“Would you like a glass of champagne?” A baby-faced waiter held out a silver tray.
Christy shook her head and smiled a polite refusal.
The waiter turned to go, but he hadn’t gone more than a few steps when Christy stopped him.
“Wait.”
The young man spun on his heel. “Change your mind?”
“Actually I wanted to ask you something,” she said. “I’d like to get some fresh air. Someone mentioned a veranda?”
“Yes, ma’am.” He gestured to a set of French doors at the far end of the ballroom. “It’s right out those doors.”
“Thank you.”
“Sure you wouldn’t like to take a glass with you?” he said with an enticing smile.
Christy shook her head. “I think I’ll pass.”
Her head was muddled enough right now. She certainly didn’t need to add alcohol to the equation.
As she made her way across the ballroom, she caught a glimpse of David surrounded by a group of men. He lifted a hand in greeting and Christy managed a weak smile.
Thank goodness he was occupied, or he’d probably come looking for her. And she wasn’t ready to talk to him. Not yet, anyway.
Feeling like a spy in a low-budget movie, Christy glanced around to make sure no one was looking, then pushed open the French doors and slipped out of the stuffy ballroom into the cool night air. The glow from strategically placed lights gave the open area an oddly intimate atmosphere.
Christy moved to the railing. There was so much to think about, so much to consider.
“What’s up?” a deep voice rumbled in her ear.
Christy whirled around, her heart pounding in her chest. She recognized him instantly. Her breath came out in a whoosh and she sagged against the rail. “Rusty, you scared me to death. What are you doing out here?”
She quickly scanned the veranda, expecting to see Lauren. The other woman was nowhere in sight. If tonight was his big chance to get Lauren’s attention, why wasn’t he with her now?
Unless he knows about the baby, she thought.
Her gaze returned to Rusty, but he’d moved past her to the railing and stood staring out into the darkness. She hesitated, sensing his sadness.
“Are you okay?” Christy tentatively touched his arm.
He shrugged, but she already knew the answer. She could see it in the slump of his shoulders and the way his lips drooped like a dejected child.
“Things rocky between you and Lauren?” Christy felt bad about pushing him when it was obvious he didn’t want to talk. But she consoled herself with the knowledge that if he really didn’t want to talk he shouldn’t have approached her in the first place. And, for the moment, focusing on his problems kept her from thinking about her own.
“You could say so.” Rusty took so long to answer Christy had almost forgotten the question. But when his voice cracked and he paused to swipe a hand across his eyes, her heart went out to him.
“She told me tonight that there can never be anything more between us than just friendship.” The imploring eyes he turned to Christy were filled with pain and confusion. “Why would she say that? We’d been having such a good time. I don’t understand.”
Christy had her own theory of why, but she kept silent. It certainly wasn’t her place to tell Rusty about Lauren’s baby. He’d find out soon enough on his own.
“Sometimes it’s hard to know why things happen the way they do,” Christy said, thinking of her own relationship with David. “I guess we have to trust that it will all work out in the end.”
“But Lauren and I are perfect together,” he said.
“That might be,” Christy said. “You can’t make someone love you. If Lauren doesn’t have those feelings for you, she just doesn’t.”
“You make it sound simple. It’s not,” Rusty said. “I’ve been in love with Lauren since I was fifteen.”
Christy thought back to those dark days of senior year when David had walked out of her life.
“Oh, Rusty, I know it’s not simple or easy,” she said softly. “When David and I broke up in high school, I didn’t think I could go on. I loved him so much and I couldn’t understand why he didn’t feel the same. I wanted to plead with him to stay with me. But I couldn’t do it. I had too much pride.”
Rusty’s gaze met hers. “So what did you do?”
“I told myself that if David and I were meant to be together, it would happen.” Christy hesitated. She’d never talked about this so frankly with anyone before. But she hoped Rusty would find some comfort in her words. “Now I realize that if he hadn’t broken up with me, I probably wouldn’t have gone to Princeton. I guess what I’m trying to say is because of that decision, my life took a different turn. Maybe because of Lauren’s decision, your life will go in a different direction. Maybe you’re destined to meet someone else you wouldn’t have met if you and Lauren were still involved. Or maybe down the road you’ll be able to help a friend in a similar situation because you’ll understand what he’s going through.”
“I wouldn’t wish this on a friend,” Rusty said.
Christy silently agreed. Her marriage and impending divorce might make her a better therapist and educator, but she would give anything not to have had her life turn out this way. “I wouldn’t either.”
Her gaze met his and they shared a smile of understanding.
“You know, I never liked you,” he said.
The sentiment didn’t surprise her. “I know,” she said. “I never understood why.”
“This might not make any sense,” Rusty said. “But it was because David liked you and not Lauren.”
“You’re right,” Christy said, shaking her head. “That doesn’t make sense. I would have thought you’d have been thrilled she and David weren’t together.”
“The problem was I always wanted Lauren to be happy,” he said. “She wanted David in the worst way and you were the only thing standing between them.”
Christy wanted to point out that after she’d left town, David and Lauren could have connected, but she kept silent.
“It’s odd, isn’t it?” she said simply. “How everyone always seems to want what they can’t have.”
“But it worked out for you. You and David ended up together,” Rusty said.
Yes, but for how much longer?
“You’re a good guy, Rusty,” Christy said softly. “One of these days you’ll find someone who’ll return your love.”
“Do you really think so?”
Christy nodded.
Rusty stared at her for a long moment. “You know, I can see why David married you.”
“Thank you,” Christy said. “That means a lot.”
“Maybe when I get a new girlfriend, the four of us can go out sometime.”
It was amazing. Rusty’s broken heart had already started to mend.
Though she prayed hers would heal as quickly, Christy had her doubts. Leaving David would be the hardest thing she’d ever have to do. But in the end, what choice did she have?
Lauren’s baby deserved a chance at life, and Christy was going to see that it got that chance.