by Harper Bliss
Crazy For You
Pink Bean Series - Book 8
Harper Bliss
Contents
Special Offer from the Author
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Epilogue
Excerpt of More Than Words
Chapter One
A Note from Harper
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Acknowledgments
About the Author
Also by Harper Bliss
No Strings Attached
In the Distance There Is Light
French Kissing: Seasons 1-3
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To all the survivors.
Chapter One
Jessica stood in front of the mirror with her eyes closed. She let her robe slip off and took a deep breath. She opened one eye to a slit through which she couldn’t really see anything, then screwed it shut again. It was amazing how much of your own body you could avoid seeing if you applied yourself to it. But she had to look. It was time. Laurel would be there in fifteen minutes.
Jessica had seen the scars before, of course. She’d caught glimpses in the mirror. In an unguarded moment in the shower, she’d run a finger over their coarse texture—the red lines of remembrance. She’d never done that again.
Showering had never been a long dragged-out affair before, but now it had become an even more frenetic process. She disrobed with her back toward the mirror, hopped in, soaped up as quickly as she could, and only allowed herself to relax when hot water cascaded down her skin and she knew the ordeal of washing—of being confronted with her naked body—was over again.
Jessica sighed. She knew she couldn’t avoid this forever. That was one of the main reasons she had made an appointment with Laurel. It would force her to confront what she was missing in a way she did not feel ready for at all. But she would never be ready if she didn’t push herself out of her comfort zone. Comfort zone. Jessica hated the term. Her father had used it a few too many times when she was younger. But now she was using the exact term to get herself to do something she didn’t want to do. It just went to show. In the end, she was a chip off the old block indeed.
“This. Is. Ridiculous,” Jessica said to no one. Not even to her mirror image because her eyes were still closed.
She turned around, picked up her robe from the bathroom floor and pulled it safely around her shoulders. Only then did she open her eyes.
She couldn’t do it. Yet. So what?
She took another deep breath. Should she cancel Laurel? It was probably too late. Canceling was always possible, of course, but she would have to pay the full amount if she canceled this late before the appointment. She knew the rules. In that case, Laurel might as well come over. If just to have a chat. She had no idea what had happened to Jessica. If she and Laurel only talked, Jessica could pretend nothing had changed.
Her body hidden away by the fabric of the robe, she looked into the mirror and examined her face. Strangely, little about her face had changed. Granted, her cheeks were a little hollower. Her eyes, at times, a little more sunken, but most of her features had remained the same. As if nothing had changed at all.
Jessica brushed her hair and forced a smile to her lips. She’d been lucky. One surgery and everything had been taken care of. It could all have been so much worse.
The smile remained without her having to strain to keep it. She’d have it ready for Laurel. How long had it been since she last saw her?
Jessica turned away from the mirror again and went into her bedroom. She’d taken clothes from her walk-in wardrobe earlier and laid them on the bed. The wardrobe had too many mirrors and she only went back in there once she was fully clothed.
She dressed and counted the weeks since Laurel had last come to her house. It had been so long that she lost count. Christ. It was time.
She headed down the stairs and waited. Outside, darkness had fallen. The clock read three minutes to nine. Laurel was never too late and never too early. Jessica knew the bell would ring at precisely nine o’clock.
She had opened a bottle of Cabernet earlier to let it breathe. Laurel liked red wine. Jessica didn’t know why she wanted to please Laurel so much. She was the one paying her. Laurel was coming over with the sole purpose of pleasing Jessica. Yet she felt guilty for not having booked her for so long. For being out of touch. It was the craziest thing to feel bad about. No feelings had gotten hurt. Maybe that was what stung the most.
The bell rang as the big hand of the clock slid to nine.
Chapter Two
Jessica inhaled deeply and turned the doorknob. In a split second she would come face-to-face with Laurel’s dark complexion, her surprisingly kind eyes—the warmth in them had always taken Jessica aback—and her easy demeanor. It was this particular quality of Laurel’s that Jessica craved most right now. Since her surgery, it seemed that no one was willing to be easygoing around her anymore. As though acting normal would somehow break her even more than she’d already been broken.
Jessica opened the door wide.
“Good evening,” the woman standing on her stoop said. A woman who was decidedly not Laurel.
“Who are you?” Jessica blurted out.
“Hi, Jessica.” The woman held out her hand. “I’m Elizabeth, but do call me Liz.”
“I was expecting someone else.” Jessica ignored Liz’s hand.
Liz nodded apologetically. “I know you were expecting Laurel. May I come in and explain?”
“No. I mean, not before I see, er, some sort of credentials. You could be anyone.”
“I hate to say it, but I don’t have my police badge on me.” The woman produced a wide smile. She was nothing like Laurel with her soft curves and enchanting eyes. Liz was more angular. Taller. She looked somehow more unmanageable to Jessica. What the hell was going on here?
“Why didn’t the agency tell me they were sending someone else?” Jessica asked.
“I’m desperate to explain,” Liz said. “If you’ll allow me.” She tilted her head and painted on a dazzling smile.
“You can explain standing right there.” Jessica crossed her arms in front of her chest, a gesture that still caused a strange sensation to run through her.
“Laurel has left the job,” Liz said.
“What?” Jessica suddenly felt caught out. As though what she did with Laurel was all perfectly fine and legal as long as she did it only with Laurel.
“A few weeks ago,” Liz said. “I’ve been taking over some of her clients.” She took a step closer and leaned against the door frame.
Jessica instinctively stepped back. “That may very well be, but why was I not informed? You can’t show up here and tell me this. I should have been notified in advance. I should have been—” Jessica swallowed the rest of her sentence. She didn’t want to sound that crass. That’s why transactions like this were not conducte
d verbally. It was all just too lewd to say out loud.
“I agree,” Liz said. “Some wires got crossed at the agency. You weren’t informed of the situation when you made the booking and they realized just a few minutes ago, when I texted to say I was on the way to you. I thought it better to explain in person.”
“This is not the level of service I pay for,” Jessica said. She really didn’t want to have this conversation. She wanted Liz to leave. She certainly wasn’t going to show her mutilated body to this stranger.
Liz nodded. “I completely understand.” She narrowed her eyes. “But maybe we can talk about it? Work it out?”
“I wouldn’t know what else to talk about with you.” Jessica looked Liz in the eyes for the first time.
Her eyes were too light. Her brown irises had flecks of green in them. Her skin was too pale. Her smile too wide. She simply wasn’t Laurel.
“I can think of a thing or two,” Liz said. “Unless, of course, I’m completely not your cup of tea. There’s no arguing over that.” She crossed one ankle over the other and leaned against the doorframe, giving the impression she wasn’t going anywhere soon. “But please allow me to say that I think you are one gorgeous woman, Jessica P.”
“And you’re obviously not very discreet.” Jessica wanted to slam the door in Liz’s face, but she couldn’t do it. Her arms wouldn’t move. Her body refused to go through the required motions.
“That’s where you’re very, very wrong.” Liz’s voice had dropped an octave. She looked around. “Let me ask you one last time. May I come in, please?”
Liz didn’t have her profession written all over her, but Jessica didn’t want her neighbors to start asking questions regardless.
“Fine.” She dropped her arms and gestured for Liz to come in.
They walked into the living room and Jessica invited Liz to sit. Jessica picked a spot on the couch as far away from her as possible. She didn’t want Liz to get any ideas into her head. As the thought ran through her mind, she realized it was one of the more ridiculous ones she’d had that night, which was quickly turning into an absurd farce. Things were definitely not going according to Jessica’s plan.
It hadn’t been easy for Jessica to send that message to the agency. But she had strongly believed that seeing Laurel would help her and had pressed Send after all. Only to end up in this situation. She would give whoever had been at the receiving end of her message a piece of her mind later after Liz had left. And call Katherine to tell her this was unacceptable. What did they think they were dealing in? The prices these women charged came with the expectation of absolute perfect management. But Jessica could hardly leave a bad review on Yelp.
She glanced at the bottle of wine. She could do with a drink right now and it would be too rude not to offer a glass to Liz, especially as two glasses stood waiting next to the bottle.
“Drink?” Jessica asked.
“I would love one,” Liz said. Her teeth almost sparkled when she smiled, that was how white they were. “Thanks.”
Jessica poured them both a glass then handed one to Liz.
“Cheers.” Liz held up her glass. “To happy misunderstandings.”
“What do you mean?” Jessica glared at her over the rim of her glass.
“Clearly a mistake was made and I understand you’re shocked and unhappy about it. It’s unprofessional and I’ll make sure whoever is responsible for this cock-up never makes the same mistake again, but…” She paused to take a sip from her wine. “I, for one, am very happy to be here.”
Because you get paid an exorbitant amount of money. Jessica didn’t say that out loud. She couldn’t say something like that out loud because she was completely complicit. And money mattered far less to her than the comfort Laurel brought her.
“What happened to Laurel?” she asked.
“She quit. It happens. This isn’t a job you do until you reach the legal retirement age.” Liz chuckled.
Jessica did admire her candor—and her sense of humor. Across from her sat a woman who displayed the same ease as Laurel had, perhaps even more.
“I suppose not,” was all Jessica could say to that.
“This wine is divine,” Liz said. “You have good taste.”
“I don’t need to be flattered or talked into anything—”
Liz held up her hands. “I know. Just to be clear, you won’t be charged for tonight.”
“That’s not what I meant,” Jessica said. She took a long swig of wine. However divine it might be, its exquisiteness was quite lost on Jessica tonight.
“It’s all good.” Liz picked up her glass again. “Any time you want me to leave, I’ll go. Or, we could just chat for a bit. I have all the time in the world.” She twirled the stem of the glass between her long fingers. “I’m a really good listener.”
Strangely enough, Liz came across completely genuine. There wasn’t anything fake or put-on in the way she sat there or the things she said. It was a gift, Jessica believed, to be able to talk to strangers as though you’d known them forever. Laurel had the same gift.
“Can I ask you a question?” Liz asked.
“Sure.” Jessica took another big gulp.
“The first time you met Laurel… what was that like?”
Jessica scoffed. It was easy to see what Liz was trying to do. She could choose to rebuke her or she could play along. The latter would probably be most fun. Not having Laurel turn up had been a shock, but she was getting over that now. She was sitting on her couch drinking wine with an attractive woman who was, in fact, being very kind to her. Wasn’t that what she was paying for in the first place? She could at the very least see where it would lead.
“Quite similar to meeting you.” Jessica had a few very vivid memories of that first night with Laurel, but none were of the time not spent in the bedroom. “It’s hard to pretend this isn’t awkward.”
“It doesn’t have to be.” That glittering smile again. “Anyway, I think it’s time to move the topic of conversation away from Laurel. How was your day?”
Jessica broke out into a nervous chuckle. “Sorry, but that just seems too mundane a question.”
“Would you like me to tell you about my day instead?” Liz pivoted in the couch and pulled one knee up, angling her body to Jessica. She wore a denim shirt of which the top three buttons were undone. Compared to how Laurel had always looked, Liz was quite casually dressed, even though on Liz a mere denim shirt somehow looked elegant. Her trousers were tight and black and glossy, not leather, but a soft-looking fabric nonetheless.
Truth be told, if Jessica had passed Liz in the street, she would have stopped to look twice.
“Sure. Do tell.” Jessica drank again and allowed the alcohol to relax her.
“Let’s see.” Liz fixed her gaze on Jessica’s, as though she was about to tell her the sexiest story instead of a recap of her day. Or perhaps her day had been sexy. “I woke up late. Went for a run in Centennial Park. Had lunch—smashed avocado on toast, for your information.” She paused. “In the afternoon I went to a TRX class.” She flexed her arm and pretended to feel her biceps. “Got to keep these babies toned.” The grin she shot Jessica next was goofy rather than seductive. “Then I read the newspaper, wasted some time on the internet, took a long bath, had a disco nap followed by a light dinner, and now I’m here.” She arched up her eyebrows. “Pretty mundane indeed.”
“A run and a TRX class?” The mere thought of it exhausted Jessica, even though she wasn’t quite sure what TRX stood for. Physical conditioning was next on her ‘to do list’—but first she wanted to work on her self-respect a little more. “You must be very tired.”
Liz shook her head. “On the contrary.”
Jessica imagined Liz running in the park. Her shoulders were broad, filling out her shirt in the most magnificent way. She pictured Liz in a tank top, a sheen of sweat glistening on her skin. The image ignited a light tingle in her lower belly. She was glad to discover that her most neglected organ still showed si
gns of being alive.
“It gives me energy and, well, my body is my biggest asset,” Liz said matter-of-factly.
Jessica nearly sputtered out the sip of wine she’d just drunk. One thing was for sure, Liz had no qualms about being open about the job she did.
“Is it really, though?” Jessica asked. She hadn’t meant to ask the question, hadn’t thought about it, she’d just blurted it out. It was the closest she’d come to a real conversation with Liz since she had turned up.
“How do you mean?” Liz lightly ran a fingertip over her knee.
The motion distracted Jessica. She was pretty sure her meaning was clear to Liz, but Jessica didn’t mind answering the question. So Liz wanted her to say certain things. Now that she had a bit of wine in her, and was getting used to the not unpleasant sight of Liz, that was fine. “Of course, I can see how your body is important, but I dare to guess other skills are equally, if not more, important.”
“Which skills might they be?”
Jessica chuckled. “Do you really want me to have a go at trying to sum up your social skills?”
Liz shook her head. “Absolutely not.” She grinned at Jessica. “Now would you like to tell me about your day?”
Jessica sighed. “There’s really not much to tell. I mainly watched a lot of Netflix, but don’t even ask me which shows. I was just passing time more than paying attention.”
Liz narrowed her eyes. “Not what I expected. You don’t strike me as the kind of woman who sits around and does nothing all day.”
