“I’ve been up since about five.” Lindsay deeply appreciated that he’d given her an excuse to stop the speeding train. She tenderly touched the top of his hair. Was she really there with him?
“I guess we should let Tony take his limo. I’ll walk you up to your place.”
“I hope it’s not out of your way,” she teased.
Shane moaned as he moved off her and then chuckled. “Hey, we fogged up the windows.”
She forced a laugh. She’d never caused such a thing, only heard and read about it. The windows reminded her of how much she missed in her former life. For someone like Shane it probably seemed juvenile, but to her it meant a lot.
A groan escaped his throat as he struggled to his side of the car. “Next time we need to take it upstairs.” He smiled and opened the door.
The gust of cold air hit her like a blast of reality. The upstairs comment said everything. Next time there wouldn’t be making out in the car. She was an adult expected to do adult things, and he was talking about one area where she feared she could not transform.
*~*~*
“Hold on.” Shane took Lindsay up the stairs to their apartments and caught her arm. “I forgot something.”
She smiled and licked her lips.
“Well that, too.” Not one to miss an opportunity, he took her roses, put them down and gave her a light kiss as he reached into his pocket and handed her a phone. “This is purely selfish.”
“Why?” She took the phone and held it to her chest.
“That whole incommunicado thing didn’t really work for me.”
“Thank you, Shane.” She kissed him.
In the car she’d taken the lead until he almost lost control. Shane moved closer and deepened the kiss.
She stepped back. “Good night.” She gave him another smile, picked up the flowers and entered her apartment, taking one more look back before closing the door.
A mixture of sleepy and giddy, he waved and waited to make sure she locked the door. He headed to his place, simply needing to take a shower, calm down and think about the evening. Showing her the type of man he could be was more important than ever.
When he walked in Dillon sat there, grinning on the sofa. Between staying with Carson and Ivan and creative timing, Shane had managed to avoid the eldest Elliott. But with Lindsay home, he wanted to be as close to her as possible.
“You’re past curfew.” Dillon lifted a beer bottle in his direction.
He flipped him off on the way to the refrigerator. “You can’t be here.”
“I live here, too.”
“You walked out with barely a forwarding address. You need to get out of here. I’m not a boarding house for wayward imbeciles.”
“If that’s how you treat your brother, I would hate to see how you treat Lindsay after the newness wears off.” Dillon picked up the television remote and flipped the channel.
Refusing to allow his brother to rile him, Shane stuck his head into the refrigerator, but the cool air didn’t help.
“Well, you’re not over there with her, so maybe she’s smarter than any of us thought.” Dillon chuckled. “Maybe she’s the one using you. Wouldn’t that be a laugh riot?”
He slammed the refrigerator shut, rushed at Dillon, grabbed his collar and pulled him to his feet. “Listen here, pretty boy, I’m not letting you screw this up for me. You’ve done enough and I’ve always forgiven it for mom and dad’s sake, but that’s over!”
“Go ahead and have your good girl fantasies.” Dillon pried himself free. “I think she knows what’s up. Whatever I do doesn’t matter. Lindsay knows what you really are.”
“You’re an asshole.” He shoved him and tried to push the image of the letter out of his mind. This was precisely why he couldn’t show it to her. They were too new and too fragile after everything that happened.
“I’m your brother. I’m only trying to help you.”
“Gee, I’d hate to see if you were against me.” He growled and headed for the bedroom.
“I just don’t think you two are a good match, I’m trying to save you both a lot of heartache,” Dillon called after him. “What do you expect to happen?”
“Not your business. What did you expect to happen when you took off?” He turned and pointed at him.
Dillon turned off the television. “What’s that for?”
“A warning. Talk to her, look at her, say something to her and you will be sorry.” He stood there a moment longer then closed the door. There was only room for him and Lindsay in the relationship. Suddenly desperate for a connection to her, he pulled out his cell phone. Ivan had texted earlier about doing brunch tomorrow. With a reason to call, he dialed her new number.
“Hello.”
The sound of her voice instantly calmed him. “Am I your first call?”
She laughed. “Well since you are the only one who has the number, I would say so.”
“Yeah, maybe I should give you that.” He read her the new phone number. “That’s not why I called.”
“Then enlighten me.”
“We’re all going to breakfast tomorrow. Can I take you with me?”
“This is different.”
“What is?”
“Normally you would have just told me we were going to breakfast.”
“Well now we’re going out, so I thought I would be a gentleman and ask you.”
“Oh, well then I accept.”
He sat on his bed and took a breath. “I’ll pick you up at nine.”
“Okay, watch the traffic.”
Now he laughed. “Night, baby.”
“Good night, Shane.”
He tossed his phone on the bed and went to take a shower, not to calm down from Lindsay’s kisses, but to wash away Dillon’s negativity.
Chapter Twenty
“Tell me everything.” Emily gripped Lindsay’s hand.
“Don’t.” Shane pulled her back and put his arm around her.
Lindsay took a breath.
“Jerk.” Emily moved closer to Lindsay and stuck her tongue out at Shane. “You were with her all night. I lost my best friend for days.” She hugged Lindsay’s arm and whispered. “Where did he take you?”
Emily’s words brought a smile to Lindsay’s face. Was she really Emily’s best friend?
Shane leaned over her to address his sister. “What are you doing?”
Emily frowned and waved him away. “I’m trying to find out about your date.”
When the entire table stopped talking and stared at them, Lindsay put her hand over her mouth. Actually, Carson, Emily and Ivan stared at them while Dillon glared at Shane.
“Can I talk to you?” Carson pointed at her.
“Why do you need to talk to Lindsay?” Shane took a sip of his water.
“You have your time, I have mine. I need to talk to her.”
“I do too.” Emily hugged her again.
“You can put me on the list of people who need to talk to Lindsay.” Ivan raised his hand.
“Well, I need her too.” Shane barked.
“Lindsay.” Both Shane and Emily yelled in unison just as the waitress came over.
“I think you need to give us a second.” Shane smiled. “We need to get some things cleared up before we order.”
Until that moment, Lindsay simply tried to keep track of the conversation and assess who needed her first. She turned to Emily.
“Wait.” Shane poked her shoulder.
Emily pursed her lip out.
“I’m with her so I get my answer first.”
Focused on the fact he said she actually was there with him, Lindsay turned to him, wondering what that meant on the Shane Elliott relationship scale. “Yes?”
“Why do Carson, Emily, and Ivan need to talk to you?” He asked in a sing song voice.
“I have no idea.”
Emily hugged her. “You wore the dress, right?”
Lindsay nodded, but Shane answered. “That dress was awesome.”
“I told you.” Emil
y elbowed her. “I knew you’d look beautiful, but it didn’t matter because Shane would love anything you wore.”
Lindsay closed her eyes. She supposed there were no secrets between siblings.
“That was good advice, and true.” Shane rubbed her shoulder. “Emily, you are a true Elliott … unlike some of us.”
“A true Elliott speaks his mind.” Dillon spoke his first words since sitting down.
“A true Elliott wants what’s best for another Elliott.” Shane leaned over the table.
Lindsay felt Shane’s grip tighten on her shoulder and quickly opened her eyes.
“A true Elliott is hungry.” Carson raised his hand.
“A Stevens’, too.” She sensed the exchange had to do with their date. The last time she saw Dillon, she ditched him at the party.
“You’re hungry?” Shane leaned over.
“Starving.” In truth, she felt a little nauseated, but declaring her need for food at least redirected Shane’s attention.
He raised his arm and the waitress returned.
“Hold on.” Emily hit the table almost knocking over a glass. “I want to know where Lindsay went on her date!”
“Please don’t go.” Ivan pleaded to the waitress.
“You already know.” Shane shouted.
“I want her to say it.”
The waitress put her pad back in her apron pocket and crossed her arms. “It’s fine, now I want to know where she went, too.”
The table became deadly silent.
“Shane found me at the airport in Ontario.”
The group collectively sucked in their breath.
“He picked me up in a limo. He brought me flowers, and we went to the private club at the race track.” She took a breath. “We danced and won an exacta bet.”
Though she purposely left out the part about them making out in the limo, it didn’t stop the stomach flutters. The waitress gave her a thumbs up. “I’ll have the pancakes, no butter and bacon, please.”
Emily clapped, Dillon turned pale and Shane softly kissed the side of her head.
“I don’t know how I’ll top myself tonight.” Shane strummed his fingers on the table and ordered pancakes, eggs, bacon, toast and potatoes. “I’m starving, too.”
She tried to peek at him without making it obvious, but Shane caught her.
“Miss Lindsay,” he whispered. “How am I going to top myself tonight?”
She bit her lip when Shane’s breath grazed her ear. “Just be you.”
“What?” Shane put his hand on her chin and turned her.
“Just be you,” she repeated.
“Is that what you want?”
“Absolutely.”
Then for the first time, Shane purposely kissed her in front of them all and Lindsay forgot where she was until Carson cleared his throat.
“We’re busy.” Shane looked into her eyes.
She licked her lips feeling her face turn every shade of red, and enjoying every second of it.
“You can do that all night. I need to ask your chick something.” Carson grunted.
She’d just been called Shane’s chick. The term chick had started to grow on her. She liked it.
“They kiss cute, don’t they?” Emily directed her question at Ivan then jumped up, pointing to Shane. “Oh God, look at his hickey.”
Ivan stood to study it. “Nice work, Lindsay.”
“Hello,” Carson yelled.
“Yes.” Her voice came out scratchy and she couldn’t stop staring at Shane.
Carson banged his knife on the table, breaking the spell.
“As my brother’s business manager, you get his apprentice too.” He leaned up and took something from his back pocket and tossed it to her.
“What’s this?” She eyed the filthy envelope. It appeared as if it had been through quite an adventure.
“I’ve been carrying it around for a while.”
“I see.” Before flipping it over she picked up her napkin to shield her fingers from the grime.
“That’s from the IRS.” Shane tilted his head. “Why are you getting letters from the IRS?”
“I don’t know.” Carson shrugged. “I thought Lindsay could tell me. She’s good at that.”
The envelopes this group presented her with were like cats bringing dead mice home to their masters. First, Shane then Ivan and now Carson. Out of instinct she turned to Emily.
“Oh yeah, Carson and I made a pact we would tell you today.” Emily took three envelopes out of her bag.
“Emily Elliott!” Shane bellowed.
“I got this yesterday.” Ivan slid another envelope toward her and checked his watch. “Also, Tim from Tiger Tattoo is coming over for an initial consultation, I quoted a price for you since you were gone, but Shane and I will review your fee schedule later.”
“I need to do some work on Hugh and Stubbs, too.” Lindsay gripped the edge of the table. She now had five accounts and a consultation. Oh yeah, and a full time job … and Shane.
Ivan gulped down his water. “While you two were out yesterday, I took the liberty of setting up one of the private rooms as our new accounting office.”
“Good thinking.” Shane tapped his glass against Ivan’s.
“Hold on.” Everything was moving too fast. Lindsay laid out all the envelopes in a row in front of her.
“I think she’s losing it,” Carson whispered.
Shane dug through her purse, found a pencil and held it out to her. “I’m going to say she’s in deep concentration.”
“You can almost see her mind working.” Emily put her arm around her.
Lindsay ignored them, took the pencil and crunched down then she tossed it aside when it provided no relief. She cleared her throat. “For someone who knows everyone, how come you never had a good accountant?” Shane had a contact for everything from concert tickets to toilet paper .
“She has a point, man. If we had a good numbers person to start with, we wouldn’t be in this mess now.” Ivan glared at Shane.
“It was a hole in my system, but look, you ask for steak and with Lindsay, I gave you filet mignon.” He gave her a huge grin.
She pursed her lips and looked up to the ceiling and the four of them followed suit.
“We trust you,” Carson said quietly.
“All right.” She took a breath. Apparently she was the general in the war against substandard accounting. After everything each of them had done for her, she had to help. “Here are the rules.”
Carson rubbed his hands together. “Rules imply she will fix it.”
“Try to fix it,” she corrected. “Number one.” She held up a finger. “If a customer gives you cash, you don’t put it in your pocket and let it get mixed up with your personal money.”
“If a customer gives us cash isn’t that considered our personal money?” Carson asked.
She narrowed her eyes at him.
“I think I need to write this down.” Carson held out his hand to his sister. Emily dug through purse and handed him her eyeliner.
“I want a writing implement, not makeup.”
“I only have makeup.”
Lindsay dramatically thrust her pencil at Carson.
Before writing he raised his hand. “Where do I put the money?”
Ivan followed suit. “I have that same question.”
“Can I put it in my purse if I don’t have pockets?” Emily asked.
“I just give it to Lindsay.” Shane said. “Give her the money, she launders it.” Everyone smiled. Her jaw tightened and he corrected himself. “Not launders. She knows what to do with it.”
“What if she’s not there?” Ivan asked.
Before she could answer, Shane fielded the question. “I use my right pocket for me and my left pocket for Lindsay.”
“How do you remember that?” Carson furrowed his brow.
“L is left and Lindsay.”
The system actually impressed her.
“I get it.” Carson laughed. �
�Right Carson, left Lindsay.”
Her three students wrote on their respective napkins.
“You guys are all idiots, you know that, right.” Dillon spoke up.
Not wanting to get involved with Dillon she took a butter knife and opened the envelopes.
Shane leaned back and eyed Dillon. “If you worked with us, you might have enough money to need a business manager too.”
“We’ll see how much you have left after the audit.” Dillon snarled.
The best course of action was to retreat and read the letters.
“By the time my business manager’s done with this audit, the IRS will be writing me a check.” Shane brushed Dillon’s words away with a wave of his hand.
Though Lindsay didn’t shake her head in front of everyone else, she’d bet her investment savings that the audit would result in no refund what so ever. She prayed Shane didn’t honestly believe he’d get a refund. At least they were only going back a year.
“I think the hair dye is getting to your brain cells and deluding you on a number of levels.” Dillon shot back.
Angry, Lindsay crumpled one of the letters in her fist.
“Shut your mouth. If you don’t like the scenery I suggest you go elsewhere.” Shane shouted at Dillon. “Why are you here anyway?”
“I wanted to talk to my sister.” Dillon turned toward Emily.
She shuffled closer to Lindsay. “I’m busy.”
“What’s on your calendar?”
“Not being with you.” Emily reached into her purse. “Just so you know, I’m not the only female who can’t stand the sight of you.”
“I have no gripe with Lindsay. In fact I’m trying to look out for her.”
Shane tensed.
“Lindsay doesn’t need you when she has Shane, and she’s not the woman I was talking about.” Emily stood. “I’m talking about your girlfriend. The one who kicked you out.”
“You know nothing.” Dillon stood. “I left.”
“Right.” Emily gave him an exaggerated nod. “That’s why you just showed up.”
Dillon never revealed why he left New York, but a lot of pieces began to fall into place.
“I live here.”
“Which is why you packed up without a goodbye and left. You were supposed to … it doesn’t matter.” Emily’s voice broke.
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