"Hi. Do you have a minute?"
"...for you, always."
I couldn't help but smile before I settled in the chair across from him.
"I've been getting prank calls on my cell phone."
His smile faded as a hardness entered his expression.
"How long?"
"The past four days. No one speaks but I hear them."
I knew there was a lot going on in Trace's head but outwardly he remained surprisingly calm.
"Can I take your phone? You can use mine for now."
"Sure. What are you thinking?"
I didn't think he was going to answer me but he did. "I want to try to trace the calls."
"You think it's Dane."
"I do and if we can get proof that he's harassing you that's a step in the right direction."
"Why do you think he's so fixated on me? I understand why he picked me; I fit his profile, but why is he still pursuing me?"
"I don't know but his actions are a lot like a spoiled child who doesn't get his way and so he throws a tantrum until he does. I have the sense that whatever is fueling him has less to do with you, specifically, and more to do with his ego."
"He's crazy."
Trace stood and walked around his desk before reaching for my hand and pulling me up into his arms.
"He is, Ember, and that's why you have to be very careful."
A shiver of fear worked its way down my spine causing me to hold Trace more tightly.
"I won't let anything happen to you." He vowed.
"I know."
A week later, I all but forgot about the phone calls since my mind was engaged elsewhere, the planning of my wedding. I smiled every time I thought about Trace's proposal; every word of it was etched onto my brain. He may always be aloof to others but to me he was loving and so very generous with his affection. It really was no wonder why I loved the man to distraction.
A group of us were at Sapphire and while the guys talked, I thought about Lena. She'd been in my thoughts since the phone calls. Despite the fact that she was a bitch, I wondered how she was doing and if she was still with Todd. I didn't understand how someone could change so drastically but, according to my dad, Lena hadn't changed at all I had just gotten wise to her. Sometimes I missed her, well, I missed the girl I thought she was. She had been such a huge part of my life for so long that it felt odd that we weren't speaking at all.
"Are you okay, Ember?"
I turned at the sound of that voice as a smile touched my lips. Looking into those steel-blue eyes always had my heart beating just a little bit faster.
"I am, yes."
Trace touched a lock of my hair before he trailed his finger down along my jaw. "You look lost in thought."
"It's nothing important."
His hand reached for mine. "Dance with me, sweetheart?"
"Yes, please."
He grinned as he stood before pulling me up after him. He led me to the dance floor as his thumb played with his ring on my finger. I looked up at him just as he said, "October can't come fast enough."
"I agree. I'd say we should just elope but that would break my dad's heart."
"...true." We reached the dance floor and Trace turned into me before he wrapped his arms around my waist to pull me up against his hard body.
"Any thoughts on where you want to go on our honeymoon?"
"I do actually but I just want to preface my response with I could be anywhere with you and love it."
"That feeling is mutual, Ember, but if you have a preference I want to hear it."
"I thought it would be nice to go further up north to Massachusetts since it's going to be Fall."
"Anywhere in particular?"
"...Marblehead, I've always wanted to go."
"Done."
I tilted my head and smiled at him. "Just like that?"
He pulled me even closer as his head lowered so that his mouth lingered just over mine before he whispered, "Considering that I plan on keeping you naked and in bed for the majority of our honeymoon, any location works for me."
I blushed clear up to my hairline and Trace grinned like the cat who just ate the canary.
"You have such a way with words, Trace."
He looked positively wicked in response to that as he brushed his lips over my cheek to my ear and whispered, "If you like those words, I have a few more."
By the time he was finished, I was beet-red and totally turned on. He knew it, too, when his eyes burned with fire before his mouth settled quite firmly over mine. Some time later, when Trace pulled away from me, I was thinking about the first time I saw him. More specifically, I was thinking about him doing to me what he had been doing to that woman. He read my thoughts, as he had a habit of doing, and a devilish smile spread over his face.