Burn Out (3 page)

She cleared her
throat. “I’m sure it won’t be long before Bri and Ryan give her those grandkids
she wants.”

“She was countin’
on us to give her those grandbabies.” He knew he was crossing the line, but he
had nothing left to lose.

“Don’t,” she said,
pressing a palm into his chest as she stepped back. “Please, just don’t.”

***

Erika ran past
their table and in to the ladies restroom, hoping Jeff wouldn’t notice her
hasty departure. He constantly questioned whether she still had feelings for
her ex, and she knew their intimate display on the dance floor would not help
dispel his concerns.

Her hands trembled
as she reached for the edge of the countertop and tried to calm her erratic
breathing. Being in Evan’s arms again had awakened feelings she’d believed
she’d come to terms with months ago.

“Hey, are you
okay?” Lena asked, stepping through the door.

Erika met her
friend’s eyes in the mirror. They had met through the men in their lives. Dom
and Evan had been best friends since college, and when Lena started dating Dom,
they became a tight foursome who enjoyed spending their limited free time
together. In spite of her break-up with Evan, she and Lena had remained close.

“No,” she
whispered.

“It’s gonna be
okay,” Lena said, coming forward to envelop her friend in a hug. “We’re gonna
help get you through this.”

“No,” Erika said,
trying to regain her composure as she withdrew from the tight embrace. “This is
about you and Dom. We’re here to help you celebrate, and I won’t do anything to
take away from that.” She ran her hands up and down Lena’s arms. “You’ve been
through so much, honey. You deserve to be happy, and I couldn’t be more
thrilled for you and Dom. Honestly, I’m going to be fine.” She squared her
shoulders and forced a smile. “I don’t want you to give me another thought.”

Lena wiped a tear
from Erika’s cheek. “That’s easier said than done when I think about what this
must be doing to you. I know better than anyone how hard it was for you to even
think about moving on when you ended things with Evan.”

“But I have moved
on.” When Lena didn’t look convinced, she amended her statement. “Okay, I’m
trying to move on. I knew it wouldn’t be easy, seeing him again, but we both
love you guys and we wouldn’t do anything to ruin this for you.” She kissed
Lena’s cheek. “I promise. Now let’s go out there and get drunk.”

Lena laughed as
they linked arms. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen you drunk.”

“There’s a first
time for everything, right?”

“You wanna tell me
what Evan said?” Lena asked, pausing mid-step and forcing Erika to do the same.

“He said he missed
me.” She chose her words carefully so she wouldn’t risk falling apart again.
“He asked about Jeff…”

“What did you tell
him?”

“The truth. That
it’s not serious, but…” She shrugged. “Who knows, it might be.”

Lena didn’t look
convinced. “I can’t help but think if something was going to happen between you
two, it would have by now. You’ve worked together for almost two years. You’ve
been seeing each other for several months…” She looked around to make sure they
were alone before she whispered, “You haven’t even slept with him yet.”

That was the
biggest bone of contention in Erika’s relationship with Jeff. Erika maintained
she wasn’t ready to get serious, even though she’d told Evan that she was
anxious to settle down and start the next phase of her life; it didn’t feel
right. She didn’t know if she was the problem or Jeff was. Either way, she
wasn’t about to jump into bed with a man she couldn’t imagine spending the rest
of her life with. Evan was the only lover she’d ever had, or ever wanted, and
she hoped the next time she made love would be as special as their first time.
She would know she’d found the right man if he made her feel the way Evan did
when he held her.

“Oh, it looks like
my parents are getting ready to leave,” Erika said as they rounded the corner.
“It was so nice of you guys to include them.”

“Are you kidding?
I love them. They’re family.”

That was the
incredible thing about this group of people, Erika realized. Once they accepted
you into their hearts, you were always welcome in their homes and at their
dinner tables. She was worried tonight would be awkward, since she hadn’t seen
many of them since she’d broken up with Evan, but they all treated her as
though she was still one of their family.

“You go,” Erika
said, squeezing her friend’s hand. “Dance with that gorgeous fiancée of yours
while I say good-night to my parents. Then we’ll have that drink… or ten.” She
winked. “Maybe that’ll put me in a better frame of mind.”

Lena hip-checked
her and smiled. “You’re on, girl.”

Erika’s mother
held her hands out when she saw her daughter approach. “How are you,
sweetheart?”

“I’m fine.” She
smiled, only hoping it was genuine enough to convince them. “You guys are
heading off early.”

“Your father has a
doctor’s appointment early in the morning,” Beth Carlton said, holding her arms
out so her husband could help her with her coat. “It was so nice of Dominic and
Lena to include us.” She waved at the couple, who was dancing in the middle of
the floor. “I’m looking so forward to going to the Bahamas. I’ve heard
wonderful things about it.”

“So have I.” She
frowned at her father when she noted he looked a little pale. “This doctor’s
appointment, it’s nothing serious, is it?”

“No, of course
not. Just a routine check-up.”

Her father hugged
her and she allowed herself to hold on a little longer than necessary. Andrew
Carlton had always been her hero. He was the kindest, gentlest, most
compassionate man she had ever known, and he’d built a successful business
around the animals he loved so much. He was the reason she’d decided to become
a vet, and taking over his business when he retired was one of her proudest
moments.

“Are you really
okay?” he asked, drawing back to look her in the eye. He glanced over her
shoulder and she turned to see Evan walking toward them.

Evan didn’t
hesitate to kiss her mother’s cheek before clasping her father’s hand. “It was
so good to see you both,” he said, placing a hand on Erika’s back as though he’d
never given up the right to touch her.

Beth raised her
hand and patted Evan’s face as though she’d finally been re-united with her
long-lost son. “It’s good to see you, too.”

“How have you
been, Ev?” Andrew asked, shrugging into his overcoat. “Busy with work?” His
eyes met his daughter’s, as though he felt he needed to remind her why she’d
ended the relationship.

Toward the end of
her time with Evan, she’d been miserable and her parents supported her through
it. She went to them the night she left Evan’s apartment, with her suitcases in
hand, asking for a place to stay. They’d insisted she re-claim her childhood
bedroom until her broken heart began to heal and she was finally able to think
about buying a little home of her own. It wasn’t an easy step to take. She’d
always assumed she would buy her first home with Evan, but it was one of many
dreams she’d had to surrender to her new reality.

“Yeah, it takes up
most of my time.” He had the nerve to slide his arm around Erika’s waist. “Of
course, I haven’t got much else goin’ on these days.”

Andrew raised an
eyebrow at the intimate gesture. “We met Natasha earlier. She seems like a
lovely girl.”

“We’re just
friends,” Evan said, glancing down at Erika. “There’s no one special in my
life. In fact, there hasn’t been for a long time now.”

Erika wished she
had the nerve to stomp her high heel down on his foot, but she didn’t want to
cause a scene in front of her parents, so she smiled sweetly and kissed both of
their cheeks as she pulled out of Evan’s grasp. “I’ll call you guys tomorrow.
Drive safely.”

“Let me know if
you need any help at the vaccine clinic tomorrow. You know how crazy things can
get if you’re understaffed.”

“I think Jeff and
I can handle it, but thanks for the offer, Dad.” She kept her smile firmly in
place until her parents were outside. “What the hell do you think you’re
doing?” she asked, turning on Evan.

“I was saying
good-night to your parents. Do you have a problem with that?”

“I have a problem
with you acting like we’re still a couple.”

“You think I need
you to remind me that another man is takin’ you home tonight?” he growled,
backing her into a small, dark alcove away from the main entrance. “Don’t you
think I know that bastard is gonna be the one makin’ love to you tonight?” His
gaze lingered on her lips and she heard, rather than felt, her sharp intake of
breath when he stepped closer, leaving no room for escape.

She probably
should correct his assumption about the nature of her relationship with Jeff,
but she suspected convincing him to maintain a safe distance would be even more
difficult if she admitted he was her last and only lover.

“It kills me,” he
whispered in her hair, bracing his hands on either side of her head. “Thinkin’
about someone else touchin’ you the way I used to touch you, kissin’ you the
way I used to kiss you…”

No one had ever
kissed her the way he did and she feared no one’s touch would ever make her
feel the way his did. “You have to stop doing this,” she murmured, closing her
eyes as she tried to turn her head away. “It’s not fair… to either one of us.”

“You still want
me.”

He brushed his
cheek against hers and she felt the scrape of his whiskers awaken memories of
long, passionate nights when they’d shut out the rest of the world. “Why are
you doing this? You know we can’t be together. I’ve moved on…”

“If I thought for
a second that loser could make you happy, I’d back off, but we both know he
can’t.” He placed a finger under her chin, coaxing her to look at him. “You
felt somethin’ when we danced tonight, somethin’ you haven’t felt in a long,
long time.”

She shook her
head, desperately trying to deny his claim. “No…”

“Yes,” he said,
his lips hovering just above hers. “I saw it in your eyes when you ran to the
restroom. You were runnin’ scared. What you feel for me terrifies you because
it threatens this perfect little orderly life you’ve built for yourself.”

Erika wanted to
deny his claim, but he knew her too well to believe her lies, so she remained
silent. She hoped he would be the first to back down, even though he never had
before. Couldn’t he see what this was doing to her? Didn’t he care that he was
re-opening wounds that had finally started to heal?

“You chose a guy
like him because he’s a safe bet. He doesn’t make you feel anything and you
think if you don’t feel, you can’t get hurt.”

It pained her to
admit how right he was.

“But this hurts,
doesn’t it?” he asked, brushing his face against her hair. “Being so close to
me and feelin’ as though you can’t reach out and touch me or you can’t kiss
me…”

Her body trembled
in response to his erotic taunt and she knew what she said to him now didn’t
matter; her body had already betrayed her.

“You can, you
know,” he said, framing her face with his hands. “Nothin’ and no one is here to
stop you.”

She closed her
eyes, knowing the temptation staring her in the face was too great to resist.
If she gave in and kissed him or let him kiss her, it would be over. The
grueling months she’d spent trying to pick up the pieces would have been for nothing
because she’d be right back where she started: in love with a man she could
never have, at least not completely.

Pushing against
his shoulders, she forced him to take a step back. “Stay the hell away from
me.”

Marisa stepped in
her son’s path as he headed back to their table. “I was hoping you were gonna
ask your poor old mama to dance?”

Evan rolled his
eyes. His mother was still so gorgeous his buddies often told her she looked
more like his sister. “It would be my pleasure,” he said, extending his hand.

She smiled at him,
trying to look sweet and innocent, but he knew she was gearing up to meddle in
his life yet again.

“It sure was nice
to see Erika again. It’s been too long.” She brushed a piece of lint off his
shirt. “Don’t you think?”

“Yeah, it’s good
to see her.”

“Have you seen her
at all since the break-up?”

She was feigning
nonchalance, but she wasn’t fooling him. He knew she was on a fishing
expedition. “Once or twice.”

“Huh, it looked
like you two were getting pretty close on the dance floor. Any chance y’all
might be thinking about getting back together?”

Evan forced
himself to take a deep breath so he wouldn’t lose his temper. He knew she was
just trying to help, but trying to come to terms with the fact he’d lost Erika
was hard enough. He didn’t need his family and friends reminding him that he
would never find anyone else like her. “In case you didn’t notice, she’s here
with someone else.”