Crash into Me (Heart of Stone #1)

Jordan gave the man the once over and turned back to face me. "He certainly does like to know what you're up to, doesn't he? This poor guy hasn't been more than a few feet from us the whole time."

"What do you mean?" I asked as I looked over at the driver again as he patiently leaned against the car.

"Nina, he followed us the whole time. I didn't say anything because I figured you knew."

"Of course I didn't know! Who does that?"

Jordan leaned in and hugged me tightly. In my ear, she whispered, "I told you. Wealthy people are different. If he can't watch you, he'll have one of his men do it. I wouldn't worry. At least you'll never get mugged."

Her joking didn't make what I was feeling any better. "I'll call you, okay? I'm just glad you have some extra money now. Tell Justin I said hi."

"I will, honey. And I'll tell Alex you're doing fine. He's asked about you at least five times this week."

I smiled. Alex was a decent guy, so it wasn't a bad thing that he was interested. "Tell him I said hi and I'll be looking for a rematch of our pool game sometime."

Jordan's face grew serious. "Remember what I said, Nina. Good things do happen to good people. Don't forget that."

"I won't."

I returned to Tristan's house upstate hoping he'd be back, even though his note had said he'd be gone for a few days. The place was lonely without him, and I missed him already as I wandered around looking for something to occupy my time.

Rogers didn't seem to be anywhere to be found, so I explored without restraint, finding a media room and even a game room with a pool table. An hour or so of shooting pool by myself and I was even lonelier. Even the stoic butler would have been welcome company.

The house had an empty feel to it with just me in it. I'd never been to the attic, so I roamed up to the top floor and after looking around at a bunch of boxes and trunks, found one of those heavy, black old-fashioned telephones. On a whim, I picked up the receiver and heard a dial tone. There wasn't another landline in the entire house, but this one telephone sat up here all alone and worked!

Unsure if I should use it, I looked around and saw I was still alone. My cell phone got no reception out here, so I took the opportunity to dial my sister's number and heard her phone begin to ring. It was a small thing, but a rush of excitement pulsed through me. It felt like I was in one of those old mysteries and had found something no one else knew about.

"Hello?" she said loud and clear.

"Kim?" I whispered. "It's Nina."

"Nina! I tried to call you two days ago. It went directly to voicemail. Are you okay?"

Looking around, I said, "I'm fine. My phone's been acting up. How are you?"

My sister was married with two beautiful children and lived in a quiet suburban neighborhood outside of Philadelphia. I hadn't seen my two nieces for months and just hearing Kim's voice made me wish I was there to see them.

"We're all good. Jeff's doing well at the firm, and you know the girls. Growing like weeds. They've been asking about their Aunt Nina, about when she's coming to see them again."

A lump formed in my throat. "I know. I've just been really busy. I promise I won't let so much time go by between calls, Kim."

"What's wrong, Nina? Your voice sounds so sad."

Kim's voice reminded me of my father. She had a way of phrasing things that sounded just like him. Neither of them would think what I was doing with Tristan was right, and they'd let me know about it. I didn't want to hear that, but I would have given anything to talk to him again.

"I was thinking about Daddy last night when I saw some fireflies. Remember how he'd sit with me while I ran after them on summer nights?"

"Yeah, I remember. I thought you were so silly, but that was the six years between us. But where did you see fireflies? I don't know where they'd be in Brooklyn."

Damn. I wasn't very good at this lying thing. "Sure. Fireflies go everywhere," I joked in a forced voice. "We have everything in New York, Kim."

I laughed nervously, hoping she'd be satisfied by my joking, and she laughed too. "Next time you're here you can chase fireflies with the girls. They'll love that."

"Okay, it's a date. I better get going. I'll talk to you soon, Kim."