Sisters in Bloom

by Melissa Foster

Max smiled. “You’re not a wall puncher.”

  He laughed. “No, I’m not.” He looked at his watch. It was almost eleven. “When are we meeting her?”

  “Two o’clock, in the Presidential Meeting Room.”

  “Good choice.”

  “She wanted to meet over dinner, but I figured if she wrangled you into dinner, she wouldn’t have far to go to wrangle you into a drink, and then…” Her voice trailed off.

  “There will be no wrangling during this trip,” Chaz said firmly. “I’m gonna take a quick nap before we meet.”

  Their rooms were three doors apart on the fifth floor. Max opened her door and Chaz followed her in, dropping her bag on the king-sized bed. She pulled the drapes open and took in the view of the water.

  “Wow, Mr. Hilton went all out, huh?”

  “Yeah, well, the Hiltons are known for their classy digs.” Chaz opened the balcony doors and stepped outside. The sea air filled his lungs. He stretched, feeling some of the day’s tension easing with the long draw of his shoulders and back. “Waikiki is beautiful, isn’t it?”

  Max took a deep breath and blew it out slowly, with a curve to her lips. “I never thought I’d be in Hawaii, even if it’s only for a night.”

  “No?”

  Max shook her head. “I don’t live the life you do. I’m foreplay. I loosen them up for your wining and dining excursions.”

  “Foreplay?” Chaz lifted his eyes.

  Max blushed, then headed back into the room. “I guess there’s no need to unpack if we’re only here one night.”

  Chaz picked up his bag. “I’m gonna go find my room and lay down for a bit. If you need me, I’m in—” He looked at his key as Max answered.

  “Room 522. I’ll wake you thirty minutes before we’re supposed to meet her.”

  Chaz’s room was identical to Max’s. He threw his bag on the floor beside the long dresser and opened the balcony door. The din of the people below melted into the street noises. Chaz took off his shirt and pants, and climbed onto the bed. He was out cold ten minutes later.

  He awoke to a determined knock on the door. The room was dark and the clock read six thirty. He pulled on his jeans, cursing under his breath as he hopped on one foot to the door. “How could you let me sleep so long?” he said as he buttoned his jeans.

  Lea stood before him in a black strapless minidress, her dark hair flowing in waves past her bare shoulders. Her lips were painted a deep shade of red and Chaz noticed, as she reached for him, that her nails were painted the same crimson shade.

  “Chaz,” she purred.

  Chapter Eighteen

  Danica checked her watch and headed for her office, anxious to get over to her condo, where she was certain Kaylie would be holed up. She’d tried her cell phone and Chaz’s office phone. Why did Kaylie have to be a runner? And where would she go if I moved in with Blake?

  Sally met her in the hall. “I’ve got the waivers for teen night. Can you look them over?”

  “Yes, of course.” Business first. Danica took the papers and went to her office. Sally kept pace with her.

  “Hey!” a teenage boy yelled from the couch in the lobby.

  Danica tried to place where she’d seen the boy before. Teens had flocked to the center from the first days after it opened, and the flow of kids had remained constant ever since. Less so during school hours, but this was summertime, and they were in full swing. She’d done a fair job of remembering everyone’s names, but this boy hadn’t been in before, at least not that she could remember, although he was familiar.

  “Brad? Remember?” He stood.

  “Right, Brad. I met you with Michelle last year at the café. Wow, you’ve gotten tall. How are you?”

  “Great. I heard that Michelle works here. Is she around?”

  Sally elbowed Danica.

  “Yeah, somewhere. Did you try the game room? She’s overseeing that area today. I just saw her.” She pointed toward the hall that led to the game room.

  He waved a thank-you as he walked away.

  “Hmm.” She and Sally went to her office.

  “I think Michelle and Rusty are dating,” Sally said.

  “What?” Danica sat back and mulled over the idea. Rusty had come a long way from the angry boy he was right after Dave died, and now that Michelle was living with her mother again, and working part time at the center, she was definitely coming out of her shell. Although she and Danica no longer went on weekly Big Sister outings, they still found time to talk every once in a while. It had been far too long, she realized. “She would have told me.” Wouldn’t she? Danica felt a pang of loss and made a mental note to catch up with Michelle again soon.

  “Maybe. I don’t know. The way they text all the time. It makes me wonder if there’s something going on that I should worry about. I mean, I think Dave covered all the bases about sex, but still.”

  “They cover sex ed in school, too. It wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world if they were dating, would it?”

  Sally wrinkled her forehead. “I guess not, but you know how these things go. They’re both working here. What if they break up? You know how bad teen breakups can be.”

  “Oh, good point.” Danica made a mental note to pay closer attention to the two of them. “Oh no, poor Brad.”

  Sally shrugged, that prideful, motherly, oh-well-my-boy-won-out shrug.

  “How do you know they’re texting each other?” Danica asked.

  “Every time I ask Rusty who he’s texting he says it’s Michelle.”

  Danica swatted the air as they sat down at the table in her office. “They could just be friends.”

  “Gage is doing great, isn’t he?” Sally asked.

  Danica was so focused on the paperwork that she barely heard Sally’s question. “Mm-hmm. I think I’d change this to be more explicit.” She pointed to the release clause and noticed Sally ringing her hands. “Are you okay?”

  “Yeah, sure.” Sally feigned smile.

  She leaned in closer. “Sally, it’s me. How are you really doing?”

  Sally nodded. “Good. Really good. The therapist you recommended really helped a lot, and I even made amends with Trisha. She and I have dinner once a month.” After Sally’s husband, Dave, was killed in a skiing accident, she found out about Trisha—a woman whom Dave had dated as a teenager and who had given birth to Dave’s child. Trisha had never told Dave about their son, Chase, until a few months before his accident, when she moved back into town. He’d been in the process of getting to know Chase and building up the courage to tell Sally when he died.

  “Really?”

  “Yeah, I know it’s kinda weird, but she and Dave were together so long ago, and she is the mother of his child. Rusty is having a harder time accepting Chase, but for me, it’s fine. It’s actually kind of fun. She knew Dave when I didn’t, so she’s told me all about how he was in high school.”

  “That really is weird. You know that, right?”

  “Yeah. But it works.”

  Gage walked into the office and Sally’s eyes lit up. “Private meeting?”

  “Nope, come on in.” Danica waved him in.

  “I think we’re all set with the activities for the event. Coordinating volunteers is a bit complicated, but Sally’s handling most of that.”

  Was that a flirty smile he flashed at Sally? Is everyone in this office dating?

  “I’ve got them covered.” Sally’s cheeks flushed, and she dropped her eyes to her lap.

  “Great,” Gage said. “That’s all I have. Just wanted to keep you updated.”

  He turned and left the room, and Sally let out a breath.

  “Gage? Really?” Danica teased.

  “I haven’t looked at another man since Dave’s death, and I never looked when we were married.” Sally covered her eyes, and when she dropped her hand, Danica read the unease in them.

  “Hey, it’s okay. It’s been almost a year, and it’s okay to move on.” She squeezed Sally’s hand. “He’s hard to ignore, i
sn’t he?” An office romance? Danica tucked away her worry. Don’t borrow trouble—you’ve got enough with Kaylie.

  “Ugh. I’m as bad as a teenager.” Sally banged her forehead on the table with a laugh.

  With her hopes of an early retreat dashed, Danica returned phone calls and headed to the game room. Her curiosity was killing her. Rusty stood outside the glass window looking into the room. She sidled up beside him and crossed her arms. Brad and Michelle leaned against a pool table. Michelle looked shyly from Brad to her hands, then back again with a smile in her eyes.

  “She looks happy,” Danica said to Rusty.

  “Whatever.” Rusty walked away.

  Danica watched them for a few more minutes before heading back to the lobby. She was proud of how far Michelle had come from the shy girl who thought of herself as a pariah. She’d been drawing and painting—something that Michelle attributed to her trip with Danica to the bookstore, where she’d purchased her first set of art books—and she was a responsible employee to boot.

  She worried about Rusty’s quick retreat, but she couldn’t be roped into teenage angst. She had sisterly angst to deal with.

  “I’m heading out.” She handed Sally a phone number on her way to the door. “Can you please just confirm the table deliveries one more time? I always worry about this stuff.”

  Danica called Kaylie’s cell phone on the way out to her car. “Kaylie, I know you’re there. Turn your damn phone on.” When she reached her condo, she opened the garage door and found Kaylie’s car parked inside. She peeked into the windows and saw two big suitcases. “Oh, Kaylie.”

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chaz shook the confusion from his head. Lea stepped into the room and wrapped her soft, sinewy arms around him. He froze, fighting the natural desire that rose when the thin silk that covered her breasts pressed against his bare chest. “I…I expected Max.”

  She lingered, with her cheek against his, and whispered, “I called Max hours ago and delayed our meeting.”

  He shook the testosterone from his brain and pushed her away.

  She peered around him into his room, her eyes trained on the unmade bed. “It looks like you’re all rested up.”

  “Where’s Max?” he asked, heading back into the room just far enough to grab his shirt. He’d need full body armor with her around. Damn it, Max, where are you?

  “I asked her to save our reservations in the restaurant.” Lea watched him button his shirt with a coy grin on her face and an amorous look in her eyes.

  He turned his back to her just long enough to look for his cell phone. Damn it. Max had stuck it in her purse when he’d fallen asleep on the plane.

  “She was not pleased with me,” Lea admitted with a proud smirk. “I practically had to threaten her to get her to go downstairs.” She ran her eyes up and down Chaz. “I told her I wouldn’t do anything we hadn’t done before.”

  “The reservations are held,” Max said from the doorway, out of breath and heading into the room.

  “Max.” He spun around. Max wore a short black skirt, flats, and a teal-colored capsleeved top. Chaz had a hard time reconciling the beautiful, sexy woman before him with his bespeckled, low-key employee. Her hair rivaled Lea’s soft waves. Chaz hadn’t realized he was staring until she dropped her eyes and flushed.

  In the next second, Max was all business, confident and even a little pushy as she stepped between him and Lea. “Sorry I’m late, Chaz. Lea postponed our lunch meeting, so I let you sleep. I was coming to get you when she showed up. Forty-five minutes early.”

  Shit. As if Lea showing up unannounced wasn’t enough, seeing Max dressed like a girl—no, dressed like a woman—totally threw him off. “I need to shower and shave. I’ll meet you down in the restaurant in half an hour.” He opened his bag and began unpacking.

  “I can wait for you here,” Lea said, reaching for his back with a seductive gleam in her eyes.

  Max intercepted her hand. “Actually, I have some paperwork I want to go over with you, and it’s probably best if we do it now and get it out of the way.”

  Chaz shot Max a silent thank-you glance as she guided a pouty Lea out of his room.

  Chaz followed them to the door. “Max, my cell phone?”

  “It’s in my room,” she said, and handed him the key.

  Chaz found his cell phone in the side pocket of Max’s luggage. He pushed the button to turn it on, but the light remained dark. Damned battery. He plugged it into the charger and then picked up the hotel phone to call Kaylie. It was seven thirty in Hawaii. He calculated the time difference as he waited to leave a message, further distracted by the evening that lay ahead.

  “Hi, gorgeous. I know it’s like one o’clock in the morning there, but, well, I really wanted to talk to you. My cell phone died, so I have no idea if you’ve tried to call me, but I have something I need to tell you. I’ll be home late tomorrow.” He hung up the phone and headed for the restaurant.

  Chapter Twenty

  Danica unlocked her condo door and was assaulted by loud music. Covering her ears, she passed through the living room, which had sheets of paper strewn about. The kitchen was no better. Crumpled papers covered the breakfast table. She headed toward the den to turn down the stereo.

  “Kaylie?” she called out to the empty room. She checked the first floor bathroom, then headed upstairs, where she found Kaylie out on the back balcony, chewing on a piece of red licorice.

  “That’s my after sex food. It’s not fight food.” She sat in the chair next to Kaylie and let out a frustrated sigh. Did Kaylie have to take over her house and her after sex food? What else could she confiscate?

  Kaylie looked up at her and finished the entire twig of licorice before lowering the notebook she’d been scribbling in. “Don’t you have to be at work, or with Blake, or something?”

  “Don’t you have your own house?”

  Kaylie looked back down at the notebook and began to write.

  “Are you going to tell me what’s going on, or are you just going to take over my condo, make a giant mess, and pretend like you’re not going to have a baby in a few weeks?”

  Kaylie continued writing. “I found a sock,” she said without looking up. “And a hairbrush.”

  What the hell? “A sock? And a hairbrush?”

  Kaylie nodded.

  “Kaylie, I don’t have time for games. I have to get the center’s event ready by this weekend.” And your baby shower the following weekend. “Do you want to talk or not?”

  “I’m not gonna be Mom,” Kaylie said, like she’d made up her mind and there was nothing to talk about.

  “Speaking of Mom, she’s worried about you. She really wants to try to get your relationship back on track. Don’t you want to do that? She called me twice yesterday, spoke to me again this morning, and then she sent me two more texts.”

  Kaylie clenched her jaw, then said, “I guess so, but I can’t focus on that right now.”

  “You always give Mom the short end of the stick. She said you should talk to Chaz.”

  Kaylie shot her a venomous look. “You told Mom about this?”

  “I didn’t know it was a secret. What is this anyway? You have bags in your car? Are you leaving him?”

  “I found a sock! And a brush!” Kaylie’s voice rose as tears filled her eyes. “A woman’s sock, and a woman’s brush, and they aren’t mine.”

  “Oh, come on, Kaylie. Chaz would never cheat on you. He adores you. You know it’s just something that was yours and you forgot, or maybe Max was there for something. There’s got to be a rational explanation. Chaz doesn’t even glance at other women.”

  Kaylie shook her head. “No, I’m not going to be Mom. I can’t be that woman who gets cheated on. It’s better that I leave now, before this baby is born.”

  Danica reached for Kaylie and Kaylie leaned away.

  “Jesus, Kaylie. This is real life, not some dramatic game you’re playing. Your child needs both parents.” Danica crossed her arms and st
ewed, wondering how she’d handle it if the tables were turned. She took her tone down a notch. “Did you talk to him? It was probably from before you moved in together.”

  “It was in the couch, and the brush was on the sink.”

  Danica had to admit that wasn’t good, but she still couldn’t imagine Chaz ever cheating on her sister. “Well, do you vacuum under your couch cushions? Because I don’t. I can’t tell you what’s under those damn cushions.” She’d start cleaning under them now. Actually, maybe it would be safer to have Blake clean his out the first time, to avoid this type of drama.

  Kaylie looked at her from the corner of her eyes. The way her hair shielded her face, she looked like the scared little girl that Danica had found sitting on the back porch of their childhood home, crying because she’d stepped on a ladybug. Danica closed her eyes. This was her sister. Kaylie needed her, and she wouldn’t lecture her and push her away. Pregnancy hormones or not, Kaylie was still Kaylie.

  “Things aren’t always as they appear, Kaylie.” Danica sat back in her chair and looked out at the mountains in the distance. The sky was the color of watered-down blue, as if it had been painted with watercolors. Why couldn’t Kaylie’s life be as beautiful and perfect as the sky? “You aren’t Mom. Chaz isn’t Dad. When are you going to let yourself be happy?”

  Kaylie wiped her tears from her eyes. “I was happy.”

  “Then why are there two suitcases in your car? And why are you here instead of at your house?” She was careful to ask without accusing.

  “I thought he wanted me to stay home and give up working, which started the week out on a crazy note, but we moved past it. Then I don’t know. He looked guilty when I left to meet you guys, and I didn’t want any more fights, so I left even though he said he needed to talk. Maybe this was what he wanted to tell me, that he’d found someone else, that I was too emotional for him, or whatever. If he does—” sobs stole her words— “even if he…does…figuring out I could write would still be worth it.”