After snapping the leash on Bella, she headed for the door. On her way out she noticed Leo’s keys sitting in the dish where he liked to leave them. She looked closely, noting a few smaller keys that might fit into his file cabinet. All she needed was for him to leave his office. Getting into that office with his attachment to the place was harder than getting into Harvard. Maybe if he showered later, she could grab these and sneak upstairs.
As she walked down the back steps, she noted a side door leading to the garage left wide open. Suddenly the garage door went up. A car she’d never seen before had been backed in. The front hood of the shiny red vehicle held a distinctive BMW logo. She walked toward the car, curious who this belonged to if Leo drove the ragged Mercedes always parked outside of the garage.
As she got close, Leo exited the garage, leading his bike out by the handlebars. Behind dark sunglasses, his gaze burned through her.
“All this time I thought you kept a horse and buggy in here.”
Leo face brightened with a smile and reminded her of one reason she didn’t want to leave here. “Did you now?”
“Whose car?”
“Mine. When I’m here, I like to drive ol’ Heidi.” He thumbed toward the rusty Mercedes. “She’s old but still in great…”
Rose barely listened. Her insides purred as she admired the biking shorts hugging Leo’s long, muscular legs. The same ones she had the pleasure of admiring her first morning here during the “boxer-briefs only” incident. A short-sleeved, snug-fitted jersey hugged his fit chest.
Bella tugged to see him, so Rose dropped the leash. He pushed his sunglasses to the top of his head, kicked out the stand on the bike, and crouched down with opened arms. “Come on, baby!”
Bella rushed him, her thick paws surprisingly graceful and her long ears swinging to the flow of her gait. She dropped to the ground, rolling over and waiting for a tummy rub. Rose might do the same if it weren’t for all the other things stopping her from handing Leo her total trust.
“Such a g’girl you are.” Leo crouched down and cooed, sweeping his hand along her belly. A hand with strong veins, and thick fingers smudged with grease. The touch of those sturdy fingers slipping beneath her shirt had remained imprinted in her mind from their ever-so-brief make out session.
Rose turned to the bike. The frame was solid and tall, like Leo. She’d never seen such thick tires on a bicycle. “What kind of bike is this?”
He gazed at Bella with adoration in his eyes; her mouth seemed upturned in a smile of doggie delight. “Huh?” He glanced up.
“Type of bike?”
“Oh. A mountain bike. For riding some nearby trails.” He finally rolled back on his heels to stand upright, towering over her. “There are some nice ones in the area. You should try it. Good for endurance, balance, strength. I mean, since you seem so concerned with good health.”
Leo’s commitment to exercise given how he ate came as a surprise. “Only when it comes to what I put inside my body, not how I move it.” She lifted the leash. “Here’s my exercise.”
He chuckled and squinted into the sun over the lake. “It’s sure a beautiful day. Enjoy your walk.” He reached for the bike. “I’d better get going while I still feel motivated.”
“Any chance you could feed Bella later? I’ll be at the vineyard until around ten.”
Bella still lay on her back, staring up at them, her ears splayed to each side.
“Sure.” Leo switched to a playful voice. “Good news, Bella. You can join me for dinner tonight.”
The dog wriggled and jumped up on all fours, shaking ground debris off her body.
Rose grabbed the leash. “You’d better hope nobody finds out your Saturday night date was a real dog.”
He let out an unexpected hearty laugh, which left her pleased he liked her dumb joke. Leo studied her and his smile slipped away, replaced by something darker and more serious. An expression she’d seen on the night they’d kissed, making her pulse hasten and insides woozy.
He blinked a few times then lowered his sunglasses and got on the bike. “See you in a bit.”
Rose started down the driveway, but as Leo disappeared into the thick trees lining the long driveway, she had an idea. The moment she’d been waiting for. A chance to see if any of those keys on his ring worked for the file cabinet in his office.
She felt bad for not trusting him, but a stronger part of her brain ignored the tug of her conscience and demanded her curiosity be satisfied. She hurried into the kitchen—justified by the desperation owning her soul. Once inside, she swiped the keys from the dish, removed Bella’s leash, and headed upstairs.
* * * * *
Leo’s gaze dropped to the empty mount near his handlebars. Damn it! He’d wanted to try a new route and needed the phone’s GPS. Turning around, he peddled fast, the quarter mile not so far to backtrack.
At the house, he dropped the bike on its side and hurried into the kitchen. As he swiped the phone off the counter, the empty key dish caught his eyes. If he lost those keys again…! Bella trotted over, swarming his legs and disrupting his irritation over the missing items.
He gave her a quick pat. “I thought you were going for a walk?”
The missing keys nagged at him. Twice since arriving here he’d lost them, hence the bowl. He’d been diligent, or so he thought. He remembered going to the den after he’d used the set late yesterday afternoon. Damn it! He couldn’t ride until he found them. On his way to the other room, his cell phone rang. He answered.
“Hey, bud.” Seth sounded excited. “You near a TV?”
“I can be.”
“Put on CNN.”
“Okay.” He entered the den and glanced at the coffee table and end tables, but no keys. “What’s going on? Are we under attack or something?”
Seth snorted. “Not even close. I want you to see something.”
Leo found the CNN channel quickly. “What am I looking for?”
“Shh. Just watch.”
On the television set, a couple smiled to a large crowd. People carried campaign signs screaming “Richardson for the Senate” and waving American flags. A second later, a woman on stage caught his attention. He blinked, just as the scene cut to another.
The capital building served as a background to a pretty reporter wearing serious eyeglasses and talking into a microphone.
“…Scandals like this are not new in Washington. Senator John Richardson from North Carolina has maintained a flawless record up until now.” A clip of a rally started to play. “Seen here at a recent campaign speech in his quest to maintain the senate seat he’s held for one term, he denies the accusations of illegal contributions made into his campaign. However, an anonymous tip to the FBI was enough for them to start an investigation…”
The words faded. Leo couldn’t pry his gaze from the woman standing near the candidate. She wore a pretty suit and silky blouse. Soft dirty-blonde hair fell to her shoulders and she hung on every word the man at the podium spoke. He made promises to the crowd and she looked on like she believed every word.
Change her hair color, toss on a pair of clunky glasses, and raid a teenager’s wardrobe and you’d have…no. He squinted. Emma?
“Anybody there look familiar?” Seth’s voice and question jarred Leo. “And I do mean your tenant.”
Leo’s defenses jumped in out of nowhere. He needed time to think. Sort through the complicated pieces before him. “There is a slight resemblance.”
Senator John Richardson. Was this the mysterious “John” whose name Leo kept hearing Emma speak about?
The weight of an anvil pressed to his chest. He wished now he hadn’t shared so much about Emma’s secrets with Seth. If she were operating under a different identity, maybe there was a damn good reason.
“I don’t know, Seth. The senator’s wife is classy, pulled together. Emma’s pretty casual. You should see some of the getups she wears. Maybe it’s her doppelgänger.” He forced a
laugh. “Don’t they say everyone has one?”
“I guess. Didn’t you say you thought Emma dyed her hair?”
The sadness he’d often seen in her eyes. The lost money. Her hidden problems. All played to the sucker inside him who jumped to a vulnerable woman’s defense. “Did I? No, I don’t think so.”
“You must be tired,” Seth grumbled. “It’s a pretty strong resemblance in my humble opinion.”
“You’re showing quite a vivid imagination. Maybe you should write fiction and I’ll become your agent.”
“Okay, wise ass. After what you said about her, I just thought—ah, whatever. I’d better run.”
Seth hung up. Leo searched around the sofa cushions for his missing keys. How did what he’d seen on the news explain why Emma was here? If she really was the senator’s wife, why run? Why hide?
He headed through the kitchen, committed to get this bike ride done and use the time to think. The key search would continue later.
Thunk!
He tilted his head, certain the sound came from upstairs. Bella let out a little woof, reminding Leo he’d been surprised to find the dog back inside the house a few minutes ago.
He walked down the hallway to the apartment. Bella ran ahead to the partially opened door and pushed it open with a bump of her nose.
Leo peeked inside. “Emma?”
No answer. Another thunk sounded from above. Leo turned around and headed for the staircase.
* * * *
The key ring in Emma’s hand held about seven keys of varying sizes, but only three of them were small enough to fit into the metal lock on the cabinet.
The first didn’t fit.
The next almost did, and then it got stuck and took a few panicked seconds to remove.
But the third key slid in with ease and the lock popped open.
She pulled open the top drawer and skimmed through folders marked “contracts,” “artwork,” and “endorsements,” pushing them aside to see if anything had been hidden beneath the hanging folders. Her money envelope didn’t appear.
More documents filled the second drawer, mostly of a personal nature. What a fool she’d been not to hand him the trust he’d asked for. She’d check this last one since she was here, but obviously Leo’s overtures to her were honest. He deserved the same from her. She opened the drawer.
Some additional paperback copies of his books were stored here. As she poked through them, her fingertips hit a piece of soft fabric in the back. Silk. Curious, Rose gave it a gentle tug. Women’s blue bikini underpants. Very strange. A little like hers.
She stuck her hand further into the back and slowly pulled out a second pair. Exactly like hers, in fact. The pair found lying in the hallway earlier returned. Would the dog have found them, taken them out? Had Leo found pairs, too? Embarrassment heated her skin, imaging where else the dog might have left—
“What are you doing?”
Leo’s voice hit Rose like a tossed bucket of ice water. He stood at the door, brows bent and confusion clear.
Her heart thumped wildly, but she did her best to recover and find her voice. “Why do you have these?” She held up the underwear.
“Excuse me?” His brows shot up like blasting rockets, but he blushed. “You’re in my filing cabinet and—”
“Are these mine?”
“You should know. Haven’t you been leaving them around?”
“Why on earth would I do that?”
He shrugged, then his lips curled into a paper-thin grin. “I’d wondered that myself.”
“Oh God! Did you think I was leaving them on purpose for you or something?”
His lips pursed, but he didn’t answer.
“I am not the kind of woman to do something like that.”
“That’s what I figured.” He said quickly. “But, when I found them at my office door and—well, what could I think?”
“At your door? When you got the first pair, why didn’t you return them?”
“And that wouldn’t have been awkward?” He moved closer and stood over her looking down. His voice switched to a mocking tone. “Oh, Emma. Here’s your sexy panties.”
Her face heated. “Okay, it might have been a bit uncomfortable. But three pairs?”
“What can I say? It seems I’m shy. And don’t change the subject. What are you doing up here with my keys and in my filing cabinet?”
She swallowed down her shame. “I’ve looked everywhere for my money…except in the cabinet.”
He lifted a brow. “Were you up here when I went away for the night?”
A hard lump to form in her throat. The walls came tumbling down. Tears spilled. She tried to blink them away before he noticed, but his face blurred beyond her eyes. “Yes. I’m sorry.”
She stood and pushed past him for the door.
He reached for her arm and drew her back. “Emma,” he said gently. “Don’t run. I did not take your money. Can you start to trust me? Maybe I can help you. Whatever it is…”
She looked up. Pity owned Leo’s gaze, like he’d figured out her story and wanted answers. Anger she could handle, but pity was for the weak.
“I have some personal problems…and the money…it was like my insurance.” Pressure lifted off her shoulders, not the entire weight of her lies but a little.
“What kind of problems?”
“I’m afraid I can’t say. Really, Leo, the less you know, the better for you.”
Bella’s clumsy gait sounded on the attic staircase. Leo opened his mouth, the stress in his eyes a sure sign he hadn’t accepted her answer.
But before he could say a word, Rose spotted Bella. “Well I’ll be damned.”
Bella waddled over, the pink underpants left in the laundry basket now dangling from her mouth.
Rose went over and swiped them away. “I can’t believe it, Bella. Care to tell me what you’re up to?”
Leo’s laughter echoed off the walls. “I hope you’re not expecting an answer.”
She narrowed her eyes at him. “It’s not funny. I saved that dog at a shelter and she embarrasses me this way?” Emma tossed down the handful of panties and slapped Leo’s chest gently. “Stop. It’s embarrassing.”
“I’m sorry.” He held up a hand but kept laughing. “Really, I am.”
Rose watched Leo, suddenly more relaxed than she’d ever seen him. She let go of the embarrassment and started to laugh, too. In a way she couldn’t quite figure out, she somehow felt like they’d moved a step closer.
He drew her close and kissed her, a gentle sweep at first then so deeply she forgot all about her embarrassment. When he leaned back, he stared into her eyes. “Do you know how those little drop-offs were making me crazy for you? Crazier than I already am?”
“You’re crazy for me?”
“I’m headed there.”
“Then Bella’s unveiling of my dignity was a small price for me to pay.”
“I wonder how that dog knew those drop-offs would have a Cupid-like effect on me—although she does have above average dog intelligence.”
Rose laughed. “I don’t think you’ve met many dogs.”
“Just one before Bella. I’m thinking, for all we know she took your money, too.”
“Probably did. To make sure I stay.”
Leo’s good humor vanished. “Why would you leave? What’s wrong?”
Words stuck in her mouth. All the truths she wanted to share. My name is Rose and everything I’ve told you is a lie because I’m hiding from my husband and the authorities.
She inhaled deeply. “I’ve got too much to sort out before I talk. You’ve got to trust me on this one.”
He studied her like he didn’t.
Smart man. She wasn’t ready to hand him the truth or drag him any further into her messy life. He didn’t know she was a runner. Someone he might want to avoid getting close to. At this moment, she didn’t have the heart to tell him. Because there was one other pe
rson she hadn’t ever trusted: herself. Every relationship she’d ever witnessed growing up had been plastered in Hollywood fakeness. Something she understood at an early age, rendering her incapable of relying on her own feelings for others.
“Give me time,” she said quietly. “I apologize for being up here. I should have trusted your word.”
Leo slipped his arm around her waist and kissed her again. A warm and sweet kiss, gentle as a soothing ointment to the troubles following her for so long.
He leaned back and slipped a finger beneath her chin and stared into her eyes as his thumb stroked her cheek. “You can trust me, Emma. With anything.”
More than any other time in her life, she wanted to believe in someone else. In his arms, she found herself closer to offering it than ever before. Yet, the high stakes of what she faced weren’t his problem and she simply couldn’t let go.
Chapter 20
Leo watched Emma’s car disappear down the driveway. He went straight to his laptop computer on the kitchen table. After skimming the hits on his Internet search, he clicked on a link taking him to a North Carolina Dispatch News story.
He scanned the article then his gaze dropped to a photo at the bottom. The caption read, “Vice President Warren Thomas administers the Senate oath to Sen. John Richardson, D-North Carolina, left, with wife Rose Richardson, during a ceremonial re-enactment swearing-in ceremony in the Old Senate Chamber of Capitol Hill in Washington.”
Rose Richardson. He stared at the woman’s face, comparing her to Emma. The same perfect lips he’d kissed were lifted in a simple smile. The same large blue eyes Leo couldn’t get enough of were averted to her husband as he was sworn in. She wore a tasteful skirt and jacket. A gold teardrop necklace dangled just above her cleavage and straight golden hair brushed her shoulders.
He moved to another article, more specifically about the FBI allegations. It discussed alleged illegal contributions made by the senator’s campaign. A sidebar piece talked about past instances and the stiff fines that came from doing so, including jail time to the parties involved. Senator Richardson went on record saying, “I am unaware of any illegal donations and am cooperating with the FBI.”
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