by K. M. Scott
"Bless you, Roberta. You've just made my day."
As I suspected, she was a God fearing woman and my words only served to convince her she'd done the right thing for a decent soul in need. As I explained that the box was, in fact, my father-in-law's and told her about Joseph Edwards' wish to keep all his family's most important documents safe, she checked his information and located the box. She escorted me to a back room full of metal filing cabinets and I sat down at a conference table in the center of the room.
Roberta returned with the box and placed it in front of me. "I remember Joseph Edwards coming in with his little girl. She was a cute little thing. Nina I think was her name. How is she?"
I smiled at the mention of Nina's name. How was she? I had to keep up the facade of being not Nina's fiancé but her brother-in-law, so I simply said, "She's doing well. She lives in New York now and works as a curator."
Roberta nodded her happiness. "That's so good to hear. Please let me know if you need any additional help, Jeff."
As she walked out to help other bank customers, I quickly turned my attention to the safe deposit box. I would have loved to spend my time thinking about Nina, but I needed to find what Joseph Edwards may have hidden here and then get the hell out of that bank before someone figured out I wasn't who I said I was.
I lifted the metal lid and saw only a notebook sitting there in the bottom of the box. As much as I wanted to read what Nina's father had written about what my father had done, I simply stuffed the tablet inside my coat and left, thanking Roberta as I made my way outside. I hurried to my car with my heart racing at the knowledge that in minutes I might finally know what had started the chain of events that had led to the death of Joseph Edwards and ultimately, my finding the love of my life.
Chapter Fifteen
Nina
At three o'clock, I looked down at my new phone as it buzzed with a new text. I swiped the screen and saw it was from Tristan. Probably won't be home for dinner. Make sure Rogers has the cook make you anything you want. Can't wait to see you. Love you.
Disappointed, I texted back that I missed him and loved him too before I fell back onto the bed in frustration. While I'd loved this house in the good weather, now that winter had finally arrived, I was feeling cabin fever more and more. Being stuck out in the hinterlands in the snow without Tristan was definitely not how I wanted to spend the next few hours.
Well, if I couldn't spend time with the man I loved, then I could spend time with Jordan. We hadn't had a girls' night out since I left the hospital, and one was long overdue. A minute later, her phone was ringing and I was thinking of the perfect place to grab some dinner and drinks.
"Hello?"
"Jordan, it's Nina. This is my new number. Let's get something to eat."
"Are you nearby or out at the house?"
"I'm still at the house, but I can be there in an hour. Sooner, if Jensen is in the mood to drive fast," I joked. "I'd love it if we could get dinner tonight."
Jordan hesitated. "Well, Justin and I were supposed to hang out and watch wrestling tonight, but he won't miss me if I beg off. We better have a good time, though, since I'm missing hot guys beating the hell out of each other."
"Well, I'm not sure I can do better than that. I was just thinking of some good food and drinking these chocolate martinis Tristan introduced me to. They're delicious! You have to try one."
"I'll do dinner, but I'm not a martini girl."
"No matter. It's the company that's important. Can you be ready in two hours? Maybe we can go shopping too."
"I'm just getting out of school now, so two hours will work. Are we being driven around tonight, or is it like old times?"
No matter how much I may have wanted it to be like old times, I'd accepted the fact that Tristan wasn't about to have me driving or taking the subway. All the better, actually, since it was cold and snowy.
"We're going in style, girl. I'll have Jensen honk when we get there," I joked.
"Some date you are," Jordan said with a chuckle. "Okay, I'll be ready in two. See you then!"
I reread Tristan's text to me, focusing on the words Can't wait to see you. Love you and wishing he was there next to me as I lay on my bed. I understood now how I'd fallen in love with him the first time. He was like an addiction I never wanted to quit. My spare moments were filled with thoughts of him—how my heart raced when he kissed me, how my stomach did somersaults at the merest touch of his fingers on my body, how his beautiful brown eyes said so much even when he said nothing.
In just this short time, he'd become my everything. I couldn't imagine life without him.
I rolled over to run my hand across where he'd laid the night before, fantasizing about the way we'd made love, his hands so powerful as he held me in place while he thrust into me, so completely in control of every moment of our fucking.
Even now, with him miles away, just the thought our lovemaking caused a need in the pit of my abdomen, and I squeezed my legs together to feel the sweet ache the desire for him created in me.
I grabbed my phone again and texted once more before I got up to get dressed. Just the thought of you makes me wish you were here in bed with me. When you get home I'm going to show you how much I missed you.
He didn't text back immediately, so I got into the shower. By the time I finished and had touched up my makeup, he had texted back but only a brief message. Miss you. You have no idea how much.
Something in those words sounded so lonely as I read them, so I called him but got no answer. I tried again as I dressed, but still no answer. Hopefully, he'd be home when I got back, but just in case he'd had a terrible day, I wrote him a letter and slipped it under his bedroom door.
I found Rogers in the dining room looking as surly as ever. "I'd like to go to Jordan's. Can you tell Jensen?"
He looked at me as if he were looking through me, and I repeated my question, which only seemed to irritate him. "As you wish, miss," he said sharply as he walked past me out the dining room door.
I stood in that spot unsure of whether I should wait or follow him and wishing Tristan was there to deal with his butler. Maybe there was a good reason he was always so short with him. As I wondered what Rogers had against me, he returned with Jensen, who was always much nicer.
"Miss, I'm ready to go as soon as you are," he said with a nod and a hint of a smile.
Shooting Rogers a nasty look, I thanked Jensen and followed him to the Town Car. "We need to pick up Jordan at her place and then we're going to go out for dinner. We're not going to make it a late night, though, so you won't have to be out too late."
Jensen closed the car door behind me and slid into the driver's seat. "It's fine, miss. I'm available for as long as you need."
"Thank you, Jensen. I appreciate you driving me and Jordan around."
As Jensen pulled through the gate at the bottom of the driveway, he looked back at me in the rearview mirror. "It's my job, miss. Mr. Stone expects me to drive you wherever you need to go."
The mood between us was suddenly awkward, and after I told him what restaurant I'd chosen and we stopped at the ATM, I leaned back against the leather seat to wait silently until we reached Brooklyn. Jensen got us there in no time and as I'd promised, I had him blow the horn, over his polite protests that he'd be happy to escort me to the building's front door to get her.
Jordan popped her head in the back driver's side door and scrunched up her face. "Honking? What am I? Some cheap high school girl?"
"Get in! We're on a mission for great food and chocolate martinis!" I squealed.
She sat down in the seat and as we drove off, she looked at me and smiled. "I never get tired of seeing you this happy. Do you know that?"
"I guess what you always say is right. Good things do happen to good people."
I never got tired of being that happy, to be honest. Everything in my life had changed so much, and at the center of it was the reason for all that happiness. Tristan. I slipped my phone out of my bag
and checked for new messages. Nothing.
Jordan leaned against me and stared over my shoulder. "Didn't you just leave Mr. Tall, Dark, and Gorgeous?"
I elbowed her gently in the arm. "He's out of town. I was just hoping he'd text me again."
"So, while the cat's away the mice will play, huh?" she joked singsong. "Where are we mice heading to tonight?"
Putting my phone away, I turned toward her in my seat. "I thought we could try The Channel. I heard it was great, and it's supposed to be a great club too."
She looked down at her black dress and back up at me. "I'm not sure I'm dressed for that place, Nina. I feel like your poor country cousin."
"That's ridiculous! You look incredible, as always. You've always had much better style than I have, no matter how much you spend or don't spend."
"I just don't want you to look bad," she said quietly. "I mean, now that you're with Tristan..."
I stopped her with my hand on her arm. "Jordan, my being with Tristan has nothing to do with what clothes we should wear. Well, it does for me since he bought most of mine, but we're still the same two girls we've been since we met that day in college."
She laughed at my admission that my clothes were all bought and paid for. "So you're a happily kept woman now? Whatever that's like, it looks good on you."
"How did Justin take you bowing out of this week's wrestling matches?" I asked, eager to change the subject.
Rolling her eyes, she said, "He said he was fine with it, but something in his voice said he wasn't, so I promised him I'd stop by his place before I go home."
"And you tease me about checking for texts? Sounds like someone else is crazy about a guy too."
She jabbed me in the arm with her fingers, tickling me until I giggled. "No more of that. This is a girl's night out, so let's get this party started!"
Jordan and I were like two peas in a pod, as we'd always been, and dinner was a great time. We laughed ourselves to tears as she told me about her third grade students and their very demanding letters to their parents about what gifts they wanted for Christmas.
I took a sip of my chocolate martini as Jordan's laughter ebbed away. She looked at me intently, as if she was studying me. "What? What is it?"
"You look so different tonight drinking that martini and wearing that dress I know cost a fortune, but even though the outside seems to have changed, you're still the same old Nina. I like that even with all the changes you've been through that you're still you."
"Of course I'm still me. Who else would I be?" I asked, unsure of what she meant.
She took a gulp of her beer and shrugged. "Well, you're basically Mrs. Tristan Stone, aren't you? That might change someone." Looking down at my left hand, she got a confused look on her face. "Why aren't you wearing the engagement ring he gave you? Aren't you still planning to marry him?"
I didn't know what to say to that. I wasn't wearing the ring because I wasn't sure he still wanted to marry me. I believed with all my heart that he loved me just as much as he said he did before the accident, but he hadn't mentioned our engagement or any plans to marry me since we'd rekindled our relationship, and I didn't want to pressure him. I was happy with the way things were going between us and didn't want to ruin it.
Instead of telling her this, though, I fibbed and hoped she wouldn't see right through me. "Of course, but since the accident I've lost a little weight so it doesn't fit right."
"Good. I don't want to hear you two are breaking up or anything stupid like that. I know things must be pretty strange since you don't remember him from before yet, but if any two people are supposed to be together, it's you and Tristan."
"No need to worry about us. I promise. What about you and Justin?"
Jordan sighed deeply and smirked. "We're doing fine, but it's not like you two. We're just average people in a regular relationship. No bells and whistles. Just comfortable."
Quickly, she stood from the table and looked around. "I need to find the ladies' room. Be right back."
I knew Jordan well enough to know she was uncomfortable about me asking about Justin. Her tone said boring instead of comfortable, but I didn't think I should press the issue. In my eyes, Jordan was anything but regular and average. She deserved a man who set her heart racing and turned her world upside down in the best ways. My heart was sad at the news that she didn't believe he was that only a few months into the relationship.
She returned in just a few minutes wearing a smile from ear to ear. Grabbing my arm, she squealed, "Oh my God! Nina, I just saw the most gorgeous man, and I swear he was checking me out too. Brown hair, the darkest blue eyes I've ever seen, and a body to die for!"
I looked around for this perfect specimen of man but didn't see anyone. She sat down and while she gushed about her sexy mystery man, I joked, "Um, weren't you just saying you have a boyfriend? I think his name is Justin or something like that."
"I know. I know. Justin is nice and everything, but this guy was stunning. And I think he was into me too. Well, enough of my mystery man. I can't wait to hang out with you and Tristan on New Year's Eve. We're going to have such a good time, especially compared to last year. You don't remember what we did last New Year's Eve, do you?" she asked with a giggle.
I shook my head. "Still nothing. Why? Tell me. What did we do?"
Putting her hands up to cover her face, she groaned. "I'm still trying to forget Paul. He's teaching fifth grade this year. His classroom is right down the hall from mine."
"What happened? Don't keep me in suspense! I'm a woman with a head injury, for God's sake!"
"He tried to have sex with me in the coatroom of the hotel just as it turned midnight. As if I was going to just hike up my dress and bang him right then and there!"
"No way! You have to tell me what my date was like."
"You got off slightly better with his friend, a short accountant who spent the night unsure if he wanted to kiss you or bore you with details about his job. Thankfully, he only tried to maul you once and you didn't have to fend him off like I had to with Creepy Paul. You know, that's what I silently refer to him as every time I see him at school."
"You're terrible! The poor guy was probably in love with you from a distance and just jumped the gun a little that night," I joked.
"I think the best part of that New Year's was laughing ourselves to sleep that night," she said with a smile. "We began the year pretty badly, but we've come pretty far since then, don't you think?"
Her phone buzzed on the table and I saw that it was Justin. As she took the call, I accepted with disappointment that our night out was over. It was okay, though. All the better that I got home early just in case Tristan was there. The sadness of his message stayed in my mind still, and I wanted to be there for him in case his trip had gone badly.
"I have to go, Nina. I have work tomorrow. A few more and I'll never be able to handle the little angels."
She was lying, but it was okay. "I'll have Jensen come around and pick us up," I said as I moved to get up.
"No, that's okay. I'll take a cab. Finish your drink."
"Are you sure? Jensen can take you to Justin's. It's no problem."
Jordan gave me a definite shake of her head. "No need. It's out of your way to take me back to Brooklyn." Opening her arms, she smiled. "Come here and give me a hug before I go."
"I'll see you in a few days, so tell Justin I'm looking forward to spending time with both of you," I said as she hugged me. I released her and stepped away. "I know we usually give our gifts on Christmas morning, but yours won't be in until after that, so get ready to be blown away when it comes in January."
Jordan waved me off. "You don't have to get me anything, Nina. I know you've been dealing with a lot just before the holidays."
"Forget that. I have just the perfect gift for you, so get ready. I know you'll love it!"
Her phone rang again, putting an end to our goodbyes, and as I watched her walk out, I saw my phone light up on the table. Excited to finally
talk to Tristan, I swiped the face to see it wasn't a call but an email notification. I tapped the little envelope and saw a message from Cal asking if we could meet. Since I was in the city, I figured it was perfect timing and emailed back for him to stop by The Channel if he was free and able to make it. A minute later, he replied he was nearby, so I ordered another of those candy sweet martinis and sat back to wait for him.
Checking my phone, I saw Tristan hadn't texted again. Disappointed, I quickly texted him the words I love you and hoped that would make him reply. Within fifteen minutes Cal had arrived but still no text from Tristan.
"I'm so glad you emailed me, Nina," Cal said as he sat down across the table from me. He settled into his chair and smiled. "You look incredible. Life certainly has treated you well."
"Well, except for that whole car accident and amnesia thing," I joked.
He looked at me as if he were sizing me up and shook his head. "I don't know. Maybe forgetting the past is something we all should do because you look great."
"Happiness does that for a person. You look pretty good after all these years, so you must be doing something right too."
In truth, Cal looked a little haggard. His grey wool coat was old and worn, and I'd noticed when he took off his gloves that the leather was ripped between his right thumb and forefinger. He still had those boyish good looks that had attracted me years ago, but now they were tinged with worry or weariness. I couldn't decide which.
"I have to tell you, Nina, that I was surprised at first that you came to see me, but now I'm so happy we're getting a chance to get reacquainted."
"I am too, Cal. I think bygones should be left as bygones."
I finished my drink and a waiter arrived almost instantly to ask me if I'd like another. I probably shouldn't have, but they tasted so good, so even though I was already feeling a little lightheaded and giddy, I ordered another martini.
"And you, sir?"
Cal shook his head and forced his lips into a thin line. "No, thanks." The waiter moved away from us, and Cal turned to face me. "This is a fancy place. I don't remember you liking places like this."
