Cursive

by Phoebe Lane

  Copyright © 2013 by Phoebe Lane.

  All Rights Reserved.

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is coincidental.

  Except as permitted under the US Copyright Act of 1976, no part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed or transmitted, in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without the written permission of the author.

  The author acknowledges the trademark status and trademark owners of various products referenced in this work of fiction, which have been used without permission. The publication/use of these trademarks is not authorized, associated with, or sponsored by the trademark owners.

  Edited by Billye Johnson.

  Cover design by Humblenations.com

  Formatting by Angela McLaurin, Fictional Formats

  One

  Two

  Three

  Four

  Five

  Six

  Seven

  Eight

  Nine

  Ten

  Eleven

  Twelve

  Thirteen

  Fourteen

  Fifteen

  Sixteen

  Seventeen

  Eighteen

  Nineteen

  Twenty

  Twenty-One

  Twenty-Two

  Twenty-Three

  Twenty-Four

  Twenty-Five

  Epilogue

  Acknowledgements

  About the Author

  To my husband.

  I have fourteen million thanks to give

  you for accepting and encouraging my "crazy."

  To my wonders-of-the-world girls.

  Here’s to another twenty five years.

  cur·sive

  Adjective: Written with the characters joined.

  Aislynn wasn’t sure what exactly woke her up, but she was certain the high noon rays of sunlight shining in through her bedroom window had something to do with it. Half of her body was hot and sweaty, while the other was cold and dry. She sat up in bed and gently rubbed the exposed skin on left her shoulder and upper thigh which were now a blushing tone of red.

  "Great," she muttered. I look like a Valentine’s Day version of a Ying-Yang symbol, she thought.

  Thankful for the coolness her silk robe imparted on her overheated skin, Aislynn walked out to the kitchen to look for some much needed coffee. That’s when she found him, looking at her from across the kitchen island, frozen in place.

  "Ah!" she screamed.

  Crap! Where’s my butcher’s knife?

  You don’t own one, Aislynn, she argued with herself.

  Bat?

  You don’t play.

  Gun?

  Nope.

  Lead pipe?

  What is this, a game of Clue? Give it up; you’re screwed.

  "Who the hell are you?" she finally asked the man while taking a cautious step back away from him.

  But he couldn’t answer. He was too busy ogling her, his mouth slightly open, eyes looking everywhere but at her face. There was a hint of a smile in his lips that transferred over to his green eyes, and Aislynn was surprised by the fact she had enough sense and time to notice how well they contrasted with the rich brown color of his hair.

  As she frantically searched the room for an escape, Aislynn spotted her best friend and current roommate, Ellie McDaniel, standing in the far corner of the living room, cell phone at her ear and her face ashen.

  All Aislynn could do at that point was look questioningly between her friend and the handsome stranger while trying to piece together the confusing scene that played before her.

  Why isn't he saying anything and why does he keep staring at my...

  "Oh sh—" she exclaimed, realizing she was standing in front of him almost naked wearing only a very revealing short black silk nightgown and an open robe that did absolutely nothing to hide it.

  "Hi there!" Ellie said between clenched teeth while rushing across the room to stand directly between them. "You obviously didn't get my messages," she added with a fake casual laugh.

  "I'm sorry. I was up all night and must not have heard my phone. What's going on?" Aislynn asked, triple tying the knot on her robe and avoiding eye contact with the unexpected visitor.

  "This is Mr. Quinn, a new client," Ellie said and stealthily gestured to her friend to cover part of her cleavage, which was somehow still on display.

  Ellie worked as the interior designer for a luxury corporate housing management company based out of Chicago and occasionally had to show their San Diego model apartment to prospective clients.

  "Mr. Quinn is my father. I'm Jace. Nice to meet you," the man said while extending his hand in greeting. His eyes had softened, and this time, they stared directly into hers.

  Switching roles as the one now ogling, Aislynn couldn’t help but notice how well his dark grey business suit fit his tall, muscular body. Above the loose, dark green tie that hung around his collar, she found the most symmetric and beautiful face she had ever seen in a man.

  And then there was his mouth…

  God, that mouth, she thought. Both his top and bottom lips were perfectly shaped, pouty and inviting. Aislynn was convinced the devil himself must have a hand in creating them because the images that were all of a sudden running through her mind were quite questionable.

  "Hi, Jace," Aislynn said, shaking his hand with hesitation and trying hard to redirect her increasingly errant thoughts. "I'm really sorry about this. I'm gonna go change and get out of your hair."

  Aislynn rushed to her room and put on the first pair of jeans and t-shirt she found thrown over a chair and hoped she would be able to sneak out of the apartment unannounced. But of course, she managed to run right into the two of them on her way out of her bedroom.

  "Hi," she said nervously. "I'm going out to grab some coffee. Ellie, would you like anything?"

  "No, thanks."

  "Mr. Quinn? Coffee? Bagel? A written apology?"

  "No. I'm good, thanks," he said, his smile reaching his eyes. Damn, those eyes are the color of matcha green tea. I've never seen eyes like that before. "And, please, don't be embarrassed. These things happen."

  "Yeah, well you see…What you don't realize is that I'll probably run into you everywhere I go from now on. Life has a cruel sense of humor when it comes to me, and it’ll make sure that I relive this embarrassing moment over and over again. I can only promise to be fully clothed next time," Aislynn rambled and watched Ellie stare at her with amused eyes. "Sorry, brain needs coffee. Ellie, talk to you later."

  "Double-shot cappuccino?"

  "Make it a triple. It's been one of those mornings. Thanks, Collin."

  Even though Aislynn had only been in San Diego for two weeks she was able to quickly identify what she called her "CBGB"—a Coffee shop, a well-stocked Bookstore, a Gym with a pool, and a good Bistro restaurant. By far, the most important thing on that list was the coffee. Aislynn knew coffee well, and the stuff served at the big coffee chains and the like was just not going to cut it.

  She couldn't resist the urge to search online for "sex lips" while she waited for her coffee and laughed to herself as the first images loaded. God bless that man’s mouth. She then checked her missed calls and texts and, of course, found several from Ellie warning her about bringing a client over to the apartment to take a look at the design.

  As the barista handed her the drink, an incoming text from her mom replaced the last message on her screen.

  I've been calling you and you're not picking up. What are you doing besides nothing? Call me.

  Ugh! I can't deal with her right now. />
  Making a quick turn for the door after finishing off her coffee, she ran right into Jace's arms. They were strong, but comforting and the sudden proximity to his body made her realize he smelled as good as he looked—like sunlight and ocean breeze.

  "Wow, you were right," he said, holding her by the elbow, a full smile on his lips this time.

  "I’m telling you. Life’s humor," Aislynn quipped and turned to walk out the door.

  "Ellie! I'm gonna kill you!" Aislynn yelled as soon as she opened the door, throwing her keys on the foyer table. She found Ellie in the dining room, working on her laptop.

  "Hey! Not my fault. I tried to call and warn you. What were you doing sleeping at noon anyway?" she asked, her eyes glued to the screen.

  "I swear if you ask me what was I doing besides 'nothing', I will hurt you," Aislynn said, pointing a finger at her.

  "Please," Ellie said and rolled her eyes. "I'm not your mother."

  "I was up writing until six this morning. I have the first meeting with my editor later today, and I needed to get some stuff ready. By the way…" Aislynn hugged her from behind her chair. "Hi. I missed you. How was your flight?"

  "It was great. I flirted my way to a first class upgrade."

  "Impressive. Was he cute?"

  "Not really. But it was totally worth it," Ellie said, closing her computer abruptly.

  "You look good in black." Ellie was a chameleon when it came to her hair, changing the color of her bob hairstyle every few weeks.

  "You say that about all the colors. So what are we doing tonight?"

  "Collin said there's a wine bar a few blocks from here—"

  "Wait, who the hell is Collin?"

  "The barista at the coffee shop," Aislynn said, with fake exasperation.

  "You're already on a first name basis with the barista?" she asked, but held her hand up before Aislynn was able to answer. "Of course you are. Please, continue."

  "As I was saying, the wine bar is supposed to be excellent. Want to grab some drinks before going to dinner?"

  "Sounds good. Can I meet you there around seven? I have a million things to do today, and I need to meet Jace later at his house to discuss ideas for the design plan," Ellie said, grabbing her things from the table and stuffing them into her designer bag.

  "Wait, I'm totally confused. I thought he was renting this place."

  "No. He's a private client. He stayed at one of our rentals a few months ago, and he just hired me to design the interior of his new beach house."

  "Oh. Well that’s excellent, then. This is a great apartment, and I didn't want to leave it so soon," Aislynn said.

  "Ah, the life of a nomad. I’m glad to see you’re at least getting settled this time. I mean, did you even get your things unpacked when you were in Denver?"

  "Yes, I did," Aislynn said with a roll of her eyes. "I didn’t in San Francisco though."

  Aislynn had taken full advantage of the perks of having a best friend that was able to get her temporary accommodations in different cities through her company. The only drawback was that she needed to move out quickly whenever the property was rented by a full-paying client.

  "Aren’t you tired of the constant moving?" Ellie asked.

  "Says the girl that can’t even commit to hair color," she said as she walked back to her room. "See you tonight!"

  Aislynn stared at the contents of her closet wondering what she was supposed to wear to a meeting with an editor. Taking out a few choices and lining them up on top of the bed, she secretly gave thanks for Ellie’s fashion obsession. Even though she had never been much into clothes, spending time with Ellie had increased her fashion IQ by several dozen points. She had even insisted on introducing Aislynn to French satin and thus forever convinced her to give up sleeping in ratty old t-shirts. The tall, non-serial killer looking stranger with the delicious mouth needed to send Ellie a thank you card for the free peep show he had gotten that morning.

  Aislynn felt really nervous about her meeting and pacing around the apartment rearranging things that were already in order did absolutely nothing to help her. She'd always had an interest in writing and literature but had almost no experience in the field. Her life plan had been written up and laminated into a compact three by five index card by the time she was seven years old, and she had never strayed from it. Even the fact that it took over a decade of higher education to complete her degree hadn’t scared her enough to change her mind.

  Until now.

  Aislynn's decision to leave her hometown in Texas was still considered by most of the people who knew her to have been rather impulsive. Nevertheless, she was still convinced it was the perfect time for her to take a detour off her life path. Her goal was now to pursue her dream of writing a novel, a story that had been cooking up in her head for a few years.

  Scenic route, here I come.

  After deciding on a knee-length belted dress and black pumps, she styled her golden brown hair in an intricate braided bun, a more professional version of the messy ponytail she usually wore. Her hair had grown so long in the last year that it was difficult to tame unless pinned down somehow. She stared at herself in the mirror, second-guessing her choice for longer than it was really necessary, but finally deciding to go with it.

  She drove to the hotel where she had agreed to meet her editor and tried in vain to control the butterflies flapping around in her stomach. As she walked into the hotel lobby, she was crudely reminded of the words she had said to Ellie’s client earlier that day.

  Life and its damned dark humor.

  Out of the corner of her eye, she recognized his silhouette immediately. It was the last person she expected or wanted to see at that moment. Christopher was in San Diego.

  What the hell is he doing here?

  Aislynn felt her fight-or-flight response system immediately turn on full force, the adrenaline rapidly coursing through her veins.

  Sinking feeling in her stomach? Check.

  Pulse rate and blood pressure doubled in two point five seconds? Check.

  Sweaty and trembling hands? Check.

  Consciously willing her body to breathe? Check.

  Ears ringing? Check.

  Pupils dilated? Check.

  And for the record, it was no easy task going through that process while walking in four-inch heels.

  It's my Christopher.

  He walked across the lobby without noticing her, allowing Aislynn a chance to rush to the elevators on the east side of the hotel—the farthest ones from where he was now standing. Aislynn knew the elevator wouldn't come faster just because she pushed the call button a dozen times, but it still didn't prevent her from hitting the damn thing repeatedly.

  Ding.

  The elevator doors opened. Time for flight.

  Her mind still reeling, she tried to give herself a few moments in the hallway to catch her breath and slow down her heart rate.

  I thought I had gone far away enough that I wouldn’t have to deal with—

  The alarm on her cell phone interrupted her thoughts and reminded her it was time for the meeting with her editor. Taking one last deep breath and pushing her thoughts aside, she walked over to the suite’s door and gently knocked on it.

  "Lana?" Aislynn asked the beautiful blonde woman who opened the door. She was in her late forties, dressed in a tailored business suit, high heels, and flawless barely-there makeup.

  "Hi, Aislynn. It’s so nice to finally meet you. Come on in," she said and motioned her inside.

  "Thanks for agreeing to meet with me."

  "Oh, I can never say no to Dane. He can be charmingly persuasive, as I’m sure you already know."

  Aislynn’s friend Dane had called in a favor and convinced Lana to help Aislynn through the writing and editing process of her first novel.

  "Yes, I do know. In any case, thank you again for taking a leap of faith on my project."

  "Well, you did a great job with the first few chapters, and the outline of the story shows great pote
ntial. It really wasn’t a hard call to make," she said with a smile.

  Lana’s words set Aislynn immediately at ease and helped her slowly shake off the nerves that had been stirred up by her encounter with Christopher. "All right, how about we order some drinks and snacks? I just came back from a lunch meeting with an author, but the food at the restaurant was dreadful."

  "Sounds like a plan," Aislynn said with a smile and another deep breath.

  Between coffee and talk of her novel, Aislynn was able to put Christopher's sighting completely out of her mind, albeit temporarily. If there was something Aislynn was great at, it was compartmentalizing stressors.

  Aislynn focused on adding all her upcoming meeting times with Lana to her iPhone calendar as she rode the elevator down to the lobby after her meeting. Distracted by the task, she failed to notice the elevator had stopped a few floors down, and that of all people, Christopher had stepped in.

  "Aislynn?"

  Fight-or-flight?

  You’re stuck in a moving box hanging from steel cables. There’s no room for flight.

  "Christopher." Her mouth became so dry that she could hardly make the word out. She felt angry that he had found her once again and she hated her body for reacting to his presence.

  He has said one word to you. Just keep it together, she chanted in her head.

  "You look well. It's really good to see you," Christopher added.

  Aislynn refused to look at him, but she could still see his reflection on the polished metal of the elevator walls. She was anxious about being so close to him without an easy escape.

  "No response?" he challenged.

  "You know how the saying goes. If you have nothing nice to say…" Aislynn paused. "I'm sure you're familiar with the rest of the expression. Or, on second thought, maybe not." Christopher just stared at the side of her face with a frown on his face.

  "What are you doing here anyway?" she asked, finally looking up at him. He still looked like the old Christopher. Handsome. Intense. Polished in his dark business suit. My Christopher.