by K. M. Scott
He didn’t seem to know what to do, so he just stared down at me until he signed, How was the g-r-o-u-n-d-b-r-e-a-k-i-n-g?
All of a sudden, the real fear that I was standing in front of someone spying for Karl exploded into my brain. That would explain how he’d known I’d be at the groundbreaking that morning. I hadn’t attended any Stone Foundation functions in months. Why would he think I’d be at the one today?
“How did you know where I was?” I asked, forgetting to sign until I saw the confused look on his face. I asked him again through sign language and watched as he signed, One of your bodyguards told me.
There was something wrong now that I stood there with Ethan. Daryl might believe he was okay, but I didn’t. Signing, I said, Take off your glasses, please. I want to see your eyes. I needed to see exactly who this person was who seemed to know things about me.
He seemed reluctant to do as I ordered, so I told him again what I wanted. Slowly, he slid them off his face and squinted as his eyes adjusted to the sun. I studied them for a long moment, sure I’d seen eyes like his before but unable to remember where. They were a deep blue color, but not dark like Gage’s. If he didn’t have such a scruffy beard, I imagined Ethan would be quite attractive, even though his hair was much longer than I liked.
That didn’t mean I felt any less uncomfortable about him, though. I couldn’t put my finger on it, but there was something about him now that made me question why Daryl had made such a point of my firing Chip in favor of this guy.
All sorts of terrible thoughts swirled in my mind. Was Daryl the one who’d told Karl I’d be at the groundbreaking? Had he been keeping Tristan and me apart all this time? Was Tristan even safe, wherever he was, as Daryl had continually claimed all these months?
Ethan signed something, but I couldn’t understand any of what he said and left to find Daryl to get some answers. I found him waiting for me in the dining room, looking like he always did as I stormed in, ready to demand he tell me exactly what the hell was going on.
“Nina, I heard what happened. You should have let Gage come with you.”
Pointing my finger at him, I barked, “You better start explaining what the fuck is up, Daryl. How would Karl know I’d be there? Something’s pretty fishy about all of this. I want to know where Tristan is right now!”
“You know I can’t do that, Nina. I have no idea how Karl knew, but I’d never put you or Tristan in danger.”
He wasn’t going to tell me anything more than that, so I left to go back to Ethan and see if he was easier to crack than his friend. I found the hedge clippers on the ground next to the shrubs, but he was gone. Looking around, I spied him walking quickly across the lawn toward the property’s edge.
Where the hell was he going?
I took off after him, hampered by three inch heels and the ridiculous suit I still wore. His much longer stride made catching him impossible, but at least I was able to see him. I thanked God we hadn’t seen much rain recently as my heels barely sank into the still solid ground that in late April hadn’t forgotten the cold of winter quite yet.
He walked right off the property through a hole in the fence, and I followed him into a field full of much higher grass and weeds. His pace never slowed down, so by the time I found myself in Millbrook, my stockings were torn and my suit was covered in thorns and pickers.
Why he was going home in the middle of the day I had no idea, but I fully intended on finding out. I watched as he entered an old building, presumably his apartment building, breaking into a full run so I didn’t lose him. Following him up the wood stairs, I saw him enter a door at the end of the hallway and stopped to catch my breath.
When I finally could breathe normally again, I brushed off my clothes and marched myself down to his apartment. I stood at his door, my hand ready to knock, when I realized he wouldn’t be able to hear me. Reaching into my purse, I found one of Tristan’s letters to me and tore off a piece of the envelope. But what was I supposed to write? Hi Ethan, I followed you and would really like you to open the door and I promise I’m not a crazy stalker seemed wrong.
Finally, after lurking in front of his door for almost five minutes, I wrote what I hoped wouldn’t make me seem like a crazy woman. Please open the door. It’s Nina. I need to talk to you, Ethan. Crouching down on the old wood floor in his hallway, I slid the torn piece of envelope under his door and waited, hoping he didn’t call the police.
He didn’t wait long to open the door, and I saw immediately that he looked nervous. Signing, I tried to assure him that I didn’t want to bother him. I just wanted to talk. He let me in and quickly pushed by me to clean up the things on his coffee table and a laptop on his couch. Taking a seat on an old chair, I signed, Please forgive me for following you to your house. I need to ask you a question.
Nodding, he smiled, so I asked, How did Daryl find you to be my gardener?
Ethan finger spelled that Daryl knew he was looking for a job and thought he’d be perfect. That told me nothing, so I asked, But how do you know him?
He gave me a tiny smile and signed, That’s two questions.
In a flash, the memory of when Tristan said that same thing to me that first night on our ride out to the house flooded through my mind and before I could stop myself, I was sitting there in my gardener’s apartment crying like a baby. I couldn’t do this anymore. Being without Tristan was breaking my heart and I was falling apart.
When I finally stopped crying, I tried to explain what the hell was wrong with me, but all I did was ramble on about missing the man I loved, not that it mattered since I was talking and didn’t even bother to try to sign all the messed up shit that was coming out of my mouth.
“I’m sorry. You must think I’m crazy. I’m not. Or maybe I am. I must be since I’m sitting here in your living room bawling my eyes out over something you said that probably shouldn’t mean anything to me, but it does.”
I wiped the tears from my cheeks and continued to explain my bizarre behavior. “You see, my fiancé said something like you just said the first night I met him, and I miss him so much. I don’t know where he is or even if he’s okay. He hasn’t contacted me in months, except for the other day to tell me to do something that broke my heart to do. I’d hoped he’d message me after I did what he wanted, but there was nothing. I just don’t think I can do this anymore.”
The tears began flowing again, and before I knew it, I was sobbing with my head in my hands as poor Ethan stood there probably thinking he should run away or at least call the authorities to have me committed. I couldn’t stop crying once I started this time, even when I thought I heard someone say my name. I was losing my mind, after all.
“Nina, honey, stop crying.”
I had heard someone say my name. Dropping my hands from my face, I looked up to see my gardener standing over me speaking instead of signing. He looked like he always did wearing jeans, a long sleeve T-shirt, and work boots, but his eyes weren’t the blue they’d always been. Now they were that unmistakable color of melted milk chocolate I’d only ever seen in one person.
Tristan.
Staring up at the man who stood in front of me, I sobbed, “Please tell me it’s you. Tell me I’m not losing my mind. I don’t think I can handle it if you’re a dream or some kind of mirage.”
“It’s me, Nina.”
I drank in the vision of the man I adored finally standing in front of me again after so long. “Oh, my God! Tristan, it’s you!”
Hyperventilating, I was unable to control my emotions any longer. His voice washed over me like a refreshing rain, quenching my heart and soul so long mired in drought from his absence. He knelt down in front of me and looked up into my eyes with those beautiful brown eyes I’d missed so much, whispering, “I’m sorry, Nina. I didn’t mean to hurt you.”
“Oh, Tristan, I’ve missed you so much,” I cried as I wrapped my arms around his neck and drew him to me.
“Don’t cry,” he whispered in my ear. “It’s okay. No more b
eing apart. I promise.”
After all those months without him, just the feel of his arms around me, holding me tight, made all sadness fade away and for the first time in so long, I was happy.
Chapter Eleven
Tristan
Nina sat trembling in my arms, quietly sobbing as she clung to me. Every so often, she’d try to pull back away from me to say something, but I didn’t want to let go. It had been so long since I’d held her in my arms that I was afraid if I let her go again, I might never get her back. I’d made that mistake once. I wouldn’t make it again.
Quietly, she whispered against my chest, “Tristan, I came here because I blew it today. Everything we worked all this time for is ruined. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to screw up. I had no idea Karl was standing behind me at the groundbreaking. He heard me say I’d tell you something. He knows you’re not gone for good.”
I lifted her chin and kissed her tenderly on the lips. Pressing my forehead to hers, I tried to reassure her. “It’s okay. We’ll handle Karl. I’m just glad that’s what you meant in your text.”
She leaned back and studied me for a minute. “What did you think I meant?”
It tore me up to admit what had crossed my mind when I read her message. “I thought you meant something happened between you and Varo.”
Nina hung her head for a moment, making me think my paranoid worrying about her with another man hadn’t been so paranoid, after all. Lifting her head to look at me, she cupped my cheeks and smiled. “I would never do that. Not with Varo. Not with Cal. Not with anyone. You’re the only man for me, even if I don’t like this beard one bit.”
“No love for the beard?”
“Yeah, it needs to go,” she said with a chuckle. “You remind me too much of Daryl this way.”
“Then it definitely needs to go.”
Her smile faded, and before I could ask what was wrong, she slapped my face so hard tears came to my eyes. “That’s for leaving me here all alone for months. You asked me to promise I’d never run, and then you did.”
“Jesus, Nina!” After a minute, the shock wore off. “You’re right,” I admitted sheepishly as I rubbed the sting out of my cheek.
Nina narrowed her eyes to slits and pointed her finger at me. “You’re lucky I love you, Tristan Stone. Other women would have taken all that you gave me and when you didn’t come back after a few days would have jumped on the nearest good looking guy around, which incidentally is the man you and Daryl have had me pretending to play house with.”
“Don’t remind me. You should know I never liked the idea anyway.”
“That makes two of us. I’m not sure I can forgive you for making me kiss Gage in front of all those photographers.”
“Gage?” I asked, my jealousy quickly ratcheting up.
“Well, you didn’t expect me to stay on a last name basis with the man I’m supposedly having great sex with and quickly falling madly in love with, did you?”
I sighed, angry with every part of the situation Daryl’s grand plan had created. Not at Nina, though. I was to blame if she had any feelings for the bodyguard. That didn’t make it any easier, though. “So you and Gage are close?”
“We’re as close as you wanted us to be, Tristan.”
“What does that mean?”
A gentle smile spread across her lips, and her eyes grew wide. “I think you’re jealous, Mr. Stone.”
“You’re playing with me, aren’t you? Fine. I have it coming. You know how I get, though. Varo will be lucky to have a job tomorrow if you keep this up.”
Nina sat back in her seat. “So now you’re jealous? Not when you had me kiss him so everyone in the world could see?”
“Are you done yet?” I asked, tempering my anger.
“Will you promise never to leave me again like you did?”
“Absolutely.”
She leaned forward to kiss me sweetly. “Then I’m done.” Nina sat silently for a long moment, staring into my eyes, before she said, “Hmmm. What do you think about me running out for some razors, shaving cream, Tony’s pizza, and the flattest birch beer in the world?”
“I think this is exactly the reason I’m so madly in love with you. Call for the pizza and I’ll wash off the grime from my half-day as a gardener.”
I stood to head into the shower, but she pulled me back down, smiling a wicked grin. “In a minute. First, I think it’s about time my soon-to-be husband gave me a proper hello after months of being away.”
Leaning in, I kissed her for the first time in so long it felt like our first kiss that night after I’d taught her how to tie a Windsor knot. Every inch of my body felt alive like it hadn’t in so long. I’d let myself get used to being alone and forgotten how much I truly needed Nina.
Far too soon, she pulled away and shook her head. “That beard has to go. It’s picky.”
“So much for our reunion,” I joked. “A slap across the face and not even a decent kiss for your long lost man.”
“Back to Plan A. You get in the shower, and I’ll order the pizza. While I’m out, I’ll get some razors and we’ll get that gorgeous face of yours back to how it’s supposed to look.”
“Not without someone going with you, and that someone is me.”
Raising her eyebrows, she gave me a look of disbelief. “Is that really necessary?”
“Karl came close enough to speak to you today, Nina. It’s absolutely necessary.”
“Fine. I’ll tolerate the protective boyfriend thing for now.”
I stood and smiled down at her. “You’ll tolerate it until I become the protective husband. Are we clear?”
Grinning, she asked, “Where did the mild mannered gardener go to? I barely remember this man.”
“Get used to him,” I said as I walked toward the bathroom to clean up before we headed out. “He’s back to claim his life and all that he’s missed, and that includes you, Miss Edwards.”
“Oooh, I do love it when you go all alpha on me,” she said with a chuckle as I closed the door.
After an entire pizza and a two liter of birch beer that was strangely flat even though we weren’t at Tony’s, I sat back on the couch, more satisfied than I ever thought I could be there in my cheap apartment eating fast food. Nina leaned on me, softly humming some song, and I wished we’d never have to leave this spot that had become the most precious place on Earth since she arrived.
“What are you singing?”
Raising her head, she looked up at me. “A song my mother used to sing to me.” She looked away and shook her head. “I think so, at least. Maybe it’s just something I’ve dreamed up because I know so little about her.”
The memories of the hours I’d spent in her father’s storage unit surrounded by the only things left of Diana Edwards’ life flooded back as I watched Nina’s wistful expression. It was time I told her that I’d found some good in that ten by ten room.
Gently, I pushed her up until she sat next to me and I began. “I think I need to tell you some things. We’ve spent enough time with me hiding the past from you. I don’t want to do that anymore.” I saw the concern in her eyes and softly touched her shoulder. “For once, it’s not bad.”
“Oh? Well, I’m all ears then. I just don’t think I could have handled hearing you say you had a wife you hadn’t told me about or something like that,” she said with a forced smile.
“No, it’s nothing like that.” I took a deep breath and continued. “I found your father’s notebook in a safe deposit box, but he has a storage unit right outside Philly that I searched. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you, but I was hoping that I could find out why my father had done what he did and bury that in the past and then someday take you to see the storage unit.”
“A storage facility? I know nothing about this. Did Kim know?”
“I don’t know. Your father stored your mother’s things there after she died and visited it the last time just before his death. I think it might be nice if you took a look at what’s there.”
>
There was pain in her eyes as she smiled at me. “I’ve always wished I could know my mother better. My father never really wanted to talk about her after she died. I don’t blame him. Losing the one you love is like losing a part of yourself. It hurts so much that you just want to curl up into a ball and push the world away.”
I heard in her words that she wasn’t just talking about losing her mother or father. She was talking about losing me all those months. Pulling her toward me, I wrapped my arms around her and whispered what I’d wanted to say since the first day away from her. “I’m sorry I left. I didn’t think there was any other way. I didn’t mean to hurt you, Nina. I thought you’d be safer without me around.”
She sniffled once and then again, signaling she was crying. “I might have been safer, but I needed you and you weren’t there. Then when Jordan left, for the first time in my life, I was alone. Every night I’d scroll through my messages to you, forcing myself to believe that you got every one and wanted to respond, even though you didn’t.”
I tilted her head back, cradling her face in my hands. “I did get every one and every time my phone vibrated, another piece of my heart was cut out knowing that you were unhappy. I know I fucked up, but I promise if you give me the chance, I’ll be the man you deserve. Maybe not right now, but I won’t give up until I’ve become that man.”
Nodding, she smiled. “Okay.”
“But you need to accept that life with me is going to be hard for a while. I stayed away because I’m a target. I don’t know why yet, but Karl is playing some deadly game and I’m the prize. That means you’re in danger too. We may have to leave home and hide out in places that are nothing like the hotels I own until Daryl and I figure out what’s going on.”
“I don’t care how hard life is with you. All I know is it’s impossible without you. You’re the one I want to spend the rest of my life with, Tristan. So what if that means we have some rough times? Every couple faces those.”
