Wild Wedding Hookup

by Jamie K. Schmidt

  Anywhere.

  Today was Wednesday and there were only a few more days left of the bachelor party. Only a few more days to spend hours making love to Mikelina and then drinking and eating decadent food. Mikelina didn’t want to stay in South Beach? Bastien didn’t want to go home to New York.

  He liked it here. He liked who he was when he was with Mikelina.

  She was lounging by the pool and Bastien was getting hard just looking at her. But before he could act on his desire, Henry called.

  “Please tell me you know where they are,” Bastien said.

  “I don’t, but Jace has been calling a number other than Kitty’s these past few days. I tracked it down and it’s the owner of the beach house.”

  Apparently, Jace was still interested in buying it for Kitty. Wait until he found out the asking price. Six million. Jeez. If he could afford that, he was better off than Henry had found. “Anyone I know?”

  “It’s owned by Mikelina Presley.”

  M.P.

  Even if he hadn’t known her last name started with a P, how many other Mikelinas were there in South Beach?

  “I don’t understand. Are you sure Mikelina Presley is the owner?”

  Why was she renting out her own house and living in crappy hotels then?

  “Yes. She’s the daughter of Tanner Presley. Do you remember the scandal a year or so ago? He’s the stockbroker that rooked several clients out of their life savings. It seems just before he started doing that, he signed over the property to his daughter as a gift. It’s the only thing that’s left after his legal fees and paying restitution. The attorneys would have loved to get their hands on the house, but since it predates his illegal activities, it’s untouchable.”

  Bastien leaned up against the glass and stared out at Mikelina.

  “Are you there?”

  “Yeah, I’m here. So she’s renting it out?” Mikelina smiled and waved at him. He didn’t even know who she was. “What’s the daughter like?”

  “Yeah, she’s barely paying the taxes on the place. It’s sixty grand a year. I couldn’t find out a lot about her. She worked at a few high-end hotels in Manhattan, but after the shit hit the fan with her father, she moved to Florida to be with her mother.”

  “Her mother?”

  “Tawny Presley, née Santiago. Her father worked in shipping. She married up with Tanner, and Mikelina is their only daughter. Tawny’s coming back into the social scene. Lately, she’s been cozying up to Kirk Diamonte. Who happens to be Mikelina’s boss. Tawny just filed for divorce from Tanner. Convenient, right?”

  “How many calls did Jace make to Mikelina?”

  “In the past two days, about ten.”

  In the past two days? While she watched him get more and more pissed off about Jace’s disappearing act.

  “How many did he make to Kitty?”

  “Two.”

  Jace spoke to Mikelina five times more than he spoke to his own fiancée. Bastien tried not to jump to conclusions, but he was getting an ugly feeling in the pit of his stomach. What the hell had they been talking about and why the hell hadn’t she said anything to him about it?

  “Do you think Mikelina is looking to sell?” he forced himself to ask. He didn’t give a damn about the beach house right now. He was trying to figure out Mikelina’s angle in all of this. “Or do you think Jace is fooling around with her?” Rage blinded him for a minute.

  Mikelina had known Bastien was concerned about Jace, but instead of telling him she had been in contact with Jace, she had pretended she didn’t know where he was. How could Bastien have been so stupid?

  “I’ve got no proof that they are involved, but I’m not ruling it out either.”

  “Is that right?” Bastien gritted out. Jace had asked Mikelina over for dinner the night she and Bastien went water-skiing. Had the affair started then? Had it been an affair? What else could they have been talking about? Now he wondered about all of Mikelina’s business meetings this week. Had they been with Jace?

  “The house, however, has never been on the market, but there have been a few altercations there. Irate victims have threatened the Presleys, as you can imagine.”

  “I don’t have to imagine,” he said, realizing that Carmen or Pedro had probably been hurt by Mikelina’s father.

  “Anyway, the taxes are paid for this year and what’s left over from the rental of the house is supporting Tawny’s lifestyle. Of course, now that she’s found Diamonte, that might not be needed anymore. I think you could lowball an offer and it might get picked up. Especially if Mikelina is getting out of Five Diamond Resorts vacation club now that her mother has her hooks into the boss.”

  Was that why she was suddenly tired of South Beach? She had seemed so shocked to see Kirk with her mother that night in the casino. Had it all been an act? Bastien had so many questions and he was just getting angrier and angrier the more he thought of it.

  “Or maybe Mikelina has found a sugar daddy of her own,” Bastien said softly. Was it Jace or him? Or was she planning on playing both of them off against each other and ruining Kitty’s wedding in the process? Was she going to follow them to New York?

  She was just like Gina. And it broke his heart. She was using him for his money or Jace’s money or for some other reason she was keeping secrets. She was hiding who she was. Just like Gina had done.

  “Anything is possible,” Henry said. “I’ll see if I can track down Jace again. Are you sure he didn’t head up to Vail to see Kitty? Or maybe he’s shacking up with Mikelina?”

  “Anything is possible,” Bastien echoed. “But my gut says he’s local somewhere. I don’t want to leave here without knowing where he is.”

  “Leave there? I thought the bachelor party was going through the weekend.”

  “There’s not much point in hanging around,” Bastien said. “I’ve slacked off work long enough. There’s nothing for me here now.”

  Not a damned thing.

  “All right. Well, give me a call when you’re back in town and we can go for lunch or something.”

  “You got it. Thanks, Henry.”

  Bastien pocketed his phone and glared out at Mikelina. At least he hadn’t married this one.

  Mikelina looked up when he slid open the sliding glass door and walked out to the pool. He’d give her one more chance to tell him the truth.

  “Hey, sexy,” she said, with a sweet grin.

  He had to look away because he could feel his body respond to her. “Any news from the owner about selling? I’m willing to write a check for six million dollars today.”

  “What?” she said, sitting up.

  He didn’t have that kind of liquid cash, but he wanted to see what she would say.

  “This is rather sudden,” she said slowly, looking around. “I’m not sure they’re ready to sell. I think it might come to that. But not right away.”

  “It’s a gift. The house isn’t worth more than four. Call them and tell them, take it or leave it. The offer is only good today.”

  Her face cleared in relief. “They’re not going to go for it. But I’ll pass along the offer.”

  What was her game? She couldn’t possibly want more money. No one would give up six million dollars. Unless she was planning on running a scam out of the house. Her mother got her hooks into Diamonte. Was Mikelina hoping for a real estate mogul, too? Or was she hoping for Jace?

  “What’s your last name?” he asked her.

  “What?” She blinked up at him.

  “It just occurred to me that I don’t know. Mikelina. It’s like Cher or Prince. Or Elvis... Presley.”

  She flinched. “You don’t have to be a dick about this.”

  “I’m being a dick? You lied to me.”

  “I never lied to you. I didn’t share my past, that’s all, and for this very reason.”

 
“What? That I’d call you on your bullshit?”

  “No, that you would judge me by my father’s actions. Just like everybody else. I wanted to have a nice fling with someone who liked me for me. Everyone who has found out I’m Tanner Presley’s daughter winds up acting like I was going to pick their pocket or do something illegal just because my father is a crook.”

  “This is just a fling to you?” he asked. It shouldn’t hurt as much as it did.

  “I thought we could be more. But you’re just like all the rest. I didn’t tell you my father is Tanner Presley because of this reaction right here.” She pointed at him. “Can you tell me why you automatically painted me with the same brush? We’ve only known each other a week and a half, but I thought we were really connecting. I was going to tell you when the bachelor party was over because I was having too much fun to ruin it.”

  “You can’t start a relationship out on a lie,” he said.

  “If you knew who I was, there wouldn’t have been a relationship. If I signed my emails Mikelina Presley, you would have asked Kirk for another concierge. If I told you my name in the bar, you would have never gone back to the VIP sections in Flow with me. If I rolled over in bed the next morning and introduced myself, you would have never spoken with me again.”

  “That’s not true,” Bastien said.

  “Yes, it is. Your reaction right now proves it.”

  “Do you know where Jace is?”

  He caught her by surprise and if he hadn’t been looking for it, he might have missed the flash of guilt that crossed her expression. “No,” she said.

  “You’re a bad liar. Or maybe a very good one. I’m not sure which.”

  “Bastien, you need to back off. You don’t know what you’re talking about.”

  He advanced on her and then checked himself. “I’ll tell you what I know. I know you lied to me about who you are.” He held up his hand when she went to interrupt him. “A lie by omission is still a lie. I know that you’ve been keeping secrets from me about your family and about Jace.”

  She opened her mouth to speak but he cut her off.

  “I know that you lied to my face just now and I know that you have spoken with Jace several times over the past few days.”

  “How do you know that?”

  “Figure it out,” he snarled. “You watched me worry about where he was and all the while you could have eased my mind. I can only wonder why? What game are you playing?”

  “I’m not playing a game.”

  “I won’t let you hurt my sister by playing around with her fiancé.”

  “I am not playing around with Jace.”

  “Why? Because it’s unprofessional?” He opened up his arms.

  “Go to hell,” she said, getting up from the lounge chair. “I do not deserve to be treated like this.”

  “No? Then tell the truth. Where is Jace?”

  Mikelina set her jaw and put her hands on her hips. “Why do you think the worst of him?”

  “Experience.”

  “Why do you think the worst of me?”

  “The same.”

  “You don’t know me.”

  “And whose fault is that?”

  “I am not Gina. I’m not an addict. I don’t want your money. All I wanted was you.” She looked away, blinking back tears.

  Bastien’s gut clenched. He wanted to believe her. “Why can’t you tell me where he is?”

  “Why can’t you just let it go? Stop being such a control freak. He’s not in danger. He’s not hurting your sister. He did something spontaneous. It’s a good thing.” She went to touch him, but Bastien flinched away. He didn’t want to feel her against him. Not when she was still keeping secrets.

  “Where is he and why has he been calling you?”

  “You think I’m having an affair with him?” Her eyes filled with tears. “Did you think that before your private investigator pulled his phone records? Which...” she hiccuped “...is illegal without a court order.”

  “I didn’t say that’s how I found out.”

  “I’m not an idiot. And it’s that type of loose ethics that led to my father doing what he did. So be careful you don’t slide off your high horse and find yourself on that path.”

  “Your father is not the victim here.”

  “I never said he was, but guess what? You’re not the victim either.” She pushed by him and slammed into his bedroom. He tried to follow, but she locked the door.

  “I’m going out,” he yelled. “I’ll be back in a few hours. I want you gone and I never want to see you again.”

  “Fine,” she yelled through the door.

  * * *

  That was just fine with her. Mikelina threw herself on her bed and sobbed her heart out. It was worse than that asshole in Cartagena. It was even worse than her father telling her to get out of his life. She actually thought she and Bastien could have a future.

  “It’s not my fault,” she whispered into her pillow. She could blame her father, or Kitty or Jace. But in the end, it was Bastien who chose how to react. It was Bastien who chose not to wait one more day to find out what happened to Jace. He thought the worst of her and wouldn’t even give her a chance to explain.

  She had been right not to trust him with who she was. He had not been worthy of her trust.

  And it hurt so damned bad, because she had convinced herself that he was the one.

  When Mikelina’s sobs trailed off to a sporadic hitch, she forced herself to get up and splash cold water on her face. She had cried too much over men who didn’t deserve her tears. Not her father. Not Bastien.

  She listened at the door to make sure Bastien had really left. When she was convinced she was alone in the house, she left quickly, setting the alarm.

  She didn’t drive to her hotel. She headed down to Boca Raton. She didn’t even know if that’s where her mother was staying anymore. Mikelina just knew she didn’t want to run into Bastien, and she wasn’t ready to face Kirk with her failure to see the bachelor party through to the end.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

  BASTIEN TOSSED HIS keys on the dining room table of the beach house and slumped with his head in his hands. How did this go from the best week of his life to the worst? He’d lost his sister’s fiancé. He’d lost the woman of his dreams. And now he was going to have to call Kitty before he called the police to report a missing person and let her know that Jace and his crew could be in Cuba right now for all he knew.

  This was a disaster.

  But what truly hurt was Mikelina. Pulling out his cell phone, he opened up the private investigator’s report, hoping that the information would have changed. But it hadn’t. The owner of the beach house was Mikelina Presley.

  The reason why her stuff was in the attic was this was her house. It used to be her parents’ place, but that was before Tanner Presley screwed a lot of people out of a lot of money and Tawny Presley decided to cut bait and screw around with real estate mogul Kirk Diamonte. It only stood to reason that Mikelina was in the market for a rich husband, too, to help pay the taxes on the beach house. Whether it was him or Jace, he wasn’t sure.

  He laughed without humor. He must be a magnet for gold diggers. The funny thing was, though, if she sold the damned house, she’d have more money than he did. And what really hurt was if he hadn’t found out she’d been chatting up Jace, Bastien probably would have married her within the year. He was that head over heels in love with her.

  He tried not to think of how her eyes filled with tears or how her lips trembled when they fought. He refused to feel guilty about it. She had lied to him. If she really wasn’t like her father, she would have told him the truth about where that asshole Jace was and that Jace had been talking to her more than he’d been talking to Kitty these last few days.

  A loud thump from upstairs caught his attention. Then seconds lat
er, another thump came as if the other proverbial shoe had dropped.

  “Jace?” he called.

  It seemed too good to be true, but it was too quiet to be him and the groomsmen. The alarm had been set, so an intruder seemed unlikely. Maybe it was Mikelina? Maybe she hadn’t left yet.

  Bastien swallowed hard. Did he even want to see her? He crept up the stairs, still not sure of the answer, but he was leaning toward yes. He should have let her explain why she lied to him and kept Jace’s location a secret. Not to mention, she let him think she was a homeless waif living from paycheck to paycheck in crappy hotels. He had been worried about her, damn it.

  When he reached the common room, he heard creaking noises coming from Jace’s bedroom. No. Hell no. It couldn’t be. He wouldn’t be dumb enough to bring a hooker or stripper back here. But Bastien recognized the rhythmic cadence of bedsprings and when Jace let out a low moan, Bastien saw red. What if he was with Mikelina?

  Bastien kicked the door open.

  “You son of a bitch. I’ll kill you.” It felt good to have a direction for the rage and sorrow he felt. He barely registered the two bodies diving for cover. Striding into the room, he reached for Jace.

  “Bastien, you prick!”

  He blinked as Kitty clutched the bedsheet to her naked body.

  “Get out! You’re ruining my honeymoon.”

  Bastien hurried out of the room and slammed the door. There was not enough brain bleach in the world to cleanse his eyes of that sight.

  What the hell was Kitty doing here?

  What the hell did she mean, honeymoon?

  His phone buzzed. He looked down and saw a text message from his sister.

  Get out. Don’t come back until 8.

  * * *

  At eight o’clock on the dot, Bastien came back into the house to find that Zack, Shane and Max were also there. As well as all of Kitty’s bridesmaids. Well, why not? Dance music was playing at a normal volume and everyone was sitting around the pool while Jace grilled up what looked like all the food in the refrigerator.