by J. C. Reed
“Promise me that if anything happens, you’ll remind me why I’m doing this. Why I put up with all his shit,” I whispered to Jude, drawing the curtains.
“Sure,” Jude said, her worried gaze scanning me up and down.
The seconds ticked by too quickly as they exited the limousine and Jude buzzed them in, a confident smile playing on her lips as she introduced herself as the roommate they had heard about but never met.
And then he stood before me. Dressed in his usual expensive gray striped suit, he oozed power and egocentric magnetism—the kind you usually observe in a crouching tiger.
“Laurie,” Clint said. “I’m so happy to finally get to see my darling girl.”
Even his voice was still as smooth and silky as I remembered. It took every inch of my willpower not to shrink back as his arms wrapped around my body and he pulled me to him.
I almost choked in his enthusiastic embrace and the force of his cologne. In the three years we hadn’t seen each other, he had put on weight around the midriff, and his once dark hair had turned an attractive shade of salt and pepper that suited his tanned, lined face. He had aged well for a fifty-year-old, and in spite of the slight weight gain he looked in great shape, courtesy of the huge swimming pool and fitness area that he had built specifically for him so he could pursue his enthusiasm for looking good.
I tried to pull away politely, without much success. Luckily, Shannon cut in. “My turn, darling.”
Clint released me and pointed to Shannon’s figure, clad in a black designer dress that exposed half of her big fake bosom and long, thin legs. “Laurie, this is Shannon. She’s wanted to meet you ever since I showed her pictures of you.”
I cringed inwardly. “Nice to meet you,” I said.
She shook my hand gingerly, and then pulled me to her in an awkward hug. Even her handshake was as weak as I suspected. Not much of a substantial character, I concluded.
“Look at you. You’re so pretty.” She smiled, revealing two strings of immaculate teeth, and wrapped her skinny arms around my waist, holding me at a safe distance. I could almost hear the “if only” echoing in the air between us while she took in every inch of me. I had heard that one before. If only I did something with my brown hair. If only I invested in some expensive designer clothes rather than walk around in my comfy jeans. The list went on and on.
“Thank you. You, too,” I said.
She was very pretty—in an obvious kind of way. She seemed desperate to show off her beauty—both through her choice of clothes and through her body. Even from a distance I could clearly see she’d had a couple of things done: her lips were pursed in an unnatural pout; her nose looked too thin, almost frail, her chest too round and perky. The list went on.
“So, how long are you staying?” I only realized how rude I sounded the moment my words had left my mouth. But it was the only one question that mattered, because, in the end, I couldn’t wait to get rid of them. Luckily for me, my visitors didn’t seem to notice.
“Just for tonight,” Shannon said, turning to Clint as though for approval. He nodded, and she continued, “We thought we might stop by. Tomorrow we’ll be heading for Vegas to two days before returning to Hawaii for sailing.” She patted his arm. “He bought a new yacht. You have to see it. It’s gorgeous.”
Gambling, glitz, and glamour—Clint definitely knew how to do those things.
“Sounds great.” Jude said with a saccharine smile on her lips that screamed sarcasm. “Why don’t you guys make yourself comfortable while Laurie and I get you a drink?”
Without waiting for anyone’s reply, she dragged me out the door to the kitchen and closed the door behind her. “Barbie seems nice,” she said as she began to prepare her trademark café macchiato.
“Yeah.”
They all played nice…until they thought Clint was all theirs. Then the claws came out, and with the claws came the bitchiness and the possessiveness and the drama. Clint was all theirs…only he wasn’t. And when they finally realized he had played them all along and never meant to commit to any of them, they were in shambles.
I had watched it for years, vowing never to trust men or relationships in general. Men were like poison, slowly creeping into your soul and destroying you from within. Clint was the best example. I had done well without a man and I wanted it to stay that way, which was one of the reasons I would not let myself get too close to Chase.
“This one seems to be a keeper,” Jude continued. “They’ve been together for—what?”
“One year.”
Jude let out a low whistling sound. “A gold-digging keeper.”
In spite of my gloomy mood, I found myself smiling. “He’ll get rid of her soon,” I said.
“I’m not so sure about that.” Jude smirked. “Did you see the way he looks at her? She’s almost our age. And he bought a yacht. I bet it was to impress her.”
“Maybe.” I shrugged and placed a few doughnuts on a plate, then set the plate on the coffee tray. Usually, I wasn’t one to play the hostess type, serving coffee and cake, but I could tell Shannon was a worshipper of the no-carb diet. If I had to endure a few days in their presence, I figured I might as well try to have fun doing it.
“Come on before they come chasing after us.” I grabbed the tray and headed back into the lions’ den.
Chapter 9
“It’s a beautiful place,” Shannon said upon my entering. “Thanks for inviting us into your home. To be honest, we didn’t expect it.”
Neither did I, but life was full of surprises.
Usually, I didn’t agree to meet up, and particularly not in my apartment. But after my call and the brief announcement of my engagement, Clint had been unusually persistent until I caved in eventually in the hope that by agreeing I’d have him off my back soon enough.
“You’re welcome.” I placed the tray on the coffee table and began handing out dessert plates and coffee cups, all the while watching Shannon’s dismal expression as she spied the doughnuts.
“Have one. They’re the best in town.” I handed the plate with chocolate-covered doughnuts toward Clint, who helped himself to one, and then turned my gaze to Shannon. Beneath her tan, her face had turned an ashen shade, and I figured in her head she probably believed even looking at sugar would make her fat.
“Great.” She drew out the word beyond recognition as she stared at the doughnut like the devil was about to tempt her.
For a second, silence ensued, and then she turned to Clint. “Darling, think about your cholesterol. I’m sure Laurie won’t be upset, since she didn’t know.”
“Sorry, Laurie,” Clint said, handing his plate back to me. “Doctor’s orders.”
She shot me a triumphant smile. No arguing, no dictating to him what to do, just plain old manipulation. She was definitely smarter than the rest of his floozies. I had to give her that. I decided to play along.
“It’s okay. It’s not like I made them myself.” I took a sip of my hot coffee, ignoring the stinging burn. “Why the sudden need to see me?”
Clint laughed, the sound embarrassingly fake. “Why, do I need a reason to see my only daughter? Congratulations are in order for your recent engagement.”
Stepdaughter, I wanted to add. And without my mother’s money, he would have had nothing. Been nothing. He would have still been working in car sales rather than living off her wealth and luxury, of which I had nothing.
I smiled and remained silent, my gaze piercing him. He shifted uncomfortably on the sofa, and his arm went around Shannon’s waist, pulling her just a little bit closer than she already was, which was basically on his lap. His piercing brown eyes focused on me once more, and I wondered why he kept looking at me like that.
Strange.
Downright creepy.
Cold as ice.
A chill glided down my spine, but I didn’t shift. Didn’t even blink. Nothing to betray just how much he unnerved me. There were shadows under his eyes, I realized. The rhythmical tapping of his fingert
ips on his thigh suggested that he was nervous. But why?
“So, apart from your recent developments.” He cleared his throat. “There’s another reason why I wanted to see you. Why we wanted to see you, Laurie.”
What now?
I swallowed down the sudden lump in my throat. My eyes went several times back and forth between them, until my glance came to rest on the large diamond ring on Shannon’s finger. Either she had kept it out of my vision until now, or I hadn’t seen it.
My heart lurched in my chest.
As if noticing my lingering gaze, he continued, “Shannon and I want to get married soon. We need to sort out your mother’s last wishes, seeing that you’re engaged, too.”
I stared at him, for a moment struck speechless by my bewilderment. “You’re getting married?” I asked, unable to hide my shock. For some reason, I had always thought he’d stay single—like he had done for so many years. I had expected him to congratulate me on my engagement and my engagement only, not to pop over with Shannon and announce their plans. My stomach twisted as I realized the full implications of what he was about to do.
“We’ve been engaged for a few months now,” Clint said, his gaze searching Shannon’s as though to seek her approval or confirmation. “We didn’t tell you earlier because the right moment never presented itself. Besides, we won’t be making a big deal out of it.”
It was a lie.
As a child, I had been a keen observer of human behavior, and Clint had been a worthy research subject. I could see it in the way his gaze kept darting around that he hadn’t been engaged for long. He probably barely knew her.
I had suspected something like that would happen, but the truth hurt nonetheless. He was moving on, with a woman half his age, in my mother’s mansion. It had been years since her death and I wanted to see him happy, but what I couldn’t cope with was the fact that Shannon would be mistress of the place that had belonged to my mother. The place she had inherited from her rich family. The place where I had grown up and once considered home.
It wasn’t fair.
Nodding, I swallowed hard and kept the air trapped in my lungs until they began to burn. Only then did I exhale and turn back to Clint, fully aware that congratulations were due.
“Fine. What do you want?” My voice was calm and steady, but underneath I was seething.
“Like I said, we need to talk, considering your recent developments,” he repeated.
“You mean my engagement?”
He nodded gravely, his smile gone. “I want you to have what your mother meant for you,” he said slowly. “The fiancé you mentioned”—he glanced at Shannon with a look that said he wasn’t convinced I wasn’t making him up…which I was, but the action angered me nonetheless—“we’d like to finally meet him.”
“Have you set a wedding date yet?” Shannon asked.
“Not yet. He’s very busy, and then there’s my job and the fact that we haven’t found our own place yet.” I trailed off and waved my hand as if it didn’t matter.
Shannon nodded sympathetically, even though judging from the look of her long, manicured nails, she had probably never worked a day in her life, or had to find her own place rather than sponge off some old-timer.
“He’s an actor,” Jude said. I shot her a warning look, but she turned away, ignoring me. “Like so many other actors, he came to LA to make it big and he did it.” She smiled, like a proud mother hen. Like she had anything to do with his success. “He’s very famous and sought-after, even has a nice place outside the city. Laurie’s been staying over a lot of weekends lately.” She laughed. “I hope they use protection, because you’re way too young to be a grandma yet, Sharon.”
“It’s Shannon,” she replied with a hint of arrogance, and I bit my tongue to stop myself from laughing at her venomous expression.
“Well, don’t keep him a stranger. We want to know everything about him,” Clint said.
“That’s great, because Mr. Tall and Beautiful is coming over tonight, isn’t he, Laurie?” Jude grinned at me, urging me to play along. “Like he’s been doing every day.”
Which was kind of the truth. During the past few days, he had stopped over a few times. While I had refused to venture out with him in order to avoid being alone with him and dodge the kind of situation I had encountered at his cottage, Jude’s presence had done nothing to dampen the attraction I felt toward him.
“Laurie?” Jude prompted. “When are you seeing Chase?” I shot her a dirty look and she raised her eyebrows at me, mouthing a what?
Obviously, I had no idea what his plans were for tonight, because we had arranged for him to be on duty tomorrow, in case I couldn’t convince Clint that meeting my fiancé wasn’t a good idea.
Jude and I had talked about this at length and we had agreed that she should keep her mouth shut—not encourage my stepfather to continue poking in my private life.
A task she had failed at miserably.
“Uh. He might not. You never know with him,” I said. “He’s busy this week. He always is.” A suspicious frown crossed Clint’s face. I hated his smugness and the fact that he constantly thought he was superior to everyone else.
“But he texted you this morning,” Jude insisted. “He said he was looking forward to meeting your family.”
Clint’s frown deepened as he regarded me closely.
I took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “You know what? I think I’ll call him right away.” I jumped up and headed for my bedroom, calling over my shoulder, “I’ll be right back,” before I could change my mind.
Behind me, I heard Jude saying, “She might be a while.”
Her crystalline laughter followed me to my room until I closed the door and slumped on the bed, burying my head in my palms.
What the heck was I doing? Chase could play my fiancé only for so long, and then my lies would be exposed. And then what? I would lose everything. Everything that belonged to my mother.
I retrieved my cell phone from the bedside table and dialed Chase’s number, ignoring the warning bells that hadn’t stopped ringing in my head since Clint’s arrival.
Take it one step at a time.
I needed Chase now. He couldn’t let me down. With each ring, my heart beat stronger until he finally picked up his phone.
“Hey, you,” I said, my throat constricting.
“Laurie?” A pause, then, “Are you okay?”
“Yes. Great.” My voice betrayed my stress, and I forced myself to take a long breath before continuing. “They’re here. They want to see you. I need you to come over now.” I cringed inwardly at how fake my cheerfulness sounded. Not natural at all. If I continued like that, Clint was bound to see through my bluff.
“I can do that,” Chase said. “Where are you?”
“At home,” I whispered. “Let’s meet at a restaurant in an hour. I can’t have them here. I just can’t.”
“Sure. I’ll make a reservation and text you the details.” His voice dropped lower. “Are you okay?”
“I’ll feel better once you’re here.” I bit my lip hard to stop myself from revealing just how much better his arrival would make me feel. “And Chase? Please don’t make a reservation at that strip bar you took me to.”
He laughed, and for a moment I imagined him on the phone, the skin around his eyes crinkling the way it always did when he smiled, his eyes sparkling with something I could never pinpoint. The sound of his laughter echoed in my ear long after I hung up.
I realized it was the part I liked most about him.
Chapter 10
“Forgive me for asking but, fuck, how old is she?” Chase whispered the moment we caught a moment alone. We were having dinner in a nearby restaurant. Chase had excused himself, claiming to have to make an urgent phone call while I needed to visit the bathroom. And now we were standing in the corridor leading to a picturesque backyard with lanterns and several empty tables. Given that it was still early, the restaurant—a small family-run operation—was
almost empty, giving us privacy.
“I don’t know. Maybe nineteen, twenty-two tops. She’s definitely younger than I am.” I shrugged, even though I actually cared. My mother had thought the world of Clint. That he brought his first tramp home a few weeks after her funeral had bothered me for years. That they had been getting younger and he was marrying one of them only managed to enrage me even more.
“What the fuck is he doing with someone like her?” Chase asked.
“He’s screwing his brains out.”
“Probably chasing after his second youth or something.”
“More like the third.” I smiled, liking him even more for being different. Of course, things could change, but for the time being I settled on believing Chase shared my morals and beliefs.
“And he’s sullying my mother’s memory,” I whispered, so low that Chase wouldn’t hear me. The memories were few and faint, and as time passed, the picture of her weakened. The ring of her voice inside my head had quieted a long time ago, the silence a shadow of her vivacious self. I had been ten years old when she died. During the following eight years I had been in my stepfather’s care, I had watched, and seen, observed, and struggled.
“I’m sorry. It must be so hard for you,” Chase said, his tone sincere.
“You have no idea.” For a moment our eyes connected, and something passed again between us. My chin began to quiver, and my throat went dry as his big hand moved around my neck, and he ever so gently drew me to him. He was so tall I barely reached his chin.
I pressed my cheek against the coarse fabric of his shirt, letting it chafe my skin, and inhaled his intoxicating scent. His height and the hardness of his muscles had been intimidating me ever since I met him, but under the circumstances they felt right, beckoning me to touch them.
“Laurie.” His deep voice was hoarse, reverberating with something dark and meaningful, as his thumb moved beneath my chin, coaxing my head up to meet his gray-blue gaze. In the semi darkness, his lashes made his eyes shimmer dark-blue like a perilous river forging its way through a valley and stones. We were so close, I could feel his hot breath on my lips, barely an inch away, and yet too far. Something twitched within me, and the deep pull I had felt before returned, settling low in the pit of my stomach and traveling between my legs.
