The Right Choice(49)
Author: Carly Phillips

“She playing hard to get?” Pete asked.

“She just needs some coaxing,” Mike said, deliberately vague. He had no intention of discussing his relationship, or lack thereof, with Pete.

His brother paced the room. “I know she’s worth the effort,” he said at last.

“Having second thoughts?”

“Hell no.” Pete laughed. “She’s all yours. Carly and I wouldn’t make each other happy,” he said.

Mike raised his eyebrows in surprise. “Since when does happiness count?” he asked his work-devoted brother.

Pete sat himself on the chair next to Mike’s bed. “Since I nearly destroyed someone who was nothing but good to me. And since Regina expected to marry the newest litigation partner on her way up the corporate ladder.”

“Didn’t like being on the other end of things, huh? There might be hope for you yet, little brother.”

“Don’t get carried away,” Pete muttered.

Mike laughed. “Well, you did good letting Carly know after the hospital notified you.”

He shrugged uncomfortably. “It was the least I could do. You’re my brother, after all.”

Mike nodded. It was something Carly had reminded him of time and again. He needed his brother, something he wouldn’t have been able to admit prior to his return to the Middle East. He could face that truth now.

Along with many others. He only hoped it wasn’t too late.

* * *

Carly stepped out of the bathroom to the sound of an insistent ring. “I’m coming,” she called to her impatient visitor. She’d just gotten out of the shower and finished blow-drying her hair, probably missing the first couple of rings. Whoever was out there had his finger permanently attached to her doorbell. She opened the door a crack and glanced beyond the chain lock.

“Mike?” She closed the door to unlatch the lock. “What are you doing here?” He wasn’t due to be released from the hospital until the next day.

“I couldn’t take that place another minute.” He smiled and headed straight for his chair. Holding his right side, he lowered himself slowly and dropped a duffel bag onto the floor. “I’ll never take being mobile for granted again.”

Carly stopped in the kitchen for a glass of ice water and tried to calm the pounding of her heart. She wasn’t ready for this conversation, not without warning. Apparently, though, Mike had set the timetable. She’d just have to listen… and hope he hadn’t come to tell her he was leaving again as soon as he was able.

“You checked out against doctor’s orders, I’ll bet.” She handed him the glass and sat down on the couch.

He shrugged. “Another day or night wasn’t going to make a difference.”

“I’m sure your doctor had other ideas.” She chewed on her lower lip. Finally curiosity got the better of her. “Where are you staying?” Until he was healed, she didn’t have to worry about him hopping on the nearest airplane out of the country. At least not yet. She fingered her bangs. Her hand trembled and she shoved it beneath her leg.

“I’ll stay with Pete for a week or so.” Mike deliberately paused for a sip of water and watched her reaction.

She nodded slowly. “And then?” Her lips, which had been damp before, had lost their luster as she nibbled on her lower lip with her teeth.

“What do you expect me to do?”

Startled, she met his gaze. Her brown eyes reflected confusion and something else. What, he didn’t know. Since his return he hadn’t been able to read her as easily as before.

“Do you expect me to head overseas?”

“I… I don’t know what to expect.”

He placed his glass down, rose carefully and resettled himself next to her on the couch. “There was a time when I didn’t either.”

“And now you do?”

He nodded. “You accused me of not understanding the concept of commitment once, and as much as that hurt, it was the truth.”

She shook her head. “I was wrong. You’ve always been committed to your job, to your brother. To me, when you set your mind to proving certain points,” she said with a grin.

He placed his hand beneath her chin, turning her so their eyes locked. “Committed to running away. It’s not the same thing.”

“Maybe not,” she murmured.

“Definitely not. Until you damn near married my brother I didn’t realize what a mess I’d made of my life. That was a wake-up call if I’d ever gotten one.”

“I thought you provided me with the wake-up call.” She smiled, the gesture so warm and open, he nearly forgot the last month of deprivation.

“We’re good for each other.” If her appearance was any indication, she’d missed him as much as he’d ached for her. She’d lost weight in the time they’d been apart. Slender legs were encased in tight leggings and suede boots. Her damp hair trailed over an oversized white sweater that hugged her thighs. And shadows lurked in her dark eyes. Shadows he’d do his damndest to remove, if she’d let him.

He touched her soft cheek with one knuckle. “In your own quiet way, you showed me all I was missing.

She shook her head. “I abandoned you.” She didn’t meet his gaze.

“No.” Pulling her against him, he buried his face in her hair and inhaled the scent he’d only had the luxury of dreaming of. “You cared enough to let me go when I needed to.”

In a move that stunned him, she jerked backward, removing herself from his arms and distancing herself from his touch. She stood. Tears ran unchecked down her cheeks.

“Don’t give me so much credit.” She shook her head and laughed, a harsh sound that tore at his heart. “I let you go because it was easier than walking away myself. But if you hadn’t gotten that call, don’t think for a minute I wouldn’t have found an excuse to pull away.”

He stood and remained silent. Nothing she said came as a shock to him, nor did it bother him the way she obviously thought it should. “And?”

“Don’t you get it? I wanted you to go.” She obviously felt she owed him the truth.

He respected her for that, he thought, watching her sink back into the couch. “And you wanted me to come back, just as much as I wanted to come back to you.” He stayed silent until she looked at him. “I went because I had to and came back for the same reasons.”

“I don’t understand.”