Only matron had pushed her to give Sonia a chance. And she had wanted that chance to get to know who she really was. Sonia had been right; she had desperately wanted to know who her blood relatives were. She had wanted to know her real story.
Now here she was. On the verge of hearing the family secret.
Sonia's phone rang, jerking her out of her slack-jawed state.
"Don't answer it. Just tell me the family secret," Brigid said.
"It's my business phone." Sonia got up to answer it. She put on her brisk, businesslike tone.
And then Brigid's phone rang, spoiling the moment, maybe forever, and she hadn't got the most important pieces of information out of Sonia yet. What was this family secret and who was her father?
She answered the phone gruffly.
"Hey pretty girl." It was Thomas. "A little birdie just told me that a favorite cousin of mine will be going to Rizzle with some doctors for a celebration. What a coincidence, huh, since we are going to Rizzle. I'll pick you up at five. Just give me your address."
"No," Brigid said, "I'll meet you there."
"Come on, Brigid. Why can’t I pick you up?" Thomas whined. "Do you live in the slums or something?"
Brigid chuckled. "Far from it. Meet you at Rizzle at five."
She hung up the phone before Thomas could protest further. When she looked up Sonia had gone into her office and was bent over her computer. She could hear her speaking to a client.
The moment was lost. She wasn’t going to hear the family secret today. Then she thought about Thomas and his flaunting her in Nick's face, hoping to make his cousin jealous—because she could see from the family party on Saturday night that that was what Thomas was hoping for.
She wondered if Nick liked her or Thomas was barking up the wrong tree. Nick didn't seem particularly attracted to her. He was very curious about her, but attracted to her? She wasn't certain.
And even if he was attracted to her, once he found out her background, that would be that. The Benedicts only dated in their social class. She had been to enough of Patricia's soirees when she was little to know that they were nice people who were very charitable but when it came to marriage and relationships, they were very fastidious about who their partners were.
She dressed extra-special in earth tones that complemented her skin. A diabolical part of her wanted Nick to like her because she liked him. But she wouldn't admit that out loud. Never. She also wanted him to get a very different visual from what he got this morning when she wore baggy clothes and a cap.
Maybe he wouldn't even notice. She looked in the mirror uncertainly and teased her curls with a comb. It was crazy dressing up for one man while going on a date with another.
Chapter Seven
"You are lousy with time," Thomas greeted Brigid when she got out of the car. "It's a good thing you are gorgeous."
"A complaint and a compliment." Brigid looked at her watch. "I am just ten minutes late. I got caught in the traffic on Constant Spring Road. There was an accident."
Thomas nodded amiably. "You are forgiven."
Brigid looked at him suspiciously. "You sound to be in a forgiving mood."
"You look ravishing in that dress. I can't be anything else."
Brigid smiled. "Thanks."
"Now come on. Nick arrived with his colleagues a couple minutes ago," Thomas said. "I can imagine how shocked he'll be to see us."
"Don't you think that this is a bit immature?" Brigid whispered when they walked into the courtyard with its slate tiles and green flowering plants. She could see through the open glass doors to the dining area.
Thomas took her hand and kissed it. "No, I don't think this is immature. I have not had so much fun in years."
Brigid allowed him to lead her to the reception area, where they were welcomed effusively by a hostess and then seated in a semi-private area where Thomas could get an uninhibited view of Nick.
Brigid had spotted him in a group of about six men and three women. He had changed into a white dress shirt, which he had unbuttoned at his throat. He was nodding at what somebody had said. He looked so handsome and urbane, relaxing in his chair while one in the group cracked a joke.
He smiled at them but it didn't quite reach his eyes. He was thinking about something, she could see. His mind wasn't all there.
Brigid's heart started the jerky, shaky thing it did when she saw him and she breathed in and out to steady herself. What was he thinking about?
For the first time in her twenty-one years she found herself wanting to know what a guy was thinking. The thought was alarming because she had crowned herself the most cynical female on the planet.
She dragged her eyes from Nick and looked at Thomas, who still wore that smug smile, like a cat who ate the canary. She didn't like that smile, especially as she felt as if she was the canary.
She hoped that Nick didn't discover that they were there. She was wary of this little game that Thomas was playing. She didn't want to be used to make Nick jealous, though a part of her feared that he didn't like her at all.
And what if he did like her? What would she do about it? She would have to keep him at arm’s length. She couldn't allow him close. It would only be heartbreak for her.
"Luca!" She heard Thomas say, waving madly at Luca, who had just stepped through to the dining room area. He did it to draw attention to them. Brigid groaned inwardly.
Nick and the group at his table all turned around to see Thomas.
His body language changed from one of resting languor to one that was tension-filled. His eyes found hers and Brigid could read astonishment in their depths. She looked away when Luca came to the table with a smile on his face.
"Thomas Kellier. What's up, man?" Luca came over to their table and hugged Thomas. They slapped each other on the back in good-natured friendliness.
"This is my girlfriend, Brigid," Thomas said, introducing her.
Luca raised his eyebrows. "Hi Brigid. Small world, eh?"
"Yes it is." Brigid nodded. "How are you, Luca?"
"Great." He looked at Thomas. "Brigid is my girlfriend's sister."
"Oh," Thomas said grinning, "really a small world."
Luca nodded. "We are here to celebrate Nick joining our practice."
"Is that so?" Thomas pretended innocence. "Where is Nick?"
He looked over at his cousin innocently and waved. "Nick, didn't see you there."
Nick nodded. He had schooled his face into one of indifference. Brigid didn't trust the indifference one bit. He was now sitting up in his chair, an air of tension surrounding him.
After Luca and Thomas had a brief conversation and Luca left, Thomas was beaming. "Now that was perfect timing, Luca making a late entrance. I was wondering how I was going to get Nick's attention without seeming too pushy."
"I think you have it wrong," Brigid said icily. "Nick does not like me."
"He does," Thomas said confidently. "He really does. It's amazing. I have tried everything to get him to be jealous over the years and then I stumbled on you and voila, jealousy. I love it! You, my darling, are a great find."
Then Thomas had a concerned look on his face. "You are not from a good family background, are you?"
"Why?" Brigid asked, sipping her water.
"Because," Thomas had a twinkle in his eyes, "if you are from a bad or ordinary background then there is no way Nick would date you. They never date outside their social sect. So he is liking you in vain."
Brigid swallowed. "I am an escort, remember. I didn't stand a chance with my job description anyway."
"Doesn't matter," Thomas said, "lots of rich girls get their kicks in some way or the other. You could be one of them. All would be forgiven if you were of the right stock."
"Well, I am not." Brigid's mood plunged further than the floor. She didn't even know what stock she was from; Sonia refused to tell her who her father was.
Thomas nodded gleefully. "Well good. I just want you to know that I don't care what your fa
mily tree is like or that you are an escort. I would date you for real anyway, unlike the stuffy Benedicts, who put such store to their good name."
"That's so comforting." Brigid murmured. But it was nothing of the sort. She had known that. It was just that hearing it again gave her a sense of hopelessness. She really liked Nick Benedict.
"Anyway, enough about my cousin. I accomplished what I came here to do." He trained his eyes on Brigid. "Tell me about school."
"School?" Brigid grimaced. "It's okay."
"What type of school is it?" Thomas asked. "I hope it's not high school."
Brigid smiled. "Nope. Med school. Summer school. I want to do it in three years."
"Ah!" Thomas grinned. "A doctor in the making."
"Yep." Brigid nodded. "First year."
"Beautiful and intelligent." Thomas leaned forward and looked at her seriously. "Come back to the States with me."
"No." Brigid frowned.
"I am a rich man. I can give you anything your heart desires," Thomas said earnestly. "We could live together. You can go to med school over there if you want. I'll pay for it."
"No. Stop it," Brigid hissed. "This conversation falls under the realm of inappropriate."
"Come on, Brigid," Thomas said softly, "don't be so uptight. We both know that you are doing this escort thing because of the money. I am offering to help you."
"And in exchange I do what, sleep with you?" Brigid asked. "Become your mistress?"
"Mistress is such an old-fashioned term. You'd be my girlfriend, for real." Thomas shrugged. "It's not a bad offer. I like you. No, scrap that, I really, really like you. Say the word, Brigid, and we forget this escort contract. You quit this stupid job. We live together. Make love together."
Brigid leaned back in her chair and laughed. "You don't know anything about me. I don't really know anything about you. Besides, if I ever get together with a guy, you better believe that there has to be a commitment first."
"Like a wedding ring?" Thomas contemplated that. "I can do that after we've lived together for a while."
"No." Brigid stopped speaking when the waiter brought their menus and another brought water.
When the waiters left she glanced at Nick.
He was glaring at her, a thunderous expression on his face. She swiftly looked back to Thomas.
"You can’t just say no," Thomas said softly. "Think about it. This is the opportunity of a lifetime. I am a very wealthy man."
"Are you going to keep this up for the summer?" Brigid's throat felt parched. She sipped her water slowly. She was feeling insulted and she didn't know why. She was sure that Thomas saw nothing wrong in propositioning her in the manner he was.
Maybe this was what she deserved. She had agreed to be this guy’s paid girlfriend; she couldn't blame him for reading her situation right. Young, desperate, poor. Maybe his offer would have seemed like manna from heaven to some other girl but it wasn't to her.
"What do you mean?" Thomas asked, intruding on her thoughts.
"If you hound me anymore about prostituting myself to you I am going to have to quit as your girlfriend."
"Prostituting?" Thomas opened his mouth in protest. "Where'd that come from? The word prostitute did not cross my mind."
"You just offered to pay for my school in exchange for me sleeping with you. What do you call that?" Brigid asked coldly.
"I call that normal." Thomas was genuinely baffled. "What's the matter with that? That's what most people do in relationships; they barter. You use me and I use you, give and take.
"Don’t tell me that your relationships haven't all had that same element of give and take. Would you have considered yourself a prostitute for your last boyfriend? I am sure that you allowed him access to that gorgeous body while he gave you something in return."
"I have never had a boyfriend," Brigid gritted out. "Thanks but no thanks for the offer." She opened the menu and perused the items listed there while Thomas looked at her, his mouth hanging open in shock.
When he finally digested what she said he snapped it shut.
"How old are you?" he asked gruffly.
"None of your business." Brigid looked up at him. "The chicken entrees look good."
"Seriously, Brigid? You are putting me on." Thomas grinned slowly. "You have never had a boyfriend? A girl with your face and that body. I can't believe that. Are all the men in Jamaica stupid or something?"
"Nope, they are not stupid," Brigid said, enjoying the doubt and disbelief in his eyes. "I have my own mind. I don't need to follow the crowd. I'll get around to having a boyfriend someday."
Thomas subsided in his chair. "That's something...maybe you don't like men."
Brigid could feel Nick's eyes. They were trained on her. It felt as if his stare was touching her face.
It made her uncomfortable, shivery almost. She had the urge to laugh at Thomas' statement. She liked men all right. She liked Nick.
Brigid put down the menu. She needed to escape just for a little while and stop the uncomfortable thoughts running through her head and quell the sudden nervous tingling sensation that was running though her hypersensitive body.
"I am going to the ladies’ room, and I do like men."
Thomas grinned suggestively. "If you do, then I am willing to teach you all you need to know about us."
She got up and headed to the direction where she saw a discreet sign behind a potted plant pointing to the restroom.
She went inside the spacious restroom and looked in the mirror. She was a mass of conflicting emotions. She shouldn't have told Thomas anything so personal. His offer to live with her after knowing her for a few days was preposterous.
She ran some water on her wrists and breathed in and out unsteadily. Her reaction to Nick was even worse. She hoped it would wear off soon.
*****
Nick watched Brigid as she walked toward the restroom and then looked over at Thomas, who had a brooding look on his face, as if he was contemplating something. It looked like they had a fight. He had an insane urge to follow her. Since he had been made aware that she was in the restaurant he had not been concentrating on the conversation going on around him.
Bill Abbott, the resident GP, was telling an entertaining tale about a man who had shown up at the practice and had developed so many complications that he had seen all the specialties in the building.
Nick was smiling politely, nodding at the right times, but he was consumed with curiosity about Thomas and Brigid's relationship. He got up when he saw that Thomas was engrossed in talking to a waiter.
"Guys, I need a restroom break."
"Sure." They nodded, not breaking the conversation. He headed to the restroom area and saw through the passageway that she was standing out on the balcony, holding up her face to the waning afternoon sunlight. She was in a simple burnt orange dress that showed off her shape to perfection.
"Hey." He walked out onto the patio, pushing his hands in his pockets.
She spun around. "Nick!"
He moved closer to her. "We seem to bump into each other often these days--class, restaurants..." his voice trailed away. "Had a fight with your boyfriend?"
Brigid tucked a curl behind her ear and swallowed. "No. Nothing like that."
He moved closer to her, so close that their bodies were almost touching. It was inappropriate and he half expected her to step away but she stood transfixed, a little tremor to her lips.
"I am drawn to you like a moth to a flame." He looked into her eyes and then caressed her cheek with one finger. It felt like liquid fire.
Brigid's breath hitched and she forgot to breathe.
"I wish you weren't with Thomas," Nick imparted in that same husky voice.
Brigid could feel his body heat. She licked her lips. She contemplated telling him that her relationship with Thomas was not what he thought, that she was an escort, but that would be foolish, damning herself in Nick's eyes. He would probably be repulsed after her confession.
Nick
would never date her regularly. They might be overwhelmingly attracted to each other but it was not going to go anywhere. The Benedicts didn't mix with the commoners. Fact.
"I should go back," Brigid murmured. She ordered her feet to step away from Nick but they wouldn't corporate. They wanted to step even closer to him instead.
"No." Nick inhaled roughly. "Talk to me. I don't know if you noticed, but we can't help looking at each other and when we do it's loaded with promises, emotions. Am I the only one in this, Brigid? If you tell me yes, now, I will leave you alone. I'll accept that this overwhelming, once in a lifetime kind of feeling is a fluke."
Brigid stared into his deep-set, dark eyes and knew within herself that nothing could ever come out of a Benedict/Manderson relationship, and she inhaled and released the air in her lungs slowly.
"Yes." Her voice was choked up. "You are the only one in this. I am with Thomas."
Nick gave her one last searching look and then stepped aside.
"Have a good evening then." His voice lost that husky edge and took on a formal, bitter quality.
He stepped back and watched as she walked back toward the interior of the restaurant.
Chapter Eight
Nick pulled out of Rizzle's parking lot a little after eight. His colleagues had all had a good time, and he had the aching, devastating feeling of jealousy slithering through his blood as if it were a live thing. He had breathed a sigh of relief when the dinner was over and he had gotten the opportunity to escape the sight of Thomas and Brigid being together. She had studiously avoided looking at him for the remainder of the evening, fixing all her attention on Thomas.
He had propositioned her. Asked her to choose. He shouldn't have done it. He never usually acted on impulse; he was always the kind of person to think things through. And for the first time in his life he was turned down by a girl.
Served him right. In his defense, though, he had genuinely thought that her reactions to him were as intense as his reactions to her.
She definitely liked him. He could see it in her body language, but Thomas had a hold over her somehow. Maybe it was his money or his status as a record producer. Nick couldn't compete with that; he was just a lowly doctor.
Bad Girl Blues Page 6
