Making Waves

by Laura Moore

  Rae’s reaction blistered her ears.

  “I—I—” Dakota’s voice faltered as a fresh wave of pain rolled through her. “I just didn’t think he’d do that to me. Not now.” Not ever, she added silently.

  Abruptly Rae pulled off on the side of Snake Hollow Road. Killing the engine, she turned in her seat and extended her hand. “Let me see it.”

  “What? No. Why?” The words tumbled out, a verbal recoil.

  “Because it’s bogus. We just have to figure out why. Max would not do this to you, Dakota. I’ve watched him with you. Never once has he acted like the kind of sleazebag who cheats on his pregnant wife. And you know before Marcos and I got together I had plenty of experience with two-timers. That’s not Max. Not by a long shot. And no, I’m not just saying that because he’s the best thing that’s happened to my bank account and Premier Service in forever.”

  Dakota laughed sadly. “As if you would.”

  “So give me the phone. Otherwise I’ll just Google it on my own, and I bet it would be even worse for you to see how quickly it comes up.”

  Dakota drew a shaky breath. She’d never felt so alone as in these last minutes since she’d clicked on the link sent by her aunt. If she couldn’t turn to her friends, whom did she have left? And Rae was right. If Mimi had found the tape—she’d doubtless set up a Google alert for Max’s name—it must be making the rounds.

  She dug her phone out of her pocket, turned it on, entered her passcode, and handed it to Rae. “It’s in the messages,” she said dully.

  Rae was much more methodical than she had been. She pulled up the link, then tilted the phone so the screen would be horizontal, and read. “ ‘Reality Star Ashley Nicholls and Max Carr, Wealthy Financier, Get Frisky.’ Who’s this Ashley Nicholls?”

  Dakota rubbed her forehead. “No idea,” she said wearily, thinking back to when she’d done a routine search on Max. All those pictures showing beautiful women hanging on his arm. Had Ashley Nicholls been one of them? How long had he been seeing her? Had he ever stopped?

  “Well, we can find out who she is later,” Rae said. She leaned closer to Dakota, holding the phone so that it was between them, and tapped Play.

  Dakota kept her gaze averted. But then the sounds reached her, and it was like with a train wreck: no matter how much she wished to resist, she couldn’t help but look. Even though she knew that in this case the wreckage was going to be her heart.

  It was just as graphic and distressing as the first time, and she hated watching Max’s body moving with another woman’s, watching his thighs and buttocks clench as he thrust upward…

  “Stop the video,” she said, her heart racing.

  “I’m sorry, Dakota.” Rae’s voice was small. “I had no idea. I didn’t realize it would be so—”

  “No—no, that’s not why. Just let me have the phone.”

  Rae passed it to her. Dakota held the screen, angling it so she could see the colors more clearly. Relief made her feel faint. She let out a long breath and then said, “He’s got a tan, Rae. Look at his butt and thighs, how much paler they are than his torso and lower legs. But Max has been wearing long sleeves and sweats whenever he’s run outside this spring. He’s lost his tan.”

  “Oh, thank fuck.” Rae sank back against the seat. “I was worried I was going to have to chop off his balls for you. So the video isn’t recent.”

  “No, it must have been made last summer.” Or even before that.

  “You okay, then?”

  “Yeah.” It still hurt to see the tape; it was upsetting to know it existed. But it wasn’t personal. She couldn’t let it be.

  —

  Dakota groaned in resignation when she saw Piper’s car parked in front of her house.

  “I don’t suppose this is a coincidence, Mimi sending you a raunchy video and Piper camping out on your doorstep?”

  Dakota shook her head. “Consider me singularly blessed.”

  “Want me to play wingman?” Any affection Rae felt for Piper had disappeared when she heard about Piper keeping the identity of her father a secret from Dakota. That Diego Salinas was a fellow Latino was further outrage. “Or would you rather I make a U-turn and finish the shopping?”

  On their way out of the King Kullen, Rae had told the store manager that her pregnant friend had an emergency but that she would be back for the items in the two carts they’d left in aisle three.

  “That would be great. Sorry for the freak-out back there.”

  “Completely understandable. You sure you’ll be okay with her?” She thrust her chin in the direction of Piper’s car.

  With her and Rae camped out in the Land Cruiser and Piper yet to emerge from her own car, the scene reminded her of two enemies preparing to do battle. “Yeah, I can handle it. Piece of cake after Mimi’s surprise. I just want Piper gone already.”

  She wondered where Max was, tried not to worry that he hadn’t even messaged her. She sighed. “I should get this over with.”

  “Good luck. I’ll bring the car back tomorrow morning, okay?”

  “Perfect. And Rae?”

  “Yeah?”

  “Thanks.” She reached out and squeezed Rae’s jean-clad leg.

  “De nada, kiddo.”

  —

  Piper opened the door and climbed out, a cellphone attached to her ear, as Dakota approached. “She’s just arrived. I’ll call back later.”

  Dakota wondered whether it was Mimi on the other end or one of Piper’s many gossip buddies, who’d doubtless spent the morning replaying the video, the better to ogle her husband. Rage simmered. “What are you doing here?” she asked, pulling her house keys from her bag.

  “So you’ve seen it,” Piper said.

  “Seen what?” Dakota used her shoulder to push open the door. Unnecessary but satisfying. She wanted to flatten any number of people on the East End right now, starting with her family. She considered the door practice.

  “The sex tape. I must say, that husband of yours is very impressive.”

  If she said another word about Max, Dakota would make her sorry.

  Piper must have guessed she was walking on razor-thin ice. Either that or she was distracted by her first glimpse of her old childhood home.

  Dakota hung up her vest, pointedly not inviting Piper to remove her coat. The lack of invitation didn’t stop her mother from making herself at home. She wandered into the living room and began circling it, trailing her fingers over the backs of chairs and sofas, the tops of side tables. Pausing, she’d pick up one of the decorative pieces Dakota had found to add warmth to the room, study it, and then set it down, each time in a slightly different and wrong place.

  “I told Mimi not to forward the link, you know. I did try.” She glanced over her shoulder at Dakota as if expecting her thanks for acting like a human being.

  Maybe this was as good as it was ever going to get with Piper. If so, could she—should she—try to accept Piper’s severe limitations, the shattering disappointment she was as a parent? This was her mother, after all.

  “Too bad Mimi didn’t listen,” Dakota said.

  “She never does.” Piper shrugged. “I’d have put a different painting there,” she said, gesturing to Gen Monaghan’s seascape. “But I suppose you want to make her happy.”

  “I love it there. I think it totally makes the room.”

  “If you say so. Mary Dillon had a very good lawyer. I could get his name for you.”

  “Why would I need a lawyer?”

  “You’ll divorce him, of course. You’ll need someone who’s a shark if you want to keep Windhaven.”

  “A video of my husband having sex with some woman is making the rounds on the Internet, and this is what you offer as sympathy?”

  “You should never have married him in the first place. I’m only trying to save you further humiliation. Dump him and take him to the cleaners. Now, do you want me to call Mary? I’m sure she’s back from Florida—”

  With sudden clarity she understoo
d the purpose of Piper’s visit.

  And she knew, too, that there’d be no apology from Piper, not for hiding the identity of Dakota’s father, not for hoping that Dakota’s marriage would fail, and not for undermining it whenever she could. Piper would never acknowledge that deep down she wanted Dakota to end up alone. That a divorce might hurt Dakota and the baby wouldn’t signify, not when weighed against Piper’s desire to reclaim her dominant role in Dakota’s life.

  A calm that came from finally letting go settled over her. “I’m not going to divorce Max.”

  “Don’t be a fool, Dakota. He’ll leave you as soon as the baby’s born, and everyone will laugh, and you’ll have lost everything—Windhaven, the money—everything.”

  “I think you should leave now.”

  “What?” Piper’s eyes widened in disbelief, and then she laughed. “Are you seriously throwing me out of my family’s house?”

  Dakota smiled. “You’ve got that wrong, too. You see, Windhaven belongs to my family now. And you’re not welcome. I’ll show you out.”

  Max didn’t listen to Chris’s voicemail until the helicopter touched down in East Hampton and he’d climbed into the taxi and given the driver his address.

  It was easy to picture his face from his mocking, pseudo-sympathetic tone. “Hey, Max, buddy. Wow, just saw the tape. What a shame about Ashley’s phone being hacked. Those cyber geeks must have had quite the surprise when they stumbled upon you and her. Can’t imagine Bob’s going to be too happy about his top partner in a skin flick.” He clucked in faux concern. “Life really sucks sometimes, don’t it?”

  Max turned off the message and stared out the window, absently noting that the trees were beginning to show color, bright greens and rosy pinks. The message confirmed his suspicions. Chris had known about the tape’s existence—most likely from the beginning. It would have amused him, made him laugh his ass off, to know that Ashley was trying to shake Max down. Max wouldn’t be surprised if he’d conceived the idea of selling the video to the celebrity news site. He’d have told Ashley that by doing so she’d make some bucks and heighten her visibility, always a plus for a reality TV star. Best of all, it would hurt Max. A win-win for both Chris and Ashley.

  Their supposed victory over him, a trumping of sorts, left him oddly indifferent. At some point he’d retaliate and would surely find the revenge quite sweet, but after speaking with Roger and Alex, Max realized he was at a crossroads, with new concerns pointing him in a different direction. As he’d told Alex, he loved Dakota more than he’d ever thought possible. He loved her truly, deeply, completely. It was time to show her.

  He leaned forward in the seat and said to the driver, “Can you step on it, please?”

  —

  A strange car was parked in the driveway; Dakota’s was missing. He frowned as he paid the driver and climbed out just in time to see Piper Hale emerge from the house, Dakota a step behind her.

  Both women froze. Max looked at Dakota, hoping like a fool that, despite everything, he would see her smile.

  It was Piper who beamed a flash of bright white amusement at him. “The porn star returns. But those moans, they sounded quite real, didn’t they, Dakota? I’ll get the number for that divorce lawyer for you, doll.”

  She breezed past Max, close enough for her perfume to envelop him, but that wasn’t the reason he suddenly couldn’t breathe.

  Dakota wants a divorce?

  When he looked back at the house, she was gone.

  The downstairs rooms were empty. In his panic, he had a sudden vision of her simply vanishing from his life and taking everything she’d brought to it. He’d be left empty and adrift, and this time he would recognize the feeling and know the cause…and know who was to blame.

  He had to make it right.

  Glancing through the windows, he caught sight of her. She was at the far edge of the lawn, where the seagrass grew up from the dunes.

  She must have sensed his approach. He saw her shoulders rise and then fall as if she was steadying herself. Bracing herself for the ugliness he’d introduced into their marriage.

  He came to stand beside her. “Dakota?”

  She didn’t answer. She didn’t need to. The look she gave him spoke volumes, covering anger, hurt, and sadness.

  “I’m sorry, Dakota. I’m sorry about so much that’s happened in these last few days. We need to talk—I need to explain everything that’s been going on. But please, can I just hold you and the baby for a second?”

  He’d expected her to refuse. It was what he deserved after two days of radio silence in which he’d behaved like a petulant boy. It was to be expected after the embarrassment and pain she’d suffered from the video going public. Her turning toward him underscored her resilience and maturity, her basic generosity; they never failed.

  She was so beautiful. He stepped forward, first cradling her face and simply looking into the dark gold of her eyes, then wrapping his arms around her and drawing her close until her rounded belly was nestled against him. Lowering his head, he pressed his lips against the side of her neck and inhaled the scent of her. How would he survive if he lost this?

  He held her as her shoulders began to quake and the tears ran down her cheeks. When eventually she quieted, he wiped the last of their traces with his thumbs and said, “A lot has happened. A good deal of it is really shitty. I’ll start with the worst, okay?”

  She nodded. “Okay,” she said, her voice husky with emotion.

  “You saw the tape?”

  “Mimi. May she rot in hell.”

  “Amen to that. I can’t tell you how sorry I am that you had to see it.” He couldn’t say sorry enough. “I know how much it must have hurt you. Dakota, do you remember the woman I told you about, the one who tried to blackmail me? It was Ashley Nicholls. We were together for a while, four months or so, and then I ended the relationship. Nothing unusual there. But then last fall, she contacted me and told me she had a tape of us together. She wanted a million for it. I had Roger Cohen deal with her and make her understand what would happen if the tape ever surfaced. I didn’t hear from her again.”

  He paused. Would she believe this next part? “Dakota, the tape, it was made a couple of months before I met you.”

  “I know.”

  At his start of surprise, her lips curved in a small, fleeting smile. “Rae made me watch it a second time. It was then that I noticed you had a tan, and I realized it couldn’t have been made recently.”

  He was damn lucky she had such a keen eye for detail. “I haven’t been with anyone since you. Not even after we broke things off. I’ve only wanted you, Dakota. That hasn’t changed.”

  She was silent for too long. “Are there other sex tapes?”

  He hadn’t expected that question. “Honestly? I’m not sure. It’s possible. But Ashley, she was part of Chris’s crowd. I should have known better than to sleep with her.” And wasn’t that a hell of an awkward thing to say to one’s wife? Feeling the desperation rise in him, he blurted out, “Dakota, give me a chance to prove myself to you. I don’t want a divorce.” He clasped her shoulders. “Please, I—”

  “It’s okay, Max. You don’t have to prove anything. I believe you. And I don’t want a divorce, either.”

  He felt weak with relief as her words sank in. “You don’t?”

  She gave a tiny shake of her head. “No. Back there in the driveway? That was Piper playing one of her games. I’d already told her I didn’t intend to divorce you over the tape. She was retaliating for my refusing to go along with her plan to hire a divorce lawyer to make sure I ended up with Windhaven. Then she’d have probably tried to guilt me out of it or make my life even worse by moving in. She was probably trying to get back at me, too, for kicking her out of the house.”

  “You kicked her out? God, Dakota, well done.” Unable to resist, he hauled her close and kissed her, pouring his feelings into the embrace. When they broke apart, he put them into words. “You’re incredible,” he whispered fiercely.
“You know that, right?”

  The small smile she’d given him reappeared and stayed a little longer. “I have my moments.”

  The breeze lifted the ends of her hair and played with them. Abruptly aware of the cold, he whipped off his jacket and draped it over her shoulders. “Here, put this on.”

  “Oh! That’s not—don’t you need it?” she asked.

  She still had trouble accepting things from others. And there was so much he wanted to do for her. Not because she was weak—far from it—but because he cared so damn much.

  “No, I don’t need it,” he said.

  He looked at her in his custom-made Brioni jacket. The jacket was absurdly big on her. He wasn’t sure it fit him any better right now. He wished he didn’t have to talk anymore, that instead they could head inside and he could simply show her how much he loved her.

  How would she react when she learned that he’d walked away from a multimillion-dollar career?

  He swallowed. “Dakota, there’s more I need to tell you. Like I said, a lot’s happened.”

  —

  “Okay.” Dakota looked at Max. He stood beside her, his gaze directed at the beach below and the gentle rise and fall of the waves as they approached the shore. From the tense set of his shoulders, she knew that whatever he was going to say would be as difficult for him as telling her about the video had been.

  Feeling her own apprehension mount, she reminded herself that he didn’t want a divorce. That was what mattered. “What is it, Max?”

  “I quit the Summit Group.”

  The pain she heard belied the quietly spoken words. “How? Why?” she asked in confusion. “You loved it there.”

  “Yeah, I did. But I suppose I’ve changed. At least my priorities or values have. You know the meeting I had scheduled with Bob and Chris?”

  She nodded but remained silent, not wishing to interrupt.

  “Well, I’d guessed Chris was up to something—he’d dropped some hints when we met in San Francisco. I didn’t know whether it had to do with restructuring the company or something to do with the new melanoma drug Chiron was preparing to roll out. Instead he announced he was raising the price of an antibiotic by a thousand percent. Dakota, this drug’s used to fight lung infections and is especially effective in patients with cystic fibrosis.”