by Lovell, Dani
Sexy Hart
Sexy Series Book Three
Dani Lovell
Copyright 2014 Dani Lovell
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This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
The author acknowledges the copyrighted or trademarked status and trademark owners of the following, mentioned in this work of fiction: Boux Avenue, Waitrose, W Hotels and Residences, Chrysler, Wynn - Las Vegas, Harry Styles, British Airways, iPod, Louis Vuitton, Alexander McQueen, Dior, Ferrari, Chanel, Bellagio - Las Vegas, Bentley, Andrea Bocelli and Sarah Brightman - ‘Con Te Partiro’, Stratosphere - Las Vegas, Clark County Marriage Bureau, TicTac, The Grove Hotel Hertfordshire, The Grove LA, ‘Modern Family’, Marmite, Darcy Bussell, Nordstrom, Boulters - Maidenhead, Ed Sheeran - ‘Kiss Me’, Roberta Flack - The First Time Ever I saw Your Face, Elvis, The Feathers - Rickmansworth, Abercrombie and Fitch.
CHAPTER ONE
SATURDAY 15TH JUNE
The hot sun beams through the small gap in the luxurious, thick curtains, warming my legs that straddle the duvet. It's a welcoming change to the miserable start to summer that we're having at home, and I stretch and revel in the glorious California air.
Bea and Tilly were absolutely right, I do love it here and there really is something so wonderfully special about this part of the world. As my best friends, I suppose they've known for a while that I would visit and never want to leave - and they would have been right; I’m thoroughly envious of them.
Tilly now lives here with her super-gorgeous, super-ridiculously-swoon-worthy husband and their beautiful baby daughter who was born in front of these very eyes only yesterday; and Bea and her equally super-gorgeous, super-ridiculously-swoon-worthy fiancé get to live in both England and this amazing apartment in LA. She even gets to continue working in our beloved shop six weeks out of eight, whilst living this fabulous jet-setting lifestyle.
I, on the other hand, am the incredibly boring 'other' owner of Bear’s Cakery who lives all alone, full-time in boring old England. No rich, eligible, gorgeous man sharing my bed, no first class flights across the pond every few weeks, no romance, no excitement, no sex. Well, most of the time anyway.
I stretch one of my legs and point my perfectly polished ‘holiday’ toes before burying them back under the duvet and smiling at no one and nothing in particular, just enjoying my fabulous break away. I remember yesterday and how eventful it was. Knots tighten in my tummy as I relive the momentous occurrences that kept me thinking long into the early hours.
I recall that moment when baby Emily was born; such a moving scene, I am still in utter disbelief that my feisty, tiny little friend could do all of that on her own. How amazing a woman can be - something I've never really contemplated massively until I witnessed a human being emerging from another in such an agonising, yet, beautiful way. I'll be eternally grateful to Tilly and Luke for letting me be a part of that, and I am certain that Bea feels the same.
My mind soon moves onward to the next major event just a short while after little Emily's arrival. I roll onto my side and draw my knees up to my chest as my stomach does some weird, fizzy somersault-type thing. I suppose I should be used to the feeling by now, I get it every time I think about those never-discussed 'occasions' with Oliver.
I should never have fallen in love with my best friend's brother at such a young age, back in the college days but I got over it, thankfully. Now I just have to deal with the debilitating spasms that occur every time I think about one of the few occasions when we have forgotten ourselves and succumbed to the sexual chemistry that sporadically sizzles between us.
Yesterday wasn't like the other times though. I mean, Oliver has a girlfriend this time - and she is here! Here in LA, holidaying with us, yet he still burst into that hospital toilet after me to have sex against the cold white wall, my head colliding with the damn hand towel dispenser the whole time. The amount of hair that must be hanging from that thing could probably be used to make a small wig, but at the time, all I could feel was Oliver... inside me, making me whimper in ecstasy.
I don't know why he did it. He apologised for Stacy - the girlfriend-from-hell's behaviour, and tried to comfort me because I was so overwhelmed at what I had just witnessed in the delivery room, but why he grabbed me and kissed me... I've no idea. I had no make-up on, I hadn't had any sleep, I was wearing some random mish-mash of holiday clothes and had been crying my eyes out for a good hour or so. Attractive was the furthest thing from what I must have looked at that moment, but he still wanted a piece of my action, and naturally, as always - I gave it up for him.
I pull the duvet over my head as I remember the spine-tingling moment he licked my neck, just below my jaw and whispered in my ear about how beautiful my body is as his hands ran underneath my top and lifted my bra, cupping my naked boobs.
Every time, without fail, he has told me how soft my skin is, how he has never touched anyone who has felt so much like pure, delicate silk. I don't do anything special so I suppose it must just be a hereditary thing... but he loves it - it's like a drug or something because when we're together like that, his hands don't leave my body; stroking, smoothing, caressing...
"Oliver! Come and see this!" A loud shriek from the living room violently disturbs me from my delectable memories, and I'm reminded of her. Ugh no. Although I really cannot stand this girl, and I have no idea why Oliver is interested in her, whatsoever - I still can't help but feel horribly guilty about what we did. She has been so paranoid about me, thinking I'll pounce on her man - hence why she invited herself on this trip - but ironically, he's the one that pounced on me.
I didn't even know Stacy was coming on this trip until the night before we left when I got a text from Oliver. When I saw his name pop up on my phone, I was expecting a message confirming the time that he would be collecting me or sharing excitement about the trip, but instead, it was a message to let me know (or more accurately, warn me) that Stacy would be joining us, last minute.
My heart sank. Not because I thought anything would be going on between Oliver and I during this trip, I had no such thoughts at all. We had never done anything together when one of us was seeing anybody else and as far as I was concerned, we were old friends and nothing more.
The reason for the sinking heart was that I had hoped for us to reconnect as friends again. It had been a while since we chatted properly, Stacy doesn't like Oliver interacting much with other girls, especially me, and although he can't be told what to do, it has made things very difficult so our friendship has hit a bit of a rough patch - which saddens me, hugely.
I was also so excited about spending this holiday and my birthday with my best friends and their families. We all get on so well and I can really let my hair down and enjoy myself around everybody, but when news about Stacy hit, I knew that there would be tension and awkwardness throughout. This is something that I have been waiting so long for, and with the probable arrival of what is practically a niece to me, I have been so excited.
I drop my head back onto my pillow and take a long, deep breath before throwing back the covers and slowly climbing down from Bea and Daniel's amazingly huge and luxurious bed. I feel bad to have kicked them out of their own
home but as Bea told me, it's not my fault, had the plans stayed the same, they would have stayed in their own bed, I would have been in the spare room, and Oliver on the incredible bed-like sofa in the lounge. But with the extra, last-minute guest, everyone had to shuffle around so that they could have their own room, so Bea and Daniel decided to go and stay with Daniel's sister, Alexia.
In hindsight, I probably should have gone and stayed there, I could have avoided a lot of angst and evil eyes if I had, but never mind, it is what it is now and it was probably less of an imposition on Alexia to have her brother and sister-in-law stay with her, unexpectedly - than me.
I tie my thick hair up in a messy bun and wrap myself in Bea's dressing gown before opening the bedroom door warily, wondering what sort of bitchy look I will get when I see her for the first time today.
As this bedroom is right by the kitchen area, I manage to slip in and flick the kettle on without bumping into anyone, and it's not until I rest back against the counter and rub my eyes, that I notice that they're out on the balcony, side by side, Stacy's arm around Oliver's waist, pulling him tightly into her while he holds onto the railing in front of them.
I subconsciously close my eyes as my stomach churns a little. I always feel a bit like this when I see Oliver with a girl after we've... we've... you know. It's not like I think anything will ever develop with him, and I am totally over the whole 'in love' thing I once felt for him, but it does hurt a little when I think of how close we are when we make love together and then see him being affectionate with another girl.
I wonder if he feels anything when he sees me with a guy? He was a little odd on a few occasions with the last couple of semi-boyfriends I had, but nothing outwardly obvious. I doubt he feels anything, we have a sexual attraction and that's about it as far as he's concerned.
I'm certainly not going to fall in love with him again, I've been there and still have a scar etched so deeply into my heart from the realisation that he'd never love me back. I won't be in that position again, but we do seem to have this undeniable sexual thing, my body goes crazy when he comes close, when his lips graze mine and his chest brushes against my boobs... and he has admitted something very similar about me, too.
I'm startled as the balcony door closes and Stacy speaks. "Oh, you're up."
I wish I didn't have to smile at her, I wish I could snarl and tell her to go fuck herself, but I'm not Tilly, I just can't do that. So I do what I always do and offer her a big smile and a polite, "Yes, I'm up. Good morning Stacy, morning, Oliver, did you both sleep well?" Why am I so bloody nice all the time? She's horrible to me, but I can't bear the thought of upsetting anyone, whoever they are, so I just swallow the insults and offer my usual sweetness in return.
"Great, thank you," Oliver responds looking directly into my eyes, he smiles ever so slightly and glances down at the floor before fiddling with something non-existent on his t-shirt.
"Speak for yourself," Stacy adds with a smirk, "I didn't get a lot of sleep at all, thanks to someone feeling the need to disturb me constantly..." she giggles flirtatiously; revoltingly, "I'll be a very tired girl today, might need to go back and spend some more time in bed..." she says as she runs a long fingernail down his bicep and presses her breasts up against his side before turning to grin at me. Whore. I simply raise my eyebrows and smile awkwardly, holding back the vomit. What is one supposed to do when someone you don't really know discusses all the sex she had with your friend/occasional fuck-buddy last night?
Oliver frowns and looks over to me before blinking a couple of times and changing the subject. Yeah, change the subject Olly, now that I know you've had sex with both of the women in this room in the space of twenty-four hours. "What time are we due to be meeting Bea and Daniel?"
"What?" Stacy asks, sharply, "I didn't know we were seeing them today..."
"Yeah, of course we are, we're all going to see the baby..." Oliver says, seeming a little impatient.
"This wasn't planned, was it?" she asks, put out.
"Well it wasn't planned before yesterday, obviously, Stacy, we didn't know when the baby was going to be born. Clare said last night that we're meeting this morning and heading over to Til and Luke's place. You were here when she said it..." Oliver says, sternly.
"Well I don't remember that.”
I'm not sure whether to answer Oliver's initial question or not... it has gotten a little awkward in here again. After the hospital yesterday, I spent the day with Bea and Daniel, lounging at Alexia's. We slept by the pool and enjoyed the peace after an exhausting night. We planned to meet for breakfast today and then head over to Til and Luke's which was always a tentative plan for the day after the baby was born. Oliver came back to the apartment to see Stacy after the hospital, of course, and she didn't want to spend the day with us.
"So, what time, Clare?" Oliver's tone softer as he asks again, turning to look at me, exhaling loudly and smiling apologetically.
I return a sympathetic smile automatically, I can't help it, I feel sorry for him - she's constantly hideous, I simply cannot understand why he likes her, his other girlfriends have all been really nice in comparison - mind you, ‘Cruella Deville' would seem nice in comparison to Stinky Stacy.
"Ten, so we have an hour or so. Would either of you like a drink while I'm making one?" I ask to try and settle the mood. Stacy glares at me before turning and waltzing off to the spare bedroom without saying a word. Polite as always.
"Stace!" Oliver calls, "Stacy! Clare offered to make you a drink, aren't you going to..." and before he can finish, the door slams making us both wince. He turns to look at me and smiles again, apologetically. "Clare, I'm sorry, that was so rude," he says reaching across the breakfast bar to rest his hand on mine. "I'll have another word with her."
The feel of his skin on mine makes my stomach somersault again, I don't know what's come over me lately, it must be because of what happened at the hospital. Then I remember what Stacy said - he spent all night having sex with her last night.
I shake his hand off and turn to pour the kettle. "It's fine, Oliver, she doesn't like me, I'll get used to it."
"You shouldn't have to, there's no reason for it... well..."
"Well? Is there a reason? Have I done something?" I ask, genuinely worried that I might have upset her.
"No, no, no, nothing like that..." he responds, walking around the bar and into the kitchen. My skin tingles as he stands close and gently places a hand on my shoulder, speaking softly, "She just, she thinks there's something..."
"Between us?" I interrupt; I can't stand his deep, sexy voice and warm breath in my ear for one more second. If I don't move out of the way to get the milk from the fridge immediately, I won't be able to resist resting my cheek on the back of his hand. "Well, she's wrong isn't she," I continue in a whisper, "okay, not completely wrong, we did do something yesterday, but that was a silly mistake, I don't know why or how that even happened..." I pause and look at him tentatively, "Oliver... um, why did that happen?"
He looks at the ground and then up at me sheepishly. He shrugs as he attempts to explain, "I... er... well, I just... you were emotional, I wanted to make you feel better..."
"What?" I whisper angrily. My hands curl into tight fists and I tense my jaw as I close my eyes and take a deep breath. I am furious that he thinks sex with him is the only way to cheer me up. Who does he think he is? A nice hug would suffice, thank you very much! He should have told me that he just couldn't resist my incredible natural beauty, or that he'd been thinking about it ever since the last time, or that I'm just too good to pass up when locked in a hospital toilet together for god's sake, not that he wanted to make me feel better!
I take a moment to calm down by continuing to make the tea, which is probably overly strong and revolting by now. I need to swallow this anger and move on. Move on. "Never mind, just one of those things, let's forget it as we always do, I shouldn't have brought it up."
"Clare, please..." he says quietly, reaching for me a
nd I step away.
"No, Oliver, honestly, it's fine, let's forget it."
"Let me just say, while I have the chance, we weren't... you know... all night. We didn't do that at all, I don't know why she said that. I wouldn't have gone to her for that straight after I'd... "
"Straight after me, okay, okay, I get it. She was just trying to make me jealous because she thinks I have a 'thing' for you. Never mind, it's fine."
Inside, I am laughing hysterically at hearing this; silly, silly girl has absolutely no idea just how close Oliver and I have been as friends, he would always tell me if someone was lying to my face, especially if it was supposed to upset me. "You should probably go and see to Stacy, she's not in the best of moods today, she'll be mad if she thinks you're out here being nice to me when she's upset about something in there."
He sighs and half smiles, shaking his head, "Who knows what she's upset about now."
"Probably something I've said or done. I don't mean to antagonise her, you know that don't you? She just takes offence to everything I say... I always seem to say the wrong thing..."
"Of course I know that, it has got nothing to do with what you say, it's all about her insecurities and I'm sorry that you have to bear the brunt of that. I'll talk to her again, she's... well, she really isn't as bad as you think she is, she just seems to act so badly around all of you. I wish you could see the side to her that I see when we're alone. I wish she'd show you that side... along with some damned respect."
"Maybe she'll get used to us in time," I say with a small smile, "go on, you better go to her, we don't have long until we need to be downstairs to meet Bea and Daniel."
"Okay. I'm sorry, again."
"Oliver, honestly, it's fine, just go and get yourselves ready. I'll see you out here at about five to?"
"Cool." he says, holding up a clenched hand inviting me to bump fists, and I gladly accept, melting at his joviality. Maybe when he's done with Sordid Stacy, I'll consider bumping uglies with him again.
