Behind Closed Doors (18 page)

Putting the finishing touches on her appearance, she took a final look at her reflection. Since leaving Columbus and her old life, she rarely took so much time getting ready. She wasn’t out to impress anyone but herself, but Stephanie was still from that world and she did care. Although her friend had never made her feel out of place as some of the others had, she felt it was only right to make sure she didn’t embarrass her companion. She didn’t have many friends.

As she pulled out of the driveway, she realized this was the first time she’d been in her car this week. It felt good to be alone with her thoughts. To say she hadn’t been freaked out seeing that newspaper would be a lie. It chilled her down to her bones.

The thing was, she was used to bad things happening to her. Jared used to lose his temper at least once a week. Sometimes were worse than others, but she’d rarely got off unscathed either way.

In the same vein, it was a rare week they did not have a dinner party or some sort of function to attend. Jared had been an up and coming lawyer in his firm, and people wanted to rub elbows with the new golden boy and his wife. The outside world wouldn’t stop for domestic squabbles, so she’d eventually learned to suppress. Life went on. It was just the way of things.

It wasn’t as if she didn’t acknowledge what was going on around her. She did. But letting someone know how much they were hurting you wasn’t going to make things get any better either. It hadn’t with Jared, and it wouldn’t with whoever this was either. Letting someone see how vulnerable you were only made you an easier target.

Unfortunately, her two neighbors didn’t understand that, especially Chris. He wanted her to tiptoe around her life instead of living it. She wouldn’t do that. Not again. It wasn’t some dirty little secret this time; the police were involved and she had the support of those around her. She was not crawling in a hole and hiding. She parked near the front of the mall just as she’d promised Jan and Chris.

Inside, she found Stephanie waiting for her at the entrance to the food court. “Liz!” Stephanie said, leaning in and giving her a kiss on each cheek.

She smiled and hugged her friend back. “How was New York?”

“It was fabulous, as always.” Stephanie took her arm and walked her toward Saks. “I found this to-die-for red dress while I was there and I can’t wait to wear it.”

Even though Elizabeth was never one to beg for shopping trips, she still enjoyed it and loved getting new things just like anyone else. Jared had taken her to New York a few times with him on business, and she’d shopped. It wasn’t so different except that the prices were higher, but there was also a vibe in New York that you just didn’t get here in Ohio.

They walked into Saks and Stephanie immediately went to the women’s dresses. “Now, enough about me. Tell me about this man you’re going to dinner with tonight. Do you know where you’re going?”

“All I know is that it’s a Mexican restaurant in Dayton.” She shrugged. She was equal parts looking forward to her date with Trent and wanting to cancel. It would be nice to go out again just to enjoy a meal, but the closer it got to the date, the more she felt as if she were cheating on Chris.

It was stupid. Logically, she knew that. They were not together, and from the way he’d been keeping his distance again, he didn’t want to be with her.

So as much as her heart wasn’t into tonight, she would go. Trent was a nice guy. She’d had fun with him at the game and the barbecue. At the very least, maybe they’d become friends.

Stephanie selected two dresses and held them out to her. “Mexican demands color, so what do you think of these two?” Both dresses hit Elizabeth mid-thigh. Each was cute and flirty. She hadn’t done flirty in a long time. All of her insecurities started to rear their ugly heads again, but she forced herself to try the dresses on anyway.
I can do this,
she thought with a deep breath.

The first, a strapless, multicolored dress, was quickly discarded. It probably looked great on someone with less curves than she, but on her it looked like she was about to walk down Hollywood Boulevard, not go on a first date.

The second however, was nice. Still not what she was used to, but more . . . her.

The dress fell into place, floating over her thighs as it moved with her. It had a V-neck but was still modest.

When she emerged from the dressing room, Stephanie was waiting somewhat patiently. “Well?” She held up the dress she liked. “The other one made me look like a streetwalker,” she said, crinkling her nose.

Stephanie laughed. “Don’t want that now, do we?” she said, linking her arm once again with Elizabeth’s. “I mean, we wouldn’t want to give this new guy the wrong impression.”

Stephanie didn’t see anything wrong or awkward about her sleeping with her date. After all, she wasn’t attached to anyone else, so why not?

That may be the modern way of thinking for most, but she wasn’t into sleeping with every guy who crossed her path. Jared was the only man she’d ever slept with. She’d never been naked in front of another man, and given Jared’s view of her body in general, she wasn’t sure another man would ever get the chance.

As soon as that thought crossed her mind, she recalled her mental vision of Chris in the shower. That led her to the memory of what he’d done to her body and mind just by kissing her. Promptly, she squashed those thoughts. Daydreaming about Chris was not helping. Besides, he didn’t want her, and she had a date with his brother to get ready for tonight.

His brother.

How was Chris going to react to her going out with Trent? She hadn’t said anything about it and neither had Chris, so she doubted Trent had told his brother. It felt wrong to think it, but maybe, just maybe, this would give him the kick in the pants he needed. Something was there between them. She felt it every time they were in the same room together. But she wasn’t going to force herself on anyone, especially someone who didn’t want her.

Chris was a mess and he knew he was driving Jan crazy. As soon as her car was out of sight, he’d changed into old clothes and began working on anything he could think of. He’d started outside as the garden and the flowerbeds needed weeding. Once he saw that Jan was up and about, he started mowing the grass. This kept him busy until eleven o’clock when he moved inside where it was a little harder to find things that needed his attention, but he found them.

After taking a shower and changing, he turned on the television. Nothing was on. Sure there were a few games, but nothing held his interest. Normally he wasn’t picky, but no matter what was happening on the screen, his mind continued to wander. He had to keep busy or he would go insane, so he pulled out a bid he’d brought home with him yesterday and began crunching numbers.

He knew it wasn’t realistic to keep Elizabeth under lock and key all the time. She was a grown woman after all. But that didn’t mean jack when he felt the need to protect her.

Hearing that she was going out alone to meet her friend had caused an irrational reaction in him. He’d been seconds away from storming up the stairs to her apartment. Luckily, Jan was able to calm him down somewhat and get him to agree to talk to her and explain their concerns over dinner.

She’d listened for the most part, agreeing to their suggestions. She’d even taken the pepper spray he’d given her, not that he’d given her a chance to refuse.

Even with all that, he was still anxious and would be until she was back at her apartment, safe.

At three forty-seven, he heard a car pull up the driveway and rushed to the window to confirm it was Elizabeth. The door to her red Honda Civic opened slowly and she stepped out into the bright afternoon sunshine. He was relieved to see she was in one piece.

As if sensing his stare, she shielded her eyes and looked up, and when she saw him, she gave him a small, nervous smile.

He didn’t suppose he could blame her for that. After his overprotective reaction to her going out, she probably had no idea what she’d find waiting for her when she returned.

Moving away from the window, he chastised himself for his stupidity. How could he be so dumb? She had spent years with a husband who’d abused her, and although he’d never raised his hand to her and never would, she didn’t know that.

He realized he needed to do better for her. No matter what he was feeling, she was not his and may never be. But even if one day she was, he couldn’t allow his emotions to get out of hand; they would frighten her and that was the last thing he wanted.

Why was this so hard with her?

He took a deep breath before collapsing onto his couch. She was home. He could breathe again.

Not two hours later, Chris realized how wrong he’d been. The sound of another vehicle in the driveway roused him from his spot on the couch where he’d been attempting to watch a movie.

His brother’s truck pulled up and parked beside his. He wasn’t expecting Trent to stop by today. Then he stepped out dressed in black slacks and a dark blue, button down dress shirt. The last time Chris had seen his brother this dressed up was at their brother Paul’s wedding.

What the . . .

Time seemed to stop as he heard her door open and close. Then her feet hit the steps with the click, click, click of heels as she walked down the steps. She wore a dress he’d never seen before, and she looked amazing in it.

Chris gripped the windowsill, his knuckles white, as he watched Trent walk to her and take her hand. His brother placed a soft kiss on the side of her cheek before saying something to her. Trent helped her up into the cab of his truck, walked to the other side, and got behind the wheel. Chris could do nothing but stare as they drove off.

In the back of his mind, he registered the sound of someone coming up the steps, but there was a disconnect between his brain and his body. He couldn’t move from the window, his gaze still locked on the horizon.

The footsteps stopped, and someone cleared their throat. He didn’t respond. Seconds passed.

“She isn’t going to wait forever, you know. If it’s not Trent, it will be someone else.”

Jan, thankfully, wasn’t expecting a response out of him. She just turned and walked back down the stairs.

He couldn’t take it anymore. He collapsed onto the couch, his head bouncing none too lightly on the headboard leaving a slight throb in its wake. The thought of Elizabeth with anyone else left a sick feeling in his stomach.

Trent pulled into the parking lot of the Mexican restaurant. The ride into Dayton was relaxed. The talk was casual, sticking mostly to what they’d each done earlier in the day. When they’d entered the city, however, conversation had died down, and she seemed content to sit back and enjoy the ride. So when she suddenly started laughing, it caught his attention.

“What?”

“The Crazy Burrito?”

“Strange name for a restaurant, isn’t it?” He chuckled.

“It is,” she said, agreeing.

Trent maneuvered the truck into an empty spot, hopped out, and met her on the other side. “Good food. Good atmosphere. What more could you want?”

She smiled. “I’ll hold you to that.”

They were seated in a booth toward the rear of the restaurant. The place was nearly half-full of patrons. It was an improvement since the last time he’d been here.
Word about this place must be spreading,
he thought.

While their server was off getting their drinks, he watched her. She was gorgeous. Last weekend she’d been dressed casually in shorts and a T-shirt. He’d found her stunning then, but tonight she took his breath away. He had no idea how Chris could live in the same house with her and not make a move. Was his brother blind or something?

Her hair fell softly around her face as she leaned over to look at her menu, and her dress showed just enough cleavage to make him want to see more. It was a complete tease.

She looked up and caught him staring. He just smiled, not the least bit ashamed. “Have you decided what you’d like to eat?” he asked, noticing their server coming their way.

Their server set their drinks down in front of them and quickly took their orders. Once they were alone, Trent decided it was time to get to know Elizabeth a little better. “If you don’t mind me asking, why did you choose Springfield? Not exactly the first town I’d think of when relocating.”