True Love Lost (An FBI Romance Thriller (book 3)) (43 page)

“Carly Kester. I own the bookstore in town.”

Desdemona gave her a polite smile. “If you don’t mind, my date is waiting.” Dropping the lipstick into her purse, all she wanted to do was escape. Her mood was questionable, even to a stranger.

“Yeah, mine too,” and she turned to go into one of the stalls.

Desdemona hustled out of the bathroom, and stopped at the sheriff’s side. She leaned down in his ear, and whispered to him. Recognition dawned, and then he nodded but remained in his seat. Desdemona crossed the bar and took her seat, shaking her head.

Callen Whitefox had watched the entire interaction. Part of him was completely jealous that she was smiling at the
sheriff and touching his arm. Part of him was curious what she could be saying. When she sat, he spoke.

“What did you tell him?”

“That a blonde was drugging men, and to be careful. I didn’t want to see him on the table in the morning.”

“That was nice of you,” he said.
“But he didn’t want to hear it?”

“Nope. H
ey, all in a day’s work, right?” she finished her wine. “I think we should go.”

“Okay, Desdemona.” He knew he did something, and this was more proof. The woman was ending the date. When she stood and put on her own jacket and headed for the door, he felt his stomach drop. 

This answered the question of what would happen between them when this was all over, absolutely nothing. Desdemona just made it blatantly clear.

Callen Whitefox couldn’t stand the silence any longer. She wouldn’t even look at him, and was staring out the window. This was a bad sign, and it made him feel a little panicky. He was attracted to the woman, and he didn’t want her walking away from him, not now and certainly not later.
He already had a plan when it came to her.

“Why are you mad at me,” he asked, carefully. Remembering the woman melting down in the restaurant and hoping she wouldn’t follow suit.

Desdemona looked over surprised. “I'm not mad at you.” And she wasn’t.

“Well, we went from a great night to an okay night to a shitty one in the span of two hours. So, something went wrong and I have to assume it
’s something I did.”

“I’m not mad at you, Callen. I’m mad at me.”

Now he really didn’t understand. How could she be mad at herself? They were having a really nice time and then it all began to head downhill. It all began when the other woman started fighting in the restaurant, and he brought up work.

She sighed. “I’m mad at myself because I actually believed we were going to have a date, and I dressed up, and it just wasn’t what I expected.”

Shit! Now he got it. “Desi, I’m sorry.” Maybe he should have been a little more sensitive. Yeah, he needed to watch people for his brother, but he should have been focused on the most important one in the place.

“It’s fine,” she said, as he pulled up to the house. “It was insane to believe you’d want to take me on a date anyway. I’m just the ME
.” Desdemona hopped out of the vehicle and fought to hold back the tears.

“Wait, you think I wouldn’t want to take you on a real date? Are you serious?”
Then he saw the tears in her eyes. Well hell, he just needed to fix this. Desdemona really thought she wasn’t worth his time. Here the entire time he was trying to protect her from Elizabeth, and he was the one that was going to hurt her.

“No one ever does, I’m completely invisible,” she said finally, as she pushed into the house they were staying in. “Thanks for dinner, Callen. See you in the morning.” She walked past him
and to the stairs. Now she’d run and hide, and try to regroup to face them all in the morning. This was why she hid behind the goth-y clothing, because rejection hurt. She was insane to believe that sexy Callen Whitefox would ever see her as anything more than a one night stand. To her it was more proof of where his heart lived.

Callen
watched her leave, and he had no idea how to fix her or the mess that just started between them.

“Seem to have a problem
?” Elizabeth inquired from the kitchen doorway.

Whitefox jumped. “Jesus, Lyzee.”

“Sorry, I was getting some tea.” Elizabeth rubbed her stomach to calm the baby down. “Want to talk about it?” she asked, as he followed her back into the kitchen.

“We started out great,” he said, then told
her everything that happened. “I didn’t try to screw this up,” he stated in frustration. “And yet I managed to make it an epic mess.”

“
Ethan told you to take the night off tonight for a reason. He wanted you to have fun. Any woman wants to be the center of attention when a man takes her out, Callen.” Elizabeth took his hand in hers and they twined fingers. “Doctor Adare isn't the normal woman you screw around with. Get them drunk, bring them home and forget their name after dawn.”

“I’m out of my element here,” he said hopelessly
, spilling his heart to the only woman that knew his secrets and fears. If anyone could help him, she could and would. “I don’t really romance women. The women I bring home aren’t the type.”

“What does she mean to you?” she
inquired, softly.

Whitefox had trusted the woman before him with all his secrets, to
the ones that involved her and anything else. He relied on that trust to keep him afloat when he was adrift in the sea of confusion. “I don’t think I can love two people at once. Can someone be so hopelessly in love with one person, and then still have a relationship with someone else?” he asked her, because he really needed the reassurance and Elizabeth would tell him the truth.

“Absolutely
darlin’.” Elizabeth believed that without a doubt. Love was a multilayered complex thing and couldn’t be bound by normal rules. “I love your brother and I love you too. You can love two people if you really want to do it and it’s meant to be.”

Callen listened to her words and tried not to
read into it too much, especially after talking to his brother today. Knowing that Elizabeth felt the same way about him and Ethan gave him hope in life.

“I think
she’s a really special woman, and I’d like to see if I can fit her into my life. Something about her just throws me off balance, makes my head spin and I feel like I’m completely out of step.”

“Sounds like
the potential to be love.”

Yeah, he was well aware what love felt like
. Elizabeth gave him the same feelings, only ten million times worse. “What do I do now?” he asked, needing her help. “How do I fix this Lyzee? I don’t want to screw this up any more than I have.”

Elizabeth stood and went to his side. When he leaned against her and rested his head against her body, and the baby bump, she stroked
and played with his hair. “You need to make it up to her, and give her a new date to replace the one that got ruined. Do something that makes her feel special and unique.”

He nodded. “Thank you, Lyzee.” He’d be lost without her, and this was why he loved her like he did.

“Don’t worry, Callen. If it’s meant to be, nothing will stop it from happening.”

Whitefox stood up and pulled her into his arms, just relishing the feeling and scent. “I love you, Lyzee,” he said, taking her face in his hands and kissing her softly on the lips. It was hard to not push the kiss too far, despite what his brother said to him.

Elizabeth felt the tone of the kiss change slightly. It wasn’t odd that he’d drop a kiss on her lips, but this kiss was vastly different than the normal ones. Pulling away she looked up into his eyes, questioningly. “I love you too, Callen.”

Whitefox allowed his fingers to linger and finally turned away, leaving her standing in the room alone, as he headed to his room.

Part of him had always been afraid of losing Elizabeth‘s love if he found someone else these last few months. Never could he live with the idea of replacing what he felt for her with another woman. Now he knew he didn’t have to replace her. Elizabeth would stay firmly rooted in his life while he started to build a relationship with the woman upstairs. She’d always be there for him- never walking away.

Deep in his heart he loc
ked that part that she owned up, saving it for the first woman he’d ever fallen in love with. It would always be there for the rest of his life. Now he was able to focus on Desdemona. Now he just needed to figure out how to make everything all right.

Elizabeth watched the man walk away and she was even more confused than before. Maybe it was all the pregnancy hormones. Man, she couldn’t wait to have her emotions and body back.

Desdemona took off all her makeup, slipped out of the skirt and shirt and into a night shirt. As she climbed into bed, she could hear Callen moving around in the room beside hers. A part of her felt guilty for making him suffer with her. Just because she was completely unlovable and a lost cause, it didn’t mean she needed to make him pay for it. She wished he’d find something redeemable in her and want to be with her for something other than sex. She wished Callen saw her the way he saw Elizabeth.

As she curled up in her blanket, the tears came. Her heart wept openly, because she’d fallen in love with him. His bossiness, his possessiveness, and now she’d pushed him away. Damn it, she was a hot mess that ruined everything. Lying in bed, she gave in to the tears and just purged it all.

Whitefox was getting undressed, and thinking about the woman in the room beside him. Come hell or high water, he was going to fix this and make it right. Then he heard it, the soft crying, and his heart broke. Damn what a mess he created. Work could have waited one night. How many times would he get a chance to have dinner with her and have her be his complete focus? Going to the door that connected their room, he gently twisted the knob and stepped into her room. She was lying in her bed, so small and broken by his blatant stupidity.

“Desi?” he
whispered her name softly, as he walked towards the bed.

“I’m fine, Callen,” she answered, as she sniffled.

At that moment he wasn’t sure what to do, but he took the chance. “It doesn’t sound like you’re okay,” he said, climbing onto her bed and lying beside her.

Desdemona froze. She was in no mood to have sex and she really was disappointed that he was thinking it was a possibility. Her whole body tensed.

Whitefox felt her freeze up. “Come here, Desi. I know when I’m hurt it helps to just not be alone.” When she didn’t move, he went to her, curling protectively around the back of her body. Slowly she relaxed.

When she realized he was just there to make her feel better, she welcomed it. Maybe he did understand.

“Go to sleep, sweetheart. I’ll watch over you tonight,” he said, leaving a simple kiss on the curl of her ear. “I promise.”

Desdemona felt the anger floating away, and she closed her eyes. “Thank you,
Callen.” She felt a little better, as hope filled her. Maybe there was a chance, deep down he did understand that she was hurting.

“
No problem, Desi,” and he meant it. It was time to convince her that when this was over, the only place she was going was with him.

H
ome.

                           *      *       *

Angrily she brushed her hair in long vicious strokes to punish herself. In the tree line she had the perfect shot to kill the woman that was after her man. The perfect opportunity wasted, and then the other woman had to warn her. Damn them! They must both be after her men. There was no way she was going to let those cheap whores get to the love of her life. He was her true love, and a woman must do anything to protect what was hers.

ANYTHING! 

She looked in the mirror and checked out her appearance. Why would he pick them over her? It was inconceivable. She’d done everything he’d asked and wanted of her, and even gone as far as offering him her heart and her soul.

After all, she’d given up her life for him.

                         *      *       *

When the phone rang, they both jumped at the sound. When a call came in the middle of the night, it only meant one thing. Something bad had happened and there was an emergency. Desdemona Adare quickly answered the phone, and it took her a few minutes register what it was all about. When it sunk in, she knew there was a possibility that she may get sick.

“I’ll be there in a couple of hours, I’m out of town,” she said simply, and then hung up the phone.

“Desi, what’s wrong?” asked Callen Whitefox. They must have just fallen asleep not too long ago. He’d laid there listening to her easy breathing, making sure she slept first and keeping his promise to watch over her while she slept. Looking down at his watch, he noticed it was three in the morning.

“I have to go,
Callen.” She hopped out of bed, and started to pack her suitcase. Her heart was pounding in her chest, and fear was creeping up her body, preparing to freeze everything into one solid useless mass.