Hot and Bothered

by Jennifer Bernard

  Julie filled her in on rehearsals for Grease, and the birthday party for Suzanne’s little daughter, and the new owner of the radio station, and the high school making the state basketball finals, and all the new clients requesting her Green and Pristine services. There was a lot of Jupiter Point news to catch her up on.

  “And Ben? You haven’t been saying much and I’ve been discreetly not asking. It’s been killing me, quite frankly.”

  Just hearing the name Ben, Julie felt her face relax into a smile. She searched for a neutral response that wouldn't give too much away. “Ben is Ben.”

  “Oh my God. You’re sleeping with him.”

  Julie’s face flamed, and she double-checked to make sure Felix couldn’t hear. “How the heck?”

  “Oh my God! Tell me everything. I have to live vicariously through you, all the men on this set are impossible.”

  Julie had to give her something, otherwise Savannah would never let her be. “We’re having an adult relationship. In all senses of the word.”

  “Triple-X rated? You go! You deserve some fun. Are you having fun? Have you finally discovered the joys of casual sex?”

  “Um…” Was it casual? That wasn’t quite the word she’d use.

  “Oh no. Oh no! You aren’t falling for him again, are you? Sweetie, be very careful.”

  “Why? What are you talking about?”

  “I remember how devastated you were when you thought he’d stood you up. Of course that was my horrid parents’ fault, but the point is,” Savannah’s voice softened, “I’ve never seen anyone love another person the way you loved Ben. I’m so glad you’re back with him, you deserve to be happy. But I’d hate to see you get crushed all over again.”

  “I’m a different person now. I’m not a naive girl anymore. Anyway, it’s not like that.”

  Savannah didn’t need to say anything to convey her skepticism. Her soft snort said it all. “I’m one hundred percent in your corner, you know that. Let’s just hope my parents don’t fuck it up again. Okay, speaking of my parents…I’ve been getting emails from Mom about the Winter Ball. I just can’t do it, Juls. This shoot is already over budget and if I ask for time off, I’ll get fucking sued.”

  “Did you tell her?”

  “Yes, and I called her. Always a joy.”

  No doubt. Conversations between the Reinhards and Savannah were more like turf battles between rhinos. Locked horns, bloody wounds and all.

  “But Felix seems excited about it, now that he stopped complaining about organizing the invitations,” Savannah continued. “I think it’s kind of sweet, in a way. You’re going, right?”

  “Well, yes. Ben and I are going together.”

  “Uh-oh. I know how romantic those Winter Balls can be. I got lucky with a bartender at the last one I went to. Watch out, girlie! Don’t let all that fake moonlight and winter roses get to you.”

  “Don’t worry about me. I’m a big girl.”

  “You have a big heart, and that’s why I worry. And what about the other thing? The man who attacked you? You told Will, right? God, he was always so sexy.”

  “He’s taken,” Julie told her. “Madly in love. As is Tobias.”

  “Must be a Knight brother thing,” Savannah said impishly. “Watch out, you. So, has Will figured anything out about the mystery man?”

  “Not really, but he’s trying. He dug up a recording of my 9-1-1 call. He located the dispatcher on duty that night, and spoke to every officer involved in following up on it. That went nowhere.”

  He also drove out to the hotel where she and Savannah had stayed that fateful night. The entire staff had turned over in the past twelve years, so that was a dead end too. He even went to the junkyard where she’d left her VW. It had long ago been crushed and was probably part of a soda can somewhere by now.

  “Well, I’m glad he’s on top of it. It’s a good thing all those sexy, handsome brothers are looking out for you. You deserve this, Juls. Just don’t fall too hard, baby girl.”

  Sometimes, Julie thought that warning came too late.

  She thought about Ben all the time. Every floor she mopped, every window she washed, his face was in her mind’s eye. His laughter, his kind eyes, his crooked smile. During rehearsals, she wasn’t singing about “Danny,” she was singing about Ben. Even while helping Felix with his homework—always an interesting process, trying to keep ahead of him—she felt Ben’s arms around her, Ben’s intimate whispers in her ear. Sometimes she thought of him as her own private sun, always surrounding her in warmth and life.

  She’d almost forgotten this feeling—happiness. Joy bubbled inside her, spilling over into melodies and words. She got in the habit of throwing her guitar in the backseat of her Jetta, so that if she had a few minutes to spare, she could transfer the wisps of song appearing in her head into real notes.

  Her strumming was rusty, her fingertips soft from lack of practice. But God, she’d forgotten the sheer, aimless joy of following the notes wherever they would lead. She knew her musical skills weren’t enough to make a career. Maybe once she’d hoped they were, but living in LA had killed that delusion. That wasn’t even the point. Working on a song was like stepping into a timeless bubble, where nothing existed but music and joy and truth.

  If nothing else, being with Ben brought that piece of herself back to life.

  But there was so much more. There was midnight stargazing on the night of the new moon, when viewing conditions were at their best. Fleece blankets, warm arms around her, a husky voice in her ear talking about the Pleiades and Sirius, the brightest star in the sky. There were banana walnut pancakes at the Milky Way—her then-and-forever favorite. There were afternoon quickies at her apartment, and long, passionate nights at his.

  There was the day they went together to the cemetery, arms overflowing with flowers from Brianna. She knelt at Robert Knight’s tombstone and unburdened her soul of all her regret and sadness. “I’m so sorry, Mr. Knight,” she whispered to the gray stone with its simple lettering. “I’m so sorry I didn’t stop that man, if he’s the one who did it. I’m so sorry I hurt your son. And I’m so sorry I never got to see you again. May the angels hold you close.”

  Meanwhile, Ben placed his huge bouquet of daffodils on her mother’s grave and bowed his head in silent prayer. Julie had no idea what he was saying—asking for recipes, perhaps?—but it warmed her heart anyway. None of the Reinhards ever mentioned her mother, not even Savannah. With Ben, her free-spirited gypsy mom felt real again.

  And of course, there were those moments when it was all they could do to make it to bed before they tore each other’s clothes off. Often they didn’t make it. Ben’s living room couch got a real workout. So did his shower. And his kitchen. And his living room rug. No surface was safe.

  She wanted him all the time. Sex with Ben was addictive. She couldn’t get enough of him in her body, her mouth, her hands. Anywhere and everywhere.

  But she wasn’t falling back in love with him. No. Absolutely not. Definitely, positively, certainly not.

  She was quite proud of herself, really. It was a feat of strength, not falling for Ben. The Saga of Ben and Julie, Part Two: The Casual Years.

  And then came the night of the Reinhards’ Winter Ball.

  21

  “Don’t be surprised if Mom and Cassie don’t make it,” Will warned Ben. “If they were going to show up, they would have before now.”

  “Have you heard from Cassie? What did she say?” he asked over the burning anxiety in his gut. They were all gathering at the farmhouse before heading to the Winter Ball. Even Aiden, home for the weekend, was coming.

  “She said she’s trying, and not to pester her. The more phone calls, the more pressure Mom feels. This is hard for her, Ben. She has a lot of guilt built up.”

  Ben bit back the words he wanted to say, which were—one good way to make up for everything would be to show up.

  “She’ll be there,” he said confidently.

  “Why would she come t
o a party instead of meeting us here?” Will squeezed his shoulder in a gesture meant to comfort, but Ben shrugged it off. He didn’t want comfort. He wanted to see Mom.

  “It’s not just any party, it’s the Winter Ball. Remember how obsessed Mom used to get about it? How could she pass up the chance to see it for herself?” He tweaked Will’s tie, a gray silk number that made his brother’s eyes look extra silvery. “Why are you so negative? Have a little faith.”

  “I have faith that she’ll come back when the time is right. I just don’t know if that time is now.”

  “Right for what?” Tobias strolled into the living room, hands in the pockets of his black tuxedo pants. Trust Tobias to totally ruin the cut of his fancy tailored suit. Aiden was a couple steps behind him, messing with the Miami Vice-style white jacket Daisy had found for him at a thrift store.

  “Mom and Cassie.”

  Tobias lifted one eyebrow. “Yeah, I’m not seeing it.”

  “Cassie said Mom was excited. She said they were coming,” Ben said stubbornly.

  “Might,” Will reminded him. “She said they might come. With emphasis.”

  Ben frowned at his older brothers. “You just don’t want to be hopeful. I get it. Hope hurts. But I feel it. They’re going to be there. Right, Aiden?” Surely he could count on his little brother for support in this. Aiden was still young and optimistic.

  Aiden shrugged. “I hope so. But only if Mom’s ready. You know how she is.”

  They all fell silent, thinking of their fragile, fascinating mother. Even before the murder of her husband, Janine Knight had struggled to keep her head above water emotionally. They were all used to tiptoeing around her, careful not to upset her.

  Will cocked his head at Ben. “Why is it so important to you?”

  “I want to see her, of course. Don’t you?”

  “Yes, but why now? Why tonight?”

  Ben didn’t answer, mostly because the reasons were all jumbled up in his head. Because there was a big hole in his heart. Because he wanted to move on, especially now that Julie was back in his life. Because he needed to know she was okay…

  Tobias stepped into the uncomfortable silence. “Nothing wrong with Ben wanting to see her. He went through a lot that night.”

  Don’t. Shut up, Ben wanted to say to his brother. Don’t go there. Not now. Not ever. But he froze, unable to say a word.

  Will glanced at him with more sympathy this time. “You never really talk about that.”

  “She hit him,” Tobias explained gruffly. “It was rough.”

  But that wasn’t the worst part. He never talked about the worst part, not even to Julie.

  “I never knew that.” Will frowned at him. “Sorry, man.”

  “Wasn’t Mom’s fault,” he managed. It was all his fault. He hadn’t found the right words. He should have given her a Xanax first. Or waited for someone else to tell her, someone who wasn’t barely eighteen and in shock himself.

  “Forget all that. Jesus.” He ran a hand through his hair. “We all got through it. I’m just thinking of Aiden here. He’s never seen Mom as an adult. The rest of us have.”

  Aiden leaned his head against Ben’s arm. It was a gesture only the baby of the family could have gotten away with. “Yeah, but you were her favorite. You were the one she talked to, right, guys?”

  Tobias shoved his hands in his pockets again. “I was a lot closer to Dad, it’s true. As much as we fought, Dad and I understood each other.”

  Will nodded his agreement. “I’d been gone for so long, between college and law school, I really didn’t know what was going on with her anymore. You were the one, Ben. Mom’s shoulder to lean on.”

  “I should have gone with her instead of Cassie.” He sounded like an iron band had tightened around his throat. “I could have gotten her help. I had no idea she wasn’t coming back. She said she needed some time, I figured she meant a few days. If only I’d known…”

  Will squeezed his shoulder. “Hey, you can’t blame yourself for anything Mom did. She was the adult. It wasn’t your job.”

  “So it was Cassie’s?”

  “Cassie wanted to go,” said Aiden. “She needed Mom more than anyone. Remember how she was having so much trouble in school? Some girls were bullying her and her crush dumped her. She couldn’t wait to get out of Jupiter Point.”

  Tobias and Will exchanged a puzzled look. “I don’t remember that,” Will said. Tobias shook his head too.

  “I do,” came Julie’s soft voice.

  Ben startled and spun around. Julie and Felix stood just inside the door.

  “She talked to me about it a few times. The worst part was that the ringleader was her former best friend, who apparently liked a boy who had a crush on Cassie.”

  Ben stared at her, momentarily short-circuited by how incredible she looked. She wore a simple ivory shift dress with crystals embedded in the fabric. Her hair was swept up into a twist, and she wore a choker adorned with a sparkling snowflake.

  She smiled apologetically at the brothers. “Sorry, I knocked but no one heard me.” She gave Felix a little tap on the shoulder. “Why don’t you go find Sarah, Kiddo?”

  He ran off, after one more curious look at the brothers. Ben wondered how they looked to him, four brothers in their party best, talking so seriously.

  “He’s not going to the ball?” Ben asked.

  “No. He was planning to, but we were over there earlier helping to set up, and he got overwhelmed. He asked to come here and hang out with Sarah and the babysitter, if that’s okay.”

  “More the merrier,” said Tobias. “But how come I didn’t know about the bullying? I would have kicked some Mean Girl ass.”

  “I’m pretty sure that’s why she didn’t tell you,” Julie explained dryly. ““She had it tough, one girl in the midst of all that testosterone. The last thing she wanted was for you guys to go ballistic. She swore me to secrecy. I told her I’d keep her secret as long as things weren’t getting too out of control. But then—well, everything changed.”

  Sarah and Felix came racing into the living room. Well…Sarah raced, while Felix maintained his usual upright posture. “I want to see Miss Julie’s dress!” She stopped dead, her mouth falling open. “You look like Cinderella,” she said in awe.

  They all laughed. “Well, you know what they say about pumpkins,” Julie said. “We’d better get going before all the ice sculptures melt. Even Mrs. Reinhard can’t control the weather.”

  22

  The theme of this year’s Winter Ball was “Let It Snow,” even though it rarely snowed in Jupiter Point, and the town was experiencing a warm spell. Of course, none of that mattered to the Reinhards, whose motto came down to “money can fix everything.”

  Julie had to admit it was magical. Sparkling fake snow was piled around the front entrance. A hidden fog machine created swirls of mist around the guests’ feet as they stepped into the portico. Inside, bare-branched potted birch trees transformed the great room into a winter forest. Filmy white fabric draped from the ceiling, lit by strings of twinkle lights, looked like floating clouds of snow. Huge bouquets of creamy flowers—calla lilies, white hydrangea, jasmine—filled every available corner. And then there were the ice sculptures melting on either side of the front entrance.

  Even the security guards hired for the event matched the theme. They wore stocking caps along with their uniforms.

  Most of the guests had flown in from out of town. Business connections, extended family, people the Reinhards wanted to impress. As a venture capitalist, Mr. Reinhard had a rolodex full of powerful and wealthy people. An invitation to the Reinhards’ Winter Ball was considered an honor, and no one turned down the opportunity to attend.

  It was—no contest—the fanciest event in Jupiter Point every winter, but it didn’t benefit the town at all. The Reinhards flew in flowers from South America, bypassing everyone else’s favorite florist—Brianna Gallagher. Likewise with the caterer, and the decorator, both of whom came from San Fra
ncisco. The family only invited a few Jupiter Pointers—the mayor, the heads of the Chamber of Commerce and the Historic Downtown Business Association, the director of the Jupiter Point Observatory, and a few of the wealthiest residents.

  Even though Julie and Savannah used to lobby hard for more of a local presence, Mrs. Reinhard had always refused. The only jobs she farmed out to locals were servers and cleanup. In the past, Julie had helped with both. She’d never been a “guest” at the party. She’d always worked the entire time, circulating with platters of appetizers, then cleaning up afterward.

  This time, she’d refused to do either of those chores. She didn’t live with the Reinhards anymore, she didn’t need to work for her supper the way she used to. She could damn well dress up in a spangled, shoulder-baring dress for one night and drink champagne and enjoy herself.

  Not only were the decorations breathtaking, but so were the guests. The men wore dress jackets and white tie, the women ball gowns and diamonds. Lots of diamonds. Apparently the rich-person interpretation of “let it snow” involved diamonds.

  Julie felt underdressed in her simple vintage dress with its cheap crystal adornments. Not to mention her silver sandals, which barely had a heel. But at least she had the best-looking date, in her opinion.

  Ben had his own offbeat interpretation of “Let it Snow.” He wore a cream cable-knit ski sweater, which showed off his wide shoulders and broad chest. A pair of ski goggles sat on his head, giving him a sort of winter steampunk look. His gray eyes sparkled every time someone gave him a thumb’s up and a smile for his outfit.

  Sure, most of those smiling at him were women. Julie couldn’t blame them. He looked so much more handsome than any of the investment bankers in the crowd.

  Of course, those same women barely gave her a glance, and if they did, she could read their disdain loud and clear.

  “I don’t think I’m wearing enough diamonds for this party,” she told Ben ruefully.