Behind Closed Doors (28 page)

After her meeting with Mr. Frederick, life as Chris knew it changed. He’d insisted that the best defense was a good offense, and even though this wasn’t a trial, it meant getting the press on her side. Keeping them out of it altogether wasn’t an option. The Carters were too high profile.

They’d arrived at the office the following week to a full parking lot of reporters. Never in a million years would he have thought this many people would be interested in her case.

Elizabeth wasn’t surprised. “There are less than I expected actually. Then again, it’s still early.”

“Less?”

“Yes,” she said, taking a seat behind her desk just as she normally would.

Chris glanced back at the door, remembering the sea of reporters and cameras outside. He’d seen stations from Columbus, Dayton, and Cincinnati. How much worse could it get?

Mr. Frederick called the office not ten minutes later and agreed with Elizabeth’s assessment. He also gave the two of them instructions on how to act when they were anywhere their picture could be taken. There could be no intimate contact. No hugging. No kissing. Chris couldn’t even put his arm around her or hold her hand. The two of them had to act as if there was nothing between them except friendship.

Despite their protests, Mr. Frederick pointed out how it could be used against her in the courtroom. Besides, he could still touch her inside the office and at home. It was just in public he’d have to restrain himself.

“No comment” became the phrase of the day as she fielded a steady stream of phone calls from various reporters. It made things slightly chaotic, but he figured once it was over they could go back to the peace and quiet of their home.

He had no idea how wrong he was. When they pulled up to the house, they had to weave through several van loads of reporters and cameramen screaming questions and taking pictures.

Luckily, Jan was waiting on the other side of the door to let them in quickly. He’d never been so thankful to be home in his life.

They both followed the same routine they had been for the last week. They hadn’t made love in over a week, and it was killing him. It was his fault, of course. She had made every effort to entice him. Each night she’d come to bed draped in lace and silk, and every night he just—couldn’t.

He couldn’t explain how he was feeling, not to her, not to himself. He loved her. He wanted her. At the same time, he felt wholly unworthy of her.

That night as they were lying in bed, holding each other, he heard her sniffling. He rolled her over to face him and saw lines of tears on her face. “Baby, tell me what’s wrong.”

She looked up at him with so much pain in her wide eyes. “You don’t want me anymore.”

“I do.” He hoped she could hear the conviction in his voice. It hadn’t been a question and his heart nearly broke in two. She was everything to him. There was no way he could not want her. He tried to wipe the tears from her cheeks, but she pushed his hands away.

“No, you don’t.”

“Why do you think that?”

“You never touch me anymore.”

“Yes—”

“No, you don’t. Not like you used to. I miss feeling you touching me, inside me.”

Chris felt like he was going to cry. “I’m so sorry. I never meant for you to feel that way. I do want you. You have no idea how much.”

“Then why won’t you make love to me anymore?”

He sighed and rubbed his hands over his face, stalling. He hated talking about his insecurities, his failures. But he also couldn’t let her think this was her fault. “I’m just a blue collar guy. I own my own business, sure, but I love to work with my hands, building things. I’m never going to be more than a builder.”

She looked up at him in confusion and said, “I know. What does that have to do with anything?”

He took a deep breath and plunged in with both feet. “How could I ever be enough for you?”

Suddenly, her eyes softened. “You think you’re not good enough for me?” She chuckled.

“I don’t think it’s funny,” he said a little offended.

“Oh, Chris,” she said, throwing her arms around his neck. “For five years I was married to a man who constantly tried to change me because he thought I wasn’t good enough. It nearly broke me. Why would I do that to the man I love?”

His eyes grew wide as her words registered, and the dam broke. All the emotions he’d firmly pushed down bubbled to the surface and surpassed all logical thought.

He kissed her hard and fast and then held her as he stared into her eyes with all the love he had for her. “I love you,” he said and kissed her again, longer this time. “You have no idea how much.”

“Oh, Chris!” He began kissing and nipping at her neck just the way she liked it, and she arched her back into his touch, craving what she’d been denied for the last week. His hands were everywhere as he made up for lost time. Her body was singing by the time their bodies joined together as they murmured words of love. She’d had never felt more cherished. Chris was both rough and gentle at the same time, and she found release three times before he finally let go, burying his head in her neck and moaning his pleasure. They didn’t move for a long time as they held each other. She enjoyed the weight of him, pressing her into the mattress.

He mumbled something she couldn’t make out. “What?”

Finally, Chris turned his head to the side so that she could see him. There were tears in his eyes. “Don’t ever leave me.”

“Never,” she said. “Never.”

Elizabeth took a shower while Chris slept, and she hoped to finish before he woke.

Last night had been more than she could have ever hoped. Not only had they both confessed their love for one another in both words and actions, they had talked about a future together.

He wanted her to move in with him. Officially. Even though she hadn’t slept in her apartment for three weeks now, hearing him say that he wanted her here with him always, made her insides do little flip-flops.

When Chris had asked her to never leave him, her heart nearly broke. After hearing him talk about his ex-wife, she knew his first marriage was the cause of his insecurity. Chris was so strong and confident most of the time that it hurt her to see him so vulnerable. His opening up like that only made her love him more.

She turned off the water, swiftly dried off, and tiptoed into his bedroom. She smiled.
Their
bedroom.

Chris was still asleep, so she threw on one of his T-shirts and hurried into the kitchen. He’d been so good to her, making their breakfast every morning, being there for her every minute she needed him throughout this whole ordeal. She wanted to do something nice for him, even if it was just breakfast in bed.

She was just about finished when a commotion outside caught her attention, and she turned the burner off and went to the window to see what was going on.

The first wave of the reporters had moved on to bigger and better stories. There were still a few lingering, trying to get that one picture they could turn into a front-page story.

Parked in the driveway was a black Mercedes with dark tinted windows.

The door opened, and Stephanie stepped out.

Elizabeth panicked and ran back into the bedroom to get some clothes. She couldn’t answer the door in only Chris’s shirt. Scrambling to put on a pair of jeans, she tripped on the end of the rug and landed face first on the floor.

“Ouch!” She rolled over and rubbed the side of her face. She really hoped it didn’t bruise. That was all she needed.

“Are you okay?” Chris asked in a groggy voice.

“Yeah,” she said, looking up from the floor. “Sorry I woke you up.”

“I needed to get up anyway.”

He pushed the covers off, revealing his naked body, and she swallowed, nearly forgetting her earlier panic.

“What are you hungry for this morning?” he asked.

“Oh,” she said, shaking her head. “I . . . made breakfast for you. Sorry. I . . .” Then she remembered why she’d been scrambling around for clothes in the first place.

“What’s wrong,” he asked, helping her up.

“Stephanie’s here,” she blurted. “I-I need to get dressed and go downstairs. She doesn’t know . . . about us.”

“She’s your friend, right?”

“Yes.”

“Then take your time and get dressed. I’ll go down and bring her up here. If you’ve made breakfast for us, I’m sure there’s enough for three.” He gave her a quick kiss before he pulled on a pair of blue jeans and disappeared out the door.

She was so stunned, she didn’t move for a moment. Stephanie was going to find out about Chris. About Chris and her . . . as a couple. For some reason, she wasn’t all that sure she wanted that to happen and wondered if it was because she knew Chris would never fit into Stephanie’s world. Her old world. Just as Chris had known he wouldn’t.

She heard movement on the stairs and knew she was running out of time. Whatever unease she felt about Stephanie meeting Chris didn’t matter. She could only hope it went well.

Chris rubbed the sleep from his face as he marched down the stairs to get Elizabeth’s friend. He’d met Stephanie briefly in Columbus, but that was as Elizabeth’s boss. The woman had struck him as someone who cared too much about appearances. He didn’t really understand why Elizabeth would want to be friends with her. His girl was nothing like that.

His girl.

A hopeless grin spread over his face. They’d confessed their love for each other last night. She was moving in with him permanently, and he wasn’t letting her go.

When he opened the door, he came face-to-face with a woman who could have stepped off the cover of a fashion magazine had she been a few years younger. Her blond hair was swept back away from her face, and she was dressed in a cream-colored suit that looked more expensive than his truck.

“Oh,” she said with a look of confusion.

“I’m looking for Elizabeth Marshall. Is she available?”

Her speech was formal, and it was obvious she didn’t recognize him.

He opened the door wider, allowing her in. “She’s upstairs. Follow me.”

The clipped sound of her designer heels hitting the wooden stairs echoed off the walls as they walked up one flight.

When they reached the second floor, Stephanie said, “Thanks.” She turned to knock on Elizabeth’s door.

“She doesn’t live there.”

“Yes, she does. She lives on the second floor,” she said with conviction.

He shook his head and opened the door to his apartment. “Not anymore.” Just saying that felt good.

He continued up the stairs to his place, and after a brief moment, she followed.

He walked straight into the kitchen, opening the oven to see what Elizabeth had made for breakfast. Scrambled eggs, hash browns, and sausage. He removed the three overflowing plates, and turned off the heat.

“Coffee?” he asked, reaching up to get mugs.

“Yes, please,” Stephanie said, glancing at the kitchen table. It came with four chairs, but only seated three comfortably.

His apartment was smaller than Elizabeth’s since it had originally been the attic, but it was perfect for him. From the expression on Stephanie’s face, Chris could tell that she didn’t approve.

He filled both coffee mugs and brought Stephanie hers along with cream and sugar. “Have a seat. She’ll be out in a few.” He motioned to the kitchen table.