The Virgin's Night Out (25 page)

She swallowed and gave him a game smile. “Not much for horticulture.”

“Don’t see the fun in it myself.” He looked at Morgan. “So...what’s the deal?”

Morgan raised his eyebrows. “I’m curious why it’s your business, Stanton.”

“Clayton, yank the stick out of your ass. He’s here to pick me up for a date. He sees you, and apparently you know each other.” Rocki rolled her eyes. “Do the math, genius.”

The cop stiffened. “Hell, you’re dating a
lawyer
.”

Rocki sighed. “Well, not officially. Not yet. You see, we haven’t had the date.” Then she shifted her gaze to Cole and added, “Besides, I didn’t know he
was
a lawyer.”

“Does it matter?” Cole asked softly.

“Hell, yes,” Clayton snapped.

Rocki smiled. “Not so much.” Then she looked at the flowers. “Clayton...what do we do here?”

He glared at her, then abruptly groaned. “A lawyer. A fu...a lawyer, for crying out loud.” He sighed and shoved a hand through his hair before studying the flowers again.

That was when Cole noticed something else—two white envelopes on the counter. Clayton tapped them with his pen and glanced at Rocki. “I’ll call around, see what I can find out. But you need to come in, at least fill out a complaint about this. You know that.”

She glanced at Cole. With a tired smile, she said, “Maybe that official date is going to have to wait.”

“Maybe. But I’ll drive you to the police station.”

That tired, strained look on her face pissed him off, Cole thought a few minutes later as he wove in and out of the early evening traffic, following Clayton Morgan to the police department. Pissed him off, and worried him.

Reaching over, he caught her hand where it lay fisted in her lap. “This won’t be so bad. You just answer some questions and sign your name in a few places. And since you know the cop, he’ll probably be able to speed things up, too.”

“I know.” She rolled her head on the seat and gave him a weak smile.

Something about her tone made him think she
did
know, too. Hmmm. Okay. He was asking. Damn it, he was asking. Because whether they had their date tonight, he was already in far too deep with this woman and he needed to know what in the hell was going on. Assuming she told him.

“Somehow, I don’t think that ‘
I know’
is just a vague, empty comment.” He rubbed his thumb along the back of her hand, noting how tightly she had that fist clenched. So tight her hands must ache from it, he mused. “Somehow, I think that ‘
I know’
is said from experience.”

As he slowed down for a red light, he turned his head to look at her. “Am I right?”

Rocki had her eyes closed. In the faint light coming into the car, she looked pale, too pale. And still so amazingly beautiful. Scared, too. Somehow, he didn’t think
scared
was her normal. He wanted to gather her up against him and hold her close, stroke her until that tension faded.

“You’re right,” she whispered. She opened her eyes, staring straight ahead. “Yeah. You’re right.”

The light turned to green and he focused on the road once more, but continued to hold her hand. “You maybe want to tell me about it?”

“I don’t know.” She blew out a shaky breath. “But I can’t right now. I need to keep it together and that’s taking a lot out of me.”

Cole nodded. He could see that easily enough on his own. “Okay.” He wouldn’t push. Not yet. But he wanted to know what was going on, what kind of unhappy secrets had darkened her lovely eyes.

This was an unexpected complication.

But oddly enough, he wasn’t the least bit inclined to walk away.

“And that’s it. I ran outside, didn’t see anybody. I came back inside and called you.”

Damn it, this was hard. Even though Clayton was here, this was still hard. Clayton had been a friend of hers for years—since college. Lacey used to tease her that he’d had a thing for her. Rocki didn’t know if that was true but she did know he’d always been there. Always. And he was here now. But this was still so hard.

She sat perched on the edge of the chair, her hands wrapped around the coffee. She’d asked for it more to warm her hands than to drink it, but she’d had a few sips. The caffeine was already zinging through her system, and she wondered if it would be possible to sleep.

She didn’t know.

She didn’t know if she
wanted
to sleep. A split second later, she decided she probably didn’t.

Off to the side, Cole stood silently, his face expressionless, his golden eyes unreadable. A lawyer. She wouldn’t have guessed it. She didn’t have the knee-jerk dislike for lawyers that Clayton obviously had, but still, she would have thought she’d be able to peg one.

It didn’t matter, though. Not to her. She’d meant it when she said it earlier and she still meant it. She was glad he was here. Glad she wouldn’t have to drive back to the shop alone, although she wasn’t so glad about spending the night alone at home.

Morosely, she stroked a hand down the silky black sleeve of her new corset and decided it hadn’t mattered what she wore. She wasn’t really going to be able to put it to good use, anyway. Not that she’d planned on doing much more than seeing if he appreciated her efforts, but still.

“Rock?”

Glancing up, she saw Clayton staring at her, his brows arched, an expectant look on his face. She sighed and lifted a hand, pressed her fingers to her forehead. “Sorry, Clayton. My mind is wandering.”

“It’s okay.” He reached out and tugged on a lock of her hair, much as he’d done when they were younger. And she reached out, swatted at his wrist, much as she’d done. It was a familiar thing, something that settled her, soothed her. “You’ve got plenty of reasons for your mind to wander. But I need you think, to focus.”

He slid a look toward Cole. The way he was sitting, it wasn’t very likely Cole would have noticed, but Rocki saw it. “I’ve got a few more questions to ask you. Would you like for me to do it privately?”

Way to be subtle,
she thought tiredly. But she just shook her head. She’d already decided she’d tell Cole. Why? She wasn’t sure. But she just felt like she should. She felt like he needed to know—like she should tell him. “Just go ahead and ask.” She looked at Cole, their gazes connecting. If he didn’t feel casual about her, then he needed to be aware she came with a bit of baggage, she figured. If he couldn’t deal with that, then better she know early, right? “I plan on telling Cole later on, anyway.”

Clayton stilled.

She looked at him, saw the way his eyes narrowed, the way his mouth tightened. “Is that so? Things that serious with you two already?”

In her peripheral vision, she saw Cole push of the wall. Quietly, she said, “That’s not exactly your concern, is it, Clayton? You’re my friend. That doesn’t give you license to inquire about my personal life.” She glanced at Cole and then away. “Come on. Whatever you need to ask, get it done.”

“Shit, Rocki.” Clayton grunted and shoved a hand through his hair. “Fine.” He shoved off the desk and started to pace. “How likely is it that this is connected to...before?”

Before
.

Terror hit her. Images flickered through her mind. Hands hard and cruel. A low, ugly whisper...She swallowed the bile churning its way up her throat and blinked away the dots trying to crowd in on her vision.
No, damn it—you’re not controlling me like this, bastard. Not now. Not again
—

Taking a deep, slow breath, she closed her eyes. She wasn’t helpless. She hadn’t been then, she wasn’t now. Closing her hands into fists, she opened them, flexed her fingers.
Breathe, Rocki...breathe.

As the black dots faded away, she looked at Clayton. “Honestly, I don’t know. It’s been
years
. Eleven years. You know that. Would he still be out there, trying to freak me out?”

“He had an obsession for you. You tell me.”

Rocki shuddered. “Hell. I don’t know. I just don’t know.”

Clayton nodded. “Okay. Well, he’s going to be the
first
person I check out.” He sighed. “Go on. Get out of here. Get some rest.” Then he added, “And damn it, be careful. Anything else happens, I want to know. Immediately.”

The walk to his car was quiet. Snow came down around them in a gentle, steady fall. Already their tracks from just a short while ago were nearly covered. Rocki grimaced and kicked at the ground.

“I’m getting tired of snow.”

Cole muttered, “Me, too.” He glanced over at Rocki, felt his heart stutter at the sight of her. There were snowflakes in her hair. She had her head tipped back, and even though she was scowling, there was a smile on her lips. “You know, for somebody who claims to be tired of it, you aren’t in any rush to get out of the snow.”

Rocki sighed. “Well, maybe I’m tired of it in theory. Maybe only partially tired. But there’s something peaceful about it, too. I could use some peace right now.”

“You’re safe, you know.” He brushed her hair back from her face. He meant to push it back behind her ear. Really. But he found himself rubbing the dark, thick lock between his thumb and forefinger. Tearing his gaze from her hair, he looked into her dark eyes and said, “You can relax.”

She scowled. “I don’t think I remember how.”

“Try.” He forced himself to let go of her hair. “Come on. It’s cold. We can enjoy the peace from inside the car, too.”

Moments later, they were doing just that. As the car took to the roads, Cole glanced over at Rocki, saw that she was staring out at the falling snow, still smiling.

“I moved to Asheville from Florida when I was in high school,” she said, glancing at him out of the corner of her eye and. “Never got to see snow until then. I always used to dream about a white Christmas. Every now and then, I can actually have one. Mom used to complain about it, telling Dad they should have picked a different spot in North Carolina. She hated the snow. I don’t always mind it, I guess.”

Her smile
.

Damn it, what was it about that smile of hers? It hit him like a punch, straight to his gut. It didn’t matter if it was the mischievous sort, or the pensive, thoughtful kind. Every time she smiled and her dark eyes crinkled up like that, it just got to him.

Clearing his throat, he said, “You want me to take you to your car? I’m following you home, just so you know. So I can either take you home now, or follow you home, it doesn’t matter, but...”

She reached over and laid a finger across his lips. “I’m hungry. How about you take me to get some food, instead?” She glanced around and said, “Assuming the snow hasn’t shut the city down.”

He caught her wrist. “Nah. This place doesn’t shut down that easily.” He really should take her home. She was tired—the bruised look under her eyes more than told him that. And she looked fragile, even though he knew she was anything but.

But he wasn’t about to pass up a chance to spend some more time with her.

“Although, you realize, this doesn’t count as a date. This is just getting food. You still owe me a date.”

“Typical lawyer,” Rocki sighed. But she was smiling.

“So what happened with you and Mara?”

She had a heaping bowl of Irish stew in front of her, a glass of Harp, and a fire crackling not too far away. As far as she was concerned, it was the ideal way to spend a Friday night—providing she didn’t think about earlier.

She hadn’t expected him to take her to
Molly Flanagan’s
, but the sight of it had made her smile. She loved this place. The Irish-style pub was packed, too, all but bursting at the seams as they made their way inside.

Cole had gone for a Guinness and a burger, and glanced at her now as she snatched a few of his fries. He scowled at her. Rocki decided then and there that they really did need to have a second date. It felt too right not to.

If everything else went okay.

“Mara...” Cole sighed. He wiped his fingers on his napkin and lifted his Guinness, but didn’t drink. Instead, he studied the half-empty glass, as though it held the answers to the universe. “Have you ever known somebody who could go from being one thing to being something else...completely?”

Rocki lowered her gaze. Her heart bumped against her ribs. “Maybe.”

“It wasn’t a quick thing. Quick...well, that probably would have made me leave sooner, and it wouldn’t have been so hard, maybe. Might have gotten ugly at first. But...” Scowling, he studied his drink. Long moments passed before he finally shifted his gaze up to meet hers. “She didn’t used to be so miserable—I’m not talking outright mean, because she could always be a bitch when she wanted. It’s just that lately, she just wanted to be a bitch more often than not. She never used to be that way. She used to be happy. Or happier, or least. I don’t know when that started to change.”

“It makes you sad.”

“Yeah.” He sat the glass down and leaned back into his chair, turning his head to stare into the fire. They were tucked into one of the smaller alcoves and it was mostly quiet, rather private. They could hear the muffled music and the roar of other voices, but nothing distinct. “It’s not that I have regrets about ending it, because I don’t. Maybe I only regret not seeing this sooner. But I hate that somebody I used to love is so unhappy now.”

Then he shoved a hand through his hair. “Not exactly good dinner conversation, considering I plan on convincing you to go on another date, right?”

“Well, technically, this isn’t a date.” She smiled at him as she lifted her glass. “We were both hungry. So we’re eating.”

She took a drink and then set her glass down, staring at him. “I’m sorry. Regardless of whether you still love Mara or not, I can tell it bothers you. So I’m sorry.” Then she wrinkled her nose. “Even though I don’t much care for her.”

“Hell.
I
don’t much care for her these days,” he muttered. Then, he shot Rocki a quick look. “The woman I fell in love with...I don’t think she exists anymore. I don’t know what happened to her, but she’s not the one I’ve been living with the past few months.”