Pippa's Fantasy by Donna Gallagher Read Free Book Online Page B

arms around herself, trying to hold the emotions and hurt at bay, to keep them from tearing her in two.
    “How ’bout I make a pot of chamomile tea? I think we could both use a cup. Then you can tell me all about your day. In the meantime, Pip, sit back and take a few moments, try and relax. I’ll be right back,” Cassie soothed. Then she headed off into the kitchen, leaving Pippa to her own thoughts—thoughts she didn’t really want to deal with, especially not on her own.
    Shutting her eyes and letting her head fall against the back of the couch, Pippa listened to the sounds Cassie was making in the kitchen, familiar sounds. She heard the rumble of the kettle boiling and the chink of crockery as Cassie made the tea. Pippa hoped that if she concentrated on those sounds around her, her thoughts would refrain from making her relive the drama of the day.
    “Here you go, Pip.” Cassie handed Pippa a steaming cup of the aromatic tea and sat down beside her.
    Pippa sipped at her tea for a few moments, but it did little to help her mood. Finally, she spoke.
    “You should have seen the confusion in Rook’s eyes when he recognised me and then realised who I really was. His whole expression changed. He looked hurt, Cassie. I nearly blurted out the whole sordid truth to Brodie James right there and then.”
    “You didn’t though, honey, did you?” Cassie’s serious tone momentarily distracted Pippa from her tale of woe.
    “No, I didn’t, but I don’t feel good about it. You should have heard the glowing endorsement Brodie gave me. I feel like such a fraud. I’ve let everyone down. “
    Pippa was fighting back tears as she spoke and trying to ignore the ache in her chest. Occasionally, she rubbed absentmindedly at that painful spot over her heart with her closed fist.
    “Did Rook say anything?” Cassie quietly asked. “Did he talk to Brodie, give you up?”
    “Before I could talk to him, maybe apologise or something, he was gone. One minute he was there and then the next…” Tears started to roll down Pippa’s cheeks.
    Cassie wrapped a comforting arm around her shoulders.
    “Don’t do this to yourself, Pip, regret and ‘whatifs’ aren’t going to change what happened. Move on. Eating yourself up won’t help. What’s done is done, sweetie. You really need to concentrate on your career now… Your future,” Cassie said.
    “I just feel so guilty, Cassie, and then to top it all off I had this weird conversation with Brodie about Rook being my teenage crush. It was so humiliating.”  
    “Let it go… You have wanted to work for the Jets for a long time, and now you have that chance. Grab it—whatever happens with Rook will happen. Just let him have some time to get over the shock. Look, sweetie, he’s a man. His ego took a bit of a hit. But he got his end in. He will get over it, probably just as soon as he finds another conquest.”
    “Do you really think so, Cass?” Pippa asked, trying to garner strength from her best friend’s words.
    “Yeah, hon, I do. Just give it some time.”
    But just as quickly as the hope began to surface that Rook might forgive her, the idea of him with another woman broke Pippa’s heart all over again.
    “Maybe…” Pippa sounded less than confident even to her own ears as she sipped at the cooling tea. “I’ll try, Cass. In fact, I have to start pretty soon. JT invited me to a get-together at his place. He said it would be a good chance for me to mingle with some of the team, let them get used to having me around. And on the positive, it will be great to catch up with Caitlin and Mandy again.”
    Pippa remembered how the two senior members of the Jets squad her father had coached had fallen hard for their respective wives. Both men had met their other halves a matter of weeks apart from one another, and to top it off, both women had lived in the same apartment building.
    Pippa, only fifteen at the time, had loved the romantic—but quite public—wedding proposal