A Rare Chance Read Online Free Page A

daughter. After their parting a year before, he probably knew better than to even ask. Yet, seeing him slouched on her sofa in obvious pain, Gabriella had to fight off the guilt. He was her father. With her mother gone, he was all she had.
    Lizzie touched her arm. “He just needs some time to mend. We’ll figure things out.”
    Gabriella sighed, nodding. Now wasn’t the time for I-told-you-sos. But she had told Scag so. And Lizzie too. Rich as ever, pretty as ever, her honey-colored hair long and bouncy, her eyes bright and very green, Lizzie Fairfax loved the vicarious thrill of bailing Tony Scagliotti out of trouble. From the safety of her Miami retreat, she would arrange for bail, plane tickets, cash, lawyers, even the occasional bribe. For two years, she’d done it for Gabriella too. If not for Lizzie Fairfax, both she and her father might still be in a Peruvian jail.
    If not for Lizzie Fairfax, Gabriella thought, Tony Scagliotti would have to confront the realities of his life. He was getting old. He couldn’t keep chasing orchids forever. He had no savings, no pension, no home, nothing but a knowledge of orchids few in the world could rival.
    But Lizzie couldn’t bring herself to stop rescuing him. She loved the drama, she loved the fun of it all. Gabriella understood. For a while, so had she. She understood, too, that Lizzie meant well. She was devoted to Scag. In many ways, he was a surrogate father to her. Whenever he blew onto Cape Cod to see Gabriella and her mother, he had made a point of spending time with Lizzie Fairfax. She and Gabriella had met when they were eight years old, on one of Lizzie’s many attempts to run away, a bid for attention from her disengaged parents. Her father was a prominent cardiologist, her mother from old money Boston. They had a summer house on the Cape. For years the Fairfaxes hadn’t even realized their daughter and Gabriella Starr were friends. For all his many faults, Scag had always been a presence in her life and shown an interest in her. Not so Lizzie and her parents. Getting her to let go of Scag had been an exercise in futility.
    He glanced around Gabriella’s apartment. Two years roaming the world with him had given her a new appreciation for indoor plumbing, never mind interior decorating. The living room, decorated in soothing shades of beige, overlooked Marlborough Street. There was a separate dining room and a small gourmet kitchen, plus two bedrooms and two baths. And, of course, the roof. When they’d parted company a year before, she’d made clear her disdain for orchids. Only now she had dozens—scores—in an elaborate, expensive greenhouse on her roof. They were her one indulgence. She hadn’t meant to have so many, but first she’d bought one, and then another, and now she had more than she had time to care for.
    â€œYou’ve done all right for yourself,” Scag said, his tone more mildly sarcastic than complimentary.
    Gabriella decided not to mention her roof to him. He didn’t need to know she had orchids. “I’ve got a good job. Would either of you like a glass of wine or something? I was going to heat up some soup and bread for dinner. You’re welcome to join me.”
    Lizzie beamed, obviously pleased that the reunion of Scagliotti father and daughter hadn’t come to blows. “That’d be great. Is it your curried corn chowder?”
    Gabriella laughed. “As a matter of fact, yes.” She looked at her friend, seeing her relief. Lizzie really hadn’t known how Gabriella would receive her. But how could she have? Gabriella hadn’t known herself. “It’s good to see you, Lizzie. It’s been too long. Come on, you can help.”
    They started into the kitchen, Gabriella vaguely noting Scag’s interest in a white cattleya in a vase on her side table. It was a common variety. She could easily have picked it up in a flower shop.
    Except she