by Dee J. Adams
It took the better part of two hours to remove the majority of dirt from the car. Elena sipped her water sparingly. Bill had rolled up his sleeves and his strong veins accentuated his muscular forearms. He opened up a little cubby under the seat and pulled out a blanket, plastic on one side and blue-plaid flannel on the other. Together they spread it out on the floor so they had something clean to sit on. They used a few more towelettes to wipe down.
“This is handy,” Elena said, patting the blanket and feeling a little awkward as the minutes passed. It wasn’t that she didn’t feel comfortable around Bill, but she just didn’t know where they stood after that kiss. There was nothing more she hated than playing games.
“I picked it up at a fund raiser a long time ago. I’ve got one for all my cars. They’re perfect for picnics.”
Surprised at this tidbit about him, Elena cocked her head. Didn’t it figure? He was a romantic too. “You like to picnic? That’s sweet. I think most men underestimate the power of the picnic.”
“Actually, I meant for my clients, but I’m not adverse to picnics. I just don’t usually have the time for one. Work keeps me pretty busy.”
“Yeah, me too.” But she could totally see the two of them spread out on this very blanket beneath a sprawling magnolia tree in the park. She couldn’t imagine anything much more perfect than having Bill to herself with a good meal, a bottle wine and fun conversation… Unless you counted those same things with the two of them naked in a bed.
Elena drank a little more water to clear her wayward thoughts. She set it away from her so she wouldn’t sip for lack of something to do.
More vibrations quickly turned into another aftershock and Bill scooted closer and wrapped an arm around her. The car jostled and something crashed outside. Bill yanked her down and covered her with his body as the deafening rumble continued. When the aftershock stopped, Bill lifted his head.
Fresh dirt particles hung in the air and Elena swatted away the grit to no avail. She met his intense gaze. “So much for our clean house.”
Bill’s grin was as lethal as his muscle and Elena struggled to keep her cool. “I’ve always liked your sense of humor,” he said softly.
The compliment made her flush and his smile made all her body parts melty. “Oh. Well. Thanks. You know what I always say, there’s nothing worse than a stick in the mud.”
He stroked her temple with his thumb and her heart thumped along wildly. “Actually, I didn’t know you always say that. But I like that I’m learning things about you. I’ve…” He looked away then looked back at her. “I’ve always wanted to know you better.”
“Me?” The question shot out before she could censor it. Crap. She hated when that happened.
“Yes, you.” He seemed baffled that she was baffled. His eyes searched hers. “I’ve always really enjoyed talking to you during our rides or when we’ve waited for Julie at an event.”
Elena felt her face flush even hotter. “I’ve always enjoyed talking to you too.” She fought back a silly grin in case she was misreading his definition of enjoyed. Every conversation she’d ever had with him resulted in sweaty palms and took a concerted effort not to stutter or giggle or in general act like preteen with a crush.
“Last year, when I saw the footage of the car bomb at Julie’s place, I…” He cleared his throat. “I went to the hospital when I found out where you were. It took me a day to track down which one, but by the time I got there you’d just been discharged. I wanted to make sure you were okay.”
What? “I had no idea. You never said anything.” Maybe the flowers had been more than business after all. “You got my thank you for the roses, right? They were gorgeous. Really unnecessary, but so beautiful.”
He nodded. “I’m glad you liked them. I brought them to your sister’s place. I think she thought I was the delivery guy.”
“What!” Heat infused Elena’s cheeks. “Oh my God, I’m so sorry. You should have said something.” How embarrassing. She was going to kill Vicki, if she made it out of here.
“You were resting when I got there. I just wanted to make sure you were going to be okay. I didn’t want to bother you.”
“You’d never be a bother.” To think more than a year had gone by and he’d never said anything. What if he’d come in and they’d struck up a conversation then? Would anything have come from it?
“It was months before I saw you again,” he said quietly. “I’d been a little concerned because I hadn’t heard from you, but when I saw you, you looked…you looked great. Like nothing had even happened.”
Except for the few scars that served as reminders, she was fine. “I stayed in for a while after that,” she admitted quietly. She didn’t want to be any type of fodder for the paparazzi or news. And even though they’d caught the person who’d been after Julie, Elena still had a hard time turning the ignition on her car. The idea that it might explode had been a big mental hurdle for her. It had been easier to stay in. Thank God she’d gotten past it.
An awkward silence settled between them and Bill moved off her, gave her some room to breathe. She hadn’t minded his weight or the hint of his woodsy scent that lingered along with the citrus aroma of the towelettes.
“Since we’ve got some time on our hands, can I ask you a question, Elena?” His brows came together over serious eyes. Eyes that had captivated her from the very beginning. “And feel free to tell me to take a hike, but I’ve been really curious about it for a long time, so…” He trailed off and looked really uncomfortable. “Forget it. It’s none of my business.”
Elena rolled her eyes. “Now you have to ask me. You can’t set it up, then bail. What do you want to know?” Her age?
“What happened to Julie’s father? Did he…did he die?”
A long buried pain cut dully through Elena’s chest as she shook her head. “No. He’s not dead. Not physically anyway.” He was definitely dead to her. “At least not that I know of. I haven’t talked to him in years. Honestly, he could be dead, but we’ll find out on Julie’s birthday. He always calls her. It’s the only time he makes any contact.” She glanced at Bill. “Trust me, that’s a good thing.”
“Why?” His voice was so soft and low it sent another little chill racing down her back.
“Because he has issues. A lot of issues.” She glanced up to see the curiosity in his eyes. She really didn’t have a reason not to tell him. She trusted him not to go running to the rag magazines with the information. Julie and she had been keeping this information from the press from the very beginning. “Julie’s dad is a crack addict. He was the biggest mistake I ever made and I promised myself I’d never be blind to that sort of behavior ever again.”
Bill’s jaw clenched tight and he leaned forward. “He didn’t hit either one of you, did he?”
“No,” Elena quickly assured him. “He just lied…a lot…enough so that I finally packed up and got Julie out of the environment.” She’d been so dumb. “It was a mistake to get married at eighteen, but I was pregnant and it seemed like the right thing to do. And I did love him. I loved him so much that I believed all his lies and let myself make excuses for him. I wanted to believe that we’d live the fairy tale. We didn’t have any money, but we had love and a sweet little family.” She shook her head. “Talk about a snow job. He was a great liar and I was the ultimate enabler. We were quite the pair.”
“Until?” he asked.
Elena glanced at the filth under her nails and reached for the towelette package. “Until he started getting…difficult.”
“I don’t like the sound of this,” Bill muttered.
She shrugged as she scrapped the dirt from beneath her nails. “Toward the end, he’d get home and I’d ask him how his day went and he’d go ballistic on me. He acted as if I was interrogating him or doubting him, which I was, but I never tried to catch him in a lie even though I was pretty sure he was lying.”
“About what?”
“Pft. Everything. His job, his hours, his friends, his w
hereabouts.” She flipped the moist cloth and started using the other half on her other hand. “Every time I mentioned meeting him at work, there was a reason why I couldn’t. Anytime I got too close to the truth, he’d ‘quit’ that job—” she made quotes with her fingers, “—and start a new one.” She got her nails as clean as she could and folded the dirty wipe into a small square. “He got louder and louder and always managed to turn the words, turn the fight around so that I was at fault. I was the bad wife because I didn’t trust him. It always came back on me.
“When he finally raised a hand and almost hit me, that was when I left. Thank God, Julie never saw it. She still doesn’t know and I don’t want her to. The man’s out of our life and I want it to stay that way. Anyway, I waited until he left for work, or left to get stoned—who knows which it was—and I packed up Julie and ran to California. My sis had told me she always had room for us. So we came. I filed for divorce shortly thereafter.” She smoothed her hand across the soft flannel of the blanket. “I was terrified he wouldn’t sign the papers, but I think ultimately he knew he had a problem and didn’t want to bring us down with him. It wasn’t as if he didn’t try to get clean. I mean he did finally admit his addiction when Julie was about three, but it was five more years of yo-yoing back and forth and he never stayed clean more than a couple months at a time. It was a vicious circle of lies.”
“Five years is a long time to deal with that,” Bill said. “Especially when you have a kid.”
Elena agreed. “I really struggled with the decision because I took those marriage vows seriously.” She finally looked at Bill and the compassion in his eyes softened her heart to him that much more. “But I decided that I might’ve said for better or worse for me, but I didn’t think my daughter should live through the worse. It wasn’t fair to her. That’s where the vows get a little muddy. When children are involved, it’s a different ballgame. I wasn’t going to put her through it anymore if I didn’t have to. I was young and healthy and I had a college education. I was confident I could find work and make it on my own. With my sister’s help, I did.” She dared another glance at him. “So, that’s my story. Sad, right?”
He shook his head. “More like inspiring.” He waited and took a deep breath. “My first reaction is that I want to hunt the bastard down and hurt him. But I think he knows what he lost. I mean, why else would he let you go without a fight?” He snorted. “Because he knows you’re better off without him. Of course I’m looking at this from my point of view.” He waited until she met his gaze. “I would move heaven and earth to make sure I didn’t lose you. I’d kick addiction and keep it kicked. I’d work my ass off to keep a roof over your head and I’d—” He stopped himself. “Let’s just say, I’d make sure you didn’t want anyone else but me.”
Elena smoothed back her wrecked hair, suddenly self-conscious about her looks. “Speaking of you…” She lifted an eyebrow, hoping to get out of the hot seat for a minute. “I hope your track record with women is better than mine with men. Any catastrophes you want to share so I don’t feel so alone?”
“Catastrophes?” He canted his head. “I’ve had a couple of close calls, but ultimately I guess they didn’t want to be married to a workaholic limo driver.” He looked right at her with his next words. “Not that many women are willing to see the big picture. At least not the women I dated.” Shaking his head, he took a quick sip of water. “Just like your ex couldn’t see the big picture when he had you. I’m just glad you got out of that cycle with him. Also glad that he let you go.”
She was too. “For years I waited for him to show up at my doorstep or Julie’s, asking for money or a place to stay, but he never has. I think he doesn’t want to screw us up more than he did when we were married.”
“That’s the only thing I’ll give him credit for,” Bill muttered. “So how come you haven’t gotten married again? Don’t tell me he scared you off the idea.”
She shrugged a shoulder. “Maybe for a while, but it’s been a long time.” She avoided his gaze. “I’d get married again if the right guy came along. He just hasn’t come along.” Or maybe he has and I chose to overlook him. And wasn’t that a stupid thought?
“Weren’t you dating the owner of one of the big talent agencies in town?”
Elena couldn’t manage to hide her surprise. “How did you know that?”
“I picked you up for your date at the Hollywood Bowl, remember?”
“Right.” She’d completely forgotten about that. She’d had no idea when she’d passed his company’s name along to her date that he’d planned to pick her up in a limo. That had to be over two years ago. What a stupid night. She’d realized then she couldn’t date a man if she liked someone else more. “He was very nice, but he was kind of…”
“Old,” Bill supplied. He hit her with one of his gorgeous, reckless grins.
Elena felt a shot of something, very much like lust, bolt between her legs. When was the last time that happened? She chuckled at his description and nodded. “Very. I just decided that I have to be attracted to a man if I’m going to be with him. I mean, I’m not saying it’s all about looks, it’s not. But I do want attraction. I don’t need or want to marry for money. It’s not about that. It’s about finding someone to love. Someone to trust.” She looked up to see him watching her.
“I couldn’t agree more.” His gaze was steady and sincere and she refused to read too much into it. That awkward silence was back and Elena didn’t know what to say or how to get past it. “Sorry. Didn’t mean to get into a subject you might be uncomfortable with. Wanna talk sports?”
It was such a guy thing to say that Elena burst out laughing.
“What?” The sparkle in his eyes made her female parts tingle again.
She sobered and met his gaze. “You. You’re funny.” Hell, she may as well be honest. “I happen to like you. I know we’ve only really exchanged small talk around business, but I’ve always found you funny and nice.”
His gorgeous smile hinted right on the corner of his mouth. “How nice?”
So nice that she fantasized about him on a regular basis. About how good he’d feel lying next to her in bed. How delicious his lips would taste in a seductive kiss. How strong his arms would be as she clung to him when he pushed inside her. She pulled up her big girl panties and looked him square in the eyes. “Very nice.”
His light blue eyes never wavered from hers. “Nice enough to go out with me when we get out of here?”
Chapter Four
Bill couldn’t believe he’d actually said it. He’d opened the door to something really great or something potentially very awkward. But death was a big motivator. Not to mention a good one when it came to living life with no regrets. More than anything, he didn’t want to regret missing a possible chance with Elena.
“Are you asking?” She blinked a couple of times almost as if he might be joking, and he’d never been more serious in his life. Getting significant alone time with this woman had seemed impossible. Now that he had her attention, he needed to go big. Wait. Not big. Honest. If he’d learned anything about her these last years it was that she liked sincerity.
He nodded. “I am. I’m thinking someplace quiet. Maybe along the beach. Some fresh seafood and a great bottle of wine. You and me with front row seats to an amazing sunset and a long dinner. What do you say?”
Her mouth opened in a little oh, before she blinked again and licked her lips. “I think that sounds like the perfect date. Only an idiot would say no to that.”
Victory hovered a second away and Bill’s pulse picked up. “I know you’re not an idiot so I’m thinking that’s a yes.”
Her smile was almost shy. It was a side to her that he’d never seen and it fascinated him.
“Since you’ve listed most of my favorite things, I’d find it really hard to say no. In fact there’s nothing I’d like more tha—”
Another temblor stopped her words and they both looked up, waiting for the vibrations and shaking to get w
orse or stop, waiting for the sky to fall…or at least the rest of the cement overpass above them.
“Shit,” he hissed as the shaking got worse. He dove for Elena and they lay flat on floor. A huge creaking followed by a crash shook the car worse as the dust flew and made the air fuzzy.
Elena gripped his shoulders tightly against her.
The shaking stopped just as suddenly as it began and Bill pulled away. His heart thundered and he couldn’t pin down the reason. Earthquake or Elena’s answer. “You were saying?”
She didn’t smile. “I have no idea. I just know that I hope we get out of here because I’d really like to have that dinner. Watching the sunset with you sounds perfect.” She glanced at his mouth, and Bill chucked all the reasons to go slow out the window.
It was easy to talk about when they got out of here and where they’d eat and what they’d drink, but the reality was they might be buried for good. He gauged his chances and didn’t see a reason to hold back.
Slowly he bent his head and touched his lips to hers. A soft kiss, a bare brush of his lips against hers just to let her know what he had on his mind. Her lips molded to his, her fingers stroked the hair at his nape. Blood surged to his dick when she sighed into his mouth. But, God, he didn’t want to do this with her right now. Not here in this dusty, hot pit. He wanted a chance to give her an amazing night. He wanted to lay out the red carpet and show her the town, then he wanted a huge cozy bed where he could spend hours making her come.
He kept the kiss innocent—as far as innocent went—because if he got too hot around the collar he’d toss his convictions and roll her here anyway, despite all the things he wanted to give her. Pulling away, he stroked his thumb across her cheek. “That is something I could get used to doing.”
“I think… Me too.” Her heavy-lidded gaze spoke volumes about how that kiss affected her.
