Elastic Hearts (Hearts #3)

by Claire Contreras

  “Maybe I was waiting for my vacation to accumulate so I could take a longer break.”

  She frowned. “Six years later?”

  “Corrine,” I said, sighing. She closed her mouth when she realized she was pushing my buttons.

  “Sorry. I just . . . I’m shocked. Does that mean we’ll be on vacation at the same time? Does that mean I won’t be able to take my vacation?”

  Why did she have to get so shrilly? I let her have her moment, but instead of getting over it, she continued to look at me like I had some kind of answer written on my face. Finally, I cleared my throat.

  “You put in your vacation and you’ll take it. There are five other attorneys in this office, Corinne. Go get engaged, or married, or whatever,” I said.

  “What will you do?”

  I made a face. How was that her business? “Not go get engaged or married or whatever,” I responded. She smiled.

  “I heard,” she whispered, leaning into the desk as if she were sharing a great secret with me, “that you’re in a very serious relationship.”

  I opened my mouth and closed it immediately. Whatever I said would be used against me for life around the office, and taking time off for what I’d done was the most lenient form of punishment for most people. Even though being without work for more than a couple days was like walking through the pits of hell, I had to be grateful it was all I got. That said, being out in the open with Nicole right now wouldn’t be the smartest thing to do for either of us, and I knew that. Instead of answering her question the way I wanted—which was: I am in a very serious relationship—I just shrugged.

  “If you need anything, call my cell phone,” I said as I walked off. “Good luck on your vacation.”

  “You too.”

  I knew Nicole wouldn’t be at my place when I got home, but it didn’t keep me from missing her as I walked through the house, looking for any sign that she’d been there. The only sign was a navy blue blanket on the living room floor where the dog had slept. I’d never cared to have a dog, but I’d definitely have to get used to it being around. I looked at the blanket for a long time, debating whether or not I should pick it up. Itching to pick it up, really. In the end, I took a breath and made myself walk away. I went upstairs, changed into something comfortable, and smiled at the sight of my shower still being wet with her handwriting on the foggy mirror that read, I love you. I took my phone out and snapped a picture of it before I decided to call Quinn to ask him for a huge favor before heading to her house. I only hoped what I had planned would work and that she’d be able and want to go with me.

  I WAS SITTING outside with Bonnie, enjoying a cup of cereal, when Brent jogged by. As much as I appreciated the eye candy, I was seriously starting to wonder if he had a job.

  “Hey, you want to grab lunch today?” he asked, stopping to catch his breath in front of my porch. I put my hand up to shield my face from the sun as I looked at him.

  “Nah. I kind of—”

  “Have a boyfriend,” Victor said, his sudden presence making me jump an inch out of my seat.

  Brent’s and my head whipped toward him. My heart leaped at the sight of him, standing there in a pair of jeans and a polo. The fact he wasn’t at work and had changed from his suit to this was not a good sign.

  “What are you doing here?” I asked, blinking rapidly.

  “Aren’t you her lawyer?” Brent asked, frowning.

  “Was.”

  My stomach dropped. Was?

  “Yes. Was. Do you have any more questions for me or are you going to finish that run now?” Victor asked. I wanted the ground to swallow me whole.

  “Maybe another time,” I said to Brent, who nodded slowly.

  “I’ll catch you later,” he said as he ran off.

  “That was so mean,” I said as soon as he was far enough away. I took a handful of cereal and began to chew.

  Victor eyed the cup in my hand as he sat down in the chair beside me and patted Bonnie on the head. “Fuck that guy.”

  My eyes widened. “He’s a nice guy.”

  “A nice guy who wants to fuck you.”

  I smiled, shaking my head. “Can you blame him?”

  He had this wicked gleam in his eyes as he gave me a slow once-over. “Fuck, no. Doesn’t mean I want to see him try, though.”

  “Now I know why you never have a girlfriend,” I said, raising an eyebrow. He lifted my foot from the little table I had it on and placed it on his lap, massaging it. I closed my eyes and tossed my head back, putting down the cup of cereal on the floor beside me.

  “What were you saying?”

  “Huh?” I asked, opening my eyes to look at him. He was still smiling as he lifted my foot and bit down on my toe. “Ouch! Fuck.”

  He chuckled. “You were saying that you knew why I never had a girlfriend.”

  “Oh.” I straightened a bit in my chair. “Your controlling tendencies. I don’t know if women can handle that.”

  “Can you?” he asked, raising an eyebrow.

  I looked at him for a beat, unable to keep myself from getting lost in the intense look his eyes held. The challenge. I freaking loved it. Loved him. I realized, as he massaged my feet, clearly not at work like he would have been if he’d worked his magic on my dad and whoever else he met with, that in a world full of Gabriels, men like Victor came a dime a dozen.

  “I think I can,” I said quietly. I smiled when he dropped my feet and stood, towering over me with both hands clutching the armrests on either side of me.

  “If anybody can, it’s you,” he said, dropping his lips to mine and kissing me deeply, his tongue delving into my mouth in a way that took my breath away. He broke the kiss and backed away slightly, still holding the armrests. “I have a surprise for you, but now that you’re being so sassy, I’m not sure I want to give it to you.”

  “What are you going to do? Spank me?” I asked, smirking.

  His gaze heated instantly. “Don’t tempt me.”

  “Maybe I want to,” I said, bringing my foot up and brushing it against his crotch, which was already hardening. He breathed out harshly.

  “You love playing with fire, Nicole,” he said, his voice a low rasp as he placed his forehead against mine.

  “I love playing with you,” I replied, pressing my lips against his.

  He reached down and carried me, my chair making a screeching sound against the concrete as he lifted me and pushed it aside.

  “Wait,” I said as we waited for Bonnie to walk in before closing the door behind us. “Did you get fired?”

  He chuckled, setting me down on the couch. “You wait until now to ask me that?”

  “I was distracted.”

  “By how handsome and controlling I am?” he asked, grinning.

  “You are so full of yourself.”

  “So I’ve been told,” he said, grabbing his crotch in his hand. I nearly moaned at the sight of it.

  “Did you?”

  “No, I’m on leave until your divorce papers come back.”

  “So . . . you’re still partner?” I asked quietly.

  He sighed and took a seat beside me on the couch, putting an arm around me. I put my legs on his lap and scooted closer. “I am,” he said, running his fingers through my hair. If he kept this up, the massages and the hair touching, I’d definitely keep him. “I was there when your dad called you.”

  My eyes widened, meeting his. “Did I . . . well, obviously he kept you on board so I didn’t mess anything up, but . . .” I groaned. “I hate that he put me on the spot like that.”

  “You did great, Nic.” He pulled me closer to him. “You did great, and,” he let out a breath, “you were fine. It was fine. Will just doesn’t want any more attention around this until it’s clear the divorce is over. I really can lose my license. That’s not a game.”

  I blinked. “We were just outside kissing. You just told Brent that you were my attorney and insinuated you were my boyfriend.”

  “Fuck Brent. He’s n
ot a threat.”

  “You don’t know that.”

  He shot me a look. “If he becomes one, I’ll take care of it.”

  “Like you took care of Darryl?” I asked, raising an eyebrow. I knew I’d caught him off guard because of the way his eyes widened and he reared back slightly. “I saw him in Argentina. His face was all cut up the same week you had a bandage on yours. Coincidence?”

  “Probably. I’m sure a lot of people want to cut his face,” he said.

  “You’re going to sit here and lie to me?”

  He sighed, running a hand through his hair. It was telling.

  “You can’t just go around beating people up because of me,” I said. “Isn’t that worse than us being out together?”

  Victor let out an unamused chuckle. “Not in the state of California.”

  “He can press charges.”

  “Let him try,” he scoffed, then looked at me. “You don’t have to worry about any of that, Nicole. Trust me.”

  “I do. I just don’t want to be the reason you go through all this trouble and lose a great job.”

  His gaze held a seriousness that made my heart dip. He didn’t say anything else, instead he reached for my hand and brought it to his lips. I leaned the side of my head on his shoulder, and we sat in silence for a little while, just silence. A comfortable, beautiful silence.

  “I have something for you,” he said, arching off the couch to pull something out of his back pocket. He handed over a folded packet, which I took as I sat up. I opened the papers and read through it, gasping, my heart beating uncontrollably. Tears started to form in my eyes before I even finished reading the entire thing.

  “We’re going to Iceland?” I asked in a hoarse whisper.

  Victor smiled softly. “We’re going to Iceland.”

  “You know that’s where they film—” I started, but he snatched the papers from my hand and turned the page before I could finish. I screamed. Loud. And bolted out of the couch. “Oh my God! Oh my God! We’re going? We’re really going? But how?”

  Victor laughed and pulled me onto his lap. “I know people.”

  “Did you tell your sister about this?” I asked after long quiet minutes, in which I read everything on the pages he’d given me.

  “Hell, no. She’d kill me. We can send her a picture when we get over there. We leave in a week by the way,” he said, kissing my forehead.

  “A week.” I paused, eyes wide. “I have to find out if we’re still on shooting break.”

  “You are.”

  “How do you know?” I asked, my veins still drenched in adrenaline.

  “Your friend Talon told me.”

  “What?” My mouth dropped. “How did you get in touch with her?”

  He chuckled, pulling me so I could straddle his lap. “I already told you, I know people.”

  I wrapped my hands around his neck and smiled. “I really do love you.”

  “You better,” he said. “I don’t even watch that fucking show.”

  ICELAND WAS FUCKING freezing, but the permanent smile on Nicole’s face made the trip worth it. We were on set, and even though she said she was a huge fan of the costume designer, all she did was check out the guys.

  “You’re drooling again,” I whispered in her ear. She shivered, wrapping her arms around herself.

  “I’m sorry. I know it’s in bad form to check out another man in front of your boyfriend, but oh my God,” she said, her teeth rattling. I laughed, wrapping my arms around her.

  “I’m not worried.”

  She smiled, tilting her head to look up at me. “You’re so sure of yourself.”

  I shrugged. No point in denying it. She wasn’t going anywhere, and neither was I. Even if I wanted to leave her, my family would probably disown me at this point. In the week we had between our reconciliation and the trip, we’d been inseparable, which meant everywhere I went, Nicole was there and vice versa. One of those days, we’d gone over to my parents’ house for dinner, where Mia, Jensen, Oliver, and Estelle joined us. Whenever Nicole wasn’t in the room all I heard was, “put a ring on it” and “you better marry that girl.” Every time I reminded them her divorce wasn’t even officially final, they shook their heads as if it was somehow my fault. But when I admitted I would marry her someday, Jensen and Oliver didn’t shut the fuck up about me being in love.

  I let them have their fun because every time the subject was brought up they ended up arguing about who won whatever bet they had going. It was amusing to watch.

  “I’m glad you’ve taken such an interest in my personal life,” I said when we were sitting outside having a drink.

  “We bet five hundred dollars and this asshole won’t admit he was wrong,” Jensen said, nodding at Oliver. I gaped at them. Five hundred dollars?

  “What the fuck was the bet?”

  “That you were involved with a client,” Oliver said.

  “No. That you would become involved with a client and actually fall for her,” Jensen corrected.

  “No. He only had to fuck one of his clients, and he told you he was representing Nicole before we made the bet, so it should be thrown out the window,” Oliver said, raising an eyebrow.

  “You should have bet for Jensen to get a tattoo on his ass and for you to cut your fucking hair,” I said.

  They scoffed.

  “All I’m saying is I won,” Oliver said. “Did you or did you not fuck her before you became her attorney?”

  My jaw twitched. I didn’t want to talk about my sex life with Nicole, and I couldn’t even throw anything back at him about his because I really didn’t want to talk about his sex life with my sister. I took a gulp of Jameson and looked at him over my glass. “Fuck you, Rapunzel.”

  Jensen laughed loudly. “You do need a haircut.”

  “Fuck you both,” Oliver said, running a hand through his hair. “The kids like it.”

  They probably did. I’d heard from a friend of a friend that the pediatrics office where he worked boomed after he’d gotten a job there. My sister seemed to be amused by the whole hot doctor thing he had going on at work. I shook my head.

  “Both of you are assholes,” I said, standing and stretching. “Now let me go get ready. I have a long flight and I hear Game of Thrones shoot is pretty epic, so I don’t want to be tired when I get there.”

  That shut both of them up for all of three seconds before they started with an onslaught of insults. You bastard! I can’t believe you’re going! I hope they hire you as an extra and kill you off!

  I chuckled and raised my middle finger up as I walked away from them. “They only kill Muggles.”

  “That’s not even the right series,” they screamed.

  “Keep betting against me. You’ll never win,” I shouted back.

  “You’re an asshole. Send pictures.”

  “I’ll think about it.”

  Now we were here and I realized just how impressive the set actually was, I’d sent short of a thousand pictures. Nicole was just in awe of everything, the way I probably would have been if I’d actually watched it on television. I’d always avoided things when my clients worked on shows I enjoyed because I thought they’d take away from the fantasy of what I liked watching on screen, but this was the real deal. The set was Iceland, and Iceland was breathtaking. And I’d probably never set foot back here again, so I tried to enjoy every second of it and openly being with Nicole.

  My phone buzzed in my pocket and I took it out. Nicole rolled her eyes.

  “I thought you were off work. You check your phone every two seconds.”

  “Some of us need to stay employed, baby,” I said, scrolling through my email. My heart stopped when I saw it was from Will and had a smiley face on the subject line. A fucking smiley face from Will could only mean one thing. I opened it up and noticed the attachment. Above it, the email said, Good to have you back, partner.

  My heart leaped, soared, in a way that only rivaled what Nicole made me feel when she looked at me.
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br />   “Your hands are shaking. You need better gloves,” Nicole said beside me. I shook my head.

  “No. I’m not cold,” I said, and meant it. As I opened the attachment on the email, all I felt was warmth. I let out a long, relieved, icy breath. “Thank. Fucking. God.”

  “What?” she asked. I turned the phone so she could see, and smiled when she gasped. She stayed quiet for so long, that I had to look at her. I noticed she had tears in her eyes. Tears that would probably freeze before they fell onto her face. I pulled her head and crashed it onto my beating heart. “It’s over,” she whispered. “It’s really over.”

  I wasn’t sure if she was sad, happy, relieved, and I didn’t know if I had it in me to ask. I faced things head-on, but if she told me she was sad about her divorce finally being completely over, I wasn’t sure how I’d feel. Probably broken-hearted. Probably crushed. I decided I need to man up and took a deep breath, rearing back slightly and tilting her face to look into her eyes.

  “You okay?”

  She nodded, blinking slowly. “I am.” Her smile was slow, but wide. “I think . . . I really am.” She let out a smoky breath. “I feel . . . free.”

  I smiled, bringing my lips to hers in a soft, chaste kiss. “Sorry to break it to you, but you’re kind of stuck with me.”

  She laughed. “I’m okay with that.”

  “You better be, or I’ll go tell that guy with the black feather cape to lend me his weapon,” I said. Her eyes got huge and she completely froze for a beat.

  “Is he behind us?”

  I looked over her head. “Not right behind us, but yeah.”

  “Oh my God. I think I’m going to faint.”

  I laughed. “You haven’t even seen him. He’s not that big a deal.”

  If possible, her eyes widened more. “Jon. Snow. Is. A. Huge. Deal.”

  I groaned, remembering Mia and Estelle and everybody else I knew talking about him. “That’s the fucking famous Jon Snow?”

  Nicole turned around and let out a little silent excited shriek. “Yes.”

  I wrapped an arm around her and pulled her to me. We were on top of a little hill as we watched him walk with a heavyset guy. He was not a big deal. He looked short. I was sure his hair made Oliver jealous, though, so I snapped a picture of him and sent it, knowing I wouldn’t get a response until later on.