Fall Into Me (Heart of Stone) (9 page)

"He'll
have his cooks make some late night dinner for us and we'll watch the new year
come in high above the city. How does ten o'clock sound?"

"I
can't wait! It'll be fun!" she squealed as she enveloped me in a bear hug.
As she held me, I felt her grow serious. In my ear, she said quietly,
"Take care of yourself. I want you to remember something. I don't know if
you know what I always say, but it's true. Good things happen to good people,
and you're the best, so that means great things are in store for you."

Releasing
me, she smiled. "Now promise me you won't forget that."

"Not
unless I have another head injury," I joked.

Jordan screwed her face into a frown. "Not funny. Now you go have an incredible
Christmas and I'll see you at the top of the world at ten on New Year's
Eve."

"I'll
be there in sparkles and bangles."

Chapter Nine

Nina

I
couldn't help but think about everything Jordan had told me as the Town Car
rolled over the highway on my way back home. By the time Jensen got me back to
Tristan's house, my mind was filled with doubts about love. Why had Cal betrayed me like that? We'd been so close. Or at least I'd thought we'd been. Would I
ever feel the same love I'd obviously felt for Tristan before? Or was that a
remnant of my forgotten past I'd never have the chance to enjoy again?

God,
everything was so confusing! I felt like everywhere I turned were those
funhouse mirrors that distorted people and I kept seeing myself in
them—stretched out and wavy in one, flattened in another. Now Cal had to be
added to the distortion.

But
not Jordan or Tristan. Neither one of them ever veered away from what they'd
said to me that first time I saw them in the hospital. I was lucky to have two
people who cared about me. I knew that.

I
put away my new clothes and flopped back onto my bed. As I lay there, I
couldn't help but wonder why the memory of Cal was all I could think about.

Listen
to what Jordan said and don't be stupid, Nina. You have a great guy here who
tells you he loves you all the time and means it. Leave Cal where he belongs.
In the past.

I
knew I should leave him in my forgotten past. I just couldn't.

Tristan
and I had dinner promptly at five, as I'd come to find out was our routine. He smiled
when he saw me and said he'd had a great day after our rendezvous, but those
sexy brown eyes told a different story about his day. Perhaps after taking off
so much time to tend to me after my accident, the work he'd neglected had
finally caught up to him. Whatever it was that made him look so exhausted, I
wished I could make it all go away.

Pushing
his plate away from him, he forced a smile. "How was your day after you
left Le Ciel?"

I
felt a blush race over my cheeks at the mention of our time at the boutique.
"It was good. I went to see Jordan. She said she and Justin would come to
celebrate New Year's Eve with us. I think she's looking forward to it."

Tristan
reached out his hand to cover mine as it sat on the table. "And are
you?"

"I
am. I think we'll have a great time."

His
smile softened, becoming more genuine. "Good. Any idea what we should feed
them?"

"Cocktail
weenies?" I said with a giggle.

Raising
his eyebrows, he smirked. "I think my chef can do better than that.
Perhaps I'll let him run with the menu. I promise you'll love it."

"I'm
sure I will...love it," I said as I slid my hand out from under his.

He
noticed its movement immediately and looked down at the spot where my hand had
sat and then up at my face. "Is there something wrong, Nina? I'd thought
after last night and this morning, we'd turned a corner. Was I wrong?"

I
didn't know if he was wrong. The time we'd spent together at the penthouse the
night before had been incredible. And the dressing room at Le Ciel? Mind
blowing. There was no doubt in my mind that the sex between us worked. It
worked like with no one before. But I had to wonder about the feelings
underneath what we did with one another when we were naked.

"No.
It was great. There's no denying that."

Tristan's
eyebrows knitted in that look of concern that he seemed to wear a lot, mostly
because of me. "But something's wrong?"

I
couldn't think of a way to say what was on my mind, so I just went with the
straightforward truth. "There's no doubt we rock it in bed. No doubt. But
is sex all we are? I mean, couples usually do normal couples stuff."

"Like?"
he asked with a distinct edge to his voice.

"Like
sit around and watch movies," I blurted out, unsure if that's what I meant
at all.

"You
want to watch a movie tonight? Is that what you're saying?"

I
could tell by the look on his face that he was confused by my attitude toward
him. I couldn't blame him. We'd made love over and over the night before, and
then the Le Ciel thing had happened, so he had every right to think that I was
beginning to feel something for him.

I
was. I just didn't know how to feel about that.

"Could
we? Did we ever do that, or did we only have sex all over the place?"

On
those rare occasions when Tristan really smiled, he was the most incredibly stunning
man I'd ever seen. At that moment when I asked if all we'd ever done was have
sex, one of those true smiles broke out across his face, lighting up even his
tired eyes.

"Yes,
we've watched movies before. You tend to like ones I don't and vice versa, but
I'm sure we can compromise."

"Good."

Loosening
his tie, he focused his gaze on me. "But I want to get something straight
with you. Just because we're attracted to one another doesn't mean we never
cared for each other. The two things are not mutually exclusive."

"I'm
sorry. I didn't mean anything by that."

"I
think you have some idea that because I want you that I can't be in love with
you. Nothing could be further from the truth, Nina."

This
was one of those times I was sure he had some mind reading ability he used on
me. Even before I'd realized it, he'd nailed down what had been playing on my
mind since Jordan had told me about Cal.

I
looked down at my hands as they sat in my lap. "I guess I'm just worried
that sex was all there was between us." Looking up, I saw him staring at
me with what looked like hurt in his eyes. "Not that the sex isn't great,
but was there more?"

"The
sex was great—is great—because there is more. Your mind may not know it yet,
but your heart does. Listen to it, Nina."

When
he looked at me with those eyes that seemed to look straight into my soul, I
couldn't help but prayed that he was right. I wanted to listen to my heart.
It's just that my head kept interrupting with all those doubts about him. About
love. About Cal.

I
needed to know why Cal had so easily dumped me for some girl after I'd told him
I'd loved him. Something inside told me that if I didn't find out what had
happened between us, then nothing would ever truly be right between Tristan and
me.

He
interpreted my silence as rejection and leaned back in his chair. "I'm
happy to give you all the time you need, Nina. All I ask is that you not fight
feeling something for me."

"That's
not it, Tristan. I didn't mean..." I let my sentence trail off into the
uncomfortable feeling that had formed around us right there in that dining
room. I felt bad, but I was sure once I found out what had happened with Cal, everything between Tristan and me could be right. Maybe it would be even better than
it had been before.

He
stood from the table and placed his napkin next to his plate. "Let me get
changed and we'll haggle over that movie. Sound good?"

"Sure.
That sounds great. Give me a few minutes and I'll meet you in..." I
stopped because I didn't know where to say to meet him. The media room? His
room? Now that we'd slept together, spending the night with him in his room
seemed like the next logical step, but I wasn't sure it meant the same thing to
him.

"Let's
get some use out of that media room. I'll meet you there in say twenty minutes?
I have some work I have to take care of, but I'll tell Rogers to make some
popcorn."

His
desire to watch the movie not in his room but in the media room confused me.
Maybe last night hadn't meant what I thought it had. But then again, he was the
one always professing love.

As
he left the dining room, I worked to clear my muddled head. It was probably
better if we kept our living arrangements like they'd been for a little while
more anyway. I needed to find out about what had made the only other man I'd
ever said I love you to leave me. Once the past was cleared up, the present
could begin to be great.

At
least I hoped so.

Tristan's
media room wasn't like any room normal people watched movies in. More like a
movie theater than a room, it had an enormous U-shaped black chenille sectional
couch that felt like heaven to sit on. Extra deep, the seats were almost as big
as chaise lounges all around. It faced a TV that was so big it took up almost the
entire wall. I felt tiny in this room so full of big things.

Easing
back onto the sofa, I let myself enjoy the luxury. He did know how to live.

"Don't
get too comfortable," he announced as he entered the room, his arms full
with a yellow plastic bowl overflowing with buttery popcorn and a roll of paper
towels.

I
sat up quickly, unsure what he meant. "Why?"

"We
need to have some of this popcorn. Three pans of Jiffy Pop popcorn are here
waiting for us to dig in."

He
placed the bowl on the coffee table in the center of the sofa and walked back
to begin the movie as I took a handful of popcorn. The familiar taste of that
buttery and salty snack was delicious, even after our perfectly prepared steak
dinner.

Popping
another kernel in my mouth, I looked back at him. "I haven't had Jiffy Pop
in years! I wouldn't think you'd be a Jiffy Pop guy."

He
shook his head. "I'm not. I'd never had it before you asked for it one
night when we watched one of your chick flicks."

I
twisted my face into a look of fake disgust at his cheap shot at my favorite
type of movie. "So when did you run out to get some Jiffy Pop in the last
twenty minutes?"

He
sat down beside me as the movie began. "I didn't. We have it here all the
time since you told me you liked it."

"Oh.
Well, that's good to know. You know, just in case I decide I want popcorn at
two in the morning."

Tristan's
casual statement rocked me. I tried to hide how much it meant to me behind my
joking, but I was truly touched by his attentiveness.

"So
are you ready for some Iron Man 2?"

"And
this is what you call haggling? I'm not getting a chick flick vibe here,"
I teased.

Putting
his arm around me, he pulled me close and grinned. "Yes and no. It's not a
chick flick, but it's got great cars and there's a girl."

"Please
tell me you at least believe I like this movie."

As
the film began and he dimmed the lights, he softly kissed my lips. "You
do. Trust me."

I
ended up loving the movie, and by the time we fell asleep in each other's arms
right there in the media room, I was almost convinced that, in the end, my
heart would have the final say instead of my head.

The
winter sun warmed my room as it woke me the next morning. I rolled over and focused
on the clock. 8:05. Looking around, I saw I was in my bedroom tucked under the
covers. I vaguely remembered Tristan carrying me there and putting me to bed
after the movie.

As
I slowly came back to life, I saw a sheet of white paper on the pillow next to
me. As was his habit, Tristan had left me his own version of a good morning
kiss. No envelope this time. Just a sheet of stationery.

Dear
Nina,

Thank
you for the movie date. I'm happy you enjoyed it. I'll be busy all day, but
tonight I thought we'd visit one of our favorite restaurants. I'll pick you up
at six sharp.

                                                     Love,

                                                     Tristan

 My
eyes slid over the words, noting each stroke of his handwriting. I'd grown to
love these notes from him, even feeling disappointed when he didn't leave one. As
I reread his letter, I wondered what restaurant he meant. I guessed I'd see at
six.

After
a quick shower, I dressed in a cute navy blue sweater dress and knee-high boots
and headed to the kitchen for some much needed coffee. As I sipped the French
Vanilla roast blend, I thought about the day ahead of me, nervous about what
I'd find out.

"Miss,
is there anything you need?"

I
looked around and saw Rogers standing in the doorway. His expression was kind,
as it had been the day I arrived at this house, but he watched me like a hawk,
his dark eyes following every move I made. With his slicked back steel grey
hair and long face, he reminded me of a maître d' at one of those exclusive
restaurants.

Lifting
my mug of coffee, I smiled and shook my head. "Got everything I need.
Thanks. I'll pick something up to eat in the city when I go shopping."

As
soon as I said the words, I felt guilty, as if going to visit someone from my
past was a bad thing. Lying had never been something I was good at. I knew
Tristan's butler saw my guilt too. Something in the way his eyes grew wider for
just a moment told me he didn't believe me.

He
stood silently looking at me, and every second that went by I grew more
uncomfortable. I began to fidget and my eyes darted around the room to avoid
his stare. Finally, I croaked out, "Well, guess it's time to head out.
Have a good one."

Rogers nodded slowly and moved aside to allow me to pass, but I felt his eyes on me the
whole time. I couldn't tell if it was my own guilty conscience or his silent
judging me about something else, but I felt sick all of a sudden.

"Jensen,
I'm meeting Jordan to shop, so feel free to take a break. Get some lunch,"
I chirped out to Tristan's driver.

He
lowered his slightly graying head and smiled. I didn't get any sense that he
suspected me of anything as Rogers seemed to have, so I happily marched into
Macy's and waited for what seemed like long enough before I ducked out the
nearest exit.

Out
to Cal's office four blocks away.

I
raced up the street, walking as fast as I could in my boots, among the throngs
of people headed out on their day's business. As I passed the men and women on
their way to wherever they were going, I wondered if any of them was like
me—going to talk to a ghost from her past.