The Blue Link

by Carol Caiton

  "Ethan, I think Simon paid off my sister's medical bills."

  He froze. Pulling back, he stared at her. "Like hell he did."

  A slow smile crept across her lips and he knew he'd been had.

  "Thank you," she whispered. "I don't have the words—"

  He grunted. "You don't need any words." Little imp, he thought. "I did it because you've paid long enough. I didn't want you to have to pay any more."

  She studied his face, searching his eyes. "How deep did you search?"

  "Deep enough," he told her. Then he softened his words. "Deep enough to figure out your sister's a loose cannon, wheelchair or not, and that she loves you."

  Nina gave a weak laugh. "You're right—she is and she does."

  Satisfied, he brought her back into his arms, inhaled the fragrance that was hers alone, and decided to have a gallon of the stuff bottled before they moved away.

  He felt her yawn against his chest and smiled. "Go ahead and get some sleep. When you wake up you can phone Lydia and ask if she's able to take some unscheduled time off for a trip."

  Nina nestled against him and closed her eyes. "Okay."

  He waited until he felt her relax, then waited a few more minutes to be sure she'd drifted off. There were a number of things he needed to take care of and he wanted them out of the way before she woke up.

  Sliding his arm out from under her, he pulled himself out of bed and damn if his legs didn't wobble. He turned his head to look at her and grinned. Maybe they could schedule another body prep before they got married. Once she had a wedding ring on her finger she wouldn't be allowed back on property. Then he thought of Simon and the grin faded. On second thought, scratch that idea.

  He pulled the covers over her, watched her for a few more seconds, then took himself off to the shower. He needed to talk to Mason.

  * * *

  It was early afternoon when Nina rolled onto her back and stretched out in Ethan's big bed. Eyes still closed, she frowned at the unfamiliar tenderness between her thighs. Then she smiled, still half asleep, as memories of their lovemaking floated into place.

  A few seconds later a variety of tactile impressions nudged her further awake. The ache of her breasts in the stiff shelf bra, the restriction of movement because she'd somehow ended up with the covers encasing her like a mummy . . . the piece of paper that crackled when she stretched her arm up onto Ethan's pillow.

  It was the paper that did it. Twisting her fingers, she crinkled it into her palm and brought it around to her face. Blinking a couple of times, she peered at the masculine scrawl.

  I love you.

  E.

  She'd never known happiness like this, so full inside she wanted to laugh and cry at the same time. She lowered the paper to her heart. Ethan loved her. They'd made love and she'd slept in his enormous bed.

  She closed her eyes again and thought about that. Then a laugh bubbled up from deep inside. She wasn't a virgin anymore. It was about time!

  But the smile faded after a minute and she stared up at the ceiling. Ethan had asked her to marry him out in Las Vegas . . . without her parents in attendance. Sadness gathered in her chest. Maybe once she was married they'd forgive her.

  Her eyes sprang open. She needed to wake up. She and Ethan were getting married—soon.

  It took a few seconds to work her way out of the cocoon and slide to the edge of the bed. She was weak. Her muscles were stiff and sore.

  Reaching up, she unfastened the bra and the sudden release of her breasts was both a relief and uncomfortable. She slipped her arms out of the garment and gently massaged the area where the stiff underwire had pressed into her flesh. Then she bent down to pick up her clothes and saw the smear of blood on the inside of her thigh.

  She paused.

  Too many momentous experiences were happening too quickly, one on top of another, without allowing her enough time to absorb them.

  Well, she'd just have to absorb them later.

  Snatching up her clothes, she dragged the top sheet off the bed and wrapped it around herself. It was huge. And soft as velvet. She gathered up the ends, balled them up, and made it back to her wing of the house without encountering Ethan. Maybe he'd woken up and gone out, which would be good because she had things to take care of. Important things. And she'd only put them off if he was home because she'd want to be with him instead.

  After a quick bath she reached for Olida's body lotion and smiled. Just before falling asleep she'd felt Ethan's tongue glide over her shoulder. Her skin would have tasted of the honeysuckle fragrance all of her cosmetics shared. Maybe she could buy whatever they had in stock since she wouldn't be allowed on property once she was married.

  She dressed in her old comfortable jeans, a long-sleeved pullover, and walked over to the closet to look for a sweater when her mind went suddenly blank. She stared at the array of clothes hanging from the racks, but they looked like so many colorful swaths of fabric instead of individual articles of clothing. Everything just sort of merged together.

  Confused and a little overwhelmed, she reached for the doorjamb and wondered if all the decisions and changes she'd made over the past weeks were finally catching up with her. Leaving home, alienating her parents, moving to RUSH, Simon, moving out of RUSH, Ethan, her new job, losing her new job, another new job . . . and now she was getting married.

  She frowned. How should she act when she saw Ethan again? Did etiquette dictate some form of behavior after a woman made love for the first time? And what about his business relationship with Simon? Their friendship? Would that be salvageable?

  "It'll all work out," said a deep voice.

  She turned to find him standing in the middle of her bedroom.

  "You looked like you needed to hear that." He held out an arm. "Come here."

  She glanced at his arm. Even that was a new experience. They'd spent so much time avoiding one another that the reality of him offering loving comfort was almost surreal.

  But the arms that wrapped around her were exactly what she needed. Strong. Reassuring. His breath in her hair, and the solid warmth of his hold anchored her.

  "All right?" he asked softly.

  "Yes." She rested her cheek against his chest.

  He was quiet for a minute, smoothing a hand over her back. "Any regrets?"

  She realized at once that he needed assurances as much as she did.

  She slid her arms around his waist and shook her head. "No. None."

  "What then?"

  She moistened her lips. "It feels strange to be with you like this. I feel as though I'm doing something I shouldn't be doing and—" She drew back and raised her face to look into his eyes. "Before I moved to RUSH I could tell you exactly what my life would be like a month from now—even six months from now. Every day was predictable. But everything's different now. And it's all happened so fast."

  "Not for me it hasn't." He leaned forward and kissed her, the warmth of his lips lingering then coming back for more. He lifted his head and linked his fingers behind her back. "I feel like I can finally breathe. —Almost."

  "Why only almost?"

  "Because I won't relax completely until your last name is Vale."

  She blinked. Then she smiled.

  "Come with me," he said, snagging her hand. "I'll take this too," he added, reaching for the little personal fan she'd placed on her dresser when she thought he hadn't come home.

  She trailed after him, all the way over to his wing of the house and into his study. He led her to his desk, sat down in his chair, and tugged her onto his lap. Then he swiveled slightly, stretched an arm over to the credenza, and shifted a bookend to retrieve a key.

  "Hmmph," she muttered.

  He grinned and unlocked the desk drawer.

  "I can't believe you kept all of those." She reached inside, sifted around, and lifted the empty M&M's wrapper. Turning to look at him she asked, "Why?"

  * * *

  Adding the miniature fan to his collection, he took the wrappe
r from her fingers, turned it over, then back again. "At first because it amused me." He remembered the Peanuts comic strip informing him he looked like that little termagant Lucy when he yelled. He smiled, then slipped the wrapper back into the drawer and closed it. "But after that I kept them because they were all I'd ever have of you."

  "Ethan . . . ."

  Apparently, that had been the right thing to say. If he guessed correctly, a little more of her heart had just become his.

  "I love you," she whispered.

  He slid his hands to her waist and squeezed. "And that's just what I was hoping to hear."

  He had only to bend his head slightly to kiss her. He would have preferred to carry her back to his bedroom, but he'd seen her blood on the sheet when he'd gone looking for her. She wasn't ready yet for more. So he took advantage instead of the freedom to touch and kiss her.

  "Take a ride with me?" he asked.

  "Where to?"

  "RUSH."

  "Okay. But why?"

  "I'll show you when we get there."

  He guided her into the checkpoint, but instead of passing through, he steered her toward Member Services and into the room that housed row after row of computer stations.

  "Log onto your account, sweetheart. That blue icon has been hanging over my head long enough."

  Her eyes widened, then comprehension set in. Obediently she turned to reach for the keyboard.

  "Why didn't you decline it when you were here the other day?"

  "I didn't think of it." She typed her password then waited. "I thought about it a couple of times before but so much has been happening, it kept slipping my mind.

  With a few keystrokes her account appeared. And just as she'd said, the icon and its accompanying buttons sat waiting for her to choose. She placed her hand over the mouse, maneuvered the cursor over the minus button and clicked. The icon disappeared.

  For a few brief seconds he was consumed with relief, but only for a few because Nina's file had just been reactivated and forwarded to the next relevant male. Since Holly McGarvey had entered her into the system without specifying amber, green or blue, Nina's file would automatically be matched with the next highest compatibility link as it filtered its way down to amber. For Ethan that meant another blue icon could already be sitting in yet another man's account.

  He needed to get her away from RUSH right now. This minute. Before Mr. Right number two accepted her icon and a notification message appeared on the monitor right in front of his eyes. He wanted to make plane reservations. Hell, he wanted to be on the next one flying out of Orlando.

  "Ethan?" Her voice broke through the warning bells clanging in his head.

  "What is it, honey?"

  "Are you going to growl at me if I ask whether or not your parents are still alive?"

  It was difficult to downshift and refocus. Afraid to take his eyes off the monitor, he said, "Go ahead and log off and I'll talk while we head back to the car."

  "All right."

  "I don't know if my mother's alive or not," he said as they drove away from RUSH and turned toward Isleworth. "And I don't care one way or the other."

  She turned to look at him but she made no comment. G had given an abbreviated version of what had happened, so she already knew the basics.

  "I was a kid when my mother dropped me off in front of G's house. I had one suitcase and an envelope that contained a copy of divorce papers. She told me to go ring the doorbell and that was the last I ever saw or heard of her."

  "I'm so sorry."

  "Don't be. The only positive thing I have to say about her is that she waited for G to open the door before she drove off. I don't even remember her anymore, just the dark car she was driving."

  "What about your father?"

  "My father was in the military. My mother divorced him while he was in the Middle East and a few months after that he was killed in an embassy explosion."

  Nina was quiet for a minute. "So you grandmother raised you," she said.

  "And my grandfather. I'll tell you about him someday. He was one of the most interesting men I've ever known. But yes, they raised me. And G being the whiz she is, invested the checks my father sent home. She sank everything into a company called ZER Electronics back when ZER was a basement operation."

  "I've heard of ZER."

  He smiled. "The whole world's heard of ZER. It's Martin Yetzer's empire." He glanced over at her. "Simon's father."

  Her mouth fell open. "I had no idea."

  "Not many people make the connection. So now you know how I came by my financial boost in life. Between G's foresight and Martin's business savvy, I watched the stock split so many times I've lost count. And before you ask," he added, "I've tried to lure G down to Isleworth, but the house in Longwood is the one she and my grandfather made for themselves and she doesn't want to move."

  They drove in silence for a mile or so, then Nina asked, "What will happen to your friendship with Simon?"

  Turning into the driveway, he took one hand off the steering wheel, held it toward her, and waited for her to slide her fingers against his. He could answer her question in one of two ways—either downplay the situation or tell her the truth. He decided on the truth because that's what he'd want from her.

  "Simon and I won't be able to maintain a friendship after this."

  "Because of the blue icon?"

  "Because of the blue icon and its potential," he agreed.

  When the Audi was parked inside the garage he turned in his seat to face her. "Nina, I want you to stay away from Simon. I know that sounds controlling and dictatorial, but I'm not sure you grasp—"

  She reached up and placed her fingers over his mouth. "I do grasp." She smiled. "There's a certain little blonde whose name I'm not allowed to mention or I'll find myself homeless . . . ."

  He chuckled behind her fingers, gave a little nibble, then kissed her palm as he drew it away from his face. "I wasn't in love with Denny."

  She gave him a doubtful look. "You acted as though you were. And you drank—" She broke off. "Have you quit drinking?"

  Again he had to smile. "I never started drinking."

  "I know what I saw."

  "You saw what I wanted you to see." He leaned over and softened his words with a quick kiss. "The night you drove me home is the first and only time I've been drunk since I was in my teens. I was angry more than anything else. I'd hoped for something more with Denny but I ended up being dumped in a very public setting with a stadium-size audience, my business partners being part of that audience. It was tough on the ego."

  He didn't tell her that Simon was about to experience that same anger and humiliation in front of the same audience. A large part of Ethan regretted that. But it was Simon who had changed the direction of things the night he brought another woman to his house.

  "You saw what you were meant to see when I walked around the house with a glass in my hand. I've poured a lot of whiskey down the drain since you moved in."

  "But why? For heaven's sake, I thought you were an alcoholic."

  "I'll tell you why. Because you left little surprises beside my dinner plate, luring me out to the kitchen so I'd eat and I didn't want those surprises to stop. And because I was starting to care. Too much. You were Simon's blue link so I had to keep pushing you away.

  "What a horrible mess," she said. "Will you and Simon be able to work together?"

  "Simon and I won't be working together at all, sweetheart. I spoke with Malcolm a little while ago and recommended Jeremiah Case to take over my position."

  "You're leaving RUSH?"

  "I'm leaving RUSH," he confirmed. "As a married man I won't be allowed on property."

  "But . . . you own the place. What will you do?"

  "I haven't decided yet. But I'm thinking about a couple of things. We'll see."

  He wanted to change the topic so he asked, "Where would you like to go for a honeymoon?"

  "I . . . I don't know. I haven't thought about a honeymoon. I ha
ven't had much of a chance to think about any of this. We hardly know one another. I mean, we haven't had enough time together as a couple."

  "What do you want to know?"

  Her brows drew together. "I don't know. How do you feel about children? We haven't had time to talk about some really important things."

  She was right; they hadn't. But he recalled Libby Pye's little speech about Nina being the motherly type so he pulled in a breath and jumped in with both feet. "I'm thirty-three, sweetheart. If that's what you want, I'll give you children." Hell, he'd give her anything. "Now what do you say we go inside, make some coffee, and finish this conversation in the kitchen?"

  "All right."

  "Have you phoned your sister yet?"

  * * *

  He keyed in the security code then waited for her to precede him into the kitchen.

  "No, I haven't."

  She was still focused on their conversation in the car. Ethan didn't seem at all concerned about leaving RUSH or about losing Simon's friendship. Yet she knew both of those things impacted him deeply.

  "It'll all work out," he said, just as he had earlier in her bedroom. "And I could sure use that cup of coffee."

  Sliding the strap of her purse onto the back of a chair, she got two mugs from the overhead cabinet, reached for the canister of coffee, then froze. There, on top of the coffeemaker, in the same place where she'd left the little fan, sat a jeweler's ring box.

  "See if you like it," Ethan murmured.

  Gasping, she spun around. He stood leaning against the doorjamb, the teasing half smile she loved smiling back at her.

  She didn't need to see if she liked what was in the box. She already knew she'd love it whatever it looked like. But she curled her fingers around it and lifted the lid.

  "Oh, Ethan."

  He waited while she slipped it out of the box then crossed the room, took it from her, and slid it onto her finger.

  "It's beautiful," she told him, tilting her hand back and forth under the light to catch the flashing sparkle of diamonds. "How did you know my ring size?"