Chasing Bristol (The Finding Trilogy Book 2) (6 page)

“What about the center?” Julian asked.

“No. I don’t think so. The only men
there are old, married, or gay.”

“Humph.” Amber scraped the fork around
her plate, thinking. “Why are you so sure that it’s a guy?”

“What do you mean?” Julian scowled. “You
think the secret admirer is a girl?”

“It’s possible,” Amber replied. “I mean,
it could be anyone.” 

Silence filled the kitchen. Amber was
right. It could be anyone.

A quick breath sputtered from Julian
before she said, “I wish whoever it was would mess up.”

“That’s just it,” I whispered. “I
probably
have
seen him and don’t remember.”

They passed a poignant look between each
other and then glanced back at me. After a moment we continued eating
breakfast.

Later on, we hung out on the couch
watching recorded episodes of “Girls”. Then Julian had to leave to meet up with
Seven.

“So what do you want to do tonight?” she
asked me as I walked her to the door.  

“What do you mean?”

“Are you coming to my apartment to stay
with me and Mackenzie for the night? Or are you going to Amber’s place?”

“Yeah.” Amber hopped up from the couch
and came over to us at the door. “Or we could stay over again.”

I smiled at them. “Aw, you two…” It was
nice having friends who cared so much about me. It made me feel so grateful.
“Thanks, but I’ll be okay. I mean, now that I’ve gotten the police involved I
doubt this guy will try to sneak into my apartment again. If anything, he’s
probably worried about getting arrested.”

“Bristol, you can’t be sure, and you
shouldn’t stay here alone,” Amber warned.

“I agree,” Julian added. “Mason said—”

“It’s okay.” I brushed off their
concerns. “I’ll be fine. Look, I’m not going to let some weirdo scare me out of
my apartment.”

Julian touched my arm. “Are you sure? It
really isn’t a problem for us to stay with you again tonight.”

“No. It’s all right, you two. Look, I’ll
call a security company and have them change the locks and install an alarm on
Monday. Everything will be fine.” I wasn’t sure if I was trying to convince
them or myself.

Julian leaned in for a hug. “Okay. If
you need anything don’t hesitate to call.”

“Thanks, Jules. I’ll talk to you later.”
I smiled at her as she pulled away and opened the door.

“See you two later,” she said and then
left.

When I closed the door and turned to go
back to the couch, Amber had her eyes narrowed into crinkled slits as if
studying me. “Are you sure you’re not trying to get rid of us so you can invite
over that sexy man in the uniform?”

“What?
No
.” I dropped down on the
couch to finish watching the rest of the show.

Amber came over, a sneaky grin on her
lips as she settled down beside me. “I was only kidding, but I have to say, I
like the flicker in your eyes.”

Perplexed, I blinked at her. “What
flicker?”

She giggled. “The same one you had when
Mason was sitting at our table at the lounge on Monday night, and again when he
was in your apartment yesterday. I never saw you light up like that when you
were with Tyler.”

“Stop. It’s nothing like that.” I turned
to the TV, then added, “Besides, I told you, it’s going to be a while before I
dive back into a relationship.”

Amber chuckled. “Who said anything about
a relationship?”

I steered my gaze to her. “Well,
whatever it is that you’re insinuating, I’m not looking for it right now.”

Bobbing her head slowly, she spun and
resumed watching the show, though, the sly grin never left her face.

On Sunday afternoon,
I stood before the bathroom mirror staring at my reflection longer than usual.
My cheeks were puffy, tired from lack of sleep, and my auburn hair appeared
dull and matted. After Amber left, I’d stayed up for most of the night, almost
giving myself a nervous breakdown as I thought about how close my admirer had
been to me while I was in the shower.

He could have attacked me. He could’ve…

Ugh!

I snapped out of it and put on some
makeup. While brushing out my hair, I heard knocking at the door.

Setting the brush down, I made my way to
the living room, but then paused in front of the door. I wondered if it was my
secret admirer, if he’d finally become brave and decided to show himself to me.

Whoever it was knocked again. This time,
a familiar voice followed. “Bristol, it’s Mason.”

Relieved, I suppressed the fear and
opened the door. “Hey,” I said.

Mason wasn’t wearing his uniform. He
still looked good in his shirt and jeans, and as laid back as he’d been at the
lounge, but he seemed a bit discouraged about something.

“First, that note you gave me,” he
began, “the only prints on it were yours.”

“Okay,” I replied. “Not surprised.”

“Yeah, and I talked to your ex. He says
he has no idea what’s going on with you and he has an alibi for yesterday. He
was at work all day.”

“Of course,” I said. “I already knew it
wasn’t him.”

“Well, uh, I just wanted to update you.”

Mason was about to leave, then he
paused. Turning back to me, he asked, “How are you?”

I raised my shoulders in a shrug as I
answered, “I’m…okay. Trying to keep my mind off what happened.”

He nodded and relaxed his body as he
began observing me.

“Ahem,” I cleared my throat and shifted
my weight from one leg to the other, suddenly feeling shy.

He dawdled for a moment before saying,
“Um, I’m not sure how this is going to sound, but do you want to go for a walk?
It’s a nice day and all.”

A slight, optimistic grin formed on his
mouth. I felt a ticklish sensation throughout my body. I had to look away to
answer. “Sorry, I, um, I can’t.”

“You sure? It could do you some good,”
he insisted, a low chuckle under his breath.

Glancing up, I leaned against the door.
“Mason, I can’t.”

His head turned down, and he lightly
kicked at the hardwood. When he looked up again, he said, “Bristol, the truth
is…I don’t want to go on regretting.”

I straightened at his words. “Regretting
what?”

“Not trying,” he replied in a soft tone.
“When I left Rhode Island, I thought about you a lot, and I wanted so badly to
see you again. I never thought I would, and then…” He stopped and caught his
breath. “There you were at the lounge that my friends had dragged me to. I
couldn’t believe my luck.”

“So you didn’t join the police force to
find me?” I joked. “Amber thought you did.”

Mason played along. “Actually, that was
one of the reasons.”

“Oh,” I giggled, it felt so natural with
him. “Are you my admirer after all?”

Composing himself, he said, “I’m
definitely not the creep who broke into your apartment, but I do admire you.”

My body tensed. A slow burn grew in my
chest and spread throughout the rest of my body.

“Actually,” he continued, “seeing you
again was a chance encounter I’d never thought would happen, but I think fate
is telling us something.”

“And what exactly is fate telling us?” I
asked, intrigued.

Mason didn’t answer, only stared at me
hard. Longingly. “Um…” He looked down, as if to hide his blushing, his cheeks
were clearly red. It aroused me to know I had such an impact on him.

Glancing at me again, he said, “I’m
sorry. I should go.” He spun and started down the hallway.

I watched his back, so broad, sturdy,
and sadly etched in disappointment. I felt guilty. He was a nice guy. What harm
could come from walking?

Just as Mason reached the stairs, I
called after him. “Wait.” He slanted and peered back with his brow arched. I
considered it for a moment, and then accepted his offer. “Give me a sec. I’m
going to get my keys.”

Satisfaction swept across his face,
bringing forth a sexy grin. It sent a surge of electricity through my veins. I
shook it off and treaded over to the table by the couch, snatching up my keys
and cellphone.

“Let’s go,” I said as I stepped out of
my apartment and locked the door.

His captivating eyes glimmered with
delight. Mason couldn’t hide his excitement, and I liked that he wanted to be
around me so badly.

Spring was like an overflowing bottle of
sparkling joy. The day was bright, filled with chirping birds and lively music
in the distance. Flowers were in bloom, many people were out, and the warm air
was faintly laced with salt from the sparkling sea.

Mason and I were relishing every minute
of our leisurely stroll along the cobblestone wall that separated the park from
the water.

We relaxed on a wooden bench and took in
the postcard image of the calm bay strewn with sailboats, along with Newport
Bridge and Jamestown in the distance.

“So, why did you become a cop?” I asked,
wanting to know more about him.

Mason hunched over and stared at me,
grinning. “You know why.”

I chortled. “Seriously. Why?”

“All right.” His smile faltered and he
began looking out at sea again. “Something…terrible happened to my family back
in New Hampshire a few months after we moved there. I’d just finished high
school and was unsure of my next move, so after tragedy struck I decided to
join the academy. I wanted to do my part in preventing it from happening to
other families.”

Leaning forward a tad, I noticed the
same hurt from the night at the lounge reflected on his face. It seemed as if
pain was nestled inside his soul, fighting to come out. This was obviously a
sensitive topic and I supposed he didn’t want to go into further details.

What he’d told me was enough, for now.

“What about you?” Mason asked, cutting
back to me.

“Me? There’s not much to tell. I moved
to Newport in my sophomore year at University of Rhode Island and rented my
apartment. I worked in a clothing store for a while until I landed an
internship last fall at Vanderson Publishing, working part-time as an assistant
to the event coordinator, and so…” I paused to catch my breath. “Here I am.”

Mason nodded and said with a smile,
“Here you are.”

We continued talking for a while then decided
to head back to my apartment. I’d almost forgotten about my admirer until Mason
brought him up again.

“Are you sure it’s not one of your
friends messing with you?” he asked as we paced down the sidewalk.

“My friends have played tricks on me
before but nothing like this. They wouldn’t scare me, especially Jules, not
after what she’s been through.”

Mason slowed to a stop. “What she’s been
through?”

I halted in my tracks and stuck my hands
inside the pockets of my jeans. “Oh, yeah, last summer her father and his
lawyer were murdered. Julian was almost killed too, but her boyfriend saved
her. She’s only now starting to get over it.”

He rubbed his chin in contemplation.
“Julian…as in Julian Vanderson?”

“Same one,” I confirmed.

“Yeah, I’ve heard about that case.”

We resumed walking. “Anyway, none of my
friends are messing with me. Not like this.”

“Then who?” Mason asked, keeping his
gaze on the pavement. “It’s probably someone you know.”

“I think so, too. I just don’t have any
idea.”

“Humph. Usually, they’ve been around you
for months, sometimes years.”

“I feel like it’s a guy, but I don’t
know any other guys other than my ex.” Staring at Mason, I added, “And now
you.”

He chuckled and held his hands up in
defense. “Hey, it’s not me. I responded to your distress call, ran that note
for fingerprints, and questioned your ex. Another cop would have brushed it
aside and waited for something major to happen.”

I stopped as we reached the bend that
led back to my apartment building. “Something major?”

Shaking his head, Mason assured me,
“Don’t worry about that. You’ll be all right.”

“If you say so,” I whispered and
continued on toward the parking lot.

Mason wandered over to where he’d parked
his white Corolla. I trailed behind him.

He opened the driver’s door, before
climbing in he turned and asked, “How about dinner next weekend?”

I tucked my hair behind my ears,
something I did when I was uneasy. “Mason, I just broke up with my boyfriend.
I’m not ready to—”

“I understand,” he interrupted. “You
don’t have to explain.”

Taking in his appearance, he gave me the
impression that he was upset: restrained facial expression, chin dipping to his
chest.

Mason reached inside his shirt pocket
and slid out a card. “Here. If anything happens, you can reach me at this
number.”

“Is this a slick way to try and give me
your number?” I teased as I took the card from his hand.

Our fingers grazed. My pulse gave a
leap. A gradual warmth developed in my stomach.

He smirked. “No. I just want to help any
way I can.” Hopping inside his car, Mason shut the door and turned the key,
waving bye before driving off.

I spun on my heels and made my way up
the paved entrance into the building. When I reached the top of the hardwood
stairs and started for my apartment, I froze in my tracks as I glimpsed a
single red rose, a blue note, and a small white packet waiting outside my door.

Panic engulfed me. My heart started to
hammer behind my ribcage. I loosened the tension in my throat and continued
over. I arched a bit and picked everything up, then slowly opened the door.

After a brief scan of the place, I
stepped inside, locked the door, and dropped the stuff on the coffee table.
Then I tiptoed around the corner and went into my bedroom. I knelt down to
check under the bed.