Love Me to Death (34 page)

She kisses me. I love it when she kisses me first. I am so in love I should have my balls cut off.

“I love you,” I whisper against her lips. I feel her smiling against mine.

“I love you more.”

“Impossible,” I scoff. I slide my hands across the back of her dress leisurely. “Are you wearing floss panties again?” I ask closing my eyes.

“I am.”

“You have no idea what you do to me.”

“Actually, I can feel exactly what I
do
,” she giggles as she slides off my lap. Before I can reply the car door opens. I flash Ned a knowing smile before looking up at our driver.

“We have arrived, Mr. Cole.”

“Thank you,” I say before stepping outside. I lean down and take Ned’s hand. I pull her gently out of the car and hear her gasp.

“You brought me here,” she says taking a step forward and releasing my hand. I hold up a finger to the driver before stepping toward Ned.

“I did. What do you think?” I ask.

“Cole, you have just brought me to the
most exclusive gallery in the whole of Paris. I can barely breathe let alone think,” she chuckles. “It’s beautiful but it doesn’t look open,” she says sadly.

“It’s not. Not to anyone but you anyway.”

“What?” She spins around to face me. “What do you mean?”

“I mean that you have exactly two hours to stroll through the gallery without a single soul getting in your way or making a noise.”

“How did you do it?” She breathes excitedly.

“I can do anything if I know it puts a smile like that on your face.”

She throws her arms around me and holds tight. “Thank you,” she whispers.

“Now you can check ‘visiting an art gallery’ off your bucket list,” I smile.

“I can,” she nods. I see the tears filling her eyes but I don’t mention them.

“Come on,” I say taking her hand in mine and pulling her toward the double glass doors.

“It’s so beautiful, Cole.”

“It is,” I agree as I look through the glass. I know for a fact there are paintings in this gallery that cost more than Ned’s entire penthouse. When we reach the door a tall man, dressed in a navy-colored suit waits for us. Not a single strand of his brown hair is out of place and a perfect smile greets us.

“Miss Waters?” he asks as we stop in front of him.

“Yes,” she says softly. He smiles warmly at her before his eyes meet mine.

“You are perfectly on time. Are you ready to come inside now?” he asks as his gaze meets with hers again. She turns to look at me and I nod at him.

“She is,” I answer before letting go of her hand. She stares at me in confusion. “This is as far as I go, babe.”

“I don’t understand?”

I nod in the direction of the gallery and she turns to follow my gaze. She gasps as her eyes land on Jackson who is already standing inside of the gallery waiting for her.

“What’s going on?” she asks perplexed.

“Tonight is about you, Ned. It’s about your dreams coming true. Go and enjoy your evening and make-up with your friend. You have a lot to talk about.”

“What about you?”

“I’ll be waiting for you when you come back to the hotel.” I smile genuinely.

“I don’t understand.”

“Understand that I trust you and I want you to be happy. This is only part one of your night, enjoy it.” I step closer and whisper in her ear, “but save back some energy because part two is all about you making up for spending time with Jerkson.” I stand back and smirk. She has the biggest smile on her face.

“Ok,” she says quietly.

“Two hours and then you’re
mine.”

“Counting down the minutes.” She giggles.

“Me too.” I wink at her and then watch as the man leads her inside of the gallery. My eyes quickly meet with Jackson’s and I mouth the words
thank you
to him. He smiles at me before I turn around and head to the car.

“She seems happy, sir,” the driver says as I stand next to the car and watch as Ned embraces Jackson. The biggest smile is on her face and she is holding Jackson so tight that I’m surprised he can even breathe. Strangely it doesn’t make me want to rip him apart. I know that Ned’s heart is mine and if she feels even a fraction of what I feel then there is absolutely nothing that can change that.

“Yeah, she does, doesn’t she?”

I’ve been swimming around in the hotel pool for the last thirty minutes waiting for Ned to walk through the doors. Getting the pool to myself for two hours was as simple as shoving a little extra cash in Pierre’s pocket. Did I mention that this guy should be fired? I’m pretty sure that taking cash from the guests is against some sort of hotel policy.

I swim to the other side of the pool again, immersing myself in the water. I’m busy thinking about how Ned’s night at the gallery is going when I see her standing by the door with a smile on her face. I scan her body and take a slow intake of breath as she stands there in a black bikini.

“You made it?” I smile.

She bites her lip and nods. “I found your note and Pierre was more than happy to let me in,” she says with a knowing look on her face.

“Care to join me?”

She nods her head. She steps cautiously into the shallow end. She stays where the water only reaches her hips. I swim toward her and place my hands on the edge of the pool, caging her in. “You ok?” I ask. She nods. “How was the gallery?”

I can see she is nervous about being in the water but the fact she did it for me feels so good.

“It was everything I imagined and more,” she says as if she is remembering the experience.

“And what about you and Jackson?”

“We’re good. Thank you for that. So does this mean that you two are finally getting along?” She smiles.

“Nope, but I’ll be amicable if that’s what you need. Plus he really came through for me tonight so I guess he earned some extra points.”

“Then what’s the problem?”

“We’re in love with the same woman and I don’t share.”

“Neither do I,” she grins.

“Good because you’ll never have to. Now, do you trust me?” I ask seriously.

“I do.”

“Then come away from that wall.”

She shakes her head and I can see her face filling with dread. “I can’t,” she whispers.

“You can.”

“Just being in here makes my stomach tie into a thousand knots, Cole. I can’t swim, I’ve tried before and all it does is give me flashbacks of that day.” She stops to steady her voice. “I just don’t think I can.”

“What happened with your sister was not your fault, Ned.”

“I know that … it’s just the memories.”

“Then we’ll make new ones. Tonight we’ll make memories that make you smile every single time a drop of water touches your skin, I promise. Just trust me.”

She thinks for a moment before placing her arms around my neck. She holds me tight.

“You might want to loosen your grip if you want me to be able to breathe.”

“Sorry.”

“Close your eyes.”

“They’re already closed,” she replies nervously.

“I’m going to move backward slowly. Keep your eyes closed and don’t let go.” She nods against my shoulder. I take one step behind me, toward the middle of the pool. I can feel her heartbeat hammering against my chest and I hold her a little tighter. “I’ve got you, baby,” I whisper into her ear. I let my hand rub slowly up and down the middle of her back as I step back again. Her beating heart doesn’t slow down but I refuse to give up. “Do you really trust me?” I ask. She nods. “I need to hear you say it.”

“I trust you.”

“I need you to go back to the day Laura drowned.” Her whole body stiffens against me. “I want you to remember what was happening just before. Do you remember?”

“Yes.”

“Good. Tell me what’s happening. Describe it as if you are there now.”

“My mom hands us some bread crumbs and says we can feed the ducks. She tells us that she feels a little dizzy and is just going to sit on the bench. The bench isn’t far, she can still see us. Her face is so pale but she still manages to smile. I know she doesn’t want to say we have to go home and spoil our fun.” I keep stepping back farther into the pool. The water is getting deeper. “She tells me to keep an eye on my sister. She says that I’m a big girl now and she trusts me to do it. I feel so responsible. She tells me to make sure we stay away from the edge, I nod my head and then she walks over to the bench where my father is setting up our picnic. I turn my eyes back to Laura. I smile because she is having so much fun throwing the bread crumbs to the ducks. She giggles, every time they eat a piece of bread she’s thrown. She’s wearing a yellow dress and she keeps spinning around and saying that she looks like an umbrella.” She smiles at this thought.

“What else?”

“I shout to her to stop spinning and stay away from the edge. She nods her head and then starts throwing the crumbs again.”

“What kind of day is it?”

“Hot.” She takes a deep breath. “My hair keeps sticking to my brow and I have to keep peeling it off. It’s annoying.”

“Then what?”

“I keep my eye on Laura. I’m doing so well but it’s one of the hottest days in summer and there are so many flies. One of them starts buzzing around my head. I keep swatting it away but it won’t stop. Then I’m running around to get away from it. It chases me. I can hear Laura in the background, laughing. She’s watching me fight the fly. The more I fight the louder she laughs. I catch a glimpse of her pretending to swat away a fly like me and she just keeps laughing and laughing and then the laughing just stops. It’s not gradual … it doesn’t make sense … it just
stops
. Suddenly I get the strength to hit the fly hard. I see the ripples of water and I just know. I know she has fallen in. I look back up at my mom and dad. Pops is still setting up the picnic and Mom has her head in her hands trying to block out the sunlight. I know that if I can just get Laura back before either of them notices then it will all be ok. I jump. I don’t realize that jumping in the water will hurt but it does.” She’s shaking now. “The water is so cold against my skin and my body refuses to get used to the temperature. I open my eyes and try to find Laura but the water is so brown and I can’t see her. My eyes are burning. I flap my arms over and over again but I never seem to go in the right direction. I shout her name and suddenly my mouth is filled with water. I start to panic and I lose control. I’m sinking. Everything is getting darker. I’m down there for so long. I don’t know how to find my way back up and then I feel a strong grip on my arm. At first, I think something is trying to eat me and I start thrashing violently but then I am pulled to the surface and I realize that it’s Pops. He swims to the edge and my mother pulls me into her arms. But I can’t see Laura, and Pops has disappeared under the water again. He keeps coming up and then disappearing but all I can think is that I can’t see Laura.” She’s crying now and her voice has sped up. “I try to jump out of my mother’s arms and back into the lake. I’m screaming my sister’s name and shouting at my mom to let me go but she holds on tighter. I’m so mad. I keep slamming my fists against her chest and demanding that she lets me go but she never does. I still can’t see Laura.”

She’s a mess. Her body has collapsed in my arms and I start to wonder if my method is even going to work but I keep pressing on.

“Remember that moment; remember the fear of the water, Ned. Can you?”

“I can,” she almost screams.

“Good, because this is the last time you are ever going to think about it whether you get into a pool, a lake or even an ocean for that matter.
It’s the last time
. Every bad memory the water triggers is about to be replaced. When you get into water from now on you’re going to think about the way my hands feel as they glide across your wet skin.”

I step back slightly and trace my fingers down the length of her stomach. She shivers but it’s not out of fear.

“You’re going to remember the feel of my lips on your neck.” I press my lips against her skin and hold them there for a moment. “Focus on it, Ned,” I whisper. Then I start to trail soft kisses down her neck, all the way to her collarbone. I kiss along her shoulders and down her chest. I speak slowly against her skin.