by MK Meredith
The topic he wished to discuss was the light and easy feeling of holding her in his arms. Her question transformed that memory into the heavy weight he feared he'd never be able to carry.
As he searched for the right words, his front door burst open and a ball of energy hopped on through. “Uncle Jimmy!”
It took him a second to understand what was happening. “Cleo?” His heart burst with happiness as his mind tried to sort out the confusion of seeing her in the studio unexpectedly. “How did you get here?”
“I took a cab.” Hands to hips, she stood proudly.
“Where’d you get the money?” He braced himself.
She screwed her face up into one of regret. “It's probably better you don't know.”
He grabbed her around the waist, lifting her into his arms, the weight of her reassuring him that she was safe. With a growl, he nuzzled his scruff against the side of her neck, and her squeal of laughter eased his worry.
He quickly searched her for signs of distress, but she looked as healthy as ever. There was a glow to her cheeks, a bounce in her step, and it warmed his heart to know that seeing him put that smile on her face.
It had ripped his heart out the other night when he’d picked her up from her mother’s. Seeing her scared devastated him. But once she was at his home safe and sound, her smile returned along with her sweet giggle.
They’d camped out so hard they’d put the Boy Scouts to shame.
He couldn’t get this custody situation figured out soon enough.
She gave Bel a curious glance. “Who’re you?”
If Bel was confused, she covered it gracefully and put a hand out toward Cleo with a smile on her face. “I'm a friend of your Uncle Jimmy's. He’s helping me with a project.”
Cleo glanced at the table, then exchanged a look of confirmation with him. With a decided nod, she wiggled for him to set her down and said, “Well then, your project is going to be great. My Uncle Jimmy is the best.”
Jimmy ran a hand over her head, smoothing her dark, wind-blown hair. “Does your mother know you're here, kiddo?”
Cleo shrugged. “She wasn't home, and she wasn't there this morning when I left for school.”
He froze for a moment, afraid of revealing too much but needing to be there for his niece.
Bel cleared her throat. “I’m starving. Who’s up for some ice cream at the Malibu Country Mart?”
Cleo's face lit up, and so did Jimmy's heart as he took in the grace and kindness from Bel.
She didn’t pry, didn’t push.
“I love that place. They have a playground, and there’s that little funny man with the little butt.” Cleo giggled.
Jimmy shook his head—that statue always made his niece laugh when they visited.
Bel nodded with enthusiasm. “Exactly! I love that place too. Did you know that I grew up playing there? My dad used to take me and my brother all the time when we were younger.”
Cleo clapped her approval.
Not one to miss an opportunity to hide from his past, Jimmy jumped to action. “Well then, let's go.” Mouthing a thank you over Cleo's head, he released a breath.
In the end, the only thing that mattered was Cleo.
C leo squealed louder the higher her Uncle Jimmy pushed her on the swing in the park of the Malibu Country Mart. She was the most adorable little thing Bel had ever seen. Her dark eyes were like Bambi’s, and her hair had natural waves that women spent a lot of money trying to achieve.
And the look her presence put on Jimmy’s face was nothing short of adoration. The love pouring off him was the very best example of a parent-child bond she could ever hope for.
Too bad she wasn’t a photographer.
The sky was blue and cloudless, and a faint hint of the ocean rode the light breeze. A few families occupied the grassy areas, and shoppers strolled leisurely along the walkways while others marched, heads down and Starbucks cups in hand, to some important destination.
Bel was happy to have a moment to just be and swayed back and forth, holding a half-eaten cone, the bottom of the cone getting soggy from a pool of melted chocolate ice cream. She hadn’t expected this side of him, but she should have. Under his facade of a man's man was a soft center that, if her instincts were correct, had gone through something terrible.
His eyes hadn't just shuttered when she asked about his brother; they slammed shut even though he never blinked.
“Higher,” his niece demanded.
Jimmy stopped the swing amidst her groans of protest. “Come on, kiddo. We need to get some real food in you and then get you home before your mom worries.”
Cleo rolled her eyes. “As if.”
“Any homework?”
“I finished it at school,” she said and put her hand up. “I know, I know…good grades are important.”
He dropped his chin to his chest with a small grin.
Bel's heart expanded bigger than her chest could handle. “He’s right you know,” she said softly.
Cleo gave a nod. “Sometimes it's annoying.” Before Jimmy or Bel could answer, she took off toward a large slide.
Jimmy watched after her, a look of utter adoration on his face. It really suited him, and Bel had to brace herself against the flutters of emotion that filled her chest.
What was happening to her?
“She really is a brilliant kid.” The look on his face was pure adoration, and she couldn't help but return one of her own.
“She's beautiful. Smart and sweet. I wanted to ask where her mom is and what's going on, but I'm afraid it's not my business.”
“What if I want it to be?” he said in a soft, low rumble, watching her from beneath furrowed brows.
Her heart quickened.
But as quickly as he spoke the words, he waved them away. “It’s just one of those family situations. She's got it rough, but I'm doing my best to give her some stability. It's hard just being the uncle.”
Bel stepped close, and as she laid a hand on his chest, she could feel his love for his niece in the steady rhythm of his heart against her palm. “You're a good man, Jimmy Callahan.”
“I have my moments.”
“It's the moments that count,” she murmured.
“Yeah, well.” He stretched away from her touch a bit. “Not every moment is a great one.”
L ater that evening, Jimmy threw his hands up in the air. “War! You’re in for it this time, sucker.”
Cleo pulled her lower lip in between her teeth in concentration. “Not in this lifetime.”
Sending him a mischievous look, she placed her cards in unison with him, then flipped the last over.
Her king to his ten of spades.
“Victory!”
Her joyful cry caught him right in the feels. “This game is rigged!” Shoving the cards aside, he dove at his little niece, pretending to wrestle her to her back with a few well-placed side tickles, but she caught him by the shoulders and shoved him to his back instead.
She pounced on top of his chest, the heels of her feet tapping a happy beat over his heart.
He’d never been happier. Seeing her smile eased his load of guilt until he remembered why it was such a treasure in the first place.
It was just like his brother’s grin. He shoved the memory down with the rest of his nightmares.
“I give, I give.” He played at exhaustion, loving how proud she was to win.
She dropped a kiss on the end of his nose. “You’re too easy, Uncle Jimmy. Don’t worry, I won’t tell anyone.”
“Why you little…” He lunged up, taking her with him until he held her up above his head, her legs hanging down past his chest.
She was growing so fast. Time seemed to fly by when he was with her.
She giggled, slapping at his hands. “Let me down.”
Dropping her to his chest, he hugged her tight. “I hate to say it, but we have to get you home, kiddo.”
“Not yet.” Her smile flattened.
“Sorry, Clee…bu
t don’t worry. I’m only a call away.”
“Promise?”
He returned a kiss to her nose. “Promise.”
And this was one promise he’d die trying to keep.
CHAPTER 10
Bel smoothed down the ruched fabric of her cobalt blue dress, checking her bright red lip and the lines of her body from every angle one more time before turning away from the mirror altogether to face Sam. The colors made her blue eyes pop in a way she’d never seen before. It made her feel bold.
“Thank you for letting me borrow this,” she said to Sam, whose smile stretched ear-to-ear.
“My pleasure. And I have so many from over the years, so anytime you need to borrow one, my closet is yours.” She looked Bel over from head to toe. “At least the ones that are a clingy material. Anything else I own would probably fall to your feet…even with a belt.”
“Don’t remind me. I eat and eat, and it doesn't stick. Not to my boobs, not to my butt, nowhere.”
Sam slapped her own asset with a quirky upturn of her lips. “I'd like to say I understand, but I don't.”
“You may not feel like it but you're lucky. Curves for days. It was my dream growing up.” Bel looked longingly into the distance and then laughed. “But I got over it, especially when I remember I can eat as many cookies or as much ice cream as I want.”
Sam stuck her tongue out.
“So, where’s Jimmy taking you?” Addi asked as she bounded in from the kitchen with three shot glasses in one hand and a bottle of vodka in the other. Setting them on her ivory dresser against the ivory wall, she filled each, then handed out the glasses.
They raised their shots together, and Addi announced, “I have a toast.” She winked before she continued. “If I knew a man who could piss this stuff, and I thought that he could piss enough, I'd tie his ass to the head of my bed and suck his dick till he was dead. Cheers!”
Bel's mouth dropped open, and Sam burst out laughing, showing no surprise at her sister’s naughty toast.
“Oh my God!” Bel choked out.
With the tinkling, melodic tap of glass on glass, they downed their shots.
Blowing out her breath, Bel said, “Whoo! That was pretty smooth.”
Addi winked. “It used to be my favorite way to get over pre-date jitters.”
“This is not a date,” Bel corrected. “This is part of the agreement.”
Sam nodded. “Yeah, just like sleeping with Gage is part of my agreement.”
Bel put her hand up. “I do not need to nor ever want to know any information pertaining to you doing that with my brother.” She waved her hand toward her friend’s mid-section.
“So, where is he taking you?” Sam laughed.
“I don't know. All he said was I had to dress for a formal occasion.”
Addi tapped her finger to her chin. “Curiouser and curiouser.”
The doorbell rang, and her two friends ran to open it as she followed behind in a more stately manner. Her apartment was modest compared to a lot of the homes in the area, but it was a stone's throw from the beach and had a beautiful view out her balcony window. She smiled, loving the excitement of not knowing where she was going wrapped up in the comfort of her space.
Jimmy stood at the door and looked so fine she was surprised her legs still carried her. The man filled out a suit like she never knew a suit could be filled out before. His slacks encased his well-muscled thighs in a way that made her clench her teeth for wanting to bite into him. And the breadth of his shoulders… Whoo! This guy was what dreams were made of.
She shook the fanciful idea from her head. “You look amazing,” she blurted. Shifting beneath the intensity of his gaze, she tried to feign a casualness she didn’t feel. “Where’re we going anyway?”
The grin on his face was fast and wicked as he slowly dragged his eyes appreciatively over her body. Stepping into her, he whispered for her ears only, “Amazing doesn’t do you justice. If it wasn't for your two friends being here, I don't know that we'd make our event tonight.”
The low, seductive gravel in his voice sent a shiver down the open back of her dress just above where his hands now rested.
“Well, I could say the same, but I won't.” She sent him a teasing wink, sliding her arm through his.
As they headed out the door, Addi yelled, “Don't do anything I wouldn’t do.”
Bel laughed as they walked to the car. “That pretty much opens us up to anything we want to do tonight.”
“Ha! Addi's been causing trouble since the day she was born.”
He opened the door, and she slid into the car with a nod. “She makes me laugh all the time. I love her energy.”
“Me, too,” he said as he settled behind the wheel. “You're gonna need a little of that sass tonight.”
Bel's heart picked up its pace. She was curious about the meaning behind Jimmy's words.
He weaved in and out of the LA traffic as they headed deeper into the city.
“Are you insane?” Waving a hand in the air toward downtown, she shook her head. “It’s the Oscars tonight. You do realize that, right? It’s crazy they had to postpone it for a month after the mudslides. People will be out here in droves. There’s no way we’ll be able to be anywhere near the event,” she rattled on nervously, swishing the bottom of her dress. There was no telling what he had planned, which was always the scariest part.
“But that's just it, Bel.”
She studied his face for a clue to his cryptic comment. “What do you mean, ‘that's just it’?” Her eyes grew wide. “We're going to the Oscars?”
“You got it, professor.”
“How did you get tickets?”
“I didn’t. That's the adventure.”
“Oh my God, are you crazy? I am not sneaking onto the red carpet. Having my ass thrown in jail will not help my career at Pepperdine. Do you know anything about how strict their policies are?”
Jimmy pulled up to the valet stand of a hotel and handed over his keys.
“Seriously,” she hissed as he whisked her through the hotel lobby. “We cannot do this.” She tried digging in her heels.
“We certainly won't be able to if you keep acting like that,” he lectured under his breath. “And we won’t get arrested if you do as I say.”
“I cannot even believe you. I knew you were a lunatic, and this just proves it.”
Jimmy spun her around and pressed a hard, hot kiss to her lips. “If my lunacy gets you to live even just a little bit, then I’ve done my job.” Taking her hand, he followed a few other well-dressed patrons.
“This is the hotel that the extras are being bussed to the Oscars from.”
“Oh my God,” she whispered, her heart thumping in her chest and a knot twisting in her stomach. She did not break rules. She did not take chances. The consequences were always too great. “What about Gage? Aren't you two friends?”
Jimmy looked at her as if she’d spoken another language. “First, you’ve summoned God more times in the past hour than a nun in her whole career. As for your brother, you know we’re friends.”
“Then why would you put his reputation at risk? How would it look if they catch his sister trying to sneak onto the red carpet? Being hauled away in handcuffs by security?” Her voice rose an octave with each question.
They stepped onto the bus and took a seat. “How long before we leave?” he asked the driver.
“In about ten minutes.”
Jimmy glanced down at his watch, then around the bus. “This doesn't feel quite right.”
A sense of relief washed over her so quickly it left her light-headed. “Thank heavens, you see reason.”
He led her off the bus, and she finally had feeling in her fingertips again.
“This way.” He kept a strong grip on her hand as he weaved them through the closed sidewalks, sticking close to the buildings and playing dumb when confronted by security.
Finally, he spotted a small group she didn't recognize but which was clearly heading
in toward the awards show.
“I thought of using the side entrances, but those would be more heavily guarded by security than the front entrance.”
“Wait.” Her panic returned.
He kept her close to him as they joined the group as if they belonged.
“Jimmy.” Her whisper was fierce, but the big jerk acted as though he hadn’t heard her.
As they closed in on the entrance, her heart slammed in her chest like a boxer training on a bag.
The group moved on through in front of them, and the security man put a hand up stopping Jimmy.
Bel bit the inside of her lip to keep from confessing everything right then and there.
“We’re with them.”
“I need your badge.”
“And I’d like to show it to you, but my wife was holding them while I went to the restroom and must have dropped them because they aren't in her clutch.”
He waved at the group and even called out, pointing to the security guard with a shrug.
Obviously confused, a few in the group put their hands up puzzled, but the effect made it seem as if they couldn’t understand what was taking them so long.
The security guard looked back and forth from Jimmy to the group, still resisting. “Sorry, I can't let you through.”
“But our badges are inside,” Jimmy said. “Here, wait, I'll call one of my friends, and maybe they can go find it.”
The line behind them grew restless. The security guard glanced at the people waiting and then finally sighed. “Fine, go on, but get your badges and keep them with you. I won't give you a second chance.”
“Yes, sir.” Jimmy gave a smooth nod then directed Bel ahead of him with a swish of his hand. “Just walk casually. We're gonna pretend to still be part of this group.”
They walked along, Jimmy acting as if he were almost irritated that they were caught up in the foot traffic. “It's amazing how people assume you belong somewhere if you just act like you do.”
Bel eyed him for a moment, contemplating all the ways she’d like to throttle him, but decided to count backward from ten over and over again just to keep herself calm instead of answering him.
They made their way down the carpet when her eyes fell on a well-dressed Gerard Butler. “Holy shit.”
