“I don't think Ethan did it.” Nicky said, taking a sip of her latte, fingers wrapped around the cup for warmth. She studied her cousin over the rim. “We may have only dated for eighteen months, but I know him enough to know he never lies. He's always brutally honest.”
Erin sighed, pressing two fingers of each hand to her temple in an effort to ease the throbbing headache that had plagued her since Ethan had stalked out the apartment two hours ago.
“I don't know what to think Nicky. There's too much coincidence involved for me to just believe he had nothing to do with it.”
“Well, I believe the dude's as guilty as sin.” Kim declared, still reading the offending article, nose wrinkled in disgust. “I mean c'mon, he swore to humiliate you, Erin. What better way to do
Ethan stared at the man sitting across from him, struggling to contain his anger and the urge to permanently wipe off the self-satisfied smirk from the editor's florid face.The fool sat there, mercifully oblivious to the murderous thoughts running through his mind, chattering away about client privacy and some other bullshit, causing Ethan's mood- already bad from the encounter with Erin this morning- to deteriorate rapidly till his jaw was clenched tight enough to crush teeth and it took all his self restraint to stop himself from lunging across the gleaming desk and smashing in that meaty face.He had to give the man some credit, though. Despite the threat of legal action for defamation of character, the sleazebag still clung to the bit of information that Ethan wanted - the identity of person who had leaked the story and the photos.
Erin stared into cold blue eyes and felt a frisson of dread run through her.“Phase two?” She whispered, hating the way her voice trembled.Ethan's eyes seemed to bore into hers, the stare sending ice cold shivers running down her spine. She could still see the red imprint of her fingers on his cheek and instead of satisfaction, a rush of regret welled up within her. She had never hit a guy in her entire life and had always prided herself on being able to rein in her temper in the worst situations, but dealing with Ethan always seemed to bring out the worst sides in her.Right now, he looked deadly and Erin wondered how on earth she was still standing when her knees felt like jelly and her heart raced a million miles a minute.He raised an eyebrow, his lips s
"Game set!" Marcus yelled, lobbing the ball across the net to Ethan.His face a mask of intense concentration, Ethan watched the ball arching towards him, every muscle tense and ready to spring. As the ball bounced into his side of the court, he unfurled from a crouch and with a powerful swing of the racket, sent the ball flying back towards Marcus.A triumphant grin spread over his face as Marcus missed the shot, the slew of obscenities his friend let loose only serving to add to his good humor."Tired, Marc?" Ethan walked over to the net, watching as Marcus dabbed at the sweat running down his face with a towel."Nah," Marcus grinned; face red with the exertion of an hour of hard playing. "I'm just gonna be the good guy and let you win this time. Next time, you won't b
"I brought coffee!" Nicky held up two extra-large cups, a wide grin on her face. "And there are croissants, freshly made by your favorite baker."It was barely eight in the morning and yet Nicky somehow managed to look beautiful in a summer dress bright enough to hurt Erin's eyes."Must you be so perky in the mornings?" Erin grumbled, moving aside to let her cousin into the room.Her brain perked up a little as the delicious aroma of life-giving caffeine wafted into her nostrils. She shut the door and padded into the living room, flopping onto an armchair while Nicky laid out the offerings."How the hell do you manage to look so happy before noon?" She asked, slightly annoyed.Nicky chuckled. "I'm a morning person," she hande
"A helicopter?" Erin shrieked, eyes wide in disbelief, as she stared through the windscreen at the black behemoth that sat on the simmering tarmac, looking like a giant wasp in search of prey.She tore her gaze from the sleek machine and turned to Ethan. "What the hell are you up to now?"Ethan turned away to hide his grin at the look of pure disbelief on Erin's face.God! I like seeing her this way.He pulled the Corvette to a halt at the edge of the wide tarmac. He was aware of her eyes boring into his side, demanding answers, but Ethan chose to ignore her, focusing his attention instead on the man in a gray jumpsuit ambling towards them."Have you lost your ability to speak?" Erin demanded, prodding his arm with a finger.
The helicopter touched down gently on the helipad and the pilot began the task of shutting down the engines. Erin leaned forward to peer out the window, wondering where they were. The wind and dust churned up by the rotor blades made it impossible to see out.She leaned back against the seat and bit down on her lower lip to stop the flow of questions. There was no way in hell she would ask Ethan anything, she'd rather die of curiosity first.Erin wondered what Todd would think when she failed to show up for their date. A flash of guilt churned in her gut.How could she have let one simple kiss scramble her brain and lead her into this trap? Deep down, Erin knew the answer to that question but she refused to acknowledge it.Extremely conscious of Ethan's disconcerting pre
The helicopter touched down gently on the helipad and the pilot began the task of shutting down the engines. Erin leaned forward to peer out the window, wondering where they were. The wind and dust churned up by the rotor blades made it impossible to see out.She leaned back against the seat and bit down on her lower lip to stop the flow of questions. There was no way in hell she would ask Ethan anything, she'd rather die of curiosity first.Erin wondered what Todd would think when she failed to show up for their date. A flash of guilt churned in her gut.How could she have let one simple kiss scramble her brain and lead her into this trap? Deep down, Erin knew the answer to that question but she refused to acknowledge it.Extremely conscious of Ethan's disconcerting pre
Erin opened the door of the stateroom and peered down the narrow corridor that ended in a flight of stairs leading to the deck above.Still smarting from Ethan's desertion, she walked towards the stairs, mentally retracing the path Ethan had led them through when they'd boarded. The polished wood floor echoed her footsteps in a rather unsettling way and Erin wondered if she was the only one on the boat.She wouldn't put it past that arrogant bastard to leave her marooned in the middle of the ocean. It was the sort of petty, ridiculous thing he seemed to enjoy.Another cringe ran through her as she remembered how easily she had given in to him. Granted the man could kiss like it was a talent, but that was no excuse.Christ Lord Almighty! She'd acted like a hormonal sex starved teenager, letting him make love to her not just once or twice in the space of one evening. And now she had muscles aching in places she hadn't been aware of existing.Her chee
Erin let herself into Ethan's apartment, heart beating a wild rhythm in her chest. She leaned against the door, knuckles gripping the knob as though unwilling to take the necessary steps into the room, worry and dread turning her skin cold. She took a deep breath forcing much needed air into her lungs, tight with anxiety as she silently tried to reassure herself with Kim's words.She could hear the low murmur of voices coming from the balcony and Erin muttered another prayer as she forced her steps in that direction. Ethan and Marcus occupied the two wrought chairs, both men slumped against the furniture in a drunken sprawl with Ethan facing away from the door, nursing half filled glasses filled with what Erin knew would surely be alcohol. A half empty bottle of Jack Daniels sat atop the table and her heart sank. Dealing with a sober Ethan was hard in itself, but when he was intoxicated, heaven only knew w
Erin found her parents at their home, having a late breakfast.“Erin!” Her mother’s face lit up in delight. Harold Gosling looked up from his copy of the Wall Street Journal and smiled as Erin walked up to give him a kiss. “How lovely you could join us darling, it’s been a while.”Erin dropped a kiss on her mother’s cheeks then slid into an empty seat, accepting the glass of juice Victoria passed over.“Hey Mum,” she stole a piece of toast from her dad’s plate. “I missed you guys, so I decided to come over.”Harold snorted and closed the journal, picking up his coffee mug, his eyes glinting with humor. “Of course, of course. And this visit has nothing to do with needing a favour? Impressive.&rd
Ethan jerked upright, heart racing as his brain struggled to catch up with the rest of him.Beside him, Erin stirred and murmured something in her sleep and he felt his pulse begin to steady as he turned to regard the sleeping woman.It hadn’t been a dream, thank God!She was here in his bed and in the flesh. He felt like bursting into the Hallelujah chorus – he was that excited.Careful not to wake her, he leaned down to gently brush aside the hair that clung to her face and pressed a kiss on her bare shoulders before easing out of bed. The sound that had woken him came again, and he cursed under his breath. Who the hell could be at his door at - he grabbed his phone to peer at the illuminated display and swore.
"Mr. Gosling called a meeting for ten 'o'clock," Heather informed Erin, watching as her boss strode to her desk and sat down. Erin paused, one hand reaching for her laptop and regarded her assistant."Did he mention what the meeting was for?" Erin asked as she booted her laptop, simultaneously checking the folders Heather had left for her attention. Already congratulating herself for her decision to come in to work, she knew the activity would keep her mind occupied and thus keep those disturbing thoughts at bay. She checked her watch-seven am and that meant she had three hours to catch up on the backlog of emails and things that required her immediate attention."Nope, but the memo did say that attendance was absolutely mandatory for all senior executives.""Thanks." Heather turned to go then stopped. "Umm, I don't
Erin stared at the blank screen of her cell phone and took a deep breath, fingers hovering over the power button."This is ridiculous." she muttered to herself in disgust, grateful that at least Kim was not here to see her acting like a scared fool. She tossed the offending object aside and drew her legs up on the bed, hugging her knees.A part of her was curious to know what sort of messages Ethan had left on her voicemail, had Nicky told him everything? Was he furious at her for keeping her cousin's infidelity a secret?So many questions, and if she wanted answers, she would swallow this irrational fear and call Ethan.She reached for the phone, then stopped and sighed again."Stop being foolish," she chided in a voice that
"You really have no idea where she could be? She hasn't called you?"Erin's assistant shook her head in the negative, her eyes curious as she followed Ethan's restless movements back and forth in front of her desk."Maybe she's at Nicky's." Heather offered, "She's been spending a lot of time with her lately especially since the breakup.""She's not there." Ethan replied, raking a hand through his hair in frustration. "She's not in her apartment either, Kim says she hasn't seen her, and she's not answering her cell."His brows drew together in a worried frown as his mind began to envision all kinds of bad scenarios. It had gone past a need to just find Erin, now he was full out worried for her safety and he cursed himself for the millionth time for not seeing her safely h
Returning to the room, Ethan found Nicky still perched on the edge of the sofa, and the sight of her worsened his already foul mood. She looked at him, eyes large and round in fright, but at this point, he felt no pity for her.He crossed to the window, hands jammed in his pockets as he took deep breaths, trying to get his emotion under control. Erin's good bye had carried a note of finality to it, as though she wanted nothing more to do with him and that thought sent coils of uneasiness through him. He was as much to blame for her misery as Nicky...Christ! Maybe he should have simply walked away and got on with his life when Nicky had called an end to their relationship rather than lashing out and hurting a woman who had only acted in her cousin's best interests, an action that had come around to bite him in the ass.Yeah...karma was a bitch indeed.
For the third time that evening, Erin felt shock course through her like a punch in the gut, stealing her breath in one forceful slam, threatening to topple over her already fragile hold on reality.She wouldn’t be surprised to suddenly wake up to find that the past few hours had been nothing but a product of an already stressed out imagination. She could hear Ethan saying something, but she couldn’t make out anything through the frantic swirl of thoughts as her brain struggled to piece together a story that made more sense than the ridiculous notion that Nicky was somehow involved in all this.She shook her head, and took a step back, her legs coming up against the chair and she sank down to it, the tightness in her chest a reminder that she had forgotten to breathe. She opened her mouth on a gasp, the renewed flow of oxygen helped to clear her mud
Dammit! Ethan swore silently, his fingers tightening on the wheel in an effort to stop himself from ripping the damn phone from Erin and tossing the thing out the window, the urge getting stronger as he listened to her side of the conversation and realized the bastard was actually asking her out.Todd. Ethan pictured the dude in his mind, recalling the last time he’d seen Erin with him and how he’d had the same urge to punch his lights out then, much like he very much wanted to right now. He thought they’d already settled the issue of her dating anyone else? Was she doing this deliberately to annoy him? Somehow, he didn’t think so…from the breathless way she sounded on the phone, it appeared Erin really liked this guy.That thought soured his temper even more.“I’m gonna ki