A Tangled Web (A Books We Love Erotic Romance) (10 page)

The wind had shifted and instead of saying goodbye to her, he was being forced to break up with
Erin
. As soon as he could get some time to himself, he'd go back and tell her the truth.

"Derek? Were you listening?"

Her voice brought him back to this present problem. "Angel, I told you what I think about that. They're going to find out sometime, and it's better now than later."

"Trust me. It's better this way. Mama suspects. Actually, I think she knows but she'd rather pretend she doesn't. There they are, already seated." She pointed to a table with a white cloth and a 'Reserved for Fairchild' placard.

"Good evening, Dior," Julia said, holding up a hand as they approached.

"Good evening." Derek squeezed it and hoped she wasn't expecting him to kiss it.

Walter nodded and Derek returned the gesture as he pulled out Angel's chair for her. Seating himself, he cast a nervous glance at her before speaking. "If you don't mind, I'd prefer you call me 'Derek'. 'Dior' is a nickname I'm trying to shed."

"Of course, if you prefer…" Julia sat back in her chair and fingered the strand of pearls at the neckline of her blue and white print dress. "However, Angel spoke so often of 'Dior' that I may find it difficult at first. The first I heard the name 'Derek' was when she showed me a wedding invitation."

Derek cleared his throat but was saved from replying by the appearance of their server. Walter wore a frown that made Derek wonder if he was a tight-ass and didn't like shelling out the money for a restaurant meal. He thought he'd made it clear to Angel that he was
taking
them to dinner, but she might not have understood or else failed to pass on the information.

"Tonight's my treat," Derek said, as the young man poised a pen over an order pad. Since he planned on paying, he might as well relieve the old guy right away. "Everything is on me."

Angel and her mother ordered iced tea, with Julia telling their server he could take their wine glasses away. "I might want wine with dinner, so leave mine," Derek said. "Right now, I'd like a scotch on the rocks. How about you, Mr. Fairchild?"

Looking happier, Angel's father ordered a twenty-two ounce draught beer. "I don't drink wine but I might have ale with dinner," he said, rubbing his hands together. "Derek, you can call me Walt."

The drinks arrived and Walt, after taking a long draught of his, tapped Angel on the hand. "What's wrong with you, missy? I thought you liked those fancy Cosmopolitans."

An uncomfortable silence fell over the table, and before Angel could reply, Julia said, "She's watching her calories until after the wedding, Walter. Let her alone and let's talk about the arrangements."

'Arrangements' made Derek think of a funeral and seemed an apt word for the ceremony that was ending the life he wanted. He'd already heard everything this afternoon that he wanted to hear and now he would have to hear it all again.

"When's
Erin
arriving, Angel?" her mother asked.

"
Erin
?
"
Derek choked on his scotch. It couldn't be. Not
his
Erin
. Of course it wasn't. "Who's she?"

His
fiancée pounded him on the back. "That will teach you not to gulp. You're supposed to sip scotch," she said.

His face burned as he shot back, "I believe, as a bartender, I know how to partake of drinks as well as prepare them, and I wasn't gulping. It just went down the wrong way."

"You're a bartender?" Julia squealed. "Angel said you were a lawyer."

Derek didn't like the panic in her voice. "I have been working behind the bar at a dinner club recently. I hope you don't find anything wrong with that."

Angel kicked him under the table. "It was a temporary stint," she said. "Isn't that right, Derek?"

He longed to deny it, just to see what his future mother-in-law would say. "Yes, I am an attorney."

"Oh, thank heavens.
My
side of the family doesn't drink and they'd be horrified if Angel married a bartender. My parents are teetotallers and my brother is a pastor. I wanted him to officiate at the wedding but Angel objected." Julia assumed a 'woe-is-me' pose.

"He's a lay minister, Mama. He never attended seminary and anyway, he's a hell-and-brimstone preacher."

"Then I'll bet he's one of those out of date enough to include the 'love and obey' clause. Right, Angel?" Derek asked, raising a brow while smothering a grin. He was having fun with this, and it was about time he found something to smile about. Julia's mother was too prissy for her own good.

"What's wrong with that?" Julia demanded.

"Do you obey Daddy?" Angel turned her hands upwards.

"Of course, she doesn't," Walt said. "Let's talk about something else."

Derek's mom and dad squabbled sometimes, but he stayed out of it. All the Fairchilds argued, and he was going to have to get used to it since he had to become part of the family.
Great.
Derek motioned the server over. "Another scotch on the rocks and…" He looked to Walt.

"Make that two. I've never drank scotch, Derek, but I'm game tonight. And to answer your question, however long ago you asked it,
Erin
is Angel's cousin. Her mother, Barbara, and Julia are sisters," Walt said, poising his fork and steak knife over his
New York
strip.

Angel pasted a smile on her face that Derek found almost scary. "
Erin
is my attendant," she said. "We've been close since we were kids. You'll meet her at the rehearsal Friday night and she'll be staying at the hotel where you are."

Even though he didn't want to know, Derek had to ask. "What is your cousin's last name, Angel?" Erin could be assigned the room next to—or across from—him, and he wasn't sure he could bear it…if it was
his
Erin
. It couldn't possibly be, of course. It was ridiculous to even think it.

Angel shrugged. "What does it matter? I'm sure you've never met her." Another mood change, she sounded cranky enough to make Walt plunk down his knife.

"Take it easy, missy. Your future husband asked a simple question. Don't bite his head off."

"Dad, Erin lives in a swanky uptown area in a house that resembles a mansion. So I doubt she'd frequent a bar like Club Rendezvous, and how else would Derek know her?"

"That's no reason to give him a smart-mouthed answer."

"Walt, don't be so hard on Angel." Julia touched her husband's hand. "She's overwrought with the wedding coming up."

"Okay, but I don't see why she's making a big fuss over nothing." He turned to Derek. "
Erin
's maiden name was O'Brien, but she's divorced and still goes by her married name, Erin Fox."

* * *

Erin
sat across from her son, watching him dig into the maple syrup-drenched pancakes she'd made and dip his bacon into the sweet liquid. She rose and refilled his milk glass and sat down again to sip her coffee and pick at the pancake on her plate. She had gotten very little sleep. Lying awake, she'd gone over and over what might have caused Derek to suddenly leave for an entire weekend.

Was he trying to break up with her? Could he be afraid he was falling in love with her? Was she too affectionate? Maybe her love for him came across so strongly that he'd panicked. Remembering what she'd whispered during their last bout of sex, she pressed a hand to her chest to still the rapid beating of her heart.
I love you
. She should never have said those words. Derek had warned her he might be a one-night stand, and that was probably what he'd meant. 'If you fall in love with me, I'm out of here.'

She had passed off her tears as those of joy when Joe arrived the night before. They'd actually been a mixture of disappointment when she found it wasn't Derek at the door and shame that she wasn't more excited to see her boy. She thought she'd misjudged the date for his return until Joseph explained he'd planned to keep him for the weekend but Joe was eager to see his mother. It was a joy to hold him close again and she was touched that he'd missed her.

She scooted Joseph out the door after a brief exchange, unable and unwilling to cope with him. She knew he wanted to stay and rehash their trip, but she'd rather hear about it from Joey…Joe. Besides, Joseph would key in on her mood immediately. After years of marriage, he knew when she was stewing about something.

Joey and Erin had sat up for hours while he told her tales of their travels. He'd had a marvellous time and she was glad she'd let him go. For his sake, mostly, but also for hers and her brief fling with Derek. She still harboured hope he'd show up. She needed an explanation. Closure, if it came to that—but she didn't want their affair to be over.

Then suddenly, he'd phoned and she'd been so glad to hear his voice, she'd accepted his flimsy excuse that 'something came up' and let him ring off without telling her what. He told her he'd see her soon, but he didn't sound happy about it and so, how could she be?

The doorbell rang and Joey dropped his last forkful of pancake. "That must be Dad. Remember? He said he'd come by for me today and we'd go to CVS and print out all the pictures we took. You said it would be okay even though I'd been with him for the past few weeks, remember?"

"I remember, honey, and that's fine. I'll look forward to seeing them," she said. "Run along. I might go out for a while, so have your father call me before he brings you back."

"Yikes." He slapped himself alongside the head. "I can't believe I forgot to tell you, Mom. He bought me a cell phone. I'll go get it."

Erin
sighed. An eleven-year-old with a cell. Oh well. It could come in handy.

He came back, scribbled the number on a pad she kept on the kitchen counter, yelled, "Bye," and slammed the screen behind him.

She heard Joseph say, "What's the hurry? I thought I might speak to your mother."

"She's going out," Joe replied. "I can't wait to see the photos."

At least their son wasn't still trying to play matchmaker.
Erin
stiffened her spine and waited for the purr of Joseph's engine as he pulled away, then sprang into motion. She wanted to drive by the house where Derek lived, if she could find it. She needed to know if he was still there or if he'd really left town.

Heading her car towards
Highland
, her heart pounded. What should she think if he hadn't gone away? Perhaps he was having second thoughts about their relationship and wanted time to think. But if she could find him, they'd talk and she'd make everything okay.

When she reached the short street, she drove slowly down the block, studying the houses. There was no way of telling which one he lived in. They looked nearly alike and there were seven to choose from. She parked in the middle and set off on foot, starting with the closest one.

"Good," she exclaimed, seeing two mailboxes with names. This was going to prove helpful.

At the second house she approached, she found one with 'D. Acampora' written on it. She'd found the right one. She rang the buzzer and waited. There was no answer.

Heart hammering, palms damp,
Erin
buzzed the other name, 'J. Johnson'.

The door opened so quickly,
Erin
thought the woman standing there might have been watching through the sheer curtains.

"Mr. Acampora moved out yesterday. I saw you ringing him, but he's gone."

Moved out?
Erin
thought her knees were going to buckle under her. She clutched her chest. "Did he leave a forwarding address?"

"I asked him for one, but he said he never got any mail here except advertisements. I told him 'you never know' and when I said that, he laughed and said he'd notify the Post Office to forward any first class letters."

* * * *

Erin
, feeling as if she'd been punched in the stomach, thought it couldn't be true. He wouldn't just leave. Derek
loved
her. Almost without thinking, she headed for Club Rendezvous, but once inside she realised it wasn't even noon yet. So of course the daytime bartender would be someone she'd never met, but maybe that was just as well since she wanted information. Squinting to adjust her eyes to the dimness,
Erin
saw that the person behind the bar was a young woman.

"What will you have, miss?" she asked.

Erin
ordered a screwdriver. Since it was still morning, orange juice seemed more proper. The club was almost empty and the gal, whose nametag said 'Babs', after making
Erin
's drink, drew a cola from the tap and leaned back against the shelving that held the liquor bottles. "Is it getting hotter outside?" she asked.

Erin
blinked at the unexpected question. She hadn't taken note of the temperature. If it had been pouring rain, she doubted she would have noticed.

"I heard the temp's going up to eighty today. I'm glad to work inside where it's air-conditioned. I hate the heat. Don't you?" Babs asked.