It Happens in Threes

by Denise Robbins

  “Damn it woman. I care about you. Spill it!” His commanding tone caused her to flinch.

  How does he do that? It’s flippin’ eerie how he read her mind. She conceded she was not going to get out of this. Irked, she blew out a sigh in a huff. “Fine. I lost my job, caught when the company did another round of layoffs. Satisfied?”

  “That’s why you’ve been moping around, not eating, acting like the other shoe was going to drop at any moment?” She nodded her detached response. Part of it, she admitted silently.

  “You’re a smart woman. Any company would be lucky to get you. You’ll find another job.”

  “Thanks, but you’re biased. With the technology sector pretty much hosed and the market in the tank it’s not so easy to find a job. I’m not even sure I’d like to do the same work. I want to learn something new, different. I want a challenge, excitement. I want more.”

  “Wanting more is good. What do you intend to do?”

  “I don’t know. That’s part of the problem.” That was her biggest problem. She always knew what she wanted and this was a first for her. “I thought about starting my own business.”

  Sitting back, Michael eyed her with what appeared to be curiosity. He seemed genuinely interested. Thomas had been detached and indifferent whenever she talked of her dreams.

  “What kind of business?”

  “I’ve always wanted a used bookstore with a little café. But I know nothing about retail and I’m not sure it would be challenging enough. Plus, I don’t have the financial means to start it. It would be easier to create a business that builds off my current skills.”

  “You have some options and ideas, so I don’t see what the issue is. You’d be successful at any one of those. You’re an aggressive, stubborn woman. You can do anything once you put your mind to it.” She cringed at the words aggressive and stubborn.

  “What?”

  “You said I was aggressive and stubborn.”

  “So?”

  “So, that appears to be a bad thing when you’re a woman in a predominantly male industry. Somehow it’s okay for a guy, but not acceptable for a woman to have those qualities.”

  “That’s a crock. Don’t let some chauvinistic idiots break your stride. Decide what you want and go for it. The world be damned.”

  She must be dreaming. Baffled, she blinked, trying to clear the haze around her brain. Was he really listening, supporting, even encouraging her? Thomas had only ever wanted her to work with him, be by his side at his company. She was his ‘blonde computer whiz who had the brain of a man in a model’s body’.

  Long, warm fingers touched her cheek and Michael smiled at her as she stared back in amazement.

  “But the job isn’t the only thing going on, is it?”

  She ignored his question, gnawed her lower lip as his blue eyes pinned her in a piercing glare. There was a whole lot more, but she wasn’t ready to divulge all. Besides, as long as she didn’t tell him about the broken engagement she could use it as an excuse to keep him distant.

  * * * *

  There was more to it than just the job. Why wasn’t she discussing her wants with her fiancé? Wouldn’t he support her dream? Surely, he’d support the woman he was going to marry.

  “Oh, all right.” She was stubborn, but pushing it further would only succeed in pissing her off. “Let’s see if we can put your analytical mind to better use for the rest of the evening. We’ll try to figure out what you can do, later.” Leaning down, he kissed her forehead. “Together.”

  “Thank you,” she sighed in relief.

  “What do you feel like having for dinner?”

  She shrugged her indifference.

  “Hmm. If that’s the way you’re going to be, I won’t take you to our favorite restaurant in the Keys?”

  “Tower pizza? I’m there.” She bounded from the lounger. “I want artichokes on it and a Greek salad.”

  “Deal.” Glad to hear her excited about food, he wiped a lone tear traveling down her cheek. “Go inside and wash that pretty little face so we can get some dinner.”

  ***

  When they’d returned from dinner, Ruby’s demeanor toward him was more relaxed. They sat on the white leather sofa listening to low, mellow jazz playing over the house stereo. Ruby, curled up next to him, her feet tucked under his legs, rested her head against his shoulder. With both hands, she brought the cup to her mouth, sipped the tea, her eyes closing as her body started to unwind. His hands slid up her arms and she sank into his embrace as though she sought his warmth. A shiver of pleasure ran through him.

  “Thanks for this evening, Michael,” she whispered in a contented sigh. “I guess it helped to talk with someone.”

  “My pleasure, Cat. Anytime. I was glad to see you eat something, even though you stole my stuffed grape leaf,” he teased.

  Smiling up at him, she licked her lips. “And it was de-li-cious. Promise we go back before we both make for home.”

  Cupping her face in his hands, he stared into her hazel eyes and smiled. “I swear. And you swear you’ll talk with me the next time some drastic thing happens in your life.”

  “I...okay.” Her eyelids lowered, she looked away from him. She didn’t say she promised. He was pretty sure she had just lied.

  It disturbed him to his core that Ruby hadn’t shared everything with him. She was open and honest with him in the past. Why should this be any different?

  His arms wrapped tight about her, he snuggled her close in the cocoon of his shoulder and hip, and yawned. She molded to him perfectly, like no other woman. His thumb caressed the nape of her neck and he knew the moment she drifted off to sleep.

  His cheek against the silky top of her head, his eyes closed, he inhaled, the fruity shampoo invading his senses. She felt right in his arms, warm, soft, and tempting. If it weren’t for the pain of wanting her, Michael could fall asleep right there.

  The teasing, sexy comments and looks, even the arguing, had him weaving fantasies that left him frustrated. His need for Ruby had been building the past few days, maybe longer, maybe always, without his fully realizing the extent of it.

  Ruby stirred, and her hand slipped to an unsafe zone for him. Her fingers touched him. He bit back a groan and the wildest urge to take her right there. Instead, he lifted her slender hand, kissed it and placed it on his chest out of harms way, covering it with his own.

  She shouldn’t be with Thomas. If he loved her he would be here comforting her. But Thomas wasn’t and somehow that irked and pleased him. Her steady breath blew warm against his chest. His calloused fingers caressed hers. He was here for her—he always would be.

  Michael stilled. Something was missing. Bending his head, he studied her elegant hand. No engagement ring. He turned over the ring-less finger and regarded it with curiosity. The bastard hadn’t even given her a diamond. As much as that surprised and irritated him, it thrilled him. Without a ring on her finger, there was no commitment, which meant he still had a chance. A chance? A chance at what? What exactly did he want from Ruby?

  His body vibrated with the thoughts. He considered the unfinished business between him and Ruby. There had to be a way to resolve the tension that simmered between them, taunting him. Sitting there, Ruby wrapped in his embrace, lights out, he would reach boiling point soon.

  Lifting her into the cradle of his arms, Michael groaned without sound when her body squirmed. As he carried her off to the bedroom, the feel of her silky, slim legs tormented him. Her bedroom.

  When he pulled back the comforter and lay her down on the bed, she moaned. Tucking her in, he brushed a tender kiss across her forehead. Hesitating, but unable to resist, he kissed her lips before turning to go to his own bed. Alone and frustrated.

  SEVEN

  Ruby awoke late afternoon from a dream she didn’t remember, feeling relaxed and well rested. Having showered, she was ready to do a little work. While she waited for Luey to finish booting up, the phone rang.

  The sudden noise startled he
r, sending a shiver up her spine. Staring at the phone, a frisson of fear settled in. It had been days since Thomas called to harass her. Maybe he had gotten the message. It could be Michael.

  Believing herself a fool, she walked calmly to the phone and lifted the receiver.

  “Hello.”

  “Ruby, dear.” Sticky sweet voice.

  “Thomas?”

  “You’re being a very naughty girl.”

  “What do you want?”

  “I want you. I want you home. I want you as my wife!”

  Dumbfounded, Ruby didn’t know what to say. Couldn’t he get it through his thick head? She wanted to scream. Instead, she kept her voice calm and even-keeled.

  “That’s not going to happen, Thomas. I don’t know how else to say it so you understand.” Enunciating every word, she continued. “I—will—not—marry—you.”

  “Oh, but you will. I have all kinds of plans for us.”

  “Thom…”

  Cutting off her response, he went on. “You listen and listen carefully. You are mine and only mine. I spent three months cultivating our relationship. I treated you like a queen, gave you everything you could possibly want or need. You will not renege on your promise.”

  He inhaled and Ruby imagined his eyes closed, breathing through his nose in an attempt to calm himself. A discipline she’d seen him exhibit many times. It allowed him to gain his composure so when he spoke again he regained control.

  “If I can’t have you, nobody will.” His voice conveyed a chilling conviction, sending tremors down her back.

  She swallowed the golf ball size catch lodged in her throat. Was that a threat? Did he realize how that sounded? Her head spun, her heart raced the final lap at the Kentucky Derby.

  “Are you listening to me? Do you understand what I am saying? I don’t want to come chasing after you, but I will if I have to.” Does that mean he wasn’t in Florida? He hadn’t beheaded her flowers? “Ruby…” his voice cut in.

  Her hands shook, but with a firm two-handed grasp on the handset, Ruby managed to put the receiver back in its cradle, terminating his outburst. Did he threaten her? She hugged her arms around herself, holding as tight as a lover, her body shivering with fear.

  Hearing the click of the lock, Ruby remained motionless, a chill of terror ran up her spine.

  * * * *

  Turning the brass knob with confidence, he was about to put into action his plan. By nightfall Ruby would be his.

  “Ruby?” he yelled from the front door.

  When she turned toward his voice, he noticed her pallor. She was white as a sheet. Stopping dead in his tracks, Michael recognized the look of terror. All his plans slipped away, replaced by a tight coil of tension gripping his stomach.

  Ruby launched herself from across the room, flung arms around his neck and legs around his waist. Her body quivered like a tuning fork, her muscles taut.

  “I got you.” He carried her to the sofa and tried to sit her on it, but she had a death grip around his neck. “What’s wrong? You’re shaking like a leaf. What happened?”

  Ruby ignored him.

  “Come on sweetheart, talk to me.”

  With her still clinging to him like a woman hanging on a ledge to keep from falling, he sat down on the sofa. He kissed her forehead, her temples and brushed a loose strand of hair away from her pale face. Michael looked at her. Fear. He saw fear in her gold-flecked hazel eyes.

  Hugging her close to his chest, Michael stroked her back, soothed, reassured her even as dread gripped him with icy fingers. He hadn’t felt like this since…

  “He...he...” Her fragile, shaky voice interrupted his worried thoughts. “He called—again.”

  “Who called?”

  “T...Thomas,” she said in a strained whisper.

  “He’s your fiancé, it’s only natural he would call you while you’re out of town. Right?” The coil in his stomach tightened.

  Ruby shook her head. “No.”

  “What do you mean? Talk to me.”

  “He’s not my fiancé.”

  “Did he just call to break the news to you?”

  “N...N…No.”

  “Then what? I don’t understand.”

  “I called off the engagement before I left New Hampshire.”

  The coil sprung. “Why?” His question, short and to the point, Michael expected an answer.

  Ruby glanced up. He saw panic? She started to pull away from him.

  “Umm. We had a different set of values.” She hem-hawed around a straight answer and it irritated him.

  “Uh-huh.” Crossing his arms over his chest, Michael nodded for her to continue. He wasn’t going to let her off that easy. This was the rest of the conversation she hadn’t been ready to discuss.

  Still frightened, but more irritated and humiliated at having to tell Michael everything, she extracted herself from his lap and paced away. Biting down hard on her lower lip, she spoke in a weak, tremulous undertone. “I...caught him...in bed...with...with...another woman.”

  “The bastard! I’ll kill him!”

  His anger caught her off guard. Ruby turned back to see Michael’s jaw clenched, hands at his sides rolled into fists. She understood he would and could kill him, if he was so inclined. Even though he never met her fiancé, Michael didn’t care for him.

  “He didn’t deserve you.”

  She noted his set face and clamped mouth, watched the muscle of his jaw flick in anger.

  “No, he didn’t.” Remembering the lasagna, she smiled. “That’s why I ended it.”

  “What did you do?” Michael eyed her as a grin contradicted the conversation.

  “I kneed him in the groin, threw his ring at him, and dumped my homemade lasagna over his head.”

  Michael jumped up, his arms closed around her waist, and he laughed at her triumph. “Mmmm. I love your lasagna. You did well, but you should have let dad or me kick his ass.”

  His laugh contagious, the moment became light and Ruby giggled.

  “I handled it.”

  Michael kissed the tip of her nose. “You sure did.”

  She shrugged. “He did me a favor. At least it happened before we got married, saved me the trouble of getting a divorce.” She lapsed into thought before continuing. “I think I knew all along we were wrong. Thomas just gave me the impetus to call things off.”

  “Why did he call? And you said, again. How many times has he called?”

  Aware of his scrutiny, Ruby froze in his icy stare.

  “Twice.” She would have stopped there, but looking into his eyes it wasn’t hard to see she had to continue. If she lied or omitted anything her favorite spy would know it. “Plus several emails and instant messages.” She tried to whisper it, hoping he wouldn’t hear. But he did.

  “You didn’t see fit to tell me he harassed you?”

  She waved her hands in a dismissive gesture. “There you go again, acting all male and protective. I didn’t want to make a big deal of it, but when he called today...” she drew a deep breath, “I...I was frightened.”

  “Is that why you were crying? What did he say?” Not put off by her statement, Michael continued to grill her. “I want the exact words.” His human intelligence interviewing skills were showing.

  “I wasn’t crying,” she fibbed. She hated to cry, hated it more for anyone to see her cry. It made her feel weak and vulnerable.

  “In the first phone call Thomas said our relationship wasn’t over until he said it was over. Then today he said if he couldn’t have me no one would. That alarmed me,” she shrugged, “a little.” Okay, that was a big lie. It scared the crap out of her.

  “Shit! Alarmed you? Who are you fooling? It scared the pants off you. Did the emails and instant messages consist of threats as well?”

  “No. More like pleading and apologies. Then they got stronger, but I ignored them. Then the phone calls started. The thing is, I didn’t even tell him where I was going, so I have no clue how he located me.”

&nb
sp; “Anything else you’re not telling me?” The bite of his words stung. Should she tell him what led up to her being in Florida, he would blow it all out of proportion, but she decided it was better to divulge it all. Gnawing her lower lip between her teeth, she relayed the rest of the events.

  “There were several flowers and letters. The first note said ‘You belong to me’, delivered with dozens of lavender and fuchsia roses. The second one read ‘Always and Forever’, left on my bed along with a single pink rose and a silk teddy. That…”

  Michael swore under his breath. The savageness was startling.

  “He was in your house? Did you call the cops? Did you change your locks?”

  Hands fisted, she stomped her right foot. “Don’t jump all over me. Do you want me to finish this story or not? Or are you going to keep interrupting me?”

  His brows drawn together, nostrils flaring, he stared at her, then nodded.

  “The day after he entered my house uninvited the locksmith was there when the third incident occurred. A little boy delivered a single flower and a long letter. The gist of it was that we belonged together and he would not let us be apart.”

  “So you high-tailed it to Florida because he stalked you.” Michael turned and paced away stopping in front of the phone. He lifted the receiver from the cradle when he said, “I’ll call a friend and get him to go away.”

  Ruby wasn’t sure if he meant legally or illegally. Either way, she didn’t need or want his interference. This was her situation. She would handle it. She lurched toward him, put a hand on his arm to stop him. “No.”

  He glanced down at her fingers, then up at her face before he responded. “What?” Incredulity tinged his voice as he slammed the phone down, making her jump and pull back.

  Wringing her hands together, she stammered, “No...I said...no.”

  He stalked around the room, a caged animal ready to pounce.

  “Why the hell not?”

  “Maybe I’m overreacting. I don’t want to cause problems for Thomas if it’s not necessary.”

  “Are you crazy?” He eyed her with suspicion. “No, you’re not. You’re damn stubborn. And stupid. If I thought you were over-dramatizing I’d tell you. This guy could be dangerous.”