Not Looking for Love: A Cowboy Romance (20 page)

“What? Why?” Kara was frantic as she looked from the flight attendant to the people closest to her on the plane then back to the attendant. “But I didn’t do anything wrong.”

“Ma’am, if you don’t leave willingly, I’m going to have to call security.”

“Well, then go ahead and call them. I did nothing wrong.” She began to lean back in her seat.

“Fine.” The portly male attendant started to turn away.

“No, wait, wait. I’ll go.” She rose up and pulled down her carry-on from the overhead storage and allowed him to escort her off the plane, questioning why as they went and feeling like a criminal with all eyes on her.

“What about my checked luggage? How am I going to get that? You know, I paid for it already,” she said as the attendant pushed through one of the double doors that led back into the airport.

“It’s right there.” He pointed to her large suitcase.

She looked to it and did a double take. Standing right next to it was Richie. His feet crossed at the ankle and his arms folded against his chest as he leaned against the wall, his lips tight, his eyes scrutinizing her.

They stared at each other. When the flight attendant left through the door she turned around to see it close. She looked around and noticed there was no one in the vicinity anymore. The passengers already boarded and the airline workers had moved on to another gate for the next flight out.

She sighed as she looked to Richie and started walking over to him. “You did this? You got me thrown off of a plane?”

He took a moment before he answered and even then he didn’t answer her question. “Where you going?” He still didn’t move.

He was being uncharacteristically still, she was afraid he was going to lash out at any moment so she took a step back. “Um…” She swallowed. “I uh, I”m goin hom.” She swallowed the last two words, but he heard her.

Still more silence. It was killing her, she was beginning to think him lashing out at her would be better than all this quiet. With nothing else to do and her nerves a mess, she grabbed the handle of her suitcase.

“Leave it,” he said just as she was ready to pick it up.

She looked from the suitcase to him as she jerked her hand back. All this quiet got to her. With determination this time she picked up the handle of her bag and began to turn it around. “Look, I’m going home and you have no right to stop me. I don’t belong here, and I should never—”

“So, that’s it? You’re really going to leave without giving me an explanation?” He pushed off the wall when she began to walk away.

“Kara?”

She paused. “I’m not some blonde bimbo, Richie, and I won’t have you or anyone else think that.” Her voice was loud as she turned around, not realizing he was right behind her. “Oh.”

He brought a hand up to her arm and with his other hand, he took the suitcase handle out of her hand.

“I never said that, nor have I ever thought that of you. I’ve always thought you to be a very smart woman… though at the moment I’m questioning that.

She gasped and tried to shake off his hand.

“Kara, I know what happened. My mom was waiting for me by the front desk when I walked into the hotel. She had overheard my cousin and Rachel talking while at the salon.”

“She was there?” Oh, now she felt embarrassed that his mom heard the girls talk about her.

“Yeah. On the chair on the other side of the wall from the chairs Fiona and Rachel were sitting at.”

Kara blew out a breath.

“Kara, don’t leave? Come on? Those girls knew you were there and were fucking with you. Don’t let them win.” He watched her bite her lip and he knew she was working it out in her head. “Come on, it’s Christmas Eve. My parents are looking forward to getting to know you over dinner.”

She looked around. The airport was becoming desolate. She probably wouldn’t be able to get another flight out till the next morning anyway. She slowly nodded. “Okay.”

He smiled for the first time since getting the news from his mom and went to kiss her, but she backed up. “Kara?”

“Oh, shit, Richie, I’m sorry. I just can’t get past the necklace you gave me, you know?”

“Know what?” He shrugged. “I don’t know. What about it?”

“I know, Richie.”

“Kara, what are you talking about?”

“I know you give those necklaces to all the women you see. And it hurts that you chose to give it to me too.”

“I’ve never given that necklace to another woman. I’ve never given a necklace to any woman other than you, Kara.” His mom didn’t mention anything about the necklace to him, but he didn’t give her a chance either, he flew out of the hotel and ran to a cab idling at the station across the driveway to the entrance.

She tilted her head to the side. “But Rachel said you give it to ‘all your women’.” She air quoted the last three words.

“Think, Kara. I told you I only met her last Christmas. How the hell does she know what I give women?”

“You don’t give them out?”

“No.” He shook his head.

When her shoulders sagged he took her in his arms. “I really did think of you when I saw it.”

She blew out a breath. “I’m sorry, Richie. I guess I just became overwhelmed with meeting your parents, and then hearing your cousin and a girl you did talk about me. I don’t know I felt hurt, you know?”

“I know.” He hugged her tighter. “Relax, Kara. My parents really want to get to know you. I’ve told them about you and how well you treat me, how much I enjoy being with you, and they’re thrilled to meet you.” He hugged her to him again. “I wouldn’t have brought you here if I wasn’t sure about you.”

She hugged him tight and nodded.

He pulled back to bring his lips down to hers and kissed her. When he broke the kiss he kept his lips by hers. “Come on, let’s go. I really need a shower.” He chuckled.

She nodded. “Hah, you do smell like fish.”

They broke apart and he grabbed her large bag with one hand and grabbed her hand with his other hand. “Didn’t you have two bags when we got here?”

She shrugged. “Yeah, I guess it was too much to carry by myself…plus I was in a rush.” She didn’t want to tell him that the other suite case held the Christmas present she bought for him. She had left it in the closet for him to find before he left Aruba.

Richie escorted Kara down from the deck into the sand toward the large rectangular table by the water. The sun was setting and thankfully the trade winds were mild, making for a pleasant evening. Kara originally planned on wearing a red lace top with a matching skirt showing a bit of her stomach. She opted instead to wear something more conservative, a pair of white shorts with a pretty black halter that came down to just about the bottom of her shorts. Her hair, because she never did get to the salon, was in a ponytail, beautiful long curls hanging down. She hated it, but Richie loved it so she left it alone. The necklace that she had left on the bed before she ran off to the airport sat securely around her neck.

“Hi, everyone. Sorry we’re late,” Richie said as he pulled out a chair for Kara.

His father and Uncle Ted rose up then sat back down. “You’re not late. We just got here too,” Richie’s father said. He smiled as he nodded at Kara.

“Hello, Kara,” Bella said with a smile of her own.

“Mrs. Warren.” Kara nodded.

Bella leaned in and Kara mimicked her. “I’m glad you came back.”

“Thank you. I’m glad I did too. And thank you for sticking up for me. Richie told me.”

“You’re welcome, dear. And please, call me Bella.”

Kara nodded as she smiled.

Once everyone was seated and each had a glass of champagne in their hand, Richie’s uncle made a toast then the servers brought over platters of fish.

“Wahoo would have gone good with this meal,” Will said, amusement in his eyes.

The men cracked up laughing. They had a running joke about not bringing anything home for the first time in fifteen years.

“Oh, I forgot to ask you if you caught anything today,” Kara whispered to Richie. “I’m sorry you didn’t.”

“Oh, no. I’m the only one that caught something today.” He pointed to a plate of grilled fish filets.

“Yeah, he got lucky the last few minutes before we were going to head back,” his father said.

“Not luck, skill.” Richie tried to keep a straight face before cracking-up.

“I think it was the same one that ate my bait,” Will said, chuckling.

Also on the table were platters of seafood salad, linguini and clams, fried shrimp, lobster tails, and stuffed calamari in a red sauce and everyone ate their fill. Topping it off was an array of scrumptious desserts. As the servers came by with after diner drinks, Uncle Ted passed around cigars.

“Come on, ladies. This is where we take our leave,” Aunt Lucille said as she rose.

“Come, Kara. We’ll go up to the bar while the guys puff away,” Bella said as she, too, got up out of her seat.”

“Oh,” Kara said as she rose up and looked to Richie who rose up with her.

“Uh, Kara, if you don’t mind, we’d like a word with you,” Uncle Ted said.

Kara looked to him then to Richie whose expression she couldn’t read. Her stomach was in knots.

“Kara, we’ll meet you up there, darling.” Bella said.

Kara looked to Bella then back to Richie. This was it, this was where they tell her they know she was a porn actress. This is where they tell her that Richie can’t be seen with a whore like her. Her eyes closed as her body deflated of all air.

“It’s all good, Kara,” Richie whispered in her ear as he gently tugged on her hand.

She opened her eyes and saw a smile on Richie’s face. Feeling reassured she nodded and looked back to Bella. “Okay.” Then she sat back down and at the same time Richie took his seat.

“Richie, pour Kara another shot,” Uncle Ted said.

“Oh, no, thank you. I’m good.” She covered her glass with her hand and swept back a flyaway strand of hair with her other as a breeze rolled through. She nervously looked around the table. The only sound she heard was the gentle surf just inches from their feet. Her chair faced the ocean and the lit torches and the candles on the table were the only source of light. The glow from them made his family’s faces look ominous, well, in her mind anyway.

“Richie tells us you’re an interior designer.”

She had helped design a friend’s house and her own. Richie even let her loose in his home. She looked to Uncle Ted. “I’ve been fortunate enough to decorate the homes of some friends, but I’m still in school at the moment.”

“Yes. Business?”

“Yes, and design.”

Uncle Ted nodded as he picked up his digestif and took a sip. “Richie also tells us your style is very elegant and traditional.”

She remembered Richie telling her that.

Uncle Ted continued. “We have a hotel in need of a makeover and would be interested in hearing your thoughts.”

“Oh.” A sense of pride started to fill her as she looked from him to Richie then back to him again.

“We’d like a meeting with you after the holidays, at our headquarters in Dallas,” Richie’s father said.

“Oh, I don’t live in Texas, sir. It would be hard for me to get there from Florida.”

The low chuckles of all the men unnerved her. Even Richie chuckled. She looked to Richie, then back to his father and took a breath she hoped didn’t look obvious, figuring she messed up here.

“The Warren will fly you in… on a date both our schedules will allow.” Uncle Ted dipped his head. “Are we in agreement?”

“Oh, okay.” She nodded and a small smile appeared on her face for the first time since this little impromptu meeting.

Uncle Ted nodded and smiled as he rose. All the men rose at that point. Richie pulled her up.
Oh, meeting over,
she thought to herself, feeling a bit embarrassed as she looked to Richie.

“You need me to walk you over to my mom?” he whispered to her.

She shook her head as she gripped the back of her chair to bring it out more, so she could pass.

“Later,” he said, and she nodded once and made eye contact with his family before walking away. Inside she was doing flips, but she wasn’t sure if they were happy flips or nervous flips.

“Salt, please,” Kara said from behind the bar, holding out a glass as she shook her booty to Luke Bryan’s ‘Rain is a Good Thing’ blaring from the speakers while the blender frothed up another round of Margaritas.
“Yes, ma’am,” the bartender said as he took the glass. He ran a lime wedge around the rim then dipped it in a container of sea salt. He repeated the same with the rest of the glasses as he also bopped along to the song. Then still bopping, he moved over to service a couple who had come up to the bar.

“Oh, Richie and I went there last year. And, oh my God, the snorkeling was amazing,” Kara said after Bella relayed her adventure in Bimini a few years back.

Rachel’s head snapped to Kara, and Kara tried to suppress a laugh when she saw the frown on Rachel’s face. They had been civilized to each other but the tension was still there. When she walked up to the bar the girls asked to speak to her in private. Fiona and Rachel apologized, however, Fiona’s sounded sincere and Rachel’s sounded forced.

“Have him take you to Bonaire. It is one of the best in the world for snorkeling,” Aunt Lucille said.

“Oh, even the Big Island of Hawaii has some wonderful snorkeling,” Bella said as she took the fresh drink Kara held out to her.

“Yeah, Kealakekua Bay is another good spot. You’ll swim with sea turtles and dolphins,” Fiona added “Thanks,” she said as Kara handed her a glass.

Kara presented one to Rachel.

“You might want to try the Caymans. They have some colorful fish there.” Rachel said.

“Yeah, Richie took me scuba diving there a few years ago.” Kara knew she was rubbing it in, but for some reason she had to drive home a message to this girl, plus she was feeling buzzed.

Kara raised her drink. “To snorkeling!”

The women all raised their drinks and repeated her words before they all took a sip.

Richie and the boys walked up to the bar, with Richie only having eyes for Kara. He leaned over the bar. “This place finally hired a sexy bartender, huh.” Glad to see she was looking relaxed and comfortable around his family.

Kara leaned in to him and they kissed.

“Hey, I resent that remark. I’m pretty damn sexy too, you know.”

Richie broke the kiss and looked to Angelo, the bartender. “Sorry, unless you got a body like hers under those clothes my remark stands.” The both of them laughed.

Richie and Kara turned their attention to his aunt and uncle who were saying their goodnight, and wished them a good evening.

“Come on, woman. Let’s go up to our suite too. I’m tired,” Richie’s father said to his wife.

“Hah! No you’re not. You know I’ve been drinking Margaritas again,” Bella said, amusement in her eyes.

Everyone turned to Richie and laughed when he groaned.

“You’re right, baby, Kara knows how to make a Margarita.” Bella looked to Kara and winked, then she and her husband said goodnight and walked hand in hand up to the hotel.

With the older folk gone, Will suggested they walk over to the hotel adjacent to their property where the music from the outside club could be heard.

Kara wasn’t sure what propelled Rachel, but she sidled up to Richie.

“Yeah, and you owe me a dance, mister.” She got in his face as she batted her eyelashes, her lips a sexy curve. Maybe it was the Margaritas.

Richie took a step back. “I don’t think so.” He turned to Kara. “Come on. You want to go up?” Richie laughed to himself knowing Kara was lit and thinking how much he sounded like his father.

“Yes.”

He watched as she thanked and said goodnight to Angelo, then she walked to the side of the bar and ducked under the ledge.

“How’d you wind up behind the bar?” Richie asked Kara as they walked through the lobby of the hotel toward the south tower, his arm around her shoulders and hers around his waist.

“I had to show Angelo how to make a good Margarita.” Kara shrugged.

Richie laughed as he paused to say hello to a guest who along with his family stayed at the hotel for the past eight years during the holidays.

Richie and Kara took turns showering. He had wanted to shower with her but she was being very adamant. If he knew her and he did, he knew she had something planned. Sometimes the anticipation was foreplay enough.

He sat in bed with his back against the soft headboard and the clicker in his hand as he channel surfed, naked, save for the sheet pulled up to his hips. He’d been humming Randy Travis’ Forever and Ever, Amen’, the song that had gotten stuck in his head since hearing it earlier down by the beach bar. A little box wrapped in red and white paper with a bow on top sat next to him.

He watched her walk out of the bathroom and over to him. “Why the robe?” He lifted the sheet and waggled his eyes.

She giggled. “Jeez, Rich, you’re already hard.

“It’s what you do to me, baby.”

She just smiled at him and shook her head. Then her eyes shifted to the wrapped present on the bed.

He saw her eying it and he picked it up and presented it to her. “Merry Christmas.”

“Richie! You already gave me my present.”

“That was just foreplay.” He chuckled at his own humor.

“Is this the fuck?” She came right back at him.

“Hah! Go ahead. Open it.”

“Wait.” She quickly walked to the large closet in the bathroom and came out with a couple of presents. “I was going to wait till the morning, but, well, Merry Christmas.” She handed Richie a large box with a small one on top.

“Thank you.” He reached for the smaller box.

“Open the larger one first,” she said as she knelt on the bed.

He looked to her and switched presents. The name on the box was clear even before he ripped off all of the paper and he kept looking to her. Throwing off the lid he said, “What did you do?”

She just smiled.

He pulled out a pair of Lucchese cowboy boots. They were black with subtle gray classic stitching on the shafts. He’d been eying these boots. He didn’t remember showing them to her. Did she know him that well? “I can’t accept these. You have to take them back.”

Her smile faded. “You don’t like them?”

“I love them. Kara, I know how much these cost. I don’t want you spending that much on me. I can afford them.”

“I can’t?”

“I don’t mean to offend.”

“I’m not offended, Richie. They were a pretty penny, but I did well with my little book cover designing this year. Please don’t ask me to take them back.”

“Come here.”

She moved closer and he threw a hand around her neck, pulling her face in close to his. “Thank you,” he said at her lips just before kissing her… long and slow.

She was putty by the time he broke the kiss and he started to undo her robe. With all her might she pulled back. “Not yet.” She gave him a coquettish look. “You have another one to open.” She handed him the smaller one.

That was also in a box with the name Lucchese on it. It was a handsome, black leather belt that went with the boots.

“Thank you, darlin’. You really shouldn’t have.” He picked up the small red and white box. “Here. Open yours.”

She took the box from him and carefully unwrapped it. The name Cartier made her eyes pop and when she opened the box she was staring at a Balloon Bleu. The deep blue hands pointed to diamonds instead of roman numerals. “Oh, Richie. It’s beautiful.” She looked from the watch to him. “Oh, I don’t, I don… I don’t know…”

He smiled then kissed her as he gently took the box and set it aside. The kiss heated up again, and she also felt him reach for the belt on her robe and backed up.

“Not yet?” Richie was disappointed.

She rose up off of the bed and stood before him. Her eyes never left his when she untied the belt and dropped the robe.

His eyes never left her body as he sucked in a large breath.

She wore a lacy baby blue demi bra with matching crotchless panties, and the diamond waist chain that attached to the diamond in her belly he had given her for her birthday the year before. Her blonde hair and suntanned skin brought out the color. He looked into those two beautiful sparkling topaz gems of hers. “You’re stunning.” He rose up a little and grabbed her arm. As he brought her down on top of him he kissed her lips and before long his lips were all over her as he caressed her body. He worked his hand down and stuck his middle finger inside her via the crotchless panties, knowing she would be wet, as the rest of his fingers splayed across her pussy, feeling her fine hairs and the lace of the panties. “I love my Christmas present,” he whispered by her mouth as he pumped in and out, double time.

She let out a moan.

“I love the boots too.” He grinned.

And she let out another moan as she smiled. “Oh, wait.” She wiggled out of his grasp and ran back to the bathroom closet.

He was pretty much dumbfounded.

She came back with the last of the three presents she had presented him two days ago.

He grinned knowing it was another sex toy and ripped the paper off of it when she handed it to him. He looked up to her. “Oohh,” He ripped open the Triple Threat cock ring, the one with vibrating ears for her clit and a vibrating stimulator for his prostate.