Gigolo Murder

by Hadley Knox

  “I appreciate that you want to be there for me,” I said. “I just wish it didn’t have to cost you so much.”

  “Don’t think anything of it,” he said. “That’s why I never told you about what happened with me and Chloe. I didn’t want you to think that you caused it.”

  “Didn’t I though?”

  “No,” he shook his head. “I made the choice. You didn’t force me to do anything. I could have just told you no.”

  “Oh, Greg,” I said, letting out a long breath. “What the hell is happening to my life? Where did it derail?”

  “Do you really think it derailed?”

  “Lately, yes.”

  “Do you think it’s just because you’re in a funk from breaking up with Adam? Did you feel this way before Hugh’s death?”

  “Sometimes,” I said. “I do understand that part of it is just this funk, but I want to take control over my life. I feel like these things happen around me, that I can’t stop or control, and it bothers me.”

  “Like that whole thing with Jeremy Towers?”

  “That’s one example,” I said. “But also Frank leaving and then this business with Adam.”

  “Sometimes stuff just happens,” he said. “Just think that if crazy stuff wasn’t happening, then your life would be pretty mundane.”

  “I miss the mundane.”

  “Do you really?” he asked. “I mean, do you miss that period in life where everything was stagnant? You were in a loveless marriage where your husband lied to you all the time, and you were stuck here in this house with nobody to talk to but the kids. The entire time you were here, your husband was out there doing god knows what. Do you really miss that?”

  I took another swig of my beer as I mulled that over. Greg was right. As much as I hated to admit it, he was absolutely right. Looking back, my marriage was such a boring period of my life, once that I more watched myself live than actually live it. Sure things were crazy, but I had never had more friends in my life than I did now. Jake had come out of his shell, although that had been primarily Adam’s doing, but at least he had several male role models in his life. Sure, they were all secretly gigolos, but more than that, they were great guys and great influences.

  For the thousandth time, I questioned being in the line of work that I had chosen. It came with its risks, and it was certainly not the ideal occupation for anyone, but I was in a tight spot, and providing for my children was my ultimate goal.

  So yes, I decided, my life was okay. Not ideal, not picture perfect, but it was the best I could do. Just like I was going to ask the guys to come up with a plan, I needed a detailed one myself. I would save the money and work myself out of this business. But meanwhile, I would have a good time doing it.

  “I’m sorry for being such a drain,” I said.

  “You’re not being a drain.”

  “Did you and Pearl plan this?”

  “No,” he said with a smile, and I knew he was lying.

  “What made the two of you think that Greg Collins could get me out of my funk? Do you think you have some superpower or something?”

  I gave him a small smile so that he would know that I was partially kidding. Only partially.

  “It’s working, isn’t it?”

  “A little,” I said.

  “Just a little?” he asked.

  Before I could answer, he lifted himself off his seat and set his beer down on the ground. Like a predator tracking its prey, he glided through the space between us and set his knees down gently on the chaise lounge chair.

  “What are you doing?” I asked him.

  He answered by taking the beer from my hand and setting it down next to me. He brought his face towards mine, and I had just enough time to see his sparkling green eyes flash at me before his lips found mine.

  I wanted to close my mouth to let him know that this was not okay. He and I together was not happening. But my body wasn’t obeying. Instead, my mouth parted, and I could feel his lips on mine. Those soft strips of his flesh brushed my mouth.

  I felt his strong hands on my body. His right hand rubbed my arm while he left hand wrapped around behind my neck, pulling me closer to him. He pushed against me, and I shifted over in the chair so that he could rest next to me.

  That night, we made love. It was amazing to have Greg, my best friend and possibly more, there with me. For a few hours, I completely forgot about Adam and all the crap that he had put me through, and instead enjoyed Greg’s company. For hours, his body was pressed against mine, into mine, and for the remainder of the evening and well into the night, our bodies were one.

  Chapter Thirty-One

  The next morning, my senses returned as I woke up. I sat up in the bed and turned to see Greg laying there, his naked body immersed in the sheets. I still cared for him and probably always would, but I remembered my constant position of no relationship so long as he continued escorting.

  That didn’t stop us from making love again. He roused from sleep, and those dreamy emerald eyes stared up at me and a smile cracked on his face. He slid a hand down my leg and pulled me down into the sheets. He pressed his body against mine.

  After at least an hour of rolling around in the bed, we got up and took a shower. We talked about everything but us. For some reason, we both knew that if we talked about it, then the fantasy would end. Even though he didn’t say anything, I think he knew the reality of what the two of us were experiencing.

  He hung around the house, and I was thankful for that. I was nervous about him being there when the kids woke up, but Pearl must have talked to them, because neither Jake nor Mallory asked any question. In fact, they didn’t even look at Greg in any way that indicated they were confused as to why he was there.

  We ate breakfast together, and then watched some TV. The four of us went grocery shopping together, which was actually kind of fun. By the time we loaded the SUV with food and all kinds other stuff, it was time for lunch. We hit up a pizza buffet, and the fatty food there made me feel better.

  The adoption meeting was that afternoon. Ryan and Edward arrived first. My brother was calm and a little relieved to see that I was doing okay. He had tried to call me almost as much as Adam had, but I only texted him back a couple of times.

  Edward was through the roof. He practically floated into the house and couldn’t sit still for nothing. He was an intense mixture of joy and nervousness at meeting the birth mother of their potential child.

  One conversation that Ryan and I had managed to have that night after confronting Kirk was what to tell Edward about this whole situation. We both felt it was best to be honest with him and tell him the full truth. Ryan was scared that might curtail his partner’s desire to adopt that specific child, but it didn’t at all. He was just as thrilled as I suspected he would be for any child.

  Erica was nervous when she showed up, but Ryan and Edward were amazing with her. Within minutes, she was relaxed, laughing, and joking with everyone. I had sent the kids upstairs before the meeting, but Greg had stayed with us.

  After Erica and the prospective parents had a bit to talk, Greg and I went into the kitchen and began preparing an early dinner for everyone. It was just before dessert that Erica announced that she was willing to go forward with plans to adopt the unborn baby to Ryan and Edward.

  Just before she left, I had a moment to talk to her about Kirk. She was at peace with everything that happened, and she said that it took her a couple of days to admit that she and Kirk had been toxic for each other from the beginning. Ryan agreed to help her out with some living expenses, and she had started looking for a new job. I promised to help her, and we set a date for lunch on Monday.

  I was relieved that everything was turning out so well for everyone. It was nice that good things could come out of tragedy.

  Chapter Thirty-Two

  Like every weekend since the start of the business, we had the Sunday afternoon pool party. Just as I was afraid of, everyone treated me like I was handicapped. They talke
d in voices that were slow and sad.

  “Enough,” I finally said when everyone had gathered. “I’m over all of this, so stop treating me like my husband just died or something. So stop treating me like I’m going to burst into tears at any second or I really will do just that.”

  Betsy raised her glass of wine and shouted, “to Lana, recruiting strippers for both her company and her bed.”

  “You bitch,” I muttered with a laugh.

  Jed and Braden had joined us again, only by the time of the pool party, they had quit at the Steel Hammer. The night before was their final performance, and each had promised me that they had left on good terms. Their reasoning for such an abrupt departure had been their unwillingness to deal with the fallout from Hugh’s death. They said that it felt like a crypt backstage.

  I didn’t ask either of them about Adam, and they didn’t offer any information. I was glad for that. Sometimes I hated the way that I dealt with trying situations, but I felt that the less I thought about him, the better off I would be. Sure we didn’t get a final conversation, but I still felt a sense of closure.

  Sitting back in my chair, I looked around at all my kids and friends. It was nice having them here, and I wouldn’t trade them for the world. Gigolos and strippers wouldn’t have been my first choice for a group of friends, but they had turned out to be the greatest, most supportive people I had ever met.

  Greg sat nearby, but not too close. He had stayed over again on Saturday, but when we started preparing for the pool party, our little fantasy weekend had ended. Neither of us spoke of it, but we both knew that it was how it had to be.

  My feelings for Greg were somewhere close to love. That much I could tell. But it just wasn’t meant to be. He had a job that he refused to leave, and I had a standard that I refused to lower.

  Maybe one day the stars would align just right for us, but somehow I knew that would never happen. I was grateful to him for helping me out of my funk though.

  Derrick did a cannonball into the pool, splashing everyone around him. It was then that it hit me. I had one more piece of business that I still hadn’t cleared up. The last thing that I had some sort of control over.

  I told Greg that I would be right back and then walked into the house. I grabbed my cell phone and looked up the number that I needed. Before dialing the number, I pressed the three buttons that would make sure that my number was blocked, although I suspected that might be completely unnecessary.

  When the person on the other line answered, I felt guilt flood over me.

  It took me a minute before I could say anything. Finally I did speak. “Mrs. Leighton, I have something to tell you.”

  And so I told her. It didn’t do much to assuage my guilt and sadness for her, but it was a start.

  Book Four in the series will be available Winter 2012

  If you have enjoyed the book, please feel free to contact me at authorhadleyknox@gmail.com or leave a review at www.amazon.com.

  Thank you!

  Acknowledgments

  I would like to thank my editor Frankie Sutton for laboring over each draft. As always, you have been amazing to work with.

  I would like to thank a few dear friends who read early drafts of the story and provided some wonderful feedback that helped shaped the series: Holly, Lisa, and most especially Jaclyn. I promise that the jewelry will not be loaned. Your friendship means very much to me!