Moments In Time: The Complete Novella Collection (15 page)

***

Something pressed hard against my thigh, and
my eyes fluttered open.

Nick was crouched on top of me, pressing my
thighs apart with his knees. His white teeth sparkled in the
moonlight that flooded in from the window. “We were not done,” he
whispered.

I giggled as my desire for him instantly
unfurled. “No, we weren’t.”

He pushed my thighs wider apart and, with
his gaze fixed on my face, entered me.

I let out a scream. He was so big and hard
that it hurt—but in the most wonderful way. I wrapped my legs
tightly around him and crossed my ankles to lock him inside my
circle. “You’re so deep. I love it.”

He slid his hands under my butt and pressed
me harder to him. “And you’re so tight.”

“You fit perfectly.”

He sucked my bottom lip and rammed harder
into me, releasing a current that whizzed right to the tips of my
fingers and toes.

My knees weakened and I lost the hold I’d
had on him with my legs.

He caught my legs, lifted them all the way
to my chest so my feet were above my head, and rammed into me
again, even harder this time. He did it again and again and again,
harder and faster, our moans mingling at every thrust. His body
stiffened at the same time mine did. With one more thrust, we came,
one right after the other, and he called out my name this time.

I smiled. He was finally mine, and this
time, I was going nowhere.

“Just to clear up things, both Carlene and
Marianne are my names,” I said. I didn’t want him to think I’d
adopted a new identity.

“I know. I saw it in the police records.”
Nick kissed my forehead. “Marianne is your first name, but Carlene
is the woman I fell in love with.”

***

“Tell me about him.” Nick said later as we
lay in each other’s arms.

“Chris?”

He nodded.

I closed my eyes. It hurt to talk about
Chris, but I had put Nick through enough. I owed him a few memories
of his brother.

Many great things defined Chris, but they
were always accompanied by less great ones. I had to tell Nick the
sad truth about Chris—only then could he truly get to know his
brother. “He was brilliant and fearless, but shattered.”

“I wish his life had been different. If only
I could have traded places with him.”

“What exactly happened? He never mentioned
he was a twin, only that he discovered he had a brother. Do you
know why you were separated at birth?”

“My mother was sixteen when she got
pregnant, and her parents, who were highly religious, were ashamed
of her. To ensure no one found out their daughter had conceived a
baby out of wedlock, they forced her to abort.” Nick shook his
head. “Funny how they wanted to hide one sin by committing another,
a worse one in my opinion. I guess keeping up the appearance of
religiosity was more important to them than religion itself?”

“That’s horrible. I’m glad your mom
refused.”

“So am I. Instead, she ran away from home
and stayed in a mother and child center. She had no idea she was
expecting twins. When we were born, she knew she wouldn’t be able
to care for two babies. She could barely take care of herself. So,
one of the ladies at the center advised her to give one away in
hopes he’d have a better life than the one she could offer.”

“So you stayed with your mother, and Chris
was the one she gave away.”

Nick nodded. “Did he at least have good
parents? A good life?”

I shook my head sadly. “Yes and no. He said
they were good to him. They did love him. His adoptive mother
became pregnant a year after they adopted him, but the baby was
stillborn. From that point, her life derailed and she fell into a
deep depression that lasted for years… until she ended her own
life.”

“Her too?” Nick’s eyebrows shot up and he
shook his head. “How tragic.”

“It is. She died with Chris sleeping in the
other room.”

Nick pinched the bridge of his nose and was
silent for a long time. His voice was hoarse and cracked when he
said, “No wonder he became depressed too. I wish I could have been
there for him.”

“Why weren’t you? Why didn’t you come
looking for him?”

“I was sixteen when my mother told me I had
a twin brother. I became obsessed with searching for him
everywhere. In the mall, on the streets, at the post office. So did
our mother. It took years, but I eventually found him.”

A buried memory surfaced and I gasped
softly. “Goodness, yes. He did tell me once, about a month before
he died, that he’d found his brother. He didn’t mention you were
twins, though. How was it when you met for the first time?”

“We met up a couple of times… maybe three.
We were different, but we still hit it off. It was emotional. He
didn’t tell you?”

“Only thing I knew was he was in contact
with you. Nothing else. Maybe he was being cautious, wanted to make
sure you were staying in his life before he told me more.”

“Maybe.”

As I reflected on the last days of Chris’s
life, a conversation I’d had with him suddenly popped into my mind,
and I shared it with Nick.

Chris had arrived home at three in the
morning, drunk, even though he hardly drank. He kept repeating to
himself things I could not understand, but in retrospect, maybe he
had been making sense.

“I don’t need him, I don’t need them. Not to
show up, who does he think he is?” he’d slurred. “To hell with him.
To hell with the world. I’m done.” He’d then flopped onto the bed
and fallen asleep immediately. The next day, when I’d asked him
what he’d meant, he’d refused to talk about it, said it wasn’t
important. Two weeks later, he was dead.

Nick sat up and buried his head in his
hands. “If anyone is guilty of Chris’s death, it’s me.”

I rubbed his back in circular motions.
“That’s not true. How’s it your fault?”

“Chris was obviously talking about me. I
missed our appointment.”

I cocked my head to the side.

“Some weeks before Chris died,” Nick
continued, “he called me to arrange another meeting, but I was
being interviewed for a newspaper article, so I asked my assistant,
Sarah, to take the call. She made a lunch appointment with him. I
showed up at the restaurant where the reservation had been made.”
He lifted his head again and let out a long breath. “But Chris
never showed up. I found out later that Sarah had made a mistake.
She had mixed up the dates somehow. My lunch with Chris had been
meant for the following day. Chris must have shown up and thought
I’d stood him up.”

“Did you explain that to him?”

“I wanted to, but he never took my calls. I
left a number of messages but he never called back. Then I heard of
his death.”

That was probably what had driven him over
the edge. He’d thought he was being rejected again, that he wasn’t
important enough to his successful brother. But I wasn’t about to
say that to Nick. “You couldn’t have known, Nick. It wasn’t your
fault.” I turned him to face me. “Like you said, things happen
sometimes, and there’s nothing we can do about it.”

“Yeah,” Nick said. “I guess I, too, have to
learn to live with this.”

“I think we should concentrate on the good
things about Chris. I’ll tell you all about what a wonderful person
he was. Then we have to move on.”

I had a new lease on life, and I intended to
make the most of it. It would take time until the nightmares
disappeared. But some memories would stay with me for the rest of
my life. Like seeing him die before my eyes.

As I snuggled up to Nick, I remembered
something that confirmed what Nick had told me earlier. Chris had
lost strength and collapsed on me moments before the gun went off.
Now it all made sense.

I was innocent. I just had to make myself
believe it.

I lifted my head off Nick’s chest and ran a
finger along his jaw. “I have to go.”

He brushed my hair back from my face. “Where
are you going so early? I thought we’d spend the day in bed.” He
smirked. “I hope you won’t disappear out of my life like you did
last time.”

“Not a chance. You’re stuck with me.” I
kissed him on his sleepy eyelids and got out of bed. “I promised
Lynnette, at the shelter, that I’d help with the breakfast
shift.”

Nick pulled himself to a sitting position.
“I have an idea,” he said. “Apart from a few international calls
tonight, I’m free all day. Why don’t I come with you? I don’t only
know how to eat breakfast; I know how to serve it, too.” He smiled.
“I’d love to come and help out.”

“You mean that?”

“I never say anything I don’t mean.”

“I think that’s a wonderful idea. That way
we can still spend the day together.”

Forty minutes later, after a quick, sensual
shower together, we arrived at the shelter. Lynnette and Melisa
were overjoyed to see Nick more than me. Melisa, with visible stars
in her eyes, even gave him a kiss on the cheek.

But Nick wasn’t only well received by
Lynnette and Melisa; everyone clearly knew him, especially the
residents and staff who had seen him in action with the press the
day before.

Nick was wonderful; he took the time to talk
to a few residents at length before jumping in behind the scenes in
the kitchen. “I’m so sorry, Lynnette, for the chaos we brought to
your front door yesterday,” he said as he took a jar of peanut
butter and a bread knife from her.

Lynnette placed a hand on his back. “It was
the best entertainment we’ve had in a long time. It was also the
most romantic gesture.”

Nick smiled at me. “I’m glad.”

We quickly got to work. Nick smeared the
slices of bread with peanut butter, and I smeared them with jam.
Just like I’d done on the day we met. If we hadn’t run out of jam
that day, we’d probably never have walked into each other’s
lives.

Occasionally, our hands would touch while we
worked, and we exchanged a glance. We were made for each other, and
we both knew it.

Chris had left my life empty, and Nick had
filled it again. In a way, Chris had brought us together. Wherever
he was, he was watching over me; he wanted me to have the best, and
for me, Nick was it. But it was kind of weird, having loved two
brothers—twins, for that matter—but my heart had been drawn to
Chris from the first day I’d met him. But it seemed that Nick was
the man meant for me, everything I had ever wanted.

A week after Nick rescued me from the
reporters and revealed the truth of Chris’s death to me, Lilliana
Stalford called to let me know she’d heard of my innocence in the
news. She apologized for not having heard me out, and rehired
me.

Three weeks after I returned back to work as
both a sales associate and Stalford jewelry model, Nick showed up
at the boutique and asked Lilliana for permission to whisk me away
to Hawaii for a few days.

My job at Stalford was a lifesaver, and I
looked forward to going to work every morning, but a few days away
from it all was just what I needed to restore the energy I’d lost
while trying to piece my life back together.

The past days had been a rollercoaster as I
tried to get my life back and come to terms with the truth about
myself. What I had always believed was a lie, one that had almost
destroyed me. Still, a part of my mind refused to accept my new
reality. Funny how the mind finds it hard to let go of what it has
become accustomed to, no matter how painful.

On some nights, I still woke up in a sweat
from a nightmare in which I shot and killed Chris. But it was just
a dream, and it no longer ruled my waking life.

For the past two weeks, we’d been at his
all-glass penthouse in Honolulu, soaking up the sun and celebrating
our love.

Nick and I made love in every room of his
spacious house, enjoyed walks and candlelit dinners on his private
beach, and took boat rides on the open sea. In just a few days, I
really got to experience the perks of dating a millionaire.

Even though I was determined to live as
normal a life as I could—and I said as much to Nick—I still enjoyed
being pampered by him on occasion. Who doesn’t want to feel
special, loved, and beautiful?

“Ready to return to everyday life?” Nick
asked as his private jet came into contact with the landing
strip.

“I’m ready to get back to my normal life, as
long as you’re a part of it.”

Nick squeezed my hand. “Always,” he said and
tucked a lock of my hair behind my ear. “In fact, how about I give
you a guarantee?” He stood and pulled me up. “I want more than
this. More than a few nights and mornings here and there. I want
you. All of you.”

My heart leapt to my throat.

He smiled. “Our relationship started out in
a rather surprising way, and we did a lot of crazy things along the
way, all of which drew us closer. How about we do one last crazy
thing?” He reached into his pocket and pulled out a Stalford
jewelry box. He opened it, and the most breathtaking cushion-cut
diamond ring winked at me. “How about we cut to the chase and do
what we really want? How about you become my wife?”

I shook my head as tears squeezed through my
closed eyes. “Sorry,” I said. I had expected him to say he wanted
us to move in together, since we spent every free moment with each
other, but this was so much better. I opened my eyes and looked up
at him. “I’m just… so happy.”

He chuckled and wiped a tear from my cheek,
the way he had done on the steps of Grace Chapel on the day we met.
“Cry all you want. Just say
yes
first.”

“Absolutely, yes. Yes, I’ll be your wife,
Nick.” I wrapped my arms around his neck. “I love you so much.”

He tightened his arms around me. “I love you
too, beautiful.” He pulled back and kissed me.

My heart beat to the rhythm of his; all that
mattered was me and him. The past was far behind us now and the
future so bright. From now on, it would be just us. We might be
getting married quickly, but we had gone through so much together
already. When you know, you know. I knew. So what was the point in
waiting?