Rock Her (Crimson Romance) (3 page)

Kate smiled.

Her mother had said Ava was boy-crazy years ago when they were both thirteen and in middle school. Not much had changed on the inside. Ava was still outgoing, fearless and flirtatious. But on the outside? Eyeing her friend across the table Kate shook her head. Hard to believe the gangly girl with mousy hair, braces, and glasses, grew into the leggy, lean, and gorgeous blue-eyed blonde across from her.

“The guy I tried to resuscitate?” Kate laughed. “I have to say I didn’t notice. His lips were cold and blue.”

“Gross.” Ava frowned. “You know I don’t enjoy your nurse humor.”

Kate sobered as she considered the guy’s chances of recovery. Slim to none would be her guess.

“So …
was
the surfer hot?”

“Yeah.”

Ava shot her a suspicious, narrow-eyed look. “Just ‘yeah’? I don’t think so, girlfriend. You don’t get off that easy. Spill!”

Kate grinned. “Yes. He was absurdly hot.” Hot was an understatement. He was the most attractive man she had ever seen. Dark hair, strong jaw, brilliant blue eyes, beautiful bone structure, and a nose that wasn’t quite straight. Somehow it all added up to an astonishingly sexy male. And his body? Even in a wetsuit he had the body of a god. Had he noticed that she’d been tongue-tied? He was probably used to it.

“All right.” Ava made a fist and gave a tiny air pump.

“He’s also old.”

Ava cocked her head. “How old?”

Kate frowned. “Mid-thirties?”

Ava pursed her lips. “That’s not old.”

“He’s a lawyer — used to be a musician. He must do well, since he has a place right on the beach, near Mar Vista. He took me there to warm up, then he drove me home.”

Ava’s brows arched, her voice rose an octave. “You went to his
house
? Are you kidding me? That’s not safe, girl.”

Kate’s eyes widened. “For heaven’s sake Ava, he helped me rescue a stranger. I think that tells me all I need to know about his character. Besides, as it turns out, we weren’t alone.”

Ava cocked her head.

“So, I’m standing there, checking for soap, about to close the door when this blonde wearing a skimpy towel comes to the doorway.”

“Oh my gosh!”

“I know, right? She was gorgeous, Slavic model hot. So I’m thinking, is this his wife? But before I can even introduce myself, she tells me she’s with Alec and I should get lost.”

Ava’s hand came up to cover her mouth.

“Then she huffs out of there and heads down the hall. I probably should have closed the door at that point but I stood, listening.”

“Was it his wife?”

“No. She marched to wherever he was and yelled at him.”

Ava’s mouth slackened. “Whoa.”

“I know. Total player, right? After he told her to leave, I ducked back into the bathroom and started the shower before they could catch me listening.”

“Wow.”

“He figured out I knew she was there and told me she left.”

“Are you going to see him again?”

“What? No. Didn’t you hear anything I said after ‘he was hot’? Honestly.” She ticked the reasons off on her fingers. “He’s old. He’s a player. Lives in LA. Rich.”

“So? You sell yourself short.”

“I love you, Ava, but no.”

Kate’s hand moved to her chest reflexively, then to her neck. Plucking out her shirt, she ducked her chin, leaned back and glanced to her navel. Not there.

Releasing her shirt, she sat forward. She withdrew her hand, heart sinking.
The beach
.

“What is it?” Ava asked.

“My locket. It’s gone.”

Ava’s brows drew together. “Maybe you left it at home?”

Kate shook her head. “I never take it off,” she said, almost inaudibly.

“Oh, hon.” Ava moved forward to cover Kate’s free hand. “Where did you see it last?”

“I’m pretty sure I had it on when I went running … ”

“Oh Kate, if you lost it in the water or on the beach … ”

Kate pressed her lips together, blinking rapidly.

“Small price to pay.” Maybe she would go back and search the beach. She discarded the idea immediately. The tide had come in and gone out. If the locket had fallen off on the beach or in the water, it was gone forever.

“Tell you what. We’ll rent one of those metal thingamajigs with the headphones.”

Kate gave her a wan smile. “Thanks, but I think we both know it’s gone.”

“Maybe, but — ”

“It’s okay.” Tears threatened to reveal how she really felt so she changed the subject.

“So, Emma called this morning.”

Ava sighed. “What does she need now?”

“She hit me up for money for a ski trip.”

“I hope you refused.”

“I did — ”

“Good.”

“ — And then I didn’t.”

“Damn it. After her credit card bill last month? And all the overtime you’re working? It’s ridiculous.”

“I know. I know. I just feel bad for her. If Mom were still alive … ”

“She could never have afforded to send Emma to a private college. Are you kidding me? Your mom was a book-keeper.”

“We have the money from her life insurance policy — ”

“Kate. You’re pissing me off. You got loans for nursing school so you didn’t have to touch the principal of the life insurance policy. Now you’re spending
all
that money on Emma’s tuition, working overtime to pay for her room and board and she’s into you for money for a ski trip? Where’s
your
ski trip?”

Kate shifted uncomfortably in her seat and looked away.

“Seriously? Say no to the ski trip. You have coddled her for — ”

“Enough, Ava.” Kate scowled. “When she comes home for Christmas, I’m going to lay it all out there for her.”

Ava gave her a narrow-eyed stare. “All of it?”

Kate’s hand moved automatically to her necklace.

Damn
.

“All of it, Kate?” Ava asked, quietly. “Your finances? Even tell her the truth about your dad?

Kate bit her lip. “Yes. It’s time she understood about Dad. God, Ava, she won’t let up about him. Did I tell you she mentioned trying to find him — ”

“Holy shit. That could be dangerous.”

Kate rubbed a hand over her face. “She’s eighteen now, so it’s not
as
dangerous. He couldn’t get her college money if he tried. Although, yeah, that’s the only reason he’d be interested in us.”

Ava’s expression was sympathetic as she leaned out, putting a hand on Kate’s arm.

“She needs to grow up. And you need to get on with the life of a twenty-something without a dependent. When your mom gave you that locket and asked you to protect Emma, she didn’t mean forever. Maybe losing the locket is a sign from your mom?”

Kate studied her hands in her lap, throat thick, willing tears away. Ava would never understand.

“I’m sorry, Kate. About the locket, about everything.”

Kate looked down again. “I know. Thanks for listening. How’s work going for you?

Ava laughed. When she wasn’t chastising Kate on how to live her life, Ava was Cielito’s most in-demand event planner. “The same. I love it though.” Her eyes danced as she leaned into Kate. “Last weekend we had a real doozy — second marriage, trophy wife, at the vineyard. Whew. My God, Kate, the dress was so low cut, it was
crazy
. My heart stopped every time she took a deep breath. I thought the minister would have a stroke.”

Kate grinned. Ava had the best work stories.

A little while later Kate checked the time on her phone.

“I’ve got to get home.”

“Wait. I got carried away talking about my job. I want to know what’s up with that doctor at work?”

Kate felt the heat rise in her neck. She took a quick sip of her stone cold Chai tea to hide her rosy cheeks from Ava.

“He’s been really sweet. He found me in the cafeteria eating before my shift Tuesday night and sat with me.”

“So what’s the story? Is he married?”

“He’s separated, papers filed.”

“I’ve seen him in some commercials the hospital keeps running. Quite a catch.”

“He is a great catch for the hospital. I still don’t know how Cielito Community pulled it off.” She shook her head, puzzled. “The guy is a world-class surgeon. Our operating room has never seen so many cardiac patients.”

“I don’t mean for the hospital, dummy! I mean for you.”

Kate glanced at her watch again. “Ava.”

“So now you have a lawyer and a doctor interested — ”

Kate laughed. “Neither one is interested in me. Get real.”

Ava’s brow creased. “What is wrong with you? Haven’t you looked in the mirror lately?” She stared at Kate. “I swear you had more confidence when we were sixteen. You’re a beautiful woman. Believe me, these older, successful guys are in the market for women our age. I see it all the time in my line of work. You’d make a great trophy wife.”

Kate grimaced. “I don’t want to be a trophy wife.” She gave a short, humorless laugh. “I think we might be getting ahead of ourselves here. I’ve never even had a serious boyfriend.”

Uh oh.
What was wrong with her? She didn’t usually give Ava that kind of opening.

Ava sat forward in her chair, frowning.

Kate leaned back, fixing her friend with a level stare. Here we go again. Ava was gearing up for her recurring lecture series, ‘the trouble with Kate’.

Kate held up a hand. “Please don’t start. I know what you are going to say and … I agree.”

Ava straightened in her chair, brows raised.

Kate didn’t want to continue living her life the way she’d lived it for the past few years. Raising Emma and finishing college had been the primary focus of her life for so long. It left little time for anything else. With Emma gone and a stable job with plenty of vacation accrued, she had no excuse. She spent most evenings on her couch curled up with a book. Last weekend she had binged on the entire fourth season of
Dexter
. She hadn’t even left the cottage.

Ava was right. Kate had to live. She knew that now. Something shook loose out there in the ocean this morning. In the surf, on that beach, she had experienced the fragility of life firsthand.

It wasn’t the first time she’s been near death; her mother died young and Kate was inundated with death as a nurse. But old people died. No matter how many advances there were in medicine, it was eventually a losing battle. Young people died in hospitals, too. That was harder to take. She’d seen accidents or injuries take the lives of the young frequently, with devastating consequences for the family and friends.

But nothing, not her mom’s early death from cancer, not her work experiences, nothing made her aware of her own mortality until the rescue. She couldn’t stop thinking about that guy. She couldn’t handle finding out he hadn’t made it.

What Ava had been trying to tell her finally made sense. With college behind her, a good career ahead of her and Emma gone, Kate needed to get out of the rut she’d dug herself and do the things she always wanted to do. Travel. Date. Take risks.

She took a deep breath. “What happened with that surfer this morning has made me … think about my life.”

Ava reached across the table to grip her hand. Kate squeezed back.

“I’m stuck, Ava. I don’t regret waiting for the right person, I just, I just … well, I need to get out more.”

Ava clapped her hands, beaming. “Will you let me set you up with someone?”

Kate tried to muster some enthusiasm. “I guess. Although it didn’t work out so well last time — ”

Ava waved a negligent hand. “I know a couple of great guys.”

Kate pressed her lips together to hide a smile. Debatable.

Ava raised her eyebrows. “I see you trying not to smile. You need to open yourself up.”

Kate pretended to shudder. “There’s nothing wrong with waiting and making absolutely sure it’s right.”

Ava met and held her gaze.

Kate bit her lip, and looked away.

“You of all people should know there are no absolutes. You just have to dive in there and try. I’ve never been able to understand your issues around men.”

“I wanted to set a good example for Emma — ”

“Fat lot of good that did,” Ava said.

“Ava!”

“I’m sorry. The fact that you’ve been saying that since your mom died doesn’t make it true. It doesn’t even
apply
anymore, now that Emma’s not around. I swear that wackadoodle sister — ”

“Lay off Emma. I mean it.”

“Your sister has healthier relationships with guys than you. I don’t know if it’s because you lost your mom, or your dad is a nightmare, but whatever it is you need to deal with it.”

Kate nodded. “I know. I get it now. That’s what I’m trying to tell you.”

“Okay then. Let the setups commence.”

Kate groaned. “When you put it that way — ”

“Why don’t you work some overtime so
we
can take a trip?”

Travel. Now that was something she
could
get excited about.

“Yeah. Let’s go somewhere.” She could swing it with a few more overtime shifts. Or a lot more. Couldn’t she?

Ava squealed. “Where? Europe? Australia? Hawaii? Anywhere. And I’m sure my mom would donate some of her frequent flier miles to the cause.”

Kate nodded, in perfect accord. “Anywhere. On a budget. But how about somewhere that requires a passport?”

The incessant vibration of the cell phone woke Kate from a dead sleep and for a moment she was disoriented. The sun shone directly onto her bed. Was it morning or had she been napping? She glanced over at her clock. Eight
A.M.
? She shot up. After yesterday’s excitement she’d slept hard. She grabbed her cell phone from her night-table and stared, blearily, at the display.

Twenty missed calls. Fourteen voice mails. Her eyes narrowed.
What the hell
? She scrolled through the missed calls — local, local, Los Angeles, local, Los Angeles, hospital, Ava. Some came in last night after ten, some calls this morning starting around five am. None from Emma. None from D.C. Whatever was going on, it wasn’t about Emma. Kate heaved a sigh of relief.

She scrutinized the numbers again. Three missed calls from the hospital. Nothing new there. They were continually short staffed and trying to get nurses in for over-time. No way was she up for working. Ava had called four times, might as well start there.