“I’m sure you know this, but alcohol won’t help. If anything, it will make you even more depressed.”
She sighed and sagged against the colorful pillows. “I missed the smell of Boston Uncommon. I know that’s nuts, but it’s the truth. So, that’s why…” She made a sweeping gesture toward the well-stocked kitchen-counter bar. Only then did he notice that all the bottles were open and most were empty.
He doubted that was the only reason why, but now was not the time to discuss a possible drinking problem. The thing was, he’d never smelled alcohol on her at work. They shared an occasional brandy when they discussed business before she left for the evening, but he’d never seen her have more than one.
Claudia’s eyes shimmered with new tears, and she turned her head away from him.
Anthony couldn’t refrain from touching her any more than he could fly to the moon. He reached over and pulled her into his arms.
She leaned against him and sighed. Then she turned her face into his shirt and inhaled deeply. If she knew I ran all the way here, she might not want to do that. As it was, she seemed to melt into him.
“Claudia, Claudia, Claudia…what am I going to do with you?”
She leaned away from him and looked up into his eyes, searching, yearning—but for what?
Could she have harbored feelings for me and hidden them so well that I never recognized them? Well, why the hell not? He had done the same thing around her for the last five years.
From the day she walked into his office to apply for a waitressing job, he had felt the instant pull of attraction. If not for his jealous ex-girlfriend, Ruxandra, showing up, he might have considered acting on it. For Claudia’s safety, he had kept her at arm’s length. Now here she was safe in his arms, feeling like she’d always belonged there.
Claudia’s blond highlights might not be natural, but they made her hair shine like spun gold whenever she stepped under the lights of the bar. He cherished the memory—especially now when it looked as if she hadn’t brushed her shoulder-length bob in days.
She seemed to be fading fast. Her eyes fluttered closed, and eventually her breathing took on the long, slow rhythm of sleep. She might have passed out, but Anthony chose to believe she felt so safe in his arms that she could finally relax and let go.
He vowed to hold her until just before dawn, if she didn’t wake up before then. At that point, he’d have to leave. Otherwise, he would appear to be the one who’d passed out cold…more like dead. He didn’t think she could handle that in her fragile condition.
Hours later, Claudia’s intercom buzzed. Anthony considered waking her to answer it, but Claudia looked so angelic sleeping in his arms. He edged out of her delicate grasp and laid her down gently.
Who would come to see her at five in the morning?
He touched the intercom speaker button and whispered. “Who is it?”
After a brief delay, a woman’s voice said, “Is this Claudia’s apartment?”
“May I ask who you are first?”
An impatient male voice called out, “It’s her parents. Who the hell are you?”
Oops. Caught in a girl’s apartment at 5:00 a.m. by her parents. That hadn’t happened in a while. Anthony glanced over at Claudia, who was softly snoring. The apartment was still as disheveled as it had been when he first saw it. If he was concerned for her after seeing that, her parents certainly would be.
“Give me a few seconds to wake her,” he said.
An oath from her father was cut off halfway as Anthony let go of the buzzer. He used his vampiric speed to clean up the apartment. Finding the trash can under the sink, he grabbed the bucket and loaded it with empties until it wouldn’t hold any more. Then he simply hid the rest of them. He zoomed around the room once more, putting pillows back on chairs, mascara side down, and placing the empty pizza boxes on the kitchen counter.
He stopped to appraise the job he’d done, and everything seemed neat. Then he shook Claudia. “Wake up. Your parents are here.”
She protested with an agh.
He shook her harder and called out, “Claudia, wake up!”
At last, she opened her eyes and blinked. “Anthony? What are you…” Then she groaned. “Oh, yeah. I remember now.” She looked shaky as she pushed herself up to a sitting position.
The intercom buzzed again.
“Your parents are here.”
“What?” She shot to her feet and swayed.
Anthony grabbed her arm and clasped her around her waist to steady her. “You need to buzz them in.”
“No. They’re in Florida.”
“They’re here. If you don’t let them in, I’ll have to.”
“No! They can’t know you’re here. Quick. Hide in the bedroom.” She pushed at him, but he didn’t move.
“It’s too late. I answered the intercom the first time it buzzed.”
She hit him. “Why did you do that?”
He turned her toward the door and marched her over to it. “Let them in. They’re probably as worried about you as I was.”
She sighed. “Okay, but first I need to make sure it’s really them.” She leaned on the intercom button and said, “Mom? Dad?”
A soft click was followed by her mother pleading, “Open the door, honey,” and her father bellowing, “What kind of daughter lets her parents stand on the sidewalk while she—”
Claudia let go of the intercom and buzzed them in. “That’s them all right.”
“I’d better go,” Anthony said.
Claudia glanced around her apartment and her eyebrows rose. “You cleaned up after me?”
“Just a quick tidying up.”
She rested a hand on his arm. “Thank you.”
Anthony held her gaze for a moment. Something unspoken but deeply meaningful passed between them. He was fairly sure it was more than gratitude on her part. It certainly was on his.
A hard knock on her door broke the spell.
“Time to face the music—or the cacophony,” Claudia muttered.
Anthony buttoned his suit jacket a moment before she opened the door to reveal a bedraggled-looking couple.
“We drove thirty-six hours straight to get here, young lady,” her father blasted. “You’d better have a damn good excuse for not answering your phone or emails.”
“I—uh…”
Her father turned his anger on Anthony. “Are you the reason she was unreachable for a week?”
“No, Dad,” Claudia quickly said.
Someone upstairs opened their door and yelled down, “It’s five o’clock in the friggin’ morning. Shut the hell up and let people sleep!”
Claudia opened her door wider. “Come in and try to calm down.”
When her parents were inside the apartment, Anthony extended his hand. “I’m Anthony Cross. I was concerned about her as well.”
Her father stared at Anthony’s hand. At last he grasped it and shook twice. “Your hand is cold. You must have arrived just before we did.”
Her mother added, “Even if he’s been here all night, she’s a grown woman and allowed to have a boyfriend, dear.”
Anthony didn’t quite know how to respond to that. Should he let Claudia’s father think they were a couple? Fortunately, he didn’t have to confirm or deny. Claudia jumped in.
“He’s not my boyfriend. He’s my old boss.”
“Old boss?” her father said. “Did he fire you? Is that why you look like hell?”
She sighed. “No. He didn’t fire me. The fire fired me.” Claudia faced Anthony straight on and shot him a poignant look. “The building that housed the import-export business burned down.”
Import-export? Was that code for “my parents don’t know I worked in a bar”?