Monday was a day from hell. Everything that could go wrong did—including a power outage at the courthouse that canceled everything for the afternoon. Returning to her office, Elizabeth tried to get everything rescheduled in her already packed schedule and groaned at the look of her now back-to-back appointments that would make her life even more challenging.
I’ll have to eat flavored gelatin or a smoothie for lunch. There won’t be any time to chew.
Shaking her head, she didn’t even want to think about how much her feet would hurt as she raced around trying to appear in all the courtrooms. When she’d finished everything she could do, Elizabeth grabbed her phone to text the Littles. Maybe someone could join her for a late lunch.
Eden immediately answered. “I’m starving. Can we go to The Hangout for nachos? I haven’t had them in forever.”
“That sounds amazing! See you there in twenty minutes?” Elizabeth suggested.
“Perfect.”
With the conversation in the chat, Elizabeth knew the others could read and join them if they were free. She walked to her car, scanning the area. Elizabeth hadn’t recovered yet from the Devil’s Jesters treatment of her. Even now that she knew why they’d harassed her, she didn’t let her guard down.
Passing several people headed toward the courtroom, she didn’t warn them. They’d want to check in at the desk to register their effort to be there for their cases. She reached her car and jumped in.
Traffic was light and Elizabeth arrived at The Hangout early. She thought about calling her Daddy but didn’t want him to tell her to come home early. Maybe she’d text him later and ask him to come dance.
Walking into the restaurant, she greeted the hostess. “Hi. Could I have a table for four? There’s only two of us coming but more may join us.”
“Fun! It sounds like a party brewing. How about if I put you at this table for four that has a two-person table on each side. Then you can expand it as needed.”
“That’s amazing. Thank you.” Elizabeth expressed her appreciation with a smile.
“Of course.”
A few minutes later, the cute redhead Elizabeth was expecting walked in with a long-haired brunette. Elizabeth waved. “Eden! Harper! Over here.”
“Hi, Elizabeth,” Harper greeted her when they got to the table and gave her a hug before sliding into a seat as Eden hugged Elizabeth as well.
“Hey! This is a great table. It’s not on the dance floor so the music is not as loud, but we can see the whole place,” Eden said as she looked around.
“And we can expand, if anyone else decides to join us.”
“I think everyone else is working but who knows? How in the world did you get the afternoon off?” Harper asked.
“Power outage at the courthouse,” she answered.
“Hooray! Let’s eat, drink, and be merry!”
One margarita each and a ton of nachos later, the three sat back and looked at the almost empty platter.
“I can’t believe we ate all that,” Eden groaned.
“It’s a good thing the others couldn’t join us. They would have had to order their own nachos,” Harper joked.
“Can I get you anything else, ladies?” the server asked.
“No, thank you. Just the bill,” Elizabeth requested. “Talon will wonder where I am.”
Looking around at the people just beginning to gather, Elizabeth’s eyes were drawn to a distinctive, tattooed figure on the dance floor. Elizabeth recognized him immediately. She raised her arm to wave to him and froze as a slender brunette ran to jump into his arms. The flash of Talon’s pearly whites clued her in that he was happy to see the woman in his arms. She dropped her arm and tried to come up with an explanation.
“Your face just went white. What’s wrong?” Eden asked.
She thought about lying but couldn’t. “Look out on the dance floor.” Elizabeth nodded in that direction.
The couple danced now, Talon leading his partner with skill and the smoothness of a professionally trained dancer. The woman in his arms was incredible. Light and flexible, she was a dancer’s dream partner. Talon led her easily through a maze of complex moves and turns.
“Is that Talon?” Harper asked. “Who’s that with him?”
“I don’t know,” Elizabeth answered as she watched him kiss the woman’s forehead just as he did hers when she pleased him.
“Um. I have to get out of here before he sees me. I wasn’t here, okay?” she said, fishing in her purse for her wallet. She pulled out three twenties and placed them on the table.
“That should cover my share. Thank you for meeting me here. I’ve enjoyed knowing you,” Elizabeth said as she stood.
“That sounds like you won’t talk to us anymore. We’ll see you back at the compound,” Harper corrected her.
“I won’t be there. Bye,” she said quickly before she burst into tears. Turning, she walked out of the building and flew across the parking lot to her car.
Tears threatened to blur her eyes as she drove home to her apartment. Menaced by heavy traffic, Elizabeth kept a solid grip on her emotions as she negotiated the packed highway. Finally, she reached her exit and broke away from the mass movement of cars to a relatively calm street.
A single tear ran down her cheek followed by another and another. Pulling into her assigned parking spot, Elizabeth covered her face with her hands. How had she found two unfaithful men?
At least he had his clothes on this time.
That thought just made her cry harder. Her phone rang in her purse, and Elizabeth didn’t even look to see who was on the line. She couldn’t.
About ten minutes later, she forced herself to open her car door and head up to her apartment. Opening the door, she looked around at the abandoned space. It almost looked like one of those places staged for a quick sale, except hers had a few personal possessions here and there.
Personal possessions. The words echoed in her brain and she started crying again. She had to rescue Puff and Borscht. They were at Talon’s apartment in the Shadowridge Guardians complex.
Thank goodness they weren’t at his house in the country. She’d never get in there. If she went to his apartment in the compound now, Talon would still be dancing with that woman. Elizabeth could grab her stuff and leave. “I’ll have to come up with an excuse,” she thought as she grabbed her keys and darted back out the door.
“Hey, Storm. Just darting in to pick up something I promised to show to Ivy.”
“Ivy? She’s still at the bank,” Storm told her.
“I know. That’s why I’m here now,” she told him as she hurried into the hallway.
Congratulating herself on the lie she’d concocted, Elizabeth hurried into Talon’s apartment. She held onto the bed as she dropped to her knees to grab her suitcase from under the bed.
The door opening made her panic. Elizabeth flattened herself on the floor and scooted under the bed to hide. It was tight, but she fit. Oh my god. What if he brought her back here? Her stomach churned as she looked up at the bed above her.
“Elizabeth? Buttercup? Are you in here?”
Two sets of footsteps sounded on the floor. He wasn’t alone.
Holding her breath, she watched his boots wander through the apartment even checking in the closet and the shower. Please think I went out the back door. Please think I’m driving away now.
“Are you sure that was her car?” a feminine voice asked.
“Definitely. Her briefcase was inside. I’ll call her.”
After a second of sheer panic, Elizabeth realized she’d forgotten her phone in her car. It wouldn’t give her away. She blew out her breath silently in relief. Hearing the door open, she sagged against the floor. That feeling didn’t last for long.
“Storm? Are you sure you talked to my Elizabeth?” Talon called from the doorway into the hallway.
“Petite, blonde, dressed in a power suit. She’s been the one sitting on your lap and giving you hugs, right?” Storm joked. “Is she playing hide and seek?”
“I don’t know. Did she look upset?” he asked.
“Stressed. She had that line between her eyes,” Storm said, and Elizabeth imagined him drawing a vertical line between his eyebrows. That was her worst stress wrinkle.
“That sounds like Elizabeth. She wasn’t in the library, was she?”
“Nope. It’s quiet in there today. I just got a bottle of water from the fridge, and it was empty,” Storm reported.
“Could you help me knock on doors and see if she’s visiting someone?”
“Of course.”
Elizabeth stayed where she was until she heard the guys in the hallway going from door to door, searching for her.
Slowly, she slid out from under the bed and grabbed Puff and Borscht from the cozy spot she’d left them. Everything else didn’t matter. She just needed her stuffies. Pausing to listen, she noticed their voices were much quieter. The guys must have turned the corner. This was her chance. She darted to the door.
“Hi. You aren’t leaving now, are you?”
Elizabeth whirled at the sound of the woman’s voice. Sitting with her legs tucked underneath her in the corner of couch sat a woman with brown hair and almost black eyes. “Yes. I’m leaving now.”
“I think Talon wanted to introduce us.”
The woman gracefully uncurled herself from the couch to approach Elizabeth and hold out her hand. “I’m Margaret.”
“I can’t touch your hand. I’ll throw up. How can you be so brazen?”
Elizabeth reached for the doorknob behind her and opened the door. She dashed out, only to smash into a hard obstacle. The two stuffies tumbled to the ground as the air rushed out of her lungs. Looking up, Elizabeth saw Ivy’s Daddy. Dragging oxygen into her lungs, she scrambled to pick up Puff and Borscht. Elizabeth forced words out of her mouth. “Dammit, Steele. Don’t block the hallway.”
“Grab her,” Talon called, and Steele’s hands closed around Elizabeth’s shoulders, holding her in place.
“Steele, he’s cheating on me. Let me go!” Elizabeth pleaded.
“Talon? You’re cheating on her?” the woman now standing in the doorway asked.
“No, I’m not cheating on her. The only other woman I’ve hung out with since I met Elizabeth is you,” Talon explained as he jogged down the hallway to reach Elizabeth.
He stroked a hand down her back, and she couldn’t help flinching away.
“Let. Me. Go.”
The absolute power in her voice made Steele lift his hands from her body and step back. “Sorry, Elizabeth. Listen to him, please.”
“I listened to one man explain how it was my fault he cheated on me. I’m not listening to another. Go back to that floozy you spent your afternoon with,” she said, mentally pulling the shreds of her dignity around herself as she shifted to the side to step around Steele.
“That was my mother, Elizabeth,” Talon said quietly from behind her.
Elizabeth turned her head to stare at the woman who looked at her with such concern. “Your mother?” she repeated. “I saw you dancing together. You moved so well together. Like you’d known each other for years.”
“Twenty-five years,” the woman filled in for her. “I’m so sorry we scared you. Would you stay so we can get acquainted? I’ve been looking forward to meeting the woman who captured my son’s heart.”
“I feel so stupid. It’s probably best that I leave,” Elizabeth said, shaking her head.
“It’s all my fault,” Margaret said quickly. “I showed up without any notice to see if I could sweet talk my son into dancing with me at a ballroom competition. His father sprained his ankle and will be on crutches for a week.”
“I thought of the big dance floor at The Hangout. We went to practice there this afternoon and came back here so Mom could meet you when you got off work. I texted you.”
“I haven’t looked at my phone.”
“I’m sorry, Buttercup. I don’t want you to be hurt even by a misunderstanding. Can I hug you now?” he asked, stepping closer.
“I think I’d like that,” she answered, walking forward into his arms.
“Margaret, can I offer you a drink or some water?” Steele asked diplomatically.
“I think a drink is a great idea,” Margaret answered.
Soon, they were alone in the hallway.
“Your mother thinks I’m an idiot,” Elizabeth whispered.
“She absolutely does not. I’m good at reading my mom. She was tickled you loved me so much you wouldn’t settle for something less than all my love,” Talon assured her.
“She doesn’t look old enough to be your mother.”
“You should tell her that. She’s already going to kick my butt for worrying you. You might as well make her your best friend with that compliment. She’ll make me dance the Paso Doble for punishment and I hate the Paso Doble.”
Elizabeth looked up to meet his gaze. His dark eyes twinkled with love and relief. “I’m sorry I panicked.”
“It must have looked bad. I’m sorry. I am excited for you to meet my mother and my father someday when he is mobile,” Talon said. “Running and not talking to me was the worst way to handle this. I want you to promise me you’ll talk to me if you ever get upset.”
When she hesitated, he added, “I’m not your absolute bastard of an ex-husband.”
Elizabeth shook her head. “I know it isn’t fair to judge your actions by the history of his. He hurt me so bad, and it came out of the blue. I didn’t have any inkling that he was cheating. So when I saw you dancing, I thought it was happening again.”
“It’s never going to happen, Little girl. I love you. No one else.”
“You’re only twenty-five. You may change your mind.” Elizabeth reached up to trace that line Storm had noticed. “When my wrinkle has a lot more friends.”
“You’re a few years older than I am. Not decades. I have some wrinkles, too. You are gorgeous today and you’ll be gorgeous when you’re seventy. I’m never going to change my mind. You are my Little girl.”
She nodded and pressed her cheek to his chest, hearing his heart beat. “I love being your Little girl.”
“When you’re ready, we’ll get married.”
“Married?” she repeated, looking up at him.
“I’m never going to let you go, Buttercup. Now I know to check under beds,” he said, brushing the dust from her suit. “I would have searched from one side of this city to the next and further if I’d needed to. You are mine.”
“And you’re mine,” she pointed out.
“Definitely.”
“Would you introduce me to your mother so I can apologize?” Elizabeth asked.
“I will. You don’t need to apologize…”
Talon stopped to listen to the music that had just begun in the common room. “Oh, crap. She’s playing a Paso Doble already.”
“I can’t wait to see this,” Elizabeth said, starting down the hall.
“Save me now,” Talon moaned as he followed her.