“Well, appearances can be deceiving. Maybe that was all a front to cover other feelings. I’ve been crazy about Billie since I first met him. And the other band members, too, but Billie and Logan are particularly close.”
Kaylin tried to calm the waters again. “I say we should just relax and enjoy our lunch. The food here is great. Afterward, we can either shop ‘til we drop, or go back to the hotel. I vote for shopping and dropping.”
* * * *
Melodie was worried as well, and gave Kaylin a slight nod. “Me, too. Drink some tea and eat a couple of cookies. You’ll feel better.” Melodie knew her best friend would take a bone between her teeth and run with it but was very unlikely to drop it. She was thrilled when Pansy and Billie had been able to bury their respective hatchets—and not in each other—and seemed to be getting along. They had certainly hit it off on a sexual level, and Melodie thought that chemistry might have been the root of their inability to be in the same room without sniping at each other. She would hate for this new relationship to be ruined by Pansy’s discovery.
She was tempted to go to the ladies’ room and call Logan, but then she thought better of it. Maybe they could calm Pansy down and this would blow over, at least until Billie was ready to talk. He’d better get ready to talk in a hurry. Pansy was not known for her patience. Love and understanding, yes. Patience, no. And Pansy was right. Billie had a definite edge he kept carefully concealed. She was one of the few who knew he had a Master’s Degree in business administration and was far more astute in business matters than he gave the impression of being. Billie Crockett was a complicated man, and one she thought was more than capable of handling Pansy Nicholas if he was in it for the long haul.
After lunch, Pansy seemed to have settled down a bit, and the girls decided to try a few more stores before getting a late-afternoon coffee and heading back to the hotel. They arrived at the valet parking kiosk with armloads of bags and tired feet. Pansy had scored several pairs of beautiful shoes in the Saks clearance section, while Kaylin and Melodie had done very well in resort wear. They were waiting for the car when Pansy’s cell phone rang.
Melodie could clearly hear Billie’s voice. “Hey, babe. When are you going to be back? I was thinking of going down to the pool. Why don’t you join me?”
“Okay, Billie. That sounds like a good idea. See you at the pool after I drop my bags upstairs and change.”
Melodie and Kaylin exchanged glances. They would both rather Pansy had a little more time to calm down and process before confronting Billie. Melodie didn’t doubt that there would be a confrontation. They might be in for a rocky afternoon if the glint in Pansy’s eyes was any indication.
“Pansy, I think it would be good if you took a little time to calm down and get your bearings before you meet Billie.”
“Are you saying I’m likely to bite his head off, Mel? Little old me?”
“Oh, of course not.” Melodie rolled her internal eyes. Not little old Pansy.
* * * *
On the pool deck at The Black Dahlia Hotel, Fort Lauderdale Beach, Florida, Tuesday late afternoon, February 16, 2016
Pansy dropped her bags in the closet of their bedroom and changed into a bikini, slipped on some cork-soled sandals and a white gauze cover-up and headed down to the pool. She found Billie dozing on one of the bright-blue canvas chaise lounges bordering the pool. The guys had gone deep-sea fishing very early that morning and then played tennis, and she guessed he was tired.
She lay down on the chaise carefully so as not to wake him up. He sleepily opened his eyes and smiled at her, then rolled over and pulled her into his body before he fell back to sleep. Well, she wasn’t going to get to talk to him right now. That was obvious. God, he was so damn cute, but right now she’d like to rip off the arm holding her so tightly and beat him over the head with it. When had she gotten so bloodthirsty? Probably since she fell in love with a man who wasn’t who he said he was. Damn you, Billie Crockett, for putting a lovely kink in my world and then pulling the rug out from under my heart. Was she mixing metaphors? Probably. Oh, hell.
Billie must have sensed the tension in her body. He pushed up on one muscular arm. “Hey, babe. Did you have fun at the mall?”
“Yes. I really like Kaylin. We had a nice lunch and bought a ton of clearance stuff. Ummm…Billie, I don’t want to be confrontational about this, but when were you going to tell me you’re a Capriccio? On the twelfth day of Never?” Okay, so I want to be confrontational. This information had hit her like a lead balloon.
He looked shocked. “I know Logan would not have told Melodie about that, because we’ve discussed it. How did you find that out?”
Well, he wasn’t denying it. “Never mind how I found out. Is it true, and why didn’t you tell me?”
“It’s not something I discuss with people. How did you find out?”
“Oh, so I’m people?”
“Don’t try to change the subject, Pansy. How did you find out?” He was sitting up on the chaise now and looking none too pleased. Pansy really didn’t want to tell him she’d run a background check on him, but she couldn’t think of another plausible reason to have this information. Right about now, she was wishing her natural curiosity and boredom in the changing room had not prodded her to type his name into the search engine. Maybe she could stonewall and not have to answer.
“Pansy. I’m waiting.” His voice had dropped into the Dom register that usually got her panties wet, but right now wet panties and a slick pussy were not on the agenda. “Do I have to start counting like they do with little kids, or are you going to answer my question? Believe me, if I get to three, you’re not going to be happy.”
“I’m not happy now, and don’t threaten me, Billie Crockett—Capriccio—whatever your name is. I’m not the one with a secret past, or is that present? Are you in the mob?” That was her worst fear and had been niggling at her all afternoon. Was Billie in the mob?
“That’s it. Let’s take this discussion upstairs. I am not talking about this out here in public.” He stood up, obviously waiting for her to gather her things and follow him.
“I don’t think I want to go upstairs with you right now.” She was starting to get a little scared, and her stomach muscles were clenching.
“Pansy, one.” He obviously hadn’t forgotten his earlier threat. Oh, shit. She did not envision a good ending to this drama. He continued to stare at her. “Two.”
“Okay, okay. Let me get my stuff.” She started to slowly put her sunscreen, magazine and tablet back in her beach bag.
“If you don’t have your stuff packed up by three, you’re out of luck.” Pansy dropped the rest into the bag and quickly got up. He walked off without waiting for her or looking to see if she followed him. Of all the arrogant nerve.
Pansy scurried off after Billie on her cork go-aheads. This was annoying. Why was she feeling like she had done something wrong? The ride up in the scenic elevator was tense and silent. He ushered her out of the elevator, down the hall, and through the door of their suite with a firm hand in the small of her back.
Once inside, Billie turned to her and said, “So, answer the question. How did you find out?” When she still hesitated, he continued. “Do I have to start counting again?”
She gulped her nerves down. “I was waiting in the dressing room at Macy’s for the girls to come back. I’d answered all my e-mail and I got bored. On a whim, I plugged your name into Instant LookUp, the app I use to check out vendors, and it just popped up.”
“Let me understand. You were bored, so you whimsically ran a background search on me? Is that it? Bored? What else would you do when you’re bored? Rob a bank? Jesus, Pansy. I can’t believe you.”
“You’re the one who wouldn’t tell me about Louie. You’re the one with the secrets.”
“There’s a good reason for that, and it’s not what you think. I’m not a member of the mob, and I cut my ties with my family when I was old enough to understand why we lived the way we did, had
what we had, and what it meant to be a Capriccio.” He shook his head. “I can’t believe you would do that to me. I would have told you eventually. I was trying to think of a way to make it sound, I don’t know, less scary and threatening. I’m not Billie Capriccio anymore. I’m Billie Crockett, and a lot of angst and pain and guilt went into making that happen. I made my own success, paid for my own education, and made a new life with Dark Place. And believe me, I came from a dark place.”
“Billie, I’m sorry.” He turned away, but not before she saw the pain in his eyes. This was not what she wanted. She had never wanted to hurt him. She grimaced. Just beat him to death with his own arm. “Billie, please let me apologize.”
“Too late for that. Do you know what it took for me to go to my grandfather with my hat in my hand and ask for a favor? For you? Not for myself—never for myself. It took a fucking lot.”
“Billie, please…”
“Pops knew about the name change, although I had never told him. He was not happy. I had to sit down and have lunch with him, the head of the Capriccio family, and beg for a favor. The only thing I regretted leaving behind in the family compound when I left was my grandfather. He was more of a father to me than my own dad.”
“Billie, I’m sorry.”
“Forget it, Pansy. Just forget it. I can see where this is going—nowhere. Trust and communication. Right.”
“Can we just talk about it, Billie?”
“We just did. I’ll move my things down to Guy’s suite. I can sleep on the couch. He’s slept on mine often enough. I’m sure Jasper and Max won’t mind.”
“Billie, please. We can work this out.” She fell to her knees in front of him and tried to take his palms to kiss, but he pulled them away.
“It’s too late for that, Pansy. Keep the necklace. It was a Valentine’s Day present. But we’re done.” He walked into their bedroom, threw a few things into a bag, and was out the door within minutes. Pansy sat on the couch staring after him in shock. This was not what she had expected to happen. She didn’t know what it was that she expected, but this was definitely not it. He had never even raised his voice. He’d just cut her out of his life and walked away. Slowly, the tears began to leak from her eyes and slide down her cheeks. She thought her heart had turned to black ice, like on the frozen sidewalks of New York, and just cracked.
* * * *
Melodie and Logan walked into the suite. The sun had set over an hour ago, and no one had turned on any lights. Melodie saw Pansy sitting on the couch in the dark, just staring straight ahead. She rushed to her side. “Panz? What happened? Are you okay?”
“No. Billie and I broke up. He’s moved down to Guy’s suite. I tried to apologize, but he wouldn’t listen. He said we were through but that I could keep the necklace because it was a present.” She shook her head as though she was still trying to understand what had happened. “He was the one in the wrong. He was the one with the big secret, not me. Why do I feel so guilty?”
Melodie saw that Pansy held the gold-and-diamond necklace with the heart drop in her hands. It was no longer around her neck. Melodie wanted to cry herself. She’d had such great hopes for this relationship, for two of her favorite people, but she had known they were facing a big hurdle of hurt feelings and broken trust. Shit. What to do now? Is there any way to salvage this situation?
She looked up into Logan’s eyes with a pleading look on her face. She had told him what had happened at the mall, and he’d explained the wrenching decision Billie had had to make to leave his family and family name behind and start a new life as Billie Crockett. It hadn’t been a marketing ploy for the band or any of the reasons she’d thought. He had not been able to live with the family business and had certainly not wanted to participate in it.
Logan sat down on the other side of Pansy and took her into his arms for a hug. “Pansy, you stepped into something you should have left alone until Billie was ready to talk about it. The trip he made to White Plains to see his grandfather was hard for him, but he did it for you. He hadn’t seen old man Capriccio in over two years.”
“I didn’t know that. I had no way of knowing any of that because he wouldn’t talk to me.” She started to sob, and Melodie could see the dark stain forming on the front of Logan’s denim shirt.
“I’ll go down to Guy’s suite and talk to him. I don’t know what I’ll be able to do, but I’ll try.” He gave Pansy another squeeze before he handed her off to Melodie.
* * * *
Logan knew Billie was not going to be receptive to any excuses he made for Pansy right now. The shock and pain were too fresh. Changing his name from Capriccio to Crockett was something he never discussed. He’d told Logan about it when they first formed the band. He had explained that it had torn his heart out to leave the grandfather of his childhood, if not the crime lord. He just couldn’t pretend the drug deals, loan sharking, money laundering, smuggling and other criminal activities up to and probably including murder weren’t happening.
He’d seen the parked cars outside the old man’s house late at night for meetings of capos and top men in his grandfather’s organization. He noticed the occasional absence of certain men who disappeared and were not seen again. He’d seen his own father disappear from the compound for weeks at a time and the guards patrolling the estate doubled or tripled. He’d seen his grandfather’s men looking at him as though wondering when he was going to be brought into the family business. He’d left, changed his name, and not looked back except for the occasional obligatory visit to the old man at holidays where they didn’t really talk.
Logan knocked on the door to the other suite. When Jasper came to the door, he asked for Billie. “He said he was going down to the tiki bar to get drunk. He looked really upset, Logan, but he didn’t want to talk about it.”
“He wouldn’t. Stubborn asshole. I’ll go down and look for him. Thanks.” He turned back toward the elevator. If he couldn’t talk Billie around, at least he could sit and get drunk with him. Billie had told him that he thought Pansy was the one. He was tired of the rocker life and thought he wanted to settle down, and now this. This was definitely a kick in the nuts.
Logan would like to turn Pansy over his knee himself, but he could see how much she regretted her mistake and how badly she was hurting. Pansy realized what she had destroyed so carelessly in a moment of annoyance and impatience, and that she loved Billie Crockett. He might have been her one as well.
* * * *
Billie looked up from his beer as Logan pulled up a stool and sat down next to him. “I’m sorry, buddy. This sucks big time. Do you think you can take some time to calm down and maybe talk to Pansy again? I think you guys could work this out. Don’t be so quick to give up on the one.”
“She’s obviously not the one, Logan. She ran a background check on me. She didn’t trust me enough to wait for me to tell her something that was obviously important to me.”
“That’s not fair. She had no way of knowing if it was important or not since you weren’t talking.”
“Guess I wasn’t talking because it was important.”
“You’re an asshole. Is that how communication is supposed to go? Only one way? Your way? Come on, Billie.”
“Logan, I went up to White Plains to beg for his help after two fucking years of staying away. It ripped my heart out to see how much older and more tired he looked. I did that for Pansy. I just expected a little patience, understanding, and loyalty in return.”
“I know, I know, but she’s really hurting, Billie. I think you were her one, too.”
They sat there at the tiki bar long after dark, not talking. Logan quietly texted Melodie. At the tiki bar with Billie. Getting drunk. He finished the message with an icon of an overflowing beer glass.
She texted back. Drinking wine with Pansy. Getting drunk. She finished the message with an icon of half full wine glass and a pair of pursed red lips. That made him smile. God, he was lucky to have Melodie. Not that they didn’t occasionally have a littl
e tiff, but he knew he could count on her to put him first and give him the benefit of the doubt. Pansy had definitely screwed up. Big time.
It was several hours later after diligently trying and failing to get passed-out drunk that Billie turned to Logan and said, “Well, I don’t know if I have to give you back the hundred bucks I won. I did manage to get her into the dungeon.” At the sound of a gasp, he turned around on his stool in time to see Pansy letting an open-handed slap fly toward his face. He ducked and caught her wrist.
“I decided to come down here and make one more attempt at talking to you and apologizing. Now, I’m really glad I did. I can see I have nothing to feel badly about. You really are an asshole, Billie Crockett. A first class, hypocritical asshole.” She jerked her wrist out of his hand.
Melodie stood behind Pansy with a shocked look on her face. She raised her eyebrows at Logan as if to say, What the fuck?
“Pansy, I—”
“Never mind. As you so quaintly put it, ‘It’s too late. We’re done.’”
“Fine.” He could feel his face getting red. How had he gone from the wronged party to being in the wrong? And so fucking fast his head was spinning. That could be the copious amounts of beer he’d swallowed.
“Fine.” Although she sounded angry, he could see the pain in her eyes, and he hated that. She turned and walked away like a queen with her head held high and Melodie looking helpless in her wake.
“I was going to say that I didn’t make love to her and take her to the dungeon to win a bet.”
“I don’t think she’s going to be ready to listen to that for a while, any more than you were ready to listen to her apology for running the report on you.”
“Probably not. Fuck. I want another beer.”
* * * *
Pansy's Passion [The Black Dahlia Hotel 5] (Siren Publishing Everlasting Classic) Page 11
