Entice Me

by Kelly Elliott

  The curve of my lip came up, and I snarled at my sister. “The way you tell it, I sound like a crazy bitch.”

  She nodded. “If the shoe fits.”

  I buried my hands in my face and let out a scream. It was clear I had messed things up.

  “Have you listened to his voicemail?”

  “No,” I said, my voice muffled from my head still in my hands.

  “Let’s listen to it, then I think you need to call him. I mean, you running might have just ruined everything, Kaelynn.”

  “Gee, thanks, Millie,” I stated as my hands dropped to my lap. “Way to keep things positive.”

  “How can anything about this mess be positive? Kaelynn, I told you one of these days this whole pretending you’re someone you’re not was going to catch up with you. You hid something about yourself from your best friend and the guy you liked. Listen, I get the why . . . because Morgan told you the story of Nash and his ex. I get the fear you had, but I also think it was incredibly stupid of you to hide it. I know we have to be careful with whom we let close to us. No one gets that more than I do, but if you love someone, you have to trust them. If Nash is the type of man you say he is, I don’t think he would have pushed you away. He might have been spooked, but he wouldn’t have pushed you away.”

  A tear slipped free and trailed down my cheek. “I know. I really messed things up.”

  Mille reached for my hand and squeezed it. “Has he called you since that first voicemail?”

  “No. I haven’t listened to it yet. I’m afraid to.”

  Holding out her hand, she wiggled her fingers in a motion to give the phone to her, so I did.

  “Okay, let’s do this together. If he tells you he never wants to hear from you again, you move on.”

  My eyes filled with tears. “But last night . . .”

  She held up her hand. “I don’t think he’s going to say that, but we need to be prepared for anything.”

  Glancing down, I watched as I worked my hands together nervously. The moment I heard his voice, my heart felt as if it seized in my chest and I held my breath.

  “Kaelynn, please call me back. We need to talk, and I don’t want to do it over the phone. I, um, I don’t know where you went, and I’ve searched the entire hotel. Please call me. I’m really worried about you.”

  Millie’s eyes caught mine and she shrugged. “Okay, he didn’t sound mad, but more distraught that you weren’t there.”

  “He didn’t sound mad at all.”

  “He sounded sad, Kaelynn.” Millie’s brows pulled in as she stared back down at the phone. “He hasn’t called back though.”

  Her voice sounded surprised.

  “What?” I asked, reaching for my phone. “What do you mean?”

  “Look at your missed calls; none are from him. He only called and left that one message. I mean, if he wanted to make things work, I would think he would have kept calling. Did any of his friends call you?”

  “No. Not even Morgan. Which is strange, because I’m positive she would have noticed us missing last night from the reception and then would have wanted to talk to me today.”

  We locked gazes again.

  “That’s not a good sign, is it?” I asked, my voice cracking. “I messed this up, didn’t I? I just lost the only man I think I’ve ever loved.”

  Millie was up and next to me in a flash, holding me while I let myself fall into a fit of tears. Again.

  THE KNOCK ON my office door had me letting out a low growl. I needed to get this work taken care of and every interruption put me farther behind.

  “Go away.”

  The knock grew louder.

  “Go. Away.”

  The handle turned and Morgan walked in, a scowl on her face. I rolled my eyes and went back to what I was doing.

  “I’m still pissed off at you.”

  “Yeah, well, are you pissed off at your best friend for lying to you?”

  Morgan sat in the seat. I could feel the heat of her stare. “I’m a bit disappointed, but in the end, it doesn’t change anything. She told me the truth the day of the wedding.”

  I scoffed. A sickness rolled deep inside my gut. She had tried to tell me as well, but I wouldn’t let her.

  “How could you run a background check on her and not think she would be pissed?”

  “I cancelled the damn thing, Morgan. It didn’t matter to me anymore. Blake never told his brother to call it off. I wasn’t even going to read what was in the fucking thing.”

  She folded her arms across her chest, tilted her head, and narrowed one eye. She had perfected the stare our mother gave to us when we had done something wrong.

  “Do you love her?”

  “Yes.”

  Her mouth fell open. “Wait. What?”

  “Don’t act so surprised.”

  “I am surprised.”

  I sighed. “What do you want from me, Morgan? What would be the right answer you want to hear? I fell in love with Kaelynn the day I drove her to Houston. Hell, probably the moment I ran into her in the hallway of Sedotto. I knew then she was hiding something from me. I wish I had just listened to Tucker and talked to her, but I didn’t. Now she’s gone.”

  “I haven’t called her yet.”

  This time it was me who frowned. “Why not?”

  She shrugged. “This is between the two of you, and I don’t want to be involved. I did text her, though, to make sure she was all right. She said she was, and I told her what I just told you—this was between y’all. I did call her sister Millie, though, last night. She told me Kaelynn was home in Utah.”

  “I already know she’s home.”

  Her brow lifted. “The private investigator Dustin hired found her name on an airline manifest the day she left on a direct flight in first-class back to Utah.”

  “So now you’re having her followed?”

  “No. I searched fucking everywhere for her that day when she disappeared on me. I needed to know where she was; he found out for me.”

  “What are you going to do?”

  “I’m leaving this afternoon at two to fly up to Salt Lake City.”

  A smile appeared on her face. “Shut up! You’re flying up there to go get her?”

  “I’m flying up there to explain everything to her. Why I started the stupid background check. Then I’m coming home.”

  The smile faded as quickly as it came. “You’re not asking her to come back to Austin with you?”

  I sighed and pushed my hand through my hair. “I should have done what I said I was going to do and not gotten involved with anyone. I said I would never open my heart again and look what happened when I did.”

  “So, that doesn’t mean anything. You both made a mistake. We all can’t be perfect. She’s going to mess up and so will you.”

  “Trust has to be the main focus of any relationship I have with a woman. Was the secret Kaelynn was hiding something terrible? No. I can actually understand why she didn’t tell me.”

  “Then why are you willing to walk away from a woman you love, Nash?”

  “Because she didn’t trust me enough to tell me the truth. She didn’t trust me to look past that and not think I could compare her to Lily. I know she was going to tell me. I truly believe in my heart she was, but look at the first thing she did when we were faced with a problem. She ran. She left me, Morgan, without so much as letting me know where she was going. You don’t do that if you love someone.”

  “Nash,” Morgan whispered. “Don’t give up on this. Don’t give up on Kaelynn. Don’t give up on love.”

  Glancing down at the desk, I shook my head. “I really need to finish this up before I have to go.”

  I could feel the weight of Morgan’s gaze on me. I glanced up in time to see the look of disappointment on her face.

  “I never thought in my life I would ever say this to you, Nash Barrett.” She stood and pointed to me. “You are a stupid asshole. I thought you were different from other guys. I thought maybe you were one of t
he good ones who listened to your heart and not your stupid head. I thought if you found love, you would fight for it with everything you had. You have a second chance to make this right. I didn’t get that chance with Mike, and I would give anything to have that second chance.” She wiped away a tear and shrugged. “I guess I was wrong. You’re no different from the rest of them.”

  My mouth opened to say something, but words left me. I watched as my sister turned on her heels, stormed to the door, and slammed it shut.

  Rubbing the back of my neck, I exhaled before picking up the file on my desk and trying to focus on work.

  Coming down the escalator in the Salt Lake City airport, I rolled my neck to get some of the tension out as I listened to Tucker and Charlie preach to me about how Kaelynn was perfect for me.

  “Listen, guys, I appreciate all the advice. I’m only here to explain to her about the background check, and that’s all.”

  “And you couldn’t do that over the phone?” Charlie asked. I could hear Hannah cooing in the background.

  “No. The first thing I need to do is get checked into a hotel, then figure out the best way to let Kaelynn know I’m in town.”

  “How about I just take you to her?”

  The voice stopped me in my tracks. Turning to the left, I saw a young woman with the same dark hair and hazel eyes as Kaelynn.

  “Excuse me? Are you speaking to me?” I asked.

  “Ah, I see you’ve met Millie Whitaker. You’re not the only one who has connections, Nash. I told Morgan to call and let Millie know you were coming. You need someone to help you with this. A woman,” Charlie said with a bit of satisfaction in her voice.

  Millie stood there smiling as I pulled the phone out and glared at it.

  “Stop glaring at the phone. Now go get back the woman you love, Nash!” Charlie exclaimed.

  “Dude, listen to your heart. Please!” Tucker added.

  “I hate both of you right now. I’m hanging up.”

  Hitting end, I tilted my head and stared down at the younger version of Kaelynn.

  “She doesn’t know you’re here. Morgan called me and told me you were coming.”

  “Who are you?” I asked.

  Laughing, Millie answered. “Millie Whitaker. Younger and much smarter sister of Kaelynn Whitaker, aka, Kaelynn Dotson. It’s our mom’s maiden name.”

  “I know,” I replied as she frowned for a moment.

  “You won’t need to stay at a hotel; you can stay at our house.”

  “Um, I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

  “Trust me. It’s big enough that you could actually avoid Kaelynn for at least a week if you wanted to. Now, let’s get your stuff and head on out. There’s a storm coming. You landed just in time. They’re talking about shutting down the airport in the next hour or so.”

  “Shutting down the airport? For how long?”

  The girl shrugged, then gave me a wink. “A day, maybe a week. You never know with the weather up here. Come on, we have to get home before it starts really coming down.”

  With a smirk, I shook my head and followed her out of the airport and through the parking garage. We stopped at a Lexus SUV where she opened the back so I could place my bag in.

  “Just one small bag?” she asked.

  “Wasn’t planning on staying long.”

  This time she laughed. “Sorry to say, Nash Barrett, you’re going to be staying at least a few days. Do we need to stop anywhere?”

  I drew my brows in tight and asked, “Stop anywhere?”

  “Yeah, you know, like, Target? Do you need more underwear, a pair of sweatpants, a jacket? It’s cold here, and you clearly didn’t bring a winter coat.”

  “I came from Texas; we don’t have winter coats.”

  She stared at me, waiting for me to answer her. “Do you have a washer and dryer at your house? I can do my own laundry. I have three days’ worth of clothes; that’s plenty. I have a return flight booked in two days.”

  Her hand went to her hip. “Okay, maybe you might want to think about getting some flowers.”

  “For?” I asked, noting she had ignored me.

  She rolled her eyes and waved her hands at me. “Are all men just . . . just . . .”

  Smiling, I waited to hear her keep going.

  “Never mind. Clearly you’re not here to ask her for forgiveness and to come back to Texas with you.”

  Millie pushed a button, and the back of her SUV started to lower. She stormed to the driver’s side and slammed the door shut after getting in.

  I closed my eyes and let out a breath, then whispered, “Why are all women so complicated?”

  The drive from the airport to the Whitaker house wasn’t short. Millie drove toward the mountains, and I kept looking to the left where the sky was turning darker.

  “Looks like that is a pretty bad storm coming.”

  “Yep.”

  “I’ve never seen snow,” I said, laughing as I looked out at the snow-covered ground.

  “You see it now.”

  Facing her, I smirked. “You really don’t like me, do you?”

  “What gave you that impression?”

  I looked back out the front window. “Let’s see. I’m pretty sure I’ve heard you mumble ‘dick’ at least four times during the drive so far. You refuse to carry on a conversation with me, and I’m pretty sure, if given the chance, you’d like to do bodily harm to me.”

  We both turned and looked at each other. The look of evil in her eye made me shudder.

  “You know, I’m rich enough to hire someone to do the bodily harm to you and no one would ever know it was me. Hell, I’m rich enough to dispose of body parts all over the world without so much as an inkling that I had anything to do with it. So yeah, you should be worried.”

  I laughed, then stopped when her brow raised and she stared out the windshield again.

  “Right. So we should just go back to me talking and you responding with one-word replies.”

  “Yep.”

  Nodding, I sighed.

  “Okay, fine. Here it is. You want to know why I don’t like you?”

  I turned and looked at her, her hands gripped the steering wheel tighter now, and it had nothing to do with the snow coming down.

  “You spied on my sister.”

  “I didn’t . . .”

  “I’m not done, Mr. Barrett.”

  I couldn’t help the slight lift of my mouth. This girl was a pistol. “I’m sorry, please go on, Ms. Whitaker.”

  “Thank you. Like I was saying, you spied on my sister, then you only called her once. Once! For all you knew, she was dead somewhere. You didn’t even bother to check up on her.”

  At that moment, she gasped and shot me a quick look before putting her eyes back on the road. “Oh shit. You knew she was here. But how?”

  “Does it really matter?”

  “You’re having her followed!”

  I laughed. “I am not.”

  “You’ve got a tracking device on her phone!”

  Frowning, I asked, “You’re a fan of mystery movies, aren’t you?”

  “Hallmark Movies & Mysteries Channel, yes. It’s the bomb.”

  Chuckling, I said, “I am not tracking her or following her, but I did find out she flew out of Austin and to Salt Lake City the other day.”

  “Your spy?”

  “Something like that.”

  “Huh.”

  “Back to one-word responses again?”

  The corners of Millie’s smile lifted. “If I wasn’t so pissed at you, I would really like you.”

  “I’ve been hearing that a lot lately.”

  Millie sighed and pulled up to a massive black iron gate. Looking up, their last name was scrolled across the top.

  “Home?”

  “Yep. Nash, I just want you to know one thing. My sister loves you. I’ve never seen her this upset or lost about any other guy. I don’t want to see her hurt.”

  “I don’t want to hurt her; I’m ju
st trying to do the right thing here. She deserves to know why that background check was done. Neither of us handled things the right way.”

  “No, you didn’t. That much is true.”

  She pushed a button, and the large iron gate opened.

  “I really care about Kaelynn, for what it’s worth.”

  “I know you do.”

  “How do you know that?” I asked.

  Millie pulled through the gate and stopped her SUV to look at me. “If you didn’t, you wouldn’t be here.”

  IT FELT LIKE Millie drove forever before I finally saw the house come into view. “House” wasn’t really the right word.

  Mansion.

  “Holy shit.”

  “Yeah, it’s a little . . . over the top.”

  I turned to look at Millie. “Over the top? How big is that house?”

  She shrugged. “Oh, almost fifty-thousand square feet. Maybe a little over that if you count the garage and storage areas.”

  My eyes widened as she pulled into the roundabout in front of the house. A giant water feature was in front of the house but had been drained for the winter.

  “I don’t know if I should be more impressed with the house or the mountains.”

  Millie laughed, then pulled around and into a covered drive. The six garages sat on the left, with the house on the right and a covered carport connecting them.

  “Well, if we’re going to do this, you’re getting the grand tour.”

  “What about Kaelynn?”

  “She isn’t home.”

  “Where is she?” I asked, nervous Millie might have brought me out to the middle of nowhere to murder me and then hide my body in the mountains.

  “Neighbors. She went over a bit ago to help her with setting up for a party. Our estate sits on over a hundred-and-fifty acres, I’ll hear her when she comes in. The front gate security beeps on my phone to alert me someone is coming in.”

  “Of course it does.”

  She laughed and pushed a button, opening the back tailgate again. I got out of the car, breathed in the cold air, and headed to the back of the car.