We said our goodbyes and I headed back into my shop, whistling a little as I washed out my coffee mug. Every day was a new day in my field. I met new people, most of them needing relief and finding it at the tip of my fingers. It was a great job and a good feeling every day. I helped people relax and find peace. It was something we were all searching for. Some of us just made serenity a priority better than others. Like me.
I reached the front counter right as my first client came in. She was a bit older, maybe in her 60s, and not one of my regulars. Probably on her vacation, but it was possible that she had a new retirement home down there in Oahu and would become one of my regulars.
“Good morning,” the woman said hesitantly, looking around.
“Good morning,” I told her warmly. “How are you?”
She laughed a little. “Seeing that I woke up in paradise, I suppose I'm doing pretty well, thanks. Are you Gretchen? We spoke on the phone.”
“I am,” I told her. “And you're Gloria Walters?”
“I am,” Gloria said. She gave a nervous chuckle. “I can't say that I've ever done one of these things before, believe it or not. My husband has been after pampering me for years now, but I've always told him I didn't need any more pampering.”
I couldn't help smiling at the way her love for her husband came through in her words. “That's not a problem at all.” I held out a robe for her. “If you just want to get changed over here in this room, and then lie down and get comfortable, I'll be in in a few minutes, and we can get started.”
“All right,” Gloria said, disappearing into the massage room.
It must have been nice to have a man pamper her. I was jealous, I still longed to have a relationship in my own life. It seemed like every bad decision I’d made in the past all pointed to men.
I put some lotion on my hands, flexing them and giving them a bit of a massage before I went in to work on her. Then, I entered the room, waiting a moment for my eyes to adjust to the dim lighting. “How are you feeling?” I asked, kneeling on the massage mat near her feet.
“This is nice already,” Gloria said with a laugh. “That incense is lovely.”
“Mmm, yes,” I said, beginning to work. “A friend of mine makes that. She has so many amazing fragrances that I never even know where to start.”
“You'll have to point me toward her shop,” Gloria said. “I never really pick up souvenirs when I'm traveling, but useful things like incense, I never mind buying. Especially when they come from members of the local community.”
“I'll give you her business card when we're finished,” I promised and relaxed into working my magic. Gloria would feel a hundred times better by the time she left my table. “So, you're just here on vacation?”
“As a matter of fact, it's our 40th wedding anniversary,” Gloria told me proudly. She laughed a little. “I can hardly believe that we've made it this many years together; it feels like the blink of an eye. But I suppose that's what happens when you're madly in love with the man that you marry.”
“Wow, forty years!” I exclaimed. “Congratulations.”
“Thank you, sweetie,” Gloria said. “Don't get me wrong. It hasn't all be sunshine and roses. We've had our ups and downs, like any other couple. But if I had to go back and do it repeatedly, for the rest of eternity, there's not a single thing I would change about it.”
“That's so special,” I told her, shaking my head a little. “I feel like so many people have such a difficult time making their relationships last these days. What's the secret?”
Gloria laughed. “There's no secret to it, honey. It's hard work. You have to be willing to listen to the other person, and you have to be willing to compromise. It's all the things that you've ever heard about relationships.” She laughed a little. “I know that sounds cliché, but it's the truth. The main difference is, you have to be willing to work on the relationship and not think that someone else out there is going to be better for you. I never thought that for a moment once I met Bruce.”
“He must be amazing.” I tried to keep my voice even. It was easy to believe that there was someone out in the world for other people, for Gloria and Mina and the next lady that came in, but for me? I didn’t know. It felt like my Prince Charming got lost and forgot to ask for directions.
“He is,” Gloria said. “He's no Prince Charming, of course, and boy does he have his flaws! But we all do.” She shook her head. “It's all about the little things that he does for me, though. That we do for each other. You know, sometimes he goes out into the garden and plucks all the weeds, without my even asking him to. He didn't even want to have a garden the size that we do; I made him get that. For him to go out there and pluck every single one of those weeds, that's such a nice gesture. Or lately, he's started getting up early on Sundays and bringing me pancakes in bed. After forty years of doing most of the cooking in the house, especially breakfasts, you can't imagine how giddy that makes me feel.”
“That's so sweet,” I said. “Just from listening to you, I can tell how much you love him.”
“And that's how it should be,” Gloria said firmly as if she believed in love with all of her heart. Lofty thought for sure. “How about you, though? Do you have a sweetheart?”
I shook my head. “Not at the moment, no.” I laughed a little. “I'm lucky to have a great life in such a beautiful place, that I'm not sure I need a man!” That wasn't the truth, but Gloria didn't need to know that I was still getting over the mess of my relationship with my ex.
Gloria sighed happily. “And that's exactly the way that things should be,” she said. “So many young people these days rush into relationships that don't suit them. You just take your time, and the right guy will fall into your life almost without your even knowing it.”
Chapter Three
Christian
I would never understand why the other Sunshine Real Estate owners seemed to always schedule meetings on Friday afternoons. Granted, most of them had wives and suburban lifestyles, so it was possible that they just really didn't want to get home to that. It wasn't like we ever really got anything done on Friday afternoons anyway, though. Everyone was always too tired from the rest of the week, and anyway, it wasn't like there were that many people who came to the office to look for houses at the end of the week.
I drummed my fingers against the arm of my chair, making sure to hide the movement under the table so that the rest of them didn't see. I knew that George already disliked me and didn't think that I was fit to be a co-owner of the company. There wasn't much that they could do about it unless they wanted to dissolve the entire company and cease to call themselves Sunshine, which would be a pretty stupid move for them given all the work we'd put into building up that name. Thank God for the legal advice that we'd got when we had first created the company; the contract terms that we'd entered were saving my skin at this point.
They needed me as the face of the company, anyway. None of them were fit for that job.
“In other news,” George said, his voice monotonous and droning as ever, but he looked sharply up at me, and I figured I'd better pay attention to whatever this was. His eyes narrowed. “We haven't seen you on the news for a week, by my count. That must be some sort of a record.” The sneer in his voice was obvious, and I couldn't help clenching my fingers around the arms of my chair.
“What I do in my private life is, as always, none of your business,” I said, even though we'd had this argument a hundred times before. And where I was partially right, I could see their side of it too. I just hated to admit it, which I never would.
“Except for when it affects business,” Alex exploded. “Which-”
“Which, there's no evidence that it does,” I interrupted loudly. I shoved my chair back roughly. “Jesus, way to ruin a perfectly good Friday afternoon.”
“Come on, guys,” Paul said, ever the voice of reason. “Is there any other business news that you'd like to discuss?” No one said anything for a long moment. “All right,
then let's adjourn, finish up whatever last-minute paperwork we have to get done, and go home for the weekend. I'll see you all on Monday morning. Remember that we have that magazine coming through the office to take pictures, so try to clean up your desks as much as you can.”
He directed that last bit at Alex, who was notoriously messy, and although I was kind of grateful to hear him snip at someone else, it didn't change what George had said about me. How unprofessional did you have to be to bring something like that up in the middle of a company meeting? Even if it was only the four of us in there, and even though we'd all been working together for the past ten years now.
George caught my arm as we filed out of the conference room, and I fought the urge to deck the guy right then and there. “Maybe try to make it another week with good behavior, and we'll give you a gold star,” he said snidely.
“George,” Paul said reprovingly. He grabbed the back of my suit jacket, though, and I knew that was a warning not to engage.
George rolled his eyes and stalked off. “Come on,” Paul said, tugging me back into the conference room.
“Paul, I don't want to have some stupid conversation about my conduct,” I told him. The shit was getting old. I wasn’t going to keep my dick in my pants. There was no fucking way. “You have no right to judge me, no more than the rest of them do.”
Paul gave me a look. It was one I’d seen a million times before. “Christian, when have I ever judged your behavior?” he asked. “Take a deep breath and talk rationally to me.”
I frowned, but I did take that deep breath, trying to quit shaking with rage. “They're such-”
“I know,” Paul said, holding up a hand to stall me. He smiled a little and dropped into a seat, kicking out the one next to his and gesturing for me to sit as well. “It's been a while since we caught up. I know the Great Christian Wall has plenty of other things to do with his time, but I do think I merit a conversation occasionally.”
I snorted. “You know where my office is,” I reminded him. “It's a two-way street, buddy. Bring your ass down there sometime.”
“This is true.” He smiled and changed the subject. “So, tell me, what are your plans for the holidays, anyway?” Paul asked. “The office will be closed for nearly three weeks; I assume you'll be jetting off to somewhere in Europe?”
“I might,” I said, shrugging, and I clasped my hands over my upper stomach. “I haven't made any plans yet. Jamie and I were talking about doing another ski vacation, but I'm also drawn to someplace warmer this year. I don't know. We'll see. You know I hate making plans too far in advance. People would think I was growing responsible or something crazy like that. Being someone who flies by the seat of their pants instead of being a planner takes work. Believe me.” I gave a quirky smile.
He chuckled and shook his head. “You’re too much, man. So, what are your plans tonight? You wanna grab dinner? We'll charge it to the company. Call it a business expense.”
I laughed. “As though either of us needs to do that.” I shook my head. “Unfortunately, I have other plans for later, so I'll have to take a rain check. There's this hot new club downtown, and they've personally invited me.”
“Ah,” Paul said. “At the risk of sounding like George or the rest of them, be careful.”
I rolled my eyes. “Yeah, always am,” I said, even though we both knew it wasn't exactly true. Being careful sounded about as fun as having the flu.
I tried to forget about the whole afternoon when I got to the club that night, but no matter how slick the place was, no matter how many pretty girls there were, I just couldn't seem to let it go. It was the patronizing tone, more than anything. The fact that George thought he could tell me to be on my best behavior for another week, as though he were my parent or something. We were all in this together. He wasn't that much older than me, even. And he had no right to speak to me like that in front of the other owners of our company.
I slugged back another drink and flagged down the bartender for another. I could see a bit of nervousness in her eyes already like she thought I was maybe drinking a bit too much and was getting ready to cut me off.
I gave her a charming smile and leaned over the bar. “Darling, trust me,” I drawled, reaching out to squeeze her hand, making her giggle a little. “I do this every week. More than every week.”
“Yeah, okay,” she said, shaking her head. “But if anything happens to you, it's going to be on my head! I just got this job; I don't want to lose it on opening night.”
“You won't,” I told her, projecting an air of flippant confidence that seemed to reassure her.
“All right,” she said, pouring me another whiskey.
I turned away from her and scanned the crowd, picking out my target for the night. She had shown up with a few of her friends, and she had to be a model or something like that. God, she was gorgeous: porcelain skin and short, spiky hair that emphasized the heart-shaped nature of her face. And her heels were a mile high. As I looked over, she was laughing at something her friend had said, tossing her head back. I smiled; I liked a girl who could laugh.
George could never get with a girl like that, I thought viciously. That's why he's after me about cleaning up my image; he's just jealous.
I swirled the whiskey in my glass and knocked it back, setting the thing down on the bar and making my way over to introduce myself. It wasn't long before she and I were nestled in one of the cozy booths in the back, just the two of us.
“Come on, order anything you'd like,” I told the giggling girl. “Baby, I've got money, and I'm not afraid to spend it.”
“I said, I just want a glass of wine,” she said. “It doesn't have to be anything fancy.”
“How about this,” I told her. “I have a better bottle of wine than any of these back at my place. Plus, I live up in a penthouse with amazing views of the city. Why don't you come back with me and have a glass of wine there? We can start up the fireplace and cozy up under the blankets.”
“You're so full of it, but maybe,” she said. She didn't seem bothered by me being full of myself. Her smile let me know she was hoping I would nudge her toward coming with me. It would make it easier on her if I pushed the decision a little. Tough luck.
“It’s your call, sweet girl.” I shrugged as if my night would go on perfectly without her, because in all actuality, it would.
“All right,” she said with a soft sigh. “Just let me tell my friends that I'm going off with you.”
“You do that. I’ll be right here.” I turned and let my eyes move across the various bodies pressed against each other in the club. Funny how people wanted attention and affection so much that they would build a place to congregate half-dressed in hopes of lust ushering in lust. It was what it was, but it was odd.
“I’m ready.” She grabbed my hand and tugged me toward the door.
We tumbled out into the November air, and I wrapped an arm around her bare shoulders. “Didn't you bring a coat?” I asked.
“Of course not,” she said, a challenge in her eyes. “Beauty is pain. I couldn’t have a coat covering up this.” She swept her hand down the front of her body.
She was something to behold for sure.
I laughed and slung my suit jacket over her shoulders. There was a crowd of people out in front of the club, and a few reporters as well. For a moment, I wondered who might be here, but of course, it was opening night, so half the city had probably turned out. I hadn't bothered to look around that night; I wasn't feeling particularly friendly.
“Christian!” one of the reporters called, and I realized it was Kelly from The Latest. Oh, this should be good.
She raised an eyebrow at the woman who was cozied up under my arm and shoved a microphone toward us. “Christian, is this the woman who you referenced during our interview? The one who you're thinking of settling down with?”
You know what, George? Fuck you.
I grinned at the reporter. “Nope,” I said cheerfully. “There never was any gir
l who I planned to settle down with; you fell for that one, though, didn't you? In fact, I don't even know this woman's name. And you know what? I'm going to take her home and fuck her anyway. Just like I fucked you, and just like I've fucked half the women in this city. Isn't that right, sweetheart?” I slapped the ass of the Girl of the Night, whatever her name was.
“How dare you!” she said, yanking away from me and throwing my jacket on the ground. She scowled up at me. Then, she turned toward Kelly, looking worried. “You aren't going to air that, are you? I didn't consent to giving an interview, and my career-”
“Should have thought of that before you decided to go home with Christian Wall,” Kelly said, a sneer on her face. “He doesn't give a shit about your career. I bet he doesn't even know what your career is or anything else about you. Everything that you told him tonight, he tuned it out. And yet-”
“I knew what your career was,” I reminded Kelly smugly. “In fact, I even knew your name. Does that make you feel special? Because you weren't. In fact, you were the worst lay I've had in a while. And, honey, that’s saying something. Cause I’ve been around the block a few times.” I grabbed my cock just to accentuate what a dick I was. Living my life had grown exhausting. Sex was warmth and it was fleeting, but it’s all I had.
Kelly stared open-mouthed at me. Girl of the Night threw herself at me; what, did she think she was going to hurt me with those plastic nails of hers or something? I easily pushed her away, and she stumbled in those heels of hers and toppled to the ground.
A bouncer grabbed me gruffly by the arm and began hauling me along the street. “I think that's enough of that,” he said in a deep voice as if I’d been the one to start the drama.
“Hey, come on now,” I told him, trying to get away from him. “Look, I'm just heading home, even without the floozy, whatever. You can keep her. Just let me go. I'll pay you $100 bucks.”
“I'm calling the cops,” the guy said grimly. “You can't assault a woman like that and expect to get away with it.”
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