Return to You (3 page)

Jen blushed. “Actually, I kind of met someone a couple of weeks ago when I went to the police station to report said stalker guy.” That didn't sound weird at all, did it? An image of that scene from
Ferris
Bueller's Day Off
came to mind—where his sister is sitting in the police station and flirting with the leather-jacket clad criminal. She almost laughed.

“Really?” Selena said, resting her chin on her hand as she leaned toward Jen. “Do tell.”

In a very teenage-girl manner, Jen blushed and twirled her fingers in her blond hair. “Well, obviously he's a cop. His name is Mike. He's super tall, like a little over six feet—”

“And that's super tall?” Selena asked with a hint of snarkiness.

“It is when you're barely five foot five,” Jen deadpanned.

“Ah…continue.”

Jen's expression turned a little dreamy. “He's got blond hair, a little darker than mine, brown eyes, and a killer body. Honestly, I almost asked to be frisked.” She laughed, and Selena couldn't help but join her. “I only talked to him for a minute before meeting with Ja…I mean, with the officer in charge, but he was super sweet.”

“Is he single?”

“I didn't see a ring, but that doesn't mean anything. I've gone back to the station twice just to give an update on Todd's behavior, and Mike has been there each time. He always gives me a big smile, and I think if I even gave a hint that I was interested, he might be too.”

“So why haven't you given him more than a hint?”

“Oh, please, Selena,” Jen said dismissively. “I'm a twenty-eight-year-old woman with a stalker, for lack of a better word. How can I drag a nice man into this situation?”

“Why would you even think that? That's ridiculous!”

“I'm sure that I'm coming off a bit like a drama queen to them. Todd hasn't done anything crazy; he's just annoying the crap out of me. Guys like Mike, they see people with real stalkers who are way more violent than Todd. On some level, I'm betting Mike thinks I'm overreacting a bit. Either that or he thinks I'm going in there just to see him.”

“Are you?” Selena asked coyly.

Jen made a face. “No,” she said firmly. “It's only a perk.” They both laughed, and Jen shifted in her seat. “Plus, while I know I'm not hideous or anything, guys just don't notice me, not the way they notice you.”

Selena's green eyes grew wide. “Me? What are you talking about? Where did that even come from?”

“It's so annoying that you're so beautiful and don't even know it or appreciate it.”

“You've lost me, Jen.” How had they even gotten started on this topic?

She sighed dramatically. “Okay, first, there's your hair.”

“What's wrong with my hair?” Selena asked self-consciously as she ran her hands over it.

“Nothing! That's my point! You have this…fabulous hair that looks great no matter what you're doing.”

“Don't be ridiculous.”

“Don't make me pull out old photos.”

“You have photos of my hair? That's just weird, Jen.”

“Not of your hair, but of you. We've been friends forever, and honestly I've never seen you have a bad hair day. It makes it hard not to hate you just a little bit.”

“Okay, fine. I have good hair. Guys don't notice that, do they?” she asked with a hint of confusion.

“Yes, guys notice that. Especially in combination with your perfect skin, big eyes, and your damn curvy figure.”

“Curvy is another word for chubby, I believe.”

Jen glared at her. “Um…no. You have like…the fifties pinup girl thing going on. It's sexy.”

“Okay, now you're just creeping me out,” Selena said with a smile. “You just saw me plow through the Chinese food, and might I remind you of all the pizza and milk shakes we've consumed over the years? And at the end of the day, I'd seriously have to consider dropping a good fifteen to twenty pounds to be pinup material.”

“You look exactly the way you did in high school. It's like time forgot you, but in a good way.”

“Remind me again how we got to talking about me and not about why you haven't given this guy your phone number?”

Jen shrugged. “It seemed a little weird to be in the police station reporting what I thought was a crime and then flirting with the guy at the desk. Then they'd really think I was crazy.”

She had a point, Selena thought. The situation certainly wasn't ideal. “Okay, so that means we have to find a way for you to talk to him without it being some sort of official police business.”

“Easier said than done,” Jen said dejectedly.

“It's not ideal, that's for sure, but I think that with a little effort we can come up with something. Who knows, maybe we'll get into some kind of trouble and need a hot, single policeman to come and help us!” she said with a laugh and smiled when Jen joined in with her. With that, Selena stacked up all the papers she'd been reviewing, placed them in a folder in her briefcase, snapped it shut, and put it away in the guest room. A quick glance at her watch showed it to be barely eight o'clock. “No more work for tonight. Let's do something.”

Jen squealed with delight. “Seriously? You want to go out? You're not messing with me, are you?”

Selena forced a bright smile and nodded. “Absolutely. It could be fun going out for drinks, maybe some dancing…a girls' night out.” About as fun as a root canal, but clearly this meant a lot to Jen. So for tonight, she'd grin and bear it. She'd dance and drink and maybe fake-flirt with someone, and then she'd be off the hook for a little while—at least where Jen was concerned.

Doing a little happy dance, Jen started rambling off places they could go and things they could do. “We are going to have so much fun. I promise!” She practically skipped down the hall to her bedroom as she continued to talk excitedly about all of the fun they were going to have.

Not quite sure about that, Selena simply nodded and watched Jen as she went to her room. With a heavy sigh, Selena headed back to the guest room like a person heading to their own execution. There was no getting out of it now, and for one night, she'd survive. Hopefully.

With that pleasant thought, Selena shut the door to her room and started to get ready.

Jen waited until she heard the guest room door close before picking up her phone and calling William Montgomery with an update. The whole situation still felt a little cloak-and-dagger for her, but she was just as committed to this as the Montgomerys were. She waited patiently while William's assistant placed her on hold and hummed along to the music.

“William Montgomery,” a jovial voice answered.

“Hi, um…Mr. Montgomery. It's Jen Lawson. How are you?”

“Miss Lawson! Wonderful to hear from you. Has Selena arrived yet?”

“Today actually,” she said quietly, keeping her voice down just in case Selena came out of her room. “We're going to go out tonight and celebrate.”

“That sounds good. Are you taking her someplace where James might be?”

“Unfortunately, no. I wasn't able to find out where James hangs out, but I'm working on it.” She briefly filled him in on her situation with Todd and how she had visited James several times.

“Are you all right?” William asked, concern lacing his voice. “Is James taking care of this?”

“He's doing all he's allowed by law. Right now it's just a nuisance more than anything. But James is keeping an eye on the situation for me.”

“Well, that's good. I wish you didn't have to deal with it. Now I kind of feel bad about involving you in my little hobby,” he said with a chuckle.

“Are you kidding me?” Jen laughed. “This has been a great distraction.”

“Has Selena mentioned James at all yet?” he asked hopefully.

“Kind of, but more in a depressing trip down memory lane. But I'm confident that we're going to pull this off.”

“Oh, I know we will, Miss Lawson. I'm not afraid to come up there and do a little…orchestrating…if I have to. I had to get a little hands-on with my own sons to prod them in the right direction. I won't hesitate to do that for my nephew if need be.”

“I don't think we need to do that yet. But I'll keep you posted.”

“Excellent! Go and have a fun night out with Selena, Miss Lawson. I look forward to talking with you again soon!”

* * *

Everything
in
moderation.
That was going to be Selena's new motto. Starting today and going until the end of time.

A quick once-over of herself found Selena cursing the very day she was born. Even her eyelashes hurt.

Jen had been true to her word that they'd have fun—that had been an understatement. There were several clubs Selena never had a chance to get into before moving away at eighteen, so the two of them decided they had to make up for lost time. Never one for clubbing in general, at first Selena had been intrigued by the idea of a night of dancing. It wasn't until the third club that she'd finally just taken off her shoes and realized that this was more like an Olympic event than a night out.

By the time they arrived back at Jen's house, it was nearly four in the morning, and she had barely made it down the hall to the guest room without collapsing from exhaustion. Carefully, she opened one eye and peered at the clock. It was almost noon. With as much finesse as she could muster, Selena slowly climbed from the bed and went in search of the bathroom. The sight of herself in the mirror made her scream.

“Shh…” Jen hissed as she walked by the open bathroom door holding her head. “It's way too early for that kind of noise.”

“Early?” Selena said, her voice hoarse and dry. “It's lunchtime.”

“Well, since we came home at breakfast time, it's still early, and you're still loud. So keep it down.”

Deciding that this was a losing argument, Selena shut the door and did her best to pull herself together. The hot shower went a long way toward making her feel human again, but it was going to take a fistful of ibuprofen and perhaps a gallon of coffee to finish her off. Too bad she hated coffee.

She met up with Jen in the kitchen and found her huddled over a large mug of coffee. “You want some?” Jen asked, her voice barely audible.

Selena slumped in the chair beside her, holding her head in hopes of stopping the pounding. How was it possible that she could still hear the music from last night? “Don't drink it.”

Raising her head slowly, Jen looked at her through slitted eyes. “How could you still not drink coffee? You're a grown-up, right?”

“Love the smell, hate the taste.”

“I have no words for that.” She took a deep drink of her own beverage. “Juice is in the fridge, ibuprofen on the counter.” Selena wanted to make fun of her friend's clipped words and sad condition, but unfortunately, she was no better off herself.

Long minutes later, they both started to resurface. “I cannot believe how much I hurt,” Jen finally said. “I don't even remember the last time I danced so much. When did dancing get to be so exhausting?”

“I used to think I was in good shape until last night. I didn't even recognize most of the music. When did it all get so…loud?” Selena asked, her brows furrowed.

“Have you been living under a rock? Don't you go out at all?”

“I do,” she responded defensively. “I just don't go to bars or clubs or…”

“Places with people? Come on, Selena, it's like you've been living in isolation or something. Did you at least have fun last night?”

She nodded. “Definitely. I can't remember the last time I went dancing. I had forgotten how much fun it was.” Oddly enough, it was the truth. She had been completely surprised at how much she had enjoyed herself.

“You're killing me.”

“But you know what the weirdest part was? All the years we were too young to get into those places, I had built them up in my mind, and going into them now is kind of disappointing.”

“It wasn't at twenty-one, I can tell you that.”

It didn't need to be said that they wished they had the opportunity to explore those things together back then; no sense in beating a dead horse. With a night of fun under their belt, the businesswoman in Selena automatically went back into work mode. “What do we have planned for today? Can we go and take a look at the venue?” It would take a Herculean effort to get herself to the point where she'd feel like she was human again and ready to face the public, but there was work to be done and Selena didn't like the feeling that she wasn't pulling her weight.

“Ugh…why are you like this?” Jen groaned and banged her head on the kitchen table, her blond hair hiding her face. Then she groaned at the force with which she'd hit her head.

“Like what?”

“Why can't you just go back to sleep, eat ice cream for dinner, and not think about work or anything until Monday? You know, like us mere mortals. Come, join us on the dark side. We really do have cookies.”

“Because I want you to go with me, and Monday you'll be at work. Come on, Jen, a shower and some food will help you feel better. I can call the manager and see if we can come by around three. That will give us some time to pace ourselves. What do you say?”

“That you're the devil.”

“Yeah, but you love me.”

* * *

James was scanning the report in front of him without really seeing it. The creep who was bothering Jen was a bit elusive, and he was being careful about staying under the radar and not doing anything too radical to draw attention to himself. Biding their time and waiting was getting old, and he knew Jen was anxious for it to be over. He'd tried to convince her to get a restraining order on her last visit, but she was forever optimistic that Todd would get bored and move on. James doubted it.