Love on the Boardwalk (6 page)

Huh? Trina had been so busy trying to figure out how to unstraddle without plopping in a heap—not to mention all the thoughts directed at how soon she could straddle Brad—that she hadn’t noticed their surroundings. Which, now that she looked up, seemed impossible not to have noticed. Because they were standing in front of a gigantic fake elephant. At least six stories high.

It was a fantastic structure. Windows along the gray body, long tusks and a cute little tongue, a painted bright red and gold blanket and an elaborate roofed pavilion on top where people would sit on a real-life elephant. She was adorable and breathtaking at the same time. Oh yes, the bright purple toenails as big as paving stones clearly indicated the gender. What a beauty.

Trina whooshed out a breath. “Wow.”

“That’s what I said the first time I saw Lucy. My parents brought us here on vacation and I fell in love. She’s the oldest roadside attraction in America. More than one hundred thirty years, although she got a facelift a while back that hides her age well. That happened when they had to move her two blocks down to save her. Now she’s a National Historic Landmark.” Brad dipped his head. “I just turned into a tour guide, didn’t I?”

“Yup.” His enthusiasm was even more adorable than the giant elephant. “Quite the spiel you’ve got down. All you need is a felt hat with a miniature Lucy on top of it. Maybe a whistle to corral extra-curious visitors.”

His lips twisted into a wry grin. “Does that mean I shouldn’t mention that her twin that used to be at Coney Island was twice as big?”

Trina was starting to get the feeling there’d be a quiz before they drove away. And she wasn’t great with tests. “How about we let the first set of facts sink in before you hit me with any more? Maybe show me around in the meanwhile? I see windows. Can we go inside?”

A fast nod accompanied him leading her forward. “That’s the best part.”

After paying for their tickets, he took her in a door in Lucy’s back leg. Up a dark, wood-paneled spiral staircase so narrow and twisty that Brad had to turn sideways just to make it up. Not that she was complaining. Trina appreciated watching his tight ass on top of those tan quads. Heck, if she could follow right behind Brad, she’d be up for climbing all the way up the Empire State Building.

At the top it opened into one long, cavernous room. A double set of steps at the end led to a stage, with portholes that seemed to be where her eyes were. Easels dotted the room, supporting black and white photos illustrating her history.

“I spoke too soon. I have to know what this space was for.”

“Originally, to point out real estate from a high vantage point. But it’s also been a bar and a restaurant. For one summer in 1902, a family even lived in here.” Brad darted over to a small, glassed-in alcove. “Look, here’s the bathtub they used.”

She pressed her forehead against the glass. As bathtubs went, it was big and claw footed and nice. Not nice enough for her, though. Trina preferred enormous bathrooms with room to dance along to music while she brushed her teeth. Because you should be able to turn the most mundane things into fun. “Please tell me we’re not spending the night here.”

“No.” He laughed. “I think it’d be fun, but we’re only here for a quick visit. You haven’t seen the best part yet, though.”

They climbed another, shorter set of stairs back into the sunlight, coming out on the flat top of her back. The view took her breath away. To one side was the marshland, the cities, the expressway. Straight across was a white water tower painted with Lucy the Elephant. Clearly she was important to the locals. How could you not fall in love with her?

Crossing to the other side, there was a little strip of beach, and then the ocean. Wide and almost a powder blue, it was a picture-perfect backdrop. Brad leaned against the rail and crossed his feet at the ankles. Sunlight haloed around him. It turned the hair on his arms even more golden. “What do you think?”

“About what? The view? Lucy?” Trina hitched herself up onto the railing beside him. Hooked her feet beneath the lower railing for safety. And bumped his shoulder with her own. “Or you?”

He slid an arm around her hips as added protection against the open air at her back. It struck her that Brad couldn’t help himself from looking out for her. For him, slipping into uber-male protector mode was automatic, like breathing. So instead of being offended that he didn’t think she could keep her balance, Trina decided to take the gesture as thoughtful. Even though she’d taken six weeks of classes at trapeze school and could easily hang from this railing with no fear. Okay, maybe not easily. And with a great deal of fear. Nevertheless, Trina believed she could do it. If he dared her.

“I was asking about Lucy. But I have to admit, I’m kind of curious what you think about me.” His Adam’s apple bobbed once, twice. “Unless it’s bad. Remember, this is kind of a big-deal week for me. Or rather, it’s big because it
isn’t
a big-deal week. So go easy on me, okay?”

Truly, her heart melted. The big, burly cop was scared of what little old her thought? Geez, his ex really did a number on him. “Nope. I don’t ever hold back. Good or bad. But don’t worry. In this case, it’s mostly good.”

“Mostly?” His eyebrows furrowed.

That earned him an elbow to the ribs. “Nobody’s perfect.” She ticked the points off on her fingers. “You’re hot. You’ve surely gone through enough women to know the knee-weakening effect you’ve got on my gender. You’re close to your family. Got a great job. Heroic, even. And yet the motorcycle hints at just enough of a bad-boy streak to keep things interesting. All good qualities. You’re the whole package.”

Brad puffed up a little with mock affront. “So what’s with the mostly?”

It needed to be said. Trina just hoped this wouldn’t put a damper on the whole day. “You say you’re over Dana. That you don’t want to waste any more time thinking about her. Which might be true. What I can tell, though, is that you’re still thinking about whatever it was she said to you or however she hurt you when she broke things off. I don’t think that wound is fully scabbed over yet.”

“I’m fine.” His gaze rolled away from her like the skeeballs had earlier.

Even without her recent training in body language tells, Trina knew that to be a half-truth. “What did she say?”

Now Brad’s head followed the trajectory of two seagulls flapping by. “It doesn’t matter.”

Did he really think she’d give up that easily? Were all his other friends too careful to push him on the topic? Too polite? Too willing to handle him with kid-gloves even after all this time? Or, more likely, were all his friends men, who generally didn’t delve into relationship chatter? Well, Trina was none of the above. “What did she do to you?”

His head lolled backward. Like the effort of holding it up under her scrutiny was just too great. “Nothing.”

“Did she lose all her marbles and cheat on you?”

Slowly, he straightened up to finally look at her. “Not...exactly.”

God, this woman had to be dumber than sand. Why would anybody cheat on such an upstanding specimen as Brad? “I’ll pester you until you talk. So unless you
do
want to end up sleeping in this elephant, you might as well spill. Right now.”

Brad hinged off the rail to pace the small, square confines of the platform. His sneakers squeaked across the linoleum. “Dana didn’t leave me for another man. She left me for her career. She said she valued money and promotions more than me. Opportunities kept arising to make money hand over fist. According to her, I was holding her back.”

What? Seriously? This had to be the worst reason to break up ever. Or at least the weakest. The kind of excuse that showed Dana to be a shallow twerp of a woman. “How?”

He stopped. White-knuckled the rail and stared out at the ocean. Brad’s entire body was stiffer than Lucy’s permanently raised trunk. “That whole package you just described? There are lots of rich, well-connected men even better looking than me. Plus, they actually have the whole package. Money. Networking skills. They know how to work a room, how to schmooze at a party. There were dinners, social stuff like the Hunt Cup where Dana needed me on her arm. Lots of times I couldn’t go if a case turned hot. Or if I did go, I disappointed her. The bottom line? Her job was more important than me. That’s what she loves.”

Trina still couldn’t believe it. It might be grinding salt into the wound, but she had to triple check to be sure she didn’t misunderstand. “She left you...for a
job?
”

Her question ended on a near-squeak of flabbergastedness.

“Not just a job.” Brad made air quotes with his fingers. “A career with fast-track potential.”

“Did you know that nowadays people change careers an average of four times in their life?” Trina shook her head. A ball of heat grew in her belly. Heat that she wanted to belch out right at Dana’s puffed-up, idiotic head. Instead, a torrent of words rushed out. “A career can’t keep your feet warm before the electric blanket kicks in during a snowstorm. A career doesn’t hold your hand when the heartwarming Christmas coffee commercials start to play. And when something goes monumentally wrong, as it always does, a career doesn’t pat you on the back and tell you that you’re still just as special. A career is fun. Money is nice. But love...love is everything.”

Aaaand he was back to white-knuckling the railing. “Not to everyone. That, or she was never really in love with me. Either way, I wasn’t enough.”

There it was. The half-scabbed wound. If nothing else, Trina could at least slap an emotional bandage on it. “You’re enough for me. Right here, right now.” She canted sideways to get right in his face. “Isn’t that what this week is supposed to be about for you—living in the moment? Living it up?”

Suddenly his eyes sparkled more than that whole huge expanse of blue off to the side. “Yeah. Nothing serious. Just have fun.”

“I’m fun.” Trina licked her lips. Mmm. Lemon lip balm. She was ready for action. “Wanna have me?”

“You read my mind.”

But instead of going for her mouth, Brad dipped his head to nip at her neck. Below the soft warmth of his lips, teeth scraped just hard enough to contrast. Opposites that worked so well together. A full-body goose bump broke out. Trina swayed backward. Sure enough, Brad’s arm was there to catch her. Still, she unhooked her feet from the rail and wrapped her legs around Brad’s waist. Purely for safety. Then fisted her hands in that thick hair and tugged his mouth up to meet hers.

The warm sun beat onto her back. But all the heat in the world pressed against her front. Or maybe it was that touching Brad fired her up from the inside out. Every kiss scorched her. Every lick seared nerves up and down her torso. Every pulse beat seemed to notch her center closer to Brad.

Trina swirled her way into Brad’s mouth. A serious, hard, tongue-thrusting kiss that let him know she meant business. Hopefully, one that showed him just how much she wanted this. Wanted him. From the growl he let out, her message got through loud and clear.

Oh they’d have fun, all right. Serious fun. It was obvious that Brad didn’t just need cheering up. He needed a rebound fling. The kind that would recharge him. Trina didn’t know where she’d be in a month, or what she’d be doing. A relationship was the last thing that would possibly interest her right now. But she did know that a passion-filled week at the beach sounded like perfection for both of them.

Chapter Five

For the second time in less than twelve hours, someone was pounding the hell out of Brad’s hotel room door. At least this time he was wearing more than a towel. He buttoned his dark slacks and fastened his belt as he crossed the room. The undoubtedly drunk idiot on the other side of the door would have to deal with him being shirtless while he yelled at them for disturbing the peace. The day of fun with Trina had wrapped up with a late lunch after their visit to Lucy, and now she was back doing a shift at Club Eden. So he knew the knocker couldn’t be for him. Nobody else in the whole town knew Brad was here.

“You’ve got the wrong room,” he said as he yanked open the door.

“Really?” asked the dark-haired woman beaming at him. “Because you’re hunky, blond and already half-undressed. It sure looks like the right room to me.”

“Darcy? I can’t believe you’re here.” Brad pulled her in for a tight hug. Noticed that her stacked heels brought her tall frame almost even with him, height-wise. Quite a shift from hugging her petite best friend.

“Yeah, and she’s not alone, so how about you get your hands off my girl?”

“Possession
is
nine-tenths of the law,” Brad said as he laughed over her shoulder at his cousin loitering in the hall. Seeing Cooper was like looking in one of those funhouse mirrors he could probably find on the Boardwalk. Just enough differences to make someone blink twice at Brad’s longer hair and darker eyes. Coop was the same height, same build. The DNA they shared from their mom’s side of the family ran strong. Lots of people assumed they were brothers instead of cousins. Brad didn’t mind a bit. They were brothers in all the ways that counted.

With a frown, Coop said, “You and I are sworn to serve and protect all ten tenths of the law. Don’t think for a second that you’re keeping Darcy on a technicality.”

Brad released Darcy and pulled him into a back-slapping man-hug. Despite having planned to spend this week alone, he was damn glad for all this surprise company. Running into Trina had turned out great. Add in his best friend and a girl he already loved like a sister, and this was suddenly turning into a far better vacation than he could’ve imagined. Hell, at this rate, maybe he’d even have a run of good luck at the tables.

“Come on in,” he said, with a wave at the room.

Coop planted his feet and pulled Darcy further into the hall. “No way. You’ve been here two days already. I don’t want to imagine what’s gone on in your room so far, and I sure as hell don’t want to see the wreckage left behind.”

“What do you expect? That I stuffed a pillowcase with used condoms and left-behind panties?” He grabbed his vintage black and tan bowling shirt off the chair—covered in the same blue and white seersucker as his grandpa’s good summer suit—and shrugged into it. All it took to finish getting ready was to pocket his room key and wallet.

“Yeah.” Coop shuddered as they all headed toward the elevators. “That’s pretty much exactly what I expected.”

“Stop poking at him,” Darcy scolded. “Are you surprised to see us?”

He swerved to avoid a scavenged room service tray on the tan carpet. “Definitely. Didn’t the captain pitch a fit about you not being in the squad room with me already gone?”

Coop’s navy sport jacket lifted as he shrugged. “I put in a full day before we hit the road. We’ll go back Sunday night. I only miss one shift tomorrow. Not a big deal.”

But Brad knew it was a big deal. Coop must’ve offered up one heck of a favor to the captain in order to get the schedule changed at the last minute. Which meant he now owed Coop a favor. When the first snowfall finally hit, probably next month, he’d head over early and dig Coop out. Maybe a couple of times.

“Let us take you to dinner,” Darcy offered. They got into the elevator already stuffed with a bellhop, a luggage cart and an old couple wearing their casino players cards on lanyards.

“Only if you let me buy the wine.” He drummed his fingers against his leg. Happy as he was to see them, it felt weird. Brad didn’t want to be pitied. Or have people worrying about him anymore. Enough of that went down all summer long. “Seriously, did you drive all the way up here for proof of life? ’Cause a phone call would’ve saved you two hours and a fat hotel bill.”

“I didn’t think there’d be anything more serious going on with you than a killer hangover. Dana’s a speck in the rear-view mirror of your life.”

Damn straight.

The elevator doors swooshed open. A wall of sound banged at them before even setting one foot in the lobby. Three lines of people all clutching wheeled weekender bags jammed the space in front of the check-in desk.

The casinos in Atlantic City were just as big on decorations as a theme park. Caesars had the whole Roman Forum thing going on with girls in plumed gladiator helmets and little else posing with lucky winners, a toga bar, and marble columns everywhere. The Wild Wild West, including a mechanical bull, silver mining cars and a bar that looked like it was carved out of a desert mountain range, occupied part of Bally’s. But the Atlantic Dunes Resort Casino took home the prize for cheesiest décor, hands down.

Every wall had a floor-to-ceiling cartoon mural of beachgoers beneath an almost solid roof of umbrellas. Each gambling section was denoted with a kite-shaped sign. Crashing waves echoed through the sound system. And animatronic sea gulls flapped from corner to corner. The whole thing seemed kind of pointless to Brad. Since all you had to do was walk outside, cross the Boardwalk and experience all these things for real.

But something still didn’t add up for Brad. “So why the road trip?”

They headed down a hallway lined with slot machines. Darcy put herself in between the two men and grabbed both their hands. “We talked about it a little. A non-honeymoon sounded flatter than old soda. Atlantic City is more fun as a group activity.”

“We can dance, drink and party in AC way better than we would’ve at some stuffy country club wedding reception.” Coop tugged at the open neck of his pale blue shirt. “Plus, no ties required.”

“And this is a good relationship hurdle to get out of the way,” Darcy added. “Coop and I have never been on a trip together.”

Brad snorted. “Well, I’m not sure that making it a threesome with me is what’s good for your relationship.”

Darcy came to a stop. Patted his cheek. “We just want to help cheer you up.”

“There’s a lot of that going around. Your pal Trina’s on the same mission. And I gotta say, she’s doing one hell of a job.” With a head jerk, he indicated the entrance to a family-style Italian joint. Coop stepped up to give his name to the hostess wearing a tie covered in wine bottles over a tight black shirt.

“You ran into Trina? Talk about random.” Darcy bit her bottom lip. “I wonder why she didn’t tell me.”

“Maybe she didn’t want to blow her deep cover,” he said, tongue in cheek. “Anyway, her job’s wrapped up. I’m sure she’d love to see you tomorrow.” Yup. He’d just thrown Trina under the bus. If Brad couldn’t talk her out of pulling more shifts at Club Eden, maybe Darcy could. Kibosh this whole trumped-up investigation kick she refused to drop. Trina insisted on still waitressing at the strip club. She said it’d be stupid to toss away a job that brought in enough to cover her expenses, and it gave her cover to keep investigating Shorty. Technically, they were good reasons, but Brad wasn’t thrilled by the idea.

With an arm wave, Coop circled them over to the bar and a high table covered with a red-and-white-checked cloth. The candleholder was a straw-wrapped Chianti bottle. Frank Sinatra crooned from the speakers. And the whole place smelled of garlic and tomatoes in a way that made Brad’s mouth water.

“It’ll be about fifteen minutes before we get a table. Let’s hang here and grab a cocktail.” Coop hitched one leg up onto the black leather stool.

Darcy patted him on the arm. “How about you start without me? I want to call Trina. See if she can meet me for lunch tomorrow.”

“Good idea. Brad and I can use that time to knock out a round of golf.” Coop kissed her, fast but hard, branding her before releasing her into the wild groups of luck-drunk people.

They both watched Darcy walk away. Heck, half the restaurant probably watched her walk away. The combination of dark hair and light green eyes along with her above average height brought attention to Darcy, even though she never noticed. She had the ultimate girl-next-door vibe—sweet, smart and easygoing. Whereas Trina had more of a female Dennis the Menace vibe—sure to fall ass over ankles into trouble, but endlessly entertaining.

After ordering a round of gin and tonics, Coop eyeballed him. Hard. The way he eyeballed suspects. “What’s with the stare?” asked Brad. “It’s way more freaking me out than cheering me up.”

“I’m trying to figure out what’s with you and Trina.”

Coop used to be as dumb as a sand crab when it came to relationship stuff. Being with Darcy must’ve juiced his relationship-detecting antennae. But they were guys. Which meant they didn’t need to talk about this. At all. He cut his eyes away to look at a travel poster from the 1950s of Rome. Some woman stomping a tub of grapes in her bare feet in front of the Coliseum. Yeah. ’Cause
that
happened all the time.

“What’s to figure out? We’re friends.”

“No, you’re
friendly
,” Coop corrected. “When you’re around me and Darcy. You haven’t laid eyes on each other since June. Until now.”

Next he looked at a poster on the back wall for Venice, full of gondolas in a row. A place it had never occurred to Brad to go. The travel bug had never really bitten him. But he’d pay just about anything to be there right now, instead of here, having this conversation with Coop.

“I didn’t LoJack Trina and hunt her down. We ran into each other. No big deal. We’re having fun.”

“Uh oh.” Coop rested his forearms on the table. Leaned in closer. “Don’t tell me you guys did it?”

“Jesus Christ,” Brad exploded. Yeah, it was noisy and crowded in the bar. Nobody was paying attention to them. Still he couldn’t believe Coop would just come out and ask him such a balls-to-the-wall question. “Didn’t you send me up here to do just that?”

“Not with Trina.”

“You’re not her dad,” Brad threw back.

“You’re not answering.”

If it was anyone but his best friend giving him this third degree, Brad would just get up and walk away. But then the waitress came over to throw down cocktail napkins printed with the flag of Italy and pass out their drinks. It gave Brad the time to dial back his annoyance enough to reply. “I don’t owe you any explanation. The good guys don’t kiss and tell, remember? But no, we haven’t gotten horizontal. Yet.”

“Good. ’Cause I’m thinking maybe you shouldn’t.”

Oh, no. He could and would do Trina if he wanted to. Brad could also do that lingerie-model-type blonde in the corner who’d been eyeing him since they walked in. Hell, he could do both of them at the same time. And it still wouldn’t be any concern of Coop’s. “Since when do I need your approval every time I plan to roll on a condom?”

“Since you screwed things up with Dana.”

Coop might as well have punched him in the gut, because all the air left his lungs in a rush. “I thought you were supposed to be on my side. My partner.”

“I am. Which is why I’ve held off on this ass-kicking for so long. But you seem ready now, to face up to a couple of facts. I’m just going to be real with you for five minutes. Don’t worry, I’ll be done before Darcy gets back. We won’t gang up on you.”

A big gulp of his drink froze the roof of his mouth. It did nothing to cool down Brad’s temper. He took his stirrer—blue and topped with a plastic seagull—and jabbed it at Coop. “Let’s go over the facts of the case one more time. Dana left me. She dumped me. She took my heart and cut it up into confetti. I didn’t
do
anything.”

Coop shrugged. Swirled his ice cubes around. “Kind of my point.”

“What the hell are you talking about?”

“Yeah, Dana’s a cold-hearted bitch for walking out on you to go climb the corporate ladder. But what everyone’s been too chicken shit to mention is that you’re accountable, too.”

“Excuse me?” How had a fun dinner out turned into a mini-therapy session? Wasn’t this breaking the guy code? They weren’t supposed to delve this deep, get into feelings and all the mushy stuff. It all made Brad squirm. And then the music switched over to Sinatra singing “Ain’t That A Kick In The Head.” He didn’t need a restaurant providing an all-too-on-point soundtrack for this little chat.

“You didn’t do anything,” Coop continued. “When she started getting super busy with work, you didn’t try to support her or partner with her. You just moped around being lonely. In fact, you turned around and buried yourself in your work. Your life had just as narrow a focus on the MSP as hers did on her career.”

Technically, it was all true. He’d taken extra shifts. But only because Dana was out all the time. Brad thought it was better to work than to sit at home playing video games. “Her work stuff went right over my head. All of that talk about markets and values and the yen versus the dollar. Made my eyes glaze over.”

“Well, did you try to learn about it at all? Spend a day doing a web search to get some clarity? Ask for pointers?” Coop leaned in again, voice pitched low. “Try to connect with her on any level, anywhere, besides in bed?”

Brad half rose from his stool. “You are so far out of line right now—”

“Sit down. I’m almost done.” Coop waited, arms crossed, until Brad sank back down. “I’m not pushing your buttons for the hell of it. If you were going through women like potato chips during a bowl game, I’d let it lie. Figure you were getting her out of your system, one orgasm at a time. But Trina’s already as good as a little sister to me. I don’t want her to be on the tally board of your rebound chickfest. She’s a relationship kind of woman. And I don’t see that you’ve done a single thing to figure out where you screwed up your last relationship.”

Brad threw back the rest of his drink and signaled for another. He’d give Coop exactly two more minutes of flapping his gums, and then walk out if it didn’t end. Mostly because he couldn’t stand his cousin saying out loud the very same thoughts that had poked at his subconscious for the last few weeks. “First of all, Trina’s the least serious person I’ve ever met. That’s what makes her so much fun. I think you’ve got her all wrong. There’s no way she’s looking for more than a good time.”