Layers Crossed (15 page)

“I hope your
mother doesn’t mind, but I got this from her garden.”

“Of course she
won’t. Let me put it in water.”

I hurried into
the kitchen and kissed my mother good night. We drove to New
Jersey’s Liberty Landing Marina where I’d made a last-minute
reservation. I hadn’t used my last name a lot to pull strings, but
tonight was special, and I wanted nothing but the best for the two
of us. And what could be better than the beautiful view of
Manhattan at night? The sleek, modern restaurant held a friendly
vibe, and my brothers had dined here frequently. I ordered the most
tender rosemary lamb roast with spinach and sautéed vegetables.

When our
waiter brought us a bottle of wine, I noted that his hand was
shaking.

“Are you all
right?”

“Yes, Ma’am.
I’m just a little nervous. I’m about to propose to my girl after my
shift ends.”

“Is that her
at the bar?” I regarded the girl with a funky hair cut who kept
sneaking a peak at our waiter.

“Yes, that’s
my Grace.” Undeniable love beamed from his eyes.

“For what it’s
worth, I think she’ll say yes.”

His eyes
widened in response, and I continued, “I don’t think you should
wait. I think you should go over there right now, and ask her.”

“But…”

“Your boss
will understand. If you love someone” – I gazed back at David –
“nothing should keep you apart. No distance or family or any
barrier you may think is between you. The only thing standing in
your way is the ten feet you need to cross.”

“All right.
Thank you, ma’am.”

I gave him an
encouraging smile, and he set our wine bottle at the table and
headed for the bar.

“True words,”
David whispered as I watched the waiter get down on one knee and
propose, feeling an elation in my heart. The entire restaurant
clapped and cheered as he lifted the girl up in the air and yelled
out happily, “She said yes!”

“With your
instincts, you should be a matchmaker,” David said.

Little did I
know, my future work at Cross Enterprises would lead me to tear
couples apart instead of uniting them.

While our
waiter chatted with his fiancée by the bar, his co-worker cleaned
our table.

“Emma, this
dinner was exclusive.”

“Exquisite?”

“Yes,
exquisite.”

“I’m glad you
enjoyed it. Now for the best part of our meal…”

With perfect
timing, our waiter rolled up a cart of desserts to our table.

“Emma, this is
too much. I’ll be spoiled.”

“You mean that
I’m spoiling you.”

“Right.” He
reached forward over the table for my hand and lowered his lips to
leave their warm trail on my skin. Shivers ran up my spine as he
said, “And later I promise to spoil you too.”

“OK, try the
chocolate mousse. It’s delicious.” I passed him a spoonful across
the table.

“Mousse, muse,
moose. They all sound the same. I may need another private English
lesson from you, Emma.”

“Every time I
give you a lesson, we end up in bed.”

“That’s the
best way to learn.” He took the spoonful I offered into his
mouth.

“I’ll tell you
a secret, Emma.” He motioned with his finger, beckoning me to lean
in toward him, before he whispered, “You taste much sweeter. Let’s
go home, my moose.”

I’ll never
forget those words, as they were his last. With the exception of
somehow feeling David’s heavy body on top of mine, as he whispered
Everything will be all right, my moose,
my memory didn’t let
me recall what happened next. But my family told me enough to fill
in the missing pieces.

A ship
carrying propane tanks that was passing by the restaurant had
exploded, tearing half the restaurant apart. Apparently David had
jumped on top of me to protect me, saving my life. When
firefighters pulled us out of the rubble, we were both unconscious.
A metal rod had pierced the top of my leg and David’s lower
abdomen, joining us. Shards of glass were embedded into his back
and his head, killing him, as his body acted as a shield to mine.
It wasn’t until I got to the hospital that his body was torn away
from mine.

I was allowed
to leave the hospital for one hour to attend David’s funeral. His
parents came, and when given the chance to take his body back to
his homeland, they refused. In that single moment I was happy that
David wasn’t there to witness it. It broke my heart. But I promised
David that he’d never be forgotten. There would never be a day
without a flower on his grave. He would always own a piece of my
heart. After the funeral, as my brothers pushed my wheelchair
toward the car, David’s parents screamed at me,
It’s your fault.
It’s your fault.
I lowered my head and couldn’t even reply.

I didn’t speak
for weeks while in recovery, not even to any of my family members.
They thought I’d gone insane. And then one day, they wheeled Grace
into my room. I recognized her funky haircut immediately, and we
had an instant connection that grew into a friendship closer than
many sisters probably had. She was the only one who understood my
pain, because just like me, that night, Grace had lost her love as
well, her fiancée who had proposed to her that fateful evening. We
made a pact, and as soon as I was able to, I moved out of my
parents’ house and into Tristan’s old condo in Manhattan, where as
it turned out Grace had her apartment three floors below me.

C
HAPTER
14

Emma

“I’m so sorry
about your loss.” We still sat with our backs leaning against the
barn, looking out into the distance.

“I’m healing.
It’s hasn’t been easy. I guess losing myself in the cheating cases
at work helped. I think I needed that more than I would admit,
because believing in true love again was impossible and the
cheaters proved it.”

“Do you
believe in it now?” Eric asked.

“I don’t know.
I want to, but I’m not sure I can just yet.”

“Love
unscathed is not love. Love is pain and suffering, because one day,
one of you will lose the other, and that is the day you wish you
were both taken from this world. And all you can do is hope that
you don’t go before a ripe old age, and within hours of each
other.”

“I’m not sure
I can believe in that kind of passion again.”

“It’s not
something that can be rushed, Em. But I think you should definitely
let your heart open up and give it a chance. Believe me, you
definitely have the passion.” He grinned, and I felt my body warm
with lust.

“Have you been
in love?” I asked.

“I don’t think
so.” Eric shook his head. “It’s been hard to find time for it, and
no one has ever caught my attention for long enough to give it a
go. Not until you, Em.”

I gasped.

“If you
haven’t noticed yet, I’m quite fond of you.”

“You’re just
saying that because you want to get in my panties again.”

“I have no
doubt I will, Em. But I wouldn’t say it if I didn’t mean it.”

My heart went
off its regular rhythm. “Oh, is that the house you used to live
in?” I pointed, changing the subject.

“Yes.”

“It’s
cute.”

“It’s
old.”

“May I see
it?”

“Clever girl.
We’ll get back to this subject soon. I promise.” He helped me up. I
straightened my clothes, making a note to change my soaked panties
as soon as we got back to the ranch.

We walked
through the field toward Eric’s old family home, where he reached
under a broken pot and removed a key. Inside, lifted by the breeze,
dust swirled in the air. The smell of mold was overpowering as I
strolled past the threshold, leaving a trail of my steps behind me.
Pieces of old furniture remained, some covered with white linens,
other not. Even a few photographs that had never been taken down
from the fireplace mantle remained. I picked one up–it looked like
Eric as a young boy with two friends. I wiped the glass with the
corner of my shirt and asked, “This is you?”

“Yes,” he
said. The side of Eric’s neck tensed as if he didn’t want me
touching the photo. I brought it closer to my face and pointed to
the boy in the middle. “I recognize him.”

“You should.
It’s Derek Fields. We were in the scouts together. This was one of
the good years.”

“He looks
familiar as well.” I moved my fingers to the other boy.

“That’s Reeve.
It’s the uniform, Emma. We all look the same because of the
uniforms.”

I squinted my
eyes looking closer, trying to place the face, but nothing would
click. Eric removed the photograph from my hands and lowered it
back to the mantle, face down. He pulled me into his full body,
squeezing his arms around me.

“You were
playing the role of my girlfriend quite well back there.”

I looked up
into his sky-blue eyes waiting for him to continue.

“And I was
thinking whether that’s something you’d think about
permanently.”

“Being your
girlfriend?”

“Yes. I mean,
we’ve been on a date, and sealed it with a kiss and a delicious
eat-out session. As much as you’d like to deny it, I know you feel
something for me, and I definitely want us to have a chance.
There’s nothing really standing in our way.” With his arms around
me and mine around him, we swayed from side to side. I felt him
grow hard against my belly, and listening to him describe his
ambush on me just minutes ago revived my craving for him.

“Nothing
except that I’m working on your case.”

“You’re afraid
of what your brothers would say of this?”

“I don’t fear
my brothers, but I do take my job seriously, Eric. I want to find
Huntz for you. I want your family to heal. Nothing would give me
more pleasure than that.”

“I beg to
differ.” The sly look on his face made me pause as I thought about
the kinds of pleasure he could give me. Was it possible that it
could be better than what he’d done to me back by the barn?

“So you’re
basically saying that I can’t kiss you like this anymore?”

And with those
words he lifted his hands to my face, cupping it, and lowered his
mouth to mine, taking my breath away, stealing the smart words I’d
wanted to say right out of me. He tilted my head for that perfect
angle and I opened myself to him. My hands weaved up his back,
feeling those hard muscles tense under my palms. Eric’s mouth
hardened as he lowered his hands, wrapping them around me and
pulling me as close as possible.

I heard myself
moan into his mouth, so desperate for the kind of kiss I hadn’t had
in years, and Eric slid his tongue deeper, devouring me, tasting me
as if it was for the first and last time. I couldn’t imagine
pulling away. And I didn’t want it to be the last time he kissed
me. I wanted this to last forever because no one had ever kissed me
with such passion and devotion. Not even David.

At the thought
of him I pulled away, stepping back.

“What is it,
Emma?”

I shook my
head.

“It’s just
that I haven’t let myself feel this way in a long time.”

“What do you
feel, Emma?”

“I don’t know.
I’m confused when you kiss me like that. Like I’m the only one in
the world.”

“That’s
because you are. I’m sorry if I’m moving too fast. I know this is
complicated with me hiring you and all, but this, Emma” – he
pointed between the two of us – “feels so right. I haven’t felt
like this either – ever. We click. And I will do everything in my
power to give us a fair chance.”

I understood
exactly what he was saying. I wanted to give us a try as well, but
I was afraid it would cloud my thinking, and when dealing with
Huntz I needed my wits about me. I had to have a clear head on this
case, and around Eric I found myself filled with lust and longing
so deep that it was beginning to affect my decisions. Was there any
way I could make this work? Concentrate on both the case and Eric?
After all, my brothers always said that multitasking was one of my
greatest skills.

“I’m
just…”

“Scared?” he
asked. “There’s nothing wrong with being afraid, Emma. Especially
since in your line of work you don’t allow yourself to be. But you
have nothing to fear with me.”

Eric took my
hand and lifted it to his heart, pressing it there gently. I felt
the beating of his heart and the warmth of his skin penetrate the
fabric. “I will never hurt you. I promise.”

“Someone
promised that once to me.”

“David?”

“And he
died.”

“I’m sorry,
Emma…”

“It’s all
right. I guess I’m still healing. I couldn’t talk about it for a
long time, you know. I locked myself up and lost myself in my work,
and when I tried to move on, I couldn’t. None of the men I dated
evoked that feeling I was looking for. But with you, the moment I
saw you, I knew that you were different.”

“How?”

“I don’t
know.”

“So what
you’re saying is, you’ll give this Cowboy a try?”

I smiled. “I
guess I will.”

He smacked his
lips to mine and lifted me up in the air, twirling around. “Good,
because I want to try all of you.”

“Not here,” I
laughed as we spun.

“Let’s go
home, then.” Eric set me down and I had one last look at the dusty
house. “One sleepless night is enough.”

“Why
sleepless?” I asked.

“Because
knowing you were right in my bed last night, where I’d imagined
caressing and kissing every curve of your body, was torture.”

A flash of
heat slammed into me. Eric’s candid words were such a turn-on. The
hormone meter inside my body spiked to the max.

“This doesn’t
mean we’re jumping right in the sack, Cowboy.”

“We’ll see.”
He grinned, pulling me by the hand back toward the car.

“Wait, aren’t
you forgetting something?” I asked, stopping him mid-step. “What
about the lunch your mom is making?”