Fighting emotion, she turned to the night and slid down against the brick wall, next to a clay pot of red geraniums. Shed tried to leave as soon as the pizza arrived, but the four of them had literally blocked the door. Then Ethan had found and hidden her car keys. She was staying, they said. Period, end of story. And so she had.
For a couple of hours shed relaxed in Erics recliner, watching the Cubs get trounced by the Astros while listening to the guffaws of male laughter as they puffed their cigars. The smoke had sent nostalgia wafting through her, unearthing a longing so strong shed been forced to come outside and call her son. God, she missed him. Since the day hed been born shed barely been apart from him longer than twenty-four hours. He was her heart and her soul, a gift she thanked God for on a daily basis. When she came home from a grueling day in court, all it took was the sight of Connors crooked smile to send the ugliness slipping to the background.
Mom, whats my dad like?
Hes like you, Con. Smart and loyal, good-hearted, strong, and one heck of a shortstop.
Leighs chest tightened and tears burned the backs of her eyes. She had to tell him. Tell them. She knew that. But dear God she had no idea how theyd react, couldnt stand the thought of the love in Connors eyes and the heat in Erics vanishing forever.
How you holding up?
Leigh looked up to find Jake towering over her. She hadnt even heard the glass door slide open. Fine, she said, starting to stand, but he hunkered down beside her and slid an arm around her shoulders.
Needed some fresh air? he asked.
She glanced at her mobile phone, still clenched in her right hand. Something like that.
A gust of male laughter burst from inside, mixing with the strains of blues from a pub down the street. And again, Leigh smiled. Aside from Eric, shed been closest to Jake. Shed always suspected he realized her feelings for Eric ran deeper than mere friendship, but hed never called her on it.
For a moment she was tempted to lean her head against Jakes shoulder, as shed done so many times in college. Hed been the big brother shed never had, with an easy, undemanding way shed always found incredibly comforting. Amazing that so many years could race by, full of twists and turns, but at the end of the day, friends always found their way back together.
I hope youre not angry with me, Jake said.
She looked up at him, surprised by the concern glowing in his eyes. Angry at you? What on earth for?
He hesitated before answering. Sending Eric to you.
Leigh went very still for just a heartbeat before releasing a slow breath and letting her head loll against Jakes arm. You did the right thing.
He searched her face, as though looking for something other than the words shed given him. Leigh, about your son
Yes, she said, her heart breaking into a staccato rhythm. It had only been a matter of time. Jake knew she had a child, a child shed sworn him to secrecy about. Shed just never told him why. Yes, she said again, and before she could prevent it, her eyes filled.
He didnt hesitate. He pulled her to him, held her to his side. Ah, Leigh, he said in a low, hurting voice. Im sorry.
She angled her face toward his, not caring about the tears that suddenly wanted to spill over her lashes. She was tired of being strong, of keeping everything bottled up inside.
I didnt know how to tell him, she said, not even trying to hide the way her voice broke on the words. I couldnt bring myself to ruin his life.
Jake lifted a hand to wipe the tears from beneath her eyes. You could never ruin Erics life.
Oh, but she could. Soon, she would. Dont tell him, she said. Please. Not yet.
His eyes met hers. Its not my place, he said simply, and his meaning rang clear. It was hers.
When this nightmare is over She paused, wrestled emotion under control. When the charges are dropped and Eric has his future back, then Ill find a way to tell him.
Tell me what?
Leighs heart flat-out stopped. She looked toward the door to see Eric towering over them both, a glass of water in his hand and a question in his unusually hard eyes.
Leigh? he asked, stepping into the darkness. Are you crying?
Shock drilled through her. Words jammed in her throat.
What the hell is going on out here? he demanded.
Its not the end of the world, Jake said, pushing to his feet and offering Leigh a hand. Im sure Tara and I will work things out, he said to her as she stood, a look of pure male frustration twisting his features. Then, with a grin to Eric, he said, Apparently our Leigh is still a sucker for a good romance.
Leigh caught on quickly and playfully punched him in the arm. Call her when you get home tonight, she instructed. Relief washed through her. Tell her youre sorry.
A strange expression wiped the glimmer from Jakes eyes. I wish it was that simple.
What had started out good-humored shifted suddenly, and Leigh sensed something else going on. Something deeper. Something that troubled Jake greatly.
Sometimes an apology is all we have to offer, she said quietly, ignoring the twist in her own heart. We cant change the past, no matter how much we wish we could.
He let out a ragged little breath. Its the future Im worried about.
Her breathing hitched. Some inevitabilities, after all, were etched in stone. Some roads, once started down, could never be turned from. The truth always found a way.
Eric stared for a long, tenuous moment at Leigh, then glanced toward his friend. Things still rough with Tara?
Jake shoved a hand through his hair. She was hoping since Ive been removed from the World Bank investigation that Id go home and we could set a date for the wedding. His mouth twisted. She doesnt understand that I cant just walk away from this, not when so much is hanging on the line.
Then she must not know you as well as we do, Leigh said. With deep certainty, she sensed something very wrong in Jake Ingrams world, but had to wonder just how much of the uncharacteristic tension about him had to do with the woman hed asked to be his wife. If she did, shed know youre not a man to turn your back on your friends.
Jakes expression turned thoughtful, but before he could speak, Matt and Ethan strolled onto the patio.
I told you they were wimping out on us, Matt said, with the same playful smile that had sent coeds swooning in college. Whats the matter, girls? Couldnt take the heat? Afraid Id get the shirts off your backs next?
The question hung in the warm night air, for a moment neither Eric nor Jake saying a word. Then they both broke into laughter.
Looks like Tynans selective memory is flaring up again, Eric commented to Jake.
Either that, Jake answered easily, or he cant hold his liquor the way he used to.
Yeah, yeah, Matt said. Thats why the two of you left the kitchen, because I cant hold my liquor.
Nah, Eric said. We left the kitchen because it was downright embarrassing listening to you two lovebirds moon on about Kelly and Carey. It was starting to feel more like a bridge party than a poker game.
Leigh choked back a laugh. She listened to the banter among the gu
ys, the easy camaraderie that had not skipped a beat since college, and felt warmth spread through her. Theyd gone their separate ways, but the friendship among the four ran as deep as ever. They were laughing now, Matt and Ethan catching heat for being complete saps when it came to the women in their lives.
The longing swirled in from nowhere, tightening her throat and robbing her of breath, but Leigh refused to let it settle anywhere near her heart. Tonight was Erics night, and this rich masculine laughter, the warm glow to his blue, blue eyes, was why shed arranged the last-minute poker game. Matt and Jake and Ethan could give him something she couldnt, and when the smoke cleared and Eric no longer stood accused of the crime of the century, the guys would still be here for him, friends whod always stood by him, never lied, never kept secrets.
Next time, Ethan vowed. Next time youre going down.
Standing in his open doorway, Eric laughed. Ethan Williams had been vowing to beat him at poker for over ten years. It hadnt happened yet. Keep dreaming, 007.
Leighs out like a light, Matt said, joining them. Ethans flight plan called for a seven-thirty departure, less than five hours away. I didnt have the heart to wake her. Give her a kiss for me, will you?
Eric glanced toward the patio, where Leigh had stayed after the guys went back inside for another round of cards. The last hed seen her, shed been stretched out on a chaise lounge, staring into the night.
They needed to talk. Hed heard enough of her conversation with Jake to know she didnt fully trust him, that she could confide in Jake in ways she could no longer confide in Eric. And that truth scraped.
Shed been crying, damn it. Crying. Because of him.
That truth scraped even worse.
I wish Id never dragged her into this mess, he said, frowning. Shes taking risks she has no business taking.
And that surprises you? Ethan asked. Runway was never short on guts.
Runway. Eric hadnt heard Leigh referred to as Runway in ten long years, not since the night hed exploded at his friends, demanding that they not speak to him of her. Runway had been Ethan and Matts special name for her, in deference to her outrageously long legs, legs they claimed were more suited to a super model than a coed.
Its not safe, Eric told them. Shes already been threatened. He told them about the vandalism to her car, the threatening note on her windshield. If those bastards lay one hand on her, so help me God, the next time I go to jail, I will be guilty, and it wont be of theft.
Thats not going to happen, Jake vowed quietly.
Ill make some calls first thing in the morning, Ethan added, and make sure your laptop gets a fair shake.
Me, too, Matt added. There might be a few strings I can pull, a few favors I can call in.
Eric just shook his head. Federal charges hung over his head and the government was breathing down his back, the press was hot on his trail and a prison sentence lurked in his future, but he felt like the luckiest damn fool in the world. He had the three best friends a man could ask for, and the most amazing woman hed ever known was sleeping on his patio.
She came awake slowly, lulled from the dream by the enticing aroma of sandalwood. She stretched languidly and let her eyes drift open, felt herself yawn. At first the darkness was absolute, until she shifted and saw the glow coming from a sliding glass door. Then she saw the figure standing in the shadows, more silhouette than man.
Her heart kicked, hard, and all at once the hazy blur of sleep crumbled. The evening came back to her on a rush, the wonderful sound of masculine laughter and the achingly familiar scent of Cuban cigars, the awkward moments on the patio, when Eric had found her crying in Jakes arms. A little blade of panic sliced deep when she realized shed fallen asleep.
Eric? His name barely came out more than a sleep-thickened whisper. She drank in the sight of him standing there watching her, his piercing eyes concentrated solely on her, a sheen of gold whiskers making her itch to put her fingers to his jaw. The olive shirt hed worn to her office had long since gone soft and wrinkly, but somewhere during the night hed rolled up the sleeves to reveal his forearms. Faded jeans hugged his long legs. What time is it?
A slow smile curved his lips. After two thirty. He stepped from the shadows and sat on the side of her chair. I didnt mean to wake you.
Her pulse hummed dizzily, a dangerous testimony to the uncomfortable intimacy weaving between them. He loomed over her, making her acutely aware that in less than a heartbeat he could be stretched out alongside her, his body pressed to hers.
We can take it slow if you need to, as slow as you want.
The thought of taking it slow with Eric Jones made her blood sing a song shed tried valiantly to forget. Tried, but failed. Abruptly, she swung her legs to the side of the chaise and pushed into a sitting position.
Where is everyone? she asked, glancing toward the door that led inside.
Gone. Before she realized his intent, he leaned in and put his mouth to her cheek. Thats from Matt, he said, then shifted to her forehead. Ethan. Without hesitating, he trailed his mouth down to the tip of her nose. And thats from Jake.
The breath stalled in her throat, but somehow she forced herself to pull back and make light of the fact that she could barely breathe. You know how many girls in school would have run naked down the street for a kiss from the four of you?
She realized her mistake too late.
That was only three, Eric pointed out, as shed known he would, then went on to honor her comment. He leaned closer, putting one hand to her waist and sliding the fingers of his other hand into her loose hair. This time he pressed his lips not to her cheek or her forehead or the tip of her nose, but to her mouth. The kiss, his kiss, was soft and slow and laced by the lingering taste of Scotch, not filled with the almost violent urgency of the night before, but with a warmth and tenderness that changed the pounding of her heart to an intoxicating strum.
Warmth spread through her like a mind-numbing elixir, bringing with it the dangerous urge to move her mouth against his, to lift a hand to his face and urge him down on the chaise with her, over her, to tangle her legs around his and pick up where theyd left off last night.
Eric She couldnt fight him much longer, especially when he offered his own healing blend of tenderness and passion. She couldnt fight the draw, the longing to let those loose ends find their way back together and to indulge the feelings and desires she and Eric had left unexplored ten years before.
But then he was gone, leaving his hands on her body but pulling back so that their eyes met. His were dark and glittering, not with a boys passion, but a mans desire.
And that one? Leigh heard herself asking, though she barely recognized the husky rasp as her own voice.
He skimmed his thumb along her cheekbone. Mine.
Leave, something deep inside her demanded. Before its too late. The sane, rational part of her knew she should pull back and walk out the door, get into her car and drive far away, but she could no more move than she could change the events that had set them on this collision course so long ago.
Do you kiss all your attorneys? she asked with a brevity she didnt come close to feeling.
He gave her another of those slow, heated smiles he had down to a dangerous art form. No, just the one
s who arrange secret poker games.
I see. Leave, she told herself again, but instead sat there, staring at him as though not a day, not a betrayal, stood between them. There was only the thick night air and the hypnotic drone of crickets, the sound of their own fractured breathing.
I looked for you.
The quiet words shattered the spell, slamming into Leigh with near-brute force. She knew what he meant, knew he spoke of what happened a decade ago. You told me to go.
Eric shifted on the chaise, moving to straddle the chair so that he bracketed her between his body and the back of the chair.
I never stopped thinking about you, he told her, and his voice was low, thick. You didnt deserve what happened.
Leigh felt her heart slow, her lungs constrict. Deep inside, walls shed hammered relentlessly into place started to crumble. She didnt want to hear this. She didnt want to know.
Eric, dont. She edged closer to the side of the chair, desperate to move out from between his spread thighs. Please. Lets not go back. She didnt want to open those doors, not yet. Not while his future hung in the balance. It was a long time ago. We were friends, she tried to explain. You were in need. I reached out and it happened.
She paused, searching for her attorneys voice, the one that was strong and sure, not softened by sleep and desire. I cared about you. No point in denying the truth. Cared a lot. I wanted to be there.
He smiled faintly and reached for her hand, threaded his fingers through hers. I wanted you there, too, he ground out. I needed you like Ive never needed anyone.
The revelation ripped her up in ways she hadnt known possible.
Damn it, Leigh, he said roughly, you need to know I didnt sleep with you that night, then never think of you again. I wanted you to be okay. I wanted you to have the life youd always dreamed of.
Family Secrets: Books 5-8 Page 36
