Wrapped in Silk

by Mj Fields

  Wrapped in Silk

  By MJ Fields

  Published by

  MJ Fields

  Copyright 2013 MJ Fields

  This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places, and incidents are a product of the writer’s imagination or have been used fictitiously and are not to be constructed as real. Any resemblance to person, living or dead, actual events, locale or organization is entirely coincidental.

  This book is intended for adult readers only.

  License Notes

  This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to author and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

  Other Titles by MJ Fields

  The Love Series

  Blue Love

  New Love

  Sad Love

  True Love

  Look for Wrapped in Armor book two in the MJ Fields trilogy Wrapped

  coming in April 2013

  A Young adult series is also in the works and will be available

  In the Summer of 2013!!!

  mjfieldsbooks@gmail.com

  www.mjfieldsbooks.com

  www.facebook.com/mj.fields.31

  Acknowledgement

  I want to thank Stephanie for being my forever friend, second set of eyes, her tireless work, and for the constant encouragement.

  A special thanks to Adreian for working on the music with me, I cant wait to share it with our readers.

  To Chris V, thank you for your work getting this website started and finished, soon.

  To Karen thank you again for your friendship, encouragement, and support.

  To my family who gives me enough love and support to continue working towards my dream. Mary, Suzanne, Sheila, Taylor, Faye, Emily, Erica, Tiffany you are all AMAZING

  To Ally, my heart…I Love you more!

  Table Of Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  CHAPTER 1

  “Goodnight London I love you,” Emma kissed her daughter’s milky white cheek and pushed her brown hair out of her eyes as she tucked her into bed.

  Her perfect little girl, who she would move mountains for and the past seven years she had done that exactly. London hadn’t come easy, Emma spent two years taking fertility drugs in hopes that someday she would have children.

  Troy, her soon to be ex-husband could have cared less but was adamant that they would not be adopting. Emma wanted more children and he refused. When she miscarried with her first pregnancy all he could do was give her a cold hug, the kind you give an ex or an old acquaintance, one you really didn’t like all that much.

  Before they married they had discussed children and after marriage he said he did not want them. Troy enjoyed his friends and her driving him from party to party or picking him up from golf or whatever activity he had decided to do that always involved drinking.

  Emma knew Troy for four years, all through college. He changed as soon as they said I do. His partying didn’t change but his need for all things but family did. The final straw was when she found out he had cheated and when she confronted him he didn’t deny it. He told her it was her fault that she wasn’t there for him like she was before they had a child.

  Emma had checked through cell phone bills and credit card statements and found information that looked suspicious. She took his phone while he slept and made calls, two were women she did not know. Emma called the numbers and when they answered and she didn’t say anything they would say his name with a knowing smile in their voice.

  The next morning she confronted him about it, he looked at her and did not deny it, “So leave if that’s what you want to do,” and she stood unfeeling.

  Emma remembered the evening three weeks after that conversation. London was in bed and she had enough. He would come home and eat the meal she had made and sit with their daughter on the couch never saying more than thank you when she gave him his food on a plate as he sat and drank.

  “I don’t like you drinking in front of her ever day,” Emma said finally confronting him.

  “I don’t care,” he replied coldly rolling his eyes at her.

  “No kidding,” Emma quietly replied.

  “I have to drink to be around you, I can’t stand you, I haven’t liked you in a very long time,” he yelled.

  “Well that makes two of us,” she said and laughed.

  “Then fucking leave,” he screamed.

  “You leave,” she demanded.

  “Oh if you did that would mean you’d have to get off your ass,” Troy spewed at her.

  Emma had gained weight over the years, but he had never mentioned it before. It stung.

  “You know I agree with your indirect cut, our daughter certainly deserves better than a miserable drunk father and a fat mother. So get out,” she yelled.

  Troy left that day and was gone for two weeks. Emma filed papers for custody and he wasn’t happy.

  “Thanks for the papers” Troy said as she answered the phone.

  “I told you they were coming, I wanted us to work it out together and you wouldn’t. What did you expect?” Emma asked. She had tried to sound strong but the nervous quake in her voice gave her away.

  Troy wanted to come home and she said no. Emma had found a place for her and London to move into, she couldn’t afford the house. Emma had stayed home and watched kids before and after school and a few over the summer while he worked at the bank twelve hours a day. He didn’t want her to work but she hated being scrutinized over every dollar she spent. She had always worked until London came and she didn’t want to miss a moment, this way she didn’t have to.

  They went to court and he agreed to overnight Friday to Saturday and one night a week taking her to dinner. Emma felt it best that he not see her just every other weekend and this way she would only be away one night and not two in a row.

  Emma moved into a place just inside the village, it was half a house. She continued watching children and submitted resume after resume. She needed a job with benefits and no one seemed to want to hire someone who had been out of the work force for seven years. Emma was going to be substitute teaching during the school year to make extra money.

  ~

  London was used to taking end of the summer mini vacations and Emma scraped enough money up to get away for three nights. They decided on going to New York City, it would be busy and she knew they would have fun.

  Emma walked into the bathroom and wanted to scream. She sat on the ground and cried into a hotel towel. This was not what she expected after eleven years of marriage and knowing that he would be coming down for the long weekend to take London to the shore for three nights drove her almost over the edge. Four days without her daughter was going to feel like a lifetime.

  Emma packed her bags and got things ready. She had gotten London a cell phone so that she could keep in touch, but really because she wanted London to be able to call if Troy drank. Per their separation agreement neither was allowed to when they had her. This was easy for Emma; she had not been able to enjoy an adult beverage since she could remember. But for Troy it may be
harder.

  “Hey London,” Troy said as he walked into the suite, “Nice place Emma, I see my child support isn’t going to waste.”

  Emma didn’t respond, “Give me a hug,” she said to her daughter, “Back seat and make sure you have your seat belt on. I love you more,” she whispered in her ear.

  “No I love you more,” London said and smiled.

  “Not possible,” Emma said and they both laughed, “Call me when you get there, have fun. Sunscreen, remember sunscreen.”

  “I think I can handle it,” Troy snapped as they walked out.

  ~

  Emma lay in the bed and sobbed. When she couldn’t cry anymore she decided to take a run in Central Park. Since her separation she had lost thirty pounds and was back to her weight before she had London. She loved running, walking, biking, or anything that kicked those endorphins in to overdrive. She needed it right now. She tucked her phone in her bra and threw a hat and glasses on and headed out the door. She had three hours before check out.

  Emma jogged around the park and looked at all the people. There was so many. Coming from a small town it was nice to blend in. She wasn’t stopped here by people she knew asking her how she was doing; even those who had never had a conversation with her about her personal life before thought it appropriate to ask now. It was unbelievable the audacity of some people. She knew many just felt sorry for her but that didn’t make it any more comfortable.

  Her phone rang and she slowed down and answered. “Hey sweet girl is everything alright?” she asked.

  “Yep, we will be there in thirty minutes, I just wanted to say hi,” London said.

  “Well hi to you,” she said laughing.

  They hung up and she started running harder, she didn’t want to cry. She was always so stunned when she talked to London on the phone, London sounded so much younger. Emma would be checking out of her hotel at eleven and going to stay with her college roommate, they had not seen each other in years. Lila worked as a publicity agency and was single and loved her very social lifestyle. They had always had such a great time together up until Troy came into Emma’s life.

  ~

  Brody Hines opened the door to his hotel room and grabbed the newspaper. The front page of the paper had the news of his separation plastered on it, still even after several months. He picked up the paper and looked at his soon to be ex-wife with another man and tore it in half and threw it out. He was blindsided, he never would have thought after three years of marriage she would have done this to him. He didn’t even know she was unhappy. Ariel was a model and traveled a lot. Brody was a musician who had moved from Liverpool to New York seven years ago. They both enjoyed the lifestyle that their professions afforded them.

  Brody hated his personal life being more important to his fans than his art. His song Blue Love had been at the top of the charts for five weeks and it brought a lot of unwanted attention. Brody was six foot three and one hundred and ninety seven pounds. He had thick brown hair and light blue eyes. It wasn’t easy hiding from the media who pounced whenever they saw him. It was even harder to not tell them to fuck off whenever they got in his face.

  Brody’s new publicist tried to impress upon him that it would hurt his career. Brody was trying to listen and consider her recommendation, and it wasn’t easy. He was thankful that he and Ariel didn’t have children, which he had wanted and she had wanted to wait. It was awful having the whole world watch as your life was falling apart, just waiting for you to break so that they could pounce. He grabbed a hat and glasses and walked out of his room and took the service elevator and went out the back where none of those annoying photographers would be. He needed to get out of there. He hadn’t felt like himself for weeks now and he knew it was because he was held up in that room. He was going to run and hoped that his face now full of fuzz and the dark glasses and baseball cap would disguise him.

  ~

  Emma’s phone rang and she stopped and answered.

  “We are here Mommy,” London said cheerfully, “It is so nice right on the beach and we are going to look for shells!”

  “That’s fantastic; can you find one for me?” Emma asked.

  “I will find two,” she said and laughed.

  “Do you have sunscreen on?” she asked knowing Troy would have forgotten.

  “Nope, Dad I need sunscreen,” London yelled.

  “Shit,” she heard him say in the background.

  “I love you more,” Emma said.

  “We love each other more Mom,” London said.

  “Okay have fun, call me later,” Emma said and felt tears, she ran harder as the tears fell.

  Come on she is having fun she thought. She rounded a corner and ran right into a man. She was knocked flat on her back. He knelt down on the grass next to her and helped her sit up. She couldn’t breathe; the wind was knocked out of her. Being unable to breathe made the tears slow down.

  “I am so sorry,” he said noticing her tears. “Are you alright?”

  Emma caught her breath and wiped her face and laughed nice accent she thought, “I am fine. Sorry I wasn’t paying attention,” Emma saw his face; she was looking at the hottest man she had ever seen. His lips were full, teeth perfect, his jaw strong, and his hair looked like he had just rolled out of bed and definitely not after sleeping.

  “Alright,” he said uncomfortable as he picked up his hat and pulled it down over his head, “You know who I am, is that why you’re laughing?”

  “Nope,” she said, “I am laughing because I didn’t expect an accent and I am on my butt in Central Park and no one seems to notice.”

  Brody liked her eyes and smile. He was unsure whether or not to trust that she was being honest. But something in her eyes was calming and made him feel better than he had in weeks, “So you don’t know me from TV, magazines, or newspapers?”

  “Let’s see if you are not on Disney or Nickelodeon I don’t have a clue,” Emma smiled.

  He smiled with relief and amusement as he offered his hand to help her up and she took it, “Thanks, so who are you?” she asked.

  He grinned, “You’ll figure it out someday,” and ran off.

  ~

  Emma ran back to her hotel and took a shower and packed up. She checked out of the hotel to drive to Lila’s building. She pulled out of the parking garage and she checked out the yellow lined paper she had scribbled the directions on. Her GPS had become her arch rival, she was self admittedly technologically challenged. Emma took the elevator to the tenth floor of the beautiful tall building and used the key that Lila had left for her with the doorman to let herself in.

  There was a note on the counter.

  Emma,

  I will be at work until about seven. Make yourself at home. Then we are going out, you should meet me at The Spotted Pig 314 West 11th street, we can have drinks. Take a cab.

  See you at eight,

  Lila

  Emma looked at her phone it was only one in the afternoon. She had seven hours to spend alone, a very unwelcome seven hours. This isn’t a good idea, if I were home at least I could visit, clean or something she thought. She preferred anything to being alone to think about what had happened over the past year.

  ~

  Emma walked in to the bar and saw Lila. She smiled and hugged her. “You look extraordinary,” Lila said and hugged her, “Have a seat.”

  Emma took a deep breath and sat down at the table. She met some of Lila’s clients; she really didn’t know them but enjoyed the adult conversation. She excused herself and went to the bathroom secretly willing her phone to ring.

  As she washed her hands it rang. “Hi Mommy, I am going to bed now. I had fun,” London said with a smile in her voice.

  “I am so happy for you!” Emma smiled as she spoke to London.

  When they got off the phone she felt tears. She decided to walk outside to regain her composure before going back to Lila and her friends. She had her head down as she walked out.

  Emma stood against the bric
k building not paying attention to the people walking in and out. Most people would be enchanted by the city and its surroundings. Emma just wanted to go home with her daughter and curl up on the couch watching a movie they had probably seen a hundred times, where everything ended perfectly. She took a deep breath and walked back in and made her way back to the table. A couple more people had joined the party and Lila was talking and laughing with them.

  “Where did you disappear to?” Lila asked grabbing her jacket.

  “The bathroom, London called,” Emma said forcing herself to smile.

  “We are going to head over to a dance club, here is your jacket,” Lila said handing the black coat to Emma.

  Emma and Lila walked past security and made their way into the club. They walked through the crowd and up a set of stairs to the VIP lounge. Lila hugged and kissed a couple people on the cheek and ordered drinks.

  “You need to loosen up Emma,” she smiled, “We are going to dance tonight.”

  Emma smiled and took a drink. More people walked in to the VIP lounge and Lila introduced them to Emma. The first was a man she recognized from TV. Emma wasn’t sure exactly who he was but she knew he was a celebrity.

  “Brody this is my college roommate Emma, Emma this is my newest client Brody Hines.”

  Emma looked up and shook his hand. He also looked familiar.

  “Nice to meet you,” Emma smiled politely.

  Brody smiled when he saw her eyes, he knew exactly who she was, she didn’t recognize him at all.

  “You too,” he said disguising his accent.

  “Let’s go dance,” Lila said to Emma as she handed her another drink and dragged her down the stairs.

  The two danced and Lila was having a blast. Emma was obviously uncomfortable and Lila laughed, “Been awhile since you’ve been out Emma? Come on have another drink, it’ll loosen you up.”

  Emma drank a couple more vodka and cranberry’s and started to loosen up.

  Brody sat with his friends in the lounge away from the crowd. He could see the dance floor and watched Lila’s friend Emma dance, he couldn’t believe she was the one he had run into this morning. She was pretty, long caramel hair and green eyes.