Shadow of Love (9 page)

‘
I’d say he means me, Emily.’ Peter’s voice dripped with irony as he stepped forward, his tall lanky frame stiff with anger. She hadn’t noticed him standing in the back door at first, and her eyes widened in shock.

‘
What are you doing here, Pete?’ she asked hoarsely, taking in his furious face and eyes clouded with resentment. ‘How did you find out about this brunch? I mean, I thought Sophie didn’t—.’

His mirthless laughter interrupted her awkward questioning, confirming her suspicion that his presence here was not something her sister planned or even knew about. Which opened a whole can of worms, she thought frantically, as she stepped closer to the man who had belonged to her sister only a few days ago.

‘
Give it up, Em, it isn’t like you to play cat and mouse, now is it?’ His grey eyes narrowed into slits, and he shook his head in mocking despair. ‘Obviously, I haven’t been on the invite list, if this is what you’re wondering about. But something tells me that you knew that already, right? Just the usual act of covering up for your lovely sister, the way you always have.’

‘
Why are you here?’ It was essential not to lose her focus on what really mattered at the moment, she thought as she resisted the urge to step back. The anger that emanated from him felt almost palpable, her skin crawling in response to his agitation. She thought of Marlene and what it would mean if he decided to cause a scene. The balance was still too fresh and fragile to be compromised by something so ugly and embarrassing. She racked her brain as to how to handle him. She had known him for a while, she thought desperately, his rather calm and laid-back disposition never erupting into anything even remotely violent and dramatic. But it was back then, when he was dating her and not Sophie, an ugly little voice whispered, refusing to be silenced. She was never able to bring anyone to respond as passionately as her sister could with just one wink of her long lashes.

‘
How did you find out about this brunch?’ she asked again, noticing from the corner of her eye that John had left the room, his discreet exit leaving her alone with her former boyfriend. She had to resist the childish urge to follow in his footsteps, her whole body coiled with tension that threatened to burst at any given moment.

‘
How do you think?’ He seemed marginally less angry, she noticed with relief, her hopes for resolving the situation peacefully restored just a bit. ‘Sophie phoned me, of course. She went on and on about having met someone else, a superman really.’ He plopped onto the stool, his defeated posture and visible distress tightening her chest in compassionate response.

He didn’t deserve it, she thought suddenly, angry with her stepsister for handling the break-up so badly. True, he dumped her the moment Sophie laid her eyes on him, she remembered that. He fell for her fast and hard, with no room for second-guessing or trying to resist at all. Still, she couldn’t just forget the fact that he was a decent person in every other way, and that the sense of revenge that could have made the current situation something she would enjoy just wasn’t to be found.

‘
She said to leave her alone, to move on,’ he continued, his grey eyes shining with emotions he couldn’t keep under control. ‘And she said that today was the day she planned to introduce him to her mom and friends, so she hoped I would leave her alone.’ He laughed again, a short barking sound that cut the silence like a lash of a whip. ‘I almost feel like she wanted me to suffer and see for myself what I’ve lost, Em. Why else would she tell me all that in the first place?’

Why, indeed? Emily bit her lower lip, her resentment towards Sophie growing. As crazy as it sounded, she suspected that Peter was right, and that, on some subconscious level, Sophie enjoyed the drama more than was proper for anyone in her situation. She had always liked the idea of having men at her feet, basking in her attention and admiration. It must have satisfied some hidden, dark side of her to know that there was someone suffering because of her at that very moment. That or plain thoughtlessness, Emily mused, knowing deep down that it was the former.

If it weren’t for Marlene, Emily might have walked away right then. She would have let him cause as much mess as he saw fit, embarrassing both Sophie and her new fiancé, the way she deserved. Instead, Emily walked toward him, her hand coming to rest on his arm. She couldn’t let him do it. Not if she didn’t want her stepmother to relapse into one of her nervous breakdowns. Marlene’s motherly love for Sophie was so instinctive and deep that seeing her daughter’s distress would be sure to trigger a violent response that had to be avoided at all costs.

‘
Look, Peter,’ she started, her fingers stroking his tense arm in a soothing gesture. ‘I know you’re mad, and believe me, I understand. But there is no point to go in there and make a scene. Don’t you think that Sophie would resent you for that even more?’

‘
Actually, I think this might be exactly what she hopes I’ll do.’ He shook his head again, his stubborn expression making her think of a child denied its favorite toy. ‘Maybe it’s some kind of a test, Em. She wants me to prove that I care and am willing to go the extra mile to fight for her, you see? Maybe that’s exactly why she told me about today, wanting to see how I’d react.’

He was grasping at straws, she realized, her eyes going over his heated features. Telling him how far off he actually was wouldn’t help, she decided, the thin line that divided reality from wishful thinking blurred and easy to trespass.

‘
It’s possible, isn’t it?’ He looked at her, his eyes Begginsing for any sign of approval. Which was a terrible thing, she thought desperately, her straightforward nature not allowing her to lie with clear conscience. Instead she hung on to something that wasn’t entirely false, her own misgivings about Sophie’s speedy engagement making it easier to meet him halfway.

‘
Peter, I really don’t think so.’ She saw him tense and pushed him back onto his seat, her voice stronger. ‘But I think you shouldn’t give up quite yet, either. There is something about that relationship that doesn’t sit right with me, if you know what I mean. Something Sophie refuses to notice, but eventually will.’

‘
What do you mean?’ His voice was hoarse as he watched her with horror. ‘Is he some kind of a creep? Do you think she’s in danger of any kind?’

‘
No, nothing like that.’ She rushed to calm him down, her voice hectic. ‘I can’t explain it to you, Peter. Just, I don’t see them together for a long haul. Something is missing.’

‘
You mean she isn’t really into him and doesn’t realize it yet?’ His hopeful gaze met her eyes, and she felt ashamed to lead him on like that. God, she couldn’t tell him that if one thing in their relationship rang true, it was Sophie’s obsession with James. It was the last thing he needed to hear. His desperation had been replaced with hope that transfixed his somber features.

‘
I mean, I don’t think he is in love with her, Peter,’ she said, knowing that she truly believed that. Saying it out loud somehow confirmed what she had felt since the moment she met James McMaster.

‘
I don’t think he’s a bad person, or anything like that,’ she added hurriedly before he had a chance to interrupt. ‘Just, it seems to me he’s not interested in Sophie the way she thinks he is. Maybe he’s just a womanizer, for all I know. And maybe, before you have to do anything, he will be looking for a way out of this pickle.’

That was a bit far-fetched, she admitted to herself as she saw him relax and even smile. Because whatever she thought of the handsome dark man who claimed to love her sister, a retreat or escape didn’t seem to match the calm air of command and the sense of purpose that surrounded him like a cloak.

She looked up from Peter’s face to the kitchen door. It was an instinctive gesture meant to break the intense eye contact that had felt wrong ever since he had left her for Sophie. Only her heart stopped for a second, her eyes widening as she took in the tall, dark figure lingering in the half-closed doorway like a predator ready to strike at any moment.

She swallowed convulsively, her throat making a little strangled sound of despair as she saw him smile at her, the cold obsidian eyes as watchful as those of a hawk. He must have heard her, she thought wretchedly, as embarrassment washed over her. There was no point to pretend that he hadn’t been present as she confessed her less than flattering thoughts about him to Peter.

She watched him nod lightly and retreat, silent and graceful as a panther. The incident lasted barely more than a few seconds, Peter’s voice breaking into her frozen state as he said something she couldn’t really understand. The only thing registering in her mind was James’s smile, cool and polite, sending shivers of fear down her spine. She wasn’t sure what she feared more—the fact that he knew what she thought of him or the way he responded.

She wasn’t sure she really wanted to find out the answer.

He needed to regroup, James thought as he wove his way through the crowd toward the table. He saw Sophie wave at him and smile brilliantly, his smile in return an automatic response that had become his second nature.

He had underestimated Emily, and his mind buzzed as he tried to form a plan to match the changed circumstances. She was more observant and clever than he had given her credit for, which threatened his plans for the future, forcing him to come up with a viable solution and fast. Sophie was totally under his spell, at least for the moment. But who knew what would happen if Emily started to create little cracks in the perfect façade he had created, destroying what he had hoped to achieve. After all, she was around Sophie a lot of the time, and it had to count for something if she started questioning his commitment and motives on a constant basis.

Only a preemptive strike could put an end to the danger from the slim, dark-haired girl with sad eyes and an air of innocence that he didn’t even want to consider. She would not come between him and the final stage of the drama that started twelve years ago, the gruesome story Begginsing to have its final chapter written and finished forever.

He believed in fate, he thought as he chatted lightly with both Sophie and Marlene, marveling at the older woman’s wit and undeniable charm. Often he had wondered what made Steve Masden fall for her, her late husband’s face rising before his very eyes. He could see it, he mused as he watched her animated features and girlish freshness, only imagining how much more appealing she must have been fifteen years ago when the two of them met. Appealing enough to make Steve ask her to marry him, her two teenaged girls not a deterrent. The girls and the crumbling restaurant that he had so painstakingly helped to restore, his love for his wife and is stepdaughters making it an easy labor of love. Love that destroyed him in the end, James thought, his fingers shaking slightly as he held the delicate champagne flute, the exquisite bubbly drink tasting as bitter as his memories.

He had met Steve Masden at the police station. He remembered it very well, the years that passed since unable to erase the memory of his fear and confusion. He had been twelve at the time, busted in the attempted robbery that he helped to orchestrate to impress the older boys of his neighborhood. Naïve and childish, he had no idea of the implications until the very moment he was caught and brought to the station, the older boys escaping into the darkness of the rainy November night without even a thought about him. He had been the casualty, a scapegoat, his lack of experience making him an easy catch for the patrolling policemen who noticed the break-in. Kicking and screaming, he was hauled into the car and brought there, the hard wooden bench cold and unrelenting under his shaking body. He was terrified, he remembered. Not so much of the punishment—his childish reasoning not even considering anything too awful or too serious to happen. He was mostly terrified to have his mom come down and get him, the disappointed look in her pale face the worst punishment of all.

Steve had seen through his silent fear better than anyone else, his clever blue eyes assessing James in a mere span of a few seconds as he wrote his report. He must have liked what he saw, because he fetched him a cup of hot tea with milk and advised him to take off his soaked, cold jacket and hang it on the radiator. His large frame and bushy eyebrows were at odds with his soft heart and keen eye for lost souls that needed repairing. Within minutes, James found himself pouring out his heart, telling the large, quiet man about his life and hopes, tears streaking his face. It was the first time he opened up to someone who was actually interested in his story, the short nods of encouragement and smiles reassuring enough to keep him going.

In the end, the unthinkable happened. As he finished talking, exhausted and pretty much ready for whatever would happen next, his incredulous eyes caught Steve tearing the report to pieces and tossing it in a rubbish basket in the corner. Lifting his large frame from a chair, Steve grinned at the boy and wiggled his bushy eyebrows before telling him to get up as well.

‘
Listen now, James,’ he said, his gruff voice unable to hide the warmth that was part of his persona, ‘and listen well. I truly think you were in the wrong place at the wrong time, that’s all. Everyone is allowed to slip once, if you ask me. Let it be your warning before you get into real trouble, do you understand? Get your jacket now, and follow me.’

Steve drove him home that night, most of their ride silent as the cruiser carried them toward James’s home. James was speechless from the unexpected turn of the events, his brain still processing the fact that he was lucky enough to have escaped the wrath of the law for his stupid behavior. Casting a quick glance at the man driving the car, he couldn’t believe that he might actually get a second chance.