Soft Place to Fall (Navy Book 4)

Chapter 21

Will had insisted that his sister take the hired car back to Amber's house and they had taken a taxi back to the apartment. There had been a tense silence between them, and they hadn't said a word to each other since their question and answer session on the roof. Will had seemed to be deep in thought as he stared out of the window, and Carmen wasn't sure how to talk to him.

They had spent the entire time at the party moving from group to group separate from each other. She had heard all about Rainer and Alice's twins and Mason and Cassie's little girl. They were both about two years old and had been left with Bryce and Grace, who also had a two-year-old, for the evening. She couldn't help but wondered if the three cousins would grow up to be close, since they were all about the same age.

There had been a time in her life that she had wished for a little sister or brother, but as her mother's life had spiraled out of control the mature part of her had been glad that she had had one less person to take care of.

Whenever she spent time with the Stevens family she felt the absence of family in her own life, and it reminded her how lonely she really was, with no one to call on when she needed support. Laura was lucky to have found Davis, and Carmen was jealous that she had gotten his family in the bargain as well.

Granted, Laura had had some trouble with Lizzy, who had tried to play the protective older sister bit to begin with, but they had worked out their differences after Lizzy saw how happy Laura made Davis. Lizzy and Davis's mother telling Lizzy to layoff might have had something to do with it as well. The woman was formidable force when she had the mind to be.

"Is everything all set for the meeting with Adrianna's friend tomorrow?" Carmen asked to break the tension.

Will nodded, still lost in thought. She sighed silently not sure what else to say.

The car dropped them off and the trip up the elevator was just as silent. She was feeling dejected, and she knew that she had no right to feel that way since she was the one who had refused to answer more of his questions. But he had been too close to knowing all of her secrets, and because some of them painted her in a bad light she had closed down; she didn't want him to think less of her.

As they entered the apartment, Carmen continued on, heading back towards the bedroom.

"Carmen, please wait," Will's voice called softly behind her.

She froze, it was a tone she had never heard from him before. She felt her hand tremble as she sat her purse down on a side table and turned towards him with a feeling of overwhelming dread.

He was about to say something that she wasn't going to like, she just knew it. She watched as he walked over to the breakfast bar and reached for his laptop, spinning it towards him. Carmen stayed rooted to the spot until he motioned for her to join him.

"Please," his voice was just as gentle as it had been a moment earlier as he held out his hand to her.

She walked towards him but didn't take it, she couldn't because he would feel her hand trembling.

He spun the computer towards her stepping back so that she could see an image of herself, Laura, and Kelly on the screen. She looked at him in confusion, was this what he wanted to talk to her about? A four-year-old photo?

"So?" she asked, looking up at him. It still amazed her that she had to look up to meet his eyes.

"This photo, it's important, you're different in it. In all the others you're cold but in this one your warm, it's as if the real you is fighting to be seen."

"On the contrary, the others are the real me and, to me, this looks like all of the others." She followed his gaze back to the photo, watching him shake his head.