by Laura Burton
“I’m asking you!”
“Well, it’s late… but if you’re concerned about this ex-boyfriend, it could be worth checking that she’s alright. I think it’s best you call Luther. I get it if you don’t want an entourage, but a little back up won’t cause any harm.” David’s reasonable voice had Edward nodding along.
“Right, I’m going over there.”
“Let me know how it goes. I’ll be up most of the night getting this work done, so call anytime.”
Edward thanked David and ended the call with a firm nod. Then, without further hesitation, he grabbed his jacket and left the apartment.
The block was quiet. Edward stood looking up at Catherine’s apartment determinedly, eyeing the amber glow from her living room window.
“Hi Catherine, you left in such a hurry, I wanted to make sure you were okay?” he whispered to himself. Suddenly, standing at the bottom of the steps to her apartment, he didn’t feel so brave. From the outside, all looked normal. Was he imagining things? Maybe she just wanted to go home early? He stood immobile, wondering what to do.
After a few minutes, he hesitantly climbed the steps, his heartbeat picking up pace with each step. He settled in front of the door and cleared his throat. Then, he rapped on the door and waited with bated breath.
The lock clicked and with a squeal, the door swung open. Edward’s smile faded as he locked eyes with the last person he wanted to see.
“What are you doing here?” they both said at the same time. Calvin crossed his arms and gave him a hard look.
“I thought I made myself clear,” he said with a sneer.
“I guess you didn’t,” Edward shot back, squaring up to him with a defiant look on his face.
“Calvin, I’m sorry I’ve looked everywhere but I just can’t find –” Catherine’s voice stopped as she came into view. Edward peered over Calvin’s shoulder to meet her shocked gaze.
“Edward.”
“I’m sorry, I didn’t realize you two…” Edward backed away a couple of steps. “I just, I thought we were –”
“Wait,” Catherine shoved past Calvin, whose smirk disappeared as he watched her throw her arms around Edward.
“I’m glad you came,” she said into his shoulder. Edward broke into a smile and winked at Calvin who looked back, affronted.
“Calvin thought he lost something in my apartment, but I was just explaining to him that I haven’t found anything,” Catherine explained. She smiled, but her eyes bore into Edward’s, and she cocked her head in Calvin’s direction as if to give him a secret message. Edward looked back at her, puzzled.
“Such a shame,” Calvin said, lacing his fingers together as he descended the steps with ease. “Well, I suppose you’re busy. I wanted to talk, but it looks like I’ll have to come back another time.” He stroked Catherine’s cheek with a bony finger and slinked by. Edward stared him down and held Catherine protectively.
“Good night Calvin,” he said firmly. Calvin inclined his head and continued down the street. Edward and Catherine stood, barely breathing as they watched him disappear into the dark night.
“Are you okay?” Edward asked, looking back at Catherine. Her face was as white as a ghost. She nodded.
“Do you want to come in?” she asked tentatively. Edward nodded.
“Sure.”
Edward sat on Catherine’s couch and listened to her rant. She marched back and forth across the living room rug and threw her hands in the air with frustration as she explained what had happened. Edward picked up the black rose lying on the side table and stared at the label with a mixture of intrigue and confusion.
“What a strange guy,” he murmured, as Catherine finished.
“Really? That’s all you’re going to say?” Catherine stared at him with her hands on her hips. Edward tried to ignore the fact that her unruly hair and heaving chest conjured all sorts of dangerous ideas in his head. Instead, he put the rose down and stood.
“Come here,” he said softly, pulling her in for a hug. “This isn’t a big deal.”
“Easy for you to say.” Catherine marched over to the whistling kettle and pulled out a couple of mugs from her cupboard. “He’s a creep. I don’t feel safe in my own house.”
“You call this a house?” Edward asked, looking around. He guessed the entire footprint of Catherine’s apartment was the same size as his bedroom at the penthouse.
Catherine glared at him. Edward swallowed and smiled back at her weakly.
“Sorry,” he said. “Go on.”
Catherine poured water from the kettle into the mugs and stirred vigorously, biting her lip. Strands of frizzy hair covered her face. Edward wanted to sweep it to the side and smother her troubled face in kisses.
“He keeps saying I’ve got something of his, but he won’t tell me what. And I can’t find anything.”
“That’s weird.”
Catherine handed him a mug and walked back over to the couch, kicking her boots off as she went. Edward glanced at the lumps in the hot chocolate and smiled to himself as he followed her to the couch.
“So, you don’t want to get back together with him?” he asked. Catherine looked at him with disgust.
“Definitely not.”
Edward’s shoulders relaxed. He took a sip of the boiling hot chocolate and winced.
“Careful, it’s hot,” Catherine said absent-mindedly as she stared at the wall. Edward smirked.
“Thanks,” he said. He lowered his mug and reached out to her. “So, what do you want to do?”
Catherine shifted in her seat and glanced at Edward before really looking at him, as if only just seeing him properly for the first time.
“I’m so sorry, we’ve only just met. You must think I’m a – a –”
“I think you’re dazzling,” Edward said deeply, leaning into to look at her closely. Her cheeks flushed. “And incredibly sexy.”
“You do?” her voice wavered and she raised her mug to her lips slowly. Edward watched as she softly blew the hot chocolate and blinked at him. He nodded and cradled her face with his hand, grazing his thumb across her cheek. All of the muscles in Edward’s body tensed, and he no longer paid attention to the throbbing ache in his back and stomach. This time, a new ache took center stage and it urged him to move closer to Catherine. He obeyed. A little too willingly, because just as he went to lean into her mouth, his mug tipped, and Catherine howled as she jumped to her feet.
“I’m so sorry,” Edward said, breathless, staring at the half-empty mug in his hand and the damp patch of burning liquid that had drenched Catherine’s dress.
“And you thought I was clumsy?” she laughed and backed over to the counter. Edward stood, looking wildly around the room, as if for instructions on how to handle the situation. He had never poured boiling hot chocolate on a woman before. This was entirely new territory.
“What can I do to help?” Edward asked, frantic. Catherine dabbed her dress and looked at him with a mixture of annoyance and sympathy.
“I think you should go,” she said slowly. Edward slowly lowered his mug to the counter and nodded, his breath catching in his chest.
You blew it. Totally blew it.
Edward apologized again and without another word, left the apartment, wondering if he could possibly make things any worse.
Chapter Fifteen
Deeply and Truly
Catherine collapsed in a tired heap on her bed and sighed heavily. Her damp hair fanned across her pillow and her inner thigh still smarted where the hot chocolate had soaked in through her dress. She thought that a warm shower would help, but it seemed to only worsen the pain.
It was long after midnight and every part of her body ached, but none of it could wipe the goofy smile from her face.
What a day. What a week!
Catherine huffed. Part of her was giddy, wondering just what Edward might have done had he not scalded her with hot chocolate. The other part of her was troubled by Calvin. She had the feeling he was sending
her on a wild goose chase. Just what was it that he left at her apartment? Why wouldn’t he tell her? Calvin’s cryptic replies were no help.
“You still have something of mine,” is all he would say. His air of mystery was annoying and the thought of Calvin showing up at her front door unnerved her. She thought for a moment about moving away, but the memory of Edward’s arm wrapped around her shoulders, giving her a reassuring squeeze as he stared Calvin down, made her grin spread from ear to ear.
My protector.
As soon as the thought crossed her mind though, a small voice in her head reprimanded her. Catherine Fisher was not that type of woman. She was pragmatic, adventurous and had the nerve to stand up for herself. She didn’t need a man to save her.
Yet ever since the moment she met Edward, that was exactly what he did. Over and over again he saved her. And it was exciting. She slid underneath her bed sheets and pulled them up to her neck as she squirmed. Her mind replayed Edward leaning in, his lips puckered and eyes dark, hungry and intense. She hummed as she rolled over and curled into the fetal position, trying to ignore the hollow sensation in her midriff. She blinked in the darkness and allowed her mind to slowly play out thrilling scenarios of Edward that had her blushing. Then, she finally succumbed to sleep, losing herself in sickly-sweet dreams.
The doorbell rang, and Catherine stretched out like a cat on her bed. A weak beam of sunlight poured in through the gap in her curtains and she blinked sleepily, looking at the dust particles flying around the sunlight.
“Just a minute,” she shouted as she slinked out of bed and staggered bleary-eyed to the door.
“Good morning, I thought I’d, oh––”
Catherine stood with her hand resting on her door handle and squinted into the sunshine as her brain fought to catch up. Edward stood with a huge bouquet of yellow daisies on her doorstep. He was freshly shaven, and his dark curly hair had been styled neatly to the side. Catherine staggered back and motioned for him to enter as she yawned. Then, once she closed the door behind him, she caught sight of her appearance in the wall mirror to her left.
She didn’t look pretty.
Her hair stuck out in all directions, and she had a wet patch on her nightshirt. Probably from drooling in her sleep. Mortified was not a strong enough word to convey how she felt.
“Can you wait here for a few minutes? Help yourself to a drink, I just have to change.”
Catherine eyed Edward as he nodded quickly and sat down, the bouquet of flowers still firmly in his grasp.
It took a record-breaking eight minutes for Catherine to wash her face, change into her clothes, and tame her hair. She jumped up, yanked her skinny jeans over her hips with a huff, and fastened the button. Then she gave her reflection the once over in the mirror and tucked a stray piece of hair behind her ear.
“Good morning,” she said brightly on her return. Her eyes scanned the living room, but Edward was no longer seated on the couch. Instead, he was standing at the breakfast bar, armed with a pair of scissors and snipping the ends off the daisies.
“Oh hey,” he said, his face reddening at the sight of her. He stuffed the flowers into a glass vase and cleaned up the cuttings. “How are you feeling?” he said, his eyes flitting down to her leg as he brushed off his hands and walked over to her. Catherine’s heart leapt as he reached her. His bright baby blues were like two pools that she longed to fall into.
“No harm done,” she said, offering a brave smile. Edward’s shoulders slumped with a sigh.
“I can’t believe I was such an idiot. I want you to know, I’m not usually this clumsy around women.”
Catherine fiddled with one of the buttons on his cotton shirt and raised her brows as she stared at it.
“Oh? How do you usually behave around women?” Her eyes flew up to his face, her forehead was bright red now. A small vein bulged on his left temple.
“I don’t mean –” he gave a light cough. “Is it hot in here?” He tugged at the collar of his shirt and shifted his weight. Catherine grinned.
“You look cute when you’re worried,” she said, echoing his words from the night before. She placed her hands on his shoulders and craned her neck as she looked at him steadily. “How are you feeling?”
“Me? Fit as a fiddle,” Edward replied. A little too fast to sound convincing.
“A fiddle eh?” she dropped her hands and walked over to the kitchen. “Are you hungry? I could make pancakes or French toast.”
Edward leapt over to the breakfast bar like an excitable puppy and removed his jacket.
“I’m starving.”
Catherine set about making food, as Edward did most of the talking. He covered all the bases. His favorite color was blue. He loved classical music. Pineapple on pizza was – as far as he was concerned – a crime. He wanted to be a policeman when he was a boy. Catherine learnt more about Edward in ten minutes than she had all week.
“And I want to do Nascar racing one day. I’m going to sponsor a team soon.”
“Don’t be ridiculous,” Catherine blurted out without thinking. “You’d need at least a million dollars to sponsor a Nascar team.”
Edward’s face turned a deep shade of violet before he cleared his throat and shook his head.
“Right,” he said with a laugh. “I wasn’t being serious.”
Catherine served up the pancakes and pulled out a jar of maple syrup. She watched with amusement as Edward took the syrup and smothered his stack until it was drowning in it.
“You’ve got a sweet tooth, I see,” she remarked. Edward’s eyes shot up to meet hers and his smile grew wide, putting his dimples on show.
“You have no idea,” he said silkily. Catherine rolled her lips inward and bit down against the smile taking over her face. Before she could think of a clever response, or find out what he meant, her phone buzzed.
“Oh,” she looked up at the grandfather clock on her wall as it chimed, and her stomach turned into knots.
“Is everything okay?” Edward asked with a mouthful of pancake. Catherine hurried across the room to the dining table and opened her laptop.
“It’s eight, I talk to my brother at this time,” she explained as she set up the call. Catherine glanced back to see Edward spin around on the barstool with his eyes lit up.
“Johnny? Great. I finally get to meet him.”
“Finally? I only told you about him yesterday.” Catherine turned back to the laptop with a shake of her head and laughed. After a couple of rings, a screen popped up with Jonny’s face beaming at her.
“Morning Cathy, how are you?”
Catherine tried to keep Edward in her peripheral vision as she spoke to Johnny. Wondering when a good time would be to announce that she was not alone. It was surprisingly difficult to get a word in edgeways. Johnny had news to share.
“You remember I went into the city? I went to my interview and the lady was really nice. She liked that I knew so much about the animals. She offered me a job right away.”
“That’s great news.”
Catherine jumped at the sound of Edward’s voice. Johnny’s eyes widened and he moved to the side, as if it would help him get a better look at Edward, who was off camera.
“Who said that Cathy?”
Catherine waved Edward over, he stooped down and smiled broadly to the laptop, his cheek hovering close to Catherine’s.
“I know you,” Johnny said with glee. “You made me a video.”
“Hi Johnny. It’s great to meet you pal. Congratulations on the new job.” Edward’s body heat burned Catherine’s cheek and warmed other parts of her body. She listened as Edward answered Johnny’s many questions, and her heart swelled as she listened to their conversation.
Catherine marvelled at her current situation. Here Edward was, sitting in her apartment, eating pancakes and talking to her brother, as if this was the most normal thing in the world. And it felt like it was normal. Edward pulled up a chair and rested a hand on her knee. She tentatively put her hand
over his. The touch sent shivers of excitement through her whole body and it took all of her resolve not to squeal.
“Oh, you’re Edward? We’ve heard so much about you, haven’t we Johnny?” Catherine flinched, but Edward shifted his hand to grasp hers and gave her a reassuring squeeze. Her mother appeared, and a mass of thick brown hair obscured Johnny from view. Catherine caught her own reflection in her mother’s glasses. She and Edward were sat cheek to cheek.
“You have got to be Catherine’s mother,” Edward said with a charming smile. “I see where she gets her gorgeous hair from.”
“She certainly didn’t get it from me.” Catherine’s dad appeared on screen; he was entirely bald with extremely bushy brows. Catherine’s stomach squirmed.
Great. Let’s just meet the whole family, shall we?
Edward was a perfect gentleman. He cracked a couple of jokes; her family laughed. He complimented Catherine’s singing, and appeared to show genuine interest in her family. She sat in silence, listening with admiration to Edward hitting it off with her favorite people.
“I take back what I said the other day,” her mother said, now turning to look at Catherine. “You’ve got a good one, Cathy. Don’t let this one go.”
“Mom,” Catherine said in a warning tone. “We’re not dating.” Edward’s head turned to her so quickly, she was sure he’d crick his neck.
“Aren’t we?” he asked. Catherine faltered. She could sense the hurt in his voice. There was an awkward silence before someone on the laptop coughed.
“Johnny, we’ve got to get ready,” Catherine’s mother said in her fake cheerful voice. They waved and exchanged goodbyes and the screen fell blank. Catherine smiled sheepishly at Edward, who sat with his brows knitted together in thought. Catherine opened her mouth to say something when the doorbell rang.
What now? She thought wearily.
“Sorry about all this,” she said, briefly touching Edward’s shoulder as she passed him. She pulled open the door and groaned.
“Oh great. You’re back,” she muttered. Calvin stood on the doorstep, wearing a black suit and tie, holding a bouquet of red roses. “Who died?” Catherine asked, eyeing his strange attire. He looked far too formal for a sunny Saturday morning. Calvin’s dark eyes widened as they flitted next to Catherine. A rush of movement behind told her Edward was no longer sitting at the laptop.
