What to Read After FSOG: The Gemstone Collection (WTRAFSOG Book 9)

by Kristine Cayne

  He closed the lid on the grapes. “Would you like to ride with me? I promise not to bite.”

  “Uh,” she hesitated, “I don’t want to leave my car here for the day unsupervised.”

  “I understand.”

  They finished packing up lunch and Krista stole little glances at him. His white button-down shirt was rolled up, revealing his tanned arms.

  As they strolled toward the parking lot, Krista caught a glimpse at the black two-seater Mercedes he drove. Wow, it was nice. She’d love to go for a ride in it, but if she was going to keep in control of this date, she was going to have to climb into her ten-year-old Nissan Sentra.

  “I’ll meet you there.” She removed her keys from her purse.

  “Sounds like a plan.” He winked and opened his car door before climbing in.

  Krista moaned as she got inside her vehicle. Looking over at Neil, she watched as he backed up first and drove toward the entrance of the park. All the while, she found herself green with envy. If this was her one date with him, why was she passing up the chance to ride in that car?

  Ten minutes later, Krista pulled her car up next to his. He leaned against the side of it, looking sexy as hell, waiting on her. She got out of her vehicle and walked toward him.

  “Ready?” he asked as he offered his arm.

  She stared at the invitation to touch him a moment, took a deep breath, and wrapped her hand in the crook of his arm. “Ready.”

  They were silent as they made their way to the ticket booth. It was pretty quiet for a Saturday. She was surprised.

  “What did you decide?” he asked. “New or old?”

  “Uh.” She hadn’t yet. This was the moment she had to make the decision. Did she want to pass up the chance to kiss him again the way she did the ride in his car? Or did she want to continue to play it safe? “Let’s see the oldest movie out.”

  Neil stepped up to the booth. “Two tickets to whatever movie’s been out the longest and will have the least amount of people inside.”

  The person behind the counter grinned and let their eyes look back and forth between them. Did they look like an odd pair? Did they think he was her father?

  She’d never thought about that before. Certainly not.

  “Here you go.” The lady slid two tickets under the Plexiglas. “Enjoy the show.”

  “Oh, we will.” Neil smirked at Krista and once again offered his arm.

  As soon as they were inside the cool theatre, Neil handed her the tickets. “Go get us a seat. I’ll get the food. Any preferences?”

  Krista released his arm. “Popcorn and soda makes me happy.”

  “I aim to please.” He winked.

  Her heart raced from the way he made her feel as she searched for theater room ten. Go figure, it was in the very back of the place. As she walked down the corridor to the stadium seating, she began to feel nervous.

  It had been so silly of her to make this decision. She wasn’t sixteen. If she wanted to make out with Neil, she could just take him back to her place. But then again, the thrill of being in public also piqued her interest. What was wrong with her? Did she like the idea of being caught? Or of someone watching?

  Pushing the thoughts aside, Krista marched all the way to the back of the theatre and took a seat on the very back row in the middle. She’d already gotten this far, might as well go all the way—not literally—she hoped!

  It didn’t take long before Neil was in the theatre as well, carrying a tray of drinks and a big bucket of popcorn.

  He sat next to her. “The middle. Love it.”

  She took a drink from the cardboard tray and placed it in her cup holder. “Best spot in the place.”

  “Any spot next to you is the best.”

  She giggled, hating that his comment had given her the butterflies. “Does that line usually work on your dates?”

  He shrugged. “I only care if it works on you.”

  Reaching over, she scooped up some of the popcorn. He was totally making her swoon. “You make it hard to resist you, you know that?”

  “I don’t want you to resist me. I want you to accept the attraction between us.”

  She couldn’t fight it anymore. The more time she spent with him, the more she liked him. “Do you really think this can work? We want different things in life.”

  Neil rubbed a finger along her cheek. “Maybe what we want is the same. Happiness is something you’re after, right? I can provide that.”

  “Kids—”

  “Let’s not worry about that, okay?” he interrupted. “Let’s just live in the now and see where this takes us.”

  He leaned forward, taking her lips just as the lights dimmed slightly and the previews started. Live in the now, she could do that. She wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled herself into him.

  A thud echoed and she realized that the popcorn had fallen to the floor. Chances were they weren’t going to eat much of that anyway.

  Neil broke the kiss. “We’re all alone in here. Perhaps we should thank the lady behind the desk when we leave.”

  “Neil. Shut up and kiss me before I change my mind.”

  With a force, he wrapped his arms around her waist and thrust her into his lap. She laughed, but was soon silenced by his kiss. She placed both hands on either side of his face to deepen and control the kiss. But it wasn’t easy as his fingers danced under her dress, going higher and higher, until they finally he cupped her breasts.

  It had been so long since a man had touched her that she felt herself silently praying for him to pull the material back and pinch her nipples. Finally, he did. He didn’t pinch though; instead he rolled the point between his two fingers. Oh God, it felt much better than she remembered. She squirmed in his lap and found his erection pressing into her.

  His mouth left hers and kissed down her neck. She flung her head back and slightly grinded into his hardness. If only they were somewhere more private, she’d let him have his way with her. Just to have him inside of her. After this movie was over, she was inviting him home. There was no way she couldn’t have sex with him. It was as though something primal had been set off inside of her.

  Pulling herself back from the arched position, she lifted his face to kiss him. Only it wasn’t a sweet kiss; it was greedy. One hand slid down his chest, past his belly button, and finally circled around his shaft. Through his pants alone, he felt huge. Not only did she want him inside her, she wanted to taste him. Have him fill her mouth as she pleasured him. That was a secret infatuation of hers.

  Ring, ring, ring. Ring, ring, ring.

  Was that someone’s phone? How freaking rude!

  But as it continued to ring, she realized it was hers. Breaking away from him, she stared into his eyes. To answer the damn thing or not. The ringing stopped and just as she was about to lean forward to kiss him again, it started again.

  Krista groaned and climbed off his lap. She picked up her purse and dug out her phone. The caller ID displayed Todd. She quickly answered it, casting an apologetic glance in her date’s direction.

  “Hello.”

  “Krista, listen, don’t freak out.” Todd’s voice quivered.

  “Okay.” A feeling of unease swept over her.

  “EJ and I were in a car accident.”

  She clenched her fists and took a deep breath. “A what? Is EJ okay?”

  “Yes. But we are at the hospital because I wanted to make sure. He’s asking for you.”

  Her heart sped up and a cool shiver swept through her. “Tell him I’ll be there right away.” She ended the call. “I’ve got to go. My son was in a car accident.”

  As she got up, Neil reached out, grabbing her arm. “Wait, your son?” He stood. “Let me go with you. You don’t need to go alone.”

  “No, you can’t,” she snapped. “I’ve got to go, Neil. I’m sorry.”

  Without another thought, she put her purse over her shoulder and stormed out of the theatre.

  Chapter Seven

  Krista
shoved the heavy door open that led into the ER. She stopped long enough for her gaze to dart across the room to the welcome desk and then ran to it.

  “My son is here. EJ Michaels. He’s a kid.”

  The lady smiled. “Okay. Just a moment as I look him up.”

  Krista took a deep breath and glanced around at the waiting room, seeing many ill and hurt people. She hated this place. It was so cold and unwelcoming. Couldn’t they spruce it up? Make it feel a little more happy as people waited.

  Finally the lady spoke. “If you go through that door,” she pointed, “and then turn left, you’ll look for room 918. Hurry, he’s about to be discharged, from my understanding.”

  That was a relief. Krista thanked her and made her way to her son. As soon as room 918 was in sight, she could hear EJ laughing.

  “EJ.” She burst into the room.

  “Mom.” He hopped off the table, looking the same as she’d seen him last.

  She ran her hands all over his body, feeling for anything out of place. “Are you okay? Sit back down.”

  “He’s fine, ma’am. Good to go actually.” An older gentleman, whom she assumed was the doctor, approached her.

  “What was wrong? Why was he here?” she asked.

  “Just a precaution to make sure he didn’t have whiplash or anything,” the doctor said.

  “Did you hear me on the phone?” Todd asked.

  Bits and pieces. She’d been too shocked by the phone call for it to really register. “Well, yeah, but I wasn’t sure since he was here and all.”

  EJ laid his head against Krista’s arm. “I’m fine, Mom. Ready to get out of here. Dad and I are getting ice cream.”

  Glaring at Todd, she asked, “What about the car? How are you going to drive?”

  Todd reached out and touched her shoulder. “Relax. It wasn’t totaled.”

  The doctor cleared his throat. “If you don’t mind, can we get you fully discharged so we can get someone else in the room?”

  She nodded and helped EJ down from the table. She wrapped her arms around him as they left the room. She wasn’t going to let him go for anything. As soon as Todd was finished with the paperwork, they made their way out to the lobby.

  “I think I should take EJ home with me,” she said firmly.

  “Why? It’s my weekend.” Todd stared at her with a confused expression.

  She ran a hand through her hair. “In light of what happened, I’d like to take him home so I can watch him.”

  Todd crossed his arms. “I can do that too.”

  “Yes, but I’m his mother.”

  “And I’m his father.”

  “He’s coming home with me and that’s final.” She hated having to act the way she was, but didn’t he understand? She had to have EJ. Hold him, baby him, and so on. Surely he wanted to be with her as well.

  “Why don’t we leave it up to EJ?”

  “Oh, sure. Let’s put that kinda pressure on him.” She rolled her eyes.

  “You were obviously in the middle of something by the way you’re dressed.” His gaze traveled the length of her body. “Go finish up whatever it was. I promise to take care of him. And if he needs you, I’ll call.”

  EJ chimed in. “It’s fine, Mom. Really. Dad and I are going to get ice cream and watch a movie. We already got the movie. It’s in the car.”

  The car they got in an accident with. She sighed. Obviously if he was still able to drive it, the accident wasn’t bad. Todd had been the good father he always was and brought EJ in for precaution. She could argue until she was blue in the face, but the truth was, EJ was fine and he wanted to go with his dad.

  “Okay, but I’ll be calling you in a few hours to check on you. Understand?”

  EJ hugged her. “Love you.”

  “I love you too.”

  EJ released her and went to stand next to his dad. “I’ll keep you updated,” Todd said.

  She nodded. It was all she could really do. This was one of those times she hated being divorced. Hated that things hadn’t workout out between Todd and her. But he’d walked away from her. In the long run, she knew it had been for the better. He didn’t love her anymore and thought they both deserved happiness.

  As she watched EJ leave with Todd, she wondered when she was going to find the happiness she so desired.

  Neil.

  Why had he crossed her mind?

  She covered her mouth. Crap. She’d left him mid-date and spilled the beans about her son. Well, it had to end sometime. Looked like she’d been right. That had been the last date and she hadn’t gotten to ride in the car.

  “Yes, I want a full background check. I don’t need any more surprises,” Neil demanded as he clutched his fists and rocked in his office chair.

  “All right, sir. I’ll see what I can find out.”

  “Do it quickly.” Neil ended the call and set the phone down on his desk. He raked his hands through his hair and then buried his face in his palms.

  Krista had a child. A child. Why hadn’t she said anything? Why would she keep something like that a secret? He’d been in her home and seen the pictures of the child on the wall. He’d just assumed it was a nephew. Any other evidence of a child had obviously been hidden.

  He sat down on the black leather couch. It was all beginning to make sense now. Her reluctance to be with him. Why she had been so stubborn about her life and his being so different. But why hadn’t she just told him about the kid?

  Had he come across as someone who didn’t like children? He didn’t think so. He liked them. Just didn’t have any. At this point he was too old to do the diapers thing. But he had no problem with her having a kid.

  Neil needed to take a step back from the desire to get her in bed and take the time to get to know her. As much as he hated to admit it, Krista was someone he wanted to be with. Spend time with in other ways besides between the sheets.

  She wasn’t someone to play with. He’d known that after his first date—and yet he still sought her. Which only meant one thing, he liked her—like, liked, liked her. And it had been a long time since his heart had opened up.

  He had two options. Walk away from her right now and use this kid as the perfect excuse. Or go at this with everything he had and pray he didn’t end up with a broken heart. Deep down, he already knew the answer. He already had two feet in. He was going all the way.

  Fuck! Hopefully this didn’t turn out badly.

  His cell phone rang from his desk. Taking a deep breath, he pulled himself up and went to see who it was.

  “Hey, Ian.”

  “I have a proposition for you.” His friend got straight to the point.

  “All right.” Maybe whatever it was, it would get his mind off Krista and her secret.

  “You have a hotel near the club. I’d like to sit down and discuss a partnership between the club and your hotel.”

  Neil grinned. He knew where this was going. “Sure.”

  “With this being a Saturday night, we’re packed. But if you come down I’m sure we can talk some.”

  His schedule was free, but going to The Gentlemans’ Club wasn’t the place he wanted to be tonight. “I’ll see if I can make it.”

  “Cool. By the way, what happened the other night? You were there and then gone. I have your money here from the game you won.”

  “Yeah, something came up unexpectedly. I hope Beth wasn’t too heartbroken.” Not that he really cared.

  Ian laughed. “She found her ticket for the night.”

  Neil wasn’t surprised by that either. “All right. Well, let me see what I can work out. If I can’t make it tonight, maybe we can meet during the day one day this week.”

  “Awesome. We’ll be in touch.”

  “See ya, man.”

  Business almost always came first, but at the moment he needed to know about Krista and how her son was. He couldn’t imagine what she was going through right now. If he knew what hospital the kid was at, he’d go there, but this was a big city.

&nbs
p; Phone in hand, he scrolled to her number, deciding a call would be the best. The phone rang and finally her voicemail came on. She was probably busy.

  “Krista, it’s Neil. I wanted to check in on your son and see if he was okay. If there is anything I can do, please let me know. You’re both in my thoughts, please call me soon.”

  He placed the phone into the holster on his hip. His evening was free and he didn’t feel much like staying in. However, going to the club wasn’t a good idea. He’d meet with Ian sometime this week so they could have a proper sit-down and get the details worked out.

  For now he was going to spend his evening alone.

  Krista dashed out of the bathroom naked in search of the ringing phone. She’d hate to miss a call from EJ if he needed her. The ringing stopped. Damn it!

  She threw a few things around on her bed and finally found the stupid thing. After she unlocked the screen she saw it had been Neil who’d called. She stared at the notification and then the phone beeped from a new voicemail.

  She was shocked to see he’d called. Her heart raced as she debated listening to the message. Was he calling to tell her he never wanted to see her again? Surely not. Neil didn’t come across as that type of man. Then again, she’d kept quite a big secret from him when he’d made it clear he didn’t want kids.

  Taking a seat on the bed, she decided to go ahead and get it over with.

  Krista, it’s Neil. I wanted to check in on your son and see if he was okay. If there is anything I can do, please let me know. You’re both in my thoughts, please call me soon.

  After listening to the message, she played it again. She hadn’t been expecting him to show concern, but this man continued to surprise her. That seemed to be Neil. She just couldn’t quite figure him out.

  Now she had to decide if she wanted to call him or not. She really did. Neil had been incredibly sweet on their date. He’d shown her a whole other side of himself. Not the flashy I’m rich side, but the down to earth side.

  Anytime she was with him, her heart melted. He made her smile and gave her the butterfly feeling. If she continued to spend time with him, she knew where it was going to lead. To a broken heart. But maybe that wasn’t so bad. Perhaps it was time to stop being in control all the time and live.