by Jessa Eden
“I’m so sorry, Marla. You don’t deserve that.”
“It’s not about what I deserve, Emma. It’s about Beau thinking I betrayed and rejected him, when really I was just doing the best I could under horrible circumstances,” I admitted.
“Wow. You’ve never told me that before. What happened?”
My eyes filled with tears, my heart splitting open again under her sympathetic gaze. “Oh, Emma. I don’t think I can bear to tell you.”
“It can’t be that bad.”
I shook my head as I reached for a tissue. “Oh no, it’s that bad.”
“Did someone die?”
“No, no. But let’s just say there was a lot of carnage after Beau and I broke up.”
“I had no idea. What happened?”
I struggle to find the words. “I can’t...I can’t tell you until Beau knows. I owe him that. He has the right to know this secret first.”
“That sounds super serious.”
A sob burst out of me, as another wave of pain hit my heart. “It is. I just have no idea how to tell him this story. He already hates me and I don’t know if he’ll even believe me.”
She came around the desk and grabbed my hand as she tucked my wayward hair behind my ear. “Honey, you are the strongest woman I have ever known. You have to trust you will share this truth with Beau in the right time. I will hold faith for you that Beau will believe you.”
“Thank you,” I breathed out, grateful I had raised such a strong sister.
She had been such a trooper when she was ten and missing our mom. I remember checking on her one night about six months after our mom passed.
I heard her muffled crying as I opened the door to her bedroom.
“Hey, Sugarpop. What’s wrong?” I asked gently.
“I miss Mom,” she said as she sat up on her bed.
I turned on the light. “I know, Sugarpop.” I gathered her in my arms as I sat on her purple comforter.
She laid her head on my shoulder. “I just feel bad and miss mom.”
“I do, too. Do you want to know what I loved best about her? Besides her amazing laugh and the funny faces she used to make?”
“What do you love?”
I kissed her temple. “I love that she had you.”
I heard her sniffle as she clung to me tighter. “I love that she had you, too.”
I squeezed her tight. “We will always have each other, Sugarpop. I will never leave you.”
Her blue eyes were as big as saucers as she looked at me. “Promise?”
“Promise. Pinky swear.” I stuck out my littlest finger and she quickly wrapped hers around mine. “It’s a deal now. We’re stuck with one another.”
“I don’t mind.”
“Me neither. We’re stuck for life, kid. Tell you what; let’s watch a movie. I got your favorite from the library.”
She perked up a little bit. “You did?”
“Yep. So why don’t we pop some popcorn, get in our pjs, and watch it?”
“Okay!” she agreed, popping up from her bed and jumping up and down excitedly.
“I’ll start the popcorn, while you get ready for bed.”
“Cool!” she squealed, running to her dresser.
We gathered on our worn tan couch, blankets and pillows overflowing while we loaded Pretty in Pink into the VCR and watched Andy and Blaine’s romance come to life.
We’d seen this movie a thousand times, but it never got old.
Emma snuggled in next to me as the brilliant Annie Potts, with her crazy hair, flounced around in her prom dress, counseling Andie about her love life.
My favorite part was always the end. The pop beats of “If You Leave” by Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark blared out in the background, indicating Andie and Blaine were finally going to get together.
“I love that movie,” Emma proclaimed in the lovesick voice of a romantic ten-year old as the credits rolled.
“Me, too, Sugarpop.”
She glanced at me thoughtfully. “Does that really happen, Marla?”
“Does what happen?”
Her blue eyes burned bright with curiosity. “Does a boy really tell a girl he loves her?”
I hadn’t experienced that yet, but I wasn’t about to douse my little sister’s hopes. “Someday, Emma, a special man will come into your life when you least expect it.”
“Really?”
“Yes, Sugarpop.” I ran my fingers through her thick blonde hair as she leaned back against me. “He’ll be someone you’ll want to spend your life with.”
“Do you have someone special, Marla?” she asked as she twisted a couple pieces of my hair together.
A flash of Beau wrapping his hand around my cheek as he bent to kiss me in the greenhouse ran through my brain.
Stop wishing, Marla.
It was never going to happen with him.
“Not yet. But, I’m hoping,” I confessed.
“I want you to have someone special because you’re so special.”
“Ah, thanks, Sugarpop. I want that, too,” she said, throwing her arms around me.
I was glad I could make her feel better. I didn’t want her to know the harshness of the real world and lack of love it offered.
Emma snapped her fingers, bringing me back to reality. “Hey, lady, where did ya go?”
“Sorry, I was just thinking about how often we liked to watch Pretty in Pink when we were young.”
She smiled. “Still one of my favorite movies.”
“Mine too.”
“You were right, you know.”
“About what?”
“You always told me someone special would come into my life when I least expected it and that was very true with Micah.”
“Yes, it was. You got very lucky, Emma.”
“I know I did. But I still believe for you, too.”
That touched a nerve, but I still smiled. “That’s sweet.”
“No, listen to me. I’m serious. I believe Beau will have a change of heart and you’ll be together the way you’ve always wanted to be.”
I let down my guard, letting her see my wavering confidence. “I don’t know, Emma.”
“You don’t have to know. Just believe.”
I nodded, feeling my sister’s faith flow through me. “’Kay.”
She winked as she stood up. “It’s all good, but I gotta go check on our towel situation.”
“Glad you’re on it,” I teased as she left.
Picking up a long, white envelope, I returned my attention to the mail as I slid my letter opener through the top of an official looking missive from the health department.
Dear Ms. Matthews and Mrs. Turner,
A formal complaint has been filed against the salon Casa Oschun for flagrant sanitation violations. It has been reported that you have unclean equipment, improperly stored products, and a refusal to display your inspection card grade.
The aforementioned violations will need to be addressed. Hereby, an inspection will take place on July 30th, 2014 to see if you have complied. If you do not comply, Casa Oschun will be subjected to further restrictions and will be promptly shut down.
Jim McGovern
Baltimore Health Inspector
“What?” I screeched, my heart pounding in panic.
Why was this happening?
We had never been out of compliance before.
My mind raced. It was already July eighth, that meant we had roughly three weeks to figure out how to fix this mess. I bolted out of my office and hunted my sister down in the laundry room.
“Emma? Did you see this?” I asked, waving the paper wildly in her face.
“No, give it here.” She read the letter, her face paling as she reached the end.
“Flagrant violations? What the hell is this about?”
“I don’t know,” I said in a daze, my head spinning at the horrible possibility of our salon shutting down.
“Let me call Micah. He’ll know someone to contact,” she of
fered calmly.
“Okay.” I tried to breathe through my panic.
She got on the phone with her husband, who promised to figure out what was going on. Meanwhile, we still had customers coming in who expected to receive the kind of service we were known for.
I put my fears aside as I got busy with a couple of clients who were coming in for a relaxing day of pampering. I loved working on my clientele, even on bad days like this. It was satisfying to watch a client go from haggard and stressed when she first came in, to rested and relaxed after receiving our nurturing services.
The day passed quickly even though I had a knot in my stomach. Things got more interesting as I checked out my last client. A messenger came in, delivering an envelope addressed to me. I opened this one a little more cautiously and found a fancy invitation, engraved with gold lettering on expensive black card stock.
It read:
Your presence is required on July 22nd, 2014 at eight p.m.
Be ready and waiting to be picked up from your home.
If you choose not to attend, prepare to face the consequences.
“What the hell is going on?” I asked, puzzled over this strange turn of events.
“What now?” Emma asked as she held little Josiah on her hip.
I kissed his sweet little head. He was sprouting tufts of dark hair the same color as his daddy’s.
“Look at this.” I thrust the hoity-toity invitation into her outstretched hand.
She read it and handed it back to me. “Who’s your secret admirer?”
“I don’t know. Could this day get any stranger?”
“Not really. What do you make of it?”
“Someone is determined to get my attention.”
“Micah’s looking into it. He should have some information soon.”
“Good. I hope we get some answers.”
Yeah, fat chance.
All of Micah’s leads went nowhere as he came up empty. When we finally got a hold of the health department, all they would tell us is a complaint had been filed. We were being stonewalled. The only thing I knew for sure was whoever was behind this had deep pockets.
I had my suspicions.
Beau was clearly up to something, wanting to engage in some kind of dangerous game he was asking me to play.
One I wasn’t sure I would recover from.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Beau:
I wandered into the living room of my penthouse and took off my dinner jacket, fresh off another charity function that needed my help. It was important to give back to the community, but sometimes it hit a little too close to home. Raising money for sick children made me think too much.
Untying my black bow tie, I poured myself a scotch and tried to ignore the loneliness clawing at me. Its ruthless ache crept up on me sometimes, catching me by surprise.
The clink of ice rattled around my glass as I stared at the haze of lights dotting the Baltimore landscape through the floor to ceiling windows off the great room.
The moon was full, the sky clear. The lights of the city were especially brilliant against the dark night. I loved the view of the skyline along the buildings; it was a major reason I bought the penthouse.
I could look out and wonder about all the people and families living ordinary lives, who shared their lives together. It usually brought me a degree of comfort to think about people living happy lives, but not tonight.
I was too keyed up. Emotion I wasn’t comfortable identifying was churning in my gut. I was thinking about the past too goddamn much. Hopes and dreams long since buried were threatening to take hold again. It made me remember how I had desperately wanted a family of my own with Marla.
I had loved the hell out of her and wanted a fulfilling, normal life with her by my side. Originally, I was gonna move her and Emma up to Toronto, but that was before the shit hit the fan. After she broke up with me, I never wanted to share my life with anyone else.
Marla had stolen that desire from me.
I took another drink, the bitterness of the McLaren whiskey running down my throat as I ran my fingers against the black remote I held in my other hand. My thumb found the familiar play button and I pushed it with ease as the glow of the flat screen TV came to life.
A melodic giggle floated through the stale air of my penthouse as I stared at the reflection in the pane of glass.
Marla.
It was an old video, taken one day at the end of our senior year which I’d had converted to DVD ages ago. We were hanging around in a park, too in love to care about anything else.
“I love you, Shepard,” Marla proclaimed sweetly at minute 5:02 on the DVD counter as I pointed the video recorder toward us.
“Will you love me forever?” I asked, kissing her earlobe as we hugged.
She giggled against me. “Yes, always…always.” She turned her back against me as the sun glinted off our hair.
She was so convincing I still wanted to believe her.
“Me, too, Sunshine.” My voice was thick with love.
I wanted to marry her.
“We’re going to graduate in a couple of weeks and then the summer will be ours,” she said dreamily.
“Yeah, Sunshine. It’ll be ours.”
I closed my eyes, remembering the sweetness of that moment.
The world was at our feet and we were going to take it on together.
I’d really believed we would be together forever.
But I couldn’t afford that mentality anymore.
It had almost broken me.
Still, I turned toward the TV, watching the young me, crazy in love.
“Sunshine,” I nuzzled her neck as she leaned back against my chest, her dark hair draped across my shoulder.
“Yes, my love,” she said as her hands went around my neck, opening her body to me.
“I really want to get you naked,” I said, running my hand up and down her side.
She let out a delighted squeal. “You are such a naughty boy. But I like it,” she cooed. “What else are you thinking?”
“Me so horny!” I let out in a funny voice.
She burst out laughing at my silly imitation. “Way to turn a girl on!”
I grinned, even though I’d seen the tape a million times.
I shut off the TV, thinking how beautiful Marla had grown over the years. She had always been a knockout, but she had a magnificence about her now that left me speechless.
Her beauty was dangerous to my self-control, but I wasn’t going to let that stop me from blasting her with my wealth and influence.
It was time to take things to the next level. By now, she had received some of the surprises I’d sent her. She was in my crosshairs and I was determined to make her bend to my will.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Marla:
I mulled over what to do about the whole Beau situation. On one hand, I could ignore him and see what happened or I could jump into this little chess match of his and try to outsmart him.
I didn’t like playing games, but he had upped the stakes and I couldn’t let him shut down my salon without a fight.
Thankfully, I called Grace and invited her out to tea to talk about the situation. I walked a couple of blocks down the street from Casa Oschun to a teashop called Teaz, where we were going to meet.
It was the cutest little place filled with dainty knick-knacks and cloth covered round tables, each one with a different motif. Ours was sunflowers.
The bright cheery sunflower was splashed across everything from the tablecloths to the teacups. There was even a glass pitcher filled with the bright cheery flower in the middle of the table.
“Will it just be you today?” the friendly waitress with the dark fringe bangs asked.
“No, I’m waiting for a friend, but I know we would love a pot of Lady Earl Grey and some scones.”
“Coming right up,” she said with a smile and headed toward the back.
Grace sailed in a couple of minutes later. “Sorry, sugar
. Sam needed me to help him get his super-glued together fingers unstuck from helping Alex with her science project.”
I grinned, thinking about Sam walking around with his fingers stuck together. “It’s fine. I just ordered us some tea and scones.”
“Lady Earl Grey?” Her green eyes were alight with anticipation.
“Yes.” We both loved the mix of jasmine, lavender and rose tea.
“Fabulous!” she said, sitting down across from me. “So how are things going?”
“Okay.”
“I haven’t seen you since the yacht incident. That seemed brutal. It was like part frat-party slash orgy.”
“It was. But things have gotten worse.”
She arched one red brow coolly. “How so?”
“Casa Oschun received notification from the health department that we are in violation of several health codes and are in danger of being shut down.”
“Oh, no!” She breathed out in outrage. “I can’t believe it.”
“Believe it. To complicate things, I’ve also received a mysterious invite to some unknown event on Saturday night.”
“Do you think the two things are connected?”
“Absolutely. Beau Shepard is toying with me.”
“That Beau! What’s he up to?” she asked, her green eyes lighting up with mischief.
“I don’t know. But he wants to blackmail me somehow. I can feel it. Can you believe him?”
“No, sugar. I can’t.”
“I need your help, Grace. I don’t know what to do.”
“Yeah, you definitely need a game plan.” She rubbed her hands together like she was coming up with something good. “Two can definitely play at this little game he’s created.”
The waitress brought us our tea at that point, along with the delicious heart-shaped scones. We each filled a sunflower inspired cup and fixed a scone with Devonshire cream and lemon filling.
Divine.
One of my favs.
I took a sip of my tea “What do you have in mind?”
“First of all, you’re gonna be cool, calm, and sexy. Don’t let him see you sweat, no matter what he wants from you.
