’t going to wallow in self-pity in my home, either, so I forced myself to go outside and enjoy the beautifully seasonable crisp fall day. I went outside and did some much needed weeding, pulling out all the dead plants and flowers, and annuals that had rotted to nothing in my rock garden. It felt good to be doing something like this, almost symbolic. Getting rid of the dead, the weeds, the things that destroyed, to make room for new growth in the spring when I could plant again.

I heard a car pull up in the driveway and felt a moment of fear before I shook that thought away, and wandered around to the front of my house to see my sister and Teddy get out of her SUV. When she saw me, she waved a bag of bagels and yelled for me to take a break because it looked like I needed one. I was covered in dirt from my waist to my feet.

I went inside, changed quickly, and made a fresh pot of coffee for them as she laid out the bagels and cream cheese. I was surprised it was past noon. I had been out in the yard a lot longer than I had thought-- since nine that morning.

“So, what did I do to get the pleasure of your company, both of you on this beautiful Sunday?” I joked. With Teddy there, I didn’t want to burst into tears or make a scene. I had only spent a few hours with him, here and there, when Ana surprised me with one of their visits.

“Nothing special, Monica. I wanted to check in with you since the last time we spoke. And, we were out getting bagels because Teddy wanted to eat something?” Ana said putting the fixings in her coffee.

“Yeah, anything!” he cracked. “Your sister keeps absolutely nothing in the house. I couldn’t even find a jar of pickles. The only thing she had in the refrigerator was a bottle of vodka, some olives, and a Chinese take-out container that must have been three weeks old.” Teddy reached and grabbed two bagels, and began spreading on a generous amount of cream cheese.

I laughed. “If you want to eat at Ana’s place, you will have to do the cooking and the shopping,” I informed him. The woman lived on take-out, coffee, and iced tea.

“Hey, if he was willing to eat anything, I would have found something for him,” she waggled her eyebrows suggestively. I laughed at her usual crudeness. “But, he said, hey woman, let’s get bagels, so here we are.”

Teddy laughed at her joke, and then responded. “If you expect me to keep my performance levels up, woman, I have to eat,” he complained and then added, “Food.” He must have seen her start to open her mouth for a quick comeback when he added that. I guess he was used to her crudeness, too. That was quick thinking on his part.

Ana reached over and patted his hand. “I used to not spend much time at home, but things change. I’ll shop for you, baby,” she crooned. It was such a sweet gesture and a shot of envy went right through me. If only Victor and I could be this open and have such simple disagreements.

“Thanks, Babe,” he said and caught her hand and kissed it.

My eyebrows shot up. Was this my sister, this domesticated creature willing to shop for her man? I shook my head in bewilderment, but I was happy for her. Teddy seemed like a really nice guy, and she was definitely at ease with him. She never brought guys around. I hoped she had finally found what she had been looking for. They were so affectionate with each other, and I had never seen her be that way with another guy before either. I took that as another good sign.

Turning to me, she asked, “So Monica, how are things going with the Victor situation?” For her to ask me, in front of Teddy, said a lot. She had obviously filled him in as he gazed at me with sympathy.

“I went last night to his friend, Joe’s retirement party. And, I met Victor’s daughter,” I told her.