Unintentional (22 page)

We make the trek back to Seattle in virtual silence. Sophie isn’t even talking, so I know I better not say anything.

I pull up to their hotel. Sophie grabs her carry-on sitting next to her, jumps out, and yells, “Go!”

Laughing, I nod to Sophie, acknowledging her quick thinking. The child-locks have already been engaged, but I put my foot on the gas as an added precaution before Laurel has time to react. In her current state, I wouldn’t be surprised if she jumped over the seat to get out of the car. If Laurel was given the opportunity to make an exit, I think it might take a few hours to get her back in. I really need to be with her, to explain everything without any interruptions.

“What the hell! Are you kidnapping me?” Her eyes appear alarmed. She doesn’t want to be alone with me; that’s apparent.

“Sort of,” I answer.

“This isn’t funny, Cade! You drop me off now! We can talk about the contract back at the hotel.”

“I want to talk to you, Laurel—alone. Have you ever noticed, every time we’re together, something prevents us from talking…or whatever.”

I can’t help but smile, but she isn’t having it. She glares at me. I would be worried if I didn’t know her better. She’s all bark, no bite, at least I hope so.

“Do I need to make my idle threat an actual threat? Kelly
programmed her number into my phone. Should I call her?” I ask, knowing she doesn’t want that.

“If we’re going to continue to work together, we need to work some things out, uninterrupted. Completely. I have some things I need to say to you.”

“I already know what you want to tell me. You didn’t have to resort to this ruse. You even got Sophie involved, didn’t you?”

She sighs, exasperated. “She’s so dead. When I get through with her, she’s going to wish she never heard your name.”

I chuckle to myself, but she hears me.

“I’m mad at you, too, Cade. This isn’t cool. You could have just said what you needed to say in the lobby. I’m a big girl. I can handle it.”

“With most people, Laurel, that’s what I would have done. But every time I’m with you, you either run off or we’re interrupted. All I want is an hour. Is that too much to ask?”

I peer back through the mirror. She’s still glaring at me.

“All right, Cade. You have one hour. Where are we going, anyway?”

“I have an errand at the firm. I still have a few things I need to
clear out before we start the tour. Will you come in with me? I’d like to you meet someone.”

“Who?”

“You’ll see.”

Chapter 22

Laurel

I’ve basically been kidnapped, and now I have to meet someone? Is this some social hour? Wait, he wouldn’t be so stupid to introduce me to his new girlfriend? My stomach clenches. I’m starting to feel nauseous. Great, now I can look forward to throwing up on his girlfriend.

“I don’t want to meet anyone. I want to go back to the hotel.”

“You’ll really like Harvey. He’s a great guy.”

Relief like I’ve never known surges through every inch of my body. It’s a momentary reprieve though. I still have to sit through “The Talk.” I wonder if I can get through it without wanting to slap, punch, or kick him. Professional, I tell myself. I must be professional.

We pull up to a six-story building, and Cade parks directly in front. He runs around and grabs a guitar out of the trunk.

I quickly exit the car and ask, “Why are you bringing your guitar?”

He answers, “I always brought it when I worked here. They’ve
come to expect a song every day. I thought I’d give them one last song.” He smiles his gorgeous, drop-dead, killer smile.

I wonder if I can irritate him to the point where he never smiles. Only then, will I be safe.

“How long will this take?” I really want to get this day over with.

He smiles again but doesn’t answer.

We enter the front entrance, and right ahead are two sets of elevators. I didn’t even think about this possibility today. The first thought that comes to mind is,
why me
? Why today of all days? This is humiliating enough without having to tell him about my phobia. I pray his office is on the first floor.

He walks up to reception and greets the man behind the desk.

“Hey, Harvey, how’s it going?”

Harvey greets him in return. “Cade! I’ve got everything all ready for you. It’s a go.”

Hmm. I look over at Cade to try and figure out what he’s talking about.

“Great. This is Laurel. You remember, the girl I’ve been telling you about?”

He told Harvey about me? Why?

Harvey gives me a huge smile. “You are one lucky lady. The girls in the—”

He stops suddenly. I look quickly at Cade, who has an innocent look on his face. Too innocent. I glance back and forth between them. Now they both wear the same expression.

What’s going on?

“Thanks for all your help with my project. We’ll get going now.”

Harvey hands him a set of keys. I guess he’ll need them for opening up his office.

“What floor?” I ask. Please God, please let it be the first floor.

“Sixth. Let’s go.”

“How about we get some exercise and do the stairs?” I ask, nodding my head vigorously. God, I think desperately to myself, I’ll be okay with the first prayer not answered if you can just give me this. I bargain quickly, desperately.

“The stairs are locked. They are only used for emergencies.” Cade looks at me quizzically.

Note to self, never try to bargain with God. It doesn’t work.

This is a huge decision for me, and I need to make it fast. Do I confess my phobia to Cade, or should I face certain death in the elevator. I choose death.

“Okay, let’s go.” I can already feel my body start to rebel. My heart rate kicks into high gear, and the sweating has begun. I start doing the calm, deep-breathing I learned in yoga.

We enter the elevator, and Cade immediately opens a panel. I haven’t been on an elevator since I was a child, but it seems strange that technology hasn’t caught up a little more than this. It seems labor intensive to have to open a panel just to get it to go. I see buttons. Hmm, why isn’t he pushing one of those? He takes out a key and turns it then immediately takes it out.

“One hour. No matter what you hear, do not open this door.” And he throws the keys to Harvey. The doors close.

Even though my brain is on overload dealing with the terror I feel in the elevator, I know what just happened.

“What have you done?” I ask softly.

“We’re going to spend the next hour working this out, Laurel. I don’t want you running off if you hear something you don’t like or if
something scares you. I can’t go on like this anymore. First, I want you to know the girl you saw on Saturday was my sister, Allix. I don’t have a girlfriend.” His voice lowers. “You are all I think about, Laurel.”

The walls are closing in on me, sliding closer together. My body is still on full panic alert. My mind is racing, racing. I’m in an elevator. Cade doesn’t have a girlfriend. Cade thinks about me. I wonder if he thinks about me in a good way. My brain is getting fuzzy, I think from lack of oxygen. The long fingers of claustrophobia slowly begin to claw their way up my body, gripping my throat. I don’t think I can breathe. Have we been cut off from air? I can feel my panic attack start to build.

“I’ve prepared a song for you.” Cade pulls out his guitar and starts to tune it. So far, he’s oblivious to my imminent meltdown. He strums, making a few adjustments. He closes his eyes and launches into the song. I don’t recognize it right away, but when the first few words softly tumble out, I know exactly why he’s singing it. Happiness is displacing all my fear – pushing it, stomping on it, putting it in a blender and ripping it to shreds. I hope this wonderful feeling can last for an hour until I can escape.

I love Cade’s voice. It has a low soft rasp, but yet is so powerful when it needs to be.

“Say something. I’m giving up on you.” He pauses and sings, whispers, “I’m really not giving up on you, but I will if you tell me to.”

I close my eyes tightly so I can focus. I need to remember all the words to the song he’s singing. Say Something is one of my favorite songs. It has a beautiful, yet sad melody and lyrics.

I breathe in again, trying to calm my mind. I hold my trembling hands together and concentrate. Say something, I’m giving up on you. Oh no! Don’t give up on me! Now that I know Cade doesn’t have a girlfriend, I don’t want him giving up. Not when we’ve come so close. I need to stop him now.

He continues to sing. “And I will swallow my pride. You’re the one that I love.”

“Cade, stop!” I shout.

His eyes get wide then shift to concern.

What do I say. I need to get my point across now. “Something!” I yell.

I’ve startled Cade. He takes a step back, bumping into the wall.

“Something. Something. Something!” I repeat. Tears start leaking from my eyes, dropping to the floor. “I’m saying ‘Something’ Cade. Please don’t give up.”

Cade’s back is against the wall as he stares at me. I can’t gauge his expression. Finally, what I’ve been telling him registers. His beautiful smile starts to pull up at the edges. He removes his guitar and edges toward me. Every step closer, his eyes darken and become heated. He takes my hands, linking our fingers, and raises them above my head. He hesitates for a moment, looking intently into my eyes. I’m breathing hard, probably more than is usually called for in this situation, but I haven’t passed out yet, so I’m good.

“God, Laurel.” He places his full, soft lips on mine, gently. Too gently.

I need a distraction. The fear is starting a war with happiness, and I’m concerned this perfect moment will be broken by the anxiety building back up. I close my eyes and let the sliding sensation of his tongue take over. This is too much, too good. I grab onto his shirt with all I’ve got, bringing us closer. Cade likes this new development and moans his appreciation.

“So much time wasted.” He tightens his hold on me, deepening the kiss even more.

I’m practically exploding with emotion – passion, surprise, terror, happiness. Unfortunately, terror is starting to take over. I realize we’re still on the first floor, but I didn’t notice when we entered the building if there was a parking garage beneath. We could still plummet four or more floors. I take a step back from Cade and say, “I’ll just need a moment here.” I bend over, placing my hands on my legs, and take in huge gulps of air. Not good.

Cade

This is not good. I knew she might be a bit overwhelmed, but not to the point of hyperventilating. This isn’t like Laurel at all.

“Laurel, are you all right?” I hope she is, because I really want to continue what we just started. I can’t remember ever feeling so good.

“Cade?”

“Yes?”

“I have something to tell you.” Shit. I don’t think I want to
hear it. I nod, not wanting to speak.

“You remember all of our long talks on Skype? I kinda neglected to tell you something.”

If she’s together with Douglas, I seriously don’t think I can handle it.

“Go on.”

“Um. It’s a little embarrassing.”

“Yes?”

“I have this thing with elevators.”

“A thing?” This is good. I can deal with this.

“Yes. I believe it’s called a phobia. Yes, it is a phobia.” She leans over, placing her hands back on her knees, and starts breathing erratically.

“Oh, shit, Laurel. How bad is it?” I feel terrible. We have at least another forty-five minutes in here.

“Pretty darn bad. I haven’t been in one since I was a child.”

“Really? How do you get around?”

“Cade? Can we talk about this later? Right now, I just need to get out of here.”

I bring her back into me, hugging her tightly into my body.

“Laurel, I don’t know how to tell you this, but I told Harvey not to open this elevator for an hour – no matter what.”

Her body tightens, and she pushes away from me. I study her face. Yes, she’s about to lose it. She gets an idea.

“I know, I’ll call Sophie! If anyone can get me out of here, she can.”

She dials quickly. “Sophie? Cade didn’t tell you his plan, did he?” She looks at me with a slight grin. “Yes, it’s very romantic. Sophie, he has us locked in an elevator.” I can hear her shriek “No way!” loudly from where I’m standing.

Obviously, I should have clued Sophie in on my plan.

“I need you to get me out. Right. Now. Can you do that? Yes, here’s Cade.” She hands me the phone so I can give her the address.

After I hang up, I look at Laurel. Embarrassment, fear, and something else dominate her expression.

“I’m so sorry, Laurel.”

“You’re going to have to make it up to me.” She smiles as she shoves me back against the wall. “I’m going to need a huge distraction. You up for that?”

I laugh and draw her close. I wrap my arms around her back and pull her to me, the scent of her perfume drawing me into a delightful haze. “This feels really nice,” I tell her.

Laurel grasps my shirt and pulls it off over my head. “I’ve been dying to do that for so long.”

I laugh again. “Are you doing okay now? Is this distraction enough for you?”

“Not by a long shot. I think the pants will need to come off next.”

Laurel’s always been funny, but when she’s fighting a panic attack, she’s downright hilarious.

“I don’t think that’s a good idea. If Sophie is working her magic, they should come busting through the door any minute.”

Laurel’s mouth moves down into a pout. She leans over, rubs my chest, and says, “I’ll risk it. Don’t you think this would be a fun story for our first time?”

I shake my head. “Who would we tell?”

She’s thoughtful for a moment. “Each other?”

I’m pretty sure she’s trying so hard to hold it all together that her thinking process is being affected. I’ve never seen this side of her,
and I love it. Actually, I love everything about her, but I’ll wait to say the words when she’s not about to go into a full blown panic attack.

I reluctantly slip my t-shirt over my head, take her in my arms again and start to rub her back. I can feel her trembling, and now I’m starting to feel panicked myself. I hope she can get through this without any lasting trauma.