Moments In Time: The Complete Novella Collection (11 page)

Shock slapped me hard across the face as I
gaped at the photo.

The caption read:
Carlene Adams, employee
at Stalford Jewelers, revealed to be Nick Johnson’s secret
flame.

“Oh, my God!” I clapped a trembling hand
over my mouth and snatched the magazine from Julie. I studied the
article, my head about to explode.

“What do they mean?” Julie asked and scooted
closer.

I ignored her and my gaze landed on a photo
of me and Nick, then another. The first one surprised me. It was
taken the first time we met and kissed in that café close to Grace
Chapel. Nick held me in his arms; our eyes were closed as we
reveled in each other. Who had taken that picture?

The other was taken at the Lux Hotel bar,
the night Nick told me he had called off his wedding and wanted to
be with me. The first night we’d made love.

I grabbed my chest, trying to stop the pain.
How did they know?

Julie reached for the magazine, her jaw
almost hitting her chest.

“Is this Nick Johnson?
The
Nick
Johnson? It says here you guys have a thing. You are involved with
the most eligible bachelor? Holy shit! Amanda was right; there’s so
much we don’t know about you.”

Little did she know, this was only the tip
of the iceberg.

The town of Serendipity rarely boasted
exciting celebrity news, so when the press got hold of a spicy
piece of gossip like this, they clung to it. Nick’s success had
placed Serendipity on the map, and he had become an instant public
figure. Maybe something more exciting would happen in town and the
press would lose interest in our private lives? Fat chance.

***

By the time we returned to Stalford after
lunch, Lilliana was waiting for me in the store. Judging by the
expression on her face and the tabloid on her table, she knew about
me and Nick. So did Sam, who sat on the couch, looking as if
someone had slapped him.

Lilliana’s gaze flickered to Sam and
returned to me. “Carlene, although we do not approve of you dating
one of our customers—”

“We’re not dating.” Of course that would be
hard to believe. Photos never lied.

Lilliana raised an eyebrow. “As I was about
to say, your private life is none of our business and you can date
whomever you like. What’s important is that you continue doing your
job as expected. As long as we don’t discover anymore surprises
about you in the media. We have a reputation to protect.”

“You won’t,” I said with a chest full of
stones.

***

On my thirtieth birthday, three weeks after
my relationship with Nick was exposed, I bought myself a small
chocolate and coconut cake and blew out the candles, wishing for a
fresh start. A clean slate. If no one would give it to me, I’d give
it to myself.

My cell phone vibrated just as I was about
to take the first bite. I lowered the spoon and gazed at the
glowing screen. Unknown number. I rarely answered calls from
numbers I didn’t know, but whenever I ignored them, I ended up
torturing myself, wondering who it could have been and whether it
had been important.

I pressed the phone to my ear. “Hello?”

“It’s Nick. I need to see you. Meet me at
the Lux tomorrow at one p.m.”

When I entered the hotel bar, Nick was
sitting at a table in a corner. He wore a cap, a blue shirt, and
jeans.

My throat tightened. It was torture to see
him, knowing I would not be able to touch him.

Last time we were in this hotel, he’d booked
a room on impulse so we could spend some stolen hours away from our
normal lives. When I closed my eyes, I still smelled the burning
candles, the sweet scent of roses, the chocolate mint éclairs we’d
eaten.

I still remembered every detail of that
night as if it were yesterday. The way our eyes met every time we
touched. The first time we made love. His gentle touch, his kisses,
his stubble against my cheek as he whispered into my ear that he
wanted to be with me. I’d come so close to heaven.

But I fell the morning after, when I
discovered the birthmark on his neck, identical to Chris’s, that
proved they were brothers.

By pulling that trigger, I’d separated them
forever.

I took a deep breath, then walked over and
sat down in the chair across from Nick without saying a word.

A waiter came to the table to ask for our
order.

I asked for a glass of water. My throat was
parched. And it was the only thing on the menu I could afford.

Nick ordered nothing. He was a man on a
mission, it seemed.

I spoke first. “Thanks for calling,” I said.
“I so wanted to see you, to talk.”

“I was in China for a month. I got back
yesterday and found this.” He tossed a newspaper in front of me.
“Haven’t you done enough damage? Do you really think this is the
best way to get my attention?” His eyes blazed.

I picked up the newspaper with my stomach
roiling. Hard to believe we had gone from tearing each other’s
clothes off to throwing accusations. “I’d never do that.”

“If it wasn’t you, who was it?”

I shrugged. “Maybe it was that waitress from
Café Dash.” She’d acted really strange around Nick, hadn’t been
able to pull her eyes from him. She had clearly known who he was.
“There’s a photo of us—”

“I saw it,” he snapped and raked a hand
through his hair. “Why would she take this long before going to the
press, though?”

“I don’t know, Nick.” I sighed and tapped my
fingers on the table. “But you have to believe I didn’t do it.”

“Why should I? You’ve proven to be a
fantastic liar.”

I bit my lip. “I tried to call you a few
times. I wanted to explain. Would you let me tell you what
happened, now? Please?”

Nick leaned back and crossed his arms. “Say
what you have to say. I don’t have much time.” His eyes bored into
mine, searching for answers.

I swallowed hard and held my glass to give
my hands something to do. It was hard to come up with the right
words now that I was expected to talk about Chris on demand. “It’s
a long story. I don’t really know where to start.”

He leaned forward and I caught a whiff of
his cologne. If only I could reach out and touch him. “Why don’t
you start with why you lied to me?” “I didn’t lie.”

“You lied by omission.” He was biting the
inside of his cheek, and a vein throbbed at the side of his
neck.

How much time did I have before his anger
boiled over? I drew in a sharp breath. “Nick. I didn’t murder
Chris. I killed him by mistake. The police can confirm everything.
If I were guilty, wouldn’t I be in prison right now?”

“Like I told you last time, to hell with
what the police said,” he growled between clenched teeth. “I don’t
give a damn how it happened. The fact remains that you robbed me of
a lifetime of getting to know my brother.” His Adam’s apple rose
and fell. “I called you to ask if you had anything to do with the
story in the papers. I don’t know why I’m even listening to this
crap.” He pushed back his chair and shot to his feet. “I need to
get out of here. Far away from you.”

“Nick, please don’t go. Don’t leave me. Not
like this.” I sprang to my feet and lunged for him. I grabbed his
shirt. What if I never got another chance to be this close to him?
I kissed him hard on the lips.

At first he was a statue, but then his lips
parted and he returned my kiss. His mouth crushed mine as our
breaths mingled. He pulled me closer, kissed me deeper as he cupped
the side of my face with his hand.

Then he pushed me away, his hands encircling
my wrists. “It’s over,” he said softly. His eyes glistened in the
dim light. “I never want to see you again.”

“You don’t mean that,” I whispered, close to
tears. “You know as well as I do we have a connection. Deep
feelings for each other. You can’t deny that.”

“The only connection we have is my brother.
Now please stay out of my life.”

I blinked away tears. “Okay. I will, but
please forgive me. I’m not a murderer. I loved Chris.”

“You’re asking for the impossible.” He
released my wrists and walked away from me.

I stumbled out of the restaurant and
tottered through the lobby. I could barely breathe. My heart was
empty, and yet it weighed a thousand pounds. Nick was out of my
life forever.

I stepped out of the hotel and shivered as a
brisk wind wrapped around me. My coat—I’d left it inside. On my way
to get it, I spotted Nick at the elevators, talking to a sexy
blond. Pain swelled inside me as I thought of him being with her.
With anyone. Any woman could be my replacement. But as he’d said,
it was over. We’d had our last kiss and now all we had left were
some bittersweet memories.

***

Three weeks after meeting Nick, I climbed
out of the taxi and headed toward Stalford, ready to start the day
and the rest of my life. I had no choice but to move on. But as
soon as I stepped foot in the boutique, the hairs on the back of my
neck sprang up and I halted in the doorway.

All eyes were on me, including Lilliana’s
and Sam’s. Julie’s face was so red, it almost matched the color of
her hair. Amanda looked triumphant. So did the other sales
associates.

“Hi.” I sifted through all kinds of possible
scenarios in my mind, trying to figure out what could have
happened. Did another article pop up about me and Nick?

No one responded to my greeting, but
Lilliana asked me to follow her and Sam to her office.

As they settled into their seats, I
unbuttoned my coat.

“You might want to leave that on,” Sam said,
his voice loaded.

“Oh, um. Okay. Did something happen?” I
gazed from one to the other.

“When I hired you to work at Stalford,
didn’t you think it was important for me to know you’re responsible
for someone’s death?”

My stomach dropped to the floor, and I felt
suddenly like I might faint. Without being asked to sit, I lowered
myself onto the couch. I inhaled deeply as my heart pounded.
“How...”

“How did we find out?” Sam snapped. “You
should have known being involved with Nick Johnson would expose you
and your life. It’s all over the papers.”

“You didn’t think it was important to tell
me this?” Lilliana sounded more hurt than angry. And of course she
was. She had trusted me. She had hired me with no credentials or
experience.

“I’m sure you’ll understand that under these
circumstances, we cannot keep you on as an employee,” Sam said.

“Is it true?” Lilliana asked. “Did you
really kill a man?”

A tear slid down my cheek. Since I had not
read the papers, I had no idea how much they knew. But I couldn’t
lie to Lilliana. So I nodded and told her what I’d told Nick. “I’m
not a murderer. It was not my intention to—”

“A killer, then.” Sam paced the room, his
face stormy. “What difference does it make? We’d be foolish to keep
you on after you’ve tainted our image. Instead of thinking about
what you’re selling, everyone will think of what you did. There has
already been a reduction in customers this morning. You’re bad for
business.”

“I really need this job.” My throat was
tight and tears welled in my eyes, but I refused to break down in
front of them. Despite my stomach being shredded to pieces, I had
to show them I was strong. I could deal with this.

“There’s nothing more to say. Please
leave.”

***

I stepped out of Stalford and inhaled the
cool, fresh air. At first I walked purposelessly down the street,
allowing the air to calm my nerves. After a while, I broke into a
jog. I hadn’t buttoned up my coat again, and the cold wind pierced
my torso through my cashmere sweater. But the sharp sting didn’t
bother me. I kept right on running, past an old couple holding
hands, a barking dog, parents crossing the road, holding on to
their children. Other people leading normal lives. I increased my
speed until my lungs were on fire. I only slowed when I almost
knocked over an old, blind man.

“Excuse me,” I said, but the man just
grunted and kept walking. I bent over to place my hands on my knees
and gasped for air. When I’d caught my breath and my head had
stopped spinning, I stepped into the bookstore I’d landed in front
of and headed straight for the magazine section. Nick’s face was
splashed across one, and I snatched it off the rack, resisting the
urge to open it until I had sunk into the leather backseat of a
cab.

I turned the page to get to the full-length
story and skimmed through it. It exposed, in detail, my
relationship with Nick and how I’d shot and killed Chris. And the
next sentence I read was a bullet straight to my heart. The author
claimed a close friend of mine had gone to the press with the whole
story. A close friend? I only had one close friend. She knew
everything about me. Every dirty little secret.

It could only be Melisa.

Tears poured down my cheeks, dripping onto
the pages of the magazine. How could she do that to me? How could
she hurt me? I trusted her with everything. If I couldn’t trust
her, who
could
I trust?

With the tears pouring fast and my chest
heaving, I closed the magazine and stuffed it into my purse.

Through the rearview mirror, the taxi driver
threw me some curious glances but didn’t say anything. Instead, he
changed the radio station to soothing classical music.

Back at my apartment, I stood under a hot
shower, then dried myself off and ate some leftover spaghetti
Bolognese from last night’s dinner. Then I climbed into bed,
thinking maybe, when I woke up, I’d find it had all been a dream.
But when I opened my eyes a few hours later, the room was dark, and
the magazine next to me confirmed it was all very real.

My phone vibrated and I jolted up, still
groggy. Then I pressed the phone to my ear.