Harlequin Historical September 2021--Box Set 1 of 2

by Christine Merrill

  She went inside her dressing room, hoping he would stop by before she had to go back on. That hope proved futile because after an hour, when she’d eaten, closed her eyes to rest, she was awoken by a knock. She ran to the door, thinking it was Lorenzo, and sighed deeply when it was only Benny.

  “Is everything okay, Miss Laroque?”

  “Yes, Benny—and, please, call me Evelyn. I’m sorry. I must have fallen asleep. I’ll be right out.”

  He shut the door, and Evelyn touched up her hair and makeup. Wondering where Lorenzo had gone was useless. However, she couldn’t ignore the growing emptiness in the pit of her stomach. Something was wrong, and she was worried about him.

  Walking out onto the stage, she channeled her angst about Lorenzo into each song in the same way she did the pain from her memories of Greenwood. Afterward, she didn’t feel lighter, only heavier, noticing his seat at the bar remained empty.

  She went to talk to Tommy and got stopped several times by customers telling her how lovely she was and how much they enjoyed her voice. Many told her that her voice was unlike anyone they’d ever heard. They commented on how young she looked.

  By the time she got to the bar, Tommy’s arched brow made her laugh.

  “What?” she said.

  “I’d venture to say you’re more famous around here than the boss man.” Tommy laughed, cleaning a glass for her.

  She liked how the lights over the bar shone on him but left the patrons on the bar stools in shadow. She was weary of the spotlight and just wanted to relax. She wasn’t really sure what to do since Lorenzo had offered for his driver to drive her back to West Eden to pick up her things so she could finish moving into the apartment upstairs.

  “Where is the boss?” It was strange to call him that.

  Tommy averted his gaze, and suddenly it seemed the glasses were that much more interesting.

  “Tommy, where is he? Is everything okay?”

  “I’ll let him tell you. He should be back any minute. Have a drink. It’s my specialty. I call it Blues E. I created it after hearing you sing for the first time.”

  He busied himself mixing the cocktail while Evelyn watched. He put a lot of different things in it.

  When he handed the glass to Evelyn, the gold-colored liquid swirled in the glass. Evelyn lifted it to her nose and smelled it—citrus...maple, maybe...and something sour, like tea.

  She took a small sip and looked at Tommy. “This is wonderful. What’s in it?”

  “Can’t tell you. Enjoy, but don’t have too many. It’s sweet, but full of fire.” He smiled at her warmly.

  The smile touched her. She hadn’t had many friends. There were a few people she had become somewhat close to in West Eden, but she hadn’t been there all that long. And, to be honest, after losing her parents and so many of her friends in Greenwood, she just didn’t want to get close to anyone like that again.

  Blues Moon was making her efforts to stay secluded difficult. She hadn’t given much thought to dating and romance until she’d met Lorenzo. Now she had Tommy and Benny who were being so kind to her. She hadn’t planned to grow so many attachments so quickly. She’d thought all she wanted was to sing and take care of her grandmother. Maybe she’d been wrong.

  The melodic, hypnotizing sound of Louis Armstrong filled the club. She drank and swayed gently back and forth to the beat. Her mind was still on Lorenzo, but all she could do was wait.

  After she’d finished the Blues E, she felt like dancing. As she got up, she faltered a bit. Steely gray eyes were staring at her. Strong hands kept her from falling. She looked up into the silvery eyes of the most handsome man she’d ever met.

  Lorenzo’s concern shadowed his features. “Are you okay?” He helped her sit back down on the bar stool.

  “I’m fine. I’m ready to dance. Will you dance with me?” She smiled up at him, chuckled at the concern on his face.

  Lorenzo held out a protective arm to help her to her feet. “I think you’ve been drinking, Miss Laroque.” He smiled.

  Evelyn reached up to wrap her arms around his neck. “Well, aren’t you perceptive, Lorenzo?” Then she started to sway to the music.

  He took her hand from his face and kissed it. He wrapped his arm around her lower back and led her to the dance floor. She thought people were staring, but she couldn’t have cared less. Lorenzo was with her, touching her, and that was all that mattered.

  He pressed his body against hers and a flame travelled up from her toes, burning its way through her. She inhaled the scent of him and became more intoxicated by the mint savory-sweet smell than by the drink Tommy had given her. The press of his hand against her lower back steadied her. Nothing else mattered in that moment as they swayed, her head against his muscular chest, his lips against her ear.

  “How was your night?” he whispered, his sweet breath warming her skin.

  “I must say it was good, but it got instantly better when I looked up to see you staring at me.” A smile played on her lips.

  “Staring at you? No... I was looking at Benny.”

  They both laughed.

  He pulled her body even tighter against his. The closeness left Evelyn wanting more. She wanted her skin against his skin. She wanted to taste his soft lips again. She remembered how safe she’d felt in her dressing room, when he’d laid her back on the couch. There had been a fleeting moment of thinking everything would be okay. She hadn’t had a thought like that sense her parents had passed.

  What was she doing with this man? She wasn’t sure...and she feared she wasn’t in a position to deny her feelings for him much longer.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

  Lorenzo

  Lorenzo danced with Evelyn, enjoying her in a way he hadn’t with a woman, ever—not publicly. He didn’t care what anyone thought as they moved together to the rhythm. His desire for her amplified with the beat of the music and her humming in his ear. He brushed his lips gently against her skin, wanting to do so much more. He held her to him like it was the last time he’d ever get to do it.

  “I’m getting tired,” she said, looking into his eyes.

  Without hesitation he led Evelyn to the elevator. The operator nodded and took them to Lorenzo’s floor. Lorenzo unlocked his apartment door. Leading her still, Lorenzo crossed the threshold and closed the door with his foot once they were inside.

  He’d chosen to take her to his apartment instead of hers so he could keep an eye on her. Even though she’d only had one drink, he wanted to make sure she was okay. And the threat of the KKK also had him wanting to keep her close.

  “Make yourself comfortable. I’ll start breakfast.”

  Lorenzo started taking out eggs and other fixings for their meal. He looked back at Evelyn. She’d fallen asleep almost as soon as she’d sat down on his couch, and something about that simple sign of trust melted any remaining walls he had around his heart.

  He picked her up, smiling to himself, and walked straight to the bedroom and laid her down in his bed. He pulled a plush red throw over her. Going to West Eden would have to wait.

  He went to the kitchen to get her a glass of water. When he returned to place it on the table beside the bed, her eyes opened. She stared at him, then grabbed a fistful of his shirt, pulling him down on top of her.

  He resisted. He wanted his first time making love to her to be remembered. He allowed her to pull him down, but he moved his face to nestle her neck instead of kissing her. Taking in a deep, long breath of her scent, he grazed his lips against her skin. That was all he would allow himself until she sobered up.

  “Go to sleep, gorgeous. I’ll be waiting for you when you get up.”

  He kissed her forehead and wrapped the blanket tighter around her. He closed the door when he left the room. She needed to rest, and he would be there when she awoke for whatever she needed.

  He busied himself while she slept.
He actually looked at his books. The cash flowing into the distillery and the winery was accurate, but the product coming out was not. He would need to take a trip to visit it the next day. He’d ask Evelyn to join him. He told himself it was so that he could ensure she was safe, and that was a part of it—just a part. The other part was because he didn’t want to be away from her.

  When she’d stormed out of the building that first time and he hadn’t known where she was, he’d lost it. He hadn’t been able to focus. He hadn’t been able to think.

  Lorenzo settled in on his couch with his books all around him. He requested some clothes be brought up for Evelyn and some toiletry items. That was the nice part of being in the garment district. Everything was at his disposal. He soon had five outfits purchased for her and all the toiletries any woman might require.

  He placed them in the bedroom, so she could get changed when she woke up. And he left her a note to make sure she knew the items were meant for her and that she should use all that she desired.

  Evelyn slept for five hours. When she walked into the living room she was squinting her eyes like the sunlight hurt her. Lorenzo hopped up, setting aside the books he was working on, and closed the blinds over the windows casting light on the living room.

  When she came out of the bathroom she was dressed in an off-white pleated skirt and matching sweater that hung low on her shoulders. Her face glowed in a way Lorenzo hadn’t seen before. Her lips were pale pink and her long black lashes curled around her gold eyes. Her cheeks had the barest hint of rose to them and the skin around her eyes glittered in the sunlight.

  Lorenzo had requested multiple styles and colors of gloves because she always wore them—he knew now it was to hide her scars—and she’d opted for off-white short ones.

  Lorenzo had to make sure his mouth wasn’t open before he stood up and walked over to her. “You look beautiful.”

  She smiled shyly, the corners of her lips turning up just slightly. He leaned down and kissed her cheek. He wanted to do more, but thought better of it.

  She sucked in a breath when his lips grazed her skin. Her cheekbones, high and angular, needed to be kissed. He ran his thumb along the side of her face opposite where his lips had just been. Her eyes fluttered open when he pulled back.

  “Come...have a seat.” He guided her to the couch.

  “What happened? Why am I here?” Confusion clouded her features.

  “You had one of Tommy’s special drinks. So I brought you up here to rest where I could keep an eye on you and make sure you were okay.”

  She looked at him with furrowed brows. “Thank you...” She said it as more of a question than a statement.

  “It was my pleasure. I felt bad for making you wait when I’d offered to have Jerry take you home.”

  Understanding registered on her face. “Where were you?”

  Normally Lorenzo would have told any woman who asked him that it was none of her business, but he wanted Evelyn to know. “Dred and I had to handle a situation with the KKK. We have some heat coming down on us—you included—that we need to deal with.”

  “Heat? Me included?”

  She ran her fingers through her beautiful thick hair. This was the first time he’d seen it unpinned. He really liked it. It fell in waves around her face and cascaded over her shoulders. He reached up to move some behind her ear. She turned her face into his palm and took a deep breath. She looked at him with shock in her eyes, like that had been a natural reaction she hadn’t even thought about. He pulled his hand back from her.

  “Yes, everything started with Simmens, and it will end with him too.”

  “What do you mean? Are you going to kill him?” Her doe eyes captured him.

  “If I did, would that make you think differently of me?”

  Evelyn fell silent for a long moment and just stared at Lorenzo. Then she sat back on the couch and said, “My momma told me that life is about right and wrong. And even though some don’t get punished for the wrong they do, that doesn’t make it right. That has always stayed with me. But now I think perhaps that life is not just about right and wrong. That’s too dichotomous. There are so many different levels of wrong. Killing is wrong—but what if you’re saving a life by taking a life? I don’t know... Some think singing in a speakeasy is wrong. Some think interracial marriage is wrong.”

  She looked at Lorenzo for a brief moment before focusing her attention on her hands.

  “If you don’t feel comfortable being here with me, I understand,” Lorenzo said, reaching out to touch her hand but then thinking better of it.

  “You know what’s crazy? I feel more comfortable here with you, a mobster, than I’ve felt with anyone in a long time.” She laughed without humor. “I’m tired of fighting past horrors.”

  It stung to hear her call him a mobster. Lorenzo cupped her chin and turned her to face him. He moved her hair from her face. “My mamma told me that if you want the nightmares to go away, then you should bring them out of the dark and make them face the light.”

  “What did she mean by that?” Evelyn blinked rapidly. Her long lashes brushed her skin.

  “She wanted me to find someone that I could confide in to help me move past what happened.”

  “And did you?”

  Lorenzo shook his head. “You’re the first person I’ve wanted to tell, but I fear how you’ll react.”

  She leaned in and kissed him hesitantly. She ran her hand through his hair. The sensation overtook him. There were so many reasons he shouldn’t let things go further, but he couldn’t think of one in that moment.

  “I didn’t bring you up here to... I wasn’t going to...”

  Evelyn pressed two fingers to his lips. “I know, but this is what I want. Do you want it too?”

  “I do.”

  Lorenzo warred with himself. On one hand he wanted this dame more than he’d ever wanted anything in his life, but on the other hand he wasn’t good for her. His life was dangerous, and she deserved better than him.

  He leaned in and kissed her, taking a deep breath of her lavender sweet fragrance. He could fall in love with this woman, and that was a dangerous thought. Kissing her again, he laid her back on the couch, just like he had in her dressing room. He kissed her collarbone, and then her neck, enjoying her soft skin against his lips.

  She let out soft moans of pleasure that sent him over the edge. “I’m new to all of this, Lorenzo. Will you go slowly?” Her sweet voice was barely a whisper in his ear.

  Lorenzo looked up. He wasn’t sure why her admission shook him. He’d figured as much. But hearing her say it ripped him from his lust-laden fog. He sat up.

  “What? Did I do something wrong?” she said.

  “No, it’s just...your first time should be with someone you care about.”

  “Who says I don’t care about you?”

  Lorenzo stared at this beautiful woman. Sitting up, she pulled her sweater down and her gloves up.

  “You don’t know me. How can you care for me?”

  “I know enough to know that you are a good man. You’ve given a lot of people opportunities that they wouldn’t have gotten other places. You treat your customers with respect and kindness. How they feel for you is obvious. Everyone who works for you has gone out of their way to tell me you are good. You’re the only one who doesn’t believe that. Just because you’ve done things in your life that may have been wrong or against the law doesn’t make you a bad man. Besides, all laws aren’t necessarily right anyway.”

  They stared at each other for a long moment. He knew she was thinking of Jim Crow laws, as he had done many times. It amazed him, the ridiculous things people came up with when hate ruled their lives.

  He didn’t respond to her admission, opting instead to silently respect how hard her life was. “Are you ready to go?” he asked.

  “Yes, I just need to grab my
handbag and my coat from my dressing room.”

  “I had them both brought up. They’re on the table.”

  “Do you always think of everything?”

  “I try to.” He took her gloved hand in his and they headed for the door. “Jerry needed to take the day off for some family emergency. Is it okay if I drive you instead? I can stay in the car if you would like, as Jerry would have done?”

  Evelyn looked at him quizzically. He didn’t know how he would feel if she rejected his offer.

  Jerry had mentioned in passing that he needed to do something for his family after he’d returned from taking Evelyn to West Eden, and Lorenzo, being the generous boss he was, had offered to take Evelyn instead, so Jerry would have all the time he needed.

  Knowing he might be the one driving her, Lorenzo had showered and changed into a different suit while she rested. He’d chosen a light gray pinstripe with black shoes. Seeming to notice, she reached up to touch it with a confused look on her face. He hoped she could remember what had happened right before she went to sleep. He kept replaying it in his mind for damn sure.

  “I would love to have you accompany me. Thank you,” she finally said, pulling up her gloves.

  They rode the elevator down in silence. Walking through the club, Lorenzo greeted people as usual, introducing them to Evelyn and making excuses for their quick departure. People fawned over Evelyn, and rightly so.

  Before Jerry had left, he’d had the roadster pulled around front. Lorenzo liked to drive the roadster more than his other cars. The picnic basket Lorenzo had had his cook make was sitting on the floor in front of the passenger seat. Lorenzo opened the door for Evelyn, and she slid in.

  “What’s that?” she asked.

  He climbed into the driver’s seat. “It’s lunch for you. You haven’t eaten. Go ahead and open it. I hope there are some items you like.”

  The way she looked at Lorenzo, with her eyes intense and her lips slightly parted, made his heart jump into his throat. He didn’t want to acknowledge the other part of him she was having an effect on.