Cover Up (Cover #2) (11 page)

EMILY

Two hours later, I was alone, balled up on my bed, and feeling completely numb. I kept repeating the night’s events over and over in my head.

What the fuck? How could I not remember a whole fucking year of my life?
Huddled in the middle of my queen-sized bed, I closed my eyes and tried to recall my last memories, but couldn’t seem to go past the day Adam confessed his love for me. Tears rolled down my face as I recalled that day, like it was yesterday.
That’s because to you it literally was yesterday.

Sniffling back my tears
, I lifted myself off the bed, threw on my shoes, and headed for the door. I needed to drive and think.

Grateful that
Suzie had told me the make and model of my rental car while I was staying in the hospital, I climbed in, still sniffling back the tears that threatened to fall. I didn’t have a specific place in mind, but I peeled out of the parking spot and headed to the main road in a brand new Honda Civic. Normally, in these kinds of fucked up situations, I would have headed to Adam’s for comfort. But given today’s revelations, I was on my own – all alone, with a chunk of my life missing. So, I just drove around, with no specific destination in mind.

Music blared loudly through the small car as I allowed myself to cry. The realization that Adam, whom I still deeply love
d just a few weeks ago, was no longer in my life hit me hard and I drove on autopilot. Rationally, I knew it hadn’t been a few weeks, but to me it
had
been. To me it was still the best love I had ever experienced and the sudden loss tore me apart.

Everything changed for me in
a single day. I didn’t know what my relationships had been like with my friends. I didn’t know what new sexual conquest Suzie had found in the last year; didn’t know if Diana had made partner in her firm yet. Were we still thick as thieves? I wanted to believe so, but how could I be certain with a whole year’s memories torn out of my head.

Twenty minutes into the drive, I found myself outside of a decorative iron
-gated entryway with cast iron columns on each side. I turned off the engine and stared at the gate, wondering why I had driven here. Climbing out cautiously, I rounded the car and peered at the gate. It seemed a bit familiar, but I wasn’t sure.
Have I been here before?

A chill crept up my spine as I lifted my fingers to touch the gate, closing my eyes and channeling any memory I could conjure up. It felt like I stood there forever before I finally gave up. It was obvious I was losing my freaking mind
, so I allowed my hand to drop to my side, and slowly turned away to walk back to my car.
Uh… too late for that Em, you already lost your mind,
I thought. Chuckling to myself for the first time since Suzie’s big announcement, I almost had a heart attack when I heard the gate suddenly open behind me.
What the…

“Ms. Emily, do
you wish to come in?” I heard someone say, though I couldn’t decipher who it was. Hesitant I stepped forward, followed by another and then another.

Chapter Eight

“Some nights are made for torture, or reflection, or the savoring of loneliness.”

~ Poppy Z.
Brite ~

JULIEN

Sleep didn’t come
, nor did I attempt to chase it, as I sat in the guest bedroom nursing my whiskey. Today had been harder than I had anticipated and tonight… Well, tonight I drank. Pushing myself up from the beige love seat in the corner of the room, I ambled over to the balcony, desperate for fresh air. I reached the railing, took a deep breath, and released it while clamping my eyes shut. I repeated this a few more times. No one woman was worth all this heartache, I tried to convince myself.

Releasing a final breathe, I opened my eyes and was instantly
shocked at what was before me.
Had I gone completely insane? Was this the final stage for a broken man? It wasn’t enough that Emily’s presence haunted my home, but now I saw her, too.
I wondered.

I watched
while my mind illustrated her walking up the rounded driveway and stopping at the water fountain at the center. She reached down to touch the flowers, picked one, and lifted it to her nose. She seemed a bit lost and I chuckled to myself thinking how wrong my mind was. I was the one lost.

I lifted my gaze back
to her, only to find that she looked directly at me, startled.

“Oh shit! Sorry! I’m not trespassing
, I promise. I just ended up at the front gate. Shit, shit, shit,” she went on and on as she backed away from me, then turned around to walk away.

Suddenly I was on my feet, flying down the stairs and at the front door. “Wait! Don’t go!” I called after her
, running to meet her. “Please!” I begged just before reaching her and grabbed her arm.

She
spun around and peered at me, her intense brown eyes obviously upset. Her reddened eyes glared at my hand on her arm and I released her immediately.
Had she remembered me after all?

“Look
sir
, I said I was sorry and that I wasn’t trying to trespass. I’m leaving. You don’t need to run me down!” she bellowed, obviously still having no clue as to who I was.

My heart sank. She had to have remembered something if she was at my door
, but she hadn’t recognized me. Suddenly worried about her safety, I looked around for any sign of her friends, “Are you alone?” I asked.

“Uh … no … I have friends with me. Big
, tall, muscular, friends that will beat the shit out of you if you try something,” she challenged, threw her shoulders back and lifted her head high in an attempt to intimidate me.

I couldn’t help but chuckle at her.
God I missed that sassy attitude.
It hurt that she hadn’t remembered me fully, but I was relieved that she had remembered enough to come here. It was a start, a sign; and, my God, I was determined now - more than ever - to never let her go, my heart feeling complete just to be near her again.
My Emily!

“
Really? So, where exactly are these friends of yours?” I asked sarcastically, barely able to contain my laugh, which only seemed to piss her off more. She glared at me with a deathly stare, her soft plump lips pressed together as her chest began to rise and fall.

“That’s for me to know and for you to find out,” she asserted before turning away from me.

“
Mon amour
, please don’t leave. It’s not safe for you to be out here alone. At least let me take you home?” I pleaded softly behind her.

She stopped dead in her tracks
, and I released a breath that I hadn’t even realized I had been holding, as she turned to face me. She didn’t say a word at first but stared at me with a confused expression.
Was she remembering something?

EMILY

“Who are you?” I asked him, feeling self-conscious and oddly turned on. The man was like a perfect fucking painting. His strong jaw and pink, pouty, seemingly soft, lips were absolutely delicious to look at. Not to mention his strong arms, which were barely concealed under his dress shirt, which was half unbuttoned, giving me a nice view of his sculpted, chiseled, chest. He. Was. Perfect.

“Julien... Julien Belmont. It’s a pleasure to meet you,” he proudly responded as he stared into my eyes, almost hypnotizing me. We stared at each other for what seemed to be forever before I finally
gaze from his beautiful grey gold mixed eyes. I couldn’t quite explain it, but my body seemed so in tune with his, our chests rising and falling in sync.
This is getting fucking weird.

I had initially set my mind to leave when I spotted him on his balcony
, but something held me there until it was too late and he was staring down at the crazy woman wandering through his beautiful estate.
Technically, you weren’t exactly in his home Em,
I thought to myself before pushing the thought out of my head. In his home, around his home…it didn’t matter. I was an intruder.

I
never expected him to follow me, and was completely mortified that I’d been caught wandering about in front of his house like I was some escaped mental patient or something.
Escape…no, but mental patient, I guess so…

When he grabbed my arm
, I instantly acted instinctually, pulled my arm away from him and threatened him - all while trying to ignore the instant flood between my thighs.
Real classy Em, good move.
It was late and I was in a strange place alone with a man I didn’t know. I didn’t want him to take advantage of the situation, especially since my treacherous body seemed to respond to the man.

Though he appeared genuine in his concern for me, I was not naïve. There
were fucking sickos in the world who wouldn’t think twice about hurting a young woman who looked as though she had belonged in a padded room.

I was all set to walk back to my car, but then he said
those words
and, I couldn’t explain why, but I couldn’t move; my body immediately seizing up as a warm sensation rushed through my body. Finally, I turned around. He stood rooted in the same spot. His eyes fixed on me, almost pleading for me to stay.
Mon amour…I’ve heard that before. I think.

“Are you sure we haven’t met? There is something familiar about you,” I said barely above a whisper, damn near breathlessly.

He smiled softly, slowly sauntering to me before pulling me into his strong arms. My initial reaction was to push him away, but he held on tighter, allowing his scent to invade my nose. I inhaled deeply, instantly soothed by the smell of his musky cologne.
Why in the world was this…stranger having this effect on me?

“I’m a friend,” he finally said into my hair and
, God help me, I couldn’t help but melt into his strong, warm, comforting arms. A flash of one of the many dreams I’d had over the last week came to mind.

Me on his bed.

Him on my bed.

And me in an office.

Slowly I connected the dots.
My Frenchman?