Beauty from Pain (18 page)

I follow Paige into the building. She knocks
instead of using a key and Addison opens the door. I’m relieved to
see it isn’t her brother. Her friend wrinkles her brow. “Why are
you knocking? You live here, silly.”

“
It’s not my apartment. I’m just
bunking here.”

Addison gives me a thorough inspection. “Well,
you haven’t been bunking here much, thanks to this guy.” I’m not
sure what to make of her comment, but she extends her hand.
“Addison Donavon.”

“
Lachlan Henry.”

“
So, you’re the man who’s been
keeping my best friend so busy.”

Yeah, we’ve been pretty busy all right.
“Guilty as charged.”

“
She tells me you’re in the wine
business. My family has a vineyard in California. It can be
brutal.”

“
I’ll drink to that.”

“
I’m going to grab some things
while you bond over the whoas of winemaking.” Paige disappears into
the bedroom and leaves me alone with her friend. I’m prepared to
share more about my career, but once she’s certain Paige is out of
hearing distance, she suddenly changes the subject and is very
serious.

“
Please, don’t hurt
her.”

It’s a strained moment and I’m not really sure
how to respond. “I’m sorry?”

“
I’m asking you to not hurt
Laurelyn. She’s been through a lot. The last guy she dated did a
real number on her.”

Her name is Laurelyn?

“
She told me about the agreement
you have and I’m fine with it. Have a great time together—but don’t
make her fall in love with you. She’s been hurt enough.”

Fall in love? Who said anything about falling
in love?

Paige might have told her friend
some things about our agreement, but not everything. Addison
doesn’t know that
Laurelyn
chose to keep her name a secret from me because
she’s unknowingly busted her on it. Honestly, it stings a little to
discover that.

“
No worries. Laurelyn and I are on
the same page.” I say her name, savoring how it sounds rolling off
my tongue. Paige was all right, but Laurelyn fits her better
because it’s different. I’ve never known anyone by that
name.

She comes out of the bedroom with a large bag
in hand. “All packed and ready to go.”

–––––

Our first stop after we leave the apartment is the
drugstore. I get into the car after my shopping spree and pass her
the bag of condoms. “How many did you buy?” She opens the bag to
peek inside and smiles in my direction. “Did you buy their entire
inventory?”

“
Hey, I’m not getting stuck
without some backup in case we have another blowout.”

She’s shaking her head at me. “Are you still
worried about that?”

Hell yeah, I’m still worried. Why isn’t she?
“Yes, and I will be until you start your period. If you don’t get
it before I leave, I want you to call me as soon as you
do.”

“
Yes, sir.” I think she’s
miffed.

I know I sound irrational. I don’t mean to,
but a pregnancy under these circumstances would be disastrous. “I’m
sorry. I don’t mean to rub you the wrong way. I’d much rather rub
you the right way.”

She smiles and I know I’m forgiven. “I need to
talk to you about something.”

“
Okay.” I pull out of the parking
lot but don’t have a clue where I’m going.

I’m nervous about bringing it up, but I do
because I realize it’s important to me. “I want to call you
Laurelyn.”

I stare ahead as I drive, but I still catch a
glimpse of Laurelyn whirling her head in my direction. “I see
Addison ratted me out. I didn’t tell her about the anonymous part
of the agreement.”

“
I’m glad she ratted you out
because I want to call you by your real name. Laurelyn suits you
better than Paige.”

“
I don’t think you have the right
to know my real name if I don’t know yours.” She’s angry. Or maybe
defeated. I’m not really sure.

“
There are very
legitimate reasons for that.” She
turns
her head away from me. “You
can’t be angry at me about this.” I reach for her hand and bring it
to my leg. I give it a gentle squeeze. “I was honest with you about
everything.”

She
looks
back at me. “Except why. You
haven’t given me any kind of explanation. I’m sure I could accept
not knowing if you’d only give me some kind of reason.”

“
But, I won’t.” I’m stern when I
say it because I have to be disciplined for myself. She makes me
want to break down and tell her everything. It’s strange—I’ve never
wanted to do that before. She makes me want to do lots of new
things.

“
It’s not fair, but I guess
there’s no point in pretending to be Paige Beckett when you know
I’m not, so I guess you’re getting what you want.
Again.”

She’s not happy with me, but I still bring her
hand to my lips and kiss it. “Thank you, Laurelyn.”

“
Well, you’re not welcome and you
can forget getting my real last name.”

She’s mad because she feels defeated. I don’t
want her to feel that way. It makes me want to blurt out that she
can call me Jack, but I don’t. Because I can’t.

Laurelyn. Laurelyn. Laurelyn. It’s a delicate,
feminine name and I say it in my head over and over, wrapping my
brain around it so it will flow off my tongue when I’m ready to say
it again. It’s very easy to forget I ever called her
Paige.

“
Can I take you to lunch while
we’re in town?”

“
Sure. What about the fifties
diner on the square? Ben says it’s great and I’ve been dying to try
it.”

Ben. I hate the feeling I get when she says
his name. I’m really going to hate taking her back to stay at his
place again. It pisses me off that he thinks he has a chance with
the woman I’ve claimed. Maybe he needs a warning so he’ll back
off.

“
I’ll take you anywhere you want
to go.”

The diner is exactly what it sounds like and
Laurelyn is all smiles when we enter. “Oh, it’s retro, just like a
real fifties diner. Can we sit at the bar?”

“
Anything you want.”

The decor is exactly as you would imagine—a
black-and-white checkered floor down to red vinyl-covered barstools
with lots of chrome. She reaches for a menu on the counter stuck
behind a napkin holder and passes one to me. “I don’t know why I’m
even looking. I already know what I want—a cheeseburger, fries, and
a chocolate shake.”

A waitress wearing the classic dress and white
apron approaches us. “Do you need a minute to look over the
menu?”

I figure a burger is as good as anything else
I’ll find on the menu. “No. We’ll have two cheeseburgers with fries
and a couple of chocolate shakes.”

“
Coming right up.”

Laurelyn replaces the menus and scans the
surroundings. “I’ve always thought of the fifties diner theme as an
American thing, but I guess it’s not.”

“
No, I guess not.”

I hear an old song playing overhead and I
decide to try to stump my little musician. “Okay, musical genius.
What song is this?”

She doesn’t have to listen because she already
knows. “‘In the Still of the Night’ by The Five Satins.”

It amazes me how she knows. Always. “How can
you possibly have all that information in your head?”

“
It’s a gift. Oh, wow. A jukebox!”
She flies off her stool and stands over the jukebox viewing the
song selections. She’s so into the music, I don’t think she
realizes she’s keeping time to the music with the shake of her
hips. Wow, I love her ass. Especially when she shakes it like
that.

She digs into her purse and drops several
coins into the box. When she returns, she’s grinning. “What?” I ask
out of curiosity.

“
Nothing. I just like this place,”
she shrugs. “I’m glad you’re the one who brought me
here.”

“
Me too.” The alternative pisses
me off.

Our lunch arrives and Laurelyn
makes no pretenses about enjoying her meal. The girl loves a
cheeseburger and a milkshake. I’m not used to it. Mostly because
this isn’t the type of restaurant I would take any of my companions
to, but also because they always order salads and eat like
birds.

I like watching her eat while she enjoys the
music playing overhead. The next song starts and she points up to
the ceiling, cueing me to listen as she bites her bottom lip and
moves her shoulders with the beat of the song. She waggles her
eyebrows. “This is one of the songs I play. Do you know
it?”

Of course. It’s a classic. “‘These Arms of
Mine’ by Otis Redding.”

As we finish eating, she continues my
education on the artist and name of every new song. “Do you think,
sleep, breathe music all the time?”

“
Pretty much. I don’t think I
could stop if I wanted to. It’s in my blood and I have to have it.
When I’m in a writing mode, it’s weird how such simple acts can
trigger lyrics in my head.” She peers over her shoulder. “You see
that man and woman over there?”

I hadn’t noticed anyone in this diner except
her, so I glance at the couple she’s talking about. I see a man and
woman sitting across from one another in a booth. They’re probably
in their early twenties and having what appears to be an intense
conversation.

“
They’re breaking up. I see the
pain in their eyes and it makes words come into my head. When it
hits me, I’ll write it on anything until I can get to my guitar. I
see potential song lyrics happening all around me.”

She’s right. This is in her blood. Only
someone genetically engineered toward music could come up with the
things she does. “And what would a song about us sound
like?”

She looks up as she slurps the last drink of
her milkshake and shakes her head. “No way. I’m not touching that
one with a ten-foot pole.”

21

Laurelyn Prescott

We’re driving back to
A
valon with the top down
and Lachlan is exceptionally sexy behind his sunglasses. I can’t
resist taking out the phone he gave me and snapping a picture of
him. He briefly takes his eyes away from the road as he glances in
my direction. I take the opportunity to snap a frontal shot.
Oh, my. He is so good-looking.

“
No pictures with your personal
phone. Ever.” His words are rigid and I wonder what the big deal
is.

I innocently hold up the phone he
gave me. “It’s not my personal phone. It’s the
booty-call device
you sent me and I
want your picture on here so I can see your handsome face pop up
when you call me.”

I realize it’s the first time I’ve
called it that in front of him. “
Booty-call device
?”

“
Yeah. If we’re being honest,
that’s what it is. You’re the only person who knows the number and
when you call, it’s always to make arrangements to get together. We
both know what we’re going to do, so that’s what it is.”

He glances at me again. “Laurelyn, you’re not
a booty call.”

“
When I agreed to this
relationship, you told me there would be no pretending. Please
don’t go back on your word now and try to act like this is more
than it really is. It’s unnecessary.”

He pulls the convertible over on the side of
the rural road. “I’m not pretending this is anything more than a
short-term relationship, but I like being with you even when
there’s no sex involved. That means you’re not a booty
call.”

I melt into a puddle in the passenger seat
when he says he likes being with me. Damn, I like being with him
too, even if I know it’s only temporary. It’s too bad we don’t live
closer and I only get three months with him.

He reaches over and caresses my cheek with his
hand. “You got it, babe?”

I love to hear him call me that. I don’t say
anything, but nod instead. I’m rewarded when he leans over to
gently kiss my lips. “Good. I’m glad we’re on the same
page.”

After he pulls back onto the road, he reaches
for my hand and rests it against his thigh. I lean my head back
against the seat and let my hair go without trying to keep it
wrangled. I savor this time with Lachlan. These moments will
eventually come to an end. But not today.

The ride, however, does come to an end when
we’re back at the vineyard. Lachlan takes my hand and places a kiss
against it before we get out of the car. It helps makes this
arrangement feel more like a relationship. But as sweet as it is,
it doesn’t change the fact that all of this will be
short-lived.

I notice a white truck in the drive and I
wonder if one of the vineyard employees has returned early or if
Lachlan has company. “Someone’s here.”

“
That’s Mike’s truck. He’s the
handyman, so I guess he had a maintenance job. Wait
here.”

Wait here in the car? That’s a little on the
weird side, but I do it anyway. A few minutes later I see Lachlan
walking out of the house with a man. They shake hands and he gets
into his truck to leave.