Follow Me(79)

I love you. I hadn’t known until the moment he said those words just how much I’d been dying to hear them. My heart trembled and fluttered, but there was nothing I could do. Everything about the circumstances was all wrong, so completely, totally wrong.

“Okay,” I said softly, pulling my hands away.

“Okay?” he echoed, eyes round with hope.

“Okay, I hear you,” I clarified. “But I need some time to think.”

“Okay,” he said, so quietly I almost didn’t hear him as he hung his head. “Okay.”

I pushed my chair away from the table with an earsplitting scrape and rose, slinging my purse over my shoulder. I started toward the door, but then doubled back and pressed my lips to the crown of his head, inhaling deeply and smelling the aroma of his sandalwood-scented shampoo.

“I love you, too,” I whispered into his hair.

Before he could respond, I walked briskly out of the coffee shop.





CHAPTER FIFTY-TWO





CAT


It was almost eleven o’clock by the time I left the office that night, and I’d eaten nothing other than a handful of almonds since that morning. In less than seven short hours, I would be meeting Bill, Connor, and the rest of our team at Union Station to take the six o’clock Acela to New York; the Phillips trial was scheduled to start the next morning. I had just a few final hours to practice my portion of the argument, pack, and get some sleep. The latter seemed out of the question, considering my anxiety over the argument, but I would have to try. I dreaded falling asleep on the train, drooling and head bobbing, in front of the partner I needed to impress and the man I still secretly loved.

“Cat.”

I jumped at the sound of my name and I whirled around on the darkened street. There, leaning against the side of the building with his face mostly obscured by shadows, was Max.

“Max,” I said uneasily. “What are you doing here?”

“Looking for you, of course,” he said, flashing me a quick, humorless smile. “I need your help.”

“I don’t know what else I can do. I already convinced Audrey to meet with you.”

“I know, and thank you for that. But things are still all twisted. And, look, I know it’s my fault. I should have told Audrey about those pictures the second I found them, but I was so embarrassed about searching for her. And then once I got my friend involved and he hacked into that site, things got more complicated. But that’s no excuse. And I get it now. I messed up in a major way, and so I need to apologize in an even more major way.”

I shook my head. “That’s between you and Audrey.”

“I don’t need you to do much,” he insisted. “Just tell Audrey you’re taking her out to dinner, and instead bring her to the location of our first date. I’ll have the same meal prepared, and flowers and music and all the things I know she likes. She’ll see how much I love her. I just need your help getting her there.”

“Your first date was in an empty building,” I reminded him. “And I don’t think Audrey is going to feel comfortable being in an empty building with you right now.”

“Jeez,” he moaned, rubbing a hand over his face. “I can’t believe how badly I’ve ruined everything.”

His obvious anguish was uncomfortably reminiscent of how I had felt after the Hirshhorn event, when I realized I’d squandered a chance with Connor and made everything between us worse instead of better. I reached out and patted him tentatively on the shoulder. “It’ll be okay.”

He caught my hand and held it tightly, compressing the bones. “Please, Cat. You have to help me. I love Audrey so much.”

“I’ll think about it,” I promised, carefully extracting myself from his grip. “But it will have to wait. I leave for trial tomorrow, and I’ll be out of town for the rest of the week, maybe longer.”

“Okay,” he said, his disappointment clear. “I guess that will work. It’ll have to. Unless . . . Is Audrey going to be at your apartment while you’re away?”

I hesitated. “Um . . . I think so.”

“Maybe you could give me a set of your keys? I could surprise her with flowers.”

“I don’t know,” I hedged. “Audrey hasn’t had the greatest experience with flowers lately.”

“Something else, then. Air plants. Champagne. Animal crackers.”

“I’m sorry, but I don’t surprising her with anything is a great idea. Not right now, at least. After everything that happened with her apartment and discovering she has a stalker, she’s been really on edge. She needs someplace she can feel safe.”

Max’s expression darkened. “And you’re the only one who can make her feel safe? With the way you’re trying to keep her to yourself, it almost makes me wonder if you’re the one who’s been stalking her.”

My mouth dropped open in surprise. “Max, that’s ludicrous.”

“Is it? I’ve seen the way you look at Audrey.”

“I don’t know what you’re insinuating, but—”

“You look at her like you want to be her. Like you want to take her skin and wear it as a suit.”

“Audrey is my best friend,” I said, aghast. “I certainly don’t want to skin her.”