Once a Marine (26 page)

Joe’s face went white. “Oh, my God. She had two abortions?”

“She took the morning-after pill. Same thing.”

“Shit! It is not the same thing.”

“It causes a woman to lose the baby.”

“You better inform yourself, Cruz. It’s a nasty, sometimes painful way to prevent pregnancy from happening. It doesn’t kill a baby. You use condoms don’t you?”

“Yeah, but—“

“Christ. You kill people for a living, Rafi, and you fault her for preventing a pregnancy she wasn’t ready for?” Joe crossed his arms. “Get your head out of your ass, man.”

“Condoms aren’t the same thing.”

“Damn right it’s not the same thing. Jesus, you can be a self-righteous prick. Do you love her?”

Rafi sank back down in his chair. “It doesn’t matter. I don’t think I’m cut out for marriage. I like my life the way it is.”

Joe shook his head and headed to the door. “You don’t know what you’re missing, you dumb shit. It takes work, but it’s worth it. Think about it.”

“I have thought about it. I’ve thought about little else for the past two weeks. But she’s the one who walked out, dammit!”

* * *

Simon took BD to dinner on her last night in London. “I’ll miss you. Except for Gunter Heinz at Gay Boyz, you’re the best dance partner I’ve ever had.”

She grinned and poked his arm. “We were made to be in each other’s arms, don’t you think?”

“Darling, we look magnificent together on a dance floor. Why don’t we run away? We could travel the world doing dancing exhibitions in exotic places.”

She laughed. “I think we’d have to increase our repertoire beyond ballroom. Maybe next time I come here we’ll add different styles and polish our routine before we take it on the road.”

He flashed white teeth and dimples to die for. “Yes, most definitely. We’ll find a Latin club—add salsa, samba, tango, and merengue. We’ll wear garish satin and lots of sequins.” Simon chuckled. “Do you think I’d look like Valentino with my hair dyed black and slicked down?” When she didn’t answer, he looked up from his plate. “Is something wrong?”

BD put down her silver. She dropped her hands in her lap. “Rafi, the man I broke up with, he does a great merengue. He’s got the body of a prizefighter, but he moves like Baryshnikov. I’ve tried to put him out of my head, but there are too many reminders.”

Simon signaled the waiter and ordered another bottle of wine. He remained silent until the bottle arrived and then refreshed their glasses.

“You really must make an overture. If he’s the kind of man I think he is, glaciers will form in hell before he budges from his machismo prison of the mind.”

“He acted like a jackass!”

“Yes, sweetheart. I do believe it comes at birth, along with fingers, toes, and other essential parts of the male package.”

“He should have called me.” She polished off half her glass of Malbec. “He owes me an apology.”

“Keeping score, are we? That’s a recipe for disaster.”

Pursing her lips she pressed them together to prevent a smile and then she shook her head. “You’re not like that, I suppose.”

“Oh, but I am. That’s why I’m an expert on the subject.” He winked. “All men are bastards, darling. We’re carriers of the bastard gene. All men. That’s why nature chose to balance the sexes with the female of the species. Without our mothers, sisters, aunts, and grannies, there’d be no hope for the future of mankind.”

BD resumed eating. After a few bites she paused. “You should write a relationship book. Everybody’s writing them and probably raking in a fortune.”

“I tell you what. You go home to the Colonies, beg and plead with your lover to let you come back. All is forgiven and other such rot. Then, based on the results of your efforts, we’ll be able to present ourselves as experts on the subject, from both the straight and gay perspectives.”

“You may have something there. I’m sure no one has approached it from that angle.”

Simon sighed and shook his head remorsefully. “See? Didn’t I say we were perfect together?”

As part of her stay in London, Shari authorized BD to review all staff at the boutique to select the one individual whom she felt would be best for merchandizing the Haven line. If the person BD selected agreed to take the position, he or she would be asked to resign from the boutique payroll and work under Enzo’s direction as a commissioned employee of Haven.

BD carefully observed the excellent staff over her two-week stay. All of them were impressive and enthusiastic sales people. The owner of the boutique had hired an excellent group of employees, many of whom had worked there for years.

Simon wasn’t interested in accepting the position, but there were two others who fit the bill. BD was unable to make a decision between them, so she took the scientific, tried-and-true approach—flipped a coin.

No longer needed in England, she booked her flight and returned to New York. She had no firm idea of how long Shari wished her to stay on the East Coast, but as soon she got to the apartment, BD vowed she’d go ahead, take the first step, swallow her pride, and call Rafi.

* * *

Rafi paced the hangar, scowling while considering what Joe said—forget his fat-headed pride and call her. What’s the worst thing Beautiful could say? Get lost, buster? He had nothing to lose from any angle. Except maybe a few bruises to his ego. What’s the big deal about that? His ego was in the way of getting back the woman he loved.

First he decided to call the one woman he knew he could talk to and trust completely, his sister, Elena.

“Hello.”

“Hey, sweetheart, it’s your Uncle Rafael here. Can you put your mom on the phone?”

She chuckled softly. “I am on the phone.”

He smiled. “You sound as young as one of the girls,
hermana
.”

“Sound is where it ends, I’m afraid. Is something the matter, Rafael? We haven’t had a phone conversation in ages.”

“Yeah, sorry about that. I need some feminine advice.”

“Please don’t tell me you messed up with BD.”

“OK then, I’ll call you another time.”

“Rafael! Don’t hang up. Why do you have to be such a smart aleck? What did you do? I love that girl.”

“Me too, but I blew it big time. I need to know what to say to make her come back to me.”

“Hold on a minute. I’m going to get a cup of coffee, grab the other two handsets, and lock myself in the den. This could take a while if I know you, and I think I do.”

Rafi covered the phone with his hand and hollered to Bert. “I’ll be in my office. I don’t want to be interrupted unless the building’s on fire.”

“You got it, boss.”

Rafi locked his door and sat down. He turned so that his back was facing the glass windows overlooking the hangar where Bert and a mechanic were working on a big engine.

Elena came back on the line. “OK, tell big sister what you did, because I’m sure you’re the one responsible. Right?”

“Jesus, isn’t anybody on my side?”

“Rafael, I won’t continue this conversation if you take the Lord’s name in vain.”

He rolled his eyes. “Sorry. Gee whillikers! Is that better?”

Elena made a grumpy sound. “Let me start with this caveat—I don’t know why any woman would put up with you for more than a couple of days, which is obviously the reason you’re practically an old man and still unmarried.”

He smiled at her unbridled honesty. “That’s easy. I’m the world’s greatest lover, and I can dance.” He tossed a wad of paper across his shoulder and looked back to see if he’d hit the wastebasket.

“Like I said—couple of days. Do you want my sisterly advice or are we writing a script for a sitcom here? I assume you called because you want her to come back.”

He dragged a hand through his hair. “Yes, I want her to come back.”

“OK then, begin by telling me what caused the breakup.”

Rafi told Elena about his last encounter with BD. The snarky comments he made about her job. Her actions when she was with the asshole, and what he’d said to her when she confessed. He told Elena everything.

She sighed. “Oh, that’s so unfortunate. I don’t approve of what she did, but can you imagine what she was going through? The poor girl. It must have been so hard for her to tell you, after what Joe’s wife said about the abortion doctor job.”

“Joe tried to set me straight about my comments on her job, how ignorant I was about the emergency contraception, and then how I reacted.”

“Joe’s right. You told her you thought she had a stupid, meaningless job then you accused her of wanting to kill her own babies. What were you thinking?

“For crying out loud, I know all that. What should I do?”

“You have to put everything aside and talk it out with her. Think about it,
hermano
.”

He squeezed the bridge of his nose. “I can’t think of much else. I want her back, dammit, but the idea of groveling goes against my nature. I don’t know how to do that.”

“Do you love her?”

“Yes, I’m crazy for her. What would you do if you found out one of your daughters had done what BD did?”

“I’d be very sad and disappointed, but I’d still love her and want her in my life. We’re humans. We’re not perfect. What do you want from BD?”

“I want to marry her.”

“Are you absolutely sure marriage is what you want? Or is she handy to have around for sex whenever you’re in the mood?”

Rafi sighed and shook his head. “I’m so bored with that life. I’m ready to settle down and start a family, but I don’t know if she is—or even if she’d consider marrying me.”

“The kind of work you do isn’t ideal for family life, you know. Were you ever planning to tell our parents, or am I still the only one in the family who knows about your other life?”

“Only you.”

“Rafael, my dear brother, I love you, but do you know what kind of position that puts me in with the family if you get yourself killed? How much does BD know?”

He rubbed his forehead. “Not nearly as much as you know. I’m so used to being secretive about that part of my life. I’ve danced around the truth with her.”

“Relationships are built on—”

“Trust, I know. The problem is, I fell for her so fast and was in so deep, I couldn’t think of a way to tell her without coming across as some kind of multi-personality wacko. That’s why I called you. I have to figure a way to get BD back, how to lay it all on the table for her.”

He heard Elena sigh, waited for her to talk.

“If she loves you she’ll welcome your apology and come back. If that happens, you must be honest with her. The two of you will have to decide whether or not you can continue with Silverstone or at least what level of danger she can live with. Rafael, you need to be absolutely sure you want BD as your number-one priority. If you’re not sure of that, you’re never going to have her. I think you knew all this before you called me.”

Rafi hung up the phone. For some time he sat at his desk deciding what his next step would be. The last thing he wanted to do was place an impulse-driven call to Beautiful without thinking through what he would say.

The ringing phone brought him back to the here and now. “Cruz Aero, Cruz speaking.”

“This is James from Aircraft Specialty Components in Van Nuys. We have a medium-size parts shipment that needs to be delivered to Boeing, in Seattle, tonight. Is this something you can handle?”

Rafi grabbed an order sheet. “Absolutely. Give me the weight and measurements and the value for insurance purposes. I’ll check which aircraft is suitable, and call you back with an estimate.”

“Be back to you in half an hour.”

Rafi left his office and went looking for Joe. He found him working on the instrument panel of one of the medium-size jets. He and Joe were both trained in the maintenance of aircraft as part of their undercover activities. Many of the places they went didn’t have reliable maintenance facilities. They often depended and their own training and expertise.

“Hey, Joe, this bird ready to fly?”

Joe crawled back from under the co-pilot control panel. “Just finishing up. All that’s left is to reinstall the seat. We got a job?”

Rafi nodded. “James from ASC called. They have a shipment needs to go to Seattle tonight. He’s calling me back soon as he has weight and measurements for the cargo. You can go, or I can take it.”

Joe wiped his hands on a shop towel and shoved it into the back pocket of his coveralls. “Jill’s parents just blew in. I’ll catch hell if I leave the same day. If it has to go tonight, you’ll have to do it.”

Rafi nodded. “For the sake of marital harmony I’ll take the job. I’m not scheduled for the protection detail for Prince Faysal for three more days. Then I’ll be gone for two weeks. You and the new guys will have to take any new business that comes in.”

Joe crouched down to replace some tools in the box at his feet. “You’re one lucky SOB to land that plum job for the past five years.”

“We’re all lucky. That one job pays enough to cover our basic overhead for a full year. And I don’t mind a vacation in the Rockies at Faysal’s expense.”

“What’s your secret?”

Rafi cocked his head and raised his eyebrows. “He likes the way I interact with his kids. Once his entire entourage and all his wives are settled into the villas, the big kids, the boys, and I spend most of the days doing helicopter sightseeing, hiking, boating, fishing, and camping. The adults don’t leave the villas until evening, when they go in a caravan to take over a local restaurant for dinner. Like I said, it’s a paid vacation.”

* * *

Cruz Aero’s phone rang. BD bit her lip. One of them had to make the first move, and it might as well be her.

She recognized Joe’s voice. “Hi, Joe, it’s BD James. Is Rafi there?”

“I’m sorry, BD. He took off for Seattle ten minutes ago. It was a rush job. He’ll be back sometime tomorrow, though. May I take a message for him?”

All her agonizing and he wasn’t even there!

“Please tell him I called. I’m just leaving London on my way back to New York. He can reach me at the company apartment.”