Luke sobered instantly. “Embry, your first memo is due this Friday?”
“Yes.” She pulled her bottom lip between her teeth.
“Why didn’t you tell me? You should be working on that. Research can wait.”
She knew he was right. It was the first serious assignment of the semester. She didn’t have to worry about midterms because most classes had comprehensive final exams instead. But she had two large legal memorandums that accounted for the majority of her legal writing grade. The first one was due that Friday, and she hadn’t put nearly enough time into it. “I know, I know.”
“So go, get on it. Don’t worry about me. I’m good.” He flashed her another gorgeous smile.
“Yes, Professor,” she said mockingly, rolling her eyes and trying to fight a smile of her own.
The following evening, Embry headed home to work on her memo. After throwing her things down by her desk, she grabbed her cell and thumbed through her missed calls. She skipped over new messages from her mother and Morgan to listen to a blocked number. It was a hang up. After deleting the message, she went back and listened to her mom’s message.
“Hi, sweetie! I haven’t spoken to you in quite a while. I don’t want to call too much and bother you while you’re studying, but I wanted to check in. Hope all is well. Your dad and I miss you. If you have any free time, we’d love to see you and give you a squeeze! Oh! That reminds me. I ran into Jack Stowe today. Can you believe that? He’s grown into such a handsome man. Anyway, I let him know you were back in town. He just moved back to run his father’s company. You know Mr. Stowe has been thinking of retiring for a while. Well, I passed along your number. Maybe you’ll get to see him when you come visit. I never did understand why things didn’t work out between you two. All right, honey, I love you. Call us when you can.”
Embry slowly lowered the phone from her ear, and stared at the screen in disbelief. The cogs of her mind turned furiously, trying to process what she’d just heard. Jack was back on Long Island and, thanks to her mother, he knew that she was, too. And he had her number.
She wanted to scream. Cry. Run. Run. It was what she did best. But she couldn’t run this time. She had law school to think about now. And Luke. She had someone to run to. Despite what had happened between them, she knew he wouldn’t hesitate to keep her safe. Just thinking about him sent a wave of warmth and comfort through her, but she couldn’t involve him in this.
The phone rang in her hand, tearing her from her thoughts. Blocked. She stared at the phone and realized who might be calling. She threw it across the room, getting it as far away from her as possible. She wouldn’t answer. Couldn’t. Would he be on the other end?
The ringing stopped, and Embry set up her laptop, getting ready to work on her memo. As she pulled out her research, the phone beeped to alert her to a new voicemail, and she nearly jumped out of her chair. Her nerves were shot. Just the possibility of Jack calling caused her to spiral out of control. But a niggling curiosity made her stomach flip. Maybe he’d be different. It had been five years; maybe he’d changed.
She got up, grabbed the phone, and pulled up the voicemail. Another hang up. Maybe it wasn’t him. She realized she didn’t want to find out. Whether he had changed or not, she didn’t want to know Jack again. She stared at the phone for a while, waiting for it to ring. When enough time had passed without another call, she got to work.
Embry made headway on her memo. She’d finished all of her research and was putting a dent in her first draft. It was getting late, but she was determined to get as much done as possible. Her phone rang again. Distracted by her work, she picked it up without checking the caller ID.
“Hello?”
The line was silent.
“Hello?” A chill slithered down her spine as she waited. Still nothing. “Jack?” she whispered.
“Hello, Embry.”
Her world crashed down around her. The voice on the other end was one she had never wanted to hear again, and the minute she heard it, she knew he hadn’t changed one bit.
Memories barreled into her, taking her back to a time she never wanted to revisit. She dropped the phone and ran to the bathroom as a wave of nausea hit her. She fell to her knees in front of the toilet and dry heaved. Her body was determined to expel all that was Jack Stowe from her system. She breathed deep and fought to gather herself and calm her nerves. She sat on the cold bathroom floor cursing her mother for being so clueless, cursing herself for never telling her parents the truth. Her phone rang again in the living room.
She realized Jack was right where he wanted to be. In. her. head. But she wasn’t the same broken girl. She wouldn’t let him win. Dragging herself up from the floor, she walked into the living room and picked up the phone. She hit ignore on Jack’s call and dialed Morgan. The voicemail picked up. Hanging up without leaving a message, Embry checked the time and realized it was after midnight. Her phone rang in her hand again. He knew he was getting to her, which meant he wouldn’t stop anytime soon. She ignored the call again. Before she could talk herself out of it, she dialed Luke.
His sleepy voice came through the phone after a few rings. “Hello?”
“Luke,” she choked out.
“Embry?”
She heard his sheets rustle as he moved in his bed. She pictured him lying there—shirt off, muscles flexing, pajama pants low on his hips—and she remembered the comfort of his arms around her, the security his presence gave her. She squeezed her eyes shut and shook her head to clear the thought.
“Bree?” he asked. “What’s wrong?”
His question brought her crashing back to reality. Jack. She couldn’t tell him. She wasn’t ready. “I just …”
Maybe the Jack thing would blow over. She could change her phone number and be done with it. But in that moment, she just wanted to feel safe.
“What is it?”
“I need you,” she said. It was as simple and as true as that.
“I’ll be right there.”
He hung up before she could form a response. He was coming over. The phone continued to ring as Embry sat on the couch, numb and waiting for Luke. At some point it must have died, or Jack gave up, because the ringing stopped. A million thoughts flew through her head. What would she tell Luke? What could she do about Jack? She would have to tell her parents the truth. She couldn’t have her mother telling Jack where she was.
That thought made her pause. What if she already had? She shuddered at the thought.
Thankfully, her doorbell rang, stealing away her scary thoughts. She looked through the peephole to make sure it was Luke. The concern on his face took her breath away. He was through the door and scooping her up before she could speak. Wrapped tight in his warmth, her resolve crumbled, and she broke down.
“Shhh.” Luke lifted her easily and carried her to the couch. He settled her against his chest, his arms never leaving her. “It’s okay. I’m here. What happened?”
She couldn’t tell him. She didn’t want to. But she needed to explain why she’d dragged him out of bed in the middle of the night.
“I just got spooked,” she said, wiping away the moisture on her cheeks. “I got these weird hang-up calls. They were probably nothing, but then someone banged on my door and I thought they were trying to break in. I tried to call Morgan, but she didn’t answer. I was so scared.” Her voice trembled.
She was scared. Scared of everything. Being harassed by Jack. Loving Luke. Failing out of law school. It was all suddenly too much.