“Not long. I moved here from Texas a couple of months ago.”
“Why here?”
She paused, unsure how to answer. She definitely couldn’t tell the truth. “I, uh, needed a change. I have family outside of Houston, but my mother moved back to Arizona, where she’s from, and my father died a few years ago. There didn’t seem to be much reason to stick around, and Miami is beautiful. Great people, beautiful beaches—I may never leave.”
“I’m sorry to hear about your father.”
“I’m better now.” Shanice played with a pen on the counter. “Um, what kind of work do you do?”
He winced. “Nothing interesting. I’m a boring forensic accountant.”
“Sounds interesting to me. How is forensic accounting different from regular accounting?”
“My career is a specialty, where we dig deep into the financials to uncover fraud.”
Shanice’s face flushed hot at the words dig deep. She swallowed. “Fascinating,” she croaked.
“You think so? You’re the first woman to ever call my work fascinating.” His eyes studied her with interest.
“Really? I bet you have all kinds of stories to tell.”
“I do, but like I said, most women…” He shrugged.
She couldn’t believe this man had difficulty finding interested women. First of all, were they blind? Did they not notice the hollowed cheeks that emphasized his high cheekbones, or the hard jawline and kissable-looking lips? Second of all, she really did believe his work must be interesting.
“You’ve probably met the wrong kind of women,” Shanice said. Then she froze—her heart, her blood, her entire body. She stared at him. Had she said too much?
He didn’t respond right away, and a brief moment of awkward silence enveloped them until he spoke again. “Maybe I have,” he said quietly.
Her heart restarted.
“It was nice talking to you…” His eyes fell to the name tag over her left breast. “Shanice. Did I say that right?”
“Yes, that’s correct.”
“Shanice,” he murmured again, as if savoring the word. “I should get going. I have a long night ahead with all this reading.”
What? He didn’t have plans? Neither did she—if you didn’t count reading her latest book, too. They were two sides of the same coin.
“Good night,” she said, acutely disappointed their conversation was coming to an end. But she quietly rejoiced because it was the longest one they’d had, and she learned a little about him in those few minutes.
He hesitated, or so it seemed, before he nodded and walked away. And oh, how she enjoyed watching him walk away.
Shanice bit her bottom lip.
No ring on his finger, and probably no girlfriend, either. He liked to read. He was an accountant. Safe. Much different from the life she’d escaped in Texas.
If she were going to start dating again, he was darn near perfect.
4
Shanice drove her blue Ford Taurus slowly down the quiet street to the house where she rented a room. Most of the homes were two-story dwellings with limited yard space and contained families—except for the one directly across the street.
The owner of that one was a twenty-five-year-old who ran a tech company out of his house. He seemed to have a party every night. Cars always lined both sides of the street, and on nights he and his friends hung outside on the back deck, the scent of weed filled the air.
Shanice groaned quietly as she pulled up. Once again, he had lots of company over, forcing her to drive slowly to avoid hitting one of the cars. Two scantily clad women giggled as they ran up to his door arm-in-arm.
She pulled into the driveway and hit the garage door opener. As the door slowly rose, she watched the women in the rear-view mirror. A slender man opened the door from the inside, and she caught a glimpse of the foyer and a man and woman in a liplock near the stairs before the door closed again.
She couldn’t help being a little jealous. At least they had something to do on a Friday night. She parked her car next to Beatrice’s white Mercedes and entered the kitchen. Beatrice was in there wearing a silk robe, her gray hair tucked under a white silk night cap, one of at least ten she owned. She stood in front of the huge island in the middle of the spacious kitchen eating grapes in a bowl. Her Corgi, Charlie, looked quite relaxed—the opposite of his usual playful self—tucked under her left arm.
“Good night, Beatrice. Hey, Charlie.”
“Good night, hon,” Beatrice said, smiling fondly at her.
Beatrice was a godsend and treated Shanice like family. When Shanice started working for her at the bookstore and she learned that Shanice was staying at a motel, she offered to rent her a room in her house. The arrangement worked perfectly for Shanice.
Six weeks in, she’d learned a lot about her landlord. The older woman was wealthy, but The Bookish Attic was not where she made her money. The shop was a passion project.
As a young woman, she’d invested heavily in stocks, and over decades those stocks had appreciated. Coupled with a pension, she was a very rich woman living a comfortable life in her seventies.
“How was your day?” Shanice asked.
“Wonderful. Charlie had a good day, too. I took him with me when I went shopping at Merrick Park. I bought a couple of blouses at Ann Taylor. I’ll have to show them to you.”
“Definitely, I’d love to see them.”
“I also met one of my gal pals for an early dinner. How was your day?”
“Great.” Shanice picked two grapes from the bowl and popped them in her mouth. “We sold four of those coffee table books that are thirty-five dollars, but other than that, it was a normal day at the store.”
“I’m not just talking about the store, dear. I’m talking about you. The past few days you’ve seemed a bit off.”
“Oh.” Shanice averted her eyes and entered the walk-in pantry. “I have a lot on my mind, to be honest. But I’m fine.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes.”
Shanice exited the pantry with a bag of sweet potato chips.
“Good, then I won’t feel guilty about leaving you again.”
“Where are you going now?” Shanice asked.
One of the benefits of living with Beatrice was that she and Charlie traveled often, which meant every week or two, Shanice had the house to herself for a few days.
“It’s a last-minute thing. You know Velma, my friend over at Shady Pines? Well, she and another friend were supposed to go on a cruise, but the friend backed out at the last minute. Can you believe that? I’m not surprised, though, since Velma admitted that her so-called friend had not yet paid for her part of the trip. I keep telling her she’s too kind to people and they’ll keep taking advantage of her. Anyway, she asked if I could take her friend’s place. Of course, I had nothing coming up or important to do, so I agreed. We leave day after tomorrow, on a cruise to South America. Charlie and I will be gone for two weeks.”
“Wow, that’s a long time.”
“It’s the longest I’ve been away since you moved in. Will you be all right?” She looked genuinely concerned, which warmed Shanice’s heart.
She touched Beatrice’s shoulder. “I’ll be fine. I’m just a little jealous. I want to be you when I grow up, able to drop everything and take a trip whenever I feel like it.” She sighed dramatically.
Beatrice laughed. “Follow my investment advice, and you’ll be able to, my dear.” She scooped up the bowl of grapes. “Have a good night.” Beatrice headed out of the kitchen.
“Good night,” Shanice called after her.
In the silence of the kitchen, she smiled. She was happy for Beatrice. She’d never married or had kids but was living her best life. Maybe that was something Shanice had to look forward to, though she wanted to start living her best life now.
She poured a glass of water, dropped in two ice cubes, and after tucking the bag of chips under her arm, turned out the light. Upstairs in her bedroom, her mi
nd drifted to Vicente. He’d occupied way too much of her thoughts, but his visits to the store made him hard to forget.
She still remembered the first time he’d come in. He’d caught her eye then, even before he said a word. And when he spoke, her knees had practically knocked together.
There was something about him. He was different from any other man she’d met, and after talking to him in more detail tonight, she’d become even more curious. She would love to know more about his background, his likes and dislikes. They enjoyed the same reading material, and she wondered what else they had in common.
Shanice kicked off her shoes and dialed her mother’s number. When Miriam answered the phone, there was a lot of lively chatter in the background.
“Hey, honey. I didn’t think I would hear from you tonight.” She heard a smile in her mother’s voice.
“Apparently. Sounds like you’re having a party.” Shanice sat on the bed and pulled some chips from the bag.
Her mother laughed. “I have a few friends over. It’s supposed to be our book club meeting, but it turned into a party.”
“I guess that’s because you guys always have so much wine and food at these so-called book club meetings. I’m pretty sure they’re just a reason for you to party every month.” She crunched a sweet potato chip between her teeth.
There was a peal of laughter in the background, and her mother said to someone, “Wait! Don’t tell them yet. I want to hear the whole story from the beginning.”
Voices yelled back at her, but Shanice couldn’t understand what they said.
“Mom, you sound like you’re busy. I’ll call you another day.”
“I’m never too busy for you. Hold on.” After a few seconds, the noise in the background became distant, and then she heard a door close, and the chatter and laughter disappeared altogether.
“Are you okay?” Miriam asked.
“I’m fine. I shouldn’t have bothered you.”
“Honey, I told you you’re not bothering me. What’s going on? I know something is wrong because I can hear it in your voice.”
Now she felt silly. She wanted someone to talk to but was too embarrassed to tell her mother how lonely she felt. She couldn’t even go to see her because she didn’t want to risk getting her involved in what she had gotten herself tangled up in. Besides, her mother deserved to have fun, and the monthly meetings helped her get out of her funk since Shanice’s father died. Didn’t she deserve to be happy? Of course she did.
“Tell you what, go back to spending time with your friends. I’ll call you tomorrow when you’re free to talk.”
“I’m free now,” her mother insisted.
“No, you’re not, and really, neither am I. I just got in from work, and I’m tired, so I’m going to take a shower and go straight to bed, okay?”
“If you’re sure,” Miriam said slowly, her voice laced with doubt.
“I’m sure, Mom. Have fun, and tell auntie Joan I said hi.”
“She keeps asking me when you’re going to come see her,” her mother said.
“I can’t right now, but as soon as I can get away from the store, I promise, I’ll come for a visit.”
“Okay, sweetie. Love you.”
“Love you, too.”
Shanice went into the bathroom and took a quick shower. She hadn’t completely lied to her mother about being tired. Fatigue squeezed her shoulders, but it wasn’t only physical. It was a mental fatigue that came off and on, ever since she left Texas and moved here. For a little while she wanted to escape from the heaviness of the thoughts that plagued her.
She thought about Vicente again—his hands, and what they would feel like on her skin. What would it be like if she could let go and allow him to do whatever he wanted to her?
Shanice rubbed soap over her tightening nipples.
“What is wrong with you?” she whispered to herself, shaking her head. Was she so hard up for sex that she couldn’t stop thinking about that customer? Yes, apparently so. A man who very possibly had a girlfriend, they just didn’t have plans tonight.
After her shower, she dressed in purple pajama shorts and a matching top. Then she lay in the bed, staring up at the ceiling. She didn’t have much. Beatrice had supplied the bed and five-drawer bureau where she kept the few clothes she brought with her. She’d fled Texas with very little, taking the bus and buying an older model Ford Taurus with cash when she arrived in town.
Maybe she was more tired than she realized, or maybe it was the stress of her predicament, but she soon felt drowsy.
Her eyelids lowered, her mind wandering to the situation she’d gotten herself into. She still didn’t know what to do but was pretty sure she’d made the right decision to leave Houston. She felt safer here, far away from the danger. She stayed under the radar, using only cash and no credit cards. She’d even gotten rid of her phone, and the new one was in her mother’s name. She’d done all that to avoid leaving any type of trail that would make it easy for her to be tracked down.
“Trust no one,” Dennis had told her, and the fear in his eyes and voice had frightened her. “I’m pretty sure they’ve killed before.”
“What have you gotten yourself into?” she’d asked.
“Don’t worry about that. But if I can finish what I started, I’ll be famous.”
“If.”
“Yeah. If,” he’d agreed.
Like she’d promised, Shanice hadn’t said a word, but she was very much afraid, and not being able to tell anyone her secret made her feel alone.
At some point, she’d have to tell someone what she knew. But who could she trust? Dennis had made it sound as if no one in law enforcement could be trusted. At least she’d bought herself time by moving here.
But at some point, she had to figure out what to do next.
5
“Good night!” Shanice waved at Ava as she climbed into her car.
Shortly afterward, she parked outside the supermarket and grabbed a tote bag from the back seat. This was her Saturday night ritual—leave work, pick up groceries for the next few days. She could order out, but that was a splurge reserved for rare occasions. She was way too careful with the money she spent, and eating out added up.
Besides, she wanted to move from Miami and hadn’t been completely honest with Vicente. True, she liked the beaches and the people and the weather, but she couldn’t see herself staying there indefinitely. She’d come here on a whim because she’d visited before. The familiar city seemed like the right place to temporarily escape to, but she longed to settle down somewhere quiet. She still wasn’t sure where she’d go exactly. Maybe Bradenton or one of the smaller towns in Florida, or even out of state.
Shanice browsed the produce, lifting and examining tomatoes, lettuce, and other veggies for the big salad she had planned. She’d make enough for dinner and lunch tomorrow, and any leftover vegetables could be used in a stir-fry with some chicken for tomorrow night’s dinner.
Sauntering over to the fruit, she eyed organic strawberries and smiled at a toddler who waved from a cart. She dismissed the strawberries. They spoiled too fast, and she wouldn’t eat them all in time.
She mentally went through the list of items she came to pick up, laughing at herself as she realized she almost forgot the most important ingredient—the meat.
She went over to the chicken and picked up some skinless chicken breasts. Or maybe a ribeye tonight, she thought, eyeing the options. She picked up one with nice marbling running through the lean.
“Shanice?”
She turned and quietly gasped when she saw Vicente. He still wore his glasses, but he wore basketball shorts that put his thick calves on display, and a gunmetal-gray long-sleeved cotton shirt shoved up to the elbows exposed meaty-looking forearms sprinkled with dark hair. He looked bigger and stronger. He looked like he wrestled bears for a living.
Dang. What did he do in his spare time when he wasn’t crunching numbers? He must work out a lot.
“Hiiii.” Ugh.
What was she, a preteen meeting her celebrity crush? She hoped she didn’t sound too eager and cleared her throat. “Hi,” she repeated in a firmer voice. “What are you doing here?” She’d seen him earlier when he came into the store, but she’d been busy with a customer and they didn’t get a chance to chat like last night.
He flashed a gorgeous smile. “I was about to ask you the same thing. I stop here every so often because it’s near my apartment. Do you live nearby?”
“About ten minutes away. Like you, it’s conveniently near where I live, so sometimes I stop by and grab groceries that I need. Tonight I’m having a steak salad.” She held up the package of ribeye and then dropped it into her basket.
“Sounds good. So, you like to cook…?” Eyes scanning the contents of the basket in her hand, he seemed very interested in her culinary skills.
“A little. It’s certainly cheaper than eating out all the time, and convenient. How about you?” She peeked into his hand basket and saw canned goods, jars of spaghetti sauce, and boxes of pasta.
“I love to cook, actually. Plus cooking can be really relaxing.”
She nodded. “I agree. What’s for dinner tonight?” She wanted to keep him around, to continue listening to his sexy, accented voice and stare at his incredible body.
“Tonight I’m keeping it simple. I’ve had ground beef defrosting in the refrigerator since yesterday. I picked up spaghetti sauce and pasta, so I’m having Italian. Although, cooking for one means I’ll be eating spaghetti and meat sauce for the next few days. It’s cheap but plentiful.” He was more relaxed and talkative and smiled a lot.
Shanice laughed. “Well, at least you planned ahead, which makes you much smarter than me, which is why I’m standing here at the steaks.” Her mouth twisted into a rueful expression of regret, prompting a laugh from him.
It was brief, yet the sound touched a place deep in her chest, squeezing as if with an iron fist. What she’d been aching for, what was missing from her life could be standing right before her and she couldn’t make a move because she didn’t know what the future held. She might have to move again tomorrow.
Until Now (Plan B Book 1) Page 3
