by E. E. Marino
Standing before her in all his glory was her ex, Ryan Gallivan with, they all had to assume, Amber, who wore a dress so small Keela thought if she breathed too hard her tits would pop out. Ryan seemed out of place in the low-key bar in his Chaps khakis and Armani silk shirt, his blond blowout standing perfectly atop his head, where a pair of Gucci sunglasses sat.
“Well, Keela, what a coincidence to see you here.” Ryan smiled smugly while he tightened his hold on Amber.
Keela narrowed her eyes at them as she heard Shannon whisper the word douchebag to Laura, who snorted. “Coincidence my ass, Ryan. You knew I was here. Nicky and I built this place together. Why wouldn’t I still be here?”
Aaron silently came behind Keela, putting his hand on the small of her back, giving Keela silent comfort.
Amber scrunched her nose and chuckled. “Your real name is Keela? I thought that was a made-up name he gave you.”
Before anyone could open their mouths, Keela took a step forward. “It’s an old traditional Irish name that means beauty. I guess your mother knew what she was doing when she gave you a whore’s name, huh?” Aaron laughed.
Amber’s mouth dropped, as if no one had ever spoken to her that way before, and if Keela had to guess, she was sure no one had. “How dare you.”
“How dare you,” Keela spat as Aaron tightened his hold on her, holding her back from punching the bimbo. Keela turned her gaze to Ryan, who smirked like the Cheshire Cat. “What do you want, Ryan? Have you come to pay back the twenty grand you took from our account? Or have you come to try to rub this in my face?” She gestured toward Amber, who began to slouch away. “Because, news flash, it’s been three years, and I’m over it. I have a new man now and a great one at that.”
Aaron wrapped his other arm around her waist and kissed her head, all while sending Ryan warning looks. Ryan’s perfectly threaded eyebrows shot up in surprise.
“My dear Keela, we were merely out celebrating our engagement and looking at houses in the area. We went past our old house—”
“You mean her house,” Nicky said through gritted teeth.
At the mention of Keela’s house, Amber stood up straighter and beamed.
Uh-oh, I don’t like where this is going, Keela thought as Ryan reached into his pocket.
“How much?” said Ryan as he whipped out a checkbook.
“Fuck you,” Keela spat.
“Keela.” Ryan used that authoritative tone with her, but while it had no effect on her anymore, it made Aaron growl as he positioned himself between Keela and her ex. “Amber really loves the house, so I’m buying it for her as a wedding gift. Name your price.”
“Go fuck yourself, Ryan.” Keela reached for the closest glass to her and threw it in his face, splashing Amber as well, who shrieked. “I will never, ever sell my house, let alone to you. I have people who depend on me and live with me, and it’s mine. Everything is in my name, so even if you try and come after me, you have no case. Especially since I have evidence that you stole hard-earned money from me without my consent, so I suggest you and that whore you rode in on leave now before I have Aaron and Nicky take turns rearranging your face.”
Ryan glared between Keela and Aaron as Amber stood there, slack-jawed. “You bitch. You better sell to me or else.”
“Or else what? You can’t do anything to me. I have no ties to you.” Keela found it was so freeing to say that out loud.
Ryan grabbed an empty beer bottle and was ready to throw it when Nicky’s voice stopped him. “Ryan, I just called the police and told them a lunatic is upsetting my business and my employees by waving around a broken beer bottle, so I suggest you leave and never come back, if you know what’s good for you.”
Amber tried in vain to pull Ryan away as he launched the bottle at the vacant wall and screamed, “I will get that house, Keela. I am going to war, and you will regret this, you bitch.”
Aaron lost it, lunging himself over the bar at Ryan before Nicky got between him and Ryan and backed him up against the bar, murmuring to him to calm down. Aaron finally calmed as he and Ryan stood toe-to-toe glaring at each other. Keela wrapped her hand around his arm, and he calmed down completely before wrapping his around her waist and pulling her close. Aaron narrowed his eyes at Ryan as he spoke.
“If you ever say another derogatory thing toward the woman I love again, it won’t matter who’s in front of me.”
Ryan glared at Aaron as he turned to Keela and smirking deviously before walking out of the bar with Amber by his side.
When they left, everyone let out a collective sigh, but Keela was shaking from head to toe. She looked down at her feet as the tears threatened to fall. Nicky nodded to Aaron. Suddenly, Keela felt herself being cradled and carried up to the loft. Looking up, she saw Aaron and relaxed into him.
Aaron sat on the couch with Keela in his lap as he lit up a cigarette for her and handed her an ashtray. Keela’s fingers shook from the rush of the fight.
“You know one of these days I’m going to make you quit these things.” He smirked, breaking the tension by making her laugh. “Don’t know how you can be a gym rat with these attached to your hip.”
Keela took big, calming puffs from her cigarette and tapped the ashes into the ashtray. They sat in silence with Aaron stroking her hair until he cleared his throat and kissed her temple. “You okay, Kee?”
Keela nodded and put the cigarette out. “I don’t understand, and I’m having a hard time wrapping my head around what just happened. Why now? I haven’t spoken to him or tried to since he left. I didn’t even try to get my money back from him because I figured it was no use. Thank God nothing has his signature on it and he never contributed anything to the house. He knows he can’t come after me. I don’t know why he thinks he could be a big shot with me and throw money at me.”
Aaron shrugged and pulled her into a big hug after placing the ashtray on the table. “I gotta tell you, though. You are so very sexy when you’re mad.”
She swatted him in the chest as he pulled her into a scorching kiss. When he pulled back, because of their need for air, he tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear and looked at her. “What’s got you worried if you know he can’t legally take the house?”
Keela shrugged, trying to ignore the knotting feeling in her stomach. “It feels like this isn’t over yet. I know something is coming. I just don’t know what.”
Chapter 11
One Month Later
AARON drummed his fingers on his steering wheel to Bon Jovi’s “Living on a Prayer” as he and Keela drove on Dune Road in the Hamptons toward a surprise destination that Aaron had set up for her. A month after her fight with her ex, Keela was still on edge, even though she thought she hid it well from everyone. Every time they would walk out to the car or leave the house or bar for any reason, she was vigilant, and at night, it would take her longer than usual to fall asleep. She didn’t like to leave the house now. She was consistently making up excuses to stay in with Aaron, which had him very worried about his feisty little bartender.
It didn’t help that Ryan hadn’t let up, which made Aaron want to knock the guy out every time he saw him or heard the panic in Keela’s voice. Every week he’d show up to wherever Keela was to make her an offer on the house, which she always turned down, making him angrier. Keela finally opened up to everyone about the odd phone calls she had been getting at work and at home, so now Aaron and Nicky made sure they were the ones who answered now and gave Ryan a piece of their minds. Keela was hesitant to go to the police because, as Ryan had said about one encounter, “This is a small town. People run into each other.” So she unfortunately felt alone, except for Aaron and the rest of her crew.
His behavior is baffling to everyone, Aaron thought. After three years of disappearing, why now?
Today, however, would be a different story. Aaron had seen enough of his girl upset and tense. He’d decided to give her a break, so he was surprising her.
“Babe, can I please take off this bl
indfold?” she whined as she sat in passenger seat of Aaron’s brother’s truck.
“Nope, you just be patient there, cowgirl. I promise this will be worth it.”
Keela huffed in frustration, which caused Aaron to smile, knowing where they were going. Today, Aaron thought, Keela looked particularly gorgeous in her simple outfit of Capri yoga pants and a green tank top and, of course, her trusty cowboy hat atop her head. Her hair cascaded down her shoulders. Aaron loved that Keela wasn’t a fancy girl who required a lot of pampering to look gorgeous. He much rather preferred her easy-going, laid-back approach to life.
Aaron pulled into the parking lot, got out of the car, and went around to the other side, where he hoisted Keela over his shoulder, knowing while she protested, she secretly loved it.
“Aaron!”
Aaron walked a little before he put her in front of our destination and took off the blindfold to hear her gasp.
“What the—you did this for me?” she stammered. Aaron pulled her flush against him so her back pressed against his chest and wrapped his arms around her waist.
“I do everything I do for you, just to see you smile.”
She stood there, obviously overwhelmed at the sight before her. They were at Cupsogue Beach, but in the camping area. Aaron had gone earlier that day to set up a tent that had white Christmas lights draped all around it. A little picnic was set up next to a portable grill, and some hiking and fishing gear littered the ground next to a portable CD player. A little fire pit was set and ready to be lit.
“Aaron, what’s this about?” she asked, bewildered, but with a huge smile on her face.
Aaron spun her around, kissed the tip of her nose, and tilted her chin up. “You have been so stressed, baby, even when we sleep at my house because you’re worried about Ryan. Even though you insist you’re fine, I know you’re not. I don’t like it, so I asked Nicky to give us tonight off so you can relax and I can pamper you and lavish you with attention. Today is about what you want to do. I am but your humble servant.”
She smiled as she wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him with all her passion. “I love you, Aaron Samuels.” She tightened her grasp around him and looked up at Aaron with love in her eyes.
“Not like I love you, Keela Harper.” Aaron kissed her neck, making her shiver. “So what will it be, princess? What first?”
Keela pulled her body flush to Aaron’s, and he felt her nipples harden underneath her tank top. “Um, how about you?”
Aaron growled, slung her over his shoulder, and went into the tent. It was going to be a very good day.
* * * *
Later that night, after a day full of swimming, fishing, and making love under the stars, Aaron sat in one of the chairs he’d packed, smoking a cigar with Keela wrapped up in a blanket. Looking down at the beautiful woman curled up in his arms, Aaron had never been so content or happy in his life. This little ball of energy and joy that was his girlfriend had made him want to live again. She did that to him. She made him forgive himself for Johnson and all the other men he thought he’d let down. She told him he wasn’t responsible and to not be guilty. Something so simple made sense to him once it came out of her mouth.
While they had been together a short while, Aaron had never felt this kind of intensity and need with anyone before Keela. She was the lock to his key and the sun to his moon. Sitting there with her in his arms, he knew that it was too soon to propose, but he definitely had been thinking about it. This beautiful woman was it for him, and he vowed he would spend the rest of his life protecting her and loving her.
Aaron gently traced Keela’s face with his index finger. His phone vibrated in his pocket. Aaron carefully lifted Keela up and put her into the chair, tucking the blanket around her as he answered. “Hello.”
“Hey, Aaron, it’s Nicky. I’m sorry to call, but we have a problem.”
“What’s going on?” Aaron didn’t like this, and his gut was telling him it was going to be bad, especially when Nicky sighed.
“When I got home tonight, I saw Keela’s car had been vandalized and not just slashed tires, dude, like really bad.”
“Tell me.”
“Her tires were slashed, her windshield was cracked like with a bat, and her interior was ripped up.”
When he paused, Aaron knew there was something else. “Nicky, what aren’t you telling me?”
“There was some writing on her hood, in spray paint. Aaron, it said ‘Go to Hell, Bitch’.”
Aaron narrowed my eyes and cursed. “Fuckin’ Ryan, isn’t it?”
“You know we can’t prove it, but yeah. I asked around some contacts that know him in the business to see what they could dig up, and I’m waiting to see what they come back with. None of this makes sense. Why now?”
“I don’t know, but I’m afraid what I’ll do next time I see him.” Aaron grabbed the bridge of his nose and pinched. His blood pressure was rising when suddenly he felt two arms wrap around his waist. Keela, fuck. “Nicky, I’ve got to go, Keela just woke up. Later.”
Aaron gently pulled out of her embrace and turned to see Keela standing before him with the blanket draped over her shoulders. Aaron grasped her hands, not looking at her. How the hell do I tell her?
“That was Nicky?” she said with nervousness in her voice. “Please don’t lie and say everything is okay. I know he would only call if it’s a problem.”
Aaron sighed, knowing how smart his girlfriend was, kissed her hands, and proceeded to tell her all the information Nicky told him. When Aaron finished, the sight before him broke his heart. Keela stood there shaking with tears in her eyes. Keela was afraid. She’d said that Ryan had always been a blowhard but never violent, and this new development seemed to make her even more stressed and worried about what was next.
Aaron crushed her to his chest as she sobbed. “Why, Aaron? Why me? I stayed away, and I never bothered him. Why is he doing this to me?”
“I don’t know, baby,” Aaron held her close and ran his fingers through her hair. “But I promise you we won’t let him get you. You mean so much to so many people. I swear I will never stop fighting for you, okay?”
Keela nodded, but the tears wouldn’t stop. Aaron didn’t know what he was going to do, but he knew this had to end, and soon.
Chapter 12
Two Weeks Later
IT had been another long night with her consistently hunched over the bar serving drinks. It was gratifying to have such a successful place, and people who loved their food and drinks, but Keela was dog tired and ready to crawl into bed and wrap her body around the warm form that was Aaron. She stretched her hands high above her head and felt the relieving pop of her back cracking, giving Keela the much-needed relief after a long day and an even longer two weeks.
After her car was vandalized, weird things kept happening, but nothing as big as the car. Some cases of beer were smashed, her rose bush was dead, and someone had slashed the front tire of Aaron’s motorcycle. Everyone at Gypsy’s knew who was behind it, but they couldn’t prove it, so Keela was frustrated. From behind her, she heard the laughter of Nicky and the man she loved, downstairs in the storage room bringing up supplies for tomorrow.
The only other constant in her life was Aaron. Without him, she knew she wouldn’t have been able to get through it. He was always there to help her unwind, whether it was with taking her out to dinner, cooking her dinner, giving her a massage, or letting her soak in a hot bath until she fell asleep. Aaron was always there, with his arms wrapped around her in the morning, protecting her, loving her. Keela stood there in the now empty bar reflecting on how she had almost missed my chance with him because of her fear from Ryan. She realized now that she and Ryan hadn’t been in real love, just puppy love. Real love was what Aaron has shown her. Comfort when she cried, support when she felt weak, passion in bed, and pure unselfishness when he saw she was having a rough day. Not only did she love receiving love, but she loved giving it to him as well. She wanted to do for him what he
did for her, and she felt a lecherous smile grace her face as she thought of what she wanted to do to him later.
Hearing someone come in, Keela continued to wipe down the bar as she called out, “I’m sorry, but we’re closed. If you want to come back we open tomorrow at noon.”
She looked up and stilled instantly. Before her stood Amber, Ryan’s fiancée. What the hell? She walked steadily to Keela in an outfit that was beyond ridiculous to Keela. A tight miniskirt with four-inch stiletto heels and a one-shoulder tank top that hung just above her pierced belly button. For a woman in her late twenties, Amber had a lot to learn about dressing her age.
“Amber? Wh-what are you doing here?” Keela stammered. She wished Nicky and Aaron were up here with her instead of down in the storage room.
“Kee-la.” Amber said her name as if she was trying to wrap her head around the unusual name. “I just want to talk to you. Reason with you.”
“Reason with me?” Keela nearly screamed. “Your fiancé has been tormenting us into selling him my house, and yet you want to reason with me? Do you have a brain in that skull of yours or just air?” Keela was fuming. The nerve of this bitch.
“Look, I know you bought the house right before you guys broke up and he met me, but since he lent you the money for the house, don’t you think that you owe it to him to pay him back or give it back?” she said as she took a seat.
“What? Lent me the money?” Keela furrowed her brows and tilted her head in confusion. “Amber, what the fuck are you talking about? Ryan gave me no money for the house at all. I have a mortgage with a loan, which I got from the bank because I have good credit.”
Amber’s eyes widened at the news, and Keela continued. “As for this horseshit about us breaking up and then him meeting you, do you tell yourself that to make yourself feel better about being a home wrecker? He left me for you three years ago.”
“No, no, that’s not right. Ry told me,” she challenged, but less sure of herself. “He said you guys were broken up for a year before he met me four years ago.”