Aullie sat up straight. “Huh?”
“I met him at the beginning of my shift and he hung out the whole night and we went out for breakfast when I got off and we talked until the sun came up. That’s why I’m calling you so early. I haven’t even gone to bed yet. It was amazing!”
“His name?” Aullie asked as she tapped her fingertip to her chin. Her friend’s news had ignited something inside of her. Was that jealousy she was feeling?
“His name is Julio Garcia. He’s a Latino. My parents will be thrilled,” she gushed. “We talked about everything. Our hopes for the future…”
“And what are they?” Aullie interrupted.
“Kids, a big house, great jobs. He already has one. He’s a manager at a car dealership. He’s living in an apartment in Queens but he’d love to get a house. And he already told me to stop by the dealership, later on, today and he’s going to set me up in a demo car. Can you believe that?”
“I can’t believe you’d let him do that,” Aullie said as she shook her head. “You’d let him take care of you that much?”
“I don’t see why not,” Brittany said with an air of agitation to her voice. “He and I are like complete soul mates. You wouldn’t understand.”
“I wouldn’t?” Aullie asked with more than a bit of anger in her voice. “I think Weston and I are pretty damn close to being soul mates. So, I think I should understand what the hell you’re saying, Britt.”
“Yeah, well, you’re not as committed as we are,” Brittany touted, further aggravating Aullie. “He wants three kids, just like I’ve always wanted. We’re both dog people. We both love beef enchiladas and raspberry tea. It’s like he was cut from the same cloth I was. When he touched me, I felt like electricity went all the way through me.”
“Did you have sex with him?” Aullie asked as chills ran through her. When she and Weston touched, the same thing happened. She thought that meant they had a special connection. But if Brittany had found the same thing with a random stranger, maybe it wasn’t so damn special after all.
“Sex, no,” Britt said. “We made out hardcore, though. I thought you’d be more excited for me, Aullie. You’re kind of making me feel like you don’t care.”
“I care,” Aullie said, beginning to feel bad about not being there for the one woman she was actually close to. “I’m happy for you. I can’t wait to meet him.”
“I’m pretty sure he’ll come to the bar again tonight. You can meet him then,” she said. “Aullie, are you feeling okay? You sound a little down in the dumps.”
“I wasn’t down. I was pretty damn great.”
“Until I called you?” she asked.
“Well, yeah. It’s not your fault. It’s mine. You see, last night Weston asked me about when I’d be ready to have kids and I told him it would be a good while from now. And you felt confident telling a man you didn’t even know about your feelings where kids were concerned. It makes me feel like something’s wrong with me.”
“Nothing’s wrong with you. I wear my heart on my sleeve is all. You keep yourself wrapped up in a tiny bundle that few get to know very well.”
Aullie thought about what she’d said and felt like her friend was right. “I don’t want to be a closed off person. Not where Weston is concerned.”
“Then open up to him about everything. Really let him know who you are and what you’re about.”
“Even I don’t know that. The only thing I know for certain is that I love to paint and would do it even if none of my art ever sold. And I do love that man. That’s all I know.” Bruce crawled onto her lap as if to remind her of his existence as he purred, loudly. “Oh, and I love my kitty cat, Bruce too.”
“Okay. But what about other things, Aullie. Think about it. How many kids do you see in your future?”
“So much talk about kids I’ve heard in the last twelve hours. They aren’t a thing I’ve ever thought about. Don’t ask me why because I don’t know. I just have never contemplated anything past graduating from college.”
“That’s a bit shallow, don’t you think, Aullie?”
“Maybe. Damn! I gotta go, Britt. I’m happy for you and can’t wait to meet this man who’s swept you off your proverbial feet. Have a great morning and I’ll see you tonight at work.”
“You sound mad,” Brittany said, making Aullie feel even worse.
“I’m not mad. I’m just aggravated at myself. I just want to go take a long bath and reflect on my life.”
“Okay, sorry for upsetting you. It wasn’t my intention. Bye.”
Aullie ended the call without so much as a goodbye. Her mind was elsewhere. On one hand, she thought her friend was moving way too fast. One the other, she wondered why she held back so much.
With a tickle to Bruce’s ear, she mumbled, “I’m a mess, kitty.”
He meowed and she was unsure if he was agreeing with her or trying to tell her she wasn’t such a mess. But she knew, deep inside, that she was. And Weston had tried to have an adult conversation with her about kids and she had laughed.
Like a child too young to understand adult relationships, she’d laughed when the man she loved tried to have a real conversation with her about what he wanted in his life.
What the hell was wrong with her?
“Peach, I have a meeting out of town. I’ll be gone for the night,” Weston told her over the phone as she made her way into work. She noticed a brand new Nissan Sentra in the employee parking area and figured it must belong to Brittany.
“Oh, okay. That’s alright, I have early classes tomorrow, anyway. I’ll miss you,” she told him. “And when we get together on Sunday I want to talk about that baby thing we were talking about last night. I’ve been thinking about all of that.”
“You do?” he sounded happy and more than a bit surprised. “I can’t wait!”
Odd sensations ran through her with his obvious excitement. “Want to tell me where you’re going?”
“I can’t. More of that business that it’s better you don’t know a thing about.”
“Are you a spy, West?” she asked with a giggle.
His silence had her giggle stopping. “Aulora of course, I’m not a spy. I just have to try to settle something. I’ll call you tomorrow when I get back.”
“And where is it you’re going?” she asked, beginning to feel odd about all his secrecy. Surely, she could know the town he was going to.
“Los Angeles,” he said. “I’ll call you tomorrow. Love you, peach.”
“Love you too,” she said then ended the call.
Something about it all was unsettling. What was in L.A. and why did it come up all of a sudden?
Brittany met her at the door and pointed out her new car. “Did you see it, Aullie?”
“I did,” she said as she gave her a smile. “It’s a great looking car. And I’m sure you enjoyed the heat that your old car didn’t have.”
“Boy, did I!” she said as she gazed out at her new car then closed the door. “Julio took mine in trade. That POS is history.”
“And now you have payments, huh?” Aullie asked as she made her way to the back area to take off her bulky coat and put on her waitress gear.
She nodded. “They’re really low, though. I can afford them. Not that I have to. Julio said he’ll pay them for me.”
“And the full coverage insurance too?” Aullie asked, feeling that green monster rising inside of her.
“You seem kind of, oh what’s the word, bitchy! Yeah, that’s it. Bitchy!” Brittany turned on her heel and walked away from Aullie.
Aullie stopped and thought about running after her and apologizing for her behavior. She knew she was wrong to be taking her own petty jealousies out on her friend.
Weston had offered her a car to use. She’s the one who turned it down. He’d offered her to come live in his mansion. She was solely responsible for turning that down too. So, why was she mad that her friend didn’t take the road she had?
Going into the back, she heard Eric’s annoying voice
talking on the phone to corporate, she supposed. He was using words like bottom line and costs of inventory. She was quiet when she put her things away but somehow, he’d heard her.
When he got off the phone, he called out to her.
“I need you to come here, Aullie.”
With a silent sigh, she put on her apron and went to see what the little troll could possibly want. “Yes, Eric?” She stepped into his office.
He looked at her for a moment then said. “I’m making you an assistant manager. Corporate is pleased with your work and they told me to give you the position. It means you’ll be on salary and I’ll need you to be here more hours than you usually are. Starting tomorrow, you’ll be coming in at four and staying until one. I’ll be here until eight then the bar will be yours to handle. Great, huh?”
“Not great!” she said as she was astounded that anyone thought they could throw so much on her without even asking her what she wanted to do. “I don’t want that at all!”
“It’s more money,” he said as he wore a stunned expression. “I hear you complaining about money all the time, Aullie. So, now you won’t have any reason to complain. The salary is nearly what I make.”
“This isn’t my career. Ask Brittany to do it. This is what she wants to do with her life. Not me. I’m an artist,” she said as she tapped her chest. “This isn’t all there is for me. For her, it is.”
“Excuse me?” came Britt’s voice from behind her. “Are you talking about me?”
“She is,” Eric said with a sniveling, little, ratty voice. “I handed her a job and she wants to hand it to you. What she doesn’t seem to understand is corporate decided who got that job. I can’t hand it over to anyone but her.”
Brittany stomped her foot and made a huge huffing sound then turned around and walked away. Aullie looked at Eric. “I don’t want that job. Let corporate know that.” Then she spun around and left his office too, leaving him with a gaping jaw and no assistant at all.
The night was busy for the middle of the week and when a woman walked through the door, Aullie nearly dropped her tray of drinks. When the woman was seated in her section, she found her nerves were on edge. It was Weston’s cousin, Hayley.
She’d not been introduced to her yet. She didn’t know if she should do that herself or not. So, she thought to herself that Weston must’ve surely told his favorite cousin about her. When she told the gorgeous woman her name surely, she’d know who she was then and the awkwardness she was feeling would go away.
Placing a coaster on the table in front of her, she said, “Hello, my name is Aulora and I’ll be taking care of you tonight. What can I get for you?”
“Aulora?” the woman asked, making Aullie think she did know who she was. Then she pointed to her name tag. “That says something different.”
Aullie fingered the name tag. “Oh, yeah. That’s my nickname. It’s pronounced, Ollie.”
“Anyway, Aullie, I’d like a Gin and tonic and something to eat. What’s good here?”
“Um, chicken wings and nachos. But with a Gin and tonic, I’d suggest maybe our fried veggie basket, instead.” She held her pen to the pad and waited for her to decide, feeling as inadequate as she’d ever felt, in the gorgeous woman’s presence.
“Yuk,” she said with an air of disgust. “On second thought, I’ll wait until I get to Los Angeles.”
The thought that she was headed to Los Angeles too was too much for her and she asked, “Oh. When are you heading out of here?”
“Soon,” she said then tapped her long and expensive nails on the table. “I’m waiting for my boyfriend to get off work, so we can head out.”
The word, boyfriend, made her wonder who the hell that would be. The woman just lost her husband after all. She phrased her next question very carefully, “Oh yeah? I suppose you’re meeting him at the airport that’s fifteen minutes away from here?”
“Yes.” She leaned in and said in a hushed voice, “He comes in here a lot. I was wondering why and the truth is I can’t see it. He’s wealthy and quite frankly, above this place. I’ve been trying to figure out what he’s been up to when he’s not with me. And when I found out he was spending so much time here, it made me curious.”
“If he’s your boyfriend, why don’t you know more about why he comes in here? I mean, how close are you two, really?” Aullie found herself asking a question which was none of her business.
The way Hayley eyed her had her getting nervous again. “I don’t usually talk about my private life but you just have this kind of wise air about yourself. Like you’ve been through some shit, yourself. Do you have a minute to spare a fellow female to give a bit of advice? I don’t have many friends who’ll tell me the truth if it will hurt me.”
“Give me a sec and I’ll grab your drink and be right back.” Aullie hauled ass to turn in the drink order and get someone to cover for her, so she could see what the woman was going to say. When Britt came up to turn in an order, she asked, “Britt, I know you’re mad at me. That woman who just came in is Weston’s cousin. She doesn’t realize I’m the girl he’s with. She wants to talk and I desperately want to listen to her. Could you cover for me while I talk to her? I’ll give you a break for as long as you want afterward.”
She looked at her for a moment then said, “Sure.”
“Thanks,” Aullie said then picked up the drink and went back to the table where Hayley was waiting for her. She placed the drink in front of her then slid into the opposite side of the small booth. “Okay, I’m covered. So, bend my ear, miss?”
“Oh, how rude.” She extended her hand across the table. “My name’s Hayley Stiller.”
“Hi, Hayley, it’s nice to meet you. Now, what do you need to talk about?”
“Okay, first, thanks for taking time for me. It’s not often you find someone who’ll do that for a person they don’t know. But I’m kind of desperate.”
“Not a problem. Bars are a natural place to talk without fear of persecution. So, tell me what has you upset or worried.”
“My husband of ten years was killed a few weeks ago. And that was a real tragedy.”
“Yet, you have a boyfriend,” Aullie brought up.
“Okay, about him. He’s not really my boyfriend. I want him to be but for now, he’s just a man from my past who’s helping me to find out who killed my husband.”
Aullie’s head was telling her Weston was not a cousin to this woman. “A man from your past?”
“Well, Weston is more than just a man from my past.”
Aullie’s entire body went tense the moment she said his name. Now she knew they weren’t cousins. “What is he?”
“He and I were married once. And we had a baby.”
Aullie’s heart stopped. Weston had been married to the gorgeous, rich woman who sat across from her and they had a baby together. “And where is the child now?”
“He was killed in a car wreck we had when he was just two months old,” she told Aullie, making her heart pound.
She reached across the table and took her hand that was nervously tapping the top of her short glass. “My, God! I’m so sorry to hear that. That must haunt you.”
“It does. Like one can’t realize. You see, Weston and I fought so badly after that happened. He was driving. We lived in Los Angeles at that time. I blamed him at the time. Even though he wasn’t really to blame. The car in front of us stopped, suddenly and he hit the back of them and a truck plowed into the back of us. The baby was in his car seat in the middle of the back seat, the safest place in a car, but he was injured anyway. They kept him on life support for a week before we decided to let him go. He left us on tomorrow’s date. That’s why he and I are flying to L.A. we’ve never gone to his grave together since we buried him, ten years ago.”
“And why is that?” Aullie asked.
“Weston and I were high school sweethearts. Though unintentional, we found ourselves pregnant only one month after graduation. He married me and we were pretty happy up until ou
r son’s death. Like I said, I blamed him and only a couple of months after we buried our baby, I left him and asked for a divorce which he granted me without a problem. I was paid a hefty sum by him as a settlement, making me a rich woman.”
“How fortunate for you,” Aullie said, trying to keep the anger that was building inside her controlled.
“Yes, well, Weston is a wonderful man. He always has been. I lost sight of that when I got so angry about losing our son. I went off and met another man and married him within that year. And Weston and I didn’t talk at all. Until my husband was killed a few weeks ago.”
“And why did you contact him?” Aullie asked as she was confused about how the woman actually felt about Weston.
“I’ve missed him for the last few years. I realized I was wrong for blaming him and I was wrong for leaving him to deal with his grief over the loss of our son. I wanted to not only make amends, I wanted him back. And when my husband was killed, I suddenly found myself in a position to get back into his life.”
“So, you asked him for his help in finding your husband’s killer or something like that?”
Hayley nodded. “Yes. I used that to get to him. You see, there really is no need to try to find who killed my husband. He was in the mafia.”
“Oh, shit!” Aullie said with a hushed tone.
“Yes,” Hayley said. “I knew it could happen to him. And I used that to get Weston to talk to me. He’s a good man. Like I said. And I thought since he was still single that we could pick up where we left off. More than anything else, I wanted us to have another baby. I long to see that little face again. A perfect mixture of he and I.”
Aullie felt a lump in her stomach and it moved clear up to her throat. She swallowed it back and said, “And he’s not into it?”
When Hayley shook her head, sadly, Aullie felt the tiniest bit of relief. Weston had turned her down!
“I am hoping that when we visit our son’s grave together that he’ll reconsider my offer. You see, I’ve told him I want him back and I want us to have a child right away.”
“And he’s said?” Aullie asked with terror flowing through her.
“Well, he told me this morning that he’d think about it.”
Dr. Orgasm (A Holiday Romance Collection Book 2) Page 54
