Loving the Best Man (Friends & Lovers Book 2) (20 page)

Dumb asses
, she thought as she said goodnight to them. Females lost all logic in the face of something they thought was juicy enough to gossip about. She hoped that her coworkers, who’d become friends in the six months that she’d known them, would use common sense before dragging her and Devin’s names through the gossip mill.

“Are you okay?” Devin asked as they entered the parking garage together.

“I’m good,” Emerald said, following closely behind him.

“Robyn’s really worried. She can’t wait to see you.”

They got into his black BMW. He waved at one of the security guards as he drove out of the parking garage and into traffic. It was still light out but gray and gloomy, matching her mood.

“I think I might stay in tonight,” She said, staring out the window as she leaned back in the comfortable leather seat.

“You can’t spend New Year’s Eve alone. Don’t do that to yourself. You’re letting that asshole win.”

“It’s not about letting him win anything. I just don’t feel like partying.”

“Just come for a little while. Your mood might change. But if not, you can leave.”

“If I leave early, Lincoln will feel like he has to leave early too.”

Devin laughed. “If you don’t come in the first place, he probably won’t come either.”

She hadn’t thought about that. Devin was right and of course he knew Lincoln much better than she did. She kept trying to keep Lincoln in a certain place but it was clear that their relationship wasn’t just about sex anymore, if it ever had been. If she stayed home, he’d likely stay home too. She didn’t want to do that. It would only add to her guilt.

She went into Devin’s and Robyn’s condo to wait for Lincoln to pick her up. Not having her own car was so annoying. She loved spending time with Robyn but she hated relying on others to get her where she needed to go.

The insurance people were giving her a hard time since the incident with her car was currently under investigation. The police report painted Emerald in a shady light and she’d hesitated to even send it to the insurance people.

Robyn looked cozy in a green T-shirt and white shorts. A history teacher, she was usually off for the days surrounding Christmas and New Year’s but she had taken even more time off for her honeymoon. Emerald had never seen her friend looking so relaxed.

“Sweetie, how are you?” Robyn asked as they hugged.

“I’m good,” Emerald replied cheerfully. “Don’t worry, okay? Everything’s good.”

“It doesn’t seem like its good,” Robyn said, automatically leaning back into Devin’s embrace.

“It is. The cops should be arresting Evan Marley any minute now.” But it bothered her that they hadn’t gone to get him immediately after viewing the security footage. They’d hung out at 50G Studios for hours. She’d told herself to be patient. She’d dealt with the stalking for a year. A few hours wouldn’t make a huge difference.

“I hope they do,” Robyn said heatedly, “This needs to stop already.”

“Where’s my baby?” Emerald asked, looking around the cluttered living room for Olivia.

“She’s already at the house with my parents,” Robyn said, “Peyton’s there helping take care of her while they get ready for the party.”

“Aww, I wanted to see her.” She’d been looking forward to a little baby hug.

“You will see her in a few short hours.”

“Yes,” Emerald agreed, looking at Devin, “I will.”

He smiled silently before kissing the top of Robyn’s head.

“I’m going to work out for a little while before we start getting dressed.” He kissed Robyn’s cheek, lingering there as he rubbed his nose across her skin.

Emerald smiled and waved at him when he walked out of the room.

“You two are too damn cute,” Emerald said to Robyn once they were alone.

“I know,” Robyn agreed with a small laugh.  “Do you want something to drink?”

“No thanks,” Emerald replied. Her stomach churned at the thought of trying to eat or drink anything. All she wanted was to hear news of Marley being arrested. She’d relax after that.

“So how are you? And don’t tell me you’re good when it’s obvious you’re not.”

“I’m getting by,” Emerald said. “He left a plastic box with blood in it. It was giftwrapped. It had hair in it. It was disturbing. I won’t lie; it was straight scary.”

“Oh my god, is it human blood and hair?”

“I don’t know yet,” Emerald said, “But imagine if it is? How did he get it? I never thought he was capable of murder but now…”

“Thank God the cops are all over this. The sooner they lock him up, the better.”

“Yeah, seriously.” Emerald sighed and decided to try changing the subject. “What are you wearing tonight?”

“Ooh, come look!”

She followed Robyn into the bedroom, smirking at the mirror on the ceiling over the bed. It had startled her when she’d first seen it months before. Of course she’d had to tease Robyn about it.

Robyn ran to the walk-in closet and rushed back out, holding up her dress. It was a lilac colored sheath dress.

“Of course I bought heels to match,” Robyn said, holding the dress up to her body and looking at her reflection in the floor-to-ceiling mirror that stood beside her dresser.

“Of course,” Emerald grinned. It felt good to sit back for a few minutes and talk about something as insignificant as what they were going to wear and how they were going to wear their hair.

After Robyn hung the dress in the closet, she plopped down on the bed next to Emerald.

“How’s everything going with Linc?”

“Better than I expected,” Emerald admitted. She’d told Robyn that she was going to be staying with Lincoln for the time being. “He and I spoke the other night…about my childhood. He finally knows everything.”

“Oh wow!” Robyn exclaimed. “This is huge!”

“No, it’s not,” Emerald insisted hastily, “It’s no bigger than me letting you tell Devin about certain things that happened.”

“It is!”

“Not!”

“Allow me my hope! Damn,” Robyn said with a laugh.

“Okay. But don’t get your hopes up too high.”

“So how did he take it?”

“He was nice about it all. I’m glad he didn’t look at me like I’m some charity case.”

“He’s a good man,” Robyn said gently. “He’d never do that.”

Robyn had known Lincoln for as long as he’d known Devin and the Jamison family. She’d been just a little kid when Lincoln and Devin had become friends. They were all pretty close and Emerald had always wanted to be a part of that. Slowly she was becoming a part of it all and it was causing her to experience several new emotions that she hadn’t been prepared for.

In helping prepare for Robyn’s and Devin’s wedding, she’d started to feel a part of a family. In the few weeks since the wedding, the feeling had grown and was intensifying.

“I know,” She quietly agreed.

She and Robyn had just finished doing each other’s nails when Lincoln arrived to pick her up. He was very quiet, only speaking to Robyn and Devin briefly before insisting that they leave. She knew he had something on his mind but she didn’t stress herself trying to figure out what it was. She was starting to get to know him better and she knew that he wouldn’t waste time telling her what was on his mind.

She didn’t have long to wait. She climbed into his Benz and buckled up.

“Why didn’t you call me?”

“What?” She asked, confused.

“Dev said you didn’t want me to come this morning but he said you would call. Why didn’t you call?”

“I’m sorry,” She said, “I got so caught up with everything. I forgot.”

“Did you? Or did you just think I wasn’t worth it?”

“Of course not, Lincoln!” She yelled angrily.

“Okay,” He said and turned the key in the ignition.

“Okay? That’s it?”

“I believe you,” He said simply. “So what else is there to say?”

She sat back, confused. She’d been ready to have an argument but she’d already deflated thanks to his no-nonsense attitude. She sat back, watching him without saying much else.

It was a decent ride from Devin’s and Robyn’s place in Jersey City to Lincoln’s place in Hoboken. Traffic wasn’t too bad and they only got stuck sitting in it for a few minutes.

Her phone rang as they rode in the elevator and she took it out, seeing that Grace was calling.

“Hey, Grace, how are you?”

“You’re still coming tonight, aren’t you?” Grace asked.

“Yeah, I am,” Emerald laughed. It never ceased to amaze her how well Grace knew her already. If not for her talk with Devin, she probably wouldn’t be going to the party.

“Good. I’m just double-checking. I know how you get when you’re stressed.”

“I’m not stressed.” The elevator doors opened and Lincoln took her hand, leading her off.

“Anyway,” Grace went on, “I’m taking lots of pictures tonight. Apparently Mom created a Facebook account and wants me to tag her in everything.”

“That’s funny. Lincoln’s mother created an account the other day too.”

“I wonder if that means Mrs. Phillips did too. I should ask Robyn.” Grace sighed. “Social media was a lot safer before mothers started joining.”

Emerald laughed again and soon she and Grace got off the phone.

She went to take a shower while Lincoln went to the bedroom. She quickly washed and got out. They had plenty of time to get to Robyn’s parents’ house but most of her clothes were crammed in bags and she needed to search thoroughly for something to wear.

“Emerald?” Lincoln knocked on the door as she was drying off.

“Hey.” She opened the door, wrapped in a long towel.

“Detective Armstrong just called your phone. They want us to come in.” He looked very somber.

“
Now
?” She asked incredulously.

“It sounds serious.”

“Did they arrest Evan Marley?”

“I don’t think so,” Lincoln replied.

“Shit!” Emerald said with a scowl. “I wish they’d said whatever the hell they had to say when they were at my job. They only stayed there for
hours
.”

He just nodded without speaking. He looked fine as hell in a crisp black button down shirt and gray slacks. She felt like she could see every contour of his hard chest through his shirt but she knew it was just her imagination. They’d spent so much time in bed together that she knew his body very well and could envision his entire nude body if she closed her eyes.

She’d love nothing more than to jump into bed and have a quickie there and then. It might soothe her nerves after the long, trying day she’d had. Unfortunately she’d gotten her period the day before. Her fun would have to wait a few more days.

“I have to find something to wear,” She said, stomping off to the room. The sooner she got away from Lincoln the better. He always got her hormones going.

“I’m going to the office to make a couple of calls.” He called from behind her.

“Okay,” She said without looking at him. She dumped all of her clean clothes on his bed and began sifting through them. She usually kept her dresses hanging neatly when she was home but she’d packed in a rush and thrown everything together.

After she’d agreed to stay in Lincoln’s apartment until she found a new apartment, he’d offered to make room in his drawers and closet for her but she’d told him she didn’t need the space. Now she regretted it. He’d already hung some of her stuff in his closet anyway but those were mostly work clothes.

She had to get dressed before she went to the police station. There probably wouldn’t be any time to come back and get dressed afterwards. She found a few dresses, a couple of which were very badly wrinkled. She took out a blue and white striped sweater dress and held it out. It wasn’t too badly wrinkled and she thought she could accessorize quickly if she put it on.

She twisted her hair back into a bun, keeping it simple but adding a few clips. She put on the dress and hurriedly stepped into high heeled boots. She thought about putting some makeup on but she just wanted to get to the police station and find out what was going on.

“You look beautiful,” Lincoln complimented when she walked into the living room.

“Thanks,” She said, feeling suddenly shy. “Let’s get out of here. I want to talk to these cops. They’d better have a damn good reason for not arresting Marley.”

He walked over and kissed both her hands, making her pulse skitter. She smiled stiffly, hating her reaction to him, and abruptly turned to go get her coat.

He was glad that he’d invited himself along to the police station with her. Of course they hadn’t requested his presence but he’d be damned if he’d let her go there alone, even with security tailing her.

The police station was small and cramped. The place buzzed with activity. From time to time, officers walked by with a suspect in cuffs or carrying paperwork. Phones rung and the lights repeatedly flickered.

She looked very small sitting in a chair across from Armstrong’s desk, like a puppy who’d just been kicked, and he wanted nothing more than to cradle her close to him.