Stalker On Mountain Ridge

Chapter 6 - Line Almost Crossed

Avery POV

November 11

The book tour had been long and crammed with readings, signings, and interviews with local media. I was bone-weary and planned a quiet evening soaking in a hot bath with a tall glass of wine. I’d earned it. Sighing deeply when I saw the entry to my driveway, I began to gather my things. 

Home. 

The cozy cottage was nestled among a forest of trees in a community called Mountain Ridge north of Los Angeles. Cal and I had purchased the stone house just a month after getting engaged. I had fallen in love with it the moment I’d seen the outside and Cal hadn’t had the heart to suggest that we keep looking. The stone exterior and arched front door had reminded me of the fairytales I’d loved as a little girl. I’d also loved the porch. It was long and wide enough that I could have a porch swing and a pair of rocking chairs without feeling like the space was crowded. 

The inside was just as impressive, featuring a huge L-shaped great room with twelve-foot ceilings and a dozen skylights. A marble fireplace stood along the left wall with tall bookcases on either side and a large smart tv mounted above. To the right, a hallway led to three bedrooms and one guest bath, and beyond the fireplace another hall leading to the garage and an in-law suite that had been converted into my office.

Jonah was sitting on the porch swing when the airport shuttle came up the drive. His elbows rested on his knees and his head hung low. Something was wrong. I could feel it. 

The driver must have sensed my trepidation because he turned around, looked at me over the back of his seat, and asked, “Would you like me to see what this gentleman wants?” 

I jerked my head back to meet his eyes. “Oh, uh no, thank you. He’s a friend.” Reaching into my purse, I pulled out a twenty and held it out to him. “Would you set my bags by the door, please?” 

Jonah’s head lifted at the sound of the van door opening. Our eyes locked as I stepped out. I climbed the steps to the porch, set my purse down on the wicker table next to the swing, and sat beside him. No words were spoken between us. 

Jonah was a brooder. 

When something bothered him, he talked about it in his own time and in his own way. Sometimes he didn’t want to talk at all, he just needed the comfort of someone being there, ready to talk if he chose. We’d spent hours in silence on the phone the last time he was this upset. 

Minutes ticked by and I had almost accepted that it would be one of those times when he didn’t want to talk, then Jonah reached out, took one of my hands, pressed something into the palm, and held it closed for a moment. When he withdrew his hand, I opened mine and gasped, recognizing Emily’s wedding ring. I stared at him, wanting to say something, searching for the right words, but finding none. So, I did the only thing I could think to do, I slid closer and opened my arms to him. He crushed me against him, clinging to me as if I were a life preserver. Because it always soothed me, I set the swing rocking with one foot, and there we remained until dusk began to settle over us. 

When the first stars blinked to life in the twilight sky, Jonah rose and started to leave. Until that moment, we’d not said a single word.

I caught his hand as he passed me. “Jonah…” He glanced back. “Stay.” 

I was relieved that he didn’t argue. He was grieving the end of his marriage and I really didn’t like the idea of him sitting in the house they’d shared alone. Despite my slight jet lag, I ordered a pizza, popped some popcorn, and found the goriest horror movie ever made on my streaming service. 

No better way to chase the blues away than scaring yourself half to death, I thought wrapping myself in my big rainbow fleece throw that had come to be known as my movie blanket. 

We were so engrossed in the movie that neither of us had remembered we’d ordered pizza, and as if it had been planned, the very moment the killer burst in on his next victim, there was a knock at the door. I nearly jumped clean out of my skin. Popcorn flew every which way, causing Jonah to double over laughing. 

“Oh, shut up!” I demanded, slightly flustered. I grabbed a handful of popcorn from the bowl and threw it at him, then I slapped the bowl down on the coffee table, on my way to the door.

Jonah smirked and paused the movie while I collected our dinner from the grinning delivery driver who’d evidently seen everything through the door’s glass panel. He was still smirking when I closed the door and turned back to face him. I responded by giving him my dirtiest look, like a disgruntled child, which only caused him to plop back down on the sofa in another fit of laughter. After placing the box on the coffee table, I grabbed a pillow from the sofa and smacked him right in the face with it. 

The laughter stopped instantly, and he sat there blinking, momentarily stunned. Shocked by my behavior and a little worried about retaliation, I stayed poised to defend myself. However, I hadn’t accounted for his speed or his strength and before I could react, I was flat on my back, pinned to the sofa by my wrists with Jonah straddling my legs. I looked up into his eyes and felt that all too familiar shock zip through my body. My mouth dried up like I’d swallow a fist full of sand or something. Silently, I prayed that I wouldn’t humiliate myself, then my body betrayed me.

Traitor!

I felt the heat rising within me and my heart began to pound. I felt my n*****s hardening, straining against the confines of my, thankfully, well-padded bra, and felt my skin flush. When the trembling began, I squeezed my eyes shut and wished the sofa would open-up and swallow me.

I pulled and wiggled but could not break free. He was just too strong. I tried rolling but only succeeded in knocking us both to the floor where he quickly pinned me again under his body weight with my wrists trapped at my sides. Without realizing what I was doing, I managed to get my legs free, and locked them around his hips. I made two attempts to knock him over before I felt the position I’d put us in, and froze. 

Oh my God! 

Embarrassment slammed into me bringing a bright pink flush to my cheeks. My eyes clamped shut as I pulled my legs apart and straightened them. 

What he must be thinking of me! 

He’d been separated for two days and I had him rolling around on the floor locked in a very intimate position. When he didn’t move, I opened my eyes. He was watching me, a frown creasing his brow and something in his eyes that I couldn’t identify. 

Oh no, he thinks I’m trying to seduce him! 

A fist of panic closed around my heart. Embarrassment evolved into humiliation, and I feared what thoughts my actions had triggered. 

How badly had I damaged our friendship? 

I was also deeply disappointed. His expression made it clear that the feelings I’d been fighting for three years were mine alone. Any ideas that they may have been mutual were simply fantasies. Swallowing against the threatening tears of mortification and regret, I turned my face away hoping he hadn’t seen them. He rolled off me and pushed to his feet.

“It’s getting late, I should go,” he said, his voice strained. 

He offered his hand to help me up, but I ignored it and after a moments’ hesitation, he walked away. I waited until I heard the door close behind him before rolling over and giving in to the tears.

Jonah POV

Holy f*****g s**t! 

What the hell was wrong with me?

I’d practically run for my truck, guilt, and shame nipping at my heels every step of the way. Avery, being a good friend, gave up her after tour ritual of a long hot bath and a glass of wine, to offer me the comfort of dinner and company and how did I repay her? By crawling all over her on her living room floor, coming way too f*****g close to tearing her clothes off and taking what I’d been trying not to want for three years. I was out of my damned mind. Emily hadn’t been gone two days and here I was already pawing another woman. And not just any woman. My best friend. Emily’s best friend.

Shit! What Avery must think of me!

She couldn’t even look at me when I left.  

Pissed off at myself and scared that I’d destroyed my relationship with Avery, I flew down the mountain and made that five-minute drive in two. After leaving my truck parked in the drive, in front of the door, I let myself into the house and slammed the door shut behind me. I pulled out my phone. I wanted to call her, text her, anything. I needed to know if she was alright. I needed to apologize. I wanted to apologize, but she probably didn’t want to hear from me just yet. She’d been on the verge of tears when I finally managed to pry myself away from that trim sexy body. 

I set my phone on the hall table, then walked over and dropped down on the sofa, burying my face in my hands. God, she felt so good and so right beneath me. Our bodies had fit perfectly together, and for a moment, I’d allowed myself to believe that was where she belonged. The look on her face had snapped me out of my romantic fantasy. Avery didn’t think of me that way. I was her best friend, her brother from another mother, as she was fond of saying, and nothing more.

Man, what a mess.

She was never going to forgive me. Avery was fiercely loyal, and I had little doubt that she was sitting in her little cottage, feeling like she’d betrayed Emily somehow. Once she decided that what had happened was a betrayal, she’d put the blame squarely on my shoulders where it belonged. It would be a miracle if she ever spoke to me again. 

All the more reason to call and discuss what had happened, I told myself silently. After what I’d done, the least I could do was help her skip straight to blaming me and avoid the internal turmoil that she would likely put herself through to reach that conclusion. I lifted my head and started to push myself to my feet, then changed my mind. My shoulders slumped in defeat.

I couldn’t do it.

I couldn’t make that call, knowing that at the end of it I would lose my best friend. I didn’t want the last time I spoke to her to be filled with angry words and venom, I wanted to hang on to the memory of the evening prior to me ruining everything. No, I wouldn’t call. I would just fade into the background and over time, she’d forget about me. They all would.