Letters from Home (Entangled Flirts) (6 page)

“Zipper. Where is the damn zipper?” He wanted skin on skin, his hands on her.

Now.

Finally, he reached down, lifting the dress from her knees over her head. Relief filled him. “Thank God.”

She laughed—the most beautiful sound—and she was braless, the only thing between them a narrow strip of silk sitting at her hips. His pulse pounded in his ears and his heart slammed against his chest.

He wanted to get on his knees before her. “I—”
I want to marry you. I want to give myself to you and be yours forever.

“Cat got your tongue?” She laughed at him as her hand disappeared into his pants, and she cupped him.

He shuddered at the touch. “Lena.”

“Let’s make love,” she whispered.

And he could do no less.

Chapter Ten

Lena woke with the weight of Zack’s arm and leg pinning her. Pressed into the over-sized couch, a sheen of sweat dried on her skin, she dragged her fingers up the small of his back and back down over the slope of his cheeks. She had no idea what time it was, no idea how long they’d been lying like this, completely spent.

And there was her mother’s voice in her head, chastising her because they weren’t married. But she pushed aside the thought. This was the man she was going to spend the rest of her life with. She didn’t know how yet. Maybe there were details that would need to be worked into the plan later. All she knew was that he’d had her heart since they were kids.

Had he written the letters? He hadn’t admitted it, but he hadn’t denied it, either. All that really mattered was that they belonged together. A thousand letters couldn’t break the bond they shared. “Stop thinking so much.” Zack pegged her with a sleepy-eyed, satisfied look.

“I thought you were sleeping.”

“Your energy woke me.” He kissed her, making her moan and dive in, making her want to start all over again. But he rolled them over, scooted back on the couch, and rolled again so that she was on top of him, her bare ass exposed to the air.

“Maybe we should find a bed, because now I’m cold.”

He hummed in response as the heel of his hands massaged her lower back, the counter stroke covering her rear with his fingers—downward stroke of his palms, upward stroke of his fingers. “Are you cold now?”

She rested her forehead against his chest and sighed. “Yes, but I don’t care. Don’t stop doing that.”

His laugh rumbled through his chest. She turned her ear to listen, and Zack wrapped his arms around her.

“I was serious. Don’t stop.”

But he sat up, brought her legs across his lap, then stood, lifting her into his arms.

“Now my ass is really cold.” She nipped at his neck.

He carried her to his room, threw back the covers, and laid her gently against the sheets. “It’s ten o’clock.”

“What?” She sat up, covering herself with the blankets at the same time. “We slept for three hours on the couch? No wonder my ass is numb.”

“Ha! Doesn’t feel too numb to me…” Zack went through a doorway into the small bathroom.

She heard the toilet flush. The light went out, and it was dark again.

Excitement ran through her. Anticipation. She wanted him again.

But there was an edge of panic as well. They had so little time. Her brain wanted to work out all the details, get everything set and straight in her head.

Zack crawled under the covers and pulled her against him—her back to his front. She relaxed in his arms.

“Let’s not worry about tomorrow just yet.”

“Hey, how did—”

“Because I
know
you, Lena. I’ve known you almost my whole life.” He paused, and she couldn’t help but hold her breath. “And I love you. I don’t want you to worry about what’s going to happen between us. We’ll make it work—your career, my job…no matter what. Okay?”

She nodded, turning her head to kiss him.

His hands found her breasts, felt their weight, and her nipples tightened against his palms.

The thrill of his touch sang through her. He roamed, leaving traces on her ribs, abdomen, and down, until he was at the very center of her.

He deepened their kiss, opening his mouth to her as his fingers played her.

The coil of need drew up against her breastbone. Sensations bombarded her.

“Come on, babe,” he whispered against her ear.

She did, with sparks flashing behind closed eyelids.

They loved again, taking each touch deeper, and every stroke more desperately than the last. He was everywhere, touching her, kneading her.

Lena let go of practicality, let go of reason. She wasn’t going to lose another day, another hour or minute. She gripped his sides, opened to him, and stared into eyes brimming with flames of love.

With one swift thrust, he filled her, and a tear fell down her cheek. She was truly home, finally. He wiped the tear and smiled, as if he knew what she was thinking.

Maybe he did. It wasn’t that long ago that he’d come home as well.

Lena woke out of a sound sleep, her heart pounding. She listened to the stillness and remembered—she was at Zack’s. Zack’s house. Zack’s bed, where she’d made love to him with complete abandon.

He was sprawled across the sheets, obviously used to a little more room than a second person allowed, and naked. Light came through a window and left a tracing glow down his back and over his beautiful behind. Her hands itched to touch him, run her fingers over the smooth slope and down his legs. She bit her lip, clenched her fists, and carefully shifted to the edge of the bed.

In the clarity of the moonlight, her conscience got to her. She should be home. She hadn’t meant to stay overnight. Her parents would be worried if she didn’t come home. Besides, she had a man to meet at seven. Her own Hallmark movie playing in real life.

A pencil sat on the nightstand. She wrote a note on the scrap of paper next to the alarm clock, quietly dressed in the dark, and grabbed her shoes.

Zack stirred, and she froze. But he merely rolled onto his side and dropped back into sleep.
Her Zack.
She wanted to crawl back under the covers. Instead, she gave in to the urge to touch and ran a hand through his hair. Lightly, she kissed his temple and whispered, “I love you.”

Her feet made almost no noise on the stairs, and the door clicked shut behind her.

The walk home was short and easy. She’d done it a million times as a kid. She even knew which cracks to avoid and where all the holes were.

The house was dark except for one square on the side, which glowed from the bathroom upstairs. Lena hurried up the porch steps and…well, snuck in. She hated to admit it, but that was the truth. She was finally going to sneak into her parents’ home and hope they didn’t notice. As a teenager, she’d never had time. Her studies had consumed her, and she’d never thought to step outside that box.

In the doorway to the living room, she stopped. The glow of the Christmas tree sent a thrill through her heart. Little white lights blinked away the seconds. So many memories in this room. So much love.

Zack had been here, too. They’d grown up together. Now, she hoped they would grow old together. But maybe, in the years ahead, they would still come back.

“Chica,” her sister Maria whispered as she came down the stairs. “What are you doing out so late? And on Christmas Eve? Do you know how often we get victims in the ER over the holidays? Accidents, crazy people overwhelmed by whatever crap landed in their lap over the past year.”

Lena felt the kick of change in her chest. She’d grown up a long time ago, but tonight…

“What happened?” Maria came to her, studied her with knowing eyes. “Are you okay?”

Even as she hesitated, she knew she couldn’t keep secrets from Maria. She never had before. “I was with Zack tonight.”

Maria’s eyes narrowed then widened. “Oh, my God—”

Lena shrugged. “I love him.”

Maria grabbed and lifted Lena’s hand. “No ring and you slept with him? Elena—”

“It’s Christmas, Maria, and in less than a week, I go back to Texas. We both know what it means to have to wait. To be separated again. Zack’s a good man.”

“Zack would never hurt you intentionally, but…” she trailed off.

“He would never hurt me, period.” Lena led her sister up the stairs, leaving the happy glow of Christmas behind them. “You’re being too serious.”

Maria hesitated.

Lena tugged on her arm. “Stop worrying so much. Soon I will have that ring on my finger, and Zack and I will be together—forever.”

“You sound young, in love, and
completamente
tonta
. So stupid in love. But you are right about one thing. Zack is a good man.”

He loved her, after years of being friends. But this was better. And if he
wasn’t
the letter writer, well, then…too bad love letter guy.

Tomorrow she would go to the park.

And she’d see…

Chapter Eleven

“Dad, you don’t have to go with me.”

He snaked his arm through his old flannel-lined jean jacket. “I’ve kept my mouth shut through this whole thing. Now, I’ll have my say.” The rumble of his accent was as familiar as her own voice. He kept his tone down, and Lena knew it was so he didn’t wake the family. “Not even a grown woman should go meet a stranger in a park, alone.”

He patted his breast pockets, pulled a cigar, unwrapped it, and tucked it between his lips.

“I’m ninety-nine percent sure of who it is.”

“Then I’ll go for the one percent.”

She opened her mouth to object again, but he’d opened the front door and was already outside. Catalina snickered from her spot at the top of the steps. She wanted to go, too, but Lena had put her foot down. “Good luck,” her sister called out. Lena had the urge to slam the door as she left, but managed to keep her head.

It didn’t matter who was there. The whole town could be there. But her stomach messed with her, sending signals of nervous anticipation through her blood.

She glanced at her dad, the unlit cigar now in the corner of his mouth. He wasn’t exactly the silent partner in her parents’ marriage, but mom had always been more vocal. Unless it was a matter of safety and protection. She should have known. Yet even thrown for a loop by his presence this morning, she loved him for it.

“Do you think I’m being stupid?”

He grunted a response with a shrug.

“Is that a yes or a no?”

“No.”

Lena nodded, but she knew there was more he wasn’t saying.

He pulled the truck into the parking lot and found a spot where he could see the gazebo. “I’ll wait here.”

Lena checked her phone as she walked the short distance to the wooden structure. She’d wondered if Zack would call her when he woke and found her gone. So far, no. She faced south. Main Street headed north on her right, curving by the park toward the east, giving her a perfect view of whomever she was about to meet. Her phone stayed quiet. She stood, closing her eyes. The smell of cigar drifted on the morning air, comforting her.

Traffic rumbled up and down the street, even though it was Christmas Day. Off to her left a pair of birds fluttered and chirped, welcoming the morning sun. Lena opened her eyes and saw him.

Zack.

Her heart pounded. She’d known it. How could it have been anyone else? And she’d been right. Zack was here for her. She grinned, forcing herself to stay at the gazebo. The right hand blinker of his sporty little car came on.

Dad laid on the horn, opened his door, and stood on the running board. But he wasn’t watching Zack’s car. He had his eye on a truck, baring down from the north, swerving back and forth on the road. The thwap of uneven rubber on the black top—a flat tire.

Zack pulled to the right and slowed almost to a stop in the turning lane, but the truck was moving too fast. Her grin crumbled as she realized the driver was slumped over his steering wheel.

“Zack!” she screamed even as she ran toward the two vehicles.

It happened so fast, the ungodly clash of metal filling her head as the truck slammed into Zack’s car. Glass fell to the ground in a symphony of bell-like sounds, followed by the screech of Zack’s car sliding over the concrete.

“Stay back,” her dad yelled.

She was almost there. Almost to him. “Zack!” she cried. A hand on her arm stopped her. She shook it off, intent on getting to the man she loved.

“Call 9-1-1. Lena!” Papi grabbed her. Shook her by her shoulders. She realized she was crying. But a crowd had started forming, and other people had their phones out, too.

Lena wiped her eyes. “Let me go, Papi. I’m a doctor.”

They went together, and her dad opened the passenger door. He leaned in and turned off the car. He spoke a few words, too, but she couldn’t hear. Hope blossomed. “Is he awake? Are you talking to him?”

Her dad didn’t answer right away. She tugged on his jacket. “Let me see, let me help him.”

“There’s a pulse and he’s breathing.”

Ducking her head, she could see blood pouring down his face.

“I hear the sirens. The ambulance is coming.”

She pulled off her jacket, her sweater, and then her cotton camisole, ignoring her father’s protests. She quickly pulled her sweater back over her head and entered the car, using the soft cotton of her undershirt to put pressure on the wound above his eye.
Keep talking
. That’s what she did for all her patients. “Hey, Zack. I hate to tell you, but I knew it was going to be you.”

His eyes remained closed. She lifted his eyelids one at a time.
Ay, Dios mío
. His left pupil was larger. Her heart threatened to burst from her chest, but she held the panic in check.

“They’re not going to be able to get you out of here.” A glance at the floor boards showed the deep buckling of the undercarriage. “Looks like you got your legs in a bind.”

She reached down and felt the length of one leg and then the other. “No blood. That’s good, Zack.”

Her lips trembled. “You’re going to be okay.”

“Miss, I’m going to need you to get out of there, now.”

She’d lost Podolski, she couldn’t let anything happen to Zack. “He’s got a concussion and laceration of the supraorbital artery. I need to keep pressure on it.” She couldn’t leave him. What if something happened? What if he regained consciousness and she wasn’t there?

“Elena.” Her dad. She felt a firm hand on her shoulder “Please. You’ve done your job, now let these men do theirs.”

She turned and saw the concern in his eyes. He nodded. She placed a kiss on Zack’s temple and let her fingers trace the swell of his lips. “Don’t you dare leave me, Zack Benson,” she whispered.

The flurry of activity that followed the accident carried her through those first hours. Family showed up. And right away, her mother took charge, setting up people to be with her as she sat at the hospital.

She didn’t want to hear about the heart attack the other driver had suffered or the family in southern California who’d lost a loved one. Zack could die. Even after surgery, the edema in his brain was severe enough that they’d induced a coma to try and protect it until the swelling subsided.

Green and red garland hung from the ceilings, swooping across the hallway, and little gold balls were hooked along each strand. Posterboard images of gifts and elves, bows and reindeer were plastered to the walls. Like a tunnel of cheer that created more of a knot of tension within her than the holiday spirit the staff was aiming for.

Lena bit her lip. She’d seen him once, before they’d taken him for another CT scan. But mostly, she was completely helpless. It didn’t matter that she was a doctor, she couldn’t do anything for him.

All her life, she’d been the one in charge, the one who knew what to do. They said he needed time. She knew that, but the urge to yell at everyone to do something was an invisible force, dragging her through some kind of hell on earth. Maybe she really was bossy. Tears threatened to spill at the thought of having been angry at him. If only—

“Hey, Lena.” Maria stood in the doorway of the waiting room.

Lena didn’t want anyone else to pat her on the back and offer her reassurances. She was a doctor, and the truth stared her in the face, mocked her with how little she could do. There was nothing.

Maria quietly entered the too-bright room and sat in the chair across from her. And sat. And sat. Silent energy flowed from her sister and rolled through her.

“What?” Lena spoke too sharply. “You have something to say. Say it.”

Remorse shone from Maria’s eyes. “I’m sorry for being so hard on you last night.”

“Forget it—”

“It wasn’t my place…and I was jealous.”

“What?” Lena wiped another tear from her cheek. Damn tears. “Why?”

Maria blushed. “You always have your life together. Everything—perfect. School, career…I looked forward to beating you to true love. Something! You were always the awkward one. And really, you never cared about dating or finding a man.”

Her sister sighed. “I have something for you.”

Lena gasped and reached for the familiar folded piece of paper Maria held out to her. “You had it this whole time?”

“They found it on Zack.”

Her trembling hands unfolded the letter and her eyes stung as she recited the words she already knew by heart.

Each day is another day closer to having you in my arms.

I can’t wait to see you on Christmas morning.

Stay safe. I’m praying for you.

Lena sucked in a breath. He’d added at the bottom:

P.S. It’s me.

A laugh bubbled out but quickly sent tears to her eyes. He would have given it to her that morning. Her thoughts wandered through the last week, the last year, the letters, the love they shared, all the time they’d wasted when they could have been together.

“Mr. Benson’s on his way. Dad went to get him.”

Lena nodded and dabbed at her eyes. “Good.”

One of the nurses came into the waiting room and nodded to Lena. “Zack’s back in his room, if you’d like to see him, Doctor Rodriguez.”

She stood and crossed into the hallway toward his room. Her throat ached, tight with emotion as images from this morning flashed through her brain. She took one step through the doorway and came up short.

“I can’t—.” She gasped for air, but couldn’t seem to catch her breath. Lena started to turn, wanting to run.

A hand came down on her shoulder. “Of course you can,” Maria spoke with conviction. “You are the strongest person I know.”

“I’m so scared,” she managed, tears streaming down her face.

“He needs you.”

Lena let her gaze linger at Zack’s face—even intubated, with the side of his face a battered, swollen mess, he was handsome. He had a splint on his left wrist, and under the thin hospital gown, his ribs were wrapped tightly.

Her feet found their way before she’d given it a second thought. She took Zack’s good hand in hers. It was cool, but not clammy or cold. The skin felt soft against her fingers. She lifted it and held it against her cheek.

Maria was wrong.

It was the other way around.

She needed him.