CHAPTER 15
Zeke
The next morning, I sat in my home office, feeling pretty much normal. Maybe I still didn’t have the stamina I usually had—which isn’t an easy thing for a guy to admit—but I knew I’d get it back after a day or two out of bed.
I’d been awake since dawn, and I’d finally left Lia fast asleep in our bed, hoping the dark circles under her eyes and the anxious look on her face would both disappear.
Shit! I really hated the fact that she was so damn afraid of losing somebody she loved, but then, I couldn’t blame her, either. Pretty much every important person in her life had died before their time, and I’d probably be just as terrified as she was if all of my family was suddenly gone before I’d turned thirty.
The only thing I could do was be there—and hopefully not get sick in the near future. Eventually, her fear would lessen. I knew that. She just needed some peace, and some time off from people dying on her.
The phone rang, and I snatched it from the charger before it rang enough times to wake Lia up.
A quick glance at the clock left me wondering who in the hell would be calling at nine a.m. “Conner,” I said, assuming it was somebody from work.
“I’d like to speak to Lia Conner please,” the male voice asked in a businesslike tone.
“This is her husband. She’s not available.” Okay, I was just a little bit edgy over the fact that any male was calling for my wife.
“Marvin Becker from Becker and Associates. I’m calling regarding Esther Harper’s estate.”
I relaxed. It was the attorney for Esther’s estate. “Zeke Conner. How can I help you? I guess you could say I’m Lia’s attorney.”
I heard a bark of laughter coming through the handset. “I know you by reputation, Mr. Conner,” the gentleman said with humor in his tone. “But I’m pretty sure your wife doesn’t need a defense attorney. My business is pretty benign. Can you let her know that the estate is settled, and that I’m sending a check by courier? A package should arrive shortly with the monies owed and I think she needs to read the codicil and a personal letter that I was instructed to give her after everything was finalized.”
“Esther left a codicil?” I balked a little at the thought.
“It’s all in the package,” he answered cagily.
“Is this going to upset my wife?” I said with a protective growl. “Because the last thing she needs is any more emotional turmoil.”
“I don’t think it will,” he said hesitantly. “In fact, it might help. That’s about all I can say.”
While I appreciated attorney-client privileged information, it still irritated the hell out of me that he wouldn’t say anything more.
I hung up, and tried to figure out what Esther had changed.
“Good morning.”
I looked toward the sleepy, female voice, grinning as I saw her smiling from the entrance to the office.
I stood up. “Coffee? I already made some.”
She nodded and retreated toward the kitchen.
Because I was hopeless at doing anything else, I followed her.
Unfortunately, she was no longer nude, and had pulled on a pair of pajamas very similar to the ones she’d worn in Playa—a pair of stretchy shorts and a tank top.
“Sit,” she demanded, pointing at the barstool at the kitchen counter. “I can get my own coffee.”
“I’m feeling good, Lia. I’m going back to work on Monday.” It was Friday, so that gave me a few more days to work from home and make sure that I was no longer going to infect anybody else at the firm.
She nodded. “I’m going back to the shop on Monday, too. But I plan on making sure you take it easy over the weekend.”
Her eyes no longer looked haunted, but she had a tenacious look on her face that was almost scary.
I grinned as I watched her stand on her toes to grab a mug that I could have easily reached, and then fill it with coffee.
I knew her routine by heart, and I no longer cringed when she added a ton of creamer to her coffee, and several spoons of sugar.
“Do you want some M&M’s with that?” I joked.
She appeared to contemplate the possibility before she answered, “Maybe later.”
“I’m pretty well stocked,” I informed her.
I bought the candy in bulk, and I had several boxes in the cupboard. It had become my habit over the years. I never ran out of them.
She leaned over the counter, her face so close to mine that I had to stop myself from putting my hand behind her head and yanking her closer so I could kiss her.
“Do you know how incredibly sweet that is? The fact that you stock up on my favorite candy?” she asked quietly.
“It’s not exactly a big deal,” I answered.
“It’s a big deal to me,” she argued. “Sometimes it’s the little things that go unnoticed, but they really are important.”
“Like you staying home from your store to take care of me?” I questioned.
“You’d do it for me,” she pointed out.
And hell, of course I would.
I was saved from answering by the sound of the buzzer from the lobby.
It was the courier, and I told the receptionist to let them come up.
After signing for the delivery, I took the package into the kitchen.
“Who was it?” Lia asked curiously from her chair at the table. She was finishing her coffee, the mug nearly empty already.
I sat across from her. “Courier. It’s from the estate attorney.”
“Open it,” she requested. “You know more about all that legal mumbo jumbo than I do.”
I pulled out the paperwork, handed her the check, and then scanned the documents.
“This is for you.” I gave her the sealed envelope that I already knew contained a personal letter from Esther.
I quickly read the simple codicil. “Holy shit,” I cursed.
“What?” Lia said anxiously. “Is something wrong?”
“No. But I never knew that Esther was quite this crafty. Lia, she was always going to give you everything she had. She added a codicil that states as much. For some reason, she didn’t want you to know until you had passed your twenty-eighth birthday.”
She frowned. “Why? Why would she do that?”
I nodded toward the envelope. “Read the letter. It will probably explain.”
I was tense as she opened the missive and pulled out a single sheet of paper. I watched her face as she read.
The kitchen was silent as her eyes scanned the page, and then a giant tear plopped on top of the paper she was holding. And then another.
Finally, she dropped the letter and looked at me. “She knew, Zeke. She knew that you and I would end up together. This whole will was a charade to force us to figure out that we loved each other.”
I whistled as I got up and moved around the table. “Pretty dangerous game she was playing. What if we hadn’t ended up together?”
“She said she knew that we would, but she was afraid we’d never want to rock the boat on our friendship,” she said in a tearful voice.
I lifted her up, and then sat back down with Lia’s warmth cradled against me.
“She might be right,” I confessed. “I never wanted to lose you, but I should have told you a long time ago that my feelings had changed. But then Stuart came along, and you weren’t available anymore. I stayed away as much as I could. But I had to know that you were going to be okay.”
“I almost wasn’t,” she murmured against my neck.
“Your marriage was never going to happen,” I said harshly.
“Why?”
“Because I finally realized what an ass I was, and I was coming to find you when I found you in the hallway after you’d talked to Stuart’s brother. I was going to do every single thing I could to talk you into canceling the wedding.”