“I never would’ve given Kevin a second chance if you hadn’t come to my house that night and asked me to. I can’t imagine how difficult that was for you. You were the injured party, and you must’ve been hurting badly, but somehow you found it in your heart to forgive Kevin for his transgression. That gave me the courage to do the same.” Another shoulder shrug. “I’m happy to help you.”
Lizbeth’s heart stuttered and her throat clogged with surprise. “You owe me nothing. As I told you that night, Kevin and I never made sense, but you’re perfect for him. I’m glad he found you.”
Anxious for an escape from the awkwardness of the moment, Lizbeth said, “I guess I should get back out there and make sure everything’s still on track.” She moved around Sam, pushed open the door, took two steps, and ran right into Lucas Steele’s side.
“Oh, for the love of God,” she huffed as Lucas grabbed her arm to keep her from toppling off her three-inch heels.
Just like at Christmas when she knocked on Kevin’s door and found Lucas on the other side, the sight of him—a life-sized, 3D replica of the only man she’d ever loved—stole her breath and ripped apart her chest, nearly doubling her over with pain.
“Are you trying to escape a fire?” Lucas asked, making sure she was steady on her feet before releasing her arm and glancing at the closed restroom door.
“Something like that,” she muttered while fidgeting with her bag and straightening her skirt to hide her reaction from a man who’d always been too perceptive.
Her muttered reply seemed to amuse him, which only added to her irritation. Five minutes ago, she’d been in the bathroom, giving herself a pep talk and feeling fairly confident she would successfully mark off most of, if not all, her goals. She should’ve known things were going too well.
But she was a survivor if nothing else, so she got back into the game by slapping her dynamic smile in place, fluttering her eyes, and laughing off the embarrassment heating her face. “You look well, Lucas.”
She couldn’t say, It’s good to see you, because just like at Christmas, laying eyes on Lucas was ten steps deep into hell. He reminded her of all she’d had, of all she’d lost… and what she spent most of her adult life futilely wishing for again. For the past fifteen years, she’d been trapped in the past, and looking into Lucas’s moss-green eyes—identical to Logan’s—made that fact even clearer.
He tipped his head to acknowledge the compliment and said, “You’re as beautiful as ever, Lizbeth.” He glanced around the room, then returned his attention to her. “Congratulations on the grand opening. Kevin is damn near giddy over the turnout.”
Despite the pain in her chest and lungs, Lizbeth’s throat lurched and her chest twitched with restrained laughter. Kevin Mazze was far too manly for an adjective like giddy, and she suspected Lucas used the term intentionally as a way of easing the tension.
The bathroom door opened, and Sam—Lizbeth’s proverbial fire—emerged. Realization flared in Lucas’s eyes a second before Sam drew up short and broke into a wide smile.
“There you are,” she said, throwing her arms around Lucas’s neck. “I was beginning to wonder about you.” The last was said more as a question than a statement, and her coy, sideways glance made Lizbeth believe there was as much silent communication going on as verbal.
“Heavy traffic, that’s all.”
“Okay, good.” The mischievous twinkle flashed again as she glanced from Lucas to Lizbeth. “I’m off to check on the babysitter. Enjoy your visit.” With a little finger wave, she disappeared into the crowd, and Lizbeth was left struggling for a viable excuse to make another quick escape.
But her brain and mouth couldn’t get onto the same wavelength, and she found herself staring at Lucas, probably with her pathetic heart in her eyes. God, he looked so much like Logan—which made sense, since they were identical—it was impossible not to traipse down memory lane while in his company.
“We were both so stunned at Christmas,” Lucas said, breaking the uncomfortable silence surrounding them, “we didn’t have a chance to catch up. What have you been up to all these years?”
Drawing on years of practice, making sure everyone saw a beautiful, successful woman who had the world by the tail—not the unhappy, mostly broken woman who lived underneath—she smiled and said, “Oh, a little of this and that.” She kept her tone light and airy, expressing she hadn’t a care in the world. “After college, I spent a few years traveling Europe and Australia.”
Her goal had been to put as many miles between her and Logan as possible, but even escaping to the other side of the world hadn’t snapped the emotional bond keeping her tethered to him. “After coming back to Riverside, I settled down and started my business.” She held her hand out to the side, as if to say, Take note of exhibit A. “What about you? I saw your name on the guest list and noticed you live in Myrtle Beach now.”
He didn’t answer immediately… simply studied her as if trying to read between the lines of her abbreviated recap. He’d always been so perceptive, she feared him seeing too much, seeing the secrets she kept hidden beneath the mask. But looking away would’ve been just as telling, so she slowed her rapid breathing, kept her smile in place, and locked her gaze onto his.
After a long pause, he said, “I moved to Myrtle Beach to join an architectural firm. I was there several years, then eventually branched out on my own. I got married…” Shadows crossed his eyes. “It didn’t work out, so we’re in the process of a divorce. I also partnered with two friends from college to start a club. Do you remember Ian Stewart and Mathew Galindo? They were the same age as Logan and me.”
She’d known Logan’s name would likely come up at some point, but she was unprepared for its staggering blow to her chest. She clenched her teeth to hold her smile in place and hide her agony, then swallowed and nodded but didn’t speak.
“The club keeps me busy so I’m not always roaming around an empty house in the evenings.” He paused and studied her again, as if asking, Can you relate?
Did he know she’d never married? That she’d never had a relationship last more than a year, and Kevin Mazze was the only person she’d managed that with?
“Hey,” he said, his eyes and smile brightening, “I’m headed there after I leave here. You should come with me.”
“Oh gosh.” Her hand fluttered to her throat as she searched for a good excuse to decline the invitation. “I appreciate the offer, but I can’t.”
“Why not? Do you have plans for the evening?” He leaned in close, conspiratorially. “Taking advantage of the big town while you’re here?”
If she didn’t know better, she would swear he was mocking her, or maybe challenging her, like he knew she didn’t have other plans. But there was no way he could be privy to that information since she hadn’t told anyone, especially not Kevin or Sam, of her pathetic plans to go back to the hotel and spend the evening curled up with wine and a book.
Before she could answer, which meant lying and telling him she had all kinds of fabulous offers for the evening, he leaned down so his mouth was next to her ear and said, “I’m betting you don’t have any concrete plans that can’t be changed. Am I right?”
God, the bastard was as infuriating now as he’d been fifteen years before. She’d never understood how he was so adept at reading people, but he’d always been spot on with his evaluations. She sighed and looked out at the lobby filled with laughing guests thoroughly enjoying themselves as she reconsidered his offer.
Declining his invitation had been a knee-jerk response to protect herself from spending more time with him. But it might be fun to go to a club, get out and about on the town… possibly meet another potential client or two. One never knew who they might run into, and she’d bet Lucas’s club catered to an upscale clientele that might garner a few new leads.
Spending time with Lucas would be difficult, just like it had been after Logan left and Lucas hovered over her for months, making sure she was okay. And truth be told, if
he hadn’t been her constant shadow, making sure she ate and got out of bed and went to class, she wasn’t sure she would’ve survived.
Maybe running into Lucas after all this time was exactly what she needed to finally get closure on that part of her life. And maybe, after all these years, she’d be able to move forward.
“Okay,” she said, capitulating. “You’re right. I don’t have any plans that can’t be changed.” She might be changing her mind, but she’d be damned if she’d let him in on her original plans.
“Fantastic,” he said with a wide, beaming smile. “I’ll stick around until the party is over, and then you can follow me downtown. You’ll have a great time.”
A sparkle in his eye reminded her of Sam’s mischievous glint, and a layer of concern danced across Lizbeth’s skin. She frowned and studied him but then decided she was just tired and letting her imagination take over.
They hadn’t seen each other in years, but she knew Lucas and she trusted him. At one time, he’d loved her like a sister—like the sister-in-law they all thought she’d be—and he would never allow any harm to come to her.
She twisted her mouth and narrowed her eyes as he glanced back at her and smiled again. Maybe he planned to set her up on a blind date with a hot bartender working at his club. It seemed like an unlikely scenario, but stranger things had happened.
So for one night, she would stop overthinking everything. She would go with Lucas to his club, do a little dancing, meet a few people, and try to enjoy life.
Chapter Two
As Lizbeth followed Lucas south on Ocean Blvd., toward the heart of what she considered old Myrtle Beach, she found herself once again tripping down memory lane. This time, her time-traveling adventures carried her back to early childhood, before the birth of her much-younger sister, before her father’s company became an international success and their family vacations became weeks-long extravaganzas abroad.
In the early days when finances were tight, long holiday weekends to Myrtle Beach were all her family could afford. But Lizbeth held fond memories of those quick little trips because while in Myrtle Beach, her father wasn’t an entrepreneur, hell-bent on being a big-time success. He was a husband and a father who left his work behind and spent his time doting on his wife and the daughter who adored him.
Myrtle Beach had always been a special, nearly magical place to Lizbeth, and when she thought of those trips, a smile lifted her lips and filled her heart. But driving through this section of town now, with once-lively hotels abandoned and the old Pavilion Amusement Park so noticeably absent, sadness and another pang of longing for the past swamped her.
Lucas’s blinking turn signal snapped her from her reverie and brought her attention back to the present. Following his lead, she turned right onto 9th, traveled west for two blocks, and turned right onto Chester before stopping in front of a building she recognized as the old live-performance theater. Two young men slouched over a valet stand, talking and laughing, jerked to attention as Lucas’s car stopped in front of them. She pulled along the curb behind him, then gathered her purse and coat while Lucas spoke to the young man approaching his car. After brief conversation, Lucas and the other young man approached her car.
When Lucas opened the door, she said, “I remember this building.” She swung her gaze from side to side, then up and down. “It looks exactly the same as it did when I was a kid.”
Lucas’s sunshine-bright smile filled with pride. “Thanks. We worked hard to maintain the original integrity of the building.” He paused and a humorous expression crossed his face. “At least on the outside.” He shrugged and shut her car door, then cradled her elbow in his palm as he led her to the front steps. “We did the best we could on the inside.”
Laughter coated his words, once again raising her suspicions. But as her car pulled away from the curb and disappeared into the parking deck next door, she decided to shrug off the unease and continue with the plan. Go inside and have a few drinks. Dance a little. Meet a potential client or two. Enjoy life for a change.
She’d never been inside the old theater, but she suspected the original lobby was larger and grander. To the right, a hostess stood at an open counter that was probably the original ticket window, a coat room behind her. On the left side of the room sat a small table with two chairs on either side, like one would find inside a small office, such as an accountant’s or law firm. Lucas took Lizbeth’s coat and purse and held them out to the young woman greeting them with a shy smile and lowered eyes.
“Good evening, Chrissy. How are you?”
The young woman lifted her eyes toward Lucas but refrained from making direct eye contact while giving him a demure smile. “I’m well, sir. And you?”
Lucas grinned and winked at Lizbeth when she gave him a mocking Sir? Aren’t you special? look. Returning his attention to Chrissy, he said, “I’m fantastic. Take Lizbeth’s things, but rather than putting them in the coat room, lay them in the security room, please.”
“Yes, sir.” The girl rushed to take the items from Lucas’s hands, then opened a door next to the coat room and disappeared inside.
“You have a security room?” Lizbeth asked, swiveling her head to take in the gas wall sconces, red velvet tapestries, plush carpeting, and security camera perched high in the corner.
“Yep. Every square inch of the club is under surveillance, with the exception of the private rooms upstairs.”
Reflexively, she rolled her eyes to the ceiling. “You have private rooms upstairs? Like, if someone is too drunk to drive home, they can stay here?” Dang, if she belonged to a club like this, she might spend less nights going home with strangers because she was either too drunk to drive or too lonely to face the emptiness of her house.
The corner of his mouth twitched as he pressed his hand to the small of her back and led her to a set of double doors that opened into the heart of the club. “Something like that.”
His cryptic response, combined with a sly smile, caused another shiver of unease to snake along her spine and set off warning bells in her head. But as he opened the door and led her into the interior of the club, the bells were drowned out by the buzz of brain activity trying to catalog facts and understand the unexpected surroundings.
The previous theater was huge, so she’d expected the interior of the club to be the same, but it wasn’t. From where she stood just inside the door, she could only see what she guessed to be a third of the interior. Directly in front of her, in the center of the room, lay a small—so small it barely counted—dance floor. Beyond the dance floor, a wall ran the entire width of the building, blocking her view of the rest of the interior. Two hallways cut into the wall, probably where the original theater aisles ran, but it was too dark for her to see beyond the openings.
To the right sat a dimly-lit seating area, arranged much like a hotel lobby with a variety of chairs, sofas, and tables scattered about. There were also a few bean bag chairs strewn around the floor, not something she’d ever seen in a hotel or a club. Relief filled her as she glanced to the left and found a typical bar setup—high bistro tables and chairs in the middle, low booths and tables on the perimeter, and an L-shaped bar occupying the front corner.
This was the most bizarre club she’d ever been in, and with every second that passed, she grew more convinced this wasn’t really a club at all. At least not the kind where one settled in at the bar for a few drinks or carried on casual conversation with potential business prospects.
She bit down on the corner of her lower lip and rotated her head toward the sitting area as a mostly naked woman climbed onto a man’s lap, unzipped his pants, and reached inside to free him, then climbed aboard for a little ride.
The buzz in Lizbeth’s head turned into a rapid-fire ding-ding-ding as the big picture snapped into focus. She gasped and spun around so fast she nearly toppled over. “You own a freaking sex club?”
Lucas seemed to be fighting off a laugh as he tucked his hands into his pockets and rocked back o
n his heels. “We usually refer to Pandora’s Playground as a kink club.” With that declaration, he gave up the fight and his chest and shoulders shook with laughter.
When she continued to blink like a deer trapped in the headlights, he sobered and said, “It’s not sleazy or dirty. It’s an exclusive club, and our members pay a hefty fee to belong. Every member is carefully vetted, and we have strict rules of conduct. Any funny business and you’re out. No warnings, no second chances. If someone acts inappropriately or disrespectfully, they’re gone forever.”
She wanted to put on a good front, to appear offended and demand he escort her outside and summon her car, but who was she kidding? She wasn’t a prude. Hell, most people probably considered her a promiscuous tramp, so rather than putting on an act, she glanced around again, this time trying to see the club through Lucas’s eyes.
His earlier comment about doing the best they could with the interior made sense now. There was only so much they could do to maintain the integrity of a prestigious theater when turning the building into a sex club—correction, kink club—but they’d done a great job of preserving the architecture of the interior walls. They even kept the side boxes intact, and… She squinted to see in the darkness. If she wasn’t mistaken, there were people in a few of them, so they were still functional.
As for the club itself, Lucas was right. It wasn’t dirty or sleazy. The floors were polished and the bar’s tabletops gleamed in the ambient lighting. The clientele was nicely dressed—at least the ones wearing clothes, and even the ones who weren’t wearing much still appeared… tasteful. She’d never thought about what a sex club would be like, but she found nothing about Pandora’s nasty or revolting. If she hadn’t been so caught off guard, she would be intrigued. However, given the circumstances, she was mostly confused.
“Why did you bring me here, Lucas?”
God, was DESPERATE LOSER stamped on her forehead? After Logan left, Lucas spent a tremendous amount of time and effort looking out for her. Was he still trying to somehow make things right and felt so sorry for her that he brought her here in hopes of fixing her up with someone?
Matter of Time Page 2