Ache For Me_Romantic Suspense

by Hayden Braeburn

  “Have the producers called? Were they angry with you?” Tiffany asked, ignoring the revelation about Camryn's ex.

  “Yes. I broke my contract and upset them, but my understudy is great. The show didn't suffer.”

  Delmonico leaned forward. “What about Gavin and his wife?”

  “I haven't heard from either one since I left them in bed.” She blushed. “I mean, I wasn't with them in bed, I just walked in— I'll stop talking now.”

  “The wife wasn't mad about you?”

  “I got the feeling she knew about me and didn't care. Hell, they asked me to join them!”

  The detective chuckled. “But you're not that kind of girl.”

  She tossed her hands in the air. “No, I'm not, and I can't believe I was played like that. Can't believe I was so naive.”

  “It happens to most of us, hon,” Tiffany soothed. “We've all been cheated on or cheated with, and it sucks balls either way.”

  “Yeah, but most women don't end up with hidden tracking apps and gunshots.”

  “You'd be surprised.”

  A cup of coffee and a few inane questions later, they left the detective's house, picked up the phone he'd ordered for her on his plan, and returned to her home. As he unlocked the front door, he turned to look at her over his shoulder. “Don't think you're staying here.”

  Her hazel eyes widened a fraction. “There were a lot of demands this morning.”

  “Promises,” he said before dropping a kiss on her forehead.

  She flashed a grin. “Guess I'll pack a bag.”

  “Grab enough for an extended stay.”

  Her smile turned pensive. “How extended?”

  “Remember all the promises, Lark,” he replied instead of answering the question. Had she dismissed their conversation?

  “I don't see a disgustingly large diamond.”

  He chuckled with relief as she echoed her demand from the morning. “Just pack.”

  ~*~

  Chris looked at Tiffany. “What do you think?”

  “I think multiple things are happening here.” She twisted a lock of platinum blonde hair around her finger. “There's no question there were two parties tracking Ms. Everett's movements, and there's no question someone took a shot at her the other night.” She paused, but he didn't have anything to add to her assessment so far. “The fact that absolutely nothing truly menacing or life-threatening has happened makes me wonder what the stalker is trying to accomplish. We've seen weird stalking before—I mean, Haleigh Carlisle's was weird as hell—but I don't think that's what this is.”

  “Neither do I.”

  “You think someone wants her to leave? Go back to New York?”

  He laughed. “Carter Jamieson have any obsessed ex-girlfriends?”

  “I don't know, but it's worth looking at,” she agreed, her gaze becoming unfocused as she thought. “This is independent of the murder.”

  He nodded in agreement. “There's more going on here than stalking or tracking. How many people are interested in the movements of Camryn Everett?”

  “She's an Everett, involved with a Jamieson, singing at a nightclub that's a known front for prostitution, and a former headliner in a Broadway show.”

  “When you put it that way...” he trailed off. “I've gotta call this in.”

  She did a Vanna White impression, gesturing at the table full of notes. “Be my guest. I suppose I should clue Brandon in, too.”

  He frowned at the mention of her superior. “Whatever you need.”

  Chapter Eight

  Camryn tried to roll over but was held fast by the warm weight of Carter's arm. There was no blaring alarm, nowhere she needed to be, nothing she had to do, but instead of feeling content lying in bed with an amazing man she'd loved forever, she was nervous. Did Carter really want to saddle himself with her needy self? She had probably more than one person stalking her, someone shooting at her, and if history was anything to go by, she'd be kidnapped before too long.

  “What has you so worked up?” Carter asked, evidently not as asleep as she'd thought.

  She sighed. “Just that I'll be kidnapped.”

  He rolled over then, an intense look on his face. “Not happening. You're safe.”

  “Mason was kidnapped after proposing to Kat, Cassidy was kidnapped after she fell in love with Dylan, Caleb was kidnapped when he was trying to save Haleigh.”

  She watched him formulate an argument before he opened his mouth. “Caleb was only sort of kidnapped.” He paused, his expression changing from fierce to soft. “Your siblings fell in love first.”

  “Yes.” Keeping things from this man would not be easy.

  He leaned in to kiss her gently. “You're worried because you're in love with me. We won't let you get taken.”

  “How can you be sure?”

  “You're marrying me, are you not?” he asked, ignoring her actual question.

  She appreciated his sidestep. “I still don't see a diamond. Maybe you should talk to your sister.”

  “Who says I haven't?”

  She didn't have an answer to that, and her mouth was suddenly so dry she wasn't sure she could answer even if she wanted to.

  Carter's grin reminded her of a boy at Christmas. “I've made my little Lark speechless. I need to write this down.” His hand flexed on her hip. “I would revel in my victory, but we have places to go this morning.”

  “We do?” she croaked.

  He slid from the bed, glorious in just his skin, his time at the gym or wherever he was working out apparent. She resisted pinching herself to prove this was real.

  Her phone buzzed on the nightstand, pulling her from her musings. “Who has my new number?”

  He thought for a moment, rubbing a hand against his scruffy jaw and making her wish he'd come back to bed. “Your family and mine, the police...” he trailed off. “You ought to answer.”

  None of her contacts were in this phone, and she knew exactly one phone number, and it wasn't her parent's landline flashing across the screen. “Hello?”

  “You and Carter?” her sister asked without a greeting. “Finally!”

  She was sitting in his bed, naked except for a sheet. “Finally?” she managed.

  Cassidy was laughing. “Are you kidding?”

  “Okay, no. I mean, I know you knew, but Mason...” she let the thought go unfinished.

  “Is it everything you hoped?” her sister asked, a conspiratorial edge to her whispered question.

  “Better, mostly. He's bossy.”

  Another laugh. “He is an attorney, Cammy.”

  “I'm well aware.” She sighed. “He's trying to keep me safe.”

  “He'd better.” She paused. “Don't go off on your own to try and protect him.”

  She shook her head, the thought of following in Cassidy's footsteps absurd for many reasons. “I won't.” She swallowed against the lump in her throat. “He says he's loved me for a long time.”

  “He has,” Cassidy confirmed. “Mason was watching out for you both. Even with the privilege of being an Everett and a Jamieson, it would have been rough if you'd been together straight out of high school. He was in law school, and you had Ithaca.” She paused. “If you're happy, we're all happy for you—both families. Don't worry about us one bit.”

  She was so tired of hearing the reasons behind the decade lost loving this man but ignored the words she wanted to say. “It's not me who's worried.” She rubbed the sheet between her fingers. “He beat himself up for years about wanting me before I was legal.”

  “That's your rule-following man,” Cassidy said with a chuckle. “Somehow he managed to be on the defense side of the aisle instead of next to me in court.” She paused. “I honestly don't know how his family convinced him to represent clients who might not be all that innocent.”

  “He has a healthy respect for the law,” she found herself defending. “But he went more than a little overboard with his self-flagellations for wanting me.”

  “Loo
k who's pulling out twenty dollar words first thing in the morning.” She paused again, and Camryn thought she heard the baby cry. “Looks like my time is up. I love you, sister.”

  “Love you back.”

  She stared at her phone for a few moments after the call. She was liking this kinder, gentler Cassidy. Maybe the two of them could be close, especially if Cam stayed in town. She shook her head. Tyler and Aylesford were just a stopping point to regroup before heading back to the city. Her heart chugged an unsteady rhythm. How would Carter react to her need to go back?

  ~*~

  Carter walked into the bedroom after his shower, a towel wrapped around his middle and a smile on his face. His expression changed quickly when he saw the fear in Camryn's eyes.

  “What's wrong?”

  She bit her lip before replying, contemplating her answer far too long. “I can't do this to you.”

  His heart skipped a beat. “Can't give me everything I've ever wanted?” She shifted, the sheet sliding down to expose more of her incredible breasts, pulling his thoughts toward distracting her with lovemaking, but he waited for her to say something instead.

  She tucked a wayward curl behind her ear. “I want to go back to New York.”

  “Of course.” She was made for the stage, and he'd never keep her from it.

  “Your practice is here, your life is here.” Her lips were pursed, the anguish in her eyes killing him, but her argument was weak.

  “As are your family and mine.” He studied her, unsure why she was trying to deny them both what they'd wanted for so long. “It's not that far, and we can fly back and forth whenever it’s necessary or rent a place up there when you're working, whatever will make you happy.”

  “How is it that you have a quick answer to that, but you had such issues with me being ten years younger?”

  He'd questioned himself more than once in the last few weeks. “I'm usually a lot smarter than that, Lark.”

  “We can do this? I don't have to worry that I'm stifling you?”

  Stifling him? “Of course not,” he answered quickly before the real reason presented itself. “What did Cassidy say?”

  “She didn't, it's just...” she trailed off.

  “You were looking for a reason this couldn't work. Aside from the murderer who may be after you.”

  She shook her head. “No. I don't want to lose what we just found, but I can't be the best choice for you.”

  “Now you say that?” He leaned over her then, sharing her air, crowding her against the headboard. “I have spent the better part of a decade believing we couldn't be, but you shattered all that a few days ago. I told you I was all in, that I want to marry you, and you're the one with second thoughts?”

  He pulled away when her eyes widened. “I have always wanted you, Carter. You have to know that.”

  “And now you've satisfied your curiosity and don't need me anymore?”

  “No!” She shifted again, the sheet falling away from her lush figure. “I don't want to hold you back.”

  “I'm sure I could pass the bar in New York if it came to that.”

  “You'd do that? Move for me?” she asked, eyes wide.

  When would she understand? “I'd do anything for you.”

  “Would you forgive my panic and make love to me again?”

  His body liked that idea even if his brain was still trying to catch up. “Gladly.”

  ~*~

  The ringing of the doorbell woke them both a little later, and Carter was surprised to find Mason on the other side of it. “You could've called.”

  Mason's face twisted into a scowl at the implication. “Please tell me I'm not interrupting something.”

  He bit back the sarcastic comment on his tongue, instead saying, “Cam will be down in a bit.”

  Mason's frown deepened. “I did. God.”

  “She's marrying me, Mase.”

  Her oldest brother and his closest friend sighed. “I know. I do. I'm even happy for you, but she's still my baby sister.”

  “And a grown woman,” Camryn said as she entered the room. She was radiant in a flowing blue top over black leggings, simple and fully covered, but sexy as hell. She narrowed her eyes at her brother. “I suppose you think I should thank you for protecting me from the love of my life?”

  Mason was speechless, and Carter had a hard time smothering his laugh. “We're all happy for you now, sis,” he told her, voice strained. “You were just baby then.”

  “A baby?”

  “Young, at least.” He sighed. “Look, I don't want to fight with you. You're marrying him, you have a degree, you got to play on Broadway, what more do you want from me?”

  Her face broke into a grin. “Nothing. I just needed you to look all uncomfortable.” She laughed. “Your face when you realized what you missed by mere minutes earlier was priceless.”

  “How long were you listening?”

  “Long enough to know you don't want to think about the fact your best friend is sleeping with your sister.”

  “He better not be just sleeping with her.”

  She cut him off with a hand slicing through the air. “We've already said we're getting married. Do not go all overprotective on me again.”

  Mason moved across the living room to sink into a leather chair. “I didn't come over to get pictures in my head of the two of you.” He shook his head as if that would clear the images before continuing, “I'm here as the official Everett wedding liaison.”

  “The what?” Camryn asked with an unladylike snort.

  “I'm the money guy, sis.”

  “And I'm the bride, so you want a budget?”

  He nodded.

  “We've been engaged for... Cassidy.”

  “Basically, you ask and get whatever you want.”

  “This is different from the rest of my life, how?” she teased.

  Carter needed to interject. “We don't even have a ring yet, Mase,” at his friend's raised eyebrow he went on, “and I am more than capable of providing both an extraordinary ring and a wedding.”

  “She's the youngest daughter. The Everetts are paying,” Mason decreed, steel in his tone.

  “You came over this early in the morning just to tell me that?” Cam asked.

  “Well, and maybe to check on you.”

  “Maybe?” Cam snorted. “And apologize?” she pushed.

  Mason's eyebrow went up again. “Apologize?”

  “For delaying this moment until now? Keeping Carter away from me?”

  Her brother's lips flattened into a line. “Never. It was the right decision, and I would do it again.” He tossed his hands in the air. “Haven't we been over this before?” He stood. “Three minutes ago, even?”

  “Still.”

  “I'm leaving. The family is happy, Cammy, but they wouldn't have been when you were eighteen, and Carter's wouldn't have either.”

  “He's right, Lark,” he defended his best friend. “Now is our time.”

  ~*~

  Not ten minutes after Mason left, the doorbell pealed again. This time it was Taylor Jamieson at the door, and Camryn sucked in a breath. The jeweler and gemologist carried a small sage green bag emblazoned in gold with her store's name, Taylored Jewels, cream tissue frothing over the top. The pretty redhead beamed a smile. “Special delivery.”

  Cam's heart skipped a beat. It was cliché for a woman who grew up surrounded with wealth to have a strong and abiding love for fine jewelry, but she was okay with being that cliché. “For me?”

  Taylor grinned again, a dimple winking in her left cheek. “Well...”

  Carter slid between the two of them, deftly plucking the bag from his sister's fingers. “Patience, Lark.”

  She was anything but patient. Taylor was known for making incredible pieces, and Cam just knew her engagement ring was in that bag. “I won't jump up and down or anything,” she promised, “but that's about all I can say.”

  This time it was Carter who grinned. “I like when you bounce around,
but we can save that for another time.”

  “Eww. Still your sister,” Taylor interjected.

  He laughed, pulling the bag even further away from Cam. “You were all for this, sis.”

  “Yeah, but that doesn't mean I want to hear about it.”

  Cam couldn't stifle her giggle. “You're the second sibling to say that this morning.”

  “We do have a lot of those,” Taylor agreed. “And while we're all in favor,” she paused, a sour expression marring her features, “we're still your siblings. There are certain things we don't want to think about.”

  She waved a hand. “Okay, so... Can we look at what's in the bag now?”

  “And that's my cue to leave,” Taylor said with a smile. She looked to her brother. “If you ever do this again, I'm gonna need more than a day's notice. I've called in every marker I had and some I didn't.”

  “Never doing this again,” he promised, his gray gaze trained on Cam.

  Taylor shook her head slightly. “Yeah, I'm so leaving. Love you two.”

  Camryn barely noticed the other woman's exit, interested as she was in the small shopping bag Carter held in his hands. “My knees are shaking,” she whispered. “I keep thinking I'm going to wake up and find you're still avoiding me.”

  Carter adjusted his glasses, the only outward indication he was anxious at all. “One day you're going to believe me when I say I'm sorry I wasted so much time.” His mouth kicked up on one side. “You should like that I’m so steadfast in keeping my word, Lark.”

  “I do,” she said, echoing the vow she hoped to give him sooner than later. “And I'm sorry to keep returning to the lost time—truthfully, I don't think we would have survived if I'd jumped into something when I was eighteen, not that I would ever tell Mason.” She sat in her favorite buttery leather slipper chair, her legs unable to hold her any longer. “Are you going to leave whatever is in the bag in there, or...” she couldn't finish the thought.

  He kneeled at her left side. “I'm not leaving it in the bag, Lark.” He pulled a small square item from the creamy fluff, discarding the outer cardboard covering much slower than she thought she could bear, finally opening the leather box to reveal the most amazing thing she'd ever seen.