The Ultimate Betrayal (25 page)

The elevator doors opened and she picked up her bags, ready to face the situation and lend Sophia whatever support she needed.

Before she entered the room, a nurse came barreling down the hallway. “There should really only be two visitors at a time. I’ve made an exception up until this point, but now there will be five of you.”

Rachel weighed her options and decided it was best not to anger the nurse. “All right. I understand, but can you please let them know I’m here and I brought the item that Dominick requested.”

The nurse narrowed her eyes. “What exactly did you bring Mr. Torre?”

There was no sense in lying to the nurse so Rachel came clean. “He asked for a cannoli. I didn’t think one cannoli would make a huge difference. You should have seen his face light up when I agreed.”

“Let me just check with the doctor. It’s probably okay, but I’m sure the dietitian will have some recommendations regarding Mr. Torre’s future diet choices.”

Rachel chuckled. “I imagine she will, so he might as well get a few final pleasures in before having to adhere to a strict diet. I brought back a variety of treats, can I interest you in something decadent. There’s a chocolate torte in here that looks positively immoral.”

“Are you attempting to butter me up, because if you are, it’s working?
Gimme
the damn treat and I’ll let you go in, but can you send one or two people out?” the nurse said.

“Thanks.” Rachel reached in the bag and pulled out the torte, handing it to the smiling nurse.

†

As Rachel entered the room, she noticed how small it was with five visitors. Lara was sitting in the corner while the rest hovered around Dominick’s bed.

“Ah, my savior has arrived,” Dominick declared. “My mouth is literally watering in anticipation.”

Rachel ignored Lara sitting in the corner, pulled out the cannoli, and handed it to Dominick. After giving him his dessert, she set down the bags.

“What’d you do? Buy the whole bakery?” Marie asked.

“As a matter of fact, yes, I practically did. There’s a New York cheesecake for Sophia, Dutch apple pie for Joy, various chocolate treats—although I did have to bribe the nurse with a torte, so there is one less chocolate torte—and finally, various berry cobblers. By the way, I promised the nurse I would send a few people out because there’s only supposed to be two visitors in the room at one time.”

“That was very sweet of you, Rachel,” Sophia said as she stroked her arm.

Rachel pulled Sophia into a hug and absently stroked her back. After several seconds, she pulled back. “How are you holding up?” she whispered.

“A little tired, but good,” Sophia responded.

Rachel noticed Marie scrutinizing her interaction with Sophia.

“It sounds like a few of us need to rotate out for a little while. Dad already suggested I go home and get some rest so that he can eat his little dessert without me hovering and frankly I’m too tired to argue—so you win, Dad. Go for it.” Marie peered into the bag. “I’ll just take one of these little chocolate treats with me. Lara and Joy why don’t you two hang out in the family waiting room for a bit and let Sophia and Rachel visit for a while.”

Rachel thought Lara was going to protest, when she saw Sophia send her a pleading look.

Dominick was watching the interactions and Rachel thought he was trying to figure out all the subtle cues around him.

Rachel had yet to acknowledge Lara.

“I’ll be right down the hallway, Sophia. Hello, Rachel. It was nice of you to come,” Lara stated through gritted teeth.

“I’ll catch up with you later, Lara,” Rachel warned.

“I’ll just help myself to one of these berry cobblers,” Joy announced. “Lara, anything you want from Rachel’s little bag of decadence?”

“No thanks, I’ll pass.” Lara stood up and exited the room.

Marie and Joy followed Lara after pulling their chosen treats from the bag.

†

Sophia looked back at her dad, who was licking his fingers. “Looks like you didn’t waste any time gobbling up your cannoli.”

“You didn’t happen to get any more did you?” Dominick asked.

Rachel laughed. “I did, but I think we better save them for later. I’m sure you’ve already pushed your luck with Marie and Sophia.”

Dominick smiled. “Okay, Sophia, out with it. Something is going on and I want to know what it is. The tension between you, Rachel, and Lara is so thick I could cut it with a knife.”

“Dad, I don’t even know where to begin. Can we talk about this later when you’ve had a chance to recover?”

“What’s Lara done and how does Rachel fit into all of this?” Dominick asked.

“Why do you ask that?” Her father’s question surprised Sophia.

“Give your old man some credit. I can spot a philanderer like myself a mile away. I just thought she truly does love you as much as I loved your mother and that eventually she would see the light like I did. I love Lara, but we’re cut from the same stone,” Dominick explained.

“Well, your prodigy may have taken it a bit further,” Sophia bitterly replied.

“Oh, honey. I didn’t mean to upset you by my observations. I also don’t mean to excuse my behavior or Lara’s. Rachel, how do you fit into this whole mess?”

“I’m the other woman, or more accurately, I was the other woman. I had no idea that Sophia existed before a couple of weeks ago or I never would have married Lara.”

Dominick started coughing and the equipment starting beeping loudly.

“Shit, sorry. I didn’t mean to upset you. The nurse is going to tan my hide,” Rachel declared.

“See, this is why I didn’t want to talk about this,” Sophia added.

The nurse came bustling into the room. “What in tarnation is going on in here?”

Dominick waved his hand in the air. “Water down the wrong pipe. It’s nothing to be concerned about. See? The crazy monitors are already starting to subside.”

The nurse checked all the monitors and the leads attached to Dominick’s body. She nodded. “Let me know if you need anything, I’ll be right outside. Take your time when you take a sip of water.”

The nurse left the room and Dominick looked from Rachel to Sophia. “Are you telling me that Lara is married to both of you?”

“Was married,” Rachel corrected.

“Rachel helped me draw up legal papers. I served Lara with divorce papers two weeks ago. I remained in Victoria and spent the past two weeks vacationing and trying to take my mind off my disastrous marriage.”

Dominick narrowed his eyes at Rachel. “Are you two friends now?”

Sophia watched the flicker of emotions pass across Rachel’s face as she smiled.

“Yes, we’ve gotten close during the past two weeks,” Rachel answered.

“Are you in love with my daughter?”

Sophia choked out her reply. “Dad, we’re just friends. She has come to mean a lot to me. Rachel is as much a victim of Lara’s infidelity as I am, so please don’t judge her too harshly.”

“Oh, I’m not judging anyone. I certainly don’t have the right to do that, besides I like your Rachel. She brought me my cannoli so she just climbed up one more rung in the ladder. I was just asking the question. If it’s any consolation, I do believe that Lara loves you. Probably both of you, but Sophia, you are her one and only, like your mother was for me. I’m sorry if that is painful for you, Rachel.”

“You know, I’ve done a bit of soul searching lately and I wonder if I was blinded by something other than true love. Sure, I’m hurt, but honestly I’ll survive. Maybe I wasn’t as invested in the marriage as I thought I was. I think I understand more fully what truly being in love is really all about.”

Rachel looked at Sophia and Sophia realized at that moment that Rachel’s feelings for her had already evolved into something far deeper than friendship. This sudden realization knocked her off center. Was it possible that Rachel loved her—was in love with her?

“Why don’t you two go out there and send in the other half of the visitor contingent. You should take a walk and visit with one another. From the looks of things, you need to talk,” Dominick directed.

“Your father is a wise man,” Rachel acknowledged.

†

Lara didn’t like it one bit that Sophia and Rachel had become so close. She was on a mission to get her wife back and with Rachel in the picture it complicated things. She felt bad that she’d hurt both women, but she’d finally come to realize that her feelings for Rachel did not come close to her feelings for Sophia. She lusted after Rachel, but she loved and needed Sophia in her life. She might go as far as admitting that Sophia was the best thing that had ever happened to her and she feared she’d blown it.

She knew about Sophia’s tentative relationship with her father because of his infidelity, but that might work to her advantage. In a rare confession from Dominick, Lara learned that Sophia’s mom had forgiven Dominick and they ended up with a solid marriage until the day she died. Sophia had confessed to her that Dominick had been the loving, attentive, husband during her final days—taking much better care of her than either Marie or she thought possible, given his history.

Joy was glaring at her. Clearly, she might be an impediment. Marie had gone home to rest a bit before coming back and that left her all alone with Joy who was clearly declaring herself Sophia’s guard dog.

She wasn’t sure what she would do about Chelsea. She needed to nip that in the bud, and quick, if she had any chance at all. Chelsea had been a surprise. There was no pretense with Chelsea. It was all about sex with her and Lara had to admit the sex was fantastic, but not enough to risk her potential reuniting with Sophia.

“You can stop glaring at me, Joy. No matter what you think of me, what matters in the long run is what Sophia thinks and I’ll be damned if I’ll let you get in the way of our happiness. I admit I fucked up, but if we have a chance to repair this you need to back the fuck off,” Lara warned.

“You think you’re like Dominick, but you’re not. He had the good sense to clean his act up. I don’t think it’s in your DNA to change. You think you can charm your way back into Sophia’s good graces, but in my humble opinion you’ve already lost her to someone who is far more suited to her—someone who will treat her the way she deserves to be treated.”

“Just stay out of this, Joy. I will crush you like a bug if you get in my way.”

“Bring it on. Because you don’t scare me one bit miss big shot financier. Don’t forget that bigamy is a felony and I’m not quite as forgiving as Rachel or Sophia. In the historic words of Clint Eastwood,
go ahead, make my day
, I’d turn you in quicker than you can say
fuck you
.”

Lara would have to rethink her approach. Joy was becoming a serious impediment that she might have underestimated as a potential enemy.

†

The Vivian and Seymour Milstein Family Heart Center, attached to New York Presbyterian Hospital had a stunning view of the Hudson River. Sophia led Rachel outside the center, hoping to find a way to the Hudson River greenway. It was one of the more beautiful parts of New York. Similar to Seattle, if you didn’t live there you had numerous misperceptions about the city. To anyone who didn’t live in Seattle the assumption was that Seattle was a small city lacking in culture. Likewise, Sophia imagined that Rachel viewed New York as a crime ridden, concrete jungle lacking compassion or community. Nothing could be further from the truth and Sophia wanted to show Rachel a small part of her world.