Pyramids and Promises (Omega Mu Alpha Brothers Book 2) (23 page)

He could almost see her frown, and he chuckled. “Why?” she finally asked.

“Because you are going to move in here. Come on, I know you want to.”

“Conner, that’s not happening for a while.”

“So you say now. In a few weeks, you’ll change your mind.”

She sighed. “Even if I do, I’m not going to live out of boxes. You coming?”

He looked at the clock. He could help her now, and if he decided to go see Nour, he could say he had a business dinner or something. “Yeah, I’m coming. Give me thirty minutes or so. I want to shower.”

He arrived forty-five minutes later and found Jessica surrounded by chaos. Octo hid under a chair. It looked like there wasn’t a single box that hadn’t been opened and tossed aside. She no longer looked so excited.

“Jessica, you okay?”

She shook her head.

He took a few cautious steps toward her. “What’s going on?”

Tears were streaming down her face. She held out a teddy bear.

“Rick got this for me when we were dating.”

Then she moved on to another box. She lifted out a glass bowl. “This was a wedding gift.”

She pulled out a bag full of magnets. “These are from all the places we visited as a couple.” She sank down on the couch. “I can’t find a single thing that doesn’t remind me of him.”

Conner’s heart tightened. He loved this woman and hated the fact that she was in pain. He knew in that moment that he would never see Nour again. He gathered Jessica into his arms and let her cry.

“You know it’s just stuff. I can replace it all for you. Though I’m not buying duplicates of things I already have. That would be dumb.”

She laughed through her tears. “Right, because I’m moving in with you.”

“Glad you are finally coming around.” He kissed her lightly on the lips. “But before we take the next step, I need to come clean about something”

“Now what?”

“Nour.”

She paused. “Who?”

“A woman that I was in love with.”

“Like recently?”

“It’s complicated.” He rubbed the back of his neck. “But you understand that, right?”

She nodded.

“I will say this. I love you.” He jammed his hands into his pockets. “Can I tell you the whole story?”

She wiped away her tears and sat on the couch amidst crumpled newspaper that she had wrapped her belongings in. He hoped this wasn’t a mistake.

He laid it all out. Completely, brutally honest. He told her everything from the first night they met up five years ago.

“Now, every June first we meet up, and I spend the rest of the year yearning for that day. Well, until now.”

Jessica was quiet for a minute.

“Today is June first.”

Conner nodded. “I know.”

“What are you going to do?”

“I’m here with you, and I’m not going anywhere.”

Jessica fiddled with the edge of a throw pillow.

“Won’t she wonder where you are?”

“Maybe. But I don’t know how to fix that. I’m sure she’ll be okay.”

Jessica hesitated. “You can’t just leave her hanging like that. She’ll worry, and what if she continues to show up over the next several years and feels that crushing disappointment. That’s not fair. You have to tell her it’s over.”

Conner paused. He wasn’t sure how to respond to that. “Do you want to come with me?”

She shook her head. “I trust you. You need to do this. It’s important for you to have closure. Her too.”

Jessica had no idea how hard this would be for him. He didn’t want to see Nour. There was nothing there for him. His future sat on this couch.

“No. I’ll send a note. Leave it at the front desk.”

“Conner.” Jessica looked at him with a seriousness he was unfamiliar with. “It’s awful to leave her like that.”

“You’re probably right, I should have manned up and broken it off myself. But she could have set me free too. I’d have gotten drunk. Stayed drunk for a while. I’d have also gotten over it.”

“Are you sure?”

“I’ve said it before, and I’m saying it again. You are the one that I love. You make me feel so much more than I ever thought possible, and I’m not leaving you. No matter what or who.”

Jessica flung her arms around his neck and crawled into his lap. He stood up, holding her close, and she wrapped her legs around his waist. They found their way to her bedroom, the one box free room in the apartment, and didn’t emerge for a very long time.

Conner sent the note.

That didn’t explain what he was doing standing there in in front of the Marriott after midnight. Would he ever be able to set foot on the grounds of the property again after this? Everything about this place reminded him of Nour. He didn’t know what possessed him to come. Sleep had eluded him, but not Jessica. So instead of pacing her apartment in the midst of all the mementos of her life with Rick, he’d thrown on his clothes and come here. Chances were that once Nour had gotten the note, she had gone home, and this was a waste. Then again. She might like a night to herself, and the room was already paid for. He’d explained that she could stay in the note.

They always met in the same room. She usually wore a niqab, which completely covered her, when she came here. He had to admit those things were fantastic for anonymity.

A hand tapped him on the shoulder. A large Egyptian man stood there.

“Conner Locke.” He had a thick Arab accent, and Conner guessed he spoke very little English.

Conner nodded.

The man grabbed his arm and threw him to the ground. Within seconds several men descended on him, all kicking and screaming Arabic obscenities at him. Conner couldn’t fight back. There were too many. He curled into a ball to protect his vital organs and face. He knew from past experience the fight would soon move away from him. People would try to intervene and then they would turn on each other. No one liked being left out of a good fight. If he could just hold out for a few minutes, he could crawl away without anyone noticing. Why were they attacking him?

Soon he could feel people moving around him, but he could no longer feel the sharp pains of boots connecting with his kidneys. He got on his hands and knees and crawled out of the mass of bodies that were brawling. His right eye was swollen, and he could barely see.

He stood and limped toward the cab line. A woman in a niqab took his arm and led him to a cab.

“Why’d you tell them who you were?” she hissed.

Nour helped him into the back and slid in next to him. She gave the cabbie his address in rapid Arabic.

“I didn’t see any reason to keep it from them.”

She huffed and sat back. “My father followed me. I knew it. I didn’t dare go inside. He’s been getting suspicious for the last couple of years. Why were you so late?”

He looked down into her fiery blue eyes. She gingerly touched his bruised face with her gloved hands.

Every part of his body ached.

“What will happen to you when you go home?” he asked.

She shrugged. “I don’t think I was seen. I didn’t go into the hotel. He won’t want Mahmoud to know. But I doubt I’ll be able to get away next year.”

“No next year. That’s why I was late. I left you a note. This was over anyway.”

Her eyes flashed. “Why?”

“Because I’ve met someone, and I won’t be unfaithful to her.”

“But you still came.”

“I didn’t expect you to be here.”

She snorted. “Look where curiosity got you.”

J
essica raced to answer the door to Conner’s apartment when Octo started barking. When she’d woken up alone, she and Octo had come here thinking that maybe Conner came home for something. He wasn’t answering his phone. Then she found it on his kitchen counter, and she started to get scared. The only reason for him to leave would be to go see that woman. He’d said he didn’t want to though. Maybe she should have dropped Octo off and left. It was too late now.

There was a commotion at the door and Octo went nuts. She certainly didn’t expect to find Conner, looking thoroughly beat up, being propped up by a short woman who was so thoroughly covered that all Jessica could see was her blue eyes. Usually brown was the only color seen between the small slits on one of these covers.

“Oh, Conner, are you okay?” Jessica reached for him.

He shook his head, and he limped in. He collapsed on the couch, and Jessica knelt beside him. His face was completely swollen, and bruises and scratches covered his arms. She was afraid of what she would find under his clothes.

The woman that brought him in took off her gloves.

“Do you know where he keeps his first aid kit? I’m a nurse.”

Her English was flawless.

“I think it’s in his bathroom. I’ll go get it.”

The woman held out her hand revealing porcelain white skin and perfectly manicured nails. “I’m Nour by the way. You must be Jessica.”

Jessica nodded her head. Then she escaped to the bathroom to gather her thoughts and the first aid kit. She hadn’t expected to come face-to-face with the other woman that Conner had loved. She wasn’t prepared for this.

Her hands shook when she dug the first aid kit out from under the sink. He had gone to see her. He’d left her bed and gone to see that woman. Somehow he’d gotten his ass kicked in the process, but her worst thoughts had been true. She walked back out to the living room and froze when she saw Nour. She’d taken off her niqab, and her blonde hair flowed freely. She smiled when she saw Jessica and held out her hand. Jessica handed her the small box but didn’t move any closer.

This woman looked identical to Jessica. It was like looking into a mirror or a movie of herself, dressed differently and with different mannerisms.

“It might be helpful for Conner if you come and sit by him. Most of what I’m about to do will hurt.”

Jessica shook her head and tried to make sense of the situation. Standing in front of her was the strangest sensation. This was living color. The woman Conner had wanted more than anything.

She studied Nour, trying to find differences between them, but other than the hair, she couldn’t find any. If Jessica didn’t know better, she’d have thought that she had a twin who her mother had given up for adoption. This woman looked exactly like her.

That was why Conner was with her. Not because he loved her, but because he loved Nour, and since he couldn’t be with her, he chose to be with Jessica. And tonight, he’d left Jessica to go be with Nour. His only night of the year to do that.

“I’m going home,” she said quietly.

“Why?” Nour asked.

Jessica crossed her arms and held herself tight.

“Is this because we look alike? That’s neither here nor there. Conner is hurt, and it’s going to take both of us to patch him up. Now come sit down and stop pouting like a child.”

Jessica shook her head. “No, I’m leaving.”

She grabbed her purse and stormed out of the room. Conner was hurt, but he would live. It was better to let him have time with Nour. He only got it once a year after all.

She flagged down a cab and checked the clock when she got home. She dialed her sister. She knew she would report everything to their parents, but she didn’t know who else to call.

“Hey, Jess, what’s up?”

“Conner is an asshole.”

“Uh, oh. Give me a second to put a movie on for Cassie, otherwise, I won’t hear a word you say.”

She waited for her sister and tried to wrap her head around what had just happened. She shouldn’t be surprised. Deep down she knew this wasn’t going to last. She took a few deep breaths and then spilled the whole story for Julie.

“So you just left him there? What if he’s really hurt?”

“Nour’s a nurse.”

“Sweetie, I need you to sit down. You aren’t going to like what I have to say.”

She sat on her couch. “Go ahead.”

“I think you are overreacting. He chose you over Nour. Chances are, he was initially attracted to you because of your similarities.”

“They just aren’t similarities. She and I look closer in appearance than you and I do. She’s like an identical twin.”

“Again, that might’ve been his initial reaction to you, but based on everything you’ve told me, I’m pretty sure he’s in love with you. The question is are you?”

“Am I what?”

“In love with him?”