Tangled Beauty (12 page)

“Of course,” I said, standing up.
“Let’s go.”

He sighed.
“No, um…could you stay with Reed? I really want to be alone, right now,” he said. “I might have to make a couple of calls anyway, and you don’t want to hear what I have to say.”

“Oh, okay,” I said.

“
Don’t worry. I’ll just bring Sinclair back to the house with me,” said Reed, patting him on the shoulder. “You do what you’ve got to do.”

“Appreciate it,” he said, standing up. “I’ll see you two back at the house.”
Then he left us without a backwards glance.

“Wow, he mus
t have a lot invested in that job for him to be so upset.”

“I think he’s going to miss the benefits, more than anything,” I said.

***

Michael

I watch
ed them from the corner of the restaurant, and wondered why her gay friend had left and who, exactly, this other man was. Obviously, he couldn’t be trusted around such a tempting creature and would have to be dealt with, accordingly.

  The waitress returned to my table and smiled
. “Would you like another glass of wine?”

“No, thank you.”

She hesitated, as if she had more to say.

I smile
d up at her. “Yes?”

She sighed
. “You may not remember me, but…”

I flash
ed her one of my most engaging smiles. Although, I have met many people, I did not particularly recall this homely creature. “Of course I remember you,” I lied. “How could I forget?”

She smiled back
in pleasure. “It’s been a long time. In fact, I think the last time I saw you, was at camp.”

Ah, yes, now I remembered
. She’d been just as annoying back then.

“Yes,” I said. “That sounds about right.”

She relaxed
. “You look good.”

“Thank you,” I said
. “So do you.”

“Um, say…my shift
is over, now, would you like to join me for a drink? My treat?”

“Of course,” I
said, trying to hide my frustration.

She
nodded and smiled, again. “Good, I’ll be right back. Same thing?” she asked, pointing to my glass.

“Actually, why don’t you bring me a cup of coffee? I have a large engagement that I need to attend to this evening.”

“Wedding or funeral?” she asked.

“
Anniversary party.”

Reed

I thought Jesse’s reaction to losing his job was a little emotional for a twenty-four year old man, gay or not. From the silent exchanges between Jesse and Sinclair, however, I realized that there was something more to it, but didn’t dig. If my brother didn’t want to divulge anything about his personal life to me, I certainly wasn’t going to pry.

I’d expect the same from him.

“So, are you ready?” I asked Sinclair, after finishing my lunch and second beer.

She grabbed her purse. “Yes. Do you want me to drive?”

I stopped abruptly, causing her to slam into me. “Excuse me?”

She steadied herself. “A
re you too tipsy to drive?”

“First of all, I do not
get
‘tipsy’, I am either drunk or just plain sober.”

“Which one are you?”
She asked, her mouth twisting into one of those sexy grins I was beginning to crave.

Both,
I thought, staring at her
.
As far as I was concerned,
she
made me feel inebriated. “I’m sober,” I said. “Remember, I’m a lawyer. I know when to stop drinking before I get behind the wheel.”

She laughed.
“Right. So, I’m supposed to trust a lawyer?”

I put my hand on her back and guided her towards the door.
“You watch too much television,” I said, opening it, “which gives us all bad raps.”

“T
elevision, huh?” she said, as we walked out to the parking lot.

I raised the
key fob and pointed it towards my car. “Of course,” I said. “Not all of us are crooked. In fact, a lot of my cases are pro bono.”

“Is this yours?” she asked
, staring at the silver Mercedes SLS. “Pro bono seems to agree with you,” she said.

I grinned. “This is just a rental
.”

She shook her head and got
inside.

I slid into the driver’s seat next to her
and closed the door when the scent of Sinclair’s perfume engulfed me. A light fruity fragrance, reminding me of the kiss we’d shared, earlier. I tried to push the memory away, but her close proximity was making it difficult.

“Not quite a family car,” she said, snapping on her seatbelt. “You and Sela are going to have to invest in a minivan.”

“Nonsense,” I smile
d. “I’ll have a special luggage rack installed. The kids will love the view from up there.”

She threw her head back and laughed. I
t was a beautiful sound- feminine and purely genuine.

“Oh, my God, you’re a hoot,”
she said.

I raised my eyebrows. “I’m a hoot?”

“Okay, you’re kind of nuts- is that better?”

“Actually, you’re the one who got into a car with me
.
Now
, tell me who’s nuts?” I said, giving her my most sinister grin.

“T
ouché.”

“What kind of music do you like?” I asked, turning on the XM radio.

“Whatever you’d like,” she said. “I’m easy.”

“You’re easy?”

She rolled her eyes. “God, you’re a smart-ass, just like your brother. You know exactly what I mean.

“No,
I don’t. Please, reiterate what it is you
exactly
mean,
Sin
.”

She pointed
at the road. “I’m about as
easy
as you are
hard-to-get
.”

“Are you saying
I’m
easy?” I asked, feigning a look of shock.

She pulled her hair behind her ears and smiled.
“Never met a guy who wasn’t.”

“I’m sure
you
haven’t.”

Her cheeks turned pink and I had an incredible urg
e to place them in my palms and feel their warmth. Instead, I found a song by
Adele
and settled with a few stolen glances of her profile as she stared off towards the ocean.

“Beautiful,” I sighed.

Sinclair nodded. “Yes. It’s incredible. Man, it must have been wonderful, growing up in this area.”

“I can’t
complain. My brother and I were very fortunate in many ways.”

“
So, what made you decide to move to New York?” she asked.

I shrugged.
“My career. I was offered a partnership by an old friend three years ago and jumped on it. I guess I wanted a change at the time and it seemed like the perfect opportunity.”

She nodded. “I guess I can understand that. New York sounds fascinating.”

“It is. You should come out and visit sometime, with Jesse.”

“Maybe.”

I turned up the music and we drove the rest of the way in silence while I cheated and took a much longer, scenic route. When we finally reached the house, I was tempted to keep driving, just so that I could enjoy her presence a little bit longer. She was definitely getting under my skin.

“So,” I asked, as we pulled up to the house. “What do you usually do for fun, when you’re not working?”

She smiled. “For fun? Oh, I don’t know- read, go for walks, hang out with friends.”

“Jesse works that much, huh
?” I asked, smiling.

She shrugged. “We go out when we can but I usually have to be at the shop by six-thirty most mornings,
so it’s difficult.” 

“I
hear that. When I’m not at the office, I’m at home, working.”

“Wow, l
ooks like they’re already setting up for tonight,” she said, motioning towards the party supply and catering trucks.

I looked at
my watch, it was just after two-thirty. “I’m surprised my mother didn’t have them here at sunrise. She lives for parties.”

“I keep hearing that both of your parents are so boring and straight-laced. I guess I’
m surprised to hear that their parties are wild and crazy. At least that’s what Jesse says.”

I nodded. “Jack’s in showbiz. Having outrageous parties is kind of mandatory when you’re part of Hollywood, no matter what age you are. Like I said, it’s all one big fucking show and that’s why
I don’t visit as much as I probably should.”

“I guess I can appreciate that,” she said.

I unlocked the doors. “You just wait until tonight. You’ll never be back.”

She stared at me curiously for a few seconds and then smiled.

“We’d better go inside,” I said.

She laughed. “I guess we should.”

As we slid out of the car, a dark sedan pulled up behind us.

“Good afternoon,” smi
led a thin, middle-aged man with light blonde hair, a thick moustache, and dark glasses. “I’m Pastor Richie.”

I shook his hand. “I’m Reed
Eddington and this is Sinclair-”

“Jeffri
es,” she added, smiling at the pastor.

He shook her hand, too. “It’s nice to meet you both. I’m here to speak with Mimi or Jack
Eddington.”

“Oh,” I said. “Is everything okay?”

He smiled. “I believe so. I’m helping them renew their vows this evening.”

My eyebrows shot up.
“Really?”

“Yes.
I spoke to Mimi this morning about it.”

“Well, follow us,” I said, walking towards the house. “I’m sure she’s inside somewhere, directing the
pre-party chaos.”

***

Sinclair

I excused myself as soon as we entered the house, to go search for Jesse. Unfortunately, he wasn’t in his bedroom or anywhere else in the house. Then, when I tried texting him, he didn’t respond and I really became nervous.

“Have you seen Jesse?” I asked, George
, who was carrying a box of booze into the house.

“I’m
sorry, I’ve been unloading some supplies for tonight. Have you checked the pool?”

“No. I’ll go and see if he’s out there,” I said.
“Thanks, George.”

I found my way to the
courtyard, where the large Olympic swimming pool sat. Unfortunately, it was empty. As I was about to go back inside, I noticed a small building on the other side of the pool. It looked like a sauna or cabana and I wondered if he’d decided to unwind in it. I walked around the pool and as I placed my hand on the door handle, I could hear moaning. Worried that Jesse was inside crying, I pushed the door open to console him, only to freeze dead in my tracks.

“Yes…” moaned Sela, who
was on her hands and knees, the top of her swimsuit pushed away from her breasts, the bottoms lying on the ground next to her. Kneeling behind her was Jack, his white ass pumping furiously as he held onto her tan hips.

Stunned and h
orrified, I quietly shut the door and hurried back to the house.

Sinclair

I went straight to my bedroom and sat down on the bed, wondering what the hell I should do. Obviously, it wasn’t any of my business. I was just a guest in Jack’s home.

What about Reed and Mimi? Shouldn’t they know?

Reed wasn’t exactly innocent, however. Not after the way we’d attacked each other in my bedroom.

I
still felt sick to my stomach as I thought about Sela and Jack, together. He was obviously a sick bastard- to not only be cheating on his wife, but to be doing it right in his house
and
with his son’s fiancé.

Just like Jesse mentioned
, he
was
an asshole.

And
Sela…

W
ell, it just substantiated my already negative feelings about her. 

Sighing, I got out of bed and tried calling Jesse again, wondering where
in the hell he was.