Blind Attraction Page 16

  Feeling Catherine’s presence to her side and slightly behind her, Victoria murmured, “I guess I’m not what he was hoping for.”

  “He looked more hurt than upset,” Catherine commented. “Didn’t you say anything?”

  “Well,” Victoria swallowed hard against her guilt and pain. She couldn’t tell her that she was just about to go after him; it would look too much like a cop out. “No. I wanted to know if he would be attracted to me without knowing it was me; he wasn’t.”

  “You don’t know that for a fact,” Catherine stated.

  Victoria shrugged, not up to arguing the point with Catherine. It was hardly relevant anyways; he still walked away once he saw her. Glancing over her shoulder, Victoria murmured, “I was going to go up there after I gathered my nerves.”

  Catherine smiled, motioning for Victoria to sit back down. Resigned, Victoria did so and watched as Catherine plopped the fat folder down on the table. “Did you take advantage of his blindness to land yourself a rich husband and live a life of luxury?”

  “Why?” Victoria shrugged her shoulders. “All of the money in the world hasn’t made Taylor very happy; there are things that money simply cannot buy.”

  “Still, wealth can provide many luxuries….”

  “And it would mean nothing without love,” Victoria sighed, knowing she was being a hopeless romantic. “To love and be loved is everything; I thought I had that with James.”

  “You used his blindness to finagle your way into his life and you pretended to be something you’re not,” Catherine judged harshly.

  “I’ve never pretended to be anything other than what I am,” Victoria said indignantly. “And had I known that it was Taylor that he wanted then I never would have gotten involved with him. He’s the one who used his blindness to manipulate me – her – and if I had been aware of his error then I would have corrected it. I would just as soon tear out my own heart then to deliberately mislead him.”

  “You love him,” Catherine said smugly, a too-pleased smile on her lips.

  Victoria laughed but it was without any real humor. “What does it matter? He met me under false pretenses; I’m not who he wants.”

  “Pshaw; Jimmy doesn’t know what he wants,” she waved her hand through the air.

  For some reason, those words hurt even more; Victoria knew exactly what she wanted but she couldn’t make him fall in love with her, not the way she loved him. “Weren’t you just accusing me of having less than honorable intentions towards your boss?”

  Catherine’s lips curved upwards in a knowing grin, “I wanted to see how you felt about him. Of course, I’ve known all along how you felt about him.”

  Victoria’s look of disbelief spoke volumes. “Didn’t it occur to you just now as he walked away that it doesn’t matter? I’m not who he wants.”

  Standing up, she was going to put on her big girl panties and go up to see James; she was finished with the conversation. With a bemused smile, she looked at Catherine, “You were right, you know; I did take advantage of his blindness; I thought he could fall in love with me, not my looks or the lack thereof. Two weeks just wasn’t long enough.”

  “Can you honestly tell me that his looks have nothing to do with how you feel about him?” Catherine asked skeptically.

  “He’s a gorgeous man, but I’ve known plenty of attractive men in my life,” Victoria shrugged. “I’ve never found looks to be a good indicator of character and James has character in spades.”

  “What are you going to do, then?” Catherine asked, gathering up her files.

  “Go up there and talk to him,” Victoria answered, shrugging her shoulders. “It’s the least I can do.”

  Catherine beamed at her, looping her arm through Victoria’s as they made their way to the elevator bay. “Well, I think it’s a brilliant idea.”

  Victoria wasn’t so sure and offered a weak smile as she pulled her cell phone out of her purse and turned it on to check for any messages. There were several missed calls from Marnie followed by even more from Taylor. With a furrowed brow, she called Marnie first, her heart racing in her chest in apprehension. When Marnie didn’t answer, the apprehension turned to dread.

  “What is it?” Catherine asked softly.

  Shaking her head as she dialed Taylor’s number, she answered, “I don’t know.”

  “Vi? Thank God,” Taylor’s normally calm voice sounded extremely panicked, which was never a good sign. “Marnie had to take her son to the hospital….”

  The bottom fell out of Victoria’s world. “Oh, no! What happened? Is he okay?”

  “He’s fine,” Taylor assured her, calming Victoria’s worries some. “They were getting ready to leave when he accidentally knocked over a vase and then he cut his hand on the broken glass; he just needs a few stitches.”

  “Thank God,” Victoria breathed, sagging in relief as she pressed her hand against her racing heart.

  “But you have to get back to the store immediately,” Taylor pleaded, the panic even more apparent in her voice. “I don’t know what I’m doing and I am so afraid of messing up.”

  “I’m right in the middle of something really important,” Victoria began, already walking away from the elevators, away from James.

  “I know and I am so sorry.” Taylor sounded close to tears and Victoria picked up her pace in a hurry to return to her friend’s side.

  “I’m on my way,” Victoria assured her, ending the call, aware of Catherine following close behind.

  “Wait!” Catherine called out, the frustration in her voice. “Come back here and work things out with James! Victoria!”

  “I can’t,” Victoria said, her voice laden with regret as she stepped through the doors and headed down the sidewalk towards the parking ramp. “It would take too long and I have to go.”

  “Coward!” Catherine bellowed.

  Walking away before anything else could be said, she shook her head in resignation, “I have a store to run and a fortune of my own to make.”

  *****

  A few long hours later, once she had closed the shop, Victoria threw herself down in one of the over-stuffed chairs, too emotionally and physically drained to make it back upstairs to change out of the beautiful dress. She’d get to it eventually but for now she wanted to collect her thoughts in a warm atmosphere. Kicking off her heels, she curled her legs under her and rested her head on her palm. When she created her broken-hearted section, she would have tissue boxes handy. And garbage cans.

  Taylor sat on the edge of a chair, handing Victoria a tissue, “Tell me what happened with James; you look even worse than you did this morning when you woke up.”

  She smiled slightly at that, considering just how horrible she looked when she woke up with a red nose and puffy eyes. “He saw me and then he… walked away. He looked at me as if he had just discovered I was a Cylon, one of those new and improved ones that look human but really aren’t, and he wasn’t pleased with the realization.”

  “I don’t understand your reference but he’s a moron,” Taylor offered.

  Victoria huffed out a harsh laugh, “I was even going to go up to his office and introduce myself but then there was the emergency here and I had to leave.”

  “I’m so sorry, Vi,” Taylor breathed, leaning back in the chair and letting the silence wash over them.

  “No,” Victoria shook her head. “It’s for the best; this way he can have some more time to adjust.”

  Taylor scooted over and squished into the chair next to Victoria. Wrapping her arms around Victoria, she rested her chin on Victoria’s shoulder, “He doesn’t know what he’s missing.”

  “Oh, I’m pretty sure he does,” Victoria laughed without humor.

  Taylor stilled, pulling back slightly to look at her friend, “Tell me you didn’t sleep with him, Vi. Please.”

  Victoria remained stubbornly silent and Taylor tightly closed her eyes, returning her head to Vi’s shoulder, “You’ve only known him for a few weeks; what possessed y
ou to have sex with the man?”

  “The chemistry,” Victoria murmured, not sure how else to describe that zing she had felt from the very first moment he stepped into her store.

  Taylor exhaled noisily, “Guys are all the same; take Sebastian Moore for example.”

  “Okay, that’s totally random,” Victoria smirked, accepting the non-sequitur because Taylor was entering Taylor-land. She’d eventually get around to making her point.

  Holding on to Victoria as if she might never let go, Taylor began to explain, “He accepts me as his daughter even though I might not be his while he lets another man raise the child that truly is his daughter. How messed up is that?”

  “I guess it’s pretty messed up,” Victoria agreed with a half-grin, curious to see where Taylor was going with this story. It was bound to be interesting; though Taylor rarely spoke about Sebastian Moore she always had fascinating tidbits to impart about his affairs and his business savvy. “But, what does this have to do with… anything?”

  “Because I need to tell you something really important,” she said solemnly, frightening Victoria a little bit.

  “Well?” Victoria asked when Taylor didn’t continue. “Are you going to tell me?”

  The frown magically disappeared and Taylor grinned broadly, “I know who your father is.”

  Victoria stared at Taylor in mute silence; that was the earth shattering news? And if she knew, why didn’t she just tell her? “Okay, and?”

  “Come on, Vi, play with me,” Taylor teased, digging her fingers into Victoria’s ribs making her laugh. Drawing back, she grinned, “It’ll be fun; I promise.”

  Victoria’s smiled reluctantly, “Why do those words coming from your mouth scare me?”

  “Think about it, Vi,” Taylor ground out in exasperation. “If you put it all together you’ll figure it out.”

  “I’m not Sherlock Holmes,” Victoria protested. “If you know, tell me.”

  “I promised I wouldn’t.” Taylor frowned, obviously not pleased with the way the game was playing out. “You should have figured it out by now; all you have to do is say it.”

  “I don’t want to,” Victoria breathed, her chest constricting in fear and anticipation.

  “Victoria,” Taylor murmured with a scowl. Catching her lower lip between her teeth, she finally asked, “What do you know about your father? About your real father?”

  “I know enough; I know that you killed him,” Victoria rasped in her best Luke impersonation. It wasn’t very good but it still made her smile. At the cross expression on Taylor’s face, the smile faded and she let out her breath. “Fine. The only thing mom told me was that he was the most extraordinarily beautiful man she had ever met and on the night I was conceived he was utterly desolate.

  “She was cleaning the offices after everyone had gone home and he was sitting alone in the dark; she said he scared the bejeezus out of her when she realized he was there,” Victoria smiled grimly. “She offered comfort and he took it. Afterwards she freaked out and ran back home to daddy. I guess she didn’t even realize he was the father until later on.”

  “Uh huh,” Taylor nodded with a frown. For as intelligent as Victoria was, she was being awfully dense. After a long, silent pause, she asked, “Did you know that Serenity Elementary doesn’t offer financial assistance?” Pausing for a breath to add drama, she continued, “That in order to get in, one must be the child of someone… influential.”

  “That doesn’t narrow the field much,” Victoria said, ignoring the niggling thoughts in the back of her head. It’s not true; it’s impossible….

  “And then there was your scholarship to Wesmore Lakes,” Taylor continued, on a roll.

  “That’s because you and I were friends and your father wanted us to continue being classmates,” Victoria managed, her heart raging in her chest. Why did it feel like her skin was too sensitive, that the lightest touch would cause her to blister?

  “Oh, please; a man does not shell out that kind of money on a whim,” Taylor scoffed, refusing to let Victoria bury her head in the sand any longer. “He did it because daddy has always loved you; he just wasn’t allowed to interfere directly in your life.”

  Victoria heard the words, she knew they were true, but she couldn’t believe them. If she did, then that changed… everything. Scrambling to her feet, catching herself on the back of the chair before she tumbled over, she panicked, “I’ve got to change.”

  “Victoria!” Taylor cried, jumping to her feet as well. “I tell you that we’re sisters and all you can say is ‘I’ve got to change?’”

  Victoria’s world had been turned upside down and inside out. First James and now… this. Reaching the back of the store, she paused, “Taylor?”

  Taylor jumped, startled, before catching up to her friend… her sister. “Coming.”

  As soon as she was changed into her work clothes, a nice pair of black slack and a thin, blue sweater, Victoria joined Taylor in her living room. Sitting down in the chair across from Taylor, all of the emotional turmoil taking its toll, she eyed her friend. Her sister. “How long have you known?”

  Taylor looked down at her fingers as they twisted the tassels of one of Victoria’s decorative throw pillows. They were going to be torn to threads by the end of the conversation but Victoria didn’t mind; she never liked those particular pillows anyway. “Taylor? How long?”

  Suddenly looking up at her with pleading eyes, Taylor grabbed Victoria’s hands, “Vi, you have to understand that I have always thought of you as a sister, always. I mean, when I was eight, father told me that a new student was going to be joining our class and it was up to me to make sure she settled in; that it was our responsibility to help those who have so little.”

  At Victoria’s raised eyebrow, Taylor rushed on, “I would have been friends with you anyway. But, to answer your question, I’ve known since you were in the hospital.”

  Victoria frowned, “When we were sixteen?”

  “Yes,” Taylor nodded. Chewing on her lower lip, once again avoiding Victoria’s eyes, she explained. “Father and I were spending the holidays in France and as soon as I got the call that you were in the hospital, that it was serious, he got this strange expression on his face. Without a word, he made all of the arrangements to return home immediately. The entire flight was filled with tension and I remembered thinking that it was so odd that he was so affected by my friend’s illness.

  “He would pace back and forth and then collapse into his seat when he exhausted himself.” Taylor smiled sadly, “I laughed at his anguish and I said, ‘My God, it’s like you’re her father or something.’ A flush spread across his cheek bones and he looked away and in that moment I knew; I knew. ‘You are her father,’ I said; it all made so much sense.”

  Taylor laughed at the memory, but it wasn’t a joyful laugh. “He threatened to storm the hospital and demand to see you, to expose your mother.” At Victoria’s horrified expression, Taylor shook her head, “I doubt he would have actually done it; he was just terrified of losing you before he even had a chance to get to know you. Afterwards he felt so guilty for what he had almost done that he has kept his distance ever since.”

  Victoria nodded; that explained why her mother confessed, probably figuring it was best if Victoria heard from her mother instead of a stranger. Her father. But something didn’t make sense…. “If you knew, why didn’t you tell me?”

  The blush staining Taylor’s cheeks deepened and she was quiet for a long time. Straightening her shoulders, she faced Victoria fully. “I was stunned and when he cancelled our vacation to return to your side I thought he loved you more, after all, you are his daughter.”

  “Taylor,” Victoria reached out and tried to offer comfort but Taylor brushed her hand off.

  “I wanted to take something away from you the way I thought you took something away from me,” Taylor admitted quietly, holding up her hand to halt anything Victoria might have said. “So I slept with the boy you had a crush on, knowing that
he wanted you instead of me.”

  Victoria’s mouth dropped open as warring emotions flooded her, confusion, anger, sympathy, sorrow. Softly, she asked, “Why did you sleep with Alex, then?”

  “Because you got to choose your life,” Taylor murmured, her eyes glistening.

  “Oh, Taylor,” Victoria sighed, moving over to the couch and hugging her friend.

  “Let me make it up to you,” Taylor said suddenly, lifting her face and looking at Victoria with large, brown eyes. Even crying she was beautiful, with glistening eyes and smooth, golden skin. No red blotchiness for Taylor.

  “It isn’t necessary,” Victoria murmured, pressing her cheek against Taylor’s temple and staring off into space. Her thoughts wandered and briefly she remembered meeting Mr. Moore, or rather, she remembered seeing him from across the room at one of the school plays. At the time, she thought he truly was one of the most extraordinarily beautiful men she had ever seen, but he seemed isolated, apart from the world around him. Almost like an angel fallen from heaven biding his time on earth until he could return home.

  “I know! I could give Terrance a call.” Taylor’s smile was wobbly but it was there. Sniffing delicately, she brushed her fingers under her eyes. “We could all go out.”

  “I don’t think so,” Victoria dissented.

  “It’ll be fun,” Taylor enthused. “Just like old times.”

  Victoria had to laugh at that; old times included Victoria being the third wheel on Taylor and Terrance’s dates when they were together and then the buffer when they weren’t. “Maybe some other time; I still need to figure out what to do about James.”

  “Give him some time; he has a lot to adjust to with his eyesight coming back so abruptly and then discovering the woman he loves looks nothing at all like he imagined,” Taylor murmured, resting her head on Victoria’s shoulder once more. “If he can’t see what a wonderful person you are then he isn’t worth it.”