Winnie giggled. “Baby girl, there’s a lot more where that came from.” She looked around to the other side of the pool and almost dropped her water. “Oh, my side. Oh, my side. I’m going to kill them. I promise if the good Lord brings the sun up tomorrow, I’m going to beat the living tar out of them.”
Tamyra looked up. “What is it?”
Winnie stood, frantically grabbing for her towel and stuffing her things into her bag. “I knew it wasn’t about getting me away. I knew it. They can’t leave well enough alone, can they? They’ve got to get their little mangy hands in everything I do. Well, I’m not going to have it, I tell you. I’m not going to have it.”
Tamyra stood and reached for her. “Winnie, what is it? What happened?”
Winnie darted her eyes upward and over to the side of the pool. “That’s what happened.”
Tamyra turned. “What?”
“That. Him. The old man in the lime green bathing trunks.”
“You know him?”
Winnie swung her bag across her shoulder and slipped her feet into her shoes. “He is my neighbor and he has the hots for me. I know it. He lost his wife a couple of years ago, and every time he goes to the mailbox or sees me sitting on my front porch, he smiles at me.”
Tamyra covered her mouth.
“Go ahead; laugh. But I tell you he would have me hosting his dinner parties, given half a chance.”
“And you’ve gathered this because he smiles at you.”
Winnie furrowed her brow. “It’s the way. It’s always in the way, Tamyra. Their entire face smiles. Not just their lips. Their entire face. I’m seventy-two years old. Trust me, I know when a man has a thing for me.” She turned and started toward the walkway leading back to The Cove.
She heard Tamyra behind her in a few moments.
“Sorry, baby girl. I just . . . well, I’m just very angry right now. My kids are little master manipulators. And I’m going to kick me some Harris booty when I get home.”
“I’m sorry this has upset you so much, Winnie.”
She turned to look at Tamyra. This morning the poor girl was a fright and now she was the one trying to give comfort. She reached for her arm. “It’s okay, baby girl. I know I’m a lot of woman. I’ll be okay. Don’t worry about me. I’ll just have to be very careful this week to avoid Mr. Albert Wilson. Because he is not touching this,” she said as her hand displayed her body like Vanna displays a new puzzle.
“Would you like to have dinner?” Tamyra asked.
“I’ll call you, baby girl. Let me pull myself together. I’m not sure what I’m going to do next.” And she wasn’t. What did you do with fear?
7
Sunday evening . . .
Riley collapsed into her office chair and turned on the sound machine that sat on the edge of her desk. She kept it on “waves.” It fit the setting. She leaned her elbows on the edge of her desk and dropped her head down, letting her hands knead the knots in the back of her neck. What a day. Between Laine and the phone call from Max, she’d had to fight against old fears and old haunts harder than she had in a while.
“You okay?” Mia’s voice came from the doorway.
Riley looked up. “Yeah. Long day.”
“Sorry to hear that. Did you get the contract taken care of?”
“Yes, I got it over to legal.”
“Anything I can do for you?”
“Um, yes, actually there is. Could you make reservations for me and Ms. Fulton for six at . . . the Bahamian Club. Yeah, let’s do the Bahamian Club.” She rubbed her temples. “Sorry. I’m so brain-dead, I can’t even think.”
“Sure. Anything else?”
“Yeah, could you ask them to move a little quicker between courses? I’d love to catch at least a little of Gabby’s recital.”
“Sure. I’d be glad to. Again, I’m so sorry about the misunderstanding today.”
Riley shook her head. “No, it’s okay. It was my fault. I didn’t give myself enough time.”
“Well, we’re a team, remember, and it’s my responsibility to help, not hinder.”
Riley gave her a smile. “Thank you, Mia. I really need a friend out here.”
Mia’s smile broadened across her face. “Me too. So no worries. We’ll have each other’s back.”
“Thank you.”
“I’ll make that reservation now.”
“Sounds good. I’m going to make sure our other guests are doing okay and then sneak away and see Gabby before I have to meet Laine for dinner.”
“Well, your other two priorities actually made it out to the pool today.”
“They did?”
“Yes, together. But Winnie didn’t make it to her dolphins excursion.”
Riley leaned back in her chair and chuckled. “I didn’t think she would. But at least they were together. That’s a good thing. For both of them, I’m sure.”
“Also, Tamyra was looking for you this morning.”
“Really? She okay?”
“Looked slightly distraught, but I knew you were meeting Laine, and I probably didn’t need to interrupt you.”
“Sure. Yeah, you’re right. I left to go get the contract to legal and you would have thought I had left her for half the day.” She stood up from her desk. “I’ll go make sure Tamyra is okay. Sounds like if Winnie had her, she was well taken care of.”
“Well, try to enjoy yourself tonight,” Mia offered as she walked out the door.
“I’m thinking a trip to the gynecologist for a yearly would be more pleasant,” she whispered to herself, and with that she threw her head back onto the desk.
* * *
Riley knocked on Tamyra’s door but there was no answer. She walked back down the hall and pushed the Down button for the elevator. As the doors opened, Tamyra stepped off. “Hey, just the woman I was looking for.”
Tamyra’s eyes widened. “Yeah?”
Riley watched the doors close behind her. “Yeah, Mia said you came by this morning and seemed kind of upset. Everything okay?”
“Yeah, yeah . . . everything’s fine.”
Riley studied her, noting the hesitation. “You’re sure? I’m willing to help with anything.”
Tamyra shook her head adamantly. “No, everything’s fine. She must have misunderstood. I was just coming to see if you knew how I could reach Winnie.”
“Oh, well, good. Mia said you found her and y’all spent time at the pool.”
Tamyra smiled. “We did. Had a nice afternoon.”
Riley patted her arm. “I’m glad. I was hoping you could enjoy it.”
“We really did. Thank you for thinking of me.”
“Well, enjoy your evening.”
Tamyra walked past her. “Yeah, you too.”
Riley watched her walk away and pushed the Down button again. Even though she knew not one word of what Tamyra had just said was true.
* * *
Tamyra turned the handle and walked into her room. She didn’t know why she had lied. There was nothing about Riley that made her feel defensive. She was just as sure now as she was this morning that she could have told Riley what happened and she would have made sure she was taken care of. But something held her back. To reveal one part of her story might mean she would have to reveal everything. And she didn’t want a stranger—even if she seemed like a sweet one—to know all about her. She believed the fact that Riley wasn’t there this morning was just confirmation that she didn’t need to tell her. She had one more week to decide if and when she would tell anyone the whole truth. But she was certain it wasn’t going to be today with Riley Sinclair.
* * *
Gabby’s face lit up when she spotted Riley. She and Jeremy were sitting at a round table at Carmine’s. “Hey, angel girl, how’s your day been?” Riley asked, scooping Gabby up in her arms.
Gabby smacked a wet kiss on the side of her face. “It’s been awesome, Mommy! Me and Daddy went shopping, and I took him to see the Dig.” Her voice was full of drama as she climbed back i
nto her chair.
“You did? Well, how fun was that?” Her eyes shot to Jeremy’s.
He smiled. “Very fun. I didn’t know the Atlantis had so much to offer. We had an awesome day, didn’t we, Gabs?”
Gabby nodded, then took a long gulp of her drink. She flicked the straw from her mouth. “We saw sharks and jellyfish.”
“Pretty amazing, isn’t it?” she said.
Jeremy turned his body in his chair so he could face Riley. “They said it’s the largest open-air marine habitat.”
“It’s supposed to give the guests an idea of what Atlantis was like.”
“Works for me,” Gabby said with a shrug of her shoulders.
Jeremy and Riley laughed. The waiter brought a huge bowl of spaghetti and garlic bread and set it in front of them. Then he scooped some onto each of their plates. Gabby asked for extra Parmesan cheese and he indulged her until Riley gave him a nod. “You can eat all of that and then dance?”
She nodded as noodles hung from her mouth.
“Do you have everything already in the car?” Riley asked, going light on the spaghetti, knowing Laine was liable to order a feast.
Jeremy twirled his spaghetti. “Yeah, we’ve got her all packed up. We have a ten o’clock flight.” He took a bite.
“You didn’t want to just spend the night? I could get you a room. I have connections, you know.” She smiled.
“I have a meeting tomorrow I need to be at and it’s pretty early. That’s why I needed to get us back.”
Riley took a bite of her dinner and then turned toward Gabby. “Honey, I have some kind-of-yucky news.”
Gabby’s eyes widened and she put her fork down.
“I might not make it to your recital tonight.” She started back in quickly. “But I’m going to try really hard and I hope that I can at least catch the last half.”
Gabby twisted her lips and crinkled her nose. “Business?”
Riley let a puff of air come out of her. “Yep, business. But with Daddy being here, I felt it was okay to go ahead and take care of it.”
Gabby reached over and put her hand on top of Riley’s. “No problem, Mommy. I’ll have lots more.”
Riley felt the lump all but block her airflow. “Yes, you will. Lots more. But I still promise that I’m going to try to make this one tonight. I’m doing everything I can.”
Gabby moved her hand and picked her fork back up. “At least we got to have dinner together.”
Riley nodded and looked at Jeremy. They hadn’t had dinner like this in a very long time. “Well, you just know, if I don’t get there, that I want you to have a great time with your daddy.”
Gabby smiled. “We will. It’s going to be awesome! And I’ll get to see Amanda.”
Riley couldn’t help but smile at the sincerity of Gabby’s pure love for Amanda. “I know. She’ll love to see you. And so will Mimi and Granddaddy. I talked to Granddaddy today and he said they can’t wait!”
“They’re all looking forward to seeing her,” Jeremy said, then reached his hand over and placed it on top of Riley’s. “She’ll be fine.”
Riley couldn’t speak. The lump had taken over. She nodded instead. She glanced at her watch and knew she had to go. Kissing Gabby, she left without a long good-bye.
* * *
Everything about the Bahamian Club carried the ambience of an old cigar lounge or a gentlemen’s club. Riley walked in grateful she had dressed for the occasion this morning because she hadn’t had any time to go home and change. Laine walked in right behind her.
“Did you get some rest?” Riley asked.
“I feel fine.”
Riley waited for something else. But nothing else came. Laine instead turned her head to look at the hostess. Riley took her cue. “There will be two of us. We should have a reservation under Riley Sinclair.”
The hostess looked down at her large white ledger and scanned it. The red tip of her fingernail, as vivid as a taillight, traveled the reservations. “Right this way, ladies.”
Riley was so grateful for Mia. She wasn’t sure she could handle another scolding today.
Their shoes clicked on the shiny oak floors beneath them. The deep forest green walls and heavy wood moldings encompassed the two women with their warmth as they made their way to their table. Riley tried to let the environment soothe her nerves as well as her senses.
“Thank you,” she said to the server who was standing by her pulled-out chair, her napkin in his hand.
“You’re welcome, madam.” He walked over to Laine’s chair, which was already pulled out, then picked up her napkin and extended it to her as well. His white starched apron virtually blended into the crisp white tablecloth, making his Bahamian skin seem even darker as he stood there so dapper and refined. “Will it just be the two of you this evening, ladies?” His accent was thick and smooth.
Laine responded, her voice now warm and her countenance softened. “Yes. Just the two of us.”
Riley relaxed into the leather cushion of her chair.
He extended a menu. “Here is our wine list. I’ll give you a moment to decide what you would like and I’ll be right back.”
Laine took the list from his hands and perused it. Riley watched her eyes as they scanned up and down the list. “Ooh, they have Penfolds Grange. I’ll get us a bottle of that. Those are hard to come by.”
Riley knew that wine very well. It was a brainchild of Max Schubert and it was expensive. It was also wonderful. “I’m sorry, Laine. I appreciate it. But I’ll just have water.”
“At a restaurant like this you’re just going to have water?” Her warmth was gone, her condescension back.
“Yes. Just water. But thank you. That is a very nice wine.”
She set the menu down and looked at Riley. “Why don’t you drink?”
Riley felt the intimidation of this woman sweep over her. She looked at Laine, unable to figure out how she possessed the ability to make her feel like a child.
“It was a simple question, Riley. Why don’t you drink?”
Riley lifted her chin and met Laine’s gaze head-on. “Because I choose not to. It’s just a decision that I’ve made. But again, thank you for the offer. I’ll stick with the water.”
Laine never responded; she simply looked at her. Riley offered her nothing in return. She couldn’t. Laine had already drained her today. If she made it to bed sane, she’d collapse in gratitude. When the waiter arrived back at the table, Laine ordered, not even asking Riley what she wanted. She ordered a bottle of wine, the seafood extravaganza appetizer (for two), the onion soup gratin, the club house salad, and the mixed grill house specialty (for two). Riley ordered herself a Caesar salad and the Bahamian conch chowder, which was one of her favorite items.
In fact this dinner was far different from last night’s. Laine didn’t talk to her during the rest of the meal. She simply took out her little notebook, ate a few bites of each item, studied the layout of the room, questioned the servers and wine stewards, and wrote down whatever she deemed important in that leather-bound book of secrets. Riley nibbled, glancing at her watch and grieving over each fifteen-minute increment that passed, her appetite gone. Laine had pretty much ruined her appetite. By the time Laine ordered dessert, the bottle of wine was gone, a glass of cognac had arrived, and most of her questions were slurred. By the time Laine was through, it was almost eight o’clock.
When Riley was certain she was finished, she got out of her chair to help Laine up. “I canth gif myfelf outh this thair.” Her voice was loud through the restaurant.
Riley stepped back. Laine stumbled slightly from her chair and headed toward the door, her journal still sitting on top of the table. Riley grabbed the journal and followed her out the door. “Laine, let me walk you back to your room,” she said, reaching for her arm.
“I donth neef yur helf!” she shouted once they reached the corridor.
Riley wasn’t going to have this on her head too. “I know you don’t. But it’s my job to make s
ure you’re taken care of.” And she did, with Laine fussing and cussing all the way. She got her to her room and settled her on the sofa, setting the journal on the coffee table. Riley sincerely hoped she’d remember none of it in the morning, because somehow she knew Laine would make it her fault.
* * *
“What are you doing out here this late?” Christian’s voice cut through the distant sound of waves crashing against the shore a couple floors below.
Riley stepped out into the main foyer of The Cove and looked at her watch. It was now almost eight thirty. Gabby’s recital was over, she was certain. She had missed so much in the past two years, she hadn’t wanted to miss anything else. But Laine’s self-absorption had caused her to miss another piece of her little one’s life.
She looked up at Christian, the sight of him taking her breath for a moment. His deeply tanned skin was breathtaking against the baby blue of the linen shirt that hung over the top of his white linen shorts. She hoped he didn’t notice that she had just checked out his gorgeous legs. “I’ve been working.”
“That writer killing you?” He laughed as he walked toward her. His eyes were all but dancing. They always looked at her that way. At least they seemed to.
“Yes, and these shoes.” She walked over to one of the teak benches and tugged at the clasp on one of her shoes.
Christian sat beside her. “Here. You’re too tired to even take off your shoe.” He bent down, lifted both of her feet up onto the bench, and unbuckled each shoe. His hands against her skin made her tremble. “Cold?”
“Um . . . yeah, chilled, I think.” She was so lying. She scooped up the hem of her dress, pressing it against her legs. He set her shoes down on the floor next to them.
“I’d give you a jacket if I had one.”
“It’s okay.” She slipped her feet down quickly and rested them on the warm wood floor. Then her hands went for the knot in her neck.
“Want to talk about it?”
Riley’s head darted up quickly. “She’s unbelievable! She’s condescending and arrogant! She’s mean and snippy! She’s a beast! She caused me to miss Gabby’s recital and she’s my responsibility for five more days!”
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