by KB Winters
Clifton Hendricks chose that moment to speak up. “No bra? Well honey I’ve got decades of experience to share with you,” he dropped a kiss on my cheek and winked.
“When I find the right guy, I’ll settle down. But after hearing your stories I’m not sure real life can compete.” They all smiled wistfully but I meant it. Times were different back when Edith met her husband, two days before he’d left for Vietnam and they married hours after he’d returned home. Clifton’s wife had been stranded on the side of the road and he was the officer who’d stopped to help her. Things like that didn’t happen to me. With my luck, the soldier would have a wife already and the police officer would arrest me for expired plates.
“These cookies are good,” Suzy offered reluctantly. “I’m glad you decided to stop poisoning us with that healthy junk.” The redheaded Irish woman preferred her desserts like she preferred her men, sweet and rich.
I should have kept my secret but Suzy was a colorful character who didn’t mince words. “Actually, those cookies are vegan.”
Cloudy blue eyes rounded and her mouth formed an ‘o’. “What? These things don’t have real butter? Or shortening?”
“Nope.”
She grinned and grabbed another. “Well played, Miss Misha.”
I loved the old folks with their sassy attitudes and dirty minds. Spending the afternoon with them always made me smile and left me invigorated to live my life as fully as they had. By the time I made my way back to Venice, I parked and walked around in search of a spot to enjoy some dinner.
With the rowdy crowds and long waits, I realized I wasn’t in the mood and grabbed a sub before heading home to my balcony and the sounds of the waves crashing against the shore. My mind drifted to where I would go next, and what I would do if Ethan didn’t show up again tomorrow.
Six
Ethan
It seemed that lately my favorite place on earth was the spot on my deck overlooking the ocean. I spent so much time on that Adirondack that my ass was imprinted in the cushions. Water marks showed on the circular teak table from the cold glass filled with either iced tea, water or lemonade. Alcohol didn’t help me think or focus, which was exactly what I needed to do. On my own.
“I know you’ve been keeping a low profile until you’re ready to get back out in the public eye, but I’ve lined a few things up for you.”
I hadn’t even heard Brian’s car pull up out front or heard him enter my beach house. That was a dangerous thing and I knew I needed to get my shit together. Quickly. “Hey Brian. I’m doing good, how are you?”
With a long-suffering sigh, Brian rolled his eyes. “If you were fine you wouldn’t be sitting out here in the middle of the day like some unemployed person.”
I felt the weight of Brian’s stare as mine stayed glued to the ocean. Sure, there were things I should be doing but I couldn’t muster up energy or motivation to worry about any of it. “What do you got lined up?” I bit out with more attitude than I needed. I knew Brian was just doing his job and he was damn good at it. Whatever he had planned would probably help.
“A spread and a commercial in Tokyo’s version of GQ, plus a photo shoot for a new line of organic Matcha products. The culture there is very different and they celebrate you for keeping some things private.”
I grunted out my response. Tokyo was a beautiful city that I’d always wanted time to explore but I never made an effort to carve out that time because I’d been too busy building my empire. “Why should I even bother? It’s not like I need the money or the exposure.” What I needed was a fucking time machine so I could go back and erase those awful five minutes of time with Samantha Stevens. Even though I still didn’t see how I was in the wrong for doing exactly what she herself had been attempting to do.
“How about because the stocks have finally stopped trying to commit suicide. Things are finally on the uptick so I need you to get your pretty little ass in gear, and leave the travel details to me.”
I didn’t want to go. I had no energy or excitement for a long flight to Tokyo and then photo and video shoots that would tax my already limited patience. What I really wanted was to see the woman I’d gone to great lengths to avoid for the past four days, but I couldn’t. She hadn’t pushed, but every day I received a message with a time and place plus any other details I might need. When I didn’t show, Misha didn’t call or text a reminder, or berate me for wasting her time. She said nothing. Did nothing. And I was grateful for that much. All that quiet contemplation she stirred up, making me think about things better left dead and buried, it made me uneasy and I preferred to be calm. In control. “Hold that thought. You might need to make everything for two. Misha,” I reminded him with a grunt.
“Right,” he said distastefully. “I’ll make it for two. One bedroom or two,” he asked with a hint of exasperation.
I glared at Brian, not liking his insinuation at all. “What are you getting at?”
“Oh come on Ethan, don’t try to play the part of the innocent maiden. She might not be your type but she has that earth goddess beauty that all men can appreciate.”
“Well it’s not like that,” I told him but the truth was Brian was right. I did appreciate her beauty. More than I liked to admit. “Two bedrooms, but make it a suite if you can.” Now I just had to convince her to come with me.
“Fine. I’ll send you the details, make sure you check your email first thing tomorrow, okay?”
I nodded but it was useless because Brian had already begun retracing his steps, expensive Italian loafers loud on the hard wood floors. I realized I must have been deep in my own head since I hadn’t heard him enter.
Looking out at the vastness of the ocean I let the sound of the crashing waves soothe me. Then I picked up the phone and dialed Misha but the call went straight to voicemail. “Hi Misha, it’s me Ethan. Sorry about the past few days. Call me when you get this.”
She didn’t return my call or the text I shot off after the message, and I knew she was pissed off. Women held so much regard for this kind of thing, which is exactly why I steered clear of serious relationships all these years. So I waited to hear from her, knowing later in the day she’d send a message for tomorrow’s meeting place. When it finally arrived, I felt something like hope swell in my chest and I couldn’t explain it. Then I read the message.
By the fountain on Venice Beach at noon. If you don’t show up tomorrow the contract is voided.
That was it. She didn’t even sign the damn message. Just cold, straightforward and right to the point. So unlike the Misha I’d gotten to know recently and it pissed me off.
I hated all this emotional crap. It served no purpose other than making life more stressful than it needed to be. I got up, strapped on my sneakers and headed to the gym I had installed, even though I’d never spent more than a couple days at a time at my Malibu house. The treadmill wasn’t my preferred method of exercise but I also didn’t feel like running into anyone who might recognize me, so I hopped on and cranked up the setting and began to run. Running wasn’t just great exercise, but it usually helped me clear my mind. Emphasis on usually. At the ten-mile mark, it became clear that running wasn’t the medicine I needed today. I gave up and grabbed a quick shower before calling Jax.
“What’s up baby brother?”
I rolled my eyes at that. When I was fifty my brothers would still think of me as the baby. “Just feeling out of sorts. What are you up to?”
“On the tarmac waiting for some maintenance issues to be cleared up before heading to Ohio.”
“What the hell for?”
Jax grinned. “New recruit. This quarterback’s arm is like a rocket but the kid has a major attitude problem.”
I had to smile at that. Jax was well respected not just for his skills as one of the top running backs in the NFL, but now professional athletes lined up to be represented by him because of his tenacity, ethics and straight talk. “And you’re going to straighten him out?”
“Only if he wants
a great career in the NFL.” And that was Jax through and through. If you wanted his help he’d give it, if not you were on your own. “Why are you out of sorts?”
I let out a frustrated sigh because, dammit, I couldn’t explain it myself. “I just need to understand how this thing with Misha is supposed to work.”
Jax’s sigh mirrored my own. “I can’t explain it either, man. All I know is that it works. Blitz said working with her not only improved his focus and his game, but also his marriage and even he can’t really explain it.”
I wasn’t convinced. “How in the hell is hanging out going to help me?” The past four days without her had me feeling more stressed out than I’d been since before she’d come into my life.
“Look Ethan, I don’t know but I do know that Misha has a proven track record of success. If that isn’t good enough for you, figure your shit out for yourself. It’s your company and your name.” Without a farewell or good luck, he hung up on me.
I couldn’t help it, I laughed. Loud and long.
And so hard tears streamed down my cheeks.
***
I spotted Misha sitting by the fountain before I was even close enough to see her killer smile. She wore a bright green dress that hung off one shoulder and that was the only inch of skin on display. My feet increased their speed on their own, eager to get closer to the bright spot that was Misha. Though the closer I got, the more hesitant my steps became until I stood not five feet from her. “Hey.”
Misha looked up, shielding her eyes from the sun as she flashed a wary smile. “Hey. Have a seat,” she gestured to the oversized tie-dye blanket.
I sat, raking a hand through my hair, as the ocean stole my attention. “I’m sorry for flaking on you this week.”
She shrugged, her own attention on the choppy movement of the water. “This is all up to you Ethan. If you want to show up then you will, if you decide not to, then there is nothing I can do about it.”
Damn she really was a tough audience when all a man was trying to do was apologize. “Fine. What are we doing today?”
“Today, we talk.”
That felt like a punishment in itself. The absolute last thing in the world I wanted to do was talk, as if that hadn’t been made clear by my reasons for needing Misha in the first place. “Great.”
She laughed and touched my forearm gently. “It’s just words, what could it hurt?”
“Spoken just like a woman,” I grunted and was treated to another of those smoky laughs. Silence settled between us comfortably for a few minutes as she unpacked the picnic lunch she packed. “Seriously? Who packs macaroni and cheese in a picnic? And is that…fried chicken?”
“No,” she answered back haughtily. “It’s fried catfish. Eat or don’t, but I won’t starve. Besides,” she grinned, “there’s some garnish in there for you.”
Garnish? I looked inside the brown wicker basket lined with blue and white gingham and grinned at the small plastic container of salad at the bottom. “Thanks.”
She shrugged like it was no big deal and I realized, for her, it wasn’t. I didn’t eat the crap she did so she made sure there was something I could eat. “Tell me about your last relationship.”
“It was more than a decade ago.” After Katarina, I pretty much stopped going after relationships. “What about you, are you in a relationship?”
“No.”
Okay, then. “I don’t do relationships, not really. I have women I see on occasion but it’s never serious.”
“Never? That is statistically impossible.”
Her big green eyes were so wide with disbelief all I could do was laugh. “It isn’t when you think about it. There are plenty of women who don’t want a serious relationship and many more who convince themselves they can change my mind.”
She nodded thoughtfully as she processed my words. “Why don’t you want a serious relationship?”
With those eyes that saw everything, examining every inch of my face, searching for who in the hell knew what, I still gave her the answer I gave when Abby asked. “I’m too young to settle down. I work long hours, travel the world and rarely sleep in my own bed.” All of which was also true.
I could tell Misha didn’t believe one word I said, even though she nodded as if she understood. She didn’t answer for a long time, just taking small bites of everything as she smiled at the ocean on this colder than normal day. I felt the moment her gaze turned to me and I met it with unwavering confidence. “I suppose if I were a handsome billionaire with more naked women than I could handle throwing themselves at me, I might take a few years to sample. Then again, I’m not afraid of commitment.”
I knew she was trying to goad me and it dammit it worked. “I’m not afraid of anything.”
“If you say so,” she answered with a ghost of a smile as she pulled a thick slab of chocolate cake from the basket.
“I do.”
Misha was completely unaffected by my dark scowl. She smiled with chocolate smeared on the corner of her mouth and simply said, “Okay.”
I wouldn’t let her goad me again so I remained silent for a while. I watched her from the corner of my eye as she laid back, stretched her body across the length of the blanket, trying in vain to settle the billowy skirt the wind insisted on blowing up and exposing smooth tan legs. “So, I have to go to Tokyo for a week, maybe longer, depending on how fast everything gets taken care of.” She hadn’t moved or even acknowledged she heard me. “And I would like you to go with me, to continue our work or whatever.”
She turned to me with a cheeky grin. “Or whatever?”
My smile was sheepish and I shrugged. “Yeah. So, will you come with me?”
She turned back to the blue gray waters as the wind whipped her hair into a frenzied tornado before she failed to tame it with a quick tuck. “Sure.”
And just like that, the stress abated.
Seven
Misha
“Are you sure you don’t mind spending two days in the middle of nowhere with my dad? You can always go ahead to Japan and I can meet you there.” The last thing I wanted was for Ethan to be stuck and bored for two days, but when he hadn’t answered my text, I figured he wouldn’t show on the fifth day and well, I did have a life to live.
He kicked back and stretched his long legs out in the spacious private jet, head resting on buttery cream leather and a sleepy smile on his face. “I’d like to meet your dad. Has to be a damn strong man to raise a woman like you.” Ethan wore a proud sexy look that made me uneasy and I looked away.
“He’s great,” I told him and launched into a few stories of my dad’s complete awesomeness and sometimes inappropriateness. The flight went fast because, despite his words to the contrary, we spent the entire flight talking. “Dad is a people person and no subject is off limits so you’ve been warned,” I told him shortly after the jet touched down on a private airfield in Urbana. We made the short drive to the three-bedroom split level I grew up in. Dad had repainted the drab brown house a sunny yellow color that made me smile as he stepped out onto the porch, looking tan and thin from his recent cruise with a lady friend. “Dad!”
The feel of his arms squeezing the life out of me made me giggle like a school girl, but was also the best damn feeling in the world. “It’s so good to see you, sweetheart.”
“You too Dad. You look damn good. Cruise life agrees with you.”
With a quick pat of his belly he flashed a naughty grin. “Oh, you have no idea baby girl.” He noticed Ethan and looked him over with a squinty eyed glare. “Who are you and what are your intentions towards my Misha?”
I rolled my eyes and hip checked the old man. “Dad give it rest. He’s just a friend and no, not that kind of friend.”
Dad took a step away from me and frowned. “Why the hell not? He’s good looking, has his own teeth and he looks fit enough for an honest day’s wage. And he’s young enough to have enough stamina to last all night.” Ethan flushed at my father’s appraisal but I was used to it.<
br />
“Dad, stop. You’re making Ethan blush.” Ethan’s blue eyes were wide with disbelief and discomfort. “Ethan this is Wallace Trent. Dad say hello to Ethan.”
“Ethan doesn’t’ have a last name?”
“Mahoney,” he finally found his voice and extended a hand in greeting which Dad quickly accepted. “Nice to meet you Mr. Trent.”
“Call me Wallace. Not Wally.” They shook hands and stared in one of those silent pissing matches men did so well. Dad broke eye contact and turned to me. “You look good honey, even if you could stand to wear a bit more clothing but hey, what do I know?”
I rolled my eyes and dragged my bag into the house, leaving them to follow. “Not much old man, but I love you anyway.”
Dad dropped Ethan’s bag on the floor beside the door and crossed his arms, fixing me with a faux glare. “You’re just saying that because you want me to load up that bottomless pit you call a belly,” he laughed and poked me in my exposed midsection.
“That too,” I grinned, looking around at the home that had been through many changes since I last visited a couple years ago. The rose upholstery had been replaced with green and white stripes and the faded cream carpeting had been pulled up to show off the pine floors beneath. “I hope you made your famous chili but we’ll have to pick up more lettuce for Ethan.”
He frowned at Ethan and winked at me before turning to face Ethan head on. “Lettuce? You’re not one of them vegetarians, are you?” He turned towards the kitchen and we followed, waiting for Ethan to answer.
I wanted to laugh at the affronted look Ethan wore. “No, I’m not a vegetarian I just limit the type of meat and the quality of meat that I eat.”
“Why?”
He gave my dad an indulgent grin. “Because my company, Aegle Enterprises, as well as myself are dedicated to clean and healthy living,” he said, as though he’d said it a thousand times over the years.
Dad’s face twisted in confusion. “Clean living as in no booze or red meat?” When Ethan nodded his scowl only darkened. “How in the hell are you supposed to have enough energy to make love to this woman all night on rabbit food?”
