Fall Into Me (Heart of Stone) (15 page)

Two
steps into the building and I knew I was going to have to work for this one.
Three tellers stood at their stations, each one in their fifties or older. One
had teased up hair the color of pewter and smiled when she saw me, so she was
my go-to girl. Hopefully, the smile meant she was at least friendly.

In
my best schoolboy voice, I said, "Hi, I need to get into a safe deposit
box." I looked down next to her stack of envelopes and saw her name.
Roberta. As my mother always said, "There's nothing as magical as hearing
one's name," so I flashed her a smile and added, "Roberta, I'd so
appreciate it if you could help me. It would mean a lot to me."

She
looked up at me with faded blue eyes and smiled a grandmotherly smile.
"Oh, that's easy. All I need is your name and the key."

I
let out a sigh of relief and then she added, "And your identification, of
course."

Fuck.

Holding
the key up for her to see, I said, "My name is Jeff Hopkins and here's my
key, but there's a problem. I don't have my ID. I had my wallet stolen the
other day when I had to take my daughter to the specialist in Philadelphia, and
that's why I need to get into the safe deposit box. That's where my birth
certificate is, and I can't get my ID again without it."

"Oh,
well, we can't let you into the box without some form of ID, Mr. Hopkins. You
don't have any form of identification?"

I
was going to have to lay it on thick if this was going to work. Leaning
forward, I settled my gaze on Roberta's pale blue eyes and stared deeply into
them as I softened my voice. "I can certainly understand, Roberta, but
that man who stole my wallet has made that impossible. Is there no way we can
get around this? Without that birth certificate, I can't get my driver's
license. I've already gotten one ticket after getting pulled over for driving
without a license and I can't afford another one, but I need to drive my little
girl to the doctors."

This
kind of wheedling had never been my strong suit, and I was sure by the look on
her face that she wasn't convinced as she sat there staring silently at me.
Breaking the connection, I looked down at a picture on her desk of a little
blond girl I guessed was her granddaughter and then back up at Roberta with the
best pleading look I had. Just when I was sure our silent standoff would end in
my defeat, her shoulders sagged and she said with a sigh, "Oh, one time
can't hurt."

"Bless
you, Roberta. You've just made my day."

As
I suspected, she was a God fearing woman and my words only served to convince
her she'd done the right thing for a decent soul in need. As I explained that
the box was, in fact, my father-in-law's and told her about Joseph Edwards'
wish to keep all his family's most important documents safe, she checked his
information and located the box. She escorted me to a back room full of metal
filing cabinets and I sat down at a conference table in the center of the room.

Roberta
returned with the box and placed it in front of me. "I remember Joseph
Edwards coming in with his little girl. She was a cute little thing. Nina I
think was her name. How is she?"

I
smiled at the mention of Nina's name. How was she? I had to keep up the facade
of being not Nina's fiancé but her brother-in-law, so I simply said,
"She's doing well. She lives in New York now and works as a curator."

Roberta
nodded her happiness. "That's so good to hear. Please let me know if you
need any additional help, Jeff."

As
she walked out to help other bank customers, I quickly turned my attention to
the safe deposit box. I would have loved to spend my time thinking about Nina,
but I needed to find what Joseph Edwards may have hidden here and then get the
hell out of that bank before someone figured out I wasn't who I said I was.

I
lifted the metal lid and saw only a notebook sitting there in the bottom of the
box. As much as I wanted to read what Nina's father had written about what my
father had done, I simply stuffed the tablet inside my coat and left, thanking
Roberta as I made my way outside. I hurried to my car with my heart racing at the
knowledge that in minutes I might finally know what had started the chain of
events that had led to the death of Joseph Edwards and ultimately, my finding
the love of my life.

Chapter Fifteen

Nina

At
three o'clock, I looked down at my new phone as it buzzed with a new text. I swiped
the screen and saw it was from Tristan.
Probably won't be home for dinner.
Make sure Rogers has the cook make you anything you want. Can't wait to see
you. Love you.

Disappointed,
I texted back that I missed him and loved him too before I fell back onto the
bed in frustration. While I'd loved this house in the good weather, now that
winter had finally arrived, I was feeling cabin fever more and more. Being
stuck out in the hinterlands in the snow without Tristan was definitely not how
I wanted to spend the next few hours.

Well,
if I couldn't spend time with the man I loved, then I could spend time with Jordan. We hadn't had a girls' night out since I left the hospital, and one was long
overdue. A minute later, her phone was ringing and I was thinking of the
perfect place to grab some dinner and drinks.

"Hello?"

"Jordan,
it's Nina. This is my new number. Let's get something to eat."

"Are
you nearby or out at the house?"

"I'm
still at the house, but I can be there in an hour. Sooner, if Jensen is in the
mood to drive fast," I joked. "I'd love it if we could get dinner
tonight."

Jordan hesitated. "Well, Justin and I were supposed to hang out and watch wrestling
tonight, but he won't miss me if I beg off. We better have a good time, though,
since I'm missing hot guys beating the hell out of each other."

"Well,
I'm not sure I can do better than that. I was just thinking of some good food
and drinking these chocolate martinis Tristan introduced me to. They're
delicious! You have to try one."

"I'll
do dinner, but I'm not a martini girl."

"No
matter. It's the company that's important. Can you be ready in two hours? Maybe
we can go shopping too."

"I'm
just getting out of school now, so two hours will work. Are we being driven
around tonight, or is it like old times?"

No
matter how much I may have wanted it to be like old times, I'd accepted the
fact that Tristan wasn't about to have me driving or taking the subway. All the
better, actually, since it was cold and snowy.

"We're
going in style, girl. I'll have Jensen honk when we get there," I joked.

"Some
date you are," Jordan said with a chuckle. "Okay, I'll be ready in
two. See you then!"

I
reread Tristan's text to me, focusing on the words
Can't wait to see you.
Love you
and wishing he was there next to me as I lay on my bed. I
understood now how I'd fallen in love with him the first time. He was like an
addiction I never wanted to quit. My spare moments were filled with thoughts of
him—how my heart raced when he kissed me, how my stomach did somersaults at the
merest touch of his fingers on my body, how his beautiful brown eyes said so
much even when he said nothing.

In
just this short time, he'd become my everything. I couldn't imagine life
without him.

I
rolled over to run my hand across where he'd laid the night before, fantasizing
about the way we'd made love, his hands so powerful as he held me in place
while he thrust into me, so completely in control of every moment of our
fucking.

Even
now, with him miles away, just the thought our lovemaking caused a need in the
pit of my abdomen, and I squeezed my legs together to feel the sweet ache the
desire for him created in me.

I
grabbed my phone again and texted once more before I got up to get dressed.
Just
the thought of you makes me wish you were here in bed with me. When you get
home I'm going to show you how much I missed you.

He
didn't text back immediately, so I got into the shower. By the time I finished
and had touched up my makeup, he had texted back but only a brief message.
Miss
you. You have no idea how much.

Something
in those words sounded so lonely as I read them, so I called him but got no
answer. I tried again as I dressed, but still no answer. Hopefully, he'd be
home when I got back, but just in case he'd had a terrible day, I wrote him a
letter and slipped it under his bedroom door.

I
found Rogers in the dining room looking as surly as ever. "I'd like to go
to Jordan's. Can you tell Jensen?"

He
looked at me as if he were looking through me, and I repeated my question,
which only seemed to irritate him. "As you wish, miss," he said
sharply as he walked past me out the dining room door.

I
stood in that spot unsure of whether I should wait or follow him and wishing
Tristan was there to deal with his butler. Maybe there was a good reason he was
always so short with him. As I wondered what Rogers had against me, he returned
with Jensen, who was always much nicer.

"Miss,
I'm ready to go as soon as you are," he said with a nod and a hint of a
smile.

Shooting
Rogers a nasty look, I thanked Jensen and followed him to the Town Car. "We
need to pick up Jordan at her place and then we're going to go out for dinner. We're
not going to make it a late night, though, so you won't have to be out too
late."

Jensen
closed the car door behind me and slid into the driver's seat. "It's fine,
miss. I'm available for as long as you need."

"Thank
you, Jensen. I appreciate you driving me and Jordan around."

As
Jensen pulled through the gate at the bottom of the driveway, he looked back at
me in the rearview mirror. "It's my job, miss. Mr. Stone expects me to
drive you wherever you need to go."

The
mood between us was suddenly awkward, and after I told him what restaurant I'd
chosen and we stopped at the ATM, I leaned back against the leather seat to
wait silently until we reached Brooklyn. Jensen got us there in no time and as
I'd promised, I had him blow the horn, over his polite protests that he'd be
happy to escort me to the building's front door to get her.

Jordan popped her head in the back driver's side door and scrunched up her face.
"Honking? What am I? Some cheap high school girl?"

"Get
in! We're on a mission for great food and chocolate martinis!" I squealed.

She
sat down in the seat and as we drove off, she looked at me and smiled. "I
never get tired of seeing you this happy. Do you know that?"

"I
guess what you always say is right. Good things do happen to good people."

I
never got tired of being that happy, to be honest. Everything in my life had
changed so much, and at the center of it was the reason for all that happiness.
Tristan. I slipped my phone out of my bag and checked for new messages.
Nothing.

Jordan leaned against me and stared over my shoulder. "Didn't you just leave Mr. Tall,
Dark, and Gorgeous?"

I
elbowed her gently in the arm. "He's out of town. I was just hoping he'd
text me again."

"So,
while the cat's away the mice will play, huh?" she joked singsong. "Where
are we mice heading to tonight?"

Putting
my phone away, I turned toward her in my seat. "I thought we could try The
Channel. I heard it was great, and it's supposed to be a great club too."

She
looked down at her black dress and back up at me. "I'm not sure I'm
dressed for that place, Nina. I feel like your poor country cousin."

"That's
ridiculous! You look incredible, as always. You've always had much better style
than I have, no matter how much you spend or don't spend."

"I
just don't want you to look bad," she said quietly. "I mean, now that
you're with Tristan..."

I
stopped her with my hand on her arm. "Jordan, my being with Tristan has
nothing to do with what clothes we should wear. Well, it does for me since he
bought most of mine, but we're still the same two girls we've been since we met
that day in college."

She
laughed at my admission that my clothes were all bought and paid for. "So
you're a happily kept woman now? Whatever that's like, it looks good on
you."

"How
did Justin take you bowing out of this week's wrestling matches?" I asked,
eager to change the subject.

Rolling
her eyes, she said, "He said he was fine with it, but something in his
voice said he wasn't, so I promised him I'd stop by his place before I go
home."

"And
you tease me about checking for texts? Sounds like someone else is crazy about
a guy too."

She
jabbed me in the arm with her fingers, tickling me until I giggled. "No
more of that. This is a girl's night out, so let's get this party
started!"

Jordan
and I were like two peas in a pod, as we'd always been, and dinner was a great
time. We laughed ourselves to tears as she told me about her third grade students
and their very demanding letters to their parents about what gifts they wanted
for Christmas.

I
took a sip of my chocolate martini as Jordan's laughter ebbed away. She looked
at me intently, as if she was studying me. "What? What is it?"

"You
look so different tonight drinking that martini and wearing that dress I know
cost a fortune, but even though the outside seems to have changed, you're still
the same old Nina. I like that even with all the changes you've been through
that you're still you."

"Of
course I'm still me. Who else would I be?" I asked, unsure of what she
meant.

She
took a gulp of her beer and shrugged. "Well, you're basically Mrs. Tristan
Stone, aren't you? That might change someone." Looking down at my left
hand, she got a confused look on her face. "Why aren't you wearing the
engagement ring he gave you? Aren't you still planning to marry him?"

I
didn't know what to say to that. I wasn't wearing the ring because I wasn't
sure he still wanted to marry me. I believed with all my heart that he loved me
just as much as he said he did before the accident, but he hadn't mentioned our
engagement or any plans to marry me since we'd rekindled our relationship, and
I didn't want to pressure him. I was happy with the way things were going
between us and didn't want to ruin it.

Instead
of telling her this, though, I fibbed and hoped she wouldn't see right through
me. "Of course, but since the accident I've lost a little weight so it
doesn't fit right."

"Good.
I don't want to hear you two are breaking up or anything stupid like that. I
know things must be pretty strange since you don't remember him from before
yet, but if any two people are supposed to be together, it's you and
Tristan."

"No
need to worry about us. I promise. What about you and Justin?"

Jordan sighed deeply and smirked. "We're doing fine, but it's not like you two. We're
just average people in a regular relationship. No bells and whistles. Just
comfortable."

Quickly,
she stood from the table and looked around. "I need to find the ladies'
room. Be right back."

I
knew Jordan well enough to know she was uncomfortable about me asking about
Justin. Her tone said boring instead of comfortable, but I didn't think I
should press the issue. In my eyes, Jordan was anything but regular and
average. She deserved a man who set her heart racing and turned her world
upside down in the best ways. My heart was sad at the news that she didn't believe
he was that only a few months into the relationship.

She
returned in just a few minutes wearing a smile from ear to ear. Grabbing my
arm, she squealed, "Oh my God! Nina, I just saw the most gorgeous man, and
I swear he was checking me out too. Brown hair, the darkest blue eyes I've ever
seen, and a body to die for!"

I
looked around for this perfect specimen of man but didn't see anyone. She sat
down and while she gushed about her sexy mystery man, I joked, "Um,
weren't you just saying you have a boyfriend? I think his name is Justin or
something like that."

"I
know. I know. Justin is nice and everything, but this guy was stunning. And I
think he was into me too. Well, enough of my mystery man. I can't wait to hang
out with you and Tristan on New Year's Eve. We're going to have such a good
time, especially compared to last year. You don't remember what we did last New
Year's Eve, do you?" she asked with a giggle.

I
shook my head. "Still nothing. Why? Tell me. What did we do?"

Putting
her hands up to cover her face, she groaned. "I'm still trying to forget
Paul. He's teaching fifth grade this year. His classroom is right down the hall
from mine."

"What
happened? Don't keep me in suspense! I'm a woman with a head injury, for God's
sake!"

"He
tried to have sex with me in the coatroom of the hotel just as it turned
midnight. As if I was going to just hike up my dress and bang him right then
and there!"

"No
way! You have to tell me what my date was like."

"You
got off slightly better with his friend, a short accountant who spent the night
unsure if he wanted to kiss you or bore you with details about his job. Thankfully,
he only tried to maul you once and you didn't have to fend him off like I had
to with Creepy Paul. You know, that's what I silently refer to him as every
time I see him at school."

"You're
terrible! The poor guy was probably in love with you from a distance and just
jumped the gun a little that night," I joked.

 "I
think the best part of that New Year's was laughing ourselves to sleep that
night," she said with a smile. "We began the year pretty badly, but
we've come pretty far since then, don't you think?"

Her
phone buzzed on the table and I saw that it was Justin. As she took the call, I
accepted with disappointment that our night out was over. It was okay, though.
All the better that I got home early just in case Tristan was there. The
sadness of his message stayed in my mind still, and I wanted to be there for
him in case his trip had gone badly.

"I
have to go, Nina. I have work tomorrow. A few more and I'll never be able to handle
the little angels."