“Not nearly as perfect as you. Now, my future bride, I’d like to undress you, and then lay you down where I intend to make love to you under the stars.”
I held up a finger. “Wait. I need to say something first before things get out of hand between us.”
He gave me a questioning look as he tilted his head.
“You set me on fire, Pearce Middleton, and when you do, all coherent thought leaves my mind. I want to say this to you now so I don’t forget. You are the greatest thing that ever happened to me. I never imagined loving someone could be like this. I want you to know I’m seeing Phil because when I agreed to marry you, I chose to be as mentally healthy as I possibly can. You deserve that. And I suppose I do too. I’m going to do whatever it takes to get there. And I’m going to do it for the right reasons. That means not just for you, but for me too.”
If I thought his smile was perfect before, well, there was no describing it now. You’d have thought I just handed him the keys to heaven. And maybe I did in his eyes.
He grabbed me and kissed me all the way to paradise, and if I thought we’d had hot steamy sex before, well, Pearce Middleton put a whole new twist on it for me that night.
Twenty-Two
Two days later, I came home from work to another disturbing letter. It was much the same as the other, addressed to me, in a plain white envelope. There obviously was no return address and typed on a plain white piece of paper was:
Still thinking you’re high and mighty, huh? Your time to fall is drawing close.
My hands shook like crazy that I had trouble tearing it up. I rubbed my face as my head started to throb. What should I do? Should I tell Pearce? I didn’t tell him about the last one because when I had gotten to his house, Carmonkey had been there, and I had totally forgotten about it.
My phone rang and it startled me to the point where I screamed. By the time I answered the call I was panting.
“Hey! Are you okay?” It was Pearce, concern edging his voice.
“Yeah. No. I don’t know.”
“What’s wrong?”
“I got a letter in the mail.”
“And.”
I told him about it. And then the line went silent.
“Pearce?”
“I’m on the way over.”
He ended the call. Now I was really scared. I had this idea in my head that he was going to tell me I was imagining things and I had nothing to worry about, but his tone indicated otherwise.
I sat huddled on the sofa, afraid to move. I couldn’t even remember if I had locked my door. I heard it open a few minutes later and he ran over and kneeled in front of me. “Are you okay?”
I just nodded. He grabbed my hands and rubbed them because they were icy cold. They shouldn’t have been because it was springtime.
“Let me see it.” He was asking about the letter.
“I tore it up. It’s in the trash.”
“Hell, Lex, why’d you do that?”
My head vibrated as I shook it. “I didn’t want that nasty thing around here.”
He nodded and walked over to the trash can, finding the pieces and laying them out on the counter. After a few thoughtful moments, he said, “I don’t like this at all.”
“Oh, and you think I do?”
“Of course not!”
I let out a long sigh and rubbed my face for the umpteenth time that afternoon. “I’m sorry. That was completely uncalled for. This has rattled me. Forgive me?”