He glanced at me with a dull look. “Of a person that I’m dating, no. Skye’s family lives in Virginia, and we could never afford to fly there together, and they never came out to visit us . . .” He shifted uncomfortably in his seat. “What if your family hates me?”
“Why would they hate you?” I turned on Tenth Street. “You like good beer. My family will love you just based on that. My mom has hated just about everyone I’ve brought home, but she really hated the ones that asked for Busch. Trust me, saying good things about my brother’s beer will go a long, long way.”
He nodded as I pulled into a lot across from my brother’s brewery on Seventh and Washington. Terrance drove on by; Vince encouraged him to ride around when he wasn’t needed at his boss’s side. “He started this place with the same inheritance money you got?”
“Yeah, my grandma’s house was worth quite a bit, and she had a small life insurance policy. She left most of it to my mom, and my mom divided it between Donny and me.”
“Ah, right. And how old is your mother again?”
“She’s turning fifty-eight today,” I answered, swinging my door wide. It swung too easily and I practically slammed it shut, used to Eddie’s rusted hinges.
“Could you be a little gentler?” he implored, inspecting the door.
“Sorry.” I grabbed the gift out of the trunk. It was a great big box wrapped in green and blue paper with a colorful striped bow in the middle.
Stopping in front of the restaurant, Vince looked up and said, “‘Portertown Brewing Company.’” His eyes darted below the main sign to a smaller one. “‘Where the Porter is King.’” He chuckled at the slogan. “So I take it they have a different focus than the majority of Portland’s breweries?”
“I’m not even sure he makes an IPA,” I said. “So yeah, you could say he’s on the fringe.”
He opened the door for me, and I led the way to a private room in the back where large flat screen TVs hung along the walls; the space was usually reserved for Timbers and Blazers games. Most of my family was already there, waiting—too punctual for their own good. Vince had that in common with them.
“Maci, darling,” my mother said, boisterous. “I’m glad you could grace us with your presence.” She had always been a snarky joker, like my father, and their bickering had gone back and forth like bullets being exchanged, before he died in oh-four. Her speech had taken a significant dive since then. She swooped in for a hug. “I haven’t seen you since you’ve gotten a new man. Ooh, and this is him I take it? The man who’s stopped our weekly visits. She even calls me less because of you. So handsome—I can see why now. Who would like to spend time with an old woman like me when they could be wrapped in those muscular arms?” Lost for words, Vince stuck out his hand, but she tousled Vince’s hair before he could react. “A handshake? This is a family event, not a business meeting,” she quipped.
“She wants a hug,” I told him.
“Sorry, Mrs. Goodwin.”
“At least he has manners,” my mother laughed, pulling him in for a tight hug. “And please, call me Nora.” Vince returned her embrace with an awkward pat, quickly releasing her. “You should’ve seen that last one she brought around. Good God, he was a prick.”
“Mother!” I cried.
“What? I’m only telling the truth. Would you rather I lie and say how sweet he was to you?” She looked at Vince. “Did you know he never got the door for my little darling? Not once. He’d sooner slam the door in her face.”
“Well, Maci is a strong, independent woman,” Vince said. “She likes to get her own doors.”
My mother gazed at Vince as if appraising a new piece of furniture, which she took very seriously. Her brow scrunched, her mouth pursed, and her eyes squinted, sharpening. I had always regarded her as a beautiful woman, and age gave her little problems, her dark red hair full and healthy, her skin smooth and glowing. In fact, her feminine figure still attracted wondering looks, and her bright blue eyes still shined with tenacity.
After what seemed like a minute of silence, she finally smiled, and said, “That she does. She’s always been a self-assertive girl, except around boys, as I’m sure you know.”
I blushed. “All right, mom, how about we introduce Vince to the rest of the family, yeah? Before you go off on an hour-long tangent describing all the men I’ve dated.”
She touched her hand to her chest and gasped. “I’d never.”
My brother Dominic, who everyone just called Donny, saw that we were in trouble and rushed over to rescue us. Tall, broad-shouldered, with short black hair and a dim brow, my brother went for the rugged look. For some reason, he always looked like he was squinting, a subject I knew better to leave alone. He and his wife were both fitness buffs, and she was slim and curvy while he was meatier.
Donny reached out his hand. “I’m Donny, Maci’s brother.”
The two gripped and shook. “Vince . . . I was told this is an event where we are supposed to hug,” Vince said, smiling.
“Only if you’re fifty-eight and crazy.” He put his arm around mom.
She pinched his arm for the remark. “See what I get for all my love?”
“Is that what that is?” Donny laughed, waving his wife over. She had bright blond hair with mocha lowlights. “Vince, this is my wife, Evelyn.”
“It’s nice to meet you,” Vince said, shaking her hand. She returned the greeting, but a second later she ran after their little blond boy. He was a troublemaker compared to their younger daughter.
Vince made the rounds, meeting the twenty-odd gathered relatives, including some closer cousins and their families. One of Donny’s waiters took our orders, rushing around like his job depended on how well he performed for this single event. Dinner and cake went by quickly, and Vince stayed silent most of the time, listening to my relatives blather on about this and that. At one point, Donny pulled Vince aside, and it looked like he was getting a lecture.
When it came time for presents, my mother let her grandchildren tear them open. Every year she said she didn’t need anything, and every year she complained that we didn’t get her what she wanted. She was a hard read that way. I had thought about making a donation in her name to a charity to see how’d she react, but I never did, feeling like a bad daughter if I didn’t show up with something tangible.
All in all, it was a typical Goodwin family function, with my Uncle Taylor cursing at all the kids, my Aunt Bethany spilling a glass of beer on the floor, and my Cousin Derik hitting on my Cousin Tori’s new girlfriend of the week.
As we were about to leave, my mom herded me into a corner. “I’m glad to see that you’ve grown up enough to stop chasing those asshole bad boys.”
“‘Bad boys,’ mother?” I raised my brows. “Did you really just say that? I don’t think any of them were bad boys.”
“What would you call them then? They’ve all been brash, insensitive, controlling . . . if that doesn’t spell ‘bad boy,’ I don’t know what does.”
“That’s true. I don’t think you do either.”
She ignored my comment. “I know that attraction, darling,” she said with care. “But I’m glad you’ve left behind that phase of your life. Vince, I can tell he’s something special. He’s the opposite of all the others. Attentive, caring, obviously smart—and he’s not too bad looking, either.” She laughed, nudging me. “If I were—”
“No,” I cut her off. “Don’t say it.” She heeded my warning. “I’m glad that you approve, mother, but I’m not dating him for your approval.”
“I never said you were.” She feigned innocence, throwing up her arms. It was a Goodwin family trait to talk with your hands. “I’m just saying that you actually look happy for once, that’s all.”
I gave her a slight smile, then regarded Vince, who was talking with Donny again. “He is different from all the rest, I’ll give you that.”
“He’s one of the good ones—like your father was—and that’s what you deserve, Maci. You deserve a man who r
espects you, who values your opinions, and shares your good heart.”
“Mom, you’ve told me all this before,” I sighed.
“Yes, but this time I’m not telling you to dump his ass, I’m telling you that you’ve got a keeper.”
“‘Bad boys,’ ‘dump his ass,’ where are you getting this stuff?” I asked, wondering what she was watching on TV during the week.
“I’m fifty-eight, Maci, not a hundred and eight. You’d be surprised what I hear at work, too. It’s always ‘fuck this’ and ‘fuck that’ with those middle school brats. They curse more than your uncle does.” She pinched my arm like she had a habit of doing, and tugged on my sleeve hard enough for me to lean into her. “I mean it, Maci, he’s a keeper.”
I leaned in all the way for a hug and kissed her cheek. “I know, mom. I know.”
She continued to wave as we headed out the door. “So that’s what a family is like,” Vince said, amused, but also pleased.
“Yep. That was the Goodwin experience,” I replied, going for the driver’s seat.
“I could get used to it.” He was wearing a shy smile as he talked.
“My mother certainly likes you,” I said, finding the keyhole. “She thinks you’re a keeper.”
He placed his hand on the door. “Do you mind if I drive? I have a special place in mind.”
“Another surprise?”
“Too many for the week?” he asked, with mock incredulity.
I handed over the keys. “So, what do you think about what my mom said?” I asked when he started driving.
“About being a keeper? I won’t argue with her.” He rubbed my knee, exposed by my skirt. “What about you? Do you agree?”
I feigned indifference. “I don’t know. I’m undecided right now.” I couldn’t hold in my cheesy grin that fought to the surface.
From Washington, he turned right onto Abernethy, which turned into Holcomb a few blocks later. He was heading out into the boonies. “Your brother was sure a delight,” Vince said, a trace of sarcasm in his voice.
“Yeah? He looked pretty serious. What were the two of you talking about?”
“Oh, you know, just how if I ever hurt you, that he’d break my legs, and that he didn’t care how rich I was . . . stuff like that.”
I nodded, smiling. “Yeah, Donny’s always been a little overprotective. One thing’s for sure: he’s not kidding around. After one of my exes hit me, Donny went over to his place and kicked the shit out of him—really let him have it. He’s a good brother like that. He’s always been there for me.”
“Well, then it’s a good thing I don’t plan on hurting you, isn’t it?” He rubbed my leg again.
I only nodded. We drove and drove and drove, all on Holcomb, until we crossed S. Bradley. We ended up on S. Timber Ridge Drive. “I’ve never been out here before,” I said, my fingers feeling the breeze out the window. “What’s out here?” Without answering, he turned right onto a long paved driveway that ended in front of a massive house. He parked in front of the first of the segmented three-car garage. Terrance’s motorcycle sat near the last garage door. “Is this where Terrance lives when he’s not protecting you?” I teased, gauging the size of the enormous house and all the acres around it.
“No, this is where I come to get away from it all. To get away from the busy streets and all the lights of the city that never turn off.”
I could hear my mouth parting. “This is yours?”
He nodded. “Come on, I’ll show you.” He hopped out of the car, retrieving his keys like this moment wasn’t really a surprise at all.
Walking up to the front door, I stared at him, mystified. “How come you never told me about this place? It’s a huge secret.”
“I don’t really think about it until I want to get away from the city, and lately I haven’t wanted to leave.” His words were sweet, but underneath them hid something else, an obstacle to trust—a barrier that kept him from full disclosure.
“I just thought we were at the point where we shared all our secrets with each other,” I said, remaining outside as he went in.
“Secret? This place isn’t a secret. I’m sorry that I didn’t tell you about it. Honestly, it just slipped my mind. I’ve only been out here once since we met, and that was to set up the surprise.”
“This isn’t the surprise?”
He gave me a funny look, his bafflement genuine. “No, like I said, I never intended to keep this place from you until I had the idea for what I’m about to show you. But that idea only came to me on Tuesday when I was out of town. I’m sorry if it’s a big shock. If it matters, I have no other real estate—just this and my condo.”
His body language told me he wasn’t hiding anything, and that he had actually just forgotten about the house. His words and countenance comforted me into forgiving the unintentional error. I stepped under the entryway. “It’s just weird that you never mentioned it before, but I guess it’s not like a secret love nest or anything, so I can’t be too upset, right?” I laughed awkwardly, feeling a bit foolish for my rash reaction.
He grinned. “No, it’s definitely not a secret love nest.” His eyes glinted seductively. “Not yet anyway.”
I raised my eyebrows to be humorous. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“It means that I should give you a tour before I show you the surprise.” He waved me into the kitchen at his right.
It was even more spectacular than his condo. “This place is huge,” I exclaimed, skimming the fancy island countertop with my palm.
“It seems that way, but it’s actually smaller than the condo.” He sauntered into a huge family room with a wall entertainment center. A white wall of stone sat opposite the TV with a decorative window peeking in on a cellar with so much wine, it could have rivaled a grocery store.
“I didn’t know you were so into wine,” I commented, nodding at the stocked wooden racks.
“They all came with the place when I bought it,” he said. “I’ve tried a few, but I like wine better with company, and I only come out here to be alone. Alma has never even been out here.”
It really was his sanctuary then. “What about Terrance?”
“Oh, he’s probably outside running along the grounds. There are over twenty acres out there. He likes to camp out when I come down here.”
“He doesn’t stay inside?”
“He understands my need for privacy, and even though I’ve told him he can stay inside, he chooses a tent instead.” He pointed to the next room. “Shall we?” The next room was small with stone floors. He opened the double doors and revealed a gorgeous fenced-in pool.
“Wow,” was all I could come up with, gazing at the luxurious pool area.
Adjacent to the house sat a guesthouse. We entered a long rectangular room with a kitchenette on one end and beautiful stone flooring. “I call this the pool room,” Vince said, then led me through the guesthouse.
“Why doesn’t Terrance stay in here?” I asked. It was bizarre that the bodyguard chose to sleep outside in the cold when there was a perfectly good guesthouse that provided privacy for both of them.
“I couldn’t tell you. Come on, there’s more,” he said, waving me back inside the main house. We traveled through a hallway to an open great room. Through the double doors lay a stone courtyard with a four-tiered fountain. Beyond that was the most impressive view of Mount Hood I had ever seen from a distance. “You should see it at dusk, when the sky is pink and orange. It’s pretty crazy.” He grabbed my hand. “Time for the surprise.”
Leading me to the master bedroom, Vince held his hands over my eyes, acting as a blindfold. I could hear the door swing open as we walked forward. He removed his hands, and said, “Okay, open them!”
In front of me was a long, rectangular piece of furniture that reminded me of an ottoman, except it stood much higher and had no hinges for storage. On top of it was a shorter black rectangle that spanned about three-quarters of the red ottoman-ish box. The black rectangle had black cuff
s on both ends. “What is this stuff?”
“Well, according to my research, it’s marketed as ‘bedroom adventure gear,’” he said with a straight face. “But really it’s just sex furniture.”
“Sex furniture? Like the pillow?”
“Yeah, it’s the same brand as that.” He strode around it, brushing the black one. “I thought since we both enjoyed that so much, I’d surprise you with this.” He pushed down a few times. “It’s sturdy, so it won’t move around, yet”—he pressed down with both hands—“it’s soft and conforms when needed.”
“And the cuffs?” I reached out and touched one. A shiver of apprehension shot through me. “For bondage?”
“Yeah, they market it as playful restraint, so it’s not as hardcore, but yeah, it’s the reason why I bought this particular model.” He eyed me with anticipation. “I know I said when we were making the list that we’d research this together, but in my downtime on my business trip, I gave Fifty Shades of Grey a shot— to see what all the hype was about.”
“Really? You read that?”
“Well, I needed a break from the sci-fi and fantasy stuff I usually read, so I thought I should try a completely different genre. Anyway, it wasn’t really my thing, but it did give me some ideas. I know it might be a little intimidating and sudden, but I think that’s part of the thrill.”
I hadn’t given the bondage idea much thought since we wrote the list, and looking at the furniture made me a little queasy—yet, also, excited. I think the apprehension came from how he sprung it on me. We were supposed to talk about it first. “I wish you would’ve talked about this with me before, it’s not really the same kind of surprise as the thirties fantasy.”
“Oh, okay. So what does that mean?”
“How about we watch a movie and eat dinner, and then go from there?” I suggested.
“I can do that,” he said, walking over to kiss me. “How about some wine to relax those nerves?”
“I haven’t had wine in a while,” I said, leaving the bedroom. “I’ve liked Riesling the few times Danielle pushed it on me, or something sweet like that.”
Chasing The O Page 24
