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needed girl talk. I’d been
holding onto the news that the Cowboy had appeared back in my life
as if I were in witness protection. Julian and Tristan had both
been questioning me about the case since Eric had left, and for
once I was glad that I could use their own words against them,
saying, “It’s private business” and “I signed a confidentiality
agreement.”
    It didn’t
matter that I hadn’t. The lie had at least kept them from nagging
any further. So when Grace plopped down on my couch, with a glass
of wine in her hand, I took it from her, gulped it down, and
stared. Even Dino, my beloved Miniature Pinscher, looked at me
funny.
    “What is up
with you? What happened, Emma?”
    “Pour me
another one and then I’ll tell you.”
    This time she
filled up two glasses, and after I took a sip, I said, “The Cowboy
found me.”
    “What? The one
from the bar? He got your note? What do you mean, he found
you?”
    Sometimes I
wondered why Grace wasn’t some kind of an interrogations officer –
she’d be awesome at the job. Instead, she opted to run an exclusive
hair salon and spa. She’d started out as a hairstylist and expanded
the business to a full-out celebrity style spa – and she was good
at it, too. It was what she loved to do. Coming from a family of
crooked lawyers who tried to use Grace to hide their illegal wealth
and never believed in her choice of career, her choice of career
wasn’t easy. But she’d proved them all wrong and was now able to
live in Manhattan and support herself on her own income.
    “Get this. He
never got my note, but came into our office with a case. It was
like fate brought us together.”
    “Don’t tell me
you’re working on his case.” Her mouth was wide open as she waited
for my answer.
    “I am.” I bit
my lip.
    “Shut up!”
    “Nope.”
    “And your
brothers handed it over to you just like that?”
    “Well, they
didn’t exactly know what the case was, or I guess Eric hadn’t told
them enough to scare them away, because if he had I don’t think I’d
have gotten it. Plus, they don’t know I met him at the bar.”
    “Wait, so is
he in some kind of trouble? Is it dangerous?”
    “Nah.” I waved
my hand. “I’ve dealt with worse. I’ll find the information he’s
looking for, prove what a good investigator I am to my brothers,
and I guess we’ll see what happens.”
    “Look at you!
I haven’t seen you glow like this since…” Grace paused. I knew what
she was thinking. Grace had been there the night David died. She’d
lost her fiancé in the same explosion I’d lost my love. We’d pulled
each other through some tough times. She was not only my best
friend but my guardian angel. When I needed a shoulder to cry on,
she gave me her whole body to snuggle into. She’d sat by my
hospital bed until I recovered, holding my hand when they told me
of David’s passing. She understood. She saw him give up his life to
save mine. We mourned together for months. Since the day we’d met,
she’d been the best friend with whom I could fight in the morning
and party in the evening. I’d borrow her clothes, and if I forgot
to give them back it was no big deal.
    Grace would
pick me up from anywhere, at any time if I was having an episode,
and I’d do the same for her. The first year was the worst. I’d
break down midday at work and need her to drive me home, or I’d
wake up drenched in sweat after a nightmare, shaking and reliving
the moment of the explosion and watching David die in my arms,
blood spilling from the dozens of cuts on his face and body. And
when I found the strength to date again last year, she was there
for me, encouraging, challenging, and, of course, daring me to go
out with the most unexpected men we could find. From bikers to
rockers to suited businessmen, I’d tried them all, and not one
could hold a candle to David. If they got a second date, they were
lucky. I don’t think there was ever a third. But Grace was the one
who helped me live