Something Unexpected by Vi Keeland
CHAPTER 7
Beck
TWO HOURS LATER, I was still sitting at the bar when the guy from earlier strolled back in. He and Nora had disappeared after he’d interrupted us sucking face.
“Mind if I sit down?” he asked.
I shrugged. “I’m not looking for any trouble.”
The guy grinned and took the seat. “Looks like you found her anyway.” He surprised me by extending his hand. “Richard Logan.”
This was fucked up, yet I shook.
The bartender walked over and set a napkin in front of Richard. “What can I get you?”
“I’ll take a vodka tonic. Make it a double.”
“You got it.” The bartender looked to me. “You want another?”
“I’m good,” I told him. “Thanks.” Keeping my head screwed on straight might be important with the guy currently sitting next to me.
Nora’s fiancé, or ex-fiancé—whichever it was—sat quietly to my left until after he’d gotten his drink and lifted it to his lips.
“You ever hear of aconitum?” he asked.
I shook my head. “Don’t think so.”
“It’s a plant. Gorgeous. Tall, deep purple or blue usually. The flowers are helmet shaped, and there’s a shitload of them on a single stem. They grow wild and sort of billow in the wind, giving you that free feeling when you look at them. Chinese medicine uses the extract to take away pain, but if you eat too much of it, you die.” He gulped some of his drink and pointed to me. “That’s Nora. Gorgeous and able to take away all your aches and pains. But try to take too much of her, and it’ll kill you inside.”
I held up a hand. “We’re not together.”
He smiled halfheartedly. “She told me the same thing for a long time, too.”
“It’s not like that.”
Richard shrugged. “Whatever you say. But remember, I warned you.”
A few minutes went by. Since the guy hadn’t slugged me yet, I figured it was safe to poke around—not that I was interested in more than what was about to happen between Nora and me, but she was traveling with my grandmother, after all.
“What’s her story?”
“You got a month or two?”
“Complicated, huh?”
“Like having a chocolate teapot to make your hot tea.”
I chuckled. “You were engaged, I take it?”
“Split up eighteen months ago.”
“Yet she called you when she got arrested…”
“I’m a lawyer. Probably the only one whose number she knows by heart. It was the first time I’ve heard from her in over a year.”
I nodded.
He shook his head. “Finally just moved on a month ago, too. New girlfriend’s not going to be too happy when she finds out I hopped on a plane the minute my ex called and said she needed help.”
“Sorry…”
“So what’s your deal? Nora said she’s traveling with your grandmother?”
“They’re friends. Odd, I know. But they seem pretty tight. My grandmother isn’t well. Cancer. Third recurrence. She decided not to treat it anymore and enjoy her time left. They’ve been traveling together doing crazy shit.”
“I’m sorry she’s sick.”
“Thank you. She feels good, though. If you met her, you wouldn’t have any clue she wasn’t healthy.”
“I actually did meet her a little while ago. Nora and I went to her room to talk. Your grandmother’s is right next door. When she heard us in the hall, she popped her head out, and Nora introduced her. I wondered why she was traveling with an old lady.” He held his hand up. “No offense.”
“None taken.”
“Nora being Nora, didn’t mention the woman was sick. Just insisted it was her friend. But their traveling together makes sense now.”
“How so?”
Richard sipped his drink. “Because of what Nora went through.”
I looked over. “What did Nora go through?”
“Shit. I figured you knew. Nora had some pretty serious health issues a few years back.” He smiled sadly. “She said you two weren’t a thing. Guess she wasn’t lying.”
“Because I didn’t know?”
He took a billfold from his front pocket and tossed two twenties on the bar. Then he knocked back the rest of his drink and stood. “Because if you had seen her naked, you would’ve seen the scars and asked questions.” Richard stuck out his hand. “I’m going to catch the afternoon flight back to New York. Good luck with your grandmother, and remember, the aconitum will kill you.”
***
“Hey.”
“What’s going on, big bro?” Jake let out a big ahhh after he spoke, and I visualized him sitting at my desk with his feet kicked up.
“Where are you?”
“It’s eight in the morning. I’m at the office.”
“Right, but where exactly?”
“In your office. I came in to get the prospectus I need to cover the meeting you asked me to cover.”
“Get your feet off my desk, dickhead.”
“How the hell did you know my feet are up on your desk?”
“You’re an easy read. You enjoy playing king of the castle too much.”
Jake laughed. “It is fun. But how’s Gram doing? I had to listen to your message twice because I was sure I’d misheard and you said Gram was congested, not arrested. What the hell happened?”
“She went skinny dipping the night before last.”
“And that’s illegal?”
“It was on the beach attached to the resort where she was staying.”
“I can’t believe she got arrested for having a little fun.”
I frowned. “She broke the law.”
“Lighten up, bro. We can’t all be as perfect as you.”
“Anyway, I’m calling to tell you I’m not going to be back tonight like I originally thought.”
“Oh good. More days sitting in the ivory tower for me.”
I sighed. “I’ll have Gwen reschedule everything for the next few days, so you won’t have to cover much.”
“Even better. I make a much better figurehead than actual boss. It’s probably because my head is so pretty.”
“Or because your head is empty… Anyway, Gram has a hearing in a few days, and I want to stick around and make sure everything goes okay. She refuses to let me hire a lawyer, so someone has to keep her from telling the judge to go screw himself. Plus, I thought maybe I could talk some sense into her while I’m here.”
“And see her travel buddy in a bikini.”
Better yet, suck her face… I kept that to myself. “Goodbye, Jake.”
“Later, pumpkin.”
After I hung up, I shot off a few emails and went in search of some breakfast. The hotel restaurant was empty, except for one table where a certain gorgeous blonde wearing a sheer headscarf was sitting alone. As I approached, I realized she had on a matching sheer beach coverup with a bathing suit top underneath. Maybe four days won’t be so bad after all.
Reaching the table, I looked around for her partner in crime.
“Is my grandmother here?”
“No. She’s been sleeping in a little. Her lower back is bothering her. I think it’s kidney pain. It started a few days ago. She called her doctor, and he said it’s to be expected and prescribed something that seems to help. But it also makes her tired, so she started taking them at night.”
I pointed to the empty seat across from her. “Do you mind if I join you?”
“Help yourself. I’m going to beach yoga at eight fifteen, but I have a few minutes to keep you company.”
The waitress walked over, so I ordered a coffee in exchange for a menu. “Your fiancé didn’t stay?” I asked, though I already knew the answer.
“Ex-fiancé, and no. Though he did suggest I should let him share my room for a night for his troubles. When I said no, we had a fight, and I suggested he catch a flight home.”
“You argued? Does that mean you wound up sucking face?”
Nora laughed. “No. But that’s funny.”
“See? I’m not always a jerk.”
Her eyes twinkled. “Just most of the time.”
Her ex had given me a pretty stern warning to keep my distance, so I was curious what she had to say about him.
“So why is there an ex in front of fiancé, if you don’t mind my asking?”
“I don’t mind. I guess the main reason is that he was overbearing and possessive. Richard had a long-term girlfriend who cheated on him and got pregnant by the other man. It made him certain all women were the same. I travel a lot for work, and at first he would call me a few times a day to check where I was. Eventually he stopped doing it, and I thought he’d finally started to trust me. Then I found an Apple AirTag hidden in the lining of my purse. I checked his phone, and he’d been tracking me.”
“Shit.”
“He blamed it on me, said I’d forced him to stoop to that level because I didn’t spend enough time reassuring him I wasn’t cheating.” She shrugged. “The way I see it, if you need reassurance from someone who has never done anything to make you doubt them, it’s your issue, not mine.”
She had a good point.
The waitress came back and took my order. When she left, Nora forked a piece of cantaloupe and pointed it at me. “What about your love life? Any luck trolling the supermarket aisles these days?”
“I’ve been a little busy chasing my grandmother and her beautiful, yet mildly infuriating friend, all over the country.”
“Just mildly infuriating? I’ll have to try harder.”
I smiled. “So what’s on the agenda for today? You two sticking your heads in a shark’s mouth or letting a blind man shoot an apple off the top of your heads with a rifle?”
“We actually don’t have anything lined up since we were supposed to leave soon. Obviously there’s been a change of plans since we have to stick around a few more days for the hearing. But Louise loves the steel drums, and I saw a sign in the lobby about a beach party the hotel’s having this afternoon with music, so I thought maybe we’d do that and catch a little sun.”
“Think you can manage to keep your clothes on while you’re on the beach?”
“It won’t be as much fun, but I can handle that. What about you? What time is your flight?”
“I hate to disappoint you, but I’m not leaving today. I’m also sticking around until after the hearing. I want to make sure my grandmother doesn’t give the judge a piece of her mind and get locked up again.”
“I’d say that’s ridiculous and would never happen so you can go home and not worry, but I wouldn’t put it past her. It’s probably good that you stay. Plus, between us, I think she likes having you around.”
I nodded, quiet for a minute.
“So…” Nora nibbled on her plump bottom lip. “About last night—what happened before Richard showed up.”
I rubbed my lip. “You mean when you told me you give great head, or when you kissed me?”
She blushed. The alcohol had definitely made her bolder. “Both.”
“What about it?”
“Well, I just wanted to say, I don’t think it’s a good idea if we pick up where we left off, especially with you staying a few days.”
That was deflating, though I didn’t let it show. “Why not?”
“Because I’m not looking for a relationship.”
“Neither am I.” I tilted my head. “Sounds like we’re on the same page, and it might be a very good idea if we pick up where we left off. Actually, scratch that. I wasn’t a gentleman. Maybe we should start over. You told me you gave good head, but I didn’t share that I would love to bury my face between your legs until you scream.”
Nora’s eyes widened briefly, but then she looked away and cleared her throat. “While that’s a generous offer, I think it’s best if we stay friends.”
I smirked. “We’re not friends. We don’t like each other enough.”
“We don’t like each other enough to be friends, but we like each other enough to have sex?”
I nodded. “That’s right. People can be physically attracted to each other without liking each other’s personalities.”
“So you don’t like my personality?”
“Not particularly. You like to lecture me. The only part of that I enjoy is imagining the different ways I might shut you up by sticking something in your mouth.” I leaned forward. “And I think you like the thought of that, too. Am I wrong?”
Nora’s chest rose a little higher, and her eyes darkened. I’m definitely not wrong. But then she looked away again, and when her gaze returned, she’d gotten control of herself. “I like sex, but I don’t like messy. And I don’t mean that in the literal sense,” she said. “If I didn’t care about things becoming tangled, I would have accepted Richard’s offer to stay the night. We had decent-enough chemistry when we were together.”
My jaw clenched. I wasn’t a jealous guy. In fact, in most of my casual relationships, I adopted the old Clinton military position—Don’t ask. Don’t tell. I supposed the fact that it irked me to think of her with another guy should’ve been a red flag, though Nora was the kind of woman who was worth a little risk. But I already knew she wasn’t the type who wanted to be coaxed into anything—only she decided what she was up for.
Nevertheless, we’d met twice now and almost wound up in bed as many times, so I liked the odds of leaving the ball in her court.
“I’ll be around if you change your mind,” I told her.
Nora drank the last of her coffee, wiped her mouth, and tossed her napkin on her empty plate. “I should get going for yoga. Will I see you at the beach later for the party?”
“Probably not. I have a lot of work to do.”
She stood. “Shame. I was kind of looking forward to seeing what’s under those crisp dress shirts you seem to like so much.”
“Three-one-nine,” I said.
“Is that the exercise regimen you do or something?”
I winked. “It’s my room number. Stop by whenever you’d like, and I’m happy to show you what’s underneath anything I’m wearing.”
