What to Read After FSOG: The Gemstone Collection (WTRAFSOG)

by CJ Roberts

  “Chérie, I’m so sorry.” Nic raised her chin with gentle fingers. When their gazes met, she saw the sheen in his eyes. “I shouldn’t have brought it up. We don’t have to talk about this now.” When he wiped her cheeks with his thumbs, she leaned into his touch.

  She smiled weakly, chest compressed, emotions raw. “No. You were right. I need to talk about it.”

  He wrapped a stray curl around her ear. Taking his hand in hers, she pressed it tightly against her chest. “I cried nonstop until one day, I had no tears left. All that remained was sadness. Sadness for myself and Jason. Sadness for Todd’s parents. Sadness for the future Todd and I would never have together. I was sinking in quicksand, and the more I fought, the deeper I sank. I still shake just thinking about it.”

  She let go of his hand and held hers out to show him the tremors. After a moment, he cupped her hands in his, and brought her fingers to his lips. She gave him a shaky smile. “Only Jason kept me from plunging into depression. I had to pull myself together for him; I was the only parent he had left.”

  Nic looked away and stared at the wall. “My father suffered from depression. Unlike you though, he couldn’t pull himself out.”

  “It’s the anger that did it.” She dried the last of the wetness from her cheeks. “I began asking myself questions. What had Todd done to deserve dying alone? What had I done to deserve being widowed so young? What had Jason done to deserve being left fatherless? Why would God hurt us this way?”

  “None of you deserved it.” Pain and understanding shimmered in his eyes. Something had happened to him too.

  “I know that now, but at the time, I was so pissed.” She jumped off the bed and began to pace. “And do you know what the worst part is?” she asked, shooting him a glance. “Todd wasn’t even supposed to be in Afghanistan. Without even discussing it with me, he re-upped. He was such an adrenaline junkie that he chose the military over us. I bet Jason and I never even crossed his mind when he was signing those papers.”

  Nic’s eyes widened. “Do you really think that?”

  Her shoulders slumped. “I did. I even started thinking that I could have kept Todd home if I’d been a better wife, been more exciting, more adventurous—more like him.”

  “Chérie.” He shook his head. “You’re perfect the way you are. If you were my wife, you’d always come first.”

  She stopped in front of him. “That’s the sweetest thing anyone’s ever said to me.” He pulled her onto his lap and held her as if he’d never let her go. Nic would love the way he did everything—intensely.

  After a few moments, he raised his head from her shoulder and frowned. “If you feel this way, why wear his dog tags?”

  “Because I am—was—ashamed.”

  “Of what?”

  “I was so angry and hurt that I started to hate Todd, to hate the man I’d loved for so long. It took some time for the wrongness of that to finally sink in. But when it did, I hated myself for feeling that way. I vowed to wear Todd’s dog tags as a sign of my devotion to him, of our love for each other.”

  Nic rubbed lazy circles on her back. “Wherever he is, Todd knows you loved him.”

  Lowering her gaze, she once again reached down to take the dog tags in her hand. “The first couple of years were hard. I had no husband, no job, and no way to support myself and my three-year-old son, except for a small military widow’s pension that didn’t even cover the rent.”

  “What about your photography? Didn’t you tell me you went to some fancy college in Seattle?”

  “The Art Institute of Seattle.” She smiled, pleased he remembered. “I did study photography there, but I’d never worked as a photographer, never worked at all, actually. Since Todd was away so much, we’d decided I’d stay home with Jason.”

  “So what did you do?”

  “I got a job at a local department store taking photographs. The pay isn’t great, but the hours are flexible.”

  Nic tugged one of her curls. “You’re one of the bravest women I know. You took a terrible situation and made a life for yourself and Jason. It takes guts to do that, real guts.”

  “I was pretty gutless on the social side though. My friends, Julie and Sandra, kept asking me to go out with them, to meet new people, but I wasn’t ready.” Looking at Nic, she grinned. “One day, I saw you in a movie and realized that I wasn’t dead, that I could still feel, that I could be happy again.”

  “You got all that from watching one of my movies?” he asked, arching a brow.

  She burst out laughing. “When you walked on screen, all big muscles, killer abs, and to-die-for smile, I thought I could kiss this man, I could—” She cut herself off and grinned. “You get the picture. I went on a few dates, but they didn’t work out. I wasn’t ready to move on to other men. So I focused on Jason and on my photography.”

  “A wise choice.” His words made her smile. A touch of jealousy wasn’t a bad thing.

  She paused, collecting her thoughts. “Looking back on it, I wasn’t ready because I hadn’t completely accepted Todd’s death, and my reaction to it. I loved him, but God knows he wasn’t the perfect man I’d made him out to be. I needed to remember who he really was—a young, adventurous, brave, loving husband and father proud to serve his country as a rescue medic.” She offered him a small smile. “You helped me realize that, actually.”

  Nic eyebrows rose in a “who me?” way, making her chuckle. “Yes, you. I spent years comparing every man I met to you, well, at least, what I thought I knew about you.”

  “You compared other men to me?”

  “Is that so hard to believe? You’re a great guy. Todd was a good man, but we were young, and we made stupid mistakes.”

  Nic got a distant look in his eyes that she couldn’t read. “Didn’t we all?” He shrugged and dropped his eyes to the chain around her neck, fingering it. “What about now? Are you ready to move on?”

  She nodded. “I probably should have done this a long time ago, but until now, I didn’t have a compelling reason.” She breathed deeply once, twice, and pulled the chain over her head.

  “Chérie,” he said, his voice thick. “Todd was a lucky man to have you.”

  She pulled him close. “Maybe so. But now, I’m all yours.” Her lips touched his and she kissed him, channeling all the emotions swamping her heart. Desire rose, different this time, stronger, deeper, truer. Nic returned her embrace with a fervor and fierceness she hadn’t felt from him before.

  Nic pulled back and lifted her hand that still held the dog tags. “What do you plan to do with these?”

  She rested her forehead against his and sighed. “I’ll give them to Jason. They’ll mean a lot to him, and I think Todd would be pleased.”

  He rose from the bed and brought her a small box from the dresser. “If you want, we can put them in here for safekeeping.” She held them out, and he slipped them into the box and put it back in the drawer.

  As he came up beside her, she spun him around, tumbling them onto the bed in a heap. She smiled, happy in her favorite place—lying full length on her man. But after the long confession, her emotions were running close to the surface. “Make love to me, Nic. I need you,” she whispered.

  He held her gaze for several long moments, his eyes solemn. As he searched her face, she held her breath, the beating of their hearts the only sound in the room. Finally, a small smile curved his lips. “My pleasure.” Threading his fingers through her hair, he pulled her down for a deep, thrilling kiss that stoked the fire burning inside her.

  Did she love Nic? She drew back far enough to see his eyes. Eyes that said she was beautiful, sexy, and smart. Eyes that swirled with passion and desire. Eyes that devoured her. She’d loved Todd, but in all their years together, he’d never made her feel the way Nic did. The way he always had. It didn’t matter what danger he was in, she couldn’t deny her feelings anymore.

  Nothing—not even her fears—would get between her and the man she loved.

  Nic set a plate of c
repes in front of Lauren and smiled at her surprised expression.

  “You made me breakfast?”

  “It was my turn.” He shrugged. “Dig in.”

  Her cheeks colored slightly and she tugged on her bottom lip with her teeth. He squirmed in his seat and wondered if he’d ever learn not to wear tight jeans around her. “Need something?”

  “I’m not sure how to eat a crepe.”

  “I’ll show you.” He forked one off the stack and dropped it onto his plate. “Do you like things sweet or really sweet?” he asked, wagging his eyebrows.

  “Uh… really sweet.”

  “Great. That’s how I like them too.” He picked up the bowl of brown sugar and spooned some onto his crepe in a line down the center. After handing her the bowl, he waited while she did the same. “Fold it in half along the sugar. Now roll it.”

  Her lips puckered into a pout. “Yours is rolled up all nice and tight. Mine’s a sloppy mess.”

  He laughed. “You’ll get the hang of it. Now for the best part.” He picked up the syrup and poured a generous amount, then handed her the bottle.

  She scooped up a drop that was sliding down the neck of the bottle. As he watched her pink tongue dart out and curl around her finger, licking up the stray drop, Nic’s blood pressure spiked. His eyes glazed over as he recalled the feeling of that same tongue curled around his….

  Lauren’s brows shot up. “This is the good stuff, isn’t it?”

  Nic blinked, then blinked again, trying to clear the image from his mind so he could focus on her question. “Yep, pure maple syrup from Québec,” he said, his voice much raspier than the topic warranted.

  “This is so much better than the grocery store crap I have at home.” Her mention of home dampened his ardor, reminding him her vacation would be over in just a few short days. He had to find a way to keep her in L.A. Maybe he’d be lucky, and she’d get a call about her photos soon.

  “Nic?”

  Shrugging away his thoughts, he focused on Lauren. “Sorry, where were we? Oh right. The moment of truth. Cut a piece from the end, but be careful not to let it unroll or all the sugar will fall out.” He waited for her to follow his instructions so they could have their first bite together. “Now eat.”

  As she chewed, her mouth curved into a slow smile. “These are awesome.”

  Awesomely sweet. He grinned and handed her a glass. “Here have some milk before you go into insulin shock.”

  He turned as he heard steps behind him. Kaden entered the kitchen, rolled up papers in his hand. “What’s that wonderful smell?”

  “Nic made breakfast.”

  Kaden arched a brow but said nothing as he took a seat across the table.

  “What?” Nic asked, his tone defensive even to his own ears. Just because Kaden had never seen him do more than crack a beer and open a pizza box didn’t mean he couldn’t cook. It only meant that he didn’t.

  The asshole didn’t take the bait though. Kaden just laughed and served himself. Nic ignored him and changed the subject. “So, I spoke with Detective Anderson this morning. They don’t have any leads on Summer, but they’ve decided to go through all my old fan mail.”

  Lauren froze, the fork midway to her mouth. “Your fan mail? Why?”

  “I think they’re reaching, trying anything and everything to find clues.” She put down her fork, the bite still on it, and took a sip of milk.

  “Speaking of clues.” Kaden pointed to the papers he’d brought in. “My ex emailed me Summer’s cell phone records.”

  Nic looked up, smiling. This was good news. “Did she figure out where Summer’s phone is?”

  “Yep. But that part’s not so great. Her phone last registered here in L.A. on the day you got out of the hospital, at three ten in the afternoon.”

  “After we got home,” Lauren said. “So, she could have been the one to leave the note on the mirror.”

  “The records also show that Summer made a call Thursday night at ten forty.” A spark of hope ignited in Nic’s chest. It fit with the timeline the police put together from the witness statements. Kaden finished preparing his crepe and took a bite. His eyes opened wide and he pointed to his plate. “This is good.”

  “Thanks. Anyone want coffee?” Nic grabbed three mugs out of the cabinet and the carafe of coffee, then returned to the table. It would take him more than milk to get through this conversation.

  Closing his eyes, he inhaled the rich scent, then took a sip. Delicious. When he opened his eyes, Lauren was staring at him, lips parted, a drop of syrup trickling from the corner of her mouth. Unable to resist, he leaned to the side and licked it with his tongue, continuing until his mouth met hers. The taste of crepes on her lips was intoxicating, and he couldn’t help tugging on her bottom lip with his own teeth this time. She made a small sound of pleasure that had him hard in an instant.

  When he heard a snort, he let go of Lauren’s lip and flicked his eyes in Kaden’s direction. The man was shaking his head and grinning from ear to ear. He gave Lauren another small kiss, then sat back.

  Her cheeks flushed pink and her eyes stayed glued to her plate as she ate her breakfast. She looked so innocent sitting there, flustered from his kiss. There’d been nothing remotely innocent about that babydoll she’d worn last night. He had to stifle a groan. Christ. She’d known exactly what it would do to him. He was worse than a horny teenager. Men his age were supposed to have some self-control. But with her, he didn’t have an ounce.

  “Do you want to call it?” Kaden asked.

  “Call what?” He glanced at Lauren, and she wore the same confused look he was sure was on his own face.

  Kaden, the bastard, laughed again. “The number Summer called from the bar is in the report. Do you want to try it?”

  Nic took a sip of coffee to clear his head. “Yeah.” He pulled his phone out of his pocket.

  Kaden stopped him. “Let’s use mine. The fewer people who have your number, the better.” He took out his phone, flipped through his papers, then punched in a number. “I’ll put it on speaker.”

  Within moments, they heard a recorded message. “The number you dialed is not a working number. Please check the number and dial again.” They sat in disappointed silence, staring at the phone.

  Nic recovered first. “What the fuck does that mean? How can it not be working when we got it from the phone company records?” Seeing Lauren wince, he muttered a quick, “Sorry.”

  Christ, if she knew how much he swore in his head, she’d probably make him wash his brain out with soap. To keep from digging a deeper hole, he grabbed another crepe, dumped brown sugar on it, rolled it, smothered it with maple syrup, and stuffed a huge piece in his mouth.

  Kaden started applauding. “Man, preparing that crepe took you all of twenty seconds. Must be some kind of record.”

  Lauren who’d been drinking her coffee, snorted. Nic paused in his chewing as her eyes grew wide and she ran, arms flailing, to grab some paper towels off the counter. “Oh God!” she said, laughing. “It went up my nose.”

  Nic resumed his chewing and swallowed his mouthful as he got up to check on her. “You okay?”

  “Yeah, I’ll be fine.”

  “That’ll teach you to laugh at your boyfriend,” he teased, joining her at the counter.

  She coughed not so delicately into a wad of paper towels and then looked up at him. “My boyfriend?”

  He practically growled at her. “What else would I be? You’re my girlfriend, so I’m your boyfriend.”

  Light danced in her eyes. “Your girlfriend. My boyfriend. I really like the sound of that.”

  “You seem surprised.”

  “I hadn’t thought of us that way.”

  “Why not?”

  She averted her eyes. “You’re… who you are, and I’m who I am.”

  “Exactly.” He turned her chin so she had to face him. “You’re Lauren James and I’m Nicolas Lamoureux. You’re my girlfriend and I’m your boyfriend.”

  “Well, w
hen you say it like that….” She grinned. “It sounds right.”

  His hands cupped her cheeks. “It is.” He kissed her soft, warm lips.

  “Okay, kids. Now that you both know who you are, can we get back to work?” Laughing, they returned to their seats.

  “So, what do we know about this number? What’s the area code?” Nic asked.

  Kaden picked up the report. “305. It says here, that’s Miami.”

  “Do you think your ex can find out which carrier owns that number?” Lauren asked. “Maybe they can tell us if it was a phone with a regular service contract or if it was one of those prepaid throw away phones. We might even be able to figure out where it was purchased.”

  Nic turned to Kaden and grinned. “You see why I like her?”

  “Absolutely,” he said, helping himself to another crepe. “While we’re on the subject of numbers, did the police trace any of the messages you got from the stalker?”

  Nic shook his head. “Not yet.”

  “Do you still have the second one?”

  “You bet. I’m keeping everything.”

  “Can you forward it to me?”

  “Are you thinking that the messages were sent from the number in the records?”

  “They might be. We need to cover all our bases.”

  Nic picked up his phone and forwarded the message to Kaden without opening it. He didn’t need to. The words would be etched in his brain forever. You’ve been naughty. Lose the bitch.

  “Can you forward it to me too?” Lauren asked. “I’d like to analyze the photo using my editing software. I might see something useful.”

  He didn’t want her seeing it again, but she was right. At this point, they had to follow every lead. “One thing I haven’t figured out is how NicsBitch always knows where I am.”

  Kaden looked up, his mouth full. After chewing vigorously and downing the bite with half a glass of milk, he said, “It’s got to be more than simply a case of being in the right place at the right time.”

  Lauren sat up straight and her eyes widened. “I just thought of something. When Jason started first grade, I got him a GPS-enabled cell phone and put an application on it that lets me know where he is.”