Now and Forever (15 page)

“Yes. But we won’t spend nights together anymore or have sex. Maybe we should save that for when we get married.”

A look of concern passed over her face. “But . . . really? You mean no intercourse, or—”

Ben cut her off. “I mean nothing that involves your pretty pussy or my dick. We’ll go on dates and I’ll kiss you on your doorstep at the end and go home.”

“For how long? You really think you can do that?”

He smiled. “Of course. For as long as it takes.”

“But how is this going to resolve our core problem of you wanting me to quit my job?”

“It’ll clear our heads. Help us both see the other person for everything they are that doesn’t involve sex. And I give you my word that I’ll open my mind to the idea of you working after we have kids. “

Layla considered and then nodded. “Okay. Let’s try it.” She looked down at her watch. “I have to get back to my office.”

“Thanks for the coffee.”

She pulled a cup out of the cardboard tray and handed it to him. “I hope it’s still good. I know you like it hot.”

He arched his brows and grinned. “I do like it hot.”

Layla pushed away from the desk and turned toward the door. “Me too. Good thing I can still have sex with other guys.”

Ben set his cup on the desk and stepped toward her, smacking her ass so hard she jumped and squealed with surprise. “Don’t fucking joke about that.”

“You won’t last 24 hours at this,” she said, laughing. “You’re too easy to get fired up.”

“Hey.” Ben put a hand on her hip and turned her to face him. “I’m serious about this. I want you to know I love you for more than your body. Can I take you out to dinner tonight?”

“Sure.” She laid a hand on his cheek and tipped her face up to his for a kiss. Her lips were soft and tasted sweet. Ben held himself back from kissing her like he wanted to – with his hands gripping her ass and his tongue tangling with hers until they were both breathless.

“I’ll text you when I’m leaving here,” he said. She nodded and turned for the door, glancing back at him on her way out. Those big brown eyes could persuade him to do anything. He’d have to lash himself to the mast to keep his hands off of her. But if he could convince her to marry him, he’d have her forever, and the wait would be worth it.

***

Emma looked at the screen of her phone, surprised to see her parents’ home number displayed on the screen. She hadn’t spoken to her dad since the throw down over Cole, and she didn’t really want to now. She was busy at the bakery, and her employees would eavesdrop on the conversation.

But she missed her parents, and what if something was wrong?

“Hello?” She balanced the phone on her shoulder to continue frosting a tall, ornate wedding cake.

“Emma, it’s Mom. How are you, honey?”

“I’m good. How are you guys?”

“Fine, but . . . we miss you.”

“I’m pretty sure Dad doesn’t want to see us right now.”

There was a pause. “Well, it might help break the ice if you’d come over by yourself sometime.”

Emma set her bag of frosting on the stainless prep table, annoyance surging inside her. “I shouldn’t have to break the ice with my own parents, and Cole and I are together, Mom. If he’s not welcome, you won’t see me, either.”

Her mom sighed deeply. “I think Dad just needs some time. I’m sure he wishes he’d handled things differently. The Marlowes won’t even speak to us anymore.”

“Can you blame them, after the way he treated Cole?” Emma cried.

“I know a lot of feelings were hurt.”

That was a statement of the obvious, if ever she’d heard one. Emma rubbed her temple. “Yeah.”

“Are you feeling okay? Everything’s good with the baby?”

“Yes. Everything’s good, but I need to get back to work.”

“Okay. I love you, Emma.”

Emma’s heart twisted. Her dad had sure screwed things up. But her mom could’ve stood up for her and Cole. Still, life was awfully short for bitterness and resentment. “I love you, too, Mom. Come by the bakery for lunch soon if you want to.”

“I do. I will.”

They said goodbye, and Emma washed her hands and returned to her cake. This one, with trailing vines of frosting, would take all afternoon. But that was a good thing. She needed the distraction.

***

Layla opened the door to her apartment and smiled. Ben had knocked rather than use his key. He really was planning to woo her like a gentleman, then.

“Hey,” he said, grinning. “Ready for our date?”

“I am.”

“You look pretty.”

Layla smiled at him and murmured a thank you. She’d changed into jeans and a light blue sweater and looked rather average. But still, his effort at sweetness made her feel warm.

“I just need to grab my purse,” she said. “And did you want me to get on my knees and deep throat your cock before we go? Maybe suck on your balls? Mmm, I’d really like that.”

Ben’s lips curved up in a smile. “No, I’m good, but thanks. I’d rather get some dinner with my beautiful date.”

“Hmm.” She pouted and grabbed her coat. “I’m just dying to taste—”

“Quit playing dirty, woman,” Ben said, reaching for her hand to pull her out the door.

“Did you say dirty? Because—”

Ben groaned. “Layla, I’m trying. Don’t make it so hard.”

“Ooh, more about how hard it is, please.”

Ben narrowed his eyes at her and wrapped an arm around her waist. “How was your day?”

“Good. How was yours?”

“Not bad. Got a lot of paperwork done.”

“Have you guys made progress on Cole’s case?”

Ben opened the passenger door of his car and gave Layla a skeptical glance before she stepped in. “Progress?”

She waited for him to walk around to his side of the car and get in. “Yeah. You remember I told you your guys should do a more thorough check of the logs and the bank account?”

“My guys work for me, sweetheart. I decide when their investigations are done.”

She was ruffling his feathers, and she hadn’t meant to do that. “I know. I just felt like it wasn’t as thorough an investigation as one you would’ve done yourself.”

“The money was sent to the account from his machine.”

“But did he ever access the money? Did anyone?”

“I shouldn’t be talking about this with you.” Ben gave her a pointed look and started the car.

“Okay, so let’s not talk about it anymore. But please go through the file and look for any holes. For me.”

His small sigh told her he was listening. “Japanese steakhouse good for dinner?”

“Perfect.” She smiled sweetly and he gave her a knowing look. There was no fooling him. He knew sweetness wasn’t her strong suit.

***

Surprisingly, the mint chocolate cupcakes were selling out faster than the old school chocolate ones. Cole made a mark in his notebook as he looked over the times in the afternoon they were selling the last of each flavor. So tomorrow, they’d need more mint chocolate and red velvet ones.

His idea to branch into new flavors was going well. They were rolling out another of his ideas, the baker’s dozen club, tomorrow. Buy twelve cupcakes and get the thirteenth free.

Before his arrest, he’d thought his sense of self was tied heavily to being a successful attorney. But his work at the bakery was making him realize he was happy just being successful. Making a contribution to Emma’s business that helped it flow better felt good.

She was in the pantry taking inventory of ingredients, and he glanced up to see where the other employees were at. If she was alone in the pantry, he planned to head in and raise her temperature a few degrees. Stolen moments of affection between them during the day here increased the appetite they both had for sex when they got home. They were making up for the long dry spell during the early days of the pregnancy.

Cole scanned the lobby and did a double take. Was that . . . ? Hell yes, it was. Grayson fucking Chamberlain was standing there, glancing around nervously. Setting down the clipboard, Cole strode out to greet him.

“What’s up, you worthless piece of shit?” he said in a low tone. “Come by to gloat? Better soak it up because I know what you did.”

Grayson’s gaze drifted from Cole’s face down to the navy blue apron he wore.

“Yeah, I’m wearing an apron. Thanks for that, asshole.”

“Uh . . . I didn’t think you’d be here,” Grayson said. “I knew this was your girlfriend’s bakery, so I came to ask her where I could find you.”

“You found me. But why the fuck would you want to? You almost ruined me, you smug bastard. I’m gonna kick your ass.”

“I didn’t—”

“Don’t deny it.” Cole edged closer to him. “Own it, you asshole. This was a sophisticated setup that few people could’ve pulled off, and you happen to be a computer genius. The server logs tell the tale, don’t they?”

Grayson’s eyes widened. “It’s a tale, all right. But it convinced the partners. I’m suspended from the firm, too.”

“Good. That means the police will be questioning you soon. Guess we know you’ve got the cash for a good attorney. I sure as fuck didn’t.”

Grayson raised his hands in a show of surrender. “Listen to me. Please. I admit I can be an asshole at times. And yeah, I have a computer engineering degree. Am I technically capable of doing this? Probably. But I didn’t. I’m about the most risk-averse person you’ll ever meet. I can’t even switch to a new flavor of coffee, let alone do something like this.”

“You’ve always hated me. You had the motive, opportunity and capability.”

“I’m not lying! I think whoever set you up is setting me up now.”

Cole scoffed and crossed his arms across his chest. “I’ll show the same concern you showed for me when I was the one in deep shit.”

“I didn’t turn my back,” Grayson said sharply. “I did an audit on server activity and passed my findings on to my senior partner for the police. I discovered that all the transactions were done remotely, not from your terminal. And you’d scanned your ID card for admission to the building every time, so you were in the building. That proved it couldn’t have been you.”

Cole drew back with surprise. “McNeil? You gave this information to McNeil?”

“No, Champion. McNeil had a heart attack right after you got suspended. He’s still at home recovering.”

“Champion, then. Did he give it to the police?”

Grayson shrugged. “As far as I know. Why wouldn’t he?”

Grayson’s face was open. His eyes, pleading. Cole’s knowledge of body language from classes he’d taken on jury selection told him Grayson was telling the truth. But he’d taken those classes, too, so what if he was putting on a show?

“You need to discuss this with your attorney, not me,” Cole said.

“Yeah, I will. But I wanted to say to you, face to face, that I didn’t do this. I’m scared shitless about what’s gonna happen to me, like you probably were. But I’m not just accused of stealing, I’m also accused of framing a colleague for it. I’ve stepped on you a few times, I know, but I wouldn’t do this.”

Cole glanced at the front counter. He didn’t want Emma to see him in a heated discussion and ask what was up. She still didn’t know about the new lead in his case, though he was dying to tell her. He didn’t want to get her hopes up if it didn’t pan out.

“Yeah, I’ve got a meeting with my attorney tomorrow, and I’ll discuss this with her. But my bottom line is proving I didn’t do this. You might have to do the same thing.”

Grayson nodded and mumbled a goodbye before leaving. Cole couldn’t help thinking that the answers in this case still weren’t looking very clear.

***

Ben tossed a box of doughnuts on the large table in the detectives’ meeting room. Flannigan looked up, surprised.

“You want one?” Ben asked.

“Um, sure.” He reached into the box and took one, passing the box to another detective.

“Let’s talk about the Murphy-Kline case.” Ben sat down and pulled on his tie to loosen it a bit. “I want you to go through it again with fresh eyes.”

“Did we miss something?”

“I don’t know.”

“Is this for your girlfriend?” one of the other detectives, Rick Jordan, asked with a sneer.

Ben glared at him. “Do what you’re told, asshole. I just talked to the attorney at the DA’s office and they’re not thrilled about the PC you used to get the warrant. They said this case better be airtight.” He looked at the faces of the three men at the table. “Is it?”

“You looked over the file,” one of them grumbled.

“It’s your job to conduct a thorough investigation, not mine,” Ben said. “I trusted that you did. If you screwed up the probable cause, there is no case.”

“It was clear-cut,” Jordan protested. “We got an anonymous complaint, the server logs matched up to Marlowe and the money was funneled into a side bank account.”

“An account you can prove he accessed?” Ben asked.

Jordan considered, but didn’t answer.

“You fuck-ups are gonna get us sued.” Ben shook his head with disgust. “If you’re on auto pilot, you need to get the fuck out of my division.”

“We’ve got it, Sarge,” Flannigan said. “We’ll look everything over and make sure it’s locked up.”

“When are you getting married?” Jordan asked through a mouthful of doughnut. He wasn’t ruffled by Ben’s disdain for their investigation.

“We haven’t set a date yet.”

“Oooh, trouble in paradise?”

“No, shithead. We’re still making plans. Your invitation will get lost in the mail anyway.”

Jordan raised his hands. “Touchy, touchy.”

“Report back to me by the end of the day on Murphy-Kline,” Ben said. He turned to walk back to his office. When the assistant DA had told him the probable cause was so weak the case would be dismissed if Cole had a competent attorney, he’d been torn between annoyance with his detectives for their shoddy work and relief for Cole and Emma. Had Layla picked up on it? He couldn’t share something like that with her.

This case was a pain in his ass in more ways than one. He retreated to his office and closed the door behind him, eager to lose himself in cases he had no personal ties to.

***

Lack of sex was getting to Ben. Staring at the rounded swells of Layla’s breasts in her v-neck t-shirt was giving him a raging hard-on. At least they were sitting in a restaurant booth, where no one could see it.