Silk

by Heidi McLaughlin

  By the time I took a shower and got dressed, I was all ready to go when Mason showed up at my door. As he clipped on the recording wire to my bra he glared seriously at me. “Whatever you do, be nice and calm about everything. If he wants to apologize to you, accept it and smile. We don’t want him thinking that you’re going to fight against him at every turn. This is your chance to get you in the clear for the time being until we get back from California and find Claire.”

  I nodded. “I can do it, Mason. I didn’t join the drama club in school for nothing. I’m sure I can throw in some believable smiles and blow smoke up his ass. I did it earlier when I was on the phone with him.”

  Mason shook his head and smiled. “Yeah, I remember you in drama club, Lady Capulet. You were also a sword fighter, too, weren’t you?”

  I laughed. “Yeah, because we needed more people. I had to change my costumes like twenty times.”

  “Oh wait,” Mason blurted out, snapping his fingers. “I forgot something.” In his pocket, he pulled out a beautiful crystal encrusted watch with a pearl facing. It was beautiful.

  “What is that?” I asked, taking the watch and gazing at it.

  “It’s for you. It was one of Mom’s, and I know she would’ve wanted you to have it.”

  Squealing, I jumped up into Mason’s arms and hugged him tight around his neck. “Oh, Mason, its lovely. Thank you so much.”

  He rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly and grinned. “You’re welcome, but it also serves another purpose as well.”

  I furrowed my brows, confused. What other purpose does a watch give you other than telling time? “Okay?” I drawled out. “What other purpose is there?”

  Mason sighed while clasping the watch around my wrist. “Don’t get mad at me, but I had a tracking device put in the watch. I know you say Daniel wouldn’t hurt you, but I’ve seen how criminals go off the deep end when they’re caught. A lot of them kill other people or even themselves when they have no other out. I just want to make sure I can find you if something goes wrong. You are the only family I have, Melissa.”

  My vision went blurry. “Thank you,” I whispered, embracing him one more time.

  Glancing at my new watch, I had twenty minutes before Daniel was supposed to pick me up. Mason had decided to stay the night at my house so he could be the perfect decoy to ward off Daniel if he wanted to try something after dinner.

  “Even though you brought me a present it doesn’t mean you can mess up my house while I’m gone,” I warned, being perfectly serious. “I know how messy you can be and I refuse to have to clean up after you.”

  Mason groaned and flopped down on my couch. “Yeah, yeah, you need to worry about yourself right now. Go meet dickhead and then get back so I don’t have to worry about you anymore. And your house will be fine. I won’t mess it up … much.”

  I rolled my eyes at him, but then headlights beaming in through the glass in the front door caught my attention. “He’s here, Mase. I’ll see you in a couple of hours. I’ll text if anything happens.”

  Turning on the television, he leaned his head back and winked at me. “Just be careful and don’t do anything stupid with him. You got it? Brett already warned me that if you let Daniel touch you he was going to kick my ass. Even though I know I could take him.”

  Shaking my head, I laughed as I made my way through the door. Mason wasn’t just a cousin to me, he was more like a big brother and best friend. I tried setting him up with some of my girlfriends, but he never seemed to get into them. He said they were too fake. One of these days he would find someone and I prayed that it was soon. He had the same look in his eyes that I had when Daniel and I divorced … loneliness.

  ***

  As I walked out the front door, Daniel was already striding up to me. “Oh, wow, you look amazing tonight.” He beamed and leaned down to kiss me on the cheek. Since the weather started getting chillier, I had opted for a light cream colored sweater and brown slacks. I kept my hair simple, just letting it fall in waves down my back. I didn’t want to wear anything too revealing around him.

  I gave a small smile and nodded. “Thank you. You look amazing as well.” Daniel always had a sense of style and was always impeccably dressed. Even I couldn’t deny that he looked smashing in his fitted black sweater and dark denim jeans. He also wore the silver watch I got him on our first Christmas together.

  He opened my car door and shut it once I got inside. He chose to drive his own Lexus LFA tonight except his was black whereas mine was red. He had bought them together so we would have matching cars. Now that I thought about it … I really needed to sell mine.

  When we headed on our way, Daniel glanced over at me and smiled. “So was that Mason’s car sitting in your driveway?” he asked curiously.

  Sitting back in the seat, I chuckled and put my purse in the floorboard. “Yeah, it’s him. The well in his neighborhood had some issues so the houses on his street had to have their water shut off for the day. I told him he could stay at the house until it got fixed.”

  “Ah, I see,” Daniel muttered, sounding disappointed. “Hopefully, it’ll get fixed soon.”

  I guess I knew where his thoughts were for the rest of the evening. When I reached to adjust the thermostat in the car for a little heat, Daniel snagged my hand before I could place it in my lap. I swallowed hard when he slowly brought my hand up to his lips and kissed my knuckles. It was the same hand that still hurt from hitting him the other day, except his kiss didn’t make it feel better … it made the pain worse.

  ***

  The hostess from that dreaded dinner a few weeks ago was the same one at Marion’s tonight. When I walked in she immediately scowled at me, but then smiled at Daniel.

  “Mr. O’Briene, it’s good to see you. Do you want the usual table for tonight?” the hostess asked sweetly.

  “That would be great, Savannah. Thank you,” Daniel replied, wrapping his arm around my waist. Inwardly I groaned and wanted to move away from him, but I gritted my teeth and went with it.

  When we got to the table, he pulled out my seat and waited for me to sit before he took his to the right of me. The waiter who I recognized from the many times I’d come before with Daniel brought me a glass of my favorite white wine as soon as I sat down. He was very tall with blond hair and glasses, giving him a very sophisticated look. He also had a very sweet smile that instantly made me like him.

  Glancing up at his tall frame from my seated position, I smiled warmly at him. “Thank you, Eric. I see you remembered,” I said sweetly, picking up the glass of wine.

  He blushed and nodded gracefully. “Of course. How could I forget?”

  He set down Daniel’s gin and tonic and scurried off to give us our time. Daniel grinned at me, amused. “You sure get everyone wrapped around that finger of yours don’t you?”

  My smile grew wider. “I try, although, it doesn’t work on everyone as you can see.”

  His brown gaze bore into mine and his smile faded. “It worked on me,” he admitted.

  I scoffed and almost choked on my wine. “Are you kidding? You wouldn’t have cheated on me if it worked on you. You changed so quick and fast back then, Daniel. I didn’t even know who you were anymore.”

  He nodded hastily. “I know, and I made horrible mistakes. That’s why I want to make things right with you if you’ll let me.”

  The way Daniel looked at me made me uncomfortable. It was as if nothing had changed and I was still the only person in his life that he cared for. We had some good times together, but those times were long gone and never coming back. It felt wrong pretending with him when my heart belonged to Brett.

  In all seriousness, I said, “I don’t know, Daniel. I think I might swear off men and turn into a lesbian.”

  Daniel almost choked on his drink and bellowed, “Oh wow, now that would be a sight. Can I come and watch?”

  Rolling my eyes, I let a smile flitter across my face. “No, you can’t. I don’t think you deserve it after all the shit y
ou put me through here recently. Especially with threatening to spread lies about me and a student to the school board.” I raised my brows and gazed at him incredulously. “That wasn’t very nice, Daniel. Your lies could’ve gotten me thrown in jail and ruined my whole life.”

  Daniel pursed his lips and hung his head. “Look, Melissa, I’m sorry about that. I should’ve never threatened you. It was a stupid mistake and I was desperate. I know how you are and I know that I hurt you, so getting me back by screwing over my building project was something I was afraid of. I couldn’t take that chance. Not when I have so much riding on this deal.”

  “Daniel, I have no business trying to screw over your business deals. Brett wanted your account so bad that I was willing to keep my mouth shut for the sake of him to help out his career. All I was curious about was how you got the land in the first place. I remember Claire telling me about all the things she was going to do with it when she took over the vineyards. I just couldn’t see her giving it all up to you.”

  He shrugged. “She didn’t really have much choice.” It was a vague answer and I could see that he wasn’t going to elaborate. At least I got him to confess to wanting to threaten me. That helped me out a little, but now I wanted to know about his plans.

  “So what are you wanting to do as far as building?” I asked. “You don’t plan on bulldozing over the vineyards, do you?”

  Daniel bit his lip and looked away. “Not all of it, but some.”

  I gasped, appalled that he would level off a portion of the vineyards just to have some real estate. “What does your sister have to say about it?”

  Carelessly, he shrugged and waved his hands dismissively. “Oh, she’s fine with it. I think she left to go to London about a week ago. I haven’t spoken to her since our mother’s funeral.” So that’s why she isn’t answering my calls. I highly doubted that she was fine with his plans.

  “Do you think you’ll get back together with Brett?” Daniel asked curiously, taking a sip of his drink. “He told me you admitted to still having feelings for your ex-husband. Imagine my shock when I heard that.”

  Averting my gaze, I focused on something other than his eyes when I spoke, “I loved you, Daniel. I wouldn’t have married you if I didn’t. And yes, I told Brett that I was confused when it came to you, even though you piss me off to no end. But I guess it wasn’t meant to be with him.”

  He reached over to hold my hand and a wolfish grin spread across his face. “Well, I hate to say it, but I’m glad it wasn’t meant to be. Because now he’ll be out of my way.”

  “Out of your way for what?”

  Daniel licked his lips and stared at mine. “I’m talking about me and you, Melissa. You see … I didn’t realize what I had when we were married. Work got in the way, and I lost track of what was important to me. Seeing you with Brett lit my blood on fire. I hated seeing you with him and it killed me to know he fucked you before I got there the other day at his office.”

  He moved closer to me. “It should’ve been me you were wrapped around, not him. You gave in to me before and I know you can do it again. Please give me another chance, baby. Once this deal gets finished we’ll have so much money we can live off of it for the rest of our lives.”

  I gasped. “That much, huh?”

  “You have no idea. Please say you’ll come back to me.” His lips were just a breath away, and before he closed them over mine he whispered, “I still love you, Melissa.”

  Shocked and frozen in place, I sat there completely and utterly still while Daniel pressed his lips to mine. Swiftly, I pulled away and turned my head. “Give me some time, okay?” I muttered softly. “I can’t jump into this with you so soon.” I wasn’t going to jump into it at all.

  A gleam twinkled in his eye when he spoke, “I understand, but just so you know I’m not going to stop trying, Mel. You know I always go after the things I want.”

  Turning away, I took my glass of wine and downed it in one gulp. Yes, I knew how he went after the things he wanted. He pursued me with a vengeance in college and that’s how I became wrapped around his finger when he reeled me in.

  It definitely wasn’t going to work this time.

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  Mason was sitting on the couch in the same place I left him when I arrived home from dinner. He immediately sat up straight when I walked through the door and searched me over to make sure I was okay. “How did dinner with douche bag go?”

  I threw my purse on the counter and collapsed onto the couch beside him. “As good as can be expected, I guess. I think he was bummed when he saw your car still here. The good thing is that I have him on tape admitting to threatening me. Not much else though.”

  “Hey, it’s a start. All right, well since you’re home and safe I’m gonna hit the sack,” he muttered, yawning.

  “Thank you for staying, Mase.”

  “Anytime.”

  Scrambling off the couch, he walked down the hall to one of the guest bedrooms and I heard the door shut behind him. I turned off the living room lights and made sure the front and back doors were locked before climbing the stairs to my bedroom. I stripped out of my clothes and prepared for bed, making sure to take extra time on brushing my teeth.

  I was hesitant in calling Brett, but I had to hear his voice. Once I dialed his number, he answered immediately. “Do you have any idea how hard it was not to text you tonight?” he said in greeting.

  Lying down on the bed, I cuddled with the pillow that still smelled like him and breathed it in. “I can only imagine,” I began. “I would be furious if I knew you were having dinner with an ex.”

  “So how did it go? Did you get any information out of him?”

  I scoffed, “Not really other than him admitting to threatening me. I’m afraid our answers will be in California. So what did you do today?”

  “I drove around a lot actually, especially this afternoon to get my mind off of you and Daniel. I also went to the vineyards and looked around. The area around here is magnificent. If I ever move anywhere it will be here.”

  Closing my eyes, I could just picture what he saw. The open fields with rows and rows of vines as far as you could see and no noise other than the sound of the wind. It was the only thing in Daniel’s life that I missed more than anything.

  “I understand perfectly because I feel the same way. I can’t wait to get out there again,” I murmured. Climbing under the covers, I burrowed into the warmth of the bed and couldn’t stop from yawning.

  Brett heard me and chuckled. “Why don’t you go to sleep, baby. I’ll see you tomorrow and we’ll talk more then.”

  “Okay,” I whispered, close to passing out. “I love you.”

  “I love you, too.”

  Once I closed the phone and turned off the lamp, I was out. I dreamt of those wonderful times out in California and of the peace it brought me when I was there, only this time it wasn’t Daniel I was with … it was Brett.

  ***

  Mason and I were up bright and early the next morning to head to Charlotte Douglas International airport for our seven-thirty a.m. flight. Brett was going to meet us at the Schulz airport out in California to pick us up and take us to the hotel where I’d be sharing a room with him while Mason took one to himself.

  I couldn’t wait to see him.

  The second our flight landed I called Brett and told him what gate we’d be at. We had a layover in Texas, so that took up a couple of hours of our time, but with the time difference from the West Coast and East Coast it wasn’t late at all even though it felt like dinner time to me, especially with my stomach growling.

  The moment I stepped into view from the gate and saw Brett, I ran over to him and jumped into his arms, pressing my lips to his.

  Brett sighed and held me close. “Damn, I’m so glad you’re finally here. I talked to Daniel already this morning. He wanted to see if I’d been able to make any progress yet, and after that all he did was talk about this wonderful date he went on last night. I wanted
to jump through the phone and wring his neck to make him shut the fuck up.”

  I groaned and laid my head on his chest. “I’m sorry, Brett. Trust me, he must’ve been on a date with someone else because ours wasn’t that wonderful. All I know is that he loves to play with fire. Now that he supposedly doesn’t have to worry about me screwing up his plans he feels like he can pursue me, thinking it won’t interfere with the project now that we aren’t together. Hell … I’ve given up trying to figure out how his mind works. He’s always been very manipulative.”

  Brett took my hand and nodded to Mason as he came up behind me with our luggage. “All right, let’s get out of here and get something to eat,” he offered, looking down at me, smiling. “I know that you have to be starving.”

  I chuckled. “You can read me like a book.”

  He leaned down and whispered in my ear, “Yes, I can. And I also know that you’re going to love what I do to you tonight when I have those legs wrapped around me for hours.”

  I shivered as his breath grazed my cheek and sent sparks through every nerve ending in my body. At that moment, food was definitely the last thing on my mind.

  “Then let’s hurry and eat,” I whispered. “Because I’m ready to hold on tight.”

  ***

  By the time we ate and got back to the hotel, we separated ways with Mason and locked ourselves into our own room. Placing my luggage on the bedroom floor, Brett turned to me and said, “I drove by the main house on the vineyard yesterday and it looked like no one was there.”

  “Yeah, I know,” I replied, rubbing my sore neck. I guess the plane ride didn’t agree with me too well. “Daniel said she left for London about a week ago. I’m assuming that’s why she hasn’t answered my calls. Hopefully, she’ll be back while we’re here.”

  Brett walked into the bathroom and I could hear him starting up the bath water. Hmm … what does he have in mind? I wondered. “What does Mason plan on doing while we’re here?” Brett called out.