by Sherri Hayes
The good detective missed nothing and raised his eyebrow.
Thankfully, Trent quickly said, “It was a first date, a getting to know you type thing. By the end, we agreed to just be friends.”
“Is that right?” Detective Stephens asked, looking at her.
“That’s right,” she confirmed.
“Did either of you notice anyone following you? Acting suspicious? Anything?”
“No,” she said.
“I didn’t see anyone either, but it was getting dark by the time we left the restaurant. There are a lot of places to hide downtown if that’s what you’re looking to do.”
“Yes, it does look like most of these were taken from a distance.”
“Do you have any leads?” Chris asked.
“We’ve checked out Mr. Carter’s family and a few of his colleagues. So far, all of them check out. We’re still working on it. There were a lot of people who weren’t happy with what happened.”
There were a few more questions back and forth between Trent and the detective, but Chris was only half listening. His focus was on Elizabeth.
“You sure you’re all right?” he whispered.
She nodded, but he wasn’t sure he believed her.
Turning his attention back to the detective he asked, “Is there anything we can do about Abigail Carter?”
“Do?”
“She called again Friday harassing Elizabeth at work. I told her not to call again or I’d file charges. Any suggestions? I can’t exactly change my office number.”
“How often is she calling?”
“Three times this week.”
“If she calls again, let me know right away. I’ll see what I can do.”
After a few more words of caution from the detective, Trent and Jan walked him out.
The moment they were alone, Chris had his arms around her. “I’m fine. Really.”
“You always say you’re fine, even when you’re not.”
“I’m sorry.”
He pulled back enough to look into her eyes, but didn’t release her. “Don’t be sorry, just be honest.” She nodded, and he hugged her once again. Having someone to lean on felt really good.
Two hours later, Elizabeth was surrounded by Chris’s family. The only one missing was Gage. Being a pro football player, he couldn’t walk away from a game just because someone had taken pictures of her and his brother on their date last night.
She honestly didn’t understand why his family had dropped whatever plans they had for the day and showed up on their doorstep. Sure Trent was in the pictures too, but this was about her, not him. So when Chris ran upstairs to grab a soda for his dad and Paul, she followed him and voiced her confusion.
He seemed equally confused by her question. “Why wouldn’t they?”
“Because they don’t know me.”
He pulled her close, giving her a kiss that made her toes curl. When he released her, they were both breathing hard.
“Because you’re important to me.”
He picked up the drinks and walked back downstairs, leaving her just as clueless as she was before. The only difference was that now she was wishing they would all go home so she could have Chris to herself.
Once they were all sitting in Jan’s living room, Paul took charge. “The local PD are involved?”
“Yes,” Chris said.
“Good. Why don’t you fill us in on what’s going on?”
Chris touched Elizabeth’s shoulder. “Do you mind?”
So many emotions passed through her at that moment; relief, terror, anger at whoever was doing this to her. She was trying to start over, and now Chris’s family was going to know about her past. Her gaze drifted up to Chris’s, and he gave her what she thought was an encouraging smile. “Please.”
Sentence by sentence, she listened to Chris share her dirty laundry with his family. He didn’t tell them everything, just the basic facts. She wondered if they’d all start looking at her differently now that they knew she’d killed her husband.
To her surprise, Paul was the first one to comment. “I remember that. It was big news in Columbus.”
She didn’t respond other than to nod and shift uncomfortably.
Mary came over, knelt down in front of Elizabeth, and pulled her into a hug. “I am so sorry that happened to you.”
All the months she had endured the hateful comments of her former friends and Jared’s colleagues, she’d never cried in front of others. Ironically it wasn’t the hate that broke her, it was the kindness.
She clung to Mary while she cried, letting all the months of hurt, the pain of the years of abuse from Jared, pour out of her.
She felt the couch shift beside her. When she opened her eyes, she found Chris. He had become her rock. How would she deal with it if one day he decided she wasn’t worth all the grief? That thought brought on another round of tears.
His family stayed a little while longer, finally leaving around six, and the house felt strangely empty with them gone.
“Are you sure you’re okay, dear? I had no idea you’d gone through so much and now this,” Jan said, hugging Elizabeth.
It was a sad commentary on his life that he was jealous of Jan’s show of motherly affection toward Elizabeth. Chris wanted to be the one holding her, comforting her.
The moment he could do it without being rude, he led Elizabeth up the stairs. “Did you want to get some clothes from your place?”
She looked up at him, and a blush covered her cheeks. “Am I staying with you again tonight?”
“I’d like you to.”
Her blush deepened and she nodded.
He waited just inside her apartment, and when she came out of her bedroom, she was carrying a duffle bag.
“It’s just overnight.” He smirked.
She ignored his comment and said, “Do you mind if I use your shower?”
Visions of her in the shower, water running down her body filled his mind. He reached for her, plastering her against him before placing a hard kiss on her lips. “Only if I get to join you.”
She tucked her head shyly into his chest. “You want to shower with me?”
He tilted her head up so he could look into her eyes. “Well, I was hoping to do more than just shower,” he said, running a suggestive hand down the length of her body.
She swallowed hard, obviously nervous, and he was reminded of this morning and how she’d covered her body. But before he could offer anymore reassurances, she said, “I think that could be arranged.”
Elizabeth arched her back and stretched, feeling the pull of muscles she never knew she had.
Last night had been what dreams were made of. Well, really sexy dreams anyway.
As promised, Chris had joined her in the shower and they’d stayed under the spray until the water began to cool, only to continue, what turned out to be, the best and longest foreplay of her life in his bed. She’d never felt sexier or more beautiful in her life.
Joining with Chris was more than just the physical. Sure, she found him attractive, hot, sexy, and every other term for drop-dead gorgeous you could think of. She wasn’t sure any woman with eyes wouldn’t. His dark hair, deep brown eyes, broad shoulders . . . she could go on and on, but when he was inside her, she felt connected to him in a way she’d never felt before. And then after . . . he’d held her again until she’d fallen asleep.
Reluctantly, she threw off the covers and strolled into the bathroom, smiling the entire way.
Picking up her duffle bag, her fingers ghosted over the baby doll she’d tucked into her bag last night. She pulled it out, enjoying the feel of the silk and wondering what Chris would have thought of her surprise. It had been an impulse purchase, and she’d never had the courage to wear it before, even alone, but for some reason she’d wanted to try with Chris.
They’d never gotten that far. Clothes hadn’t been on either of their minds for the rest of the night.
“What have you got there?” Chris’ voice startled her, and she
dropped the nightie.
“Uh . . .”
He pushed his large frame away from the door and walked over to her. He bent down and picked up the silky material from where it had fallen on the floor and held it up by the straps. Chris’s eyes met hers, and instead of commenting, he neatly folded the baby doll and put it back in her duffle bag.
Then he stepped closer, pulling her into his arms, his lips going directly to her neck, and he placed a kiss just under her jaw. “I’ll try not to be too impatient tonight so you can wear it for me. I’m sure the color will look amazing against your skin. Plus,” he said, continuing to kiss her skin, “it will give me the opportunity to take it off you.”
She released a huge breath. She’d taken a chance last night putting it in there and although she knew Chris was nothing like Jared, she couldn’t help but compare the two. Jared had been her first and only lover before Chris, and seeing her in anything like the silk nightie in question was not on his list of desirable things to do. It was another of those things she’d tried once and never again.
He gave her a quick kiss. “Are you done? Breakfast is almost ready.”
She blushed. If only he knew how much time she’d wasted on her daydreams. “Can you give me five more minutes?”
He kissed her again before stepping back. “You can have all the time you want. I’m the boss, remember?” He smiled. “I’ll sign your tardy slip.”
She laughed. It felt so good to be like this. But as he walked away, her insecurities crept in, and she wondered how long it would last before he realized she wasn’t what he really wanted.
If someone had told Chris that his Monday would have ended up the way it did, he wouldn’t have left his bed this morning.
Before he’d left for work, it couldn’t have been more perfect. He woke up with Elizabeth naked in his bed and would have been content to just lie there with her all day.
Why couldn’t he go back to that?
It was now just after eleven, and he was standing in front of his office, staring down Abigail Carter. She’d shown up ten minutes ago ranting, raving, and refusing to leave.
Apparently Detective Stephens had called her regarding an alibi for Saturday evening, and Mrs. Carter was not pleased someone she felt was beneath her, namely Elizabeth, was disturbing her world. Again.
It didn’t matter that Elizabeth had not contacted her or that Abigail had been the one to track her down in the first place. To Abigail Carter, she was perfectly within her rights to call and disturb the life of the woman who’d “murdered her little boy.”
Chris tried very hard to rein in his temper on that one. She was delusional if she thought her “little boy” was innocent in all this, but she made Elizabeth out to be a gold digger who’d manipulated her son into marrying her.
When Chris couldn’t get the woman to leave immediately, he had Elizabeth call Detective Stephens while he waited outside with Abigail. It was over ninety degrees already, but there was no way he was letting that woman stay inside with Elizabeth.
As if things couldn’t get any worse, his mom pulled up just as Detective Stephens did.
“Hello, Christopher.” Then she noticed the detective. “Well hello, detective.”
With the distraction, Abigail tried to sneak back into the office, but Chris quickly stepped in front of her. “I don’t think so.”
She huffed and walked back down the sidewalk.
Chris strolled over and properly greeted his mother, giving her a quick hug. “Not that I’m not glad to see you, but what are you doing here?”
“Well, I just thought . . .” Glancing over her son’s shoulder at Abigail, she lowered her voice, “. . . I just thought with everything that Elizabeth might need some cheering up, so I baked some brownies. Chocolate always makes things better.”
Chris smiled. He had no idea where this thing with Elizabeth was going, but it made him happy to know that his family liked and accepted her.
“I’m sure she’ll love it. Thanks.”
As his mom went inside with the brownies, he walked over to where Detective Stephens was glaring down at Abigail. “Explain to me again why I shouldn’t haul you down to the station.”
“I’ve done nothing wrong,” she insisted. “I have every right to see my daughter-in-law.”
“Mrs. Carter, you’re walking a very fine line. Why exactly are you here to see Ms. Marshall?”
“Marshall? She doesn’t even have the decency to keep my son’s name!”
The two men just stared at her as she teetered on the verge of hysterics.
Then she suddenly seemed to compose herself. It was an amazing transformation. He’d seen Carol do something similar, but not with as much grace. One second she looked as if she were going to spout snakes from her head, and the next, she was back to being the well-mannered society lady, full of composure and not a hair out of place.
Thankfully, Stephens wasn’t fooled. “I think that what name Ms. Marshall goes by is nothing you should be concerned with. I’ll ask you again, why exactly are you here?”
“I told you. I wanted to see my daughter-in-law.” Her voice was now dripping with false sweetness.
“Well, considering I received a phone call from Ms. Marshall regarding your unexpected visit, I would conclude that her employer does not wish for you to interrupt his place of business, and he’s perfectly within his right to ask you to leave. I might also point out that this is private property, and he could have you arrested for trespassing.”
Abigail glared at Chris briefly before returning her attention to the detective. “My apologies, Detective Stephens.” Then, without further ado, Abigail Carter pushed her shoulders back and walked between them. “Good day, gentlemen.”
She got into her Lincoln and drove away.
“I don’t trust her,” Chris said.
“Not as far as I can throw her,” Stephens agreed.
“So what do we do?”
“Not much we can do, yet. So far her alibis have checked out, and although showing up here was ballsy on her part, all you could get her on was the trespassing, and I’m not even sure that would stick given the right lawyer.”
Chris nodded. “Thank you for coming.”
The detective paused as he got into his car. “Let me know if she shows up again. Maybe I’ll bring a uniform and scare her a bit, just for kicks.”
Chris was still chuckling as he walked back into the office. He would pay to see Abigail Carter in handcuffs.
Elizabeth jumped when the door opened, thinking for sure Abigail had somehow gotten past Chris and was coming after her. That woman was a force of nature.
It was Mary Daniels.
“Hello,” she said, concern in her eyes as she pulled up a chair and set a covered container in front of Elizabeth before pulling her into a hug. “How are you and who is that nasty woman outside?” Removing the plastic lid she declared, “I brought chocolate!”
She laughed as Mary picked up a brownie and handed it to her. “Thank you.”
“Not a problem. Chocolate is the solution to all the world’s problems.”
The brownie was filled with delicious chocolate chunks and after a few bites, she did feel better. Maybe there was something to that chocolate euphoria thing after all, and after a few minutes of indulging, she explained the situation to Mary.
“I should probably feel sorry for the woman losing her son, but considering the circumstances, I don’t,” Mary said matter-of-factly.
Just then Chris walked in. “Is she gone?” Elizabeth asked.
“Yeah. For now, at least.” He pulled up a chair and for a few minutes, they forgot all about Abigail Carter.
Finally, Mary stood and said, “Well I should probably get going. I promised your dad I’d go with him this afternoon to find a new pair of sneakers. I don’t know what it is, but that man usually hates shopping.”
“Maybe he just wants your lovely company, Mom,” Chris said, standing to give her a kiss on the cheek.
Sh
e swatted his arm. “You’re as bad as your brothers, you know that? I don’t know where you boys get it from.”
Chris laughed. “Does the saying ‘the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree’ ring any bells?”
“Walk me to my car, Chris?”
He should have known what his mother had up her sleeve the minute she asked him to walk her to her car. Instead, she caught him by surprise. Maybe he could chalk it all up to Abigail Carter’s unexpected visit this morning, but he doubted it. It was more likely due to the cloud he was still floating on from waking up with Elizabeth in his bed for the second morning in a row.
“I’ll expect the two of you to be on time for dinner this Sunday. One o’clock sharp.”
“Wh-what?”
“Don’t play dumb with me. You cannot tell me there’s nothing going on between you two.” When he didn’t deny it, she said, “Now that that’s settled, I’ll see you Sunday. Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.” She slid behind the wheel.
Chris laughed, shaking his head. “Apple. Tree.”
Marilyn laughed right along with him as she started her car and pulled onto the street.
When he walked back into the office, Elizabeth gave him a message from Terry asking that he call right away.
Apparently, Carol had shown up on a job site this morning. She’d gone with the pretense of bringing the guys water, but had shown up wearing a denim mini skirt and white dress shirt tied up right below her breasts. Needless to say, his guys were distracted by her presence and that was before she “accidentally” spilled water down her front.
He wasn’t sure what he was going to do about Carol. He knew what she wanted, but that wasn’t going to happen. She’d burned him once, and it was never happening again.
Plus, he had Elizabeth now. Well—sort of. They hadn’t exactly discussed it.
Glancing out his office door to the woman on his mind, he watched as she tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. Memories of last night filled his mind, and suddenly sitting in his chair was no longer comfortable.
He tried to change the direction of his thoughts, but now that he knew what it was like to have Elizabeth in his bed, he wasn’t sure he ever wanted her out of it. She was smart, beautiful, and cared about others. Her body was to die for. There was nothing about her that he didn’t love.