Seduced by Sunday

by Catherine Bybee

  Margaret pushed away from the table and walked to his side.

  On instinct, he took hold of Margaret’s elbow and led her away from anyone who might overhear them.

  “Why do I feel like I’m being led to the principal’s office?” she asked.

  Val found no humor in her voice. “Who is Ryder Gerard?” he asked without any prompt.

  “Excuse me?”

  He stopped walking, turned toward her.

  Margaret pulled out of his grip, making him realize that he held her a little too tight.

  “Seems your friend with benefits is requesting another guest join your party.”

  She blinked a few times until his words sank in. “He is?”

  “Don’t play coy with me, Margaret. Michael isn’t sleeping anything off in your rooms.”

  She crossed her arms over her chest, her eyes sharp points of accusation. “I don’t play, Mr. Masini. Michael was in our villa when I left to join you here. If he left once I was gone, that’s news to me. It’s not like he can send me a text to tell me where he is.”

  “I suppose next you’re going to tell me that Mr. Wolfe said nothing to you about bringing a friend to join you.”

  She lifted her chin. “Seems you’ve already accused me of lying, Mr. Masini. To serve what purpose? I’m the one who arranged our stay here. Michael knows you have a background check for every guest. He understands why better than most of the people here. If he is asking for someone to join us, my guess is he has a good reason and that person is as trustworthy as your mother.”

  “Don’t bring my mother into this conversation.”

  “You know, Masini, your people skills could use some work. I’m not your enemy.”

  “The privacy of my guests is paramount.”

  “As if I don’t know that.”

  “I don’t care for surprises.”

  She glared with her lips in a straight line. “Must be a bitch for your family around your birthday.”

  “Who is Ryder Gerard?”

  “I couldn’t tell you.”

  Val twisted his hands into small knots and shoved them in his pockets.

  For a brief moment, Margaret simply stared him down. It was a visual game of chicken and Val had a sneaking suspicion that he was about to lose.

  She blew out a long breath. “Listen, Val. I honestly don’t know who Michael wants to bring to the island. But I do know Michael. The man seldom has a vacation or even a meal without hordes of fans wanting a piece of him. My guess is he feels safe here. I don’t think there has been any media watching us since we’ve arrived and maybe Michael wanted to have an old friend join us. I’m sure whoever Mr. Gerard is, he’s perfectly safe.”

  Val hated how sincere she sounded. How innocent her eyes were.

  “You’re not upset someone is interrupting your vacation?” Why had he asked that?

  A slight lift to Margaret’s lips made him eat his words. “Michael and I are friends.”

  “With benefits.”

  She lifted her left brow, paused. “Right.”

  Was Margaret a better actor than her companion? Was she playing him? Val hated that he didn’t know her well enough to trust her.

  “All right, Margaret. So long as Mr. Gerard isn’t a known felon or working for any media cooperation, I’ll honor Michael’s request.”

  She smiled.

  Her grin was contagious and he felt his lips smiling back.

  “How old was Gabi when your father passed?”

  He found the question off his radar and answered without thinking. “Fourteen.”

  “So all her dates had to go through you?”

  “I was the man of the house.”

  “What a bitch that had to be.”

  Val shook his head. “It was.”

  “For her. What a bitch for her. No offense, Masini, but you’d be the worst high school principal ever.”

  “Didn’t your brothers look out for you?”

  “I’m an only child, Masini. A fact you might have known if you’d actually done your background check a little better. Even I know where you were born, what college you went to, and what your major was.”

  She turned and started to walk away before her words registered.

  Val reached for her, let go when she looked at his hand holding her elbow as if it were made of hot tar.

  Margaret silenced him with one sentence. “You were born in New York, spent summers in Italy before your grandparents passed, went to NYU, my guess is to stay close to home to watch over your mother and sister after your dad died of an early heart attack.”

  “How do you—”

  “You weren’t the only one doing background checks, Masini.”

  With that, Margaret turned and walked away.

  “Holy crap, Michael.” Meg walked into the villa cussing.

  Michael stood in the kitchen pouring wine into two glasses, the smile on his face just this side of radiant.

  “Hey, darlin’. I take it you heard we have company.”

  Before Meg could utter a word, a man just a tad shorter than Michael, with a build almost as nice, walked into the room.

  “Ryder Gerard, I assume.”

  Michael’s guest offered a sheepish smile. “You must be Meg.”

  Meg offered her hand, mumbled a nice to meet you, and turned to Michael. “A little warning, Michael.”

  “It was a last-minute decision.”

  “The island isn’t that big. You could have found me, told me.”

  “You weren’t here.”

  Ryder backed away. “Should I leave?”

  Both Michael and Meg said, “No.”

  Without much thought, Meg moved to the windows and started pulling the shades. “Masini cornered me, asked about your unexpected guest. I played dumb, which wasn’t difficult since I didn’t know what was going on.” She tugged the last blind and turned.

  Michael handed a glass of wine to Ryder and pulled another glass from the cabinet. Meg took the wine, though she really wanted a stiff shot of something much stronger, and sat across from Michael and his friend.

  When Ryder moved to the far side of the couch, Meg laughed. “Please, Ryder. I’m guessing you’re Michael’s teacher friend.”

  Ryder had a soft quality to his voice. “We’re on spring break.”

  “That’s convenient. Wait . . .” Hadn’t Michael suggested this week, a different week than the one she had originally suggested before she set up their vacation? “You planned this . . .”

  Michael studied the ceiling. “I wouldn’t say planned.”

  Meg set her wine on the side table and leaned forward. “Michael!”

  “Hoped, OK? When yesterday didn’t result in anything other than a tweet, I called Ryder.”

  How could she be mad at the man? “Why didn’t you say something?”

  “Because I’ve found that the least amount of information to the fewest number of people is best.”

  “C’mon, Michael. You can trust me. You know that.”

  Michael laid a hand on Ryder’s thigh and left it there.

  The grin on Michael’s face was a shade off nirvana. “So what’s the plan?” Meg asked. “What do we tell anyone who asks? As much as I might like being a girl in a threesome, I’m not sure that excuse will fly.”

  Ryder covered Michael’s hand with his and spelled out their plan.

  The single-bench golf cart at their disposal had been switched up to one that seated four. The cart simply arrived sometime before dinner. Val paid attention to details, Meg had to give him that.

  Meg, Michael, and Ryder had dinner in the villa and then dressed for the evening entertainment.

  Meg was never more pleased with the closet full of new dresses. She couldn’t stop smiling. Of all the people in the world to find on the island, being able to sing with Jim Lewis was a dream she never even realized she’d had. All she had to do was agree to a cooking lesson from Mrs. Masini.

  Score!

  “Tell me about this J
im Lewis again.” Michael zipped up the fitted dress in the back and patted her shoulder.

  “I can’t believe you don’t know who he is.”

  “I listen to rock and roll.”

  Meg turned toward the full-length mirror and pulled her “girls” to a respectable position in the dress. Once her cleavage was properly in place, she moved to the edge of the bed to put on her shoes. “Well, prepare your auditory palate for a new sound. Jim Lewis will have you feeling every word he sings unlike anything hard rock can deliver.” She loved the hard stuff, too, but she’d take a smoky blues bar over a concert hall any day. Well, the blues, not the smoky bar.

  “Are we ready?” Ryder glanced into the room.

  “We’re waiting on the girl.”

  “Figures.”

  Meg stood an extra four inches taller than nature intended and picked up her clutch. “Ready.”

  Flanked by two attractive men, she walked the short distance to the golf cart and tucked herself into the passenger seat.

  It had been a while since she’d had an audience. Karaoke only counted for so much. Truth was she hadn’t made time to sing to something other than her piano in close to a year. She missed it.

  She knew early on that singing for a living was a long shot she didn’t want to pursue. It didn’t help that her asthma kept her from smoky bars, venues . . . even concert halls.

  “Are you nervous?” Ryder asked from the backseat.

  “Excited.” Yeah, maybe a little nervous.

  “Well, you look great.”

  She accepted Ryder’s compliment with a smile.

  “Did Val really give you crap when he heard I wanted to bring a guest?”

  Michael rounded the corner onto the path straight to the main villa that housed the nightclub where Jim would be singing.

  “The man really doesn’t trust me.”

  Michael frowned. “I don’t understand why.”

  “He doesn’t know me,” Meg said when they pulled to a stop behind a dozen golf carts. “And he couldn’t learn much about me through any regular channels.”

  “If there isn’t any dirt, how can he be so untrusting?”

  “I think that might be the problem. Everyone here . . . well, many of those here have some dirt. When someone doesn’t have anything to hide, they have nothing to lose.”

  Michael walked around the cart and helped Meg out. “He couldn’t crack Alliance.”

  “He couldn’t smudge Alliance. Sam perfected the barriers around that long before you and I came along.”

  “I don’t think I like this Val guy,” Ryder said.

  That’s what Meg kept saying to herself . . . then she’d see him in person and she’d ask herself what the harm was in flirting with the man.

  “There’s only one tiny problem,” Michael said.

  They walked to the door to the nightclub and met the center of their conversation. He was back in a suit, this one black and perfect for the host of the evening. He’d managed a shave, damn shame that, and he wore something that held a sandalwood musky pull.

  She licked her lips and denied the desire to move closer to the man to reach the full effect of the scent of his skin.

  His eyes swept down and took a slow dance up her frame. “You look positively stunning, Margaret.”

  “Thank you.” Without much thought, she reached forward and straightened his bow tie. “James Bond called, wanted to know when you’re returning his suit.”

  His gaze fell on her lips when he smiled. “Is that right?”

  “That’s the rumor.”

  Meg broke free of his gaze. “Valentino Masini, I’d like you to meet Ryder Gerard.”

  The two men shook hands. “I hope you enjoy your time on my island.”

  “It’s beautiful. I appreciate you accepting me on such short notice.”

  “Not a problem. If you need anything, please ask.”

  Meg squelched the need to roll her eyes as another set of guests moved in behind them.

  “I have a table for you close to the stage,” he told them.

  On cue, the maître d’ closed in and asked them to follow.

  Once the three of them were seated and their drink orders were taken, they moved close to finish their conversation.

  “See the problem?” Michael asked Ryder.

  “Bright and clear.”

  Meg watched Val at the door, his easy smile and grace with his other guests made her wonder if he distrusted them, too.

  “See what?” Meg asked.

  Val must have felt her gaze and he narrowed his eyes on her. She purposely looked to the men she was seated with. “What?”

  Ryder broke into a grin and Michael laughed. “He might not trust you, but he has it bad for you.”

  “Keep your enemies closer . . . as they say.”

  “You keep telling yourself that, Meg. Let me know how that works out.”

  Chapter Eight

  He couldn’t stop staring.

  She’d stepped out of a 1930s pinup magazine. Her creamy, soft breasts pushed out of the skintight fitted red dress that narrowed at her waist. The hem stopped at her knees and had a slight slit in the back. Tiny black beads ran the back length of her stockings; her feet were tucked into slim high heels with straps that wrapped around her ankles. She was completely polished on the outside with a flippant tongue hiding on the inside. Val wanted the whole package.

  Val wasn’t the only one looking, either. Men of all sizes, ages, and marital statuses were watching her. Lord help him if she sang as sexy as she looked.

  “Is that Meg?” Val heard Gabi’s voice on his right. He nodded without looking at his sister.

  “My goodness, she takes performing with Jim to quite an extreme.”

  “It’s her fan moment.” On his Fantasy Island.

  From across the crowded room, her eyes lifted to his. Instead of looking away, she hoisted her martini glass in salute before tipping it to the edge of her red lips. When she licked the moisture off the rim of the glass, he had to look away or risk embarrassing himself in front of his guests.

  “It looks as if her two companions aren’t quite enough to entertain her,” Gabi said without malice.

  The lights on the stage went up, keeping Val from commenting on his sister’s observation.

  He zigzagged through the crowd and took the stage to introduce his special guest. “Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for joining me this lovely evening.” Val looked over the heads of his guests, found the bright eyes of Margaret watching his every move. “Tonight I’ve asked a special guest, and an icon I dare call friend, to my stage. Please put your hands together for a man who needs little introduction, Mr. Jim Lewis.”

  Few people in attendance knew Jim was going to perform, and with the announcing of his name, the audience applauded with enthusiasm that honored his friend.

  Jim walked from the back of the club, shaking hands along the way. When he reached the stage, he shook Val’s hand and leaned into the mic. “How about a round of applause for your host.”

  The crowd kept clapping.

  Val tilted his head in appreciation and moved offstage.

  “It’s hard to say no to Val,” Jim said. “Especially when he gives me the best villa for nothing.”

  The audience laughed and Jim took to the stool in the center of the stage. Val’s house band moved into place behind his friend. A stagehand produced Jim’s guitar and set a glass of water on the table beside him.

  Jim ran his fingers over a few chords and the room grew silent.

  “I’ve been singing for my meals for nearly thirty years.” He strummed the guitar again, stopped.

  The crowd laughed.

  “I’ve performed in concert halls, auditoriums, stadiums . . . but none are better than venues like this . . . where I can play, chat, and feel like I’m in your living room talking crap about the neighbors.”

  The keyboard player knocked back a few notes and stopped.

  “Have you ever had a neighbor, hot
ter than your girl?”

  The keyboard played again, and this time the drummer played with him.

  “Oh, baby, it’s a bad thing when your girl finds out.”

  The keyboard, drums, and now a bass prepared for Jim’s opening.

  “That you have ‘The Baby Next Door Blues.’”

  Jim leaned into the mic, hit the first note, and wrapped the audience around his chubby little finger.

  Val had heard him many times, sometimes in his own living room. But here, onstage and in his element, Jim vibrated.

  Val found himself watching Margaret. Her hand tapped the top of the table to the beat of the music; her lips mouthed the words to one of Jim’s most famous songs.

  The song dipped low, wound its way to a high note, and finished with a round of applause.

  Margaret was the first on her feet, and one of the last to sit down before Jim moved to another hit.

  Val wound his way through the tables until he found the sweet spot in the back where all the notes could be heard in full stereo. Jim helped design the acoustics, making sure there wasn’t a corner missing anything critical. But here, in the center of the room, Val could hear every note as clear as an early morning bird greeting the day.

  The second song moved faster than the first, two horn players added flavor to the music.

  When the song was over, and the audience calmed down, Jim looked over the crowd. When his eyes landed on Margaret, Val felt his pulse jump.

  Was she nervous? Did anything make the woman numb with anxiety?

  “Have you ever met someone in your life and said, hot damn . . . if only I was twenty years younger?”

  “Try thirty,” Michael Wolfe countered from the floor.

  Jim tossed his head back and laughed. “I met this sassy, sweet thing only a few hours ago. If her voice is as sexy as her dress, we’re in for a treat. Let’s hear it for Meg Rosenthal.”

  Margaret took the stage as if she’d done it so many times before. Val found himself mesmerized. Jim slid a hand around her waist, kissed her cheek. She lifted a leg and batted her lashes at the audience.

  “Go girl!”

  Val heard the call, but didn’t note where the man who yelled it was.

  Instead of moving to the microphone, she blew a kiss to Jim before moving behind the keyboard. “Do you mind?” she asked.