He gave me a startled glance as I swept us past the sweet receptionist, through the cubicles, and out to the front office. He turned and gave a finger wave to Blondie as I practically ran us out.
Once we reached the quiet of the empty elevator, I collapsed against him. “I just got asked out on a date by Arch Beaumont. And he was nervous about it.”
Todd’s mouth dropped open. “Dear lord, forget shopping for me. It’s fairy godmother time.”
Chapter Five
Too many bodies and too much noise permeated the mall. Todd ran around in rare form, excited to send me off on a date with the gorgeous lawyer. He dragged me from store to store, buying enough clothing to send me on fourteen dates and him on another three. We were both overloaded with bags and making our way to the exit when one of my nightmares walked toward me—my stepsister. Halfway across the mall, the derision on her face came into focus as she made a beeline for us.
Todd nearly dropped his bags when he spotted her. “Oh, god, where can we hide? I don’t have the energy for that bitch after all the shopping we did.”
“Neither do I.” The back of my neck clenched painfully. I rolled my head to ward off the oncoming tension.
“At least you look killer today. Hold your head high; you’re ten times the woman she is, inside and out.” His words gave me the strength to shake my hair out and stick my nose in the air as she reached us.
“Hello, Michelle.” The frown on my face came out in my voice.
“Ellie. What’re you doing here? You don’t shop.” Her snide voice infuriated me.
“You have no idea what I do or don’t do.” I tried to keep my voice even, showing no sign of upset.
She sneered at the various bags we carried. “Trying to burn through your meager trust fund?” She laughed. “I’d think you’d learn to be more frugal since you won’t have any income from the company.” Taking her cue from her mother, she always belittled me as a kid. I refused to let her bother me now. I’d no longer let her shake my self-confidence. I wasn’t a chubby teen anymore.
I arched an eyebrow but otherwise gave no expression, intentionally keeping my face blank. With all the grace as I could muster, I calmly replied, “You can believe what you’d like, Michelle. We’ll sort it out in court. Now, excuse us, please. Have a good day.” I attempted to sidestep her, but she blocked my path.
“No amount of expensive clothes will make you desirable, Ellie.” Her predictable words weren’t even the worst she typically offered.
“Michelle, maybe you should eat some makeup so you’ll be pretty on the inside,” Todd cut in. He’d been quiet as long as he could stand, knowing I’d want to fight the battle my way. She refused to even glance Todd’s way, tossed her hair and took off.
“Do you have any idea how hard it was for me to be silent? I’m sorry, but I had to,” Todd’s words rang empty. He wasn’t sorry, but I didn’t blame him one bit.
“It’s okay, I’m not mad.” I tried to grab his hand, but couldn’t reach it under all the bags.
We ended up following Michelle toward the exit. She turned off into a shop near the door. “Look at that outfit! She has no clue how to dress for her body type, and she says you’re not desirable. What a horrible little woman!” Todd’s rant made me giggle.
“Yes, she is. But we’ll stomp her mom in court, and she’ll have nothing she can possibly say.” God, I hope I’m right. Todd held the door open for me to walk into the parking garage. We loaded the car quietly and left.
Todd pulled out of the mall parking lot into traffic. “When’s the date?”
“He didn’t specify. He said sometime.” I sighed and watched traffic pass us while we waited to turn onto the interstate ramp. “I don’t know, did I exaggerate his asking? Maybe he did want to hang out as friends.”
“You said he seemed flustered. You were pretty sure at the time that he wanted an actual date.”
“Yeah, that’s true. We’ll see if he ever goes through with setting a date and time.” Todd took us to a burger joint near our apartment building to get dinner for us and Rick. We spent the evening watching an old army show on Netflix and munching on french fries. Todd spent part of the evening hanging up all of our purchases. Rick and I tried to help, but he wouldn’t let us. He swore it was his favorite part.
With no real holiday plans, I slept in the next morning. I awoke to two missed text messages.
Wes: I enjoyed seeing you yesterday. It was too brief. Coffee one day soon?
Heat flooded my stomach. Though excited to get a message from Wes, I checked the other text before replying.
Arch: Dinner Friday night? I got theater tickets.
I replied to Arch, and we agreed I’d be ready at six.
I sent a text to Todd letting him know. His reply was immediate.
Todd: Dammit! It’s Black Friday. No way am I shopping in that. We’ll make do.
I laughed. He’d figure it out. No way would I go back to the mall. I switched to the text with Wes.
Ellie: Sure, sounds good. When?
His reply came later while I munched on a bowl of cereal. I hoped he’d gotten busy with family Thanksgiving stuff and hadn’t forgotten me.
Wes: Sorry for the delay. Saturday? I’m free after two.
I didn’t know where my surge of confidence came from—two different dates, two days in a row—but I liked it. I bit my lip in excitement and typed out my reply.
Ellie: Works for me. See you at the coffee shop by your office at two.
By the time Todd let himself into my apartment Friday, I was pacing the floor. Satan sat on my bed, glaring at me as I moved. I’d already gone through the plucking, lotioning, and exfoliating regimen he taught me days before. My hair was in a towel, and my face was ready for Todd’s expertise.
“Hurry! My hair is going to dry. I got excited and showered too early.”
Todd scurried over and took the bottle of hair product I offered. “My word, you’re a nervous wreck. Sit down and let me fix you up. I’m going to give you a glossier hairdo this time, as you’ll be at the theater. You’ve got to dress up for this.”
“I hadn’t even thought of that! Do I have a dress?” My nerves were a wreck. At that moment, I would’ve done anything Todd told me to, including shopping.
“Of course you do! What do you take me for?” He laughed as he massaged the goop into my hair.
Todd took his time and made my hair and makeup dramatic for my date. He called it an evening look. Finally, he finished, and I checked out his completed work. He gave me a smoky eye and bold lip, tamed my hair into a sleek side sweep. My blond tresses had never been shinier. “I still feel like the same person, just… nice. Pretty”
“That’s because I’m that good, darling. And you have fantastic hair.” He held out my dress for me to step into. The theater didn’t call for full formal—he’d made me text Arch and find out where we were going so he’d know how to dress me. I ended up in a sleeveless, black, sparkly cocktail dress with a sultry diagonal hemline.
“You’re perfection. My job is done. Call me after.” With an air kiss, he left. Five minutes later, my doorbell rang. I checked the monitors to find Arch standing in the hall in a form fitting suit.
I let him in, and like a hero in a novel, he nearly took my breath away. His hair had a small spike in the front, which elongated his features. I could tell he’d shaved, but he already showed the smallest signs of stubble. Sexy as all hell.
“Hi,” I said, voice small.
“You look amazing.” Arch’s eyes raked up and down my body, making me shiver. My spine straightened under his gaze.
“Thank you. You look stunning yourself.” I felt like a fool complimenting a man like him, but he cut a hell of a figure.
“Did you have a nice Thanksgiving?” His eyes bored into mine.
“It was fine.” I’d spent the day with Todd and Rick. I couldn’t do a big Thanksgiving without my dad. “How was yours?”
He gave me an odd glance at the wo
rd fine but nodded his head. “Good. I spent it with the guys and my little sister, Moriah. Most of our family is all in Atlanta, so we usually have a dinner at Gray’s place.”
I grinned up at him while he continued rattling off his Thanksgiving day story. He seemed a little off kilter. I flattered myself to hope he was as nervous as I was. “Should we go?” I asked when he trailed off his speech about well-prepared turkey.
He motioned me to the exit, and I led the way. Once I locked up, I asked the question on my mind for days. “So, you didn’t want to talk about the case then?”
He had the decency to duck his head in shame. “No, not at all. To keep things ethical, we can’t discuss anything else about your case anymore.”
I laughed nervously. I didn’t want to have to worry about an ethics violation for my case. “Are you sure it’s okay for us to do this?”
“Absolutely. I’m not your lawyer, and as long as I give you no legal advice and don’t work on your case, we’re good to go. Your case isn’t in my expertise.”
Relief flooded me. “All right then. Let’s go.”
We walked down to the parking garage, and he opened my door in a show of chivalry. “After you, my lady,” he said with a deep bow.
“Thank you, kind sir!” I replied with an exaggerated southern belle accent.
I settled in the leather seat and strapped in while he walked around to the driver’s side. For the life of me, I couldn’t imagine what to say to the gorgeous man sitting beside me as he pulled out of the parking garage into the dreary evening rain.
“Have you seen this production before?” Arch asked as he merged into traffic. Rain splattered the windshield in a soothing pattern.
“No, but I’ve always wanted to. My father and I used to go to the theater often, but somehow always missed this one. He was a little afraid of cats, and I’m told they’re heavily featured.”
The booming laughter he let out startled me. I hadn’t meant to be funny, more sarcastic. “You’re hilarious, Ellie. Where’d you get your sense of humor?”
“My mom,” I said with a smile, glad I entertained him. “We always told her she could’ve been a comedienne.” In the middle of telling him her favorite joke about a priest and a rabbi, a rapid motion outside my window caught my eye. Before I realized what the motion meant, a large vehicle veered out of the other lane and sideswiped our SUV. My head knocked into the passenger window hard enough to make me see stars as the airbags on my side of the car narrowly missed my face.
Arch struggled to regain control of the car as it slipped on the wet street. I turned my fuzzy head to the right to find a large Dooley truck still pushing the SUV across the median and into the path of oncoming traffic. The driver of the truck appeared to be unconscious. Despite my crushing headache, I managed to yell out, “Arch! Floor it! You’ve got to get in front of this truck before he kills us.” I tried not to scream the words. Staying calm seemed a better idea than panicking.
To his credit, he trusted me enough to not question my words. He got a hold of himself and stomped the gas. He jumped the SUV forward and to the right side of the road but then slammed on the brakes, as he successfully avoided plowing into a sedan in front of us. More tires squealed behind us, and another large crash jerked us forward and back again. Next to me, Arch’s airbags exploded.
I stared stupidly at my seat belt buckle. My fingers wouldn’t work properly to unlatch it. Arch leaned forward with his head on the steering wheel. “Are you okay?” I asked, terrified he wouldn’t be able to answer.
“Yes, trying to get my head to stop swimming.” His voice sounded far away. “And wondering why your side airbags didn’t go off.”
My seat belt eventually unlatched. “I’m going to go check if the other driver is hurt. You stay there, you’re bleeding.” Blood trickled out of his nose.
“I’m coming, too, babe. I’ll be fine, and I’m not the only one bleeding.” He reached up and stroked the side of my head and then showed me the blood on his fingers.
“I must be in shock or something. I couldn’t feel your fingers touching my head.” My hearing was still a little off, almost like a ringing sound. “I’m sure someone already called 911. Let’s go check on him.” Arch nodded, airbag burns already prominent on his face.
I tried to open my door, but it was jammed shut. “You get out, and I’ll slide over there. This side is too badly damaged.” My entire body shook from the shock.
Arch climbed out, and his bloody hand reached in to help me move over to the driver’s side. I could’ve done it on my own, but I appreciated him offering the help. My knees quaked once I stood on the road outside. My wobbly legs didn’t appreciate the heels. I lifted my face skyward, thankful for the rain, cooling my adrenaline-heated skin and washing away the blood.
We made our way over to the truck. The hood was crumpled, while the bumper on the truck lifted the rear of our SUV. People swarmed the wreck while we oriented ourselves.
Arch approached one of the men as he walked away from the truck. “Is he okay?”
The man raised his eyebrows at our appearance and injuries. “A lot worse off than you two. We started to come check on you but saw you both moving around. He needed attention first. Turns out it wasn’t all that needed.” The man removed his cap. “He’s gone.”
“He’s dead?” I asked, incredulous.
“Yeah, but he doesn’t have any visible wounds. We think maybe he had a heart attack or stroke or something and that’s what caused him to wreck into you two. How are you both? You look like you need to sit down.”
“We need to be checked out,” Arch replied. “But we’ll live. Are you sure he’s gone? Did anyone try CPR?”
“Yeah, that lady over there.” He pointed to a well-dressed woman still leaning into the truck. “She said he was gone. Said she’s a nurse.”
Sirens cut through the sound of rain hitting the pavement. Adrenaline stopped coursing through my body, and my limbs began to shake again. My skin rapidly became chilled, and the rain started to stab my bare shoulders and arms like violent little icicles. A jacket was placed around me, and I looked up, head swimming, to Arch positioning it to protect my skin from the drizzle. I leaned into him for a comforting hug, thankful to be alive.
When the ambulance pulled up, we motioned it to the truck, in hopes the woman was mistaken. A second ambulance pulled up behind it, along with two police cars and a fire truck. Concerned emergency workers soon swamped us.
A paramedic told me to move my eyes this way and that while he shined a light. Arch was being put through the same routine out of my line of sight. Once deemed fit to travel, they ushered us into an ambulance together.
The driver of the truck was definitely deceased and, to my relief, given the other ambulance to himself. My heart hurt for him and his family, especially having so recently lost a loved one, but I couldn’t stomach the concept of riding in an ambulance with a dead person.
I’d never ridden in an ambulance before, and the experience unsettled me. I didn’t like riding backward, but Arch insisted I ride on the stretcher. He sat on the bench beside me and held my hand while the paramedics did what they could with our injuries.
“My father died of a pulmonary embolism,” I said, voice hushed. The paramedic glanced from Arch to me and moved to sit up front with the driver since he’d finished the first aid. “If he’d been driving when it happened, this would’ve happened to him. It was so fast, there was no time to react or save him.” I expected a hot, searing pain to hit my heart with the words but felt only a dull throb. I was beginning to heal.
Arch clasped my hand. “I’m so sorry. Were you with him?”
“No, and part of me is glad, and part is sad.” Arch began to stroke my forearm with a light touch, showing he was there for me, even if he didn’t have words to comfort me. “If I’d been with him, I would’ve had to see the light leave his eyes. I don’t know if I could’ve handled it.” The pain in my heart throbbed a little harder. “But on the othe
r hand, if I’d been there, maybe I would’ve noticed something sooner and gotten help.”
“Where did it happen?” I closed my eyes, the memories of the awful day causing my stomach to churn more than it already was.
“At the office. He was in a meeting with his assistant, Claire, and one of his favorite editors, Rebecca. They told me he was gone before they even finished dialing 911.”
“If he went so quickly, then there would’ve been nothing you could’ve done. It sounds like it only took a few minutes to take his life.” His eyes, more brown than green for the moment, were filled with tears.
“My head knows that, but it’s hard to tell my heart.” I rested my head on the bed and clasped his hand. He sensed my need for quiet, and we spent the rest of the ride in silence. It was companionable and not at all uncomfortable. I tried to push visions of the day my father died out of my taxed brain, but I became plagued with the scenes of his funeral passing behind my closed eyelids.
The glossy black wood of the casket reflected the spring sunlight and hurt my eyes. I couldn’t look away. The pain in my eyes was nothing compared to the breathtaking agony in my chest. Thinking about the pain made it worse. My breath shortened while my sternum was being crushed by my grief. My ears rang. A voice kept talking and talking, but it was tinny and far-off. A minister, it was a minister. A minister, because I was at a funeral for my dad.
In that box was the last of my family. My father was… Daddy, how did this happen? I gripped my knees to combat the pain, digging my nails in until it hurt. I finally tore my eyes away from the wood containing my father to stare at the drop of blood my nails brought out of my skin.
I blinked at them once, twice, while the droning of a faceless minister irritated my ears. My leg was cut. How did that happen? Fingers wrapped around my hand, gently pulling it away from my knee. I looked up at Todd, my best friend in the world, my rock. His eyes swam with tears. He whispered something to me and squeezed my hand, but my ears wouldn’t work right.
Falling For Them Volume 2: Reverse Harem Collection Page 40
