The Complete Irreparable Boxed Set: Irreparable #1-2

by Sam Mariano

  “You’ll be queen of the Chicago art scene in no time,” he teased.

  Rolling her eyes indulgently, she said, “I don’t know about that, but eventually, that’s obviously going to happen.”

  “Literally the only possible outcome.”

  Sighing, she leaned back against the couch. “And then I’ll whisk you away to museums you have no interest in going to and introduce you to artists you’ll have no desire to meet.”

  “At least a few of whom I’ll be convinced want to sleep with you,” he put in.

  “Obviously. The dead ones will be your favorite; no threat. You’re gonna love Jan. He keeps me hooked, but he can never steal me away.”

  “Jan?”

  “Jan van Eyck? He was a Flemish painter who left little secret messages in his paintings. Anyway, this one painting of his, I can show it to you later, but I always feel like he must’ve hidden messages that nobody has figured out yet. And I know it’s probably dumb, I’ve looked at it myself a few dozen times and for literally hundreds of years it’s been around, so the likelihood that I’d find something no one else has is ludicrous, but… I don’t know. I always look anyway.”

  “You’ll have to show me,” he said, smiling tenderly as he reached over to rub her shoulder with his thumb.

  “I will. I’ll show you my other favorite, too. We’ll get you two acquainted yet.”

  “I do prefer the company of Flemish painters,” he agreed with a nod.

  Rolling her eyes on a grin, she said, “Sorry to disappoint.”

  “It’s okay, you’re a rich art-type now; I’ll settle,” he joked.

  Narrowing her eyes playfully, she said, “Keep talking shit, old man, I’ll run off with Paolo.”

  Waving a hand dismissively, Ethan said, “His paintings are garbage anyway.”

  “They’re a romantic commentary on the state of humanity.”

  Rolling his eyes, Ethan said, “Now I know he’s too dumb for you; what about the state of humanity makes anyone feel romantic right now?”

  Cracking a smile, she placed a mocking hand over her forehead and fell back against the couch. “Take me, I’m yours!”

  “How could you resist?” he joked.

  “One more ‘get off my lawn’ and we’re headed to the bedroom right now, mister.”

  “Oh, really?” He wiggled his eyebrows in an exaggerated leer.

  Willow grinned as he leaned in and gave her a kiss. Her arms naturally found their way around his neck and she sighed against his mouth.

  Pulling back, Ethan peered at her, his blue eyes shining with love. “What?”

  Shrugging, she said simply, “I just love you.”

  “If you love me, can you prove it by letting me turn this movie off?”

  Stifling a yawn, she said, “Oh, you’re loving it.”

  “I’m losing my will to ever watch another movie again. I can think of far more entertaining ways to spend the rest of the night.”

  His hand crept down her abdomen and she caught his wrist, forcing a stern expression. “You haven’t seen the best part yet.”

  “I’m confident there is no best part. I’d put lots of money on it.” Leaning in and leaving a tempting nuzzle against her neck, he asked, “Are you staying the night?”

  Tilting her head back to better accommodate him, she closed her eyes and a tiny smile tugged at her lips. “Probably shouldn’t. Amanda’s bringing the kids over tomorrow, isn’t she?”

  “Not until 11.”

  “Well, just in case she comes early. I don’t want to end up locked in your bedroom all day unless you’re in there with me.”

  Laughing into her neck, he said, “Will I ever live that down?”

  “Maybe by the time you’re actually of an age to ask the neighborhood kids to get off your lawn,” she replied, amused.

  “See, I thought you were spending the night so now we have even less time. It would anger the gods to waste even one more minute watching this movie.”

  “Really?” Her eyebrows rose, but her eyes remained closed as he nuzzled and kissed her neck. “I’m pretty sure the gods would approve of the alternative even less.”

  “Well, what do they know anyway?”

  Tugging him closer, she said, “Worst argument ever.”

  “Sorry,” he said, smirking. “All the blood in my brain has suddenly rushed to another region.”

  “Weird,” she joked, pulling away from him and climbing to her feet.

  Brightening, Ethan watched as she turned the movie off, then the television.

  Pushing off the couch, he caught her hand and pulled her close. “That might be my favorite thing you’ve ever done.”

  Wrinkling up her nose as her hands settled on his strong shoulders, she said, “Really? Ever?” Shaking her head lightly, she said, “Well, let’s see what we can do about that.”

  Willow dropped her arms, winked, and headed down the hallway toward his bedroom.

  Ethan watched her, cloaked in shadows, and for a moment, gratitude overtook the lustier feelings he’d just been having. He was so grateful for who she was, for her strength, her love, her resilience, her frankly incredible capacity for forgiveness. Grateful that for all the darkness that surrounded how she’d come into his life, she’d somehow become the beacon of light in a sea of storms, keeping him from drowning in the darkest waters.

  From the very beginning, he’d wanted to protect her.

  Somehow she ended up being the one who protected him, again and again.

  And she was still there.

  She was his.

  He was finally hers, though in a sense, he felt like she’d captured a part of him right from the first, he just hadn’t been ready to admit it.

  Those gray eyes peeked around the edge of his bedroom door, her long hair falling over her shoulder. “Are you coming?”

  Ethan smiled, hitting the light and heading down the darkened hall. “Yes, yes I am.”

  Her luggage was lost.

  She didn’t care.

  After an amazing two weeks in Paris, Rouen, Èze, and Nice, all she’d been able to think about during the flight home was throwing herself into Ethan’s arms and covering his face with kisses.

  Well, and other things they wouldn’t be able to do at the airport without security getting involved.

  And damn the man, he was late.

  Huffing, she spun around, debating whether or not she should wait there for him. He was supposed to meet her there, but she wasn’t sure how long he’d be.

  Taking her phone out of her carry on, she quickly typed out, “So… I guess you missed me so much that you actually perished?”

  Staring at the phone, she waited for delivered to turn into read.

  It didn’t.

  Again she typed, “Right now you’re clearly not responding because you’re racing down a hall somewhere in this airport, shouldering past people in your haste to get to me. I assume you also have flowers and a worried, impatient look on your face. Am I still waiting for you? What if you show up and I’ve already given up on you? What if I’m in a cab?”

  Another minute passed, still nothing.

  Pursing her lips at the screen, she typed, “Hurrrrrrrrry!”

  A tap on her shoulder.

  Whirling around, a grin appeared and then disintegrated just as fast as she saw a middle aged woman with a bad haircut and a blue blazer. Her nametag read Tina and told Willow she worked for the airline.

  “You had the lost luggage, right?”

  Unenthusiastically, Willow nodded.

  “Willow Kensington?”

  “That’s me.”

  “Somehow it ended up in Miami,” she said, her face tugged in apologetic lines.

  “At least it won’t get cold,” Willow deadpanned.

  Tina frowned, then smiled uncertainly. “Yes.” Willow listened to the woman go on to explain when it would be sent back and what the procedure would be. She verified Willow’s contact information and droned on about how sorry they we
re for the inconvenience, assuring her that her luggage would be back before she knew it.

  Finally Tina was done talking and she headed back to her little office.

  Willow sighed, disappointed. It was silly, but she had missed Ethan so much—like, so much—and she had expected him to be eagerly awaiting her return, not late and ignoring her text messages.

  Resigned to stay where they’d agreed to meet and scan the crowd until he showed up or the airport detained her for being suspicious—whichever came first, at that point—Willow spun around.

  And there he was.

  His long beige coat cloaked his firm, muscular frame. He was still wearing his black dress slacks from work, but he’d changed into a sweater, since it was pretty cold outside. He held up a bouquet of roses and waved them slightly.

  Willow leapt into his arms, knocking him back a couple of steps as he laughed. The flowers brushed her back as he hugged her close.

  “You’re here,” she murmured, nuzzling against his neck.

  “Where else would I be?” he asked, giving her another little squeeze before going to pull back.

  “Nope,” Willow said, holding on tight. “Few more seconds.”

  Ethan chuckled. “It seems like maybe you missed me.”

  “What would give you that impression?” she teased, still molded to his body.

  “I don’t know if you know this about me, but I’m a detective. The subtlest of clues can’t sneak by me.”

  That caused her to pull back and grin at him. “Okay, Velma.”

  Dark eyebrows rising, he said, “I’m Velma? There are three males, and I’m Velma?”

  “You’d be so cute in glasses,” she said, playfully tweaking his nose.

  “I could’ve even been the dog. But I’m Velma.”

  Laughing lightly, Willow took a step back and grabbed her carry-on. “They lost my luggage.”

  “Bastards. Need me to find it?”

  She shook her head, extending the handle so she could drag it. “It’s already been found. In Miami. So… this is all we’ve got.”

  “I didn’t plan on us wearing a lot of clothes tonight anyway,” he told her.

  “Might be a few days.”

  Feigning a pained look, he grasped his heart with his free hand. “Damn.”

  Willow smiled and reached for the bouquet of roses. “These are lovely, thank you.”

  “I can’t wait to hear all about your trip. I’m gonna need context for some of those texts.”

  Willow rolled her eyes, but she wasn’t really annoyed. “Hey, if you would’ve let me call you as much as I wanted, you’d have already heard all about it.”

  “Yes, but I wanted you to experience every bit of your trip, not waste it all talking to me,” he reasoned.

  “Talking to you is never a waste,” she defended, not having to feign the stars in her eyes when she looked at him.

  “I’m not better than Paris,” he stated.

  Willow shrugged mysteriously. “You’ve never been there, how would you know? Maybe Paris is stinky and terrible.”

  “Is Paris stinky and terrible?”

  Not even missing a beat, she said, “Of course not; it’s Paris.”

  “I assume that was your favorite part of the trip.”

  Sighing wistfully, she said, “There were so many favorite parts, I don’t think I can choose. Next time I go, you have to come with me. Like Èze? You would love it. Or, at least, I would love it with you, and I’m sure you’d find it charming. We need to go to the French Riviera!”

  “You know that cash register noise, that cha-ching? I keep hearing it in my head. Maybe it’s a stroke.”

  Willow poked him in the side. “Start catching more cheating husbands, we’ve got traveling to do.”

  “Hey, I’m doing what I can to wreck every marriage in the area; what more do you want from me?”

  “Anyway, you made me digress. The weirdest thing happened in Paris,” she told him.

  Quirking a suggestive eyebrow, he asked, “Oh yeah?”

  Jabbing him in the side, she laughed. “Not that weird.”

  “I’m just teasing. Go ahead, tell me what crazy thing happened in Paris,” he replied, smiling indulgently.

  Narrowing her eyes at him, she said, “I don’t know if I want to tell you if you’re going to take that tone.”

  He drew her against him, flashing the puppy dog eyes. “Tell me. The suspense is killing me—you don’t want to be responsible for my death, do you?”

  Willow rolled her eyes at him. “I’ve already saved your life twice, what are you, my Lois Lane?”

  He brushed a lock of hair behind her ear. “And the debt grows.”

  Smiling softly, she said, “All right. I may have definitely missed you.”

  He exaggerated his shock, his eyes going wide and his jaw falling open. “You did? No way.”

  “Way,” she replied solemnly, nodding her head. “I think you’re starting to grow on me.”

  “Just now? I usually grow much faster than that.”

  Wiggling her eyebrows with a grin, her hand drifted downward as she joked, “You don’t have to tell me.”

  His hand caressed hers as her fingertips flirted with the hem of his pants. “You’re distracting me. Finish telling me about your trip. Tell me about the commune, I know you were excited about that.”

  Glancing around at the scattered people, she said, “We can talk about this in the car. Right now we should probably get going before we get in trouble for being frisky at the airport.”

  “All right,” he said, reaching over to grab her carry on. “Give me a highlight to hold me over.”

  “All of Èze. We have to go back there. Soon. They had this cute little gallery where every painting was set in Èze. I wanted one for a souvenir but I ran out of money. I’m going to save up and get one when we go back someday. I even had a Tom Collins at this restaurant literally overlooking the French Riviera—and it may have been the view, or the atmosphere or maybe the sexy French waiter, but it was incredible.”

  “Hey,” he said, tossing her a wounded look as she laughed, wrapping an arm around him and falling into step beside him.

  “I’m just kidding. No sexy Frenchman could ever turn my head, Mr. Wilde.”

  “I’m sure they’d love to try,” he teased.

  “I appreciate that you think everyone wants me, but no. Just one guy hit on me, and he was only trying to sell me souvenirs. I got a few looks, but no one tried to convince me to elope or anything.”

  “Their loss,” he replied, tugging her closer into his side.

  Despite her intention to save the details for later, Willow regaled him with stories of her trip as they made their way out to his car.

  Once inside, she continued right where she’d left off, and it took until Willow began to notice they were in her old neighborhood for her to snap out of her ramble.

  “Hey, wait.” She frowned. “What are you doing? I don’t want to go see my parents yet, I wanna spend tonight with you.”

  He smiled slightly. “We are. That’s not where I’m going.”

  A little more warily, Willow watched out the window. “Where are we going?”

  His smile turned tauntingly mysterious. “You’ll see in just a minute.”

  The flight had been long, so it was dark outside. Willow watched, recognizing the roads, but unsure where he was heading.

  After a few minutes he pulled into a parking lot she would never forget, but she didn’t exactly have fond memories of.

  Her confusion grew, heavily accompanied by anxiety. “What’s this?”

  At first he seemed surprised, taking that to mean she didn’t remember. “This is—”

  “No, I know… where we are, but why?”

  In lieu of a response, Ethan pushed open his door and climbed out.

  Still with no idea why, Willow opened the passenger side door and came out as well. Ethan remained on his side of the car, so she walked around to join him.

&n
bsp; Her gaze drifted around the parking lot, illuminated by the bright lights of the basketball court. She remembered the last time she had gotten out of his car there, dressed to tease, though she hadn’t overtly thought of it that way then. Recalled wondering why he was even there with her, when they both knew regardless of what happened between them, he should’ve stayed home.

  The first time she’d actually thought he was going to kiss her.

  The first time she’d wanted him to.

  Swallowing, pushing the memory away, she met his gaze in the present. “So… you had the overwhelming urge to shoot hoops?”

  Shaking his head, he withdrew something small from his pocket—a square of paper, it looked like. Holding it between his fingers, he offered it to her.

  “I got you a little something.”

  Still unsure what he was up to, she retrieved the small square between his fingers. It was a plain white square of paper with a thin plastic sheet over it. A temporary tattoo. In the center was a small, simple rendering of the Eiffel tower.

  It was cute, but it confused her even more.

  “Thank you?” she said, though it came out as more of a question.

  He smiled almost bashfully and ducked his head. “You said once you wanted to get a tattoo after you finally saw the Eiffel tower for yourself. Now you have.”

  “I have,” she verified, but still almost skeptically.

  “You don’t remember?”

  “No, I rememb….” She stopped, mid-word, her face freezing as she looked down at the tattoo. The temporary tattoo.

  He continued. “You said you wanted one, just not before you got married. Not a permanent one anyway.”

  Despite the warnings to herself that she was getting way ahead of herself, her heart slammed against her rib cage, her jaw inching open as her eyes slowly widened.

  He couldn’t be.

  Could he?

  Glancing down at his shiny loafers, Ethan took a small step forward. “This is where I held you for the first time. Where I wanted to kiss you for the first time. Where I wanted you, period, consequences be damned. This… is where my feelings for you took root.”