Hothouse Flower (Sound of Silence Series, Book Three)

by Taylor Dean

  He’s right. I need to respect his decision in this matter and let it go. But there’s still something weighing on me, a subject we’re both avoiding. So far, the kisses between us have been sweet and powerful. It doesn’t feel as though intimacy is an issue for him. But, I wonder if it could be. I know the kind of experience he endured can cause serious mental blocks and emotional repercussions, understandably. I’m not really sure how to broach such a delicate topic, but I can’t brush it under the carpet either. I think it’s best to discuss it right now, before our relationship progresses further. “Is there anything . . . that might keep us apart?”

  His expression turns puzzled. “What do you mean?”

  “You haven’t dated anyone else. Why not?”

  He eyes become intense. “I wanted you and only you.”

  I swallow at his words. Oh my. “I want you too, Jace. Nothing that happened changes my feelings for you.”

  “Thank you for that.”

  “But . . . is there any . . . other reason why you didn’t date?”

  Light dawns on his face and he takes a deep breath. “Are you asking if I’m scared of intimacy?”

  I’m a little nervous about the answer, but I know we need to be brutally honest right now. “Yes.”

  I lose eye contact and it always makes me anxious when that happens. He massages his neck with both hands and looks up at the ceiling.

  “You don’t have to answer, Jace.”

  “Yeah, I do. I understand where you’re coming from and I know we need to have this conversation.” He runs his hands over his face. “Look, like I said, whatever happened, I don’t remember it. If I dwell on it, my primary emotion is anger. Red hot anger. But without the memory of being assaulted, that’s all I feel. Anger. So the answer is no. I’m not scared of intimacy. I don’t associate the two experiences with each other.” His eyes meet mine again. “And I love kissing you.”

  I smile a slow smile, relieved. I can only imagine how hard it would be to deal with that issue. I’m thankful we don’t have to face that obstacle. “Okay, then.” I’m sure he doesn’t want to relive his ordeal for one second more. It’s time to lighten the mood. “Can we go back to the bakery for privacy and make out some more?”

  Jace’s face is blank for about two seconds. Then he holds his hand up and says, “Waiter. Check, please. We’re in a hurry.”

  When we reach the parking lot, Jace pulls me in his arms and kisses me. We kiss as we walk to his car. We kiss at every stoplight. We kiss as we walk up to the door of the bakery. We stumble inside without turning on any lights, our lips pressed together as if we’re attached.

  And we laugh. Each and every kiss is accompanied by laughter. There’s no reason for our mirth. None at all. It’s just pure and simple happiness.

  “My Ladybug is back,” he mumbles in between kisses.

  Yes, I am. We walk toward the kitchen, bumping into things along the way. Then Jace picks me up in his arms and we head for the breakroom, kissing and laughing, laughing and kissing.

  We collapse onto the couch and the kissing continues. The laughter fades and the kissing becomes more intense. Pretty soon there’s no laughter, just kissing. Our mouths meld together and I understand the term, two made into one. I feel as though I am a part of him and I’ve never felt so close to another human being in my life. The world around us disappears and it’s as if only Jace and I exist. I think our love for each other is growing by the minute, by leaps and bounds. We’ve waited a long time to be together and making up for lost time is hitting us hard and fast.

  Jace pulls his lips away from mine and says, “I’ll be right back.”

  “No, stay here.” I pull him back to me and we kiss again.

  He gets to his feet rather abruptly. The bakery is still bathed in darkness and he doesn’t turn on a light as he leaves. “Be right back. I need to get something from my car.”

  I stay on the couch wondering what just happened. I mean, is he coming back in two minutes or twenty minutes? And what is so important that he has to go and do it right now?

  He’s back in less than one minute. He comes in the door and switches on the light in the kitchen so that only a gleam of light filters into the breakroom. As far as mood lighting goes, it’s perfect. There’s a slight smile on his face and his eyes are on fire. He walks forward and kneels in front of me as I remain on the couch. I feel his body weight as he leans against me and I rest my hands on his waist.

  “I’ve been carrying something around with me in my car, hoping for a chance to give it to you. I wasn’t going to do this now, but it seems like the perfect moment. And perfect moments are few and far between. I don’t dare let them pass me by.”

  “Do what?” I whisper.

  He pulls something out of his pocket and I gasp as it catches the light and sparkles.

  It’s a ring.

  “I’ve had this ring for six years now. It has always belonged to you and it always will.”

  “Six?”

  “Oh yeah. I wanted this even back then.”

  I hold out my shaking hand and he slips it on my finger.

  “We might be a little late—and we’ve both been through some hard times—but I know we’ve finally got this right. I don’t want to waste another second. Shay Randall, will you marry me?”

  My face squishes up as I try to hold back tears and I know I’m going to ugly cry. “Yes.” It’s all I can manage because he’s kissing me again, only this time we’re kissing, laughing, and I’m blubbering like a baby. I straddle him and he picks me up as if I weigh nothing. He stands and we kiss until we can’t breathe.

  And then we kiss some more.

  CHAPTER

  Fourteen

  OUR WEDDING IS only three weeks away. It’s going to be a simple wedding, held on Stony’s property, with only close friends and family in attendance. Much to our surprise, that’s still quite a crowd. Then Jace is taking me away on an Alaskan cruise for our honeymoon.

  It all seems very natural. It should have happened six years ago. But it’s happening now and that’s all that matters. We’re defying fate and taking back what was once ours. Perhaps it seems soon, but really it’s quite late. Our lives are now back on track after a slight detour.

  Winter decided to make one last ditch effort to cling to life and we had a couple of random snowy days last week. We used the opportunity to take unique engagement pictures. He wore a black suit and I wore a navy dress that hugs all my curves. They turned out amazing. Our families are all on board with helping us pull this wedding off and everything is fairytale perfect.

  Except for one thing.

  There’s only one tiny little detail that is hanging over my head and weighing me down.

  Identity.

  To be clear, the identity of Jace’s assailant. I know what she looks like and I know I can describe her. With a little help from a sketch artist, I know we can put our heads together and create her likeness on paper.

  I have to do this. I’m obsessed with the idea. I know Jace wants to forget about it, but I can’t let it go so easily. He didn’t see her. I did. She mocked me and made me feel like a naïve idiot. This is personal. She messed with my man and now I’m going to mess with her.

  I feel a pressing need to do something. I have to at least try. I know I’m looking for a needle in a haystack. But if you look hard enough, even a needle can be found.

  I have an appointment tomorrow afternoon with a local artist and Jace doesn’t know about it. I feel horrible keeping it from him. He will not be happy with me.

  But I’m doing it anyway. For him. For me. For the six years that have been lost to us.

  For justice.

  “THE BRIDGE OF her nose was straight, her nostrils were narrow, and the tip was pointed. And her brown eyes were kind of close together, almost too close.”

  Kay nods and returns to her sketching.

  Kay Jones is a local artist and she has agreed to help me pull the memory of the lady at Jace’s apartment
out of my head and put her onto paper. Of course, I didn’t tell her Jace’s story. I told her I wanted to find an old college acquaintance that I lost track of and that it would help if I had a picture of her.

  Such a lame reason. She didn’t ask any questions or push for more information. In this day and age of Facebook and social media, it’s more than likely that it would be easy to find an old friend online. But that’s my story and I can’t back out of it now. Frankly, Kay doesn’t seem to care either way. It’s a job and she gets paid. I needn’t have worried over coming up with some kind of plausible explanation as to why I needed the sketch.

  “Her face was narrow, almost oblong. And her chin was kind of pointy. She was classically pretty, but her expression was hard, like she’d been through hard times. Her cheeks were full, but the rest of her face was angular.”

  And her eyes were beady, like a rat’s. I don’t mention that characteristic. I know it’s just my biased perception and won’t help with the sketch.

  I’ve been studying up on how to describe a person’s face and I know just how to define her features. At least I hope it works. We’ll see how the final project turns out.

  I’m a nervous wreck. I know exactly what the face should look like on that paper, and yet I dread seeing it again. I will feel hard pressed not to tear it into a million tiny pieces. Or throw darts at it. Maybe burn it.

  But I won’t do any of those things. I plan to show it to Jace and ask him if we can hire a private investigator. Perhaps with a picture she can be found. It’s worth a try.

  “Her eyebrows were plucked thin and arched, almost giving her a constantly surprised look.”

  Kay says nothing as she works. She’s concentrating, lost in thought. I can’t see what she’s sketching. She said it’s best if I judge from the final product.

  “She had long wavy blond hair, no bangs. It was parted slightly to the side and framed her face. Her skin looked flawless, but that’s because she wore a lot of make-up.”

  It’s hard to not give myself away. I’m supposed to be talking about a long lost acquaintance when in reality I’m speaking of someone who committed a horrible crime against my loved one. If I’m not careful with my words, she’ll turn that paper around and there will be a green-faced wicked witch staring at me.

  I’m trying to remove all emotion from my voice so it won’t affect the characteristics evident on the face of the woman she’s drawing. Besides, the woman I saw was cold, almost as though she was dead on the inside. A lack of emotion will make the sketch match the image in my head.

  I hope this works.

  “Her thin lips were pressed together, tightly forming almost a straight line. When she laughed, her lips parted, but didn’t break out into a smile. A smile might have transformed her, but I never saw her smile.”

  Kay pauses and looks at me with a question in her gaze for just a moment. Then she returns to her sketch.

  I’m not describing a friend. That much seems obvious.

  The only sound in the room is the sound of the lead rubbing against the paper as it brings a face to life. I wring my hands in my lap nervously as I await the final reveal.

  Kay asks me a few more questions as she puts the finishing touches on her work. Did she stand straight or hunch her shoulders? Were her eyes round or more of an almond shape? Did she have high cheekbones? A long neck or a short neck? A high forehead? A strong jawline?

  There were so many details I didn’t think of. It takes over an hour and a barrage of questions before she declares it done.

  “Okay, it’s finished.” Kay sets her pencil down. “Are you ready?”

  As I’ll ever be. I nod. She turns the paper around and I’m back at Jace’s apartment on that horrible night six years ago. I’m staring into her face, feeling frozen from the glare of her cold eyes. I shiver.

  “I can’t believe it.” It’s not an exact likeness, but I recognize her immediately. Close enough. “That’s her.” My entire body feels like it’s shaking. “That’s her,” I say again. “Somehow, you’ve captured her. That’s amazing.”

  I take the paper with trembling hands and stare at the cold image in front of me. I look up at Kay and she’s studying me with curious eyes.

  “Thank you,” I say. “You have no idea how much this means to me.”

  “I hope you find her.”

  I study the finely-etched woman, wondering about her motivation and about her life. What brings someone to do what she has done?

  “Miss Randall?” Kay says.

  I look up, feeling preoccupied. “Sorry, the sight of her brings back so many memories. How much do I owe you?”

  “ARE YOU ALL set for the wedding, dear?” Irene says as she wipes her mouth with her napkin.

  “We’re all set. Don’t worry about anything.” Our wedding is one week away and I have the hardly-waits. My trusted baker, Suzanne, is back from maternity leave and she has taken a huge load off of me as she runs the bakery with an iron fist whenever I’m absent. She’s fantastic.

  We have a large crowd today for our usual Sunday dinner. Mom invited Jace, Blake, and Irene to join us. Our families will soon be joined through matrimony and Mom likes to keep up good relations. I’m so glad Irene felt well enough to join us.

  When I told Mom that me and Jace wanted to get married right away, she sat me down and asked, “Are you sure, Shay?”

  I told her I was wrong about him, that he had not cheated on me. I told her about our heart-to-heart and that Jace had told me what really happened. I cried and she hugged me tightly. I apologized for not being able to confide in her about what really happened, but it’s Jace’s story to tell and I promised I wouldn’t tell anyone. She understood and told me she was happy for us both.

  “Now that I know he was faithful, I have to say, if I could pick anyone in the world for you, it would be Jace.”

  That meant so much to me. Mom wanted to plan every aspect of the wedding, but I told her that I’m hiring out for this event. I want her to enjoy the wedding and not tire herself out by working at it.

  Mom also invited Mia, Grayson, Joel, and Tess to dinner today, but Mia has been feeling nauseous and they declined. Grayson said Mia and food are not getting along well right now. As a matter of fact, they hate each other and are having an all-out war. All family meals are postponed until further notice. Joel and Tess are there, helping Grayson take care of her, so she’s not alone.

  Poor Mia. That’s no fun. She’s in good spirits though. Grayson keeps her laughing through the ordeal. She says she won’t miss the wedding even if she has to carry a barf bag with her. She also informed me she’ll probably sit toward the back so she doesn’t ruin our big day. Jace told her he doesn’t mind saying his vows to the sound of his sister barfing as long as she does it to the tune of Canon in D.

  He made me turn into the Ladybug with that one.

  In all seriousness, we’d rather have her there and we assured her she won’t ruin our wedding, no matter what happens.

  Jace feels bad for missing Mia and Grayson’s wedding, but I reminded him that we all missed it since they eloped. I don’t blame them, either. This town has not been nice to Mia, even though everyone knows Stony forgave her for the fire. This town seems to think they need to harbor a grudge for him. At any rate, we were only able to enjoy a reception with Mia and Grayson—and Jace wasn’t able to get away from work for it, something he regrets.

  “Will the gazebo be done on time?” Mom asks Stony.

  “Yep. One more coat of paint and she’ll be ready.” Stony pushes the jello salad around on his plate as if he can disturb it enough to make it look as though he’s eaten most of it.

  Nice try, brother. But I already know from experience that it doesn’t work.

  Stony built a gazebo on his property just for our wedding. I’m not allowed to see it until the big day. With Stony’s talents, I know it will be beautiful. Stony has a surprise for Mom he wants to show us all after dinner, which involves driving out toward his place. We
couldn’t eat at his house because he didn’t want us to see the gazebo.

  Hence, it’s a weird day; dinner at Mom’s house and then a road trip to Stony’s place for a surprise for Mom. I can’t imagine what it will be.

  And the thing is, all I really want is some alone time with Jace. I need to tell him what I’ve done and that I have a picture of his assailant. It’s time to muster up my courage and blurt it out. I know this is a highly sensitive subject for him, understandably. I don’t want to upset him and I would never do anything that revealed his ordeal to others without his express permission.

  But someone has to fight for him. I know he won’t do it on his own. If he still doesn’t want to pursue the case even after seeing the picture, then I will respect his wishes.

  But if he is willing, then look out, Lady With The Evil Laugh. I’m coming for you.

  “Hey, Ladybug, you okay?”

  “Huh?” I’m immediately torn from my wandering thoughts. “Sorry, Jace. I was a million miles away. I’m fine.”

  For dessert, I serve my gluten and sugar-free brownies and everyone seems to enjoy them.

  Unexpectedly, Blake stands at the head of the table with his arms dangling at his sides and no expression on his face. Without preamble, he announces, “Mom would like to make an announcement.” In spite of his bland stance, he seems to be holding back emotion, which is unlike Blake.

  The various conversations that were active around the table, die a sudden death as we all stop and listen to him.

  He nods his head and says, “Mom.” It’s all done a little awkwardly, but that’s Blake.

  “Oh dear, I don’t want to make a big scene. All of my children have already been told, but I thought I’d share the news with all of you today. Forgive them for not saying anything. I asked them to keep it quiet. It’s such a thrill to say it for myself.”

  I glance at Jace. He kept his promise. He hasn’t said a word to me about it.

  “I had some tests done last week and it’s official. The tumor has shrunk. The doctor wants me to get my strength back for a few weeks and then I’ll go in for surgery to have it removed. From here on out, things should just get better and better.”