Order vs. Chaos

by Mary E Thompson

  And through all of it, my dreams stayed away. It was all Kiana.

  I spent more nights at her house than at Kapena’s over the next few days. I went home Sunday, to pack a bag and pick up a few things to take to her place, and saw him.

  “Are you paying my sister rent?”

  I shook my head. “No. I still live here.”

  “But you’re spending all your time at her place. Seems like you should be paying her rent and half her utilities.”

  I nodded. “I’ll talk to her about it.”

  He shook his head. “I didn’t peg you for someone who would use her like this.”

  I spun on him, pissed off and not afraid to show it. “Excuse me?”

  “That other asshole she dated took advantage of her, but he never stole from her.”

  “What exactly did I steal from her?” I demanded, crossing my arms.

  “You’re living at her place for free. You don’t see that as stealing?”

  “If she came here, and stayed in my room, would it be stealing?”

  “First, she’s not sleeping in that bed with you under my roof. Second, she’s my sister. And this is my house. She’d never be stealing from me.”

  “I care about your sister. A lot, Kapena. I don’t think of it as stealing from her. I think of it as trying to spend as much time with her as possible.”

  He stared at me for a long minute. “Are you in love with my sister?”

  I blew out a long breath and nodded. “I am.”

  “Shit. Does she know?”

  I shook my head. “I haven’t told her.”

  “Why not?”

  I shrugged. I didn’t want to admit to him that I was fucking terrified she’d laugh at me. I didn’t think she was there yet. She liked me, yeah. She got off when we were together. But love? She wasn’t there.

  “The wedding this weekend is a big deal for her. She doesn’t need to worry about me on top of everything else.”

  His eyes narrowed. “Are you being honest with me?”

  “Why would I lie to you? Your opinion isn’t as important to me as hers is.”

  “It’s been my job to take care of her forever. She’s my little sister. I love her more than anyone else I’ve ever known. There’s never been another man that I thought would be good enough for my sister.”

  I laughed softly. “I’m not good enough for her.”

  He snorted. “Not even close. But you’re the first man who hasn’t backed down when I started asking questions. You’re the first one I’ve truly believed loves her.”

  I nodded. “I do love her. I definitely didn’t come here to find her, but I won’t say I wish I hadn’t met her. I came here to find peace. To settle down in one place and figure out where I belonged. I belong with Kiana. And I hope you can support that.”

  “Make sure you buy her things.”

  “I do.”

  “Dinner, jewelry, little treats she doesn’t expect.”

  I smiled. “I do.”

  “Don’t ever stop that. She deserves flowers for every holiday and jewelry and anything she wants.”

  “I know.”

  “Don’t ever take her for granted. And don’t try to tell her what to do. It won’t end well for you.”

  I laughed. “Very true.”

  “Let her be a part of decisions that affect both of you.”

  “You seem to know a lot about how to treat a woman. Anyone in particular that you’re thinking of?”

  “My parents. My dad loved my mom. She was his whole world. As hard as it was on Kiana and me, I’m glad they were together when they died. Neither of them could have lived without the other.”

  I sucked in a shocked breath. Kapena was more sensitive than I expected, but I understood what he was saying. Treat his sister like his dad treated his mom, and he wouldn’t get in my way.

  “I won’t forget, Kapena.”

  He nodded, then walked outside.

  I packed my bag and headed back to Kiana’s. I suggested we have dinner with Kapena sometime soon, and she agreed.

  “I think he’s lonely,” she said with a sigh.

  I nodded. “He went from having both of us there a lot to neither of us.”

  “Yeah. We need to see him more often.”

  “I think you need to visit him without me sometimes, too.”

  She nodded. “We just need to find him a woman.”

  I grinned. “I think he already has one picked out.”

  “Really? Who?”

  “Ada.”

  “What? My friend Ada?”

  I nodded. “He denies it, but I think he has a thing for her.”

  “Wow,” she breathed. “I never would have put them together.”

  “Does it bother you?”

  She thought about it for a minute then shook her head slowly. “Not really. I guess. I mean, it’s a little weird, but I’d never stand in their way. If they both wanted it.”

  I grinned. “I think they do, but neither of them wants to admit it.”

  “She just started dating a new guy though.”

  “Seriously?”

  Kiana nodded. “Yeah. Like two weeks ago.”

  “Maybe it won’t work out.”

  “Sawyer!”

  “I didn’t mean it like that,” I said, wrapping her up in my arms.

  She laughed and settled herself against me. “I know. I just want them both to be happy. Together or apart.”

  I nodded. “Me, too. But I’d prefer them together.”

  She chuckled. “You’re bad.”

  I licked her neck. “That’s not what you usually say.”

  “Hmmmm,” she purred.

  I sucked on her jaw then nipped at her earlobe. “Should I stop?”

  She shook her head.

  “So you want me to keep going?”

  “Yes. Don’t stop.”

  I laughed against her skin. “Am I still bad?”

  “No. You’re good. Very, very good.”

  Damn straight.

  Tuesday afternoon we had a meeting with Steven, Miranda, and Dave again. Carrington and Rachel were flying in overnight, so we were all on go for Wednesday morning.

  Our surprise guest for the meeting was Anthony.

  “Do I know you?” he asked when he saw me in the hallway.

  I nodded. “We met at the volcano a month ago.”

  He grinned. “That’s right! The other photog. What are you doing here?”

  “I took over your old job. I work here.”

  His smile slipped for a second before it broadened. “Really? You work under Kiana?”

  I nodded, crossing my arms over my chest. “I do.”

  “Ever work over her, because that was always the best.”

  I pinned him to the wall with my forearm.

  He laughed. “You’re fucking her, too, aren’t you? She’s good, isn’t she?”

  “Don’t ever fucking talk about her again.”

  “Sawyer,” Jack said. “Let’s not kill the bastard before we all get a shot at him.”

  “Jack,” Anthony said, squirming slightly. “Nice to see you again.”

  “I wish I could say the same,” Jack said with more venom than I’d ever heard from him. “I’d be much happier if I never saw your face again.”

  I let the bastard go and left him and Jack in the hallway. I went straight to Kiana’s office and pulled her from her chair and into my arms.

  “Hey,” she said with a laugh. “Are you okay? What’s going on?”

  “I’d ask how you’re doing, Kiana, but I can see with my own eyes.”

  She stiffened at the sound of that dickwad’s voice, and I wanted to pin him to the wall again and finish what I started. He didn’t deserve to breathe the same air she did, let alone speak to her.

  She took a deep breath and pressed her nose to my chest. I held her until she eased out of my arms. I stepped to the side, letting her face him, with me by her side.

  “Anthony. I heard you’ve been hir
ed by Not A Dream. Funny how that worked out.”

  He shrugged. “Not really. When Cathy mentioned it, I figured it was smart to call them and offer up my services. After all, your pretty boy over there needs to focus on the wedding. I can take care of all the extra-curricular activities. You know, the stuff that’ll actually be published.”

  “Cathy?” she breathed.

  Anthony snickered. “You didn’t know we were together, too?”

  “Too?”

  He full out laughed. “This is rich. Really rich. All this time and not only did you not realize it when we were together, but you didn’t figure it out after either.”

  “You’ve been sleeping with Cathy all this time?”

  His grin turned feral. “How do you think I found out you were hiring in the first place? And I couldn’t have her figure out we were together, so I had to make sure you kept your mouth shut when I pried your legs apart. I mean, we had some fun, but Cathy and I have been together for years. You were just a bit of fun when she was working late.”

  I was not going to stand there and listen to another fucking word that fuckmunch had to say. I crossed the room while he was talking, his focus all on Kiana. I slugged him, knocking him on his ass.

  He stared up at me, wiping his nose as blood seeped from it.

  “That’s assault,” he growled. “You’re going down.”

  I went at him again, my fist cocked and ready for another punch. I only stopped because Kiana asked me to.

  “He’s not worth it, Sawyer. He’ll never change. Feel free to escort him out of my office though.”

  I hauled his ass off the floor and into the hallway.

  “I’m calling the cops.”

  “Go ahead,” I spat. “I’m pretty sure the only potential witnesses you had will tell them exactly what happened.”

  “Oh, yeah, what’s that?”

  I shrugged and grinned. “Self defense. You came at Kiana and when I stepped in front of her, you hit me. I was just returning the favor.”

  “No one will believe that.”

  “Oh, no? I think Cathy will.”

  “You wouldn’t dare,” he growled.

  I laughed. “Without a doubt.”

  He narrowed his eyes and dug his phone out of his pocket as he rushed toward the door. I went back into Kiana’s office and found her on the phone already.

  “I know you don’t want to hear this, but it’s the truth, Cathy. I wanted you to hear it from me. I’m sorry. I had no idea you two were involved when we got together.”

  She paused and listened. “Okay. Let me know if you need anything. Bye, Cathy.”

  “Good for you,” I said with a grin.

  She shook her head. “Cathy doesn’t deserve what he did to her. She needed to know the truth.”

  “You don’t deserve it either.”

  She smiled. “You’re right. But I’m done with him. After this weekend, I’ll never see him again.”

  “We can only hope.”

  Anthony was back an hour later with a scowl and a swollen nose.

  And back-up.

  He walked in with Steven, Miranda, and Dave. They all took seats around the conference room table, saying hello to each of us.

  “I think you all know each other, right?” Steven said, gesturing to Anthony.

  “We met earlier,” I growled at him.

  “Oh, um, okay. Well, let’s get started. We have the itinerary for Joe and Rachel complete. We wanted you guys to have it, just for informational purposes. We don’t expect any of you to be at the events, we just wanted you to know what they have planned.”

  He passed around copies of the sheet of paper with the schedule for the next few days. There were times when they could relax but not many. I pulled in a deep breath when I saw that Joe and Rachel were starting their tour with a stop at Opposites Attract around lunchtime the next day.

  “Is this going to work for you?”

  Kiana nodded. “Absolutely. It’s perfect.”

  “Good. Anthony and Sawyer will be working closely together on Saturday for the ceremony. I know you guys will be getting a lot of shots for Joe and Rachel to have, but we’ll have a few extra shots that we’ll need Anthony to get for the magazine. I have that list here.”

  He handed another sheet to Kiana. She looked at it, a crease forming between her eyebrows, then handed the sheet to me.

  For the most part, the list was standard. Shots of the couple in different situations. First kiss. First dance. Sunset. Him carrying her.

  The list wasn’t the problem. It was the disclaimer at the bottom that said Anthony was to be given priority to get a shot and that I was required to stay out of his way.

  “Uh, how is this going to work?” I asked, interrupting Steven.

  “What?”

  “He gets priority on all shots? I won’t get any for the couple if he’s pushing me out of the way.”

  Steven shook his head and grinned. “He won’t be doing that. These are the only shots we need for the magazine. Anything aside from this will be all yours.”

  “The bride and groom are going to want these shots for their wedding album.”

  Steven shrugged. “If you can’t get good shots, you can just include the ones Anthony takes. It won’t make a difference to them who was behind the camera.”

  I glanced at Anthony and saw a triumphant grin on his shit-eating face.

  “Each photographer has their own style, their own way of shooting. If I get some of the shots and he gets others, it’ll be obvious when they’re side-by-side. I don’t think this is a good idea.”

  Steven’s smile slipped, and his eyes went hard. “I missed the part where I asked your opinion. Last I checked, this was my show to run. If you don’t like it, you’re welcome to step aside and let Mr. Ortega take all of the pictures.”

  My eyes went to Kiana. She silently pleaded with me to let it go. It fucking burned to back down, but it was what she wanted.

  “We’ll work it out,” I grumbled.

  “It’s all fine,” she told Steven. “He’s new, so this is all a little different than what Sawyer’s used to. He’s very talented though, and he’ll be able to get the best shot possible.”

  Steven nodded like it was all resolved.

  I was pissed. She slammed me about not being experienced and then complimented me by slamming Anthony. Not really a warm and fuzzy feeling there.

  The rest of the meeting passed without incident. When we were finished, I slipped out and walked down to the beach, needing a break before I talked to Kiana.

  “I see she calls the shots for you,” the asshole said. “Does she tell you what shots to take for all the weddings, too?”

  I glared at him, which only made him laugh.

  “She did that to me at first, too. But she backed off after a while. I think it was around the same time we started fucking. She realized I had many talents and decided to let me use them. All of them.”

  “Want to see if I can break your nose for real this time?” I growled, getting in his face.

  Anthony just smirked. “Let’s see, she still gives you a photo list. She gets you to back off when you know you’re not getting what you want. Has she told you she loves you yet?”

  That one hit a little too close to home. I did not want to hear about her saying she loved him. That might kill me.

  “No? She hasn’t done that, either? Let’s see, I met you a little over a month ago. I’m guessing you’ve been sleeping together for what? Three weeks?”

  Fucker.

  “I think it was only a week after we started fucking that she told me she loved me. Or was it two, Kiana?” Anthony asked.

  I spun and saw her behind us, listening to our conversation. Her eyes told me the answer.

  She did love him. And she told him right away.

  Which meant she didn’t love me. Not even close.

  Chapter Twenty-One

  “Go away, Anthony,” she said, her voice steady. “Get off my property, or
I’ll file a restraining order and you’ll be out of a job.”

  He laughed. “You know they take a while to go into effect. Besides, you need me. This whole project hinges on me taking amazing pictures that show how good you are at putting together a wedding. Yet again, your fate is in my hands. As I said before, you wouldn’t be here without me.”

  “Get out,” she growled.

  He smirked but walked away.

  When we were alone, she opened her mouth to say something, but I cut her off.

  “Did you love him?”

  She sighed. “I thought I did.”

  “That’s not an answer, Kiana. Either you did or you didn’t.”

  “Yes,” she whispered. “I thought it was mutual. I thought we were going to be together forever.”

  “And instead, you were just his side piece.”

  She flinched like I’d slapped her, and I saw the truth. She still loved him. If she didn’t, it wouldn’t hurt so badly to hear that.

  “You’re right,” she said. “I was. I was stupid for thinking someone like him would want me.”

  “I never said that,” I argued. “He was insane for not wanting you and only you.”

  “That’s not what it sounded like.”

  “Listen, I should go.”

  “Don’t. Let’s talk about this.”

  I shook my head. “I don’t think that’s a good idea. It’s hard for me to hear that you fell in love with him in a week and aren’t even close with me.”

  “Neither are you,” she tossed back.

  I held her gaze, letting her see the truth. She gasped, and I knew she saw everything in my eyes.

  Then I turned and walked away.

  I stayed at Kapena’s that night. I’d hoped Kiana would ask me to move in with her, or ask me to find a place with her, but after our fight, I knew that was a long way off, if ever. I decided to search for a new place. Then, at least, I’d be away from one Palu.

  “Dinner,” Kapena said from my doorway.

  I nodded but didn’t look up.

  “What are you doing?”

  “Looking for a new place.”

  “Why? What’s wrong with being here?”

  I met his eyes. “Nothing. But I’ve crashed with you long enough. You need your space back.”

  He shrugged. “I guess. No rush though. You’re good practice for having a wife. Someone to cook for, someone to share a bathroom with, someone who’s moody and bitches all the time.”