by Jane Blythe
“Well because—”
Eli cut her off by capturing her lips and kissing her until he felt her relax against him.
“Did you just kiss me to shut me up?” she asked as they slid into the car’s back seat. Since she didn't sound angry he knew he wasn't in trouble.
“No, I kissed you to get you to relax,” he told her, settling her against him as his driver headed off into the traffic. “Rough day?”
“Long day,” she replied on a sigh, nestling closer and tucking her face against his neck. “Thanks for picking me up.”
Women! First she was annoyed that he was there to pick her up, and now she was grateful, he didn't think he would ever figure out the way their minds worked.
“You're welcome.” Eli kissed her forehead and then just wrapped his arms around her and held her close. He liked this, just holding her in his arms, and all too soon they were pulling up outside his building.
“Where are we?” Florence asked, suspicion sliding into her tone. “This doesn’t look like a restaurant.”
“I said I was buying you dinner, I never said I was taking you to a restaurant,” he reminded her as he took her hand and tugged her from the car, excited to show her what he had planned.
“So, are you going to tell me where we are?”
“My place. Well, my new place, I’ve been staying in a hotel since I moved back to the city, but I thought no time like the present to rectify that.”
With a puzzled look on her face, she asked, “We’re moving your stuff into your new apartment for our date?”
“Nope,” he answered simply. He used his key to let them into the building, then nodded to the doorman on the way to the lift.
“So, what are we doing?” She sounded more curious than annoyed and he couldn’t help but grin, he got the opinion that Florence was like a dog with a bone, she wouldn’t let things go, it was what made her a great cop, and an interesting girlfriend.
“Dinner and shopping,” he replied vaguely, fighting a laugh.
Her nose scrunched up. “Shopping? In your apartment?”
“Online shopping, princess, it’s been around for a while now.”
“I know what it is,” she said with an accompanying eye roll. “I was just wondering what we’re shopping for.”
Before he could answer, the lift opened to the penthouse and Florence gasped, dropped his hand, and took a step into the space, eyes wide as she spun in a slow circle, taking in the impressive entrance hall. Then she noticed the windows in the living room and practically ran to them, staring out at the exquisite view of Central Park and the Manhattan skyline.
“This is your place?” she asked, turning back to examine the room.
“Yep, all mine.” For some reason he felt proudly pleased by her enthusiasm for the penthouse. He’d bought it because the owner had been in financial trouble and anxious to sell, so he’d got it for a steal and been able to take possession of it almost immediately. Although he had liked the place and the view, it hadn't really felt like it was anything special until this moment when he saw the joy on Florence’s face, and knew that one day soon this would be the home they would share. Eli could imagine the two of them living here, curling up in front of one of the fireplaces on cold winter evenings, going to bed together each night, and eating breakfast in the kitchen before heading to work. It was all so perfect, and he was so glad he had planned this date.
“Is this a real wood fireplace?” she asked in awe as she strode over to the one in the living room.
“It’s one of four of them in the place. There’s herringbone floors, plaster moldings, five ensuite bedrooms, a formal dining room, eat-in kitchen, library, its own laundry room.”
“It’s amazing,” she gushed as she hurried off into the next room.
He followed her as she ran from room to room exclaiming over the features and the views, and by the time they were back in the living room, he was ready to tell her what he had planned for their date. “As you can see this place is empty, I sold my furniture before I left London intending to buy everything new for my new place, and I was hoping you would help me choose furniture and furnishings.”
“Me?” Those blue eyes of hers widened, making them look like two huge glowing blue orbs, staring into them was like staring into a summer sky, you could get lost in them.
“Yes, you.” He leaned over and ruffled her hair. “After all, you're going to be living here too as soon as I can convince you to move in with me.”
“Eli, we’ve only been going out a few days, we haven't even known each other for two weeks, don’t you think it’s way too soon to be thinking of us living together, even if you are joking.”
“Honey, I couldn’t be more serious.”
“Still it’s too early, we don’t know what's going to happen with us.”
Catching her chin, he forced her to look at him. “Are you telling me that you don’t feel what I feel?”
“N-no,” she said hesitantly.
“You feel this, Florence.” He pressed his free hand to her chest where he could feel her heart pounding. “Your heart feels it.” Curling his hand gently around her neck he could feel her pulse fluttering wildly. “Your body feels it.” His fingers touched her temples. “Stop letting your head deny what the rest of you already knows. We belong together, Florence, and I don’t care if we’ve known each other for a minute or a decade, I want you, I know you want me too, don’t fight it, princess.” Wrapping an arm around her waist, he drew her in close, melding her body against his, and kissing her long and slow.
“You scare me, Eli,” Florence admitted.
“Why, princess?” While he was pleased that she was admitting her fears to him if she didn't tell him everything that was running through her pretty, blonde head, then he didn't know how to help her overcome her fears.
“Because you have the power to crush me. You know how I grew up, I never had anyone there for me, even after her boyfriend tried to kill me, my mom wasn't interested in her children. My brother was gone by my sixteenth birthday, and I was on my own. I’ve never let anyone in, and if I did, I was planning on it being some boring, average looking guy with a boring job. Not you. You’re smart, funny, charming, rich, handsome, and ridiculously sexy, you're the opposite of what I thought I wanted, and yet I want you. I want to move in with you and see where this goes, but if it doesn’t work out, I’ll be broken.”
“No one can break you, Florence,” he said softly. “You are the strongest woman I've ever met, and even if things didn't work out between us you’d be okay. But things are going to work out, I don’t just want you to move in here, I want to marry you, have kids with you, and grow old with you. I know that scares you and I’ll give you time to adjust to the idea, but it is what it is so get used to it.” With that, he kissed her forehead then took her hand and led her to the kitchen. “So, I owe you dinner, and a little birdie told me that you have a slight obsession with ice cream.” Eli opened the freezer door to show her what was inside.
“There has to be at least twenty flavors in there.” Florence laughed.
“And that’s not all.” He opened the cupboard door to reveal what his personal assistant had organized for him today. “We also have every single topping that you can think of. We have sprinkles, chocolate chips, chocolate sauce, strawberry sauce, caramel sauce, fudge toppings, nuts, cherries, and about a dozen other things.”
“It looks like you bought out the whole store.” Florence laughed again.
“My girl likes ice cream, then she gets ice cream.”
“Your girl, huh?”
“You got a problem with that?”
“No, so long as you’re my guy.”
“Deal.”
“Deal.”
“Seal it with a kiss?”
“Can't say no to that.”
FEBRUARY 19TH
6:18 A.M.
She had a spring in her step.
It was a weird saying, and if you’d asked her before today, Floren
ce would have said that nobody could have a spring in their step, it just wasn't possible. It sounded odd and made her picture a big coiled spring attached to the bottom of a pair of shoes, making them bounce as they walked.
As weird as it sounded, that was exactly how it felt.
It was like she was bounding down the sidewalk, springing up to the beautiful pre-dawn sky with each step she took.
The change in her was all because of Eli.
Last night, she had let go of the fear that had engulfed her, it had been like throwing herself off the roof of a fifty-story building, but she knew that Eli was waiting at the bottom to catch her and that made everything okay.
It was so freeing to finally have let go of the heavy burden she had carried most of her life. Not only did she have a job she loved, and a safe place to live where she didn't have to worry about going to bed hungry or washing in a river, but she had someone to share her life with.
Florence couldn’t wipe the smile off her face.
She really had someone who wanted to be with her. Eli was everything she’d thought she had to avoid at all costs, and yet it turned out he was everything that she had needed in her life.
At her building, she paused to stare up at the sky for a moment. Usually, she was so busy with her job and the gym that she didn't take time to just be and enjoy the sunrise. As a child, she’d often been out of the house before dawn, washing in the river so nobody would see her, then once she was done she would sit in the clearing near where her mother’s trailer was, lean against the sturdy trunk of an old pine tree, and watch as the sun rose. She’d loved to watch as the sky changed color, going from the dark inky blue of night to a pale white then erupting into a mess of pinks, yellows, and reds. It was a stunning spectacle and had reminded her that life was bigger than her and her problems. Knowing that had reassured her, given her the strength to face each new day.
Now, as she watched another sunrise, her back leaning against her building, in a very different setting than where she had grown up, she got that same feeling. The world was bigger than she was, and carrying around old hurt and fears was only holding her back, preventing her from living life to the fullest.
Back as a scared and lonely little girl, she had promised herself that once she got away from River’s End, she would have the perfect life, she was going to have the family and home she had always longed for. She’d done okay with the job part of the plan, but not so great with the family part.
That was all about to change though.
Okay, so she wasn't quite ready to move in with Eli, but she was ready to date exclusively with the understanding that things would be getting serious pretty quickly.
The whole idea was beginning to excite her more and scare her less. It helped that Eli was so easygoing, nothing seemed to ruffle him, and he was being very patient with her and her insecurities, which was probably what had allowed her to open up to him.
With a sigh, she pushed away from the wall, she had to go up, take a quick shower, and get changed because she wanted to get to the gym before she went to work. She’d skipped too many workouts and after all that ice cream for dinner last night, she really needed to hit the weights and the treadmill.
Rubbing her arms to brush away the chill and warm up, she waited for the lift and wondered what Eli had planned for them tonight. He’d wanted to drive her back to her apartment so she could get ready for work, but she’d needed a little time to herself and told him the walk would do her good. Reluctantly, he had agreed, but told her to expect him to be picking her up again tonight to take her out for dinner. Since it was Eli they were talking about, she had no idea what to expect but knew that dinner wouldn’t be just dinner.
The lift doors opened, and by the time it reached her floor, she’d warmed up again. Checking her watch, Florence saw she was going to have to hurry if she wanted to get in a full workout before work. Well minus a weights session, with her arm stuck in this cast weights were out until it came off, and even then it would probably take her a while to get full strength back in that arm. Treadmill, exercise bike, and stair machine were probably it for her today.
She picked up the pace as she walked down the hall but froze at her door.
Something felt wrong.
Remembering her discussion with her partner the day before, she pulled out her gun before unlocking the door. If someone—no doubt the Coffin Killer—was in there, she wasn't walking in unprepared. She wasn't ever going to be a victim again, if that man was in there then the only way he was walking out was in handcuffs.
As quietly as she could, she slid the key into the lock and eased open the door.
The second she stepped through the door she knew she was right.
Someone was in here.
The apartment was quiet, half hidden in shadows as only the early morning light filtered in through the window. Florence wasn't sure where he was hiding, but she knew he was somewhere, watching her.
“I know you’re in here,” she announced, gun held out in front of her, ready to swing in the direction of the intruder as soon as he gave himself away.
“Where have you been all night?” asked a voice laden with barely controlled anger.
“Out,” she said briefly. She wasn't going into details with this man, all she had to do was keep him talking until she got a fix on where he was, and then she’d get him in handcuffs and call Jake.
“You were with him weren't you? The rich man.” The way he said it made it sound like he was jealous.
“What if I was?”
“You shouldn’t be with him,” he spat.
“Who should I be with?” She took a couple of steps toward the pantry, he was hiding in there, she could see the door was slightly open and since his voice was coming from the kitchen that was the only place he could be.
“You know the answer to that question. You’ve always known, it’s why you’ve never brought a man to your place before.”
How did he know that?
It was true, whenever she was with a man it was always at their place. This was the first real home she’d had, and she wanted to keep it her safe place. Bringing a man here when she’d known there was no future with them gave them the opportunity to invade her safe place, and she’d worked too hard to finally be comfortable somewhere, there was no way she was ruining that.
Eli was the first man who had ever spent the night here, it was like her subconscious had known what her conscious mind was trying to ignore.
The only way that the Coffin Killer could know so much about her and her life was if he was watching her constantly. He had to have an apartment here in the building, on her floor, probably either next to or across from her apartment. He was more obsessed with her than she had realized.
“You should be with me. You’ve been mine since you were eight years old, we have a connection that can never be erased.”
“I don’t even know your name.”
“Toby Lane.” He stepped out of the pantry, a gun in his hand aimed right at her.
It seemed they were in a stalemate.
She had her gun pointed at him, but he had one aimed at her, and Florence knew he wasn't going to just put it down and let her cuff him.
She wasn't going to put hers down either. She’d had enough of living in the shadow of what this man had put her through. It was always there, hovering at the back of her mind, but maybe if he was finally in prison she could cut the last tie to her past and move forward without baggage.
“Put your gun down, Toby,” she ordered. “It’s time to end this.”
“We’re ending this, Florence. Once and for all. I'm here to claim what's mine, I won't let some rich businessman come in and steal you away from me. I won't lose you again. I kept my distance, watched you without you knowing, waiting until the time was right before making my move, but that time is now. You have a choice, Florence, you can either come willingly with me now, or I can kill that man of yours and then forcibly take you. Your choice.”
&
nbsp; “Actually, Toby, we’re going with choice number three. I’m going to arrest you and make sure you spend the rest of your miserable life in prison.”
* * * * *
6:56 A.M.
He couldn’t stay away from her.
It had been less than an hour since Florence had left his penthouse, and Eli couldn’t resist stopping by her place before he headed into work. He had a meeting at seven-thirty that he was probably going to be late for, and he couldn’t summon even an ounce of regret.
In just days, Florence had become the single most important thing in his life.
More important than his company, more important than his friends, more important than everything except his nephew. He was addicted to her, and he had no interest in curbing that addiction.
Last night had been so much fun, and he was so glad he had included Florence in choosing furniture for the penthouse. If it had just been him moving in there he would have just paid someone to do it for him, he wouldn’t have cared what bedroom furniture they chose, or which couch, or what curtains or blinds for the windows, but Florence had been really into it. She’d looked through a million different options before settling on things, and by the time they’d eaten their fill of ice cream and made out a little before falling asleep on the air mattress he’d asked his personal assistant to leave, they’d finished choosing furniture for the living room, the dining room, and the master bedroom.
Of course he’d made plans for tonight, and he was sure this was the perfect next step in convincing Florence that she had nothing to be afraid of when it came to their relationship because he’d picked up the ring before picking her up yesterday and he intended to propose sooner rather than later.
Eli had decided that he would continue to stay at the hotel until he and Florence moved into the penthouse together. It was their home now, and he wanted them to move in together, moving in without her just felt wrong. He estimated it would take a week, maybe two, to get all of the furniture and furnishings delivered, which gave him plenty of time to get Florence on board with the idea.
