Loving the Best Man (Friends & Lovers Book 2) (16 page)

“It’s alright, Mom.” Lincoln said, frowning as he looked from Emerald and back to his mother. “Don’t say anything else, please. You’ve said enough.”

Audrey nodded stiffly and clasped her hands behind her back.

“Emerald. My mother didn’t mean to offend you. Please don’t get the wrong idea.”

The only idea she had was that she didn’t belong in Lincoln’s apartment and she probably didn’t even belong in his life. She suddenly felt so alone, so devastated, that she wanted to hide somewhere and cry.

“Its fine,” She said, her voice devoid of all emotion. “I’m going to get my things together and get out of here. Problem solved.”

“There is no problem,” Lincoln barked. But she was already walking out of the living room. “Emerald!”

“I’m so sorry,” She heard Audrey say again from behind her as she entered the hallway.

She fought back tears and rushed to Lincoln’s room. She’d made a mistake in coming here to Lincoln’s apartment. Meeting his mother had made it painfully obvious that Emerald was where she didn’t belong. She knew she was probably being too sensitive but at the moment she didn’t care. She didn’t owe anyone an explanation, especially some lady that she’d just met.

A fat tear rolled down her face as she entered Lincoln’s bedroom and she angrily swiped at it, searching for her bag of clothes. She’d made the mistake of crying in front of Lincoln the night before but she would die before she repeated that mistake. The only other person who’d seen her cry was Robyn and even that had nearly been too much for her to take. She hated pity, the weakness that brought it on and the judging that maintained it.

She found her bag of clothes in the closet but it was only half full. He’d apparently unpacked her things at some point and that fact made her want to cry more for some reason.

“Emerald.” He walked in and closed the door.

“Please leave me alone.”

“No. I won’t. You need to take a minute to calm down.”

“I am calm.” Her voice was no higher than a whisper but her entire body felt as if it were shaking.

“You’re not.” He walked to the open closet where she still stood and grabbed her hand, yanking her towards him.

She allowed herself to be hugged, to be pulled into his embrace. She didn’t want to leave. She didn’t want to find somewhere else to go. She didn’t want to lean on anyone, especially him, but she didn’t have anywhere else to turn. At the same time, she was starting to suspect that she was scared to be alone. But she knew in an instant that she’d do it if she had to.

“Please don’t be upset with my mother. She didn’t mean any harm.”

“She doesn’t like me.” She spoke matter-of-factly.

“She does like you. I can already tell that she approves, not that we need her approval,” He added in a rush. “But she is a whacky, overprotective mother and I think she forgets sometimes that I’m not a kid. Plus the woman is just nosy. She wanted to know what’s going on and I already told her that it’s private.”

Emerald closed her eyes, replaying the conversation in her mind and starting to feel embarrassed about her reaction. His mother hadn’t disrespected her. If anything, her statement had been polite but vague.

“I’m sorry, Lincoln. I overreacted, like…seriously overreacted.” She was on red alert which was new territory for her.

“You did,” He agreed, slowly caressing her back. “Mom thinks you hate her.”

“What?” Emerald exclaimed.

“Now let’s go back to the living room and hopefully clear the air.” He released her and grabbed her hand, surprisingly mellow.

She followed him to the door, her heartbeat now racing because it was
she
who owed his mother an apology.  But when he opened the door, his mother had her hand raised up in a fist, as if preparing to knock. She was wide-eyed and pale.

“Mom, what is it?”

“Two detectives are downstairs at the door,” Audrey whispered, staring at Lincoln and then at Emerald. “They’re demanding to speak with Emerald.”

His pride had taken another hit. Emerald hadn’t wanted him to sit with her while she did the police interview. Instead, she’d asked for privacy, which he had no choice but to accept. Every time he thought they were getting closer something would happen that would make him realize that he hadn’t made any progress at all. 

“I like how she calls you Lincoln,” His mother murmured, holding a mug of tea. “That’s so sweet.”

“You call me Lincoln too,” He said nonchalantly, although that was something Emerald did that he treasured. As stupid as it might seem, he’d noted how she’d said his name and something so small had given him hope over the years.

“Yes,” Audrey agreed. “When you’re in trouble.”

Linc mindlessly used the remote to flip through channels, wondering why Emerald hadn’t wanted his support for her interview. Why was she so scared to lean on him? Even if she regarded him as a lover, not a boyfriend, he thought she still regarded him as a friend.

“It’s odd that she didn’t want you to go with her to speak with those awful detectives,” Audrey said, as if reading his mind. “I hope she didn’t do that because of our…incident.”

“She’s not mad at you, Mom. She was about to come apologize.”

His mother’s eyes widened and she smiled happily.

“She has a lot going on,” Linc went on. “She said she overreacted. She was just coming to speak to you when you told us that the cops were here.”

“I must say, it’s troubling that police are involved. I feel very concerned.”

“You don’t have to worry, Mom. Everything is under control.”

“And yet you won’t tell me a single detail.” She shook her head then raised her mug to her lips for a sip.

“It’s not my business to tell. Emerald asked me to keep it private and I have to respect that.”

“I understand.” Audrey put her mug onto a coaster on the coffee table and folded her hands on her lap. “I do like her. It’s good to see you be so attached for once.”

“Attached?”

“I’ve never seen you show so much consideration for anyone outside of the family.”

He frowned, waiting for further explanation. How obvious had he been? What had his mother, and possibly others, seen or noticed?

“I didn’t realize at the wedding how special Emerald is to you,” Audrey clarified. “But you were so attentive and dutiful. It was a delight to watch even if I thought at the time that you two were just sexual partners-”

“Mom!” He felt his cheeks heat up.

“Oh, calm down,” Audrey said with a dismissive wave. “I’m very aware of the fact that you lost your virginity at sixteen when we went on vacation to Los Angeles. I hardly expected that you were abstinent in all the years since then.”

If he hadn’t already been sitting, he might have fallen down. He couldn’t take his mother discussing his sex life so casually with him but at the same time it was hysterical. His mother, who had often seemed naïve, had been very aware of everything. The burn in his cheeks seemed to spread to his entire face.

“Although I’m concerned about this relationship I am also thrilled. If I’m not mistaken, this is the first meaningful relationship that you’ve ever had. And thank goodness for that. I never liked those floozies that you’ve dated. Honestly, who wears a leotard to meet her boyfriend’s mother?”

“She didn’t know she was going to be meeting you,” Linc said, finally recovering his speech.

“Be that as it may, who even
wears
leotards anymore?”

“Dancers. Gymnasts.”

“But Linc, the girl was a waitress.”

He wouldn’t explain to his mother that the woman, Noelle, had been obsessed with wearing them and often dressed in them for fun, which he’d appreciated. It was embarrassing and seemed so stupid now. But that had been years ago.

The bell rang, saving him from having to answer his mother.

“Who is it?” He spoke into the intercom.

“Grace.”

He buzzed her in, unsurprised that she was at his house. She and Emerald had become very close over the past year and he knew that she was worried. He went to his door to wait for Grace to get off the elevator. When she did, she rushed over, dressed in a bright pink coat and jeans. She had a matching pink knitted beanie on her head and she looked all of twelve years old.

“Where’s Emmy?” Grace said hurriedly, not even saying hello.

“In my office talking with detectives.”

“I can’t believe all this!”

“Come in,” Linc said, taking her by her arm and ushering her inside.

“This is terrible, Linc!” Grace exclaimed. “What if-”

He held up a hand to silence her and met her eyes with his. He could at times communicate with Grace nearly as well as he could with Devin and Allison. His friendship with Devin went back to childhood and Grace had become like a little sister to him.

He didn’t want Grace to say too much. His mother was worried enough as it was. Hopefully the case would be closed and settled before he had to tell his family any significant details about it.

Grace wordlessly took off her hat and coat and followed him to the living room. She greeted his mother as if they were old friends, kissing Audrey on both cheeks.

“How are you, Mrs. T.?”

“I’m wonderful. How have you been?”

Linc excused himself and went to the kitchen to look for a snack. His omelet was cold and he dumped it into the garbage before searching the cabinets. He settled on a bag of pretzels and a bottled water, bringing a bottle of water for Grace too.

“So how long has Emerald been in there with the detectives?” Grace asked when he entered the living room.

“About forty minutes or so,” He replied after looking at the clock.

“Damn, what’s taking so long?” Grace asked, staring down at the floor.

“I don’t know,” Linc replied, sitting down on the couch between both women. “But hopefully it’s almost over.”

He knew that Emerald would be holding it together and putting on a brave front for the police. The way she did for everybody, himself included. But he was just starting to see another side of her and witnessing for himself just how fragile she really was.

“We’ve already spoken with Evan Marley,” Detective Armstrong said. He was a tall black man, middle age, with a noticeable paunch. His face was so bland and disinterested that Emerald wondered if he’d actually investigate the case.

His partner, Detective Hanson, was a young white man - much younger- and very cocky. Emerald had instantly disliked them both but did her best to hide it.

“He claims he didn’t send you any notes or text messages,” Hanson said, crossing his arms over his chest and eyeing her suspiciously.

“Of course he’s going to deny it,” Emerald claimed. The entire conversation had been filled with their insinuations and innuendos and she was already done with it.

“He has an alibi for both incidents with your car.”

“Oh really,” Emerald muttered. “I’m not surprised. He’s a scumbag. He probably paid someone to be his alibi.”

Armstrong scribbled some notes.

“We’re headed to your apartment to talk to your neighbors. Is it possible that one of them could be involved?” Hanson chewed a piece of gum and just the way he chewed, making low smacking sounds, made her want to kick him.

“I’ve already answered that question and the answer is no.” She didn’t bother to hide her impatience.

“We’re trying to make sure we’ve got all the bases covered.” Armstrong scribbled some more.

Emerald tried to remain calm, breathing in even breaths and exhaling as gently as she could. These two were morons. They hadn’t come right out and said it but it was clear that they thought she was doing all this stuff to herself.

They asked a lot of questions about her car insurance, her job, her relationships, and more. Why the hell would she pretend to be stalked for all this time? And they didn’t seem to believe her about loving her old car. She didn’t care about getting some new car. Her Jeep had been her baby.

When the detectives walked out of the office door, Emerald slammed the door behind them and went to put her head down on Lincoln’s desk. She had just put her head down on her arms when the door opened. She jumped up in time to see Grace rush in.

“Are you okay, honey?”

“Those cops are dicks.” Emerald stood up and gave Grace a quick hug.

“What did they say?”

“They’re treating me like I did all this. Fucking stupid asses.”

“Wow, what jerks!”

“I hope I don’t have to talk to them anymore, fucking useless bums.”

“Aww, honey.” Grace wrapped an arm around Emerald.

“Is Lincoln’s mother still here?” Emerald asked.

“Yeah, she is. She’s having tea.”

“I have to go apologize to her.”

“Oh no, what did you do? Mrs. Thayer is such a sweet lady.”

“I didn’t really do anything,” Emerald said defensively. “We had a misunderstanding.”

“At least you’re woman enough to know you need to apologize.” Grace grinned. “It’s the least you can do for your man’s mom.”