by Cary Hart
Chapter 3
Brian
“Damn it!” Did I just do that? Slam a door in a woman’s face? The face of the one and only Lillian Richards, the woman who can make or break my future? “What’s getting into me?” Great, now I’m talking to myself.
In a hurry, I whip the towel off and hurry over to the table where I flung my dry cleaning over the chair on my way back from my morning errands. Helping that poor woman threw me a tad behind schedule and I wasn’t about to be late for my meeting. Ferris and I have become friends over the past year, but I didn’t want to be that person. The one who took a handout from a good friend’s loaded husband. I will be successful and I’ll do it my way. No handouts and not at the expense of my happiness.
Lost in my thoughts I didn’t even hear the door open back up. “Hey, Brian, do you happen to have a car? I had to walk here and…,” Lillian opens the door and her mouth before her eyes catch up with her. Shocked that she is there I have nowhere to go and nowhere to hide. The towel is by her feet and the suit is still in the bag. So I do what I do best. Get a little cocky in more ways than one. Because let’s get real. Lillian is smokin’ in the hot librarian sort of way.
“Well, well, well…it took you longer than I thought.”
Still staring, she blinks a few times before she is capable of speaking. “Huh?”
“I figured if we saw each other again, that you would be all over me, but you held strong.” Looking at my watch to give it a little dramatic effect. “Yep, two minutes after you left.”
That got her attention. “What? Oh my God, NO!” She snaps to. “I just wanted to see if you had a car since I walked here. If not I was going to call an Uber.” Her face turns slightly red, but her words don’t match the blush. “Besides, you…,” she glances down, “have nothing I want.”
Deciding to take it a little further than I should, I walk over to stand a little too close for her comfort. Me? It’s just turning me on. “Maybe it’s nothing you want right now, but it’s something you needed three months ago and from what I could tell you needed it over and over and over again.”
“Brian, please.”
“Yes, so you do recall? I heard those words moaned a few times that night.”
“Don’t be a dick. Do you have a car or not?”
“We don’t need a car, breakfast is within walking distance.”
“OK good, that is all I needed to know. Be downstairs in five.” She turns on her heels and heads for the stairs, calling back over her shoulder, “You are now late for this meeting.”
“You are the one who made me late. I’m never late,” I shout to get the last word, but she just throws up her hand and holds out all five digits, giving me a warning.
Not wanting to give her the satisfaction of me being late, I hurry and opt to go commando, throwing on my grey slacks and white buttondown. I was going to wear a tie and jacket, but it’s summertime in California. Rolling up my sleeves, I grab my wallet and head out the door. I make it downstairs in three minutes.
“Hey boss, lookin’ good.” Misty nods at me from behind the bar.
“Morning Misty, how is school coming?”
“It just got better. The Lillian Richards agreed to help me with my mid-term project.” She bounces up and down with excitement. “I’ll be sure to ace it now and hopefully land myself an internship while I’m at it.”
“And leave us?” I feign sadness.
“I know right? What will you ever do?” She gives it right back. Misty is a joy to have around; the regulars love her and the tourists always compliment her. She will be hard to replace, but we both knew this was temporary.
“So speaking of The Lillian Richards? Where is she?” I look around, wondering if she bailed on us — again.
“She excused herself. Something about a phone call.” Misty points to the door.
Great. She probably is on the phone to Ferris right now, telling him about our run-in. Hurrying out the door, I find her sitting on a bench just outside the bar talking on her phone. “I know Mom. Yes, I’ll call Daisy…I miss Ruby too…she is getting big…OK…I know…WHAT? Again?” She pauses, absorbing her mom’s words. “I see…yes, I’ll make sure I’m there this time…OK.” She looks up to the sky and turns her head to wipe a tear so the passersby won’t see, and notices me. “Well, listen, it’s been good talking to you Mom, but I have a meeting I’m late for. I’ll call you later. Love you.” She presses end and looks around for her purse, stands and straightens herself.
“Everything OK?”
“Yes! I just got informed that Ferris and Daisy are getting married…again…next June. You know, so they can have all their family and friends there. Plus Ferris demands to have his child as the flower girl. Who does that? Has a wedding so their child can be in the wedding? People are supposed to get married before they have kids.”
“Well, in Daisy’s defense, Ferris did practically demand she marry him a few months after the accident and well…he promised her a party. I’m sure this is just that. A big reception, with the dress and all the fixings.”
“Of course, in Daisy’s defense.”
“I didn’t mean it like that, Lilli —”
“Right, well let’s go. I’m running low on caffeine and I need coffee stat or I become the biggest bitch.”
“No kidding,” I say with a forced smile. “Let’s go get you refilled, it’s only a couple blocks down.” I guide her toward the little café overlooking the waves. This should be fun.
Chapter 4
Lillian
I know Brian was just trying to be logical, but I wasn’t in the mood for a Dr. Phil moment. My problems are just that, mine. Plus he is close with Daisy and his loyalties lie with her. He would never understand what it feels like to be me.
“You hungry?” Brian looks out of the corner of his eye, gauging my reaction.
On cue, my stomach growls. “Just a little,” I chuckle.
“Perfect. I’m taking you to this little diner down the road. This place has the best breakfast food. Ever!”
“Oh really?”
“Yep. Everything from stuffed french toast to made-to-order omelets to the best biscuits and gravy you have ever tasted.” He rubs his own stomach.
“You’re making me hungry.” And he really is. I didn’t realize how hungry I was. I’m usually a coffee and bagel type of girl, but missing dinner last night has me starving.
“You won’t be for long. We’re here.” He steps in front of me to hold the door open. “Ladies first.”
“Thank you,” I politely whisper as I pass.
“Hey, Diane. Is my booth open?” Brian hollers over to the waitress refilling drinks behind the counter.
“Sure sweetheart. Just give me a minute and I’ll be right over.” The middle-aged woman, who looks a little older than my mom, motions for us to sit down.
Brian grabs a couple menus as we walk over to the booth, waiting to sit until I’ve taken a seat. He has some manners, I’ll give him that.
I don’t want to sit in silence and I don’t want to give him the opportunity to speak first. The guy makes me feel insecure and uncomfortable and the last thing I need for him to do is bring up that one night. “So, what made you want to expand? Why now?” I throw a loaded question out there to see if he will respond his rehearsed answer or one of honesty and passion. Something that will shed light on why he wants to pursue this dream.
“Well, do you want the rehearsed answer or the truth?”
Smiling inside, I sit back and wait for which one he is going to give me. I should just say the rehearsed, but something in me wants to know what makes him tick. “Truth.”
“I prefer dare.” He smirks, but it quickly fades as a confused look takes its place. “Do you care if we get something else out of the way first?”
Oh God, here we go. This can’t happen. “Listen, I know what you are going to say,” I respond quickly, trying to put out the fire before it spreads. “What happened between us was a mistake. I wa
s in a bad place and needed an escape. You offered me an out and I took it. I would prefer if we could leave that one moment in time in the past.” I examine Brian from across the table to gauge his reaction. He doesn’t look satisfied.
“Actually, I was just going to ask if you were ready to order.”
“What?”
“Order first, business second.” He points to the menu then waves the waitress to come over.
“Sorry Brian, it’s a little hectic today.” Diane pulls a pencil from behind her ear and grabs a pad from her apron. “What can I getcha today? The usual?”
“Yes ma’am.”
“Sure thing, sweetie.” She gives Brian a sweet smile, then turns to look at me. “What about your darlin’?”
“I-I’m not sure. I…I’ll just take whatever he is having.” I try to regain my composure after my little outburst.
“Minus the add-ons,” Brian adds.
“Well, all righty then.” She turns to leave, giving Brian a little wink before she gives the order to the cook.
“Brian, I’m sorry. I just assumed —” I start to give him a quick excuse but he cuts me off.
“You assumed right. I just didn’t want to sit and listen to excuses from you.” He leans back in his seat, grabs his coffee and takes a long sip before he speaks again. “We are both adults who did very adult things. I was there, I knew you needed an out and believe it or not, I needed one as well, but don’t for one minute play down what happened because something did happen that night and it was more than we both expected.” This time he watches me from across the table, searching for a reaction.
“Brian…I —”
“Don’t. Don’t do that.” He leans forward, anger crossing his face. “No excuses. I’d rather you not speak another word about that night than to hear whatever excuse you think is the truth.”
“OK.” I have nothing. The truth? I don’t even know what that is anymore.
“Good. The answer to your original question…” He pauses, looking out the window before resting his eyes back on mine. “I need this to secure a future for me and my sister.”
“The Bar is already successful. Why gamble with what you have?” Curiosity gets the best of me.
“In my family there are expectations and I refuse to live up to them.”
“Brian, that’s called adulting.”
“No, what I am doing is living my own life, by my own standards.” He searches my face. I’m not sure what for. Maybe approval?
“I’m happy, Lil, and that within itself is worth any amount of inheritance we would have received.”
“We?” I question.
“My sister and I.” He nods as if I should know the answer. “My father, Edward Andrews, wanted me to take over his empire and expected my sister to go to school to educate herself, but then settle in a modern-day arranged marriage. Basically a merger between two families.”
“So you and your sister up and left everything for a pipe dream? That’s a little irresponsible, don’t you think?” Everything he tells me seems absurd. Seriously, the man could be a millionaire. Hell, a billionaire. So, why on earth would he abandon the security? For what? A bar? Who dreams of owning a bar? I’m getting ready to ask that very question when the waitress appears with two trays of food. Looking around I try to see who the other tray is for, but we are secluded in the corner.
“Here you go sweetie. Your usual: two eggs over easy, hash browns and sourdough toast, with a side of biscuits and gravy.” Still unloading the tray. “Then we have our famous blueberry stuffed french toast and a double order of bacon.”
“Wow! Hungry much?” I go to grab my fork and take a bite of the hash browns.
“Those are mine.” He knocks my hand away and points his fork toward Diane. “Yours is on the other tray.”
“Come again?”
“I knew you would beg for it.” He takes his toast, breaks open his eggs and sops up the yolk. “I just figured I would have to try harder. Food gets to you, huh?” He goes in for another bite, not taking his eyes off me.
“Real funny.”
“And this here is for you.” Diane puts the exact same order down in front of me, minus the french toast and bacon.
Covering his mouth while he speaks, Brian thanks Diane and pushes the bacon over to me. “I figured we could just split the french toast and bacon.”
“Brian! Seriously, this is too much food!” I look around, not sure where to start. “There is no way you eat this much food every day.”
He sits back, patting his stomach. Well, I wouldn’t exactly call it a stomach. It’s actually an eight pack of glorious, lean muscle, but leaning back he makes his point. “We have a busy day. Got to keep up this figure somehow.”
“Well, my figure needs a bagel and coffee…this is too much.”
“Lil…” There he goes again calling me Lil. I want to correct him, but a part of me kind of likes it. Everyone calls me Lillian except for Daisy. She has always called me Lilly no matter how many times I correct her. “Your body is smoking hot and a little eggs and bacon will just enhance you in all the right places.”
His words make me blush. I’m embarrassed and my body is reacting. It remembers and I don’t want it to. So, I do the only thing I can do. Thank him and dig in. “Can you pass me the french toast?”
Chapter 5
Lillian
After we finish breakfast, Brian calls a car service to pick us up, and we head a couple hours away to Laguna Beach. After talking to Ferris I had spent most of the night researching hot spots within a three-hour radius, and Laguna Beach seemed like a perfect fit. Running with my plans, I made some calls and was able to get us in to view three locations. All prime real estate and a sure bet of future success.
We measure, examine and take pictures. Everything and anything Brian envisions we discuss and jot down in notes. You could say it’s going perfectly.
After the last stop, Brian calls for the car again. After opening the door for me to climb in, he slides in beside me. “So, Lil, what is your honest opinion? What would you do?”
“Well, the first stop was almost perfect, fit the feel of The Bar back home, but it lacked the beach front.”
“I agree. I want something similar to what I have now and that includes the beach front.” Brian seems to register what I’m saying and agrees. Wish he would agree with me on everything.
“Second one…location was perfect. Beach front, easy access to tourists and locals. The only problem…” I take my phone out to show him the pictures of the area. “I’m afraid there are too many other well-established restaurants surrounding the strip.”
“I was stuck on site two. It seemed to have the vibe that I’m looking for.”
“I know and it could work, but just hear me out.” I place my hand on his knee and give it a squeeze. The day has been draining for both of us and I just want him to know it wasn’t for nothing. “Now, location three, I know it seemed a little far off the beaten path, but —”
“It was almost a ghost town. How in the hell do you think that is the one?” Brian challenges me. “Did you notice the area? The bad lighting, benches, and the undeveloped beach front.”
“Yeah, it had a few abandoned beach shacks. I mean ‘cottages,’” I correct myself. Daisy hates it when I called her beach house a shack. I even tried to have it bulldozed down for a new high rise hotel to take its place, but Ferris put a stop to that — costing himself millions. Truth is, I loved that cottage too. Just in a different way. It was mine until Daisy came along. I never knew what I was truly missing until I saw the way my step-dad looked at her. Like she was his missing piece.
“Why would I want to expand in that little outdated area?”
“Brian, you have to look at the bigger picture. Those rundown cottages are going to give you a huge advantage. It’s going to knock your purchase price down by half. If you can find the money to purchase your building and a couple of the surrounding buildings you will be able to make your money bac
k and pay off your loan in a couple years. You see…” I scroll to the picture of the dark beach. “This here, I already emailed Ferris and Marco DeLuca about expanding the new chain of hotels they are partnering on. This area is exactly what they are looking for.”
“Ahhhh!” The light bulb goes off. “Let Ferris build it up. Open The Bar and then sell the surrounding lots to the highest bidder.” His eyes shine from the soft glow of the phone. “This is exactly what I needed. You found the perfect area.” He picks up my hand and kisses the back of it. “This will give me the freedom we have been looking for. I’ll finally be able to help my sister escape my parents to follow her dreams.”
“Glad I could be a part of it,” I reply, and actually meant it. I close out of my pictures and drop the phone in my bag.
“Me too.” He still has hold of my hand and gives it a tiny squeeze. “I just don’t think you realize how much I needed this today and what this means for me.”
“I know. You’ll now be able to provide for your sister.”
“It’s not just that. I want to provide for her until she can make it on her own, but what I really want is to be able to show my father that I can be successful and happy.” He scoots a little closer to me so we are sitting side to side.
“What makes Brian Andrews happy?” I ask, nudging his shoulder.
“Well, isn’t that the million-dollar question.” He looks over at me, his blue-green eyes taking on a new color, deeper than normal. I’m not sure what that means or why I even care. “Family makes me happy. I want to be successful, but not at the expense of my family.” He smiles weakly. “Oh and surfing of course. My mind is never as clear as it is when I surf.”
“Hmmm.”
“What does that mean?” It’s his turn to nudge me.
“You say family makes you happy, but you are so set on running away from them. Why?” I question, confused by his statement.
