Sand cove, p.16
Sand Cove, page 16
Alistair and Alohnzo got their good looks from their father. I would never give Mabel any credit. She may have been cute when she was younger, but as an old woman, her evil ways made her ugly. Amos’s hair was entirely white, and it made him look distinguished.
He placed his arm around my waist gently. “I really missed you, Kinsley.”
I hugged him. “If it weren’t for your wife, we wouldn’t have had to call it quits, but I’m sure you know that.”
He pulled out a chair for me to sit. “I’m going to make up for it. I ordered you your favorite Cosmo, and I have some appetizers on the way.”
“Nice. What made you send me those flowers?”
“I had been thinking about you. Plus, I couldn’t let my son take my favorite girl away.”
“You don’t have to worry about Alohnzo. He dumped me. Before we get dinner underway, is it safe to be here? Your wife is crazy, and I don’t need her showing up at the office, talking crazy to me. Now, Alohnzo is suspicious, and since I’m seeing Alistair, I don’t want him to find out. No one else needs to know anything about what’s going on between us. What if she decides to have Alohnzo fire me?”
“You’re seeing Alistair?” Jealousy was in his eyes. “You figure if you can’t have one, you’ll have the other? Why don’t you admit that you only want them because you can’t have me?”
“Amos, none of this was my intention. Alistair came after me. I still have feelings for Alohnzo, but he wants nothing to do with me.”
“I see. I don’t want you to worry about Mabel. I’ll make sure she doesn’t bother you again.”
“I don’t understand her.”
He took a deep breath and exhaled. “Don’t worry about her. I’ll handle everything.”
A text came through my phone, and it was Alistair wondering what time we were going to meet up. How am I going to wing this? I was going to have to make dinner with Amos quick. I wanted to see Alistair because I felt horrible about my confusion with the flowers. If Amos would’ve put his name on it, I wouldn’t have been confused.
I texted, I’ll see you in an hour. Be ready.
I put the phone down and stared at Amos. His eyes bore into me as if he were trying to read my soul. He questioned, “You’re seeing Alistair tonight?”
I thought about lying but decided against it. It wasn’t as if Amos didn’t have a wife waiting at home for him, so I didn’t need to lie.
“Yes, but that has nothing to do with what we have going on.”
He placed a thick envelope on the table with his hand resting on it. “If I give you this money, are you going to take it and run? I want to be assured that you will be available anytime I need you.”
“Mr. Amos Kelly, when have I ever taken your money and run? I can promise you that you’ll have me anytime you need me. How much is in here?” I tried to take the envelope off the table, but he kept his hand on it firmly.
“Now, I look at this as investing in our relationship. I need collateral.”
I smirked. “And you think I come with a price?”
He chuckled. “I think you’re priceless, but I plan to take care of my investment.”
He cleared his throat as the waiter came and placed the appetizers and my Cosmo on the table.
“Are you ready to order?” the waiter asked.
“Give us a few more moments,” he said.
The waiter walked away. Amos’s hand remained on top of the envelope, so I removed my hand and picked up my drink.
“I know you’re not a prostitute, but I think the money will make things easier for you. My wife can be a headache, and so can my sons. The money will make all of the trouble worthwhile—unless you want to decline the offer.”
“Oh no, I’m okay. As long as Mabel doesn’t find out.”
“She won’t find out, trust me. This time is different. I’ll be more careful.”
“How can you be so sure? Does she know where you are tonight?”
“She thinks I’m at the casino with a few friends. You keep me happy, and the money will keep flowing. You let me handle my wife.” He slid the envelope across the table to me. He then handed me a check as well.
I took it from him and stared at it. It was written out for $1 million.
“Why is there cash in this envelope if you wrote me a check?”
“The cash is a $10,000 bonus for coming out tonight.”
With a smile on my face, I said, “I’ll do whatever you want whenever you want as long as it’s within my limits.” I put the check and the money into my purse.
“We can start tonight. I want you to follow me over to Beverly Wilshire Hotel, room 357.”
I bit my lower lip. Alistair was waiting for me, and I couldn’t stay with Amos past an hour. It was going to take me an hour to drive from Beverly Hills to Sand Cove. The last thing I wanted was for Amos to cancel the check because I couldn’t keep my end of the deal.
“All right, but I can’t stay long.”
“You might as well call Alistair and tell him you won’t be able to make it.”
“All right,” I mumbled.
“You seem anxious to see him.”
I straightened up my posture and replied, “No, it’s just that I thought he was the one that sent the flowers, and I feel like I need to make it up to him.”
“I know you, Kinsley. You don’t like casual sex. You play for keeps. If I weren’t married—”
“But, you are, and I’m okay with that.”
“What about Alohnzo?”
“What about him?” I fired back.
The waiter was on his way back, and I still didn’t know what I wanted to eat. I picked up the menu and spotted lobster and steak. I hadn’t had that in a while.
“Are you ready to order?”
“Yes, let me have the chicken fettuccine, and the lady will have . . .” Amos paused, looking at me.
“I’ll have the lobster tail and steak, medium rare, please, and a loaded baked potato with extra sour cream.”
He picked up our menus and walked away. Amos drank his brandy in silence while I sipped my drink, feeling happy that I had all this money in my purse. Now, if I could get things on track with Alistair, I would have myself a boyfriend. I was going to prove to everyone that I could have a real relationship. The “whore” image they were trying to toss me had me feeling unsettled. I wasn’t sure if this would work, but it was worth a try.
Suddenly, I felt Amos’s hand travel up my thigh, reminding me that tonight, I was his investment. Alistair was going to have to wait.
“That check can be canceled before you can get it in the bank if you don’t do what I say. No more Alistair. No more Alohnzo. You hear me?” His hand dug into my thigh, and it hurt.
“Ouch, that hurts, Amos.”
Amos had been rough with me once when I said I would tell his wife about us. I had to apply makeup to hide the bruise on my cheek. His powerful hand made me quickly remember who I was dealing with. Amos was going to get his way, and I needed to follow his rules.
He dug deeper. “Do you hear me?”
“Yes, I hear you.”
“Do you understand me?”
With tears in my eyes, I replied, “I understand.”
He released my thigh and drank his brandy as if nothing happened. I had gotten myself back into Amos’s trap.
Chapter 31
Tahira
Talking to Luca’s family all evening about what they wanted to do with his body left me exhausted. They wanted to know what was written in his will, but I had no idea because Luca kept that from me, and I assured them that there would be a reading of the will after we buried him. I ended the last call and stared at the side of Alohnzo’s face as he watched HGTV. He loved that network. I lay next to him on his bed. His bed was so soft that I never wanted to leave it. Being with Alohnzo made me feel complete.
He caught me staring and asked, “How are you feeling?”
“I can’t wait ’til this all passes. I gotta deal with lawyers, Luca’s family, and I’m not looking forward to the will reading. I’m sure he didn’t leave anyone anything.”
He lifted my chin. “Hey, you shouldn’t worry about that right now. You’ll be fine. You have enough stress as it is.”
His eyes were filled with kindness that seemed so innocent and genuine, endless as wide as the sea. He made me happy. I wrapped my arms around him and held him close.
My cell phone rang. “It’s my mum.” I answered, “Hello, Mum.”
“Tah, I’m boarding my flight now.”
“Okay. What time is your flight expected to come in?”
“I have one layover, so around noon tomorrow. If there are any delays, I’ll be sure to let you know.”
“Okay. I love you.”
“I love you too.” She kissed the phone.
I kissed the phone and ended the call. I bit on my fingernail and stared up at the ceiling. I hadn’t seen my mum in a few years. I missed her so much. I hated that she had to come at a time like this, but I was glad that she wanted to be here for me.
Alohnzo cuddled up next to me. “Are you going to swim tonight?”
“It’s cool outside tonight.... I don’t know . . .”
He put wet, sensual kisses on my neck before resting his head there. I ran my fingers across his head. I couldn’t help but get lost in his world. Being with Alohnzo put my problems to the very back of my mind. I never met anyone like him. If he was afraid of commitment, I had a tough time seeing that. With me, it was as if all his reservations went out of the window. He was flying free, the way he did when he flew his plane.
“I’ll come out and watch if you do,” he replied with a naughty grin.
I laughed, reflecting on all the times he watched me from his deck. “There’s no need to watch. Skinny dip with me in your heated pool.”
His eyebrows rose. “Now, that’s an idea.”
“Luca never wanted to do anything spontaneous like this.”
Alohnzo took off his shirt and threw it down on the ground. “I’m not Luca.”
“That’s for sure.” I giggled and tossed off my shirt in the same manner. Within seconds, we were naked, dashing to his heated pool.
Chapter 32
Kinsley
“Glad to see that you finally made it,” Alistair said as he held his front door open for me. “I was starting to get worried.”
I wasn’t there on a happy note. I promised Amos that I would end things with Alistair. It was the only way to keep Amos from physically hurting me out of jealousy. After giving Amos the kinky sex he wanted, I told him I would only come to let Alistair know that I wasn’t interested in him anymore. Amos had a hard time keeping up with my youthful energy anyway, so it was over faster than I thought it would be. I washed up and rushed over to Alistair’s house.
“Hello,” I said, stepping inside of his home with a bag of leftover food from the restaurant. “I’m sorry I’m late, and I’m sorry I didn’t call you to keep you updated. I had a business meeting over dinner, and it wound up running too long. I didn’t want to be rude and keep texting on my phone, you know.”
He eyed me with a look of suspicion as he took my coat and hung it up for me. Since he didn’t know me very well, he had to trust my words.
“It’s all right. I told you that I would wait up for you.”
“I’m happy you did because I wanted to see you.”
“I’ve been thinking about you all day.”
I smiled and touched the side of his face with the palm of my hand. “Same here.”
“You find out who sent the flowers?”
I removed my hand and brought it down to my side. Why was he bringing up the flowers? He must’ve been thinking about that all day too.
“Yeah, um, in fact, it turns out that I was selected for Employee Appreciation Day,” I lied smoothly. “I got too excited, thinking about how romantic you had been all weekend that I assumed it was you,” I giggled.
I couldn’t believe how quickly I came up with that one. I was very quick on my feet, so much that I even impressed myself.
He licked his lips before answering. “Cool. I figured you ate already, so I didn’t make any dinner plans or anything for us. I went to this taqueria with a few coworkers, drank some Dos Equis, and came home. What’s in the bag?”
“I brought you some tiramisu.” I held up the restaurant bag that had two pieces inside along with my leftovers.
“You brought some for me? You’re too sweet. Let’s go to the kitchen.”
I followed him as my nervousness consumed me. My hands were starting to shake, and I could feel sweat forming between my breasts. It felt hot in his house.
“The craziest thing happened earlier,” he said. “Did you hear about what happened over here today?”
“Over here?” I frowned. “No, what happened?”
“You know who Luca Moretti is, right? You didn’t hear about what happened to him?” He grabbed two forks out of the drawer.
I stood at his kitchen island. Of course, I knew who Luca was. He was the arrogant asshole who thought his films were the best in the world. He won one Oscar and thought he was so much better than everyone else was. The way his old ass paraded around with that bitch of his made me want to puke. The fact that Alohnzo thought she was some goddess made me even sicker.
“No, what happened to him?”
“He died this morning. The street was filled with news reporters and everything. I’m glad things have died down now, but I’m sure they’ll be right back tomorrow to do some digging.”
I was instantly annoyed, but I didn’t want Alistair to pick up on it. “She probably killed him,” I said.
“I thought maybe Alohnzo killed him to have Tahira to himself, but Tru said he died of a heart attack.”
I rolled my eyes. Just the thought of Alohnzo and Tahira fooling around made my stomach hurt. “Not to change subjects or anything but the best thing about BOA is their tiramisu. I promise you, it’s the best you’ll ever have. That’s why I brought you some. I didn’t bother to ask if you like tiramisu.”
“I like it. I’ve never been to BOA, but it’s one of my father’s favorite restaurants. He’s constantly bragging about it. I’ll have to check them out sometime. Maybe we can go together.”
His father was a trip, and I had gotten myself wrapped up in his sticky web once again. I should’ve tossed the flowers and told him I wanted nothing to do with him, but I was afraid that he would ask Alohnzo to fire me. I had to remind myself that I was here to end things, but I wanted to eat this dessert first.
I took the dessert out of the bag and handed him one. “Here you go.”
He opened the container and put his fork to the dessert. Then he took a bite and started nodding. “I think you might be right. This may be the best damn tiramisu I’ve ever had.”
“I told you.” I opened my container and started eating it. I hummed and closed my eyes. “The best.”
Alistair eyed me. I wondered what he was staring at as he looked at my hair, my clothes, and the way I ate the dessert. “Who were you in a meeting with tonight?”
Alistair didn’t come off as the insecure type, but he sure was trying to figure me out. If he were anything like Amos, this conversation wasn’t going to end well. I wished he would leave me alone and eat his dessert.
“I had dinner with an associate.”
His eyes glanced at me again. “An associate?”
“Yes.”
“You sure it wasn’t Alohnzo that sent you the flowers and took you out to dinner?”
I laughed casually at his crazy, jealous assumption. “I promise you it wasn’t Alohnzo.”
“If it wasn’t Alohnzo, then who?”
There was no stopping this man. He wasn’t satisfied with any of my answers because he was insecure as all men were.
“It was a simple dinner meeting with a woman, and that’s it. Don’t tell me you’re the jealous type?”
“No, I’m far from the jealous type. One thing about me is that I’m observant. So, you’ve had your dress inside out all day?”
I looked down, and he was right. I had correctly managed to put on all of my clothing including my panties and bra and straighten out my hair. I was in such a rush, however, that I didn’t notice that I had my dress inside out. Go figure.
“You mean, I’ve gone all day with my dress inside out, and no one bothered to tell me? That’s rude.” I laughed it off while continuing to eat my dessert.
He blinked as if he couldn’t believe me. “Look, Kinsley, I don’t want to start out this way. I hate liars. I don’t want you to feel like you must lie to me. If you can’t be honest with me, then there’s no point in doing any of this. The one thing I can’t stand is a liar.” The sternness of his face reminded me of Pablo Escobar on that show Narcos.
I swallowed hard but kept up with my story. “I wouldn’t lie to you.”
He hummed, closed his dessert box, and said, “I think you should leave now.”
I scowled. “Are you serious?”
“Very. Do me a favor. Go ahead and lose my number. I don’t have time to play games with you. I thought you would at least be honest, but you’ve been lying to me all day. I’m not sure if this is how you usually deal with people, but I can always tell when people aren’t honest with me. Frankly, at this point, I don’t care who sent you flowers, and I don’t care who you were fucking before you finally decided to show up.”
I couldn’t believe what was happening. I was supposed to be the one to end it, but he was stopping it before I could get a chance.
“Fine, have it your way.” I grabbed my dessert and stormed toward the front door.
He handed me my coat, and I trotted out his door and down the steps. Shit, I thought I did a damn decent job at coming up with a few good lies. Was I that obvious? I thought I covered my tracks. So much for that, I thought.
Alistair and I were over, and now I could cash Amos’s check. With Amos’s tight grip on my life, I was going to have to do everything he wanted me to do. I swallowed the hard lump in my throat, feeling upset with myself because I had no control.
