Ocean Breeze

by Laura Conway

  “It all happened so fast. The power was out. I was up late working in the living room, and two masked men charged into the room. Before I knew what was going on, I was dragged into the dining room and thrown in one of the chairs. I fought back, but all it got me were a few punches to the stomach and a gun pointed at me. They tied me up and blindfolded me and then robbed me. Everything that was up here,” Andrea said, looking around her. “Jewelry, the safe...”

  “Oh my God... Were they caught?”

  “No. They got into my security and wiped all the footage... The cleaner found me the next morning and untied me.”

  “Oh Andrea,” she said, wrapping her arm around her again. “I’m so sorry that happened to you... I had no idea. I’m sorry that I didn’t understand.”

  “I upgraded everything after that night and added a few things, like the extra locks on the door. I learned how to shoot when I was younger, but I never owned a gun until two years ago. I immediately felt safer having one, knowing that it was here if I needed it. I know I scared you... I’m sorry.”

  “Don’t apologize,” Carley said, her hand still around her waist. She pulled away to see Andrea’s face. The tears had stopped, but she was visibly shaking. She looked exhausted, her eyes a little puffy after crying. “What can I do? Do you want to try to get some sleep?”

  “I’ll be fine,” Andrea said, putting her face in her hands. “I’m sorry I just dragged you in here.”

  “You were trying to protect me.”

  “I don’t even remember taking the gun out of the safe. I was on autopilot I guess.”

  Carley put some space between them. She wished she was wearing more than just her bikini.

  “Can we just forget this happened?” Andrea asked, turning to meet her eyes. “You probably want to get back to bed.”

  “I’m fine. Are you going to be okay?”

  Andrea nodded. “I’ll distract myself with some contracts that I was going to read over tomorrow.”

  “You should try and get some sleep.”

  “I probably won’t sleep tonight. I’m wound up,” Andrea said, pushing herself off the bed and padding over to the door to unlock it.

  Carley followed her. She didn’t know what to do, but she didn’t want to leave her like this.

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Andrea held the door open for Carley. She’d been in such a panic that she hadn’t noticed that Carley was only wearing her bikini. In the candlelight with Carley walking towards her, Andrea suddenly didn’t want her to leave. Despite everything that had happened, all Andrea could think about was kissing her again.

  “Let me know if you need anything, okay?” Carley asked as she brushed past her, her fingertips on her forearm for just a second. “Goodnight.”

  “Night.”

  Andrea shut the door, leaning against it as she took a deep breath. She knew she’d suffered from that night. She still woke up in the middle of the night covered in sweat, tugging at imaginary constraints.

  She sunk to the floor, pulling her knees into her chest. No one else knew what had happened. She never filed a police report, but this was a small community, and if it got out that her house was vulnerable, she wouldn’t be surprised if she was targeted again. She knew that without the security footage, there was little to go on, and they’d been too clever to leave that behind.

  She rested the back of her head against the door and closed her eyes. This was quite possibly the lowest she’d ever been since that night. It wasn’t even reliving it. What was getting to Andrea now was the feeling of being completely out of control.

  When she thought about it now, she knew how unreasonable it was to think that this was anything more than a power cut.

  Her father was constantly looking for her to take over his business. Her mother was healthy, but now that she wasn’t working, she had more time to judge Andrea’s decisions.

  The only part of her life that was stable and safe was her business. She felt like everything else was slipping through her grasp. Fresh tears trickled down her cheeks, and she didn’t bother to wipe them away.

  She knew she shouldn’t be attracted to Carley, but she was, and she hated that Carley had infiltrated her life with the covertness of a seasoned spy but the intentions of a saint.

  That kiss had lit a fire in her. Before that night, she knew she liked being around Carley. She trusted her, and of course, she thought Carley was attractive, but she never imagined anything coming of it. Andrea had every intention of keeping business and pleasure separate.

  When she asked Carley to consider being her date for James’s wedding, she thought it might be hard to pull off, but now that they’d kissed, Andrea didn’t know how she was going to get through that wedding.

  She was seriously debating going on her own. It might be less hassle than trying to walk that very thin line of pretending to be Carley’s girlfriend when, if she was honest with herself, that’s what she really wanted. There was going to be very little pretending if this kept going the way it was. Just being close to her now was a distraction, and the wedding was still a couple of weeks away.

  Andrea needed to cool off. She tried putting some distance between them since it happened, but that hadn’t worked. It was affecting their working relationship, and Carley didn’t deserve to be given the cold shoulder. She did nothing wrong. Andrea had kissed her back.

  She wiped away the tears as she pushed herself up. Sitting here, wallowing in her own mess, was not going to help anyone. She was disciplined in every other area of her life. She made time to work out. She ate well. She showed up for work when she was sick. She just needed to harness that self-control now and decide that Carley was off limits.

  Carley had already apologized for what happened in Dublin, and Andrea had dismissed it as practice. There was nothing left to dwell on. They’d play the part of a happy couple at James’s wedding and then go back to working together.

  Surely, she could do that.

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Carley paced the kitchen, her flip flops gently slapping against the soles of her feet. If this week hadn’t been hard enough to navigate with everything that happened the night of the thunderstorm, Carley had gotten a call in the middle of night from her father saying that her grandmother had passed away unexpectedly.

  Even though Carley’s relationship with her parents wasn’t the best, she always stayed in touch with her only living grandparent. She visited her grandmother as often as she could between all the side jobs she juggled when she was living in Connecticut, and she’d been mailing her postcards from every stop on her travels so far.

  Her phone buzzed in her pocket with a text from her mother with the information for the funeral, and Carley scanned over the text without really taking it in. How was she going to get home in two days’ time? Andrea’s schedule was as crazy as it always was.

  Carley took a deep breath and slid her phone back in her pocket. It was only eleven o’clock in the morning, and she had no idea how she was going to get through the rest of the day. Andrea was on a conference call upstairs in her office. Carley hadn’t seen her yet today. She didn’t know if she would even bother telling her about her grandmother. What was the point?

  Carley knew it would be almost impossible for her to fly home even though her new American passport had arrived last week. She also didn’t want to put Andrea in a position where she had to decide. Carley didn’t think she could cope with her disappearing for three maybe four days, but Andrea might tell her to go anyway, even if that meant disrupting her schedule.

  Carley blinked back the tears that were threatening to fall. She rarely felt this overwhelmed or alone, but she didn’t know what to do, and she didn’t even have anyone she could talk to. She wiped away the tear the fell as Andrea’s mother walked into the kitchen. Carley completely forgot that Vega was stopping by this morning.

  “Hola,” Vega said with a warm smile, but her expression quickly changed when she saw Carley’s tears. “Hey, what’s w
rong?” she asked, switching to English.

  Carley sighed. She had no reason to keep this from Vega. She’d always been so friendly towards her. “I found out my grandmother died last night,” she said, trying to keep her voice even.

  Vega was by her side in seconds, putting her arms around her, but Carley wasn’t about to have a breakdown in Andrea’s kitchen. She hugged Vega but held back her tears, reaching for the bottle of water that was on the counter in front of her as she pulled away.

  “Thanks,” Carley said, brushing away another tear. “I got the call a few hours ago, and I guess it really hasn’t sunk in yet.”

  “When is the funeral?”

  “The day after tomorrow.”

  “Have you booked your flight yet?” Vega asked, her eyes full of concern.

  Carley swallowed the lump in her throat. “I can’t really disappear right now.”

  “Because of Andrea? Por favor. Go. She’ll be fine.”

  Carley shook her head. “Things have been a little... weird lately. I’m not really comfortable leaving.”

  “You should go. You don’t want to regret it later.”

  Carley nodded. “I guess I’ll think about it... I better go have a shower. I might feel a little better after it.”

  Carley passed Andrea in the foyer, but she didn’t say anything to her. She’d just about gotten her tears under control, and she didn’t trust herself to get through another conversation without them starting again.

  She left her phone on the dresser and went straight into the bathroom, stripping off her clothes and turning on the shower. She stepped in, letting the hot spray massage her back as she closed her eyes and tried to forget about her problems for just a few minutes.

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  “Buenos días.”

  Andrea’s hand flew to her chest. She’d completely forgotten that her mother was coming over this morning. “Buenos días.” She’d been so jumpy lately, and she couldn’t seem to relax.

  “Did you see Carley on your way down?” her mother asked.

  “Yes, but she seemed to be in a hurry.”

  “So, you didn’t talk to her?”

  “No. Why?” Andrea asked.

  “Her grandmother died last night.”

  “What? Were they close?”

  “I would think so. She’s a bit of a mess right now. Carley’s loyal though. I have to give her that.”

  “What do you mean?” Andrea asked as she opened the refrigerator and poured herself a glass of orange juice.

  “She’s more concerned about you than getting to her grandmother’s funeral.”

  “When is it?”

  “The day after tomorrow,” Vega said, her hands on her waist. “But I don’t think she’s going to ask you if she can go. She’s worried about your schedule I guess.”

  Andrea nodded. She had a feeling Carley was worrying about more than her schedule. Andrea had noticed the way she’d been extremely attentive all week. She could tell that Andrea was on edge, and she’d been doing her best to help her get through it.

  “You’re not going to stop her from going, are you?” Vega asked, her voice rising slightly.

  “No. Not at all. I would never do that... I’ll talk to her,” Andrea said as she took a drink.

  “Good... Speaking of talking, your father wants to set up a meeting. He says any time he calls you, you’re in a meeting or out of the country.”

  “Ugh... That’s because I am. He always makes me out to be the bad guy, like I’m avoiding him.”

  “You may not be avoiding him, but I think you’re avoiding the conversation he wants to have with you.”

  “I know he wants me to take over the pub and restaurant,” Andrea said, leaning back against the counter top. “But I don’t know how many more times I can tell him, it just doesn’t interest me.”

  “It’s hard for him to see that when you own several bars and restaurants.”

  “They are drastically different.”

  “Andrea, please talk to him. Buy him out and have a manager take over. If you’re not careful, this is going to ruin your relationship with him.”

  “I know,” Andrea said with a sigh.

  “Let’s go sit outside,” Vega suggested after a minute. “If you can spare the time?”

  Andrea almost rolled her eyes. Both of her parents threw in a jab whenever and wherever possible about how much she worked.

  “Of course, I can spare some time for my mother,” she said, leading them outside where they took a seat at the rectangular dining table. Andrea adjusted the umbrella to give them a bit of shade.

  “So why is Carley so concerned about leaving you for a few days?” Vega asked.

  “I have a few important meetings coming up this week, and I might be flying to London this weekend.”

  “I got the impression it wasn’t work related... Carley said things have been a little weird lately. What does that mean? Please don’t tell me you’re thinking of firing her.”

  Andrea reached for her glass of orange juice to buy herself a few extra seconds. She wasn’t about to tell her mother that she’d nearly had a breakdown last week, because then she’d have to explain what had happened to her two years ago. Her mother worried about her enough as it was. She didn’t know if it was because she was her only child or because she was always making bigger, bolder business moves, but Andrea wasn’t going to add to that worry.

  “I wouldn’t call it weird,” Andrea said as she met her mother’s eyes. “Carley probably didn’t know if she should say anything or not, but we’re seeing each other.”

  That sent Vega’s well-manicured eyebrows up. “You’re dating Carley?”

  Andrea nodded. She might as well start practicing lying to the people she cared about most. She’d be an expert by the time they went to the wedding.

  “Wow... I know it’s been a while since you’ve been serious with anyone.”

  “Well, it’s very early days,” Andrea said. That was going to be her plan, to sow those little seeds of doubt so that when she announced that they’d split up in a few weeks, it wouldn’t be so hard to believe.

  “What about work though? Is it hard to keep the two separate or does it all just blend together?”

  “It hasn’t changed anything. When we’re working, we’re working. There’s no time for anything else, anyway. Speaking of time... I better go check on Carley and make sure she gets on a plane today,” Andrea said as she stood up, kissing her mother on the cheek before she went back inside.

  Andrea let out the breath she hadn’t realized she was holding. Maybe she should be worried. Lying wasn’t as hard as she thought it would be. It almost came naturally to her. She climbed the stairs and stood outside Carley’s room, listening for any noise in case she was on the phone, but Andrea couldn’t hear anything. She knocked firmly, and Carley opened the door a few seconds later. Her hair was wet, and she was dressed casually in gray cotton shorts and a white tank top.

  “Hey,” Carley said, her eyes a little red.

  “Hi,” Andrea said, her hand on the door frame. She wanted to hug her, to tell her that everything was going to be okay, but she’d promised herself that she was going to stay professional with Carley. She knew an innocent gesture like wrapping her arms around her would have a deeper meaning.

  “Shit. Do we need to be somewhere?” Carley asked, checking her watch.

  “No. It’s okay. Can I come in?”

  “Sure,” Carley said, stepping aside.

  Andrea sat down on the edge of the bed that had been neatly made with all the decorative pillows stacked up behind her. “My mother told me what happened. I’m so sorry.”

  Carley nodded. “Thanks,” she said, taking a seat beside her, leaving a few inches between them. “It was unexpected so...”

  Andrea didn’t know what to say to comfort her without crossing that line. “I’m giving you the week off.”

  “What? But you have the-”

  “I know what’s on my sched
ule, and I’m telling you that from this moment, you have the week off. You need time to mourn, and I hope that you’ll go home for the funeral. You got your new passport, right?”

  Carley nodded, but didn’t say anything. Andrea turned to see that tears were trickling down her face, and she couldn’t keep her distance any longer. Andrea pulled her into a hug, letting Carley wrap her arms around her as she cried, and she swallowed the lump that had formed in her own throat.

  “Sorry,” Carley said as she lifted her head and wiped away the tears.

  “Don’t be sorry... I might have told my mother that we were dating,” Andrea said, meeting Carley’s tired eyes.

  “What?” she asked with a laugh.

  Andrea smiled at her as she turned to face her. “Whatever you said about things being weird...”

  “Ugh, sorry. I wasn’t thinking. I didn’t know if you’d want your mother to know about what happened the other night... I assumed you didn’t, but I’d already told her that I didn’t think I should go home.”

  “It’s okay, and I would prefer if she didn’t know about that night. She doesn’t even know about the night of the robbery.”

  “What?” Carley asked, her mouth slightly agape.

  “No one does. Except you.”

  “But-”

  “I didn’t want to advertize the fact that my security system didn’t work as effectively as I would have liked it to... Anyway, make sure you book a flight for tonight. Okay?”

  “I will. Thank you...”

  Andrea nodded as she pushed herself off the bed.

  “Wait, what did your mom say? About us dating I mean,” Carley asked as she stood up.

  “She was surprised, and that has nothing to do with you. She just knows that I don’t let very many people in... And she wondered how that affected our working relationship. I figured I might as well start practicing lying to everyone I know.”

  “It’s not the worst lie,” Carley said with a shrug. “It’s a fib, really... I’m assuming you’re going to dump me shortly after the wedding.”