Loving the Best Man (Friends & Lovers Book 2) Read online

  After Grace had gone home, calmer but sullen, Emerald kept busy by cleaning her messy apartment. She would love to call Robyn and talk about the night she’d spent with Lincoln. But Robyn was on her honeymoon and wouldn’t be back for about a week. And Devin had made everyone promise not to call unless it was an emergency.

  He’d had to talk Robyn into leaving for so long. She was very attached to Olivia, their baby, who would be five months old in just a few days.

  Emerald smiled when she thought of her sweet goddaughter. She’d never seen such a sweet, cute baby. Christmas was about two weeks away and Emerald had already gotten Olivia a ton of presents.

  After she picked up all the clothes that were tossed around the small living room, she went about cleaning her bedroom area, which was cordoned off, surrounded by curtains. Her stomach growled and she realized she hadn’t eaten much breakfast, had totally skipped lunch, and was now due for some dinner.

  She turned her cell phone on so that she could order a pizza. It had been off all day, since the idiotic message that Marley had sent her. It immediately rang and buzzed with several messages. She had a voicemail from Robyn and quickly tried to call Robyn back but the call went straight to voicemail. There was a text message from her father, just saying hi, and a couple of insulting messages from Marley.

  She saved all of his messages. She wanted proof just in case she ever decided to go to the police. She didn’t understand why he insisted on harassing her. Yes, she’d refused his sexual advances and even kneed him in the groin during their last confrontation. But he was the one that had fired her. And she hadn’t done anything other than say thank you before departing the gym where she’d worked. That had been almost a year ago.

  A few weeks after the New Year, the messages had begun. In the beginning, she’d just deleted them without reading them. But since she’d begun to get messages more often, she’d been saving them.

  There were no messages from Lincoln and she felt disappointed, which in turn made her feel stupid. She was the one who had walked away from whatever kind of relationship he’d been offering. She didn’t have a right to feel let down that he was giving her exactly what she’d requested.

  After ordering the pizza, she went back to cleaning. She swept the small studio and was just about to mop when there was a knock on her door. It was the delivery guy. After paying him, she planted herself on the couch in front of the TV with the pizza. She normally liked to be alone. But for some reason, that had changed. She now felt so lonely.

  She didn’t know if it was all the time she’d spent with the Phillips family or all the attention that Lincoln had been giving her. In these last few months, with all the wedding prep, she hadn’t had much time alone at home. At one point she’d actually missed being home. Now she wished she had some place to go.

  She thought of going to see her father but she’d just have to pretend she was fine for his sake and for the sake of his wife. Her father didn’t do well with emotions, no matter how insignificant they were. At least at home, she could pout in the open.

  With a sigh she turned up the volume on the TV and leaned back with a slice of pizza.

  *

  Emerald Felton. The woman he’d wanted from the moment they met. The woman he’d been after for years. To finally touch her the way he’d always imagined, to have her melt against him, had been better than he’d ever dreamed. And now she wanted nothing to do with him.

  He’d let her walk away. Rather, she’d run to the hotel bathroom to get away from him and he hadn’t tried to stop her. He’d considered following her. But he’d seen by the stubborn slant of her jaw that there was no point in trying to reason with her. He’d gotten dressed in his wrinkled tux and hurried to his room.

  Now, sitting alone in his bland apartment, he tried to come up with a plan. He knew it was going to take time. But everything worth having was worth the time it took to get it.

  They’d met at Grace’s and Robyn’s high school graduation party at the Jamison’s house. Emerald had been a part of their graduating class but from the way she’d tried to blend into the background, he wouldn’t have known it if Grace hadn’t told him. He still remembered the moment they’d been introduced.

  She had skin the color of milk chocolate and almond shaped eyes. With her curves and seductive smile, she was beautiful. Having never been with an African American woman before, he’d been stunned by his reaction to her.

  He’d tried to get her number but she’d just laughed him off before wandering away. That had been seven years ago. In all the years that had passed since then, she never took him seriously. He’d just about given up on her.

  But being thrown together so much for the wedding had worked in his favor and he’d thought he and Emerald were actually becoming real friends. Outside of wedding errands, such as a group trip to the mall so they could all buy wedding shoes, they’d begun to text each other. He’d been thrilled.

  On the night of the wedding, when she’d invited him to her room, he’d been quick to leave The Scope with her. But he’d thought they were beginning a relationship. He hadn’t considered that it was just sex for her. Or that she would regret it.

  He wasn’t used to having his feelings hurt. He was usually the dumper not the not the person getting dumped. It was strange being on the other side, being the one still trying to hold on. He was always upfront with women about wanting to keep his relationships casual but once in a while, there was one who let her feelings get involved. And that’s when he’d cut her loose.

  He liked having his fun. He liked his freedom. And he hadn’t met a woman who’d remotely interested him enough to settle down. The fact that Emerald was always in the back of his mind when he was with other women was not something he could ignore, either. The way his heart raced and blood heated up was something that only happened with her. No matter what he did, he couldn’t let that go.

  It hurt more than his pride that she’d rejected him. But he had something working in his favor that he’d never had before. He had the knowledge that she wanted him and that they were great in bed together. It probably wasn’t enough to sustain a relationship for long but it was a start. The way she’d fallen into bed with him had been astounding. He knew how major it was. As far as he knew, Emerald didn’t sleep around.

  He’d build on it that. He’d take it one day at a time. He’d use whatever advantage he could get, even if he only had a sexual advantage at that point.

  A call from his sister interrupted his ruminations. He answered the phone, walking into his home office. Other than his bedroom, it was the only room in his apartment that actually looked lived in.

  A computer sat on a large oak desk. The adjoining shelf held a printer and fax machine. A book shelf lined with books covered an entire wall of the room. His desk was littered with paper, various reports that he was in the process of going through.

  Without realizing it he began pacing.

  “Hey!” Allison said happily.

  “Hey, sis. What’s up?”

  “I’m putting my grocery list together for the big Christmas dinner.”

  “And?”

  “And I want to know if there’s anything specific you want?”

  For the first time ever, his sister was hosting Christmas dinner. The year before, she and her husband plus their two kids had spent Christmas with Allison’s in-laws while Linc and their parents had gone on a cruise.

  “I don’t want anything other than a regular Christmas dinner.”

  “That’s what Gary said,” Allison complained, mentioning her husband. “I need some input from someone!”

  “Why don’t you ask Mom? Matter of fact, tell Mom you want her to tell you what to make.” He didn’t want to talk about Christmas dinner. He wanted time to think about what the hell he was going to do about Emerald. Plus he had some work to do.

  “No. I told her I wanted to host dinner. I can’t go crying to her now.”

  “So just make what she usually makes. No big de
al.” He tried to hide the impatience that he felt but his sister, his twin, could always see through him.

  “What’s wrong with you?” She asked right away. “Are you okay?”

  “I’m good.”

  “No, you’re not. What’s going on, Linc?”

  “Nothing I’m in the mood to talk about. How about you make some apple pies for Christmas dessert?” He tried to change the subject.

  Allison ignored that. “This is about Emerald, isn’t it?”

  “What the-”

  “I saw how you were with her at the wedding. I’ve never seen you like that.”

  “We’re not talking about this, Ally.” He felt his face heat up, wondering how transparent he’d been. He’d thought he’d been discreet and that being the best man gave him the perfect excuse to stay close to the maid-of-honor. But maybe he’d made a fool out of himself. He hoped that Allison, knowing him so well, was the only one who’d noticed anything odd about his behavior.

  “Fine,” Allison mumbled.

  “So, apple pie please?”

  “Whatever.” She huffed.

  “I love you too, sis.” He said dryly.

  After he hung up the phone, he went to his desk, looking at the reports that required his attention. He’d try to get some work done, the sooner the better. Then later he could focus on what had to happen next with Emerald.

  “Damn it!” Emerald yelled the next morning as she stubbed her toe on the leg of the living room table. She hurriedly stepped into her heels, ignoring the throbbing that she felt in her pinky toe. She’d overslept and she didn’t have any time to waste.

  As it was, she wasn’t a morning person. If it was up to her, she’d sleep until noon every day. But oversleeping was making her even grumpier than usual. She’d lain awake in bed for what felt like hours before she’d finally fallen asleep. She’d probably have to have a coffee and an energy drink to get her through the day.

  She put on her thick gray coat, rapidly zipping it and pulling the hood over her head. Jersey Winters could be extreme and she hated to be cold. She grabbed her purse and looked for her car keys, trying to remember where she’d put them the day before.

  Muttering a curse, she picked up all the couch cushions and said a quick thank you that her keys were tucked under the middle one.

  Locking up as fast as she could, she hurried down the stairs of her four-story apartment building. She usually loved the fact that she lived on the top floor. There were no noisy neighbors above her to disturb her.

  But running as late as she was, she resented all the flights of stairs she had to travel down. And of course the elevator was out of order as it typically was.

  The beige walls were covered with graffiti but Emerald didn’t mind that. Some of it was actually kind of cool and took honest talent to create. Exiting the building, the chill of the cold air hit her and she realized that she did not have her scarf on. She rushed up the street as quickly as her heels would allow her, careful to avoid the patches of ice that were on the ground.

  She came to an abrupt halt when she reached her old white Jeep. The front tires were slashed. A quick walk to the back of the car showed her that those tires had been slashed as well.

  A rapid glance around the neighborhood showed a few people either on their way to work or a few kids on their way to school. She looked back at her car, which she’d bought used when she was nineteen. She’d saved for months to buy the car. And now someone had had the nerve to vandalize it.

  Warning herself that panicking would accomplish nothing, she felt around in her pockets for her cell phone. First she’d have to call the police, then she’d have to call work to tell them she’d be late. The phone wasn’t in her coat pocket so she checked her purse. It wasn’t there either.

  “Fuck!” She yelled angrily, gaining the attention of a woman holding hands with a young boy across the street.

  That’s when she noticed the note. It was folded into such a small square that she almost didn’t notice it tucked beneath the windshield wiper. She unfolded it, shaking badly, and wondered vaguely if it was from the cold or because she was getting upset. Finally getting the note open, she read it and stumbled back involuntarily.

  Your time just ran out, bitch.

  Chapter Two

  Emerald didn’t make it into 50G Studios until nearly eleven in the morning. So much had happened that she’d wanted nothing more than to go home and just hide. But she had never been a punk and she never would be so she’d had her car towed and taken the bus and subway to work.

  “Are you okay?” Lacey, one of the receptionists asked as soon as Emerald went behind the island that surrounded their desks. Lacey was a petite blonde who was very perky.

  Tasha, the other receptionist, was a young black woman around Emerald’s own age. She put her hand over her heart and huffed.

  “I can’t believe someone slashed your tires! That’s so scary.”

  “What did the cops say?” Lacey asked.

  “Can we talk about this later?” Emerald asked, her voice very low. She went to the back room and hung up her coat, then placed her purse in the bottom drawer of her desk.

  Lacey and Tasha silently stared at each other before looking back at her.

  “Of course, sweetie,” Lacey replied.

  “But if you want to talk, just let us know.”

  Emerald nodded stiffly and went to the coffee machine to pour herself a cup of coffee. For a Monday morning, the lobby was pretty empty. There were a couple of people sitting in the waiting area but not much else going on. Near the elevators, one of the security guards was making his rounds.

  Devin had gotten her the job at 50G about six months before. It had been a position held by his old friend Casey, who Emerald had had the pleasure of getting fired. Casey had been a plotting, scheming bitch who had lied to keep Robyn and Devin apart. Once the truth had come out, Emerald had plotted her revenge. If she could have, she’d have done worse to Casey.

  After Casey had been fired, there had been a series of temps before Devin recommended Emerald for the job. Since he’d also been the one who recommended Casey, his recommendation of Emerald hadn’t been taken seriously at first. But they’d finally given Emerald a chance and she’d done her best every single day.

  It really stung that she’d never been even a minute late and now that streak was over because of some loser. She hoped the cops would be able to make an arrest but she didn’t have her hopes up. She’d been raised in the worst part of Jersey City and had lived there for most of her life. Too many times, crimes worse than a tire slashing had gone unsolved or hadn’t been investigated at all.

  Of course she knew it was Evan Marley, which she’d told the cops, but she needed proof.

  “So how was the wedding?” Tasha asked after a short while.

  “It was so beautiful!” Emerald enthused, grateful to be able to focus on something positive. “Robyn was gorgeous and Devin was so handsome.”

  “I want to see some pictures!” Lacey said.

  “I don’t have my camera,” Emerald said aloud as she realized it. “I’ll bring it tomorrow.”

  “Make sure you do. I love weddings!” Lacey smiled brightly.

  Lacey and Tasha had been angling to tag along to the wedding but Robyn and Devin -and their moms- had a very specific guest list and she wouldn’t dare bring someone who hadn’t been invited. Devin was friendly enough with Lacey and Tasha but there were lots of people he was cool with who hadn’t gotten invited. And still it had been a huge wedding with a few hundred guests.

  The glass lobby doors opened and a man in a white uniform walked in, carrying a bouquet of pink and peach roses sitting in a pink crystal vase. He approached the glass island.

  Tasha jumped up before Emerald or Lacey could react.

  “Good morning,” The man said, looking at all three women. “Emerald Felton?”

  Emerald’s heart started to thump and she stood up on wobbly legs. She’d never gotten flowers before and althou
gh it might be foolish to some, she was so touched that she could barely speak for a moment.

  She took the flowers and inhaled deeply, enjoying their lovely scent. Lacey and Tasha giggled. After the delivery man had gone, Emerald hurried to her desk and took the card out of the flowers. She opened the envelope, holding her breath.

  Thank you for a great weekend. You were amazing and I can’t get you out of my mind.

  L.T.

  “Ooohhh!” Tasha exclaimed from behind Emerald.

  Emerald jumped, completely unaware that the other woman stood behind her reading the card.

  “Who is it from?” Lacey asked.

  “What have you been up to?” Tasha asked, laughing. “Or should I say who?”

  “Cut it out!” Emerald said, laughing a little when Lacey snatched the card out of her hand.

  Lacey read the card and whistled.

  “Who’s L.T.?” Tasha wanted to know.

  “No one.” The last thing she needed was to be the center of office gossip.

  50G Studios was a big company and Devin was a game designer. He was very well known and well liked. If it got out that she’d slept with his best friend, he’d be involved in gossip by association. That’s not how she wanted to thank him for getting her a job.

  Thankfully, the phone on Tasha’s desk rang and she hurried to answer it.

  “Somebody was a busy little bee at the wedding, hmm?” Lacey teased.

  “It’s nothing,” Emerald said casually. But she was so pleased with the flowers that she kept staring at them. It was so sweet of Lincoln to send them. She was so touched. She hadn’t planned to text him but she knew she had to now, at least to say thank you.

  “It doesn’t sound like nothing to me,” Lacey said with a laugh.

  “It’s just someone I spent time with,” Emerald finally conceded. “But it’s no big deal. Now don’t you have work to do?” She gestured to Lacey’s desk.