False Start (21 page)

"Where r u?"

Dammit.

She leapt out of bed. Even with her windows cracked during the night, the air inside of her apartment felt muggy. Outside, it would be worse.

She pulled on a pair of fire engine red running shorts and a matching sport bra over which she yanked a gray dri-FIT tank top. Grabbing her sunglasses and keys, she shut her door behind her, texting the entire time.

"Sorry. Overslept. Be there in 5."

If Mattie felt frisky after her dream, seeing Nick standing on their usual corner, shirtless and wearing the shortest of running shorts didn't help. Not many men could pull off that look, especially so early in the summer, but Nick, more muscular than the stereotypical string bean distance runner, was already tan and turning heads.

As she approached, he took off his sunglasses to reveal the same unsmiling expression she assumed he'd use to intimidate his high school runners.

It didn't work on her. Not bothering to suppress a grin, she cried, "How are ya?"

He frowned at her. His reply was self-evident. "I'm hot."

Mattie couldn't keep her eyes from sweeping his big guns, sculpted chest and chiseled abs. Forcing herself to look in his eyes, she pointed out over the lake behind him.

"Check out that gorgeous sunrise."

When Nick turned, she bolted in the opposite direction. When she was several yards away, she pulled off her tank top and yelled over her shoulder, "Come on, slow poke. What are you waiting for?"

Nick stood for a minute, wondering what had come over her. He'd never seen her like this. He laughed out loud when he saw her rip off her shirt like a seasoned pro in the midst of a long, hot run. Given the heat and humidity, most everyone out running that morning had already done the same. That she did it at all spoke volumes about how much more confident she had become.

The old Mattie never would've done that. Not in a million years.

It was the first time he saw her in anything besides baggy workout gear or loose-fitting business clothes. She looked good. She looked fit. With a full view of just how good of shape she was now in, he took his time catching up to her.

Ever since her cousin had informed him that Mattie wasn't married, his emotions had swung between elation and hurt and everything in between. Why hadn't she been honest with him? Was it about her job or was it about him? Why didn't she trust him with the truth? Was she still in love with Eddie? All questions he could've asked if he had waited for her to tell him herself. As it was, he cheated by taking advantage of a kind acquaintance at her own mother's wake.

How low can you go?

When he was right behind her, he stretched out his hand and gave her ponytail a light tug.

She glanced back at him, smiling. "Slacker. What took you so long?"

"Shut up and run," he chuckled. "We're only going as far as Montrose today."

As they bounded north up the path that cut through Lincoln Park, Mattie exclaimed, "I can't believe I'll be running a half marathon in three days."

The wind kicked up, doing little to alleviate the stifling humidity. To their right, swells of waves in Lake Michigan crashed against the breakwaters. To their left, the patches of sky between the Gold Coast high-rises looked as if someone had painted them dark gray.

Nick stared straight ahead. His eyes were on the path, but his mind was on what he would rather be doing with Mattie.

"Hello…" she sang out.

He glanced at her. "What?"

"The half. I can't believe it's in three days."

"Oh, yeah."

When he said nothing more, she prodded, "That's it? If you're trying to motivate me, I have to tell ya, I'm not feeling it."

Nick stopped abruptly and shot his arm out in front of her as a car turned onto the street they were about to cross over.

"Sorry. I've got a lot on my mind."

"Care to share?" she ventured as she jogged in place, waiting for the traffic to clear.

As desperate as he was to share his feelings with her, exposing himself to the kind of rejection he was expecting in return would be more than he was willing to deal with—especially with three solid months of training to go before the marathon.

Instead, he replied by wagging his index finger in her direction. "Uh-uh. Strictly business, remember?"

She either missed or completely ignored the mocking tone in his voice. "Right. Sorry."

She jogged along a bit more then asked, "Hey, any chance I can talk you into running the half with me?"

He was surprised by her question, but ready with answer.

"No. I only registered you."

This seemed to agitate her. Her mood darkened along with the clouds above. "Can't you just run with me anyway?"

"What's the problem, Ross?"

"Finishing the 10k was a lot harder than I expected. I'm not sure I'm ready for double the distance. Especially if it's this hot."

Nick dismissed her concern with an icy observation. "From what I saw, you did just fine at the 10k. You ran a 54:05. Do you have any idea how good that is for somebody who just started running a couple of months ago? Besides, if it's this hot, the organizers will be more than ready. Tons of water stations and emergency personnel."

Glancing in her direction, he added, "And me running with you won't make the distance seem any shorter or the air feel any cooler."

After several more yards, she tried using his own rules to persuade him. "What about 'you're not in this alone'?"

"Mattie," he started, his voice sounding sterner and more irritated than he intended, "How many times do I have to tell you, you're never gonna succeed if you keep telling yourself you can't?"

With that, they ran along in stony silence. By the time they passed Belmont Harbor, he noticed the path ahead and behind them was virtually deserted. Despite the wind whipping off of the lake, the air began to feel thick and charged with electricity. The sky to their left looked like a chalkboard that had just been wiped clean with an eraser. Thunder rumbled in the distance.

Nick slowed. "Come on. Time to head back. We shouldn't get caught in this."

Just as they turned around, the sky opened up. He grabbed Mattie's hand, and they ran over a quarter of a mile before taking shelter under a hidden prairie-style wood and stone structure on the northern shore of a secluded pond just to the west of the park.

Tucked away from the bustle of the city, the shelter was nestled in a dense, untamed wooded patch that curved around it like a green, leafy hug, open only to the serene pond that was carpeted with lily pads in full bloom. It was an unofficial habitat for many of the exotic birds at the zoo and a favorite place for weddings and couples looking for, um, privacy.

In the relentless downpour, it resembled a miniature rain forest, still and hushed.

Soaked through, Mattie backed herself into a dry corner trying to catch her breath. She undid her ponytail and fluffed her hair over her shoulders.

Nick stood dripping a few feet away watching the downpour, agitated and wishing he hadn't snapped at her. He cast a sideways glance in her direction as she stood against the wall made up of thin limestone slabs stacked like crackers. Even though she had pulled her shirt back on, her clothes clung to her like plastic wrap.

When a chilled gust of wind blew through, she gasped and crossed her arms across her chest, looking self-conscious and vulnerable—much like he remembered seeing her between classes in high school, hating who ever it was that had caused her to feel that way. Only this time, he knew there was no one to blame but himself.

"How can you be cold?" he asked, unable to keep the hard edge from his voice. "We just sprinted all the way down here."

Would you just shut up?

Mattie narrowed her eyes, emerged from her dry, secure corner and demanded, "If you have something to say to me, why don't you just say it?"

She was so close. Dangerously close. He could smell the rain in her hair and was very eager to find out if her lips tasted as sweet as he remembered.

I could take you right here, right now.

Nickel-sized hail started falling like snow, pelting the flowers lining the path circling the pond.

Barely able to restrain himself, he asked, "Aren't you the one who has something to say?"

Mattie blinked. Caught off guard, she lifted her chin. "I don't know what you're talking about."

He shook his head and let out of short laugh. "Like hell you don't."

As she stood there, staring at him, her narrowed eyes started to well up.

Nick held her gaze and leaned into her. "Come on, Mattie. Be honest."

Blinking back tears, she gasped, "I have to go."

She had just stepped out from under the shelter, when a bright white flash and an explosive, ear-popping crack of thunder forced her backwards with a cry.

Nick caught her and yanked her towards him. "I've got you."

As her body trembled against his, he held her tight. She felt warm and, tucked into him like that, fit like a missing puzzle piece. He rested his cheek against the top of her head and closed his eyes, pretending, if only for a few precious seconds, that she belonged to him and not some fabricated spouse.

After a short while, the rain stopped as suddenly as it started, and he eased his grip, but she stayed put and looked up at him, her face flushed.

"I'd better
"

Before she could get the words out, something in Nick took over, something out of his control. Shedding his fear of rejection, he slipped a big hand on each side of her face and spoke in a raspy whisper. "Mattie, I can't get you out of my head. I've tried, but I can't."

She looked like she was in the front seat of a roller coaster that was about to derail. "Nick. Don't. Nothing personal, remember?"

"That was your rule, not mine."

He kissed her tenderly at first, but when he felt her arms tighten around his waist, he hungrily covered her mouth with his. Clutching the back of her shirt, he lifted her off of the ground as he tried to consume every bit of her that she was willing to offer.

When he was finished, he brushed her mouth with a soft kiss, whispered, "See you Saturday," and was gone.

*  *  *

"Oh my God, he knows. How does he know?" Dianne asked before putting her face in her hands.

Mattie sat languidly in a chair facing her editor's desk, still basking in the glow of Nick's very intentional display of affection. "I don't know," she sighed. Then, staring out the window, she added, "And I don't care."

Dianne put both hands on her desk, "Did you kiss him back?"

Mattie just looked at her, cheeks aflame.

"Oh, you did, didn't you? I knew this would happen when you stopped wearing your ring. And you never replaced those pictures on your desk like you said you would. Didn't I tell you to move in with your sister?"

"Everything will be fine," Mattie replied. "Lester doesn't know, and I doubt Nick's going to tell him. He needs his bonus."

"Oh, and you don't?" Dianne shot back.

"I suppose."

Dianne, her face etched with skepticism, asked, "You're in love with him, aren't you?"

Gripping the arms of her chair, she lied, "As far as I'm concerned, our relationship is still strictly business."

Dianne nodded and said, "That's what I want to hear."

Mattie left, but after seeing Diane's expression, she'd have been a fool to think her editor believed her.

*  *  *

Later in the day, a rousing debate was taking place between the assistant fashion editor and three guys from the IT department who had clustered in the corridor near Dianne's office. The topic was what Mattie should wear for the half marathon. The choices were a sparkly red, white, and blue tutu or a "skort" with Team Plate Spinner embroidered across her derriere.

Looking to fill her water bottle at a nearby cooler, Mattie passed by and declared that the topic was not up for discussion. When she returned to her cubicle, she found a lithe, sweaty delivery biker waiting for her.

A jittery type with his hair slicked back into a greasy ponytail and his helmet dangling from his wrist, he sputtered with a thick accent of indiscernible origin, "Special delivery. You sign."

What now?

She held out her hand and took the large envelope from him. The return address was of a law firm in the Loop. Goosebumps crept up her forearms.

"Where do I sign?"

He held out a portable electronic signature pad.

Scribbling like a doctor writing a prescription, she waved him away and stared at the envelope, thinking of nothing but Claudia's warnings about fraud and misrepresentation.

She was certain Dianne would have given her a heads up if legal action of that magnitude were imminent.

Wouldn't she?

She held it up to the light, but was unable to see through the envelope. Curiosity getting the better of her, she took out her letter opener and sliced it open. She pulled out several photos and a letter with a notary seal on it. A smaller piece of paper wafted into her lap.

As she read the letter, the words "executor" and "Vivienne" jumped off the page in between a lot of "herebys" and "heretofores." With trembling fingers, she lifted the small piece of paper that was still in her lap.