I smile and Jay is the first to ask the question I knew was coming next.
"It's a show stopper all right, where did you get it?"
"It was a gift on my sixteenth birthday."
Chris says, "I don't remember seeing you wear it before. Mom and Dad bought you that for your sixteenth birthday? Mom does have an eye for fine jewelry."
Kate agrees, "Yes, she does. She likes her jewelry to be one of a kind and it's often expensive. If only Dad could stop her from adding to her collection of trinkets as he likes to call them."
We all laugh because my dad has tried many times to stop her. "That's why Vanessa is her dream daughter-in-law." I take a sip of my wine and clear my throat. "Mom and Dad didn't buy me this exquisite pendant." That's when my so-called friend with the strawberry blond hair chimes in.
"Well, who was it?"
She knows damn well who bought it! She's the first person I called when he gave it to me. Vanessa leans over and looks at it again.
"May I?"
"Yes." She touches my pendant and looks at it in the light before she lets it go.
"Well, whoever it was must have really cared about you; you don't buy a piece of jewelry like that for just anyone. They say aquamarine brings peace and calm to its owner, relieving stress and enhancing intuition. Crystal healers use them to harmonize diseased areas of the body. Sailors used to consider them a lucky stone; they carried them to keep them safe at sea."
I don't know if I should tell them. If I don't tell them, I'll make it seem like a big deal and I know they're going to find out. It's not a secret, but before I can answer, in a clear I-don't-care-who-knows voice, Nick says,
"I bought it."
I turn and look at him. He's looking at me like I'm the only one in the room and I like it when he looks at me like that. All eyes look at him and I hope they don't notice the way he's looking at me. Chris looks at Nick and then at me.
"When did you have time between your school load, partying, and all the girls you were juggling?" he asks Nick.
"I made time. Like Vanessa said, you don't buy a gift like that for just anyone."
Jay looks at me and then at Nick. He looks serious now, big brother serious.
"Oh yeah?"
Nick looks directly at Jay. "Oh yeah. She's your little sister but we sort of grew up together and she was like my little sister once too."
It's getting a little intense. This is the last thing I need; my family questioning me about my relationship with Nick when there is nothing going on and he's engaged to Kate.
"Chris, Jay, and Nick, the three of them, I felt like I had three overprotective brothers instead of two," I say, trying to interject humor in my voice when Ava finally finds her voice to help me out.
"I couldn't even set us up on a double date whenever I came to New York. We could scarcely get a kiss from our dates after they were interrogated and intimidated by these two giants." Ava gives Chris a wink and one of her hundred-watt smiles no man could resist. Except for Chris who's looking at her like a child he's trying to be patient with.
"You two should thank us; some of the guys you were setting my sister up with were kind of shady. They weren't known for their high moral standards when it came to girls," Chris says.
"They weren't that bad. They didn't do anything to us we didn't want them to do," Ava says.
All eyes on us, Vanessa and Kate are looking at us with an amused look on their faces.
Kate says, "Really!"
"Do tell!" Vanessa says at the same time as Kate.
Now the guys are staring at us like we're guilty of something. I have to laugh and shake my head a little when I lean in over the table. This is like old times; my brothers trying to protect my innocence. If they only knew how I lost my innocence to one of their friends. "There is nothing to tell, relax, guys, and soon to be brother-in-law." Ooh, that earned me a stern look from the man sitting next to me and his fiancée. "Nothing happened, those guys were perfect gentlemen. Speaking for myself, not Ava who's misleading you."
"That's 'cause I told them, 'don't let us have to break your legs for trying anything with my sister,'" Chris says.
"I can't believe you did that."
"Damn right we did. You're welcome," Nick says taking a drink from his glass.
"I wasn't thanking you, Nick. That's the reason I could hardly get a date in high school let alone a second one from those guys."
Vanessa points to each of the guys at the table. "This is why I'm glad I didn't have brothers in high school. I was a little firecracker way back in the day before I met Jay."
Putting her hand on Nick's arm, Kate smiles at me. "They were never this overprotective with me. But I wasn't the baby of the family like Cat is. We have to protect her from wolves in sheep's clothing; right, babe?"
Nick barely looks at her when he says, "Yeah." He doesn't take his eyes off me.
I notice they've hardly talked to each other or touched since we've been here. That's Ava's cue to stir the pot with Kate, accent and all.
"Well, honey, thank God you don't have to do that anymore. She's a full-grown woman with a body and a face that'll make a man want to touch."
"I know she's an adult now, but she will always be our little sister and naturally we will always want to protect her to keep her from getting hurt by the wrong kind of men," Kate says.
"What kind of men or man would that be, Kate?"
She couldn't help herself, could she? She held out as long as she could without starting trouble. I hold my hand up to stop an argument. "She's talking in general, there is no man or men I need protecting from. I've only been back for one day."
Kate takes a deep breath, sits up straight and gives Ava a tight smile. "That's what I was saying, men in general."
"If you ask me, I wouldn't push too hard on that whole protection thing. Forbidden fruit is the sweetest; you might bring the wolf to the door, Kate."
"Well, I didn't ask you! I'm just trying to look out for my little sister. That's what family does for each other." No one pays attention to the sharp tone in her voice because Ava and Kate have always been like this.
Ava grabs Kate's hand catching her by surprise. "That's good to know, sisters should have each other's backs. Consider me part of the sister circle. Cat and I are like sisters and I have her back all the way. It's a good thing she has sisters like us, isn't it?" Like she's been bit by a rattle snake, Kate snatches her hand back.
I think the wine is getting to me. I'm on my fourth glass now. I giggle at the scene in front of me. The man I've wanted since I was thirteen is now engaged to my sister, who's sitting next to my best friend. They can't stand each other and they never will. Hopefully, my brothers won't start looking at me sideways like, "you have feelings for your sister's fiancé?"
He was my man first; at least he was in my mind. Finally, I see the waiter with the damn check. About time, I was ready to leave this dinner party before I walked in the door.
I drove back home with Chris, I didn't feel like talking. The ride home was pretty quiet. Chris thought I was tired and that I had a little too much to drink. It was easier for me to let him think that. I think he knows something's up but he's not going to say anything until I say something to him, unlike Jay who'll come right to me and say it. That's the way it's always been between us; he waits until I'm ready to come to him then he gives it to me straight no matter how hard the truth may be for me to hear.
The clock on my night stand says eleven thirty. After I wash the makeup off my face I take my shower and pull my hair back in a ponytail. I put on my dark blue tank top and blue cotton shorts. I try to lie down on my bed, it's a little early for me to go to bed especially when I'm thinking about Nick. I'm not as upset with him as I was when we first got to Blue. How can I be? I'm still a little buzzed from the wine, lying in bed thinking about his eyes, his smile, and those lips.
I've thought about those lips touching mine many times over the years right here on this bed, not to mention all the
other places I would like him to touch. I need to stop. I waited too long, I missed my chance and I can't really be mad at him. He never promised me anything. I've been gone for four years, and I shouldn't expect to come back and find him single waiting to welcome me home with open arms. I should leave that fantasy in the movies and sappy romance novels. But at least he could have had the decency to tell me he was seeing my fucking sister, I deserved at least that. He would have told me about any other woman he was dating. I wouldn't expect Kate to tell me, we never had conversations about the guys we were dating.
"Buzz."
My cell phone is still on vibrate. I reach over and pick it up. "Speak of the devil." He sent me a text.
Nick:
Thinking about me? ;-)
Cat:
No! :-|
Nick:
Liar. :-)
Cat:
How did you know I was awake?
Nick:
Easy, I know you never go to sleep early but you like to wake up early. If you sleep later than 8:30a.m., you feel like half the day has passed you by and it was wasted.
He's right, damn him.
Cat:
For your information, that was the old me. I've started going to bed early since I've started my exercise regime.
Nick:
So what are you doing up now?
Let me guess.
Thinking about me.
Cat:
Conceited MF'er, aren't you?
Nick:
Yes. I notice you've added a few new words to your vocabulary.
Cat:
Do you have a problem with that too? I'm not exactly the same person I was when I left. I've changed and I've grown up some.
Nick:
I know you've changed and you're not exactly the same.
I was being an ass earlier tonight.
Cat:
Yes, you were a total and complete ass!
Nick:
Do me a favor, let's call a truce for tonight.
I miss my friend. The one I could call at two in the morning.
When I was cramming for an exam back in the day, my stress reliever.
You can be mad at me tomorrow.
Cat:
Truce. For tonight.
Nick:
What if I told you I was outside your window right now watching you?
Cat:
I would say you done turned into a stalker. Do I have to call the authorities, Mr. Alexander?
Nick:
Oh, you're a comedian now.
You have jokes, Ms. Reed.
Cat:
No jokes here, Mr. Alexander, I might have to call the police and tell them I have a stalker on my hands.
Nick:
It's a good thing I have influential friends in high places that can make things happen, the way I want them to.
I'm going to call u now, answer your phone.
"Are you really outside?"
"No, but I can be, all you have to do is say the word and I'll be there."
He sounds so sexy over the phone, my own personal sex phone operator, I'm tempted to tell him to come over.
"I think I've seen enough of you for one night. Are you sure you're not in front of my house?"
"I'm absolutely sure I'm lying down in my bed talking to you. Are you in bed?"
"Yes, and I do remember us doing this when you were in college and you couldn't focus on whatever exam you were studying for and we would talk about the most random things."
"Then I would tell you about my day and fill you in on what you had to look forward to in college. I felt better after I talked to you, those conversations helped me to focus and clear my mind again. Talking to you and a strong pot of coffee helped me get through those study sessions."
"Those were the good old days when things between us were simpler."
"Yes, they were. What do you plan to do now that you have finished with school and living in New York again?"
"That's the thing, I don't know, I'm not sure. You go to college for all these years and you think you're going to know by the time you're ready to graduate, and I should, right?"
"Not necessarily. Many people go to college and graduate with a PhD and still don't know what they want to do with their lives. You're intelligent, focused and you're a hard worker. Look at what you've accomplished already, you made it through seven years of college with a full course load while working two jobs, one of them as an unpaid intern and maintained a 3.0 GPA. That's an accomplishment in itself, you'll figure it out. Until you do, your family's there for you and you have me, if you need anything you know all you have to do is ask and it's yours."
"Thanks, but I think I had it easy compared to most people. My dad could afford to pay for my college education, most people are not that fortunate. They're not afforded the opportunity to go to college for free. All I had to do was work to pay for my apartment and my living expenses. I was lucky compared to most people my age."
"That's what I love about you; most people would have bitched and moaned that they had to work when their daddy had money."
"My dad didn't raise me to be a pampered princess, he has strict work ethics and it's his money not mine. He always told us he would put us through school and when it was over we had to make our own way. I don't have a sense of entitlement to anything he's worked for. I don't want to rely on my father's achievements."
"I've never heard you talk like this before, we've had discussions over the years but none like this."
"Looks like there's still more for you to learn about me, isn't there?"
"Yes, there is. Tell me what you might be interested in doing and I can set up a few job interviews for you."
"Just like that, all I have to do is tell you what I want and all of a sudden I have a job interview? What are you, my personal genie in a bottle, are you going to grant me three wishes too?" I start to smile. Nice of him to offer but I wouldn't accept his offer. I can hear the amusement in his voice when he answers.
"No, but I could be. I think it would work the other way better, nod your head, blink three times and call me master, grant me three wishes. I'll know exactly what to do with them."
"Really, and what would they be?"
His voice changes slightly.
"All three would revolve around the same thing with the same person."
I'm quiet for a minute. I'm not sure if I want to know what they are. He breaks the silence.
"That's a conversation for another night. So what are you doing tomorrow?"
"I'm going to start looking for a job so I can get my own apartment."
"Why don't you work for your father?"
"He would love that but I don't want to be a part of that dynamic, family business, Dad and brothers. I want to fly without a net, see where I land."
"I understand. How long are you planning to stay at your parents'?"
"Hopefully not too long. I'm used to having my own space, it's a little of an adjustment telling my parents where I'm going and when I'll be back."
"You're busy tomorrow and what about the rest of the week?"
"I have a lot of things to do; people to see, old friends to catch up with."
"When will you have time for this friend?"
"I'll let you know."
"Don't avoid me, Cat. If you don't come to me, you know I'm going to come to you. Go to sleep, it's late."
"Good night."
"Good night."
I put the phone on the night stand, roll on to my side and dream of Nicholas Alexander, full lips and all.
Chapter Four
Cat
"Where's my phone? I need a smaller bag." I'm mumbling to myself and trying to find my phone in my oversized bag that doubles as my everyday suitcase. At the same time I'm trying to open my front door. It's Ava. "Hello."
"Why didn't you answer your phone? I called you about ten times."
"I turned my phone volume down so I could concentrate on finding a job and then I had to
run a few errands. It was lost in my bag and I didn't hear it ring."
"How's the job hunt going, find anything good?"
"Hmm, it's okay, I put a few résumés and applications out. A few people are interested in interviewing me for a couple of positions over the next two weeks. I'll let you know how it goes."
"That's great."
"So how are things going with you, and the search for your new boutique?"
"Really good. I think I've found the perfect place. It's in the right location, it's newly renovated, and it was a clothing store before the owner decided to move into a larger building."
"That was fast. I thought it would take you at least a couple of weeks or months to find a place that was right for you."
"I know, me too, but I haven't made up my mind yet. I still have a couple more places to look at before I make a final decision."
"I'm glad things are working out for at least one of us."
"Oh, honey, what's wrong, job hunt got you down?"
"Something like that."
"I think I know exactly what has you feeling blue."
"And what would that be?"
I know no one's home. I drop my bag on the couch and flop down next to it. I'm waiting for her to say the name of the person who has been in my dreams the past two nights, doing the most amazing things to me with his tongue from head to toe.
"A certain cousin of mine with dark black hair and intense gray eyes only for you."
"Ava, I wasn't even thinking about him."
"I'm sure. You were. You're a terrible liar. His eyes were on you most of the night instead of his fiancée where they should have been."
"Were they? I didn't notice."
"You were too busy clutching your wine glass all night."
"I was not! I was enjoying the atmosphere."
"That and evading the questions about the show stopper of a pendant as Chris put it."
I roll my eyes and groan. "Yes, and you were no help, instead of helping me you were starting trouble."
"I was not. I was tapping into my inner Veronica Mars…I was stirring up things, a little bit. How else was I supposed to find out what's going on between Nick and your sister? Plus I love sticking it to Kate."
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