Page 73 of The Art of Taking Second Chances

She looked up with a quizzical frown.

“The number of times you called that week, and the number of times I didn’t answer.”

She gasped as tears pooled in her eyes. I reached out to hold her hands and dropped my forehead on hers. “I’m so, so sorry, Tara, for deserting you when you most needed me. Why would you think this would change anything? And why did Amar not tell me?”

“He didn’t know until you cut off all contact with me. Now I know you had already left for the U.S. by then,” she said in a hollow voice.

“I left because I had no choice.”

It was time to tell her everything. The words poured out of me. I abandoned all my excuses and disclosed the shame I had kept buried for all these years.

“The deeper we dug, the more dirt we unearthed. Turned out Dad had incurred a huge personal debt. We were forced to liquidate every asset we owned to repay it. We lost everything. There was no choice left but to flee. Mom deserved none of it, and I’ve worked hard to give her back everything she lost. She was the doyenne of high society. Classy, cultured, and proud, but always kind. She never spoke ill of anyone, never indulged in gossip, yet life dealt her a hand that made her the subject of gossip, a target of bawdy jokes. I heard what rotten words they used for her, although it was Dad whose misdeeds had led to our downfall.”

Tara brought her hand to my cheek as a tear slipped down hers. “I’m so sorry, Sameer. Why didn’t you tell me all this sooner?”

“I was so ashamed. I’m still ashamed. How could I have dragged you into the ruins of my life? I never intended to be cruel, but I was so out of my depth. I had no idea what I was doing. It has taken me all these years to get past it.”

“So, where does that leave us? Where do we go from here, Sameer?”

I looked into her eyes. “Years ago, I asked you this, and I’m asking you again today. What do you want, Tara?”

This time, I didn’t get the answer I wanted.

“I don’t know. I’m scared,” she said.

We stayed in the same spot on the couch, our hands clutched tight and our foreheads touching, until the sun shifted in its track to cast an evening shadow through the west window. When my phone chimed on the side table, she stirred and relaxed her grip on my hands.

“I better leave.” She scooped up her shoulder bag from the recliner and dashed out the door.

Chapter 22

Tara

The soft click of the door closing behind me sounded like a gong in my head as I walked away feeling conflicted and discombobulated. The thought of crossing the dreaded threshold back into his arms terrified me, but that’s exactly where I wanted to be. I rushed back and rapped on the door. It flew open as if he had been waiting on the other side.

“I still want you, Sameer Rehani,” I cried and threw my arms around his neck.

“And I want you, all of you,” he said.

“But if we do this, there’s no going back. If you disappear again, it will destroy me. Do you understand?”

He nodded. “I’m not going anywhere.”

“I’m scared, but I’m trusting you, Sameer.”

“I know I haven’t given you many reasons for it, but I’m right here.”

I flung my bag on the floor and held his face in my hands. “Don’t say that.” I touched my forehead to his. “But you can’t change your mind again.”

“I’ve never changed my mind, Tara. It’s always been you.”

My heart gave out a flutter, and my knees quivered at those words. My entire body trembled. I pounced on his mouth so wildly, I almost knocked him off his feet.

He staggered but held on to my shoulders and steadied himself. “Easy, easy, baby.”

I knew I didn’t want to wait any longer. “Kiss me,” I rasped with need.

I watched his smile fade away as he stepped back. His strong gaze considered me for a moment, then he said, “Nah, I changed my mind.”

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