“I have one scheduled tomorrow morning. It’s going to be weird, though. Can you imagine how that conversation will go? Sorry you have not one but two psychotic nephews?” My chest bucks as I say it, and I shove a wad of napkins to my eyes. I can’t help it. I’ve been bawling all night.
“Hey!” Serena dives over me with a hug. “You know, there was a moment when it was touch-and-go for Shep and me. Although, in my case, I was about to be tossed into a wood chipper. But the point is just when I lost all faith, he came through for me. Maybe that’s what this is for you. Your darkest hour—and Eli is about to break out the sunshine. I mean, Eli really is a good guy. I think you should at least listen to what he has to say.”
Colby chortles as if it were the funniest thing. “Do you really think he knows how to tell the truth?”
Teagan shrugs my way. “I still think you’re a good judge of character.”
“Despite my track record?”
We all share a warm laugh.
“Yes”—she adds—“despite that. Look, he’s been at Briggs a long time. He’s bettering his life. And it turns out, Ashley Grayson really is his aunt. Maybe there’s a very good reason he was being shady about his brother. Maybe his brother is the true psycho in question. I mean, he did cop to cyberstalking you—the both of you.”
I shudder as each of those creepy pictures bounces through my mind. “He was watching me—watching us.”
“That’s the key.” Serena points hard as if she just stumbled upon the answer to all of this. “He was watching the two of you. It sounds to me, this was a personal vendetta against his brother. You were just caught in the crossfire.”
Colby shakes her head, already dispelling the theory. “You initiated contact with the brother through the app that Eli himself created.”
Serena groans as she drops her face into her hands. “I did this. That app is just as much my baby as it is Eli’s. That’s it. I have to get it off the market. I can’t put people in harm’s way like this.”
“Don’t do anything rash on my account. You can’t sift through all the idiots out there.”
She gathers her things. “Nevertheless, I’d better talk to Shep and cover all my legal bases.” She dots a kiss to my cheek. “I’ll see you back at the ranch!” She waves to the girls, and before we know it, she’s out the door.
Both Teagan and Colby groan as if they’ve been shot.
“What?” I lurch forward in terror, only to follow their gaze to see what the real horror is about.
“Harper.” Her name comes out in a sigh as she snags the free seat next to me.
“What’s up, chicas?” She pulls out her laptop as if she were about to get straight to work. “What?” She pauses long enough to assess us. “You don’t mind if I sit with you, right? I mean, the place is packed. I’m waiting until the line dies down to get my coffee.”
Colby looks to Teagan and ticks her head toward the door.
“Oh no, you don’t.” I land my hand between them. “I’m imploring you to stay.” I swallow hard as I take in a deep breath. “Harper, there’s something I have to tell you, and it’s not going to be easy for me.”
“You’re pregnant?” she squawks as she bounces back in her seat, and about ten different people glance in this direction.
“Way to get the rumor mill pumping,” I hiss as I scoot my seat back a notch. “No, I’m not. But to be honest, a part of me thinks that might have been a little less complicated. At least my body would be on autopilot, and all I would have to worry about is how many carbs I could cram into my face in a twenty-four hour span.”
“Funny.” She shoots me with those death rays of hers. “What’s going on?” She glances to Teagan and Colby. “Is she sick? Is she dying? What could possibly be this bad?”
“You were right.” I shrug over at my sister. For as long as we have been cognizant of anything, it was understood between the two of us that Harper was an authority on all things—self-appointed, of course. But any resentment I might hold doesn’t change the fact she was indeed correct. “Eli isn’t who I thought he was. He’s something altogether different. I gave him my heart, and he broke it.”
Her eyes widen with a brand new fire in them. “Tell me everything that asshole did to you. I want to know why I’m killing him.”
And I do. I start from the beginning. I tell her all about the Shark, about how it turned out there were two sharks involved, about Ashley Grayson, about Joel Barber. It’s painful recounting it all yet again, like pulling a string of barbed wire up through my throat.
I’m far more familiar with simple truths, universal truths. My life has never been complex by any means. My mother has always been a presence in my life, and my father has not—but that has never dampened my love for him. It was just something I accepted. But the truths that Eli has handed me, they make about as much sense as his lies.
Harper nods calmly as if still digesting it all. “So I have to kill two people. Twins.”
“What’s this?” Knox pulls up a seat and lands at the head of the table. “I’m not one of the twins in question, am I?”
Harper growls as if maybe he is. “Eli Gates is a fake. I need brass knuckles, a stun gun, and maybe a rattlesnake or two.”
Colby whoops up a storm. “That’s what I’m talking about!”
“Stop.” I squeeze my eyes shut tight. “Nobody kills Eli before I get a chance to consider my options.”
Harper cocks her head. “Outside of death, there are no options. Nobody crushes my little sister, stalks my little sister, or relegates my sweet little sis to hygiene ads when she could have been kissing Joel Barber while naked in Times Square.”
“Geez.” Knox inches back. “What the hell just happened?”
“I don’t know what the hell happened.” I collect my backpack and rise from my seat.
“I’ll go with you,” Teagan offers and is quick to jump to my side.
Colby lifts a hand. “I’ll stay here and plot a double homicide with your sister! I like where she’s going with this whole death thing.”
Teagan and I take off for Prescott Hall.
“What can I do for you?” she asks as she slings an arm around my shoulders.
“Watch Hallmark movies with me until we pass out.”
We fall asleep after three hours.
It’s so blissful to be unaware of life, lost in a dream state that suddenly feels far more plausible than reality. Who knew that catching some shut-eye was the only way life could afford me large blocks of time where my troubles no longer exist?
Now if only I could snooze away the rest of my stay at Whitney Briggs.
Sometimes sleep is indeed the best medicine.
IN THE MORNING I hit the shower, but I don’t bother blowing out my hair to perfection. In fact, I ditch the glam job that usually takes place before I walk out the door. I pile my wet spaghetti hair on top of my head in a messy bun, pull on my black WB sweats with the words kiss my mustang scrawled across my bottom in hot pink, and head down to Hallowed Grounds again, this time to meet with Ashley Grayson.
She’s there first, looking impeccable in a pair of jeans, a crisp black leather jacket paired with long, distressed, gray leather boots that I would kill for—and it would be her nephew I would voluntarily slaughter to add those to my wardrobe.
We make small talk as we purchase our coffee. She picks up the tab for mine even though I put up the appropriate amount of protest. We take a seat by the window, and I sigh out at the weary gray world.
Halloween is less than a week away, and the entire landscape has been transformed into a picturesque tribute to fall—mounds of orange leaves everywhere you look, pumpkins cropping up in places they wouldn’t normally be. Even Hallowed Grounds is decorated with paper ghosts and witches.
Halloween used to frighten me as a child, but, right about now, nothing frightens me the way Eli managed to do. I’m not sure what Eleanor Roosevelt would think about that.
“Where in the world should we begi
n?” Ashley Grayson blinks those bright eyes at me, marbled with blue, green, and gray striations. The exact replicas of her nephews, or I suppose since she had them first, vice versa.
“Do you still want me as a client?” I’m not usually so blunt, but I couldn’t help it. In the span of a few dozen hours, we’ve covered a lot of ground most normal people will never even crest.
“Yes.” She leans in dramatically. “That’s a hell yes. By the way, I spoke with the directors of all three ads, and they were more than impressed with your professionalism. Those were not easy stints, you know. A weaker woman would have caved. She would have given both the director and me the finger.”
“I would never do that.” Something in me loosens as we share a laugh. “Believe it or not, I was grateful not only for the opportunity to work, but to be a part of your team. You’re my dream agent. Heck, you’re everyone’s dream agent.”
“Would it be crass of me to say I know?”
We share another laugh over that one.
She leans in with a maternal sense of grace. “I know that my nephew really does love you.”
My mouth opens as if to stop the conversation from progressing, but nothing comes out.
“In fact”—she continues—“I must warn you. He’s walking in this direction.”
I turn just as Eli gives an apprehensive wave and my stomach bottoms out, because not only is he unfairly gorgeous, but because it hurts in the best way to see him, to be in this proximity of him.
He pulls out the seat next to his aunt and nods apprehensively my way. “May I?”
A heavy breath expels from my chest. “You may.”
Eli produces a bouquet of blush pink roses for me. “My aunt thought they were necessary, and so did I.” He winces as he hands them over.
“They’re beautiful.” I bury my nose in them and take in their scent. “And you were both right. They were absolutely necessary,” I tease. “Thank you.”
“Now”—Ashley extends her arms as if she were readying for a war—“I’m going to be here for exactly two minutes just to clear the air on a couple of things, and if you don’t feel safe with my nephew at that time, I suggest you leave with me.”
“Okay.” It takes everything in me to drag my eyes to Eli’s. My emotions are so raw and heavy it feels as if a downpour of tears is imminent. I nod to the two of them. “Let’s hear it.”
Ashley clears her throat. “First and foremost, I need it to be crystal clear that I was not aware of what transpired with the Barber account. Once a project leaves my desk, my team handles the rest of it. And from now on, all that changes. I can see now where I’ve left grave room for error. I realize that you asked me if I wanted to continue to be your agent, but I must ask, are you sure you’re willing to stay on with me?”
“Hell yes.” I share the same enthusiastic response she gave me. “In fact, I appreciate that you took time out of your busy day to speak with me.”
“I can assure you, I will always make time for you. In fact, I had a new account come across my desk just before I left. Ever hear of a brand called Makena?”
My jaw unhinges. “As in the Makena?”
She nods with a laugh. “I have a print ad campaign that will take you to Milan for two weeks. It’s set in early January. Will that work for you?”
“Yes!” My adrenaline spikes at the thought. “That’s winter break, so I won’t miss any class time.”
“Perfect.” She stands and secures her purse to her shoulder. “You’ll be hearing from me personally as we work out the details. How do you feel about staying here with Eli?”
My eyes flit to his as the overpowering urge to jump in his lap and hold onto him takes over.
“I think I’ll be fine.”
She takes off, and it’s just Eli and me—and what feels like the entire universe pressing against us.
His Adam’s apple rises and falls, and his chest bucks before he gets a single word out.
He clears his throat. “I’ve played this out in my mind a thousand different ways, but I think before I dive into the deep end, there’s something I need you to know. I love you, Harley Shelton. I love you more than I thought I could love another person. I love you as if you were my family—the family that I still grieve because they died in that wreck. Yes, I have a brother that I have never mentioned to anyone before, but only because he was dead to me in an entirely different way.” Eli jumps into a long, harrowing account of a girl named Lauren, the shameless flirting that went on, how he caught them, the consequences of their actions. How the accident occurred the very next evening and how both he and Edison blamed each other.
“My God”—I lean in as far as the table would allow—“you have a twin brother that you didn’t speak to for years over some stupid girl? What is the matter with you?”
He cringes. “I guess it all boils down to that, doesn’t it?”
“You can’t really think you had anything to do with your family’s tragedy.”
“I did until my aunt set both my brother and me straight. I guess when you’re immersed in so much grief, you tend to pile on all the hurt you can, including making it somehow your fault.”
I reach over and pick up his hand as a ragged breath escapes me. “Screw that. You are good person—at least I think so.” I shake my head, morbidly confused. “What about Edison? What about the stalking?”
“He was after me. He loved the fact he could make me miserable. He was genuinely using the app—but only to pry into the end user capabilities. My brother is a technological wizard. If it has a mainframe or a hard drive, he has an innate desire to take it apart. He came to the Black Bear one night looking for me and saw us talking to one another. He heard us talking about the app, and the rest is a rather ugly history. I’m sorry. I’m especially sorry that you got dragged into the middle of a feud between my brother and me.”
I stare at Eli Gates for a very long time. Those hypnotic eyes press into mine as if begging me to understand, to forgive all on their own.
“We survived,” I say. “And we made it through to the other side.” I shrug as if I were suddenly indifferent to it all, but in truth, it’s my own way of saying I understand, I forgive you, let’s move on.
“We survived?” His head ticks just a notch. “As in you and me? You’re not going to hang me by my feet?”
“Nope.” A bubbling laugh evicts from me. “My sister has trained me better than that. I would hang you by far more delicate body parts.”
“Ooh,” he groans as if the visual just flashed before his eyes. Eli grasps my hand with both of his. “We’re really okay again?”
“I guess. As long as you never ever keep another dark secret from me that might actually suck me under with you.” Tears come to my eyes. “Eli”—I whisper his name as I push it through the football lodged in my throat—“I love you so much it killed me to think I couldn’t trust you.”
Before I know it, Eli has me in his arms, and we make our way out into the chilly October air. His mouth is covering mine, and we’re going for it full tilt, his delicious tongue lashing over mine, letting me know exactly how he feels, how much he missed me, how much he’s going to make it up to me.
We head to his place, his arm around me, his lips crashing to mine every few feet. And when we get there, Eli makes it up to me in the most beautiful way possible.
“What was that?” I ask, looking up at him as he watches me from above. His chest is palpitating as he struggles to catch his breath from the aerobics that just transpired. “I think you’ve been holding out on me, Gates.” I give his side a quick pinch.
“That was me giving you a preview of what our future will look like. I’m pulling out all the stops. From now on, I want the world to know that the spotlight of my full attention falls to you.”
“In other words, there are going to be a lot of angry girls out there. Will I need a bodyguard for the fallout?”
“You’ve got one—me.” He lands a searing kiss over my lips. “And in t
he event you’re still in disbelief, Kitten—I won’t waste any time in offering up a repeat performance.”
And does he ever.
Eli Gates and I are entering into our happily ever after—heck, we’re already there.
ELI
T he Black Bear Saloon is pumping at full capacity this Halloween night. There are costumes that range from elaborate Victorian era garb to do-it-yourself inspirations that were probably best left at home. The music is blaring, there is genuine laughter in the air, and the entire place holds the heavenly scent of fajitas. What more can you want from a spooktacular Halloween night?
In a way, Harley and I started off at the Black Bear, so it’s only fitting that we come full circle here.
She presses herself to my side as we make our way to the back. She’s got kitten ears staked over her head, and her cheeks have painted on whiskers. I’ve donned my football jersey, as did every guy on the team judging by what I see.
“This is going to be awkward, isn’t it?” She shudders. “I so hate awkward. What if I have nothing to say and long spates of silence ensue?”
“Then we’ll listen to the house band. But it will go well, I promise. It had better go well.” I meant to keep that last bit to myself, but, since I didn’t, at least I’m being honest.
I spot my brother already seated with an enormous platter of nachos in front of him.
“Hey, hey.” He stands with a grin spreading across his face as he extends a hand out to Harley, and they do a quick shake. “I’m glad you came. I apologize from the bottom of my heart for making you afraid. That was not my intention.” He frowns over at me. “I hope you don’t mind. I took the liberty to order up a tray of food. I’m starving. Dig in. Please, help yourselves.”
Harley and I take a seat across from him.
She takes her time studying him, then me. “So, how is everything between the two of you?”
Edison nods. “We’re trying. I’m glad everything is, more or less, behind us.” He shrugs my way. Edison and I got together a few days ago for lunch, and afterward we drove to the cemetery and put flowers on the graves of our parents and our sister. We wept together for the first time. We didn’t even do that at the funeral, too much shock, too much anger. It felt healing, cathartic, so very necessary, and so very delinquent.”
Shameless Kisses (3:AM Kisses Book 18) Page 13
