Again (4 page)

“Emelie will fetch it.”
 
She turned to her maid and gestured in the direction of the ships.
 
“Quickly, Emelie,”
she hissed.

“Wait but a moment, Emelie.”
 
Galen turned to Catherine.
 
His words were deliberate and measured.
 
“I shall accompany Emelie to make certain that your purchase is handled properly.
 
These merchants cannot always be trusted.”

Catherine’s mouth went dry as she squirmed under his gaze.
 
She knew that her eyes, nay, her entire body, was betraying her.
 
The heat in the air was palpable as a bead of sweat trickled agonizingly down her spine.
 
It helped her not that Emelie’s own face had gone pale, her lips pressed into a thin line.

“Aye, that would be best,” Catherine whispered.

“I pray you wait for us here, then,” Galen said.

He looked at her a moment longer before turning and motioning for Emelie to lead the way.
 

Catherine could not still the frantic beating of her heart as she made her way to her horse.
 
She would not wait.
 
She could not face Galen until she could once again gather her wits.
 
Feeling like a coward, Catherine mounted her horse and spurred the mare homeward, anxious to once again be safe within the castle walls.

Chapter 3

God, what a long week, Eryn thought, as she stretched her arms to link her fingers behind her back.
 
Almost like some supreme being shoved a few extra days in just for laughs.
 
She had spent the better part of the week taking pictures of the board members of World Commerce Bank, editing and re-editing until she was satisfied with the results.  All of them were far wealthier than anyone she knew.
 
Also more pompous than anyone she knew.  Their air of superiority filled her studio, making Eryn grimace at the stench.

She could never understand how people thought money could make one person superior to others.
 
In her opinion, money had become a wall that separates one human from another, drawing the line between the Haves and Have-Nots, never giving the Have-Nots the chance to prove themselves as worthy or lovable a human being as the Haves.
 
It gave everyone the excuse to ignore each other and not get involved.

Though jobs like this corporate photo shoot paid her well, she preferred the simplicity of the average person, the innocent child, the spontaneous event, and capturing life in action.
 
Given the choice, that would be her world, but it wasn’t.
 
She lived in Bryce’s world, filled to the top with corporate royalty.
 

He led.
 
She followed.
 

He fit in.
 
She didn’t.
 

Tonight she would have no reprieve.
 
In less than twelve hours, their house would be filled with the banking elite, puffing on their expensive cigars, boasting of their latest acquisitions, bemoaning the plight of the world between bites of caviar.

She sighed.
 
Maybe she would invite Brandi when she saw her later this morning.
 
If anyone could shake up a party, it was Brandi.
 
Outspoken, brash, playing it just like it is.
 
Brandi definitely had her own way of doing things.

But now, this moment was for Eryn.
 
The beach was her temple.
 
Her runs were her meditation.

Reaching high above her head, she stretched her arms, shoulders, and back, releasing the tension that seemed to have found a permanent place in her life.

She set herself in motion, feeling the firm sand at the water’s edge give way easily to her strides.

It had been dark when she slipped out of bed that morning, too early for Bryce to be up.
 
She liked to be on the sand at the precise second when night struggled for control one final time before shrinking silently behind the growing strength of the day.

Now as she began her run, the sun was peeking over the horizon, reaching its rays towards the few people who walked the beach and the surfers who dotted the early morning waves.  Eryn liked the solitude at this time of day, the unobstructed view down the beach, and the soft lull of the ocean.

Her puffs of breath kept pace with her steps, carrying her further down the beach, away from the life that waited for her just a few streets away.  She closed her eyes as she ran.
 
She’d learned to trust her instincts, to sense rather than see.  She felt a rush of anticipation as she dared herself to take a few more steps in her darkness.  Feeling her feet hit softer sand, she opened her eyes to see that she had strayed from her straight line.  She looked behind her to see her footsteps in the wet sand, her trail zigzagging, and then heading up past the water line.  “Geez, I’m glad nobody was watching me,” she laughed, checking around to make sure.

Her run slowed to a walk and her smile dimmed as she looked down the stretch of beach that lay before her.  Something about it stopped her, even though the wet sand ahead was
empty, save for sandpipers pecking for crabs and a few seagulls swooping in disorganized formation.
 
The hair on the back of her neck prickled at the eerily familiar sensation and her brows pulled together hard.
 

She could see, though a ghost of an image, a big wooden rowboat with tall sides approaching the shore.
 
She squeezed her hands into fists, trying to bring the image closer…

She stood on the beach, close to the cliffs that she had carefully descended with her horse moments before.  The strong waves made it easier for the boat to lift onto the wet sand. Three men jumped out to drag the boat higher on the beach.
 
Before they had it pulled completely ashore, one of the men let go and came running toward her.
 
Her heart pounded in her chest, beating faster the closer he got.  Just a breath away now, he stopped in front of her.
 
Unable to contain her joy, she threw her arms around his neck.
 
A rush of relief consumed her as his strong arms tightened around her waist, his lips finding hers...

Eryn quickly drew in her breath and the specter was gone, just like that.  She stood there, eyes searching, body frozen, unable to release her breath.  The pounding of her heart swelled to a roar in her ears and she pressed her lips together to stop their tingling.
 
As streams of sunlight, no longer soft, devoured the magic of the morning, replacing it with harsh reality, she fought to keep the vision alive, playing it over and over in her head.  The boatman who ran up the beach had worn black pants and his white shirt hung loosely over his strong chest and arms.
 
His brown shoulder-length hair flung against his face, shadowing his eyes from the sun.
  
She focused on his beautiful face, his sensual lips.  His eyes were so full of emotion!
 
And the kiss – ah, that kiss! – had stopped all too soon.

“What the hell?” she said out loud, finally breathing.  She squinted against the sun, turning in place to scan the beach once again.
 
Only the squawking of the circling seagulls answered her.  Her heart beat unreasonably fast.

One thing was undeniable.
 
The man who sat next to her in her dream and the man who ran up the beach in the ghostly vision were definitely the same man.
 
This time it was
so real,
though.
 
She could still feel his firm lips on hers; could still feel the excitement of seeing him again.
 
Again? That same sense of familiarity surrounded him, as if she
knew
him.

She took a deep breath while turning around and walked back to her car, willing her still-racing heart to slow down its pounding. 

“It’s got to be stress,” she said to a seagull that landed near her.
 
She wanted desperately to believe it.
 
A reaction to stress would make it easier to explain the incident away.
 
But something told her it wasn’t just that.
 
She didn’t have enough stress to trigger hallucinations or even a minor breakdown.
 
Besides, she highly doubted a breakdown would come in the form of an extremely sexy pirate with eyes in which she could lose herself.

She couldn’t help but glance back over her shoulder.
 
She actually hoped to catch another glimpse of him!
 
Ok, maybe a little counseling wouldn’t hurt.
 
She picked up her pace and ran as hard and fast as she could.

≈

Brandi wrinkled her nose as Eryn plopped in the chair across from her. “Did you by any chance go for a run this morning?”

Young, energetic waiters and waitresses flitted around cloth-covered tables like bees, sweeping up empty plates, laying down fresh linen and silverware, and jotting down orders, all while instinctively dodging busboys and hostesses.
 
Perky staff, perky greetings, perky smiles.
 
Sometimes the place was too perky for Eryn, but the coffee was good.

“How’d you guess?”
 
Eryn countered sarcastically.
 
She quickly guzzled the water the waiter had placed in front of her, then reached for her coffee.

“For one thing, the sweat stains, and for another thing, the smell of sweat.”

“Yeah, well, exercise does have some drawbacks,” Eryn said, shrugging.

Brandi shuddered.
 
“A lot of drawbacks, I’d say.
 
My way is a whole lot easier.”

“Popping diet pills may be easier, but not smart.”
 
Eryn studied her friend.
 
Only a few months younger than Eryn, Brandi’s face reflected the effects of her lifestyle.
 
Too much booze had turned her skin so sallow and pale that she had to cover it with a thick layer of concealer dusted over with bronzer.
 
Her blond hair, with carefully touched-up roots, was pulled into a loose ponytail, accentuating her slightly sunken cheeks
.

“If you would just go running with me….”

Brandi waved her hand in dismissal.
 
“Not a chance.
 
Besides, serious competition in the acting world calls for drastic measures.”

Eryn knew there would be no conceding on Brandi’s part. They’d had this conversation too many times before and it always ended up the same.
 
It was easier just to change the subject.

“So what’s up with you?
 
Got anything brewing?” asked Eryn over the top of her coffee cup.

“Oh, you know, a little bit of this, a little bit of that.”
 
Brandi’s hands gestured animatedly. “I’m up for a part in a new sitcom and I’m waiting to see about a print job for a catalog.”

Eryn's eyebrows raised ever so slightly. “Really? That’s great! What kind of catalog?
”

“Oh, it’s a new one.
 
Fashion…you know.”
 
With a wave of her hand, she dismissed the subject.
 
“Hey, guess who I saw last night.”
 
Brandi didn’t wait for a response.
 
“Cole Hamilton.
 
Boy, is he a hottie!
 
I sure would like to get together with him!”

“Isn’t that the guy in that new vampire movie?”

Brandi nodded enthusiastically.

“A little young for you, don’t you think?”
 
Eryn teased.

“Hey, I’ll take whatever. I haven’t had a serious relationship for a long time.”
 
Brandi shrugged, pulling a cigarette out of her purse and putting it between her lips.
 
“I’m desperate.
 
What can I say?
”

“You know you can’t smoke in here
.”

“Oh yeah.
 
Damn rules.”
 
Brandi shoved the cigarette back in the pack.
 
“Speaking of hotties, how’s Bryce?
”

Eryn’s stared at her coffee. “Oh, he’s fine.
 
Business as usual.
”

Eryn looked up in time to see Brandi raise one brow high.
 
It curved in a much-too-perfect arch.
 
Eryn wondered if she practiced that look.

“What wrong?”
 
Brandi leaned closer, her chin resting on a fisted hand.
 
“I mean…really.”

Drawing a big breath, Eryn let it out slowly.
 
She pressed her lips together in indecision.
 
She knew her friend’s interest in her marriage was fueled more by the possibility of gossip rather than by concern, but sometimes that didn’t matter.
 
It helped Eryn to air it all out.
 

“I don’t know. Things have changed.
 
Maybe they were never really right to begin with.”
 
She took a sip of her coffee, trying to keep her voice light.
 
“Who knows?
 
Maybe it’s just me.”
 
Maybe it
was
her.
 
As hard as she tried, she couldn’t seem to get through to Bryce.
 
When they first met, they just clicked, but even then there always seemed to be something wedged between them.
 
There was never any warmth or emotion in his eyes, certainly nothing at all like…