“What about the bride? Is she as pretty as she looks in the papers?” Claire’s photo had been in the society pages, showing her in glamorous dresses, on the arm of a handsome man, and recently, and exclusively on Ben’s arm. We’d become a bit obsessed, in the short time since I’d been hired, searching out her photo.
I frowned. How to explain Claire. “Not quite...sort of. She’s not as tall...but then, I didn’t really see her at her best. Her wedding dress hadn’t arrived and she was upset. I only saw her briefly...and then Vienna took over with her, and her mother.” I really didn’t want to go into detail about Claire.
“Oh.” There was obvious disappointment in Lisa’s voice. I knew she wanted details, lots of them, but it seemed cold-hearted to go on about Claire’s tears and tantrum. There would be all kinds of things I could tell her, after the wedding.
“Are there any available groomsmen? Are they cute? What about the groom?”
I giggled, remembering Alex and the rowdy groomsmen. “They’re a bunch of old friends of Ben’s, all ready to have a good time. I only really met one and he seemed nice.”
“And? Any sparks?” Lisa was forever trying to find me a boyfriend. She’d run through every single guy she knew in the tri-state area, including every available cousin she had. And being from a large family, there had been many.
“Lisa, I spent like ten minutes with them, and not even all of them. Besides, I’m here on work, not to find a boyfriend.”
There was a sigh on the other end of the line. “Dana, you can’t go through life hiding from guys.”
It was my turn to sigh. “I know, and I’m not hiding. This just isn’t the right time or place.”
“Maybe not, but Dana, you never look anymore. Ever.”
Lisa was right, even though I didn’t want to admit it. My last relationship had drained me emotionally. It had been almost a year since Danny had left, after one final angry tirade of accusations and threats. Accusations that I’d been cheating and threats of what he’d do if he ever caught the guy. Or caught me cheating.
I’d given up trying to explain anything to Danny, worn down by the constant arguing. But that night he went too far. He’d never gotten physical with me...all his abuse had been emotional. But that night, Frank had jumped up on my lap during the middle of yet another argument. I’d pulled the cat closer, nuzzling his soft fur.
“You love that damned cat more than you do me.”
Before I could stop him, he’d swept Frank, in a snarl of slashing claws and flying fur, out of my arms and off my lap. There was a flash of black and white as Frank dove under the couch and then Danny was holding his hand, blood welling from several deep scratches.
“That fucking cat has to go! Look...bastard! Look what he did.” Danny was holding out his hand toward me, kicking the couch at the same time. There was a muffled growl and hiss from beneath the furniture, which seemed to make Danny even angrier.
That was it. I may be doing a rotten job of taking care of myself in this relationship, but no one messed with Frank. I jumped up from the couch, standing toe to toe with Danny.
“Out. Now. I’ve had enough.” I took a step forward and Danny took a step back.
“See? The damned cat...”
“No. Not the cat...or not just the cat. Everything...and the cat. Just leave, Danny. Go.”
I’d never stood up to Danny but suddenly everything was so clear. He needed to go and I needed to be out of this relationship. I’d taken enough. And so had Frank, apparently.
“Fine. I’ll get my stuff...but you’re making a big mistake, Dana.” He took a step toward the bedroom, but I got there first.
“You can get your things tomorrow when I’m at work. I want you out.”
He turned back to me and for a minute I thought I’d be joining Frank under the couch. But something had changed between us, something small but vital. Danny grabbed his jacket and stomped toward the apartment door. He turned, his hand still bleeding. Some of the anger had gone out of his eyes, replaced by a stubborn pout. He looked for all the world like the bully on the playground who had just had sand kicked in his face by the playground geek. And he didn’t know what to do. There was an instant where I felt sorry for him. But then he opened his mouth and that instant passed.
“You’re going to regret this Dana. No one is ever going to love you like I do...no one’s even going to want you. You’re fat, you’re going nowhere. You’re lucky I even bothered. But I’m done with you. I was going to leave you anyway.”
I laughed then, a long loud belly laugh. Danny’s eyes went wide, the shock on his face making me laugh harder, although there was more than a bit of hysteria around the edges.
“You’re crazy, you know that?” Those were his final words. He slammed the door and was gone.
When I found it hard to make ends meet on minimum wage and tips, Lisa finally convinced me to share an apartment. Frank showed up a short time later and since then, he’s been the only man in my life. So far it suited me, but bothered Lisa.
“I’m not going to start looking for a boyfriend at some stranger’s wedding, Lisa. I’m here...”
“Yeah, I know. To work.” There was a weighted pause. “You haven’t mentioned him yet.”
“Who?” But I knew exactly who she meant.
“The groom. Who else? Did you meet him? Is he nice? Is he as good-looking as his pictures?”
There was a curious fizzy feeling in my chest, like I’d swallowed a mouthful of bubbles. I took a sip of wine, which made me cough and sputter.
“Dana? Did I lose you?”
“No. Just...swallowed my wine wrong. How was work?”
There was another beat of silence. “Oh, Dana. You’ve got it bad.”
“What are you talking about, Lisa? I don’t have anything bad.” My cheeks were warm and I tried to tell myself it was from the wine. There was a noise on the other line from Lisa, a sound that usually meant she was going to call bullshit on whatever I said.
“He’s really nice, sure. And handsome...and nice.” I sighed. “Yeah, he’s totally perfect. And yeah, I’ve probably got a little crush going. But the day after tomorrow, he’s going to be someone else’s husband...someone I’ve actually met.”
“That’s rough then. Hopefully you won’t get crushes on every groom, or Vienna’s going to fire you before you know what hit you.”
“No, I know. I didn’t plan this. He’s just...there’s something about him that’s so genuine.”
The last place I wanted this conversation to go was what I thought about Ben and Claire, or that little voice that said there was something not quite right between them. Lisa would tell me point blank that it was just wishful thinking, and maybe it was.
“Listen, Lisa. I’m exhausted. And I need to be up at the crack of dawn dealing with the missing wedding dress. I’ll call you tomorrow, okay?”
After we’d said good-bye, I went inside and poured myself another glass of wine. It wasn’t that I was that tired, but talking with Lisa had ignited that little prickle of guilt running up and down my spine. Ben was some other girl’s future husband, he was the love of her life.
The sun was gone now and a thin crescent moon hung in the sky, impossibly slender and bright. Above that the stars were coming out, more stars than I’d ever thought possible. I slipped off my robe, took my wine and walked out on the beach. Everything around me was dark, just the soft light from my room spilling out onto the sand, fading the closer I got to the water.
A light breeze had picked up, still warm, but with tendrils of cool air. I shivered, goose bumps suddenly flushing up my arms.
“There’s a storm coming.”
I jumped, spinning around, not quite spilling my wine.
“Oh, it’s you.” My heart had taken on a life of its own, thudding at double speed. Ben walked into the faint light that spilled from my room. I heard his gentle, deep laugh.
“I’m sorry, Dana. Really. I wasn’t sure...I didn’t want to sneak up on you, but
I guess I did anyway.”
We were standing at the edge of the water, both of us barefoot. I shivered again as a wave washed over my toes.
“Here...” He shrugged out of his sport jacket and draped it over my shoulders.
“Thanks.” It was warm from his body and I recognized his cologne and I was instantly warm, flushed, and breathing strangely. I took a deep breath to clear my head and ended up inhaling the wonderful scent of Ben. All that managed to do was speed up my heart rate. We needed some words between us.
“Is your dinner finished already? It’s still early.” I took a tentative sip of my wine and then realized how tipsy I felt. But I took another swallow anyway.
Ben looked off across the water. “Yeah, about that.”
“Oh, god. No. Did something go wrong?” I had images of Vienna trying to reach me on the wireless mic, while I cavorted in the ocean and drank wine.
“Nothing to do with anything you or Vienna planned. That all went off without a hitch. The staff was great too. It’s just...Claire was...a little tightly wound, I guess would be the easiest way to put it. There was...”
“Conflict?” Maybe I knew where this was headed.
“Yeah. Conflict.” Ben had his hands in his pockets, drawing circles in the damp sand with his toe. There was an instant where my logical, rational brain tried to stop me from speaking, but I didn’t listen.
“Do you want to come sit on the steps? I have some wine...” I held up my glass, the pale white wine catching the light. For a moment it looked like I had a glass full of stars.
“I don’t want to intrude...” But he turned toward my room as I did and we walked through the sand to the patio steps.
“Here...I’ll get this.” He took my glass, his fingers brushing against mine as he did. A little thrill went up my arm and I drew in a sharp breath. What the heck was I thinking? But Ben disappeared inside and I settled down on one of the chairs. And then sat bolt upright. All my clothes...and that included bra and panties...were still strewn across the floor. I cringed, decided there was nothing I could do, and sat back in my chair.
Ben came back out onto the patio and he handed me my glass. He stood for a moment, looking out over the dark water. He looked tired, worry lines creasing the corners of his eyes. But then he turned to me and gave me that brilliant smile I’d seen earlier.
“This is nice. You really are at the end of the world here. Or, at least at the end of the island.” He pulled the second chair out of the shadows and sat down. We sipped our wine in comfortable silence for a few minutes.
“So the dinner? What happened?”
Ben swirled the wine in his glass. “It was fine, at first. I’d gotten Alex and the guys to finally understand there wouldn’t be any strippers, that it wasn’t a bachelor’s party.” He laughed.
“You met Alex, so you know a little of what I was up against. He was all set to send me off with a huge drunken bash, so when he heard it was a formal sit down dinner, well, let’s say there was a protest.”
“Was that the conflict?”
Ben looked down at the wooden floor of the patio, his brow creased in a frown. “No. I mean, there was a lot of complaining from the guys, you know. They were a little disappointed, I guess. But they all got dressed and we headed off to the main villa, with them more or less on their best behavior. My parents were there, and Grandma Sophie and Grandpa Nate.”
“And Claire and her mother?” I winced, almost afraid to hear what had happened.
“Yes.” He nodded. “And at first, it was great, sort of. The food was great, everything was beautiful. You and Vienna really did an amazing job.”
I was shaking my head, ready to explain what I hadn’t done, but Ben wasn’t looking at me.
“And then Grandma Sophie said something to Mrs. Latham...Claire’s mother. I don’t really know what it was but it upset Mrs. Latham. There was this moment...you know how it is sometimes, at a party or in a group, all the chatter and noise and then when everyone goes quiet at the same time.”
Ben turned to me, his gaze intent. “There was this sudden silence at dinner. I glanced up and Mrs. Latham was glaring at Grandma. And then she threw her napkin down on her plate, stood up and stormed out of the room.”
I closed my eyes, imagining the narrow straight back of Mrs. Latham marching out of the villa.
“And then Claire burst into tears, announced to the table that my family hates her and then she ran out.”
“Oh, Ben. How terrible. Did you talk to her, find out what happened between her mother and Sophie?” I leaned forward, resting my hand on his knee. He put his hand over mine, giving it a small squeeze before letting go. My heart went out to him. I pulled my hand away, my palm warm and tingling from the contact. That tiny prickle of guilt I’d felt earlier returned; he was the groom and now he was telling me something pretty serious and I shouldn’t be thinking about how my hand felt in his, or how broad his shoulders were, or how the light played on his hair. I should be thinking about how to help him, if there was any help for this situation.
“No. Talking to Claire has never worked....especially if it’s about our relationship. She takes it as an attack. Or talking or about her mother. That’s a forbidden topic.”
“There shouldn’t be so much drama, not on the eve of your wedding.”
“It’s never been easy with Claire. She’s had a hard life. I don’t know if Vienna told you any of it...”
I shook my head. “All she said was she’s high strung.”
Ben shrugged. “That’s one way of looking at it.” He finished his wine, setting the glass on the patio floor. “She lost her father when she was quite young and, if you’ve met Gwen...her mother...well, then...”
He stopped talking, staring up at the sky, as if the stars had the words he was looking for. “She’s been pushed to succeed, pushed to do a lot of things, by her mother. Sometimes I think getting married was one of them.”
“Getting married...or getting married to you?”
Ben paused. “Both.” His voice was low, and I could hear the pain behind that single word.
“Do you love her?”
“I do...I think. I did.” The pain in his voice intensified and his head dropped forward, his face in shadow.
I set my wine glass on the floor and scooted to the edge of my chair. “Ben...”
He looked up at me, the soft light from my room catching the glint of his eyes. Tears or not, they held so much sadness. I reached forward, my hand cupping his cheek.
“I’m so sorry, Ben. Really.”
He caught my hand in his and for an instant I thought he was going to push me away. But he turned his face, closed his eyes ad drew a deep breath, resting his face against my hand.
We stayed that way for a long moment and then he spoke, his voice muffled against my palm.
“It’s so easy telling you this, Dana. Why is that? You’re pretty much a stranger but you’re the only one...you’re the one I found when things fell apart.”
“But Alex...your parents. Sophie and Nate...they’re all here for you, aren’t they?”
“Yes. But...it’s different talking about all of this with you. I don’t know...maybe because they’re family, they all love me so damn much and want me to be happy. And I don’t want...can’t tell them I’m not. My parents...they think marriage is a contract, some kind of business arrangement. Being unhappy in a marriage is kind of status gow for them.”
“But what about Sophie and Nate? Love at first sight? Surely she’s told you how they met.”
Ben raised his head, a faint smile on his face. He took my hand in his, holding it while he talked.
“I know the story. But it’s not like that...not any more. That was back in a time and place that’s different from how things are now.” He shook his head.
“This is real life, not a fairy tale.” His absently brushed his fingers over my knuckles. “My grandparents found each other when life was less complicated. It’s not that simple now.”
“Love shouldn’t be this complicated though, should it?”
His eyes met mine and I held my breath. I gently untangled my hand from his and tapped his forehead with my finger.
“Your grandmother says you’re thinking from here...” I moved my hand lower, placing my palm on his chest. “...and not from here.” The words came out as barely a whisper. I kept my hand on his chest, his skin through his shirt hot against my hand.
“Do you think that’s true?” His voice was low, his eyes holding with mine in a gaze that carried a great deal more passion than I’d seen before. Passion that made my heart skip a beat.
“I think you should be happy.”
Ben leaned forward, his arms going around my shoulders, pulling me into what I thought would be a quick awkward embrace, with my hand caught between us. His voice was muffled against my neck, his breath warm on my skin. I closed my eyes.
“It’s not that easy. But thank you for listening to me ramble on, Dana.”
The sound of my name on his lips sent a shiver through me. Ben pulled away, or I thought he did. I turned my head just as he moved and his lips brushed against my cheek. There was a split second where I knew I could turn away, make this—whatever this was—end gracefully.
But of course I didn’t. I turned my face toward Ben, and our lips met, so softly at first I thought I imagined the contact. Then that contact intensified, his lips firm against mine, moving over them until he found the perfect meeting of our mouths. I sighed and he pulled me closer, one hand reaching up to cup my cheek.
His kiss was like nothing I’d ever experienced. It was gentle and insistent and full of something that felt like longing all at the same time. I gave up any pretense of thinking this was wrong, and met him fully, my hand sliding up over his linen shirt, my fingers reading the Braille of his heartbeat at his throat. It was steady and strong and fast, but not nearly as fast as mine.
His fingers worked into the damp hair at the back of my neck, holding me firmly, with no intention of letting go. His other hand slid beneath the jacket, slowly over my bare skin, coming to rest just above my hip, at the edge of my suit. I shifted on the chaise, our knees bumping together briefly and then I was pressed against his chest as he pulled me closer.
Seduction in the Sun: Adult Romance Box Set (9 Sizzling Tales with BBW, Billionaires, Bad Boys, and Alpha Males) Page 22
