Moments In Time: The Complete Novella Collection by Dori Lavelle

that
night as if it were yesterday. The way our eyes met every time we
touched. The first time we made love. His gentle touch, his kisses,
his stubble against my cheek as he whispered into my ear that he
wanted to be with me. I’d come so close to heaven.
    But I fell the morning after, when I
discovered the birthmark on his neck, identical to Chris’s, that
proved they were brothers.
    By pulling that trigger, I’d separated them
forever.
    I took a deep breath, then walked over and
sat down in the chair across from Nick without saying a word.
    A waiter came to the table to ask for our
order.
    I asked for a glass of water. My throat was
parched. And it was the only thing on the menu I could afford.
    Nick ordered nothing. He was a man on a
mission, it seemed.
    I spoke first. “Thanks for calling,” I said.
“I so wanted to see you, to talk.”
    “I was in China for a month. I got back
yesterday and found this.” He tossed a newspaper in front of me.
“Haven’t you done enough damage? Do you really think this is the
best way to get my attention?” His eyes blazed.
    I picked up the newspaper with my stomach
roiling. Hard to believe we had gone from tearing each other’s
clothes off to throwing accusations. “I’d never do that.”
    “If it wasn’t you, who was it?”
    I shrugged. “Maybe it was that waitress from
Café Dash.” She’d acted really strange around Nick, hadn’t been
able to pull her eyes from him. She had clearly known who he was.
“There’s a photo of us—”
    “I saw it,” he snapped and raked a hand
through his hair. “Why would she take this long before going to the
press, though?”
    “I don’t know, Nick.” I sighed and tapped my
fingers on the table. “But you have to believe I didn’t do it.”
    “Why should I? You’ve proven to be a
fantastic liar.”
    I bit my lip. “I tried to call you a few
times. I wanted to explain. Would you let me tell you what
happened, now? Please?”
    Nick leaned back and crossed his arms. “Say
what you have to say. I don’t have much time.” His eyes bored into
mine, searching for answers.
    I swallowed hard and held my glass to give
my hands something to do. It was hard to come up with the right
words now that I was expected to talk about Chris on demand. “It’s
a long story. I don’t really know where to start.”
    He leaned forward and I caught a whiff of
his cologne. If only I could reach out and touch him. “Why don’t
you start with why you lied to me?” “I didn’t lie.”
    “You lied by omission.” He was biting the
inside of his cheek, and a vein throbbed at the side of his
neck.
    How much time did I have before his anger
boiled over? I drew in a sharp breath. “Nick. I didn’t murder
Chris. I killed him by mistake. The police can confirm everything.
If I were guilty, wouldn’t I be in prison right now?”
    “Like I told you last time, to hell with
what the police said,” he growled between clenched teeth. “I don’t
give a damn how it happened. The fact remains that you robbed me of
a lifetime of getting to know my brother.” His Adam’s apple rose
and fell. “I called you to ask if you had anything to do with the
story in the papers. I don’t know why I’m even listening to this
crap.” He pushed back his chair and shot to his feet. “I need to
get out of here. Far away from you.”
    “Nick, please don’t go. Don’t leave me. Not
like this.” I sprang to my feet and lunged for him. I grabbed his
shirt. What if I never got another chance to be this close to him?
I kissed him hard on the lips.
    At first he was a statue, but then his lips
parted and he returned my kiss. His mouth crushed mine as our
breaths mingled. He pulled me closer, kissed me deeper as he cupped
the side of my face with his hand.
    Then he pushed me away, his hands encircling
my wrists. “It’s over,” he said softly. His eyes glistened in the
dim light. “I never want to see you again.”
    “You don’t mean that,” I whispered,