Beauty and the Beach

by Diane Darcy

  “Okay,” said Brandon. “Where is Isabelle?”

  Adam shrugged. “Are we here to play cards or are we here to talk about girls?”

  Sean grinned. “I’m always ready to talk about girls.”

  Adam snorted. “I saw that one coming.”

  “Is she okay with you having poker nights here?” asked Charlie. “Because if she’s mad at you because of us, we can meet up at my place.”

  “She couldn’t care less where we play poker.”

  Sean shook his head. “Then where--”

  The doorbell rang in the distance, and Adam was glad for the interruption.

  “I got it,” said Brandon. As he jumped up, he grabbed the pile of money they’d pooled, and headed into the house.

  Charlie, Sean, and Jeff stared at Adam until his brows slammed together. “What?”

  “Maybe we should wait for Brandon,” said Sean.

  “Wait for what?”

  Charlie leaned forward, his elbows against the round table. He looked at the other guys, and then took a breath. “This is a…what did you call it, Jeff?”

  “An intervention.”

  “An intervention?” Adam leaned back and crossed his arms. “What are you talking about?”

  Brandon came through the kitchen doors, three pizzas in hand. “I told you not to start without me,” he placed the pizzas on the center of the table and handed out paper plates.

  “Start what?” asked Adam, his voice low and impatient. “I don’t drink to excess. I don’t do drugs. The worst I do is gorge myself on pizza. But if you’re worried about it, I promise to let you all have your fair share tonight.”

  Jeff eyed him dispassionately. “Isabelle.”

  Adam flinched. “What about her?”

  “Where is she?”

  Adam took a breath. “I didn’t bury her in the basement, if that’s what you’re thinking. She’s gone, okay? She doesn’t want anything to do with me anymore.”

  “We already figured that from the way you’ve been acting,” said Charlie. “You were a lot more fun when she was around.”

  Adam’s jaw tightened. “Thanks. Thanks a lot.”

  “Did you guys have a fight or something?” asked Jeff.

  “No.”

  “What happened? Did you insult her cooking?” asked Sean.

  “No!” Adam roared, getting fed up. “Do you think I’m an idiot?”

  “Okay, then,” said Jeff.

  “Why don’t you go to her place or to her work or something and take her flowers,” said Brandon. “That’ll give you an excuse to talk to her.”

  Feeling foolish over his temper tantrum, Adam picked up the deck and shuffled the cards again. “She doesn’t want to see me. I’ve left messages on her phone and she hasn’t called back.” As the weeks went on, he was starting to wonder if she’d moved out of her father’s place without asking for his help. “If she doesn’t want anything to do with me, then I’m not going to stalk her.”

  “Why not?” asked Charlie.

  Adam scowled. “Because it’s illegal, that’s why not.”

  “Only if the girl calls the police,” said Jeff.

  Adam sighed and set the cards down. “Don’t think I haven’t thought about it.”

  “Seriously, man. You need to snap out of it,” said Jeff. “If she’s MIA, you need to come up with a plan of some kind.”

  “What if you went to the hospital where she works,” said Charlie. “You could pretend you’re sick. Girls like to fix guys up.”

  “And you would know this how?” Adam sneered.

  Charlie laughed. “I hear stuff. I watch movies. I’ve been injured before.”

  “And what happens when everyone finds out I’m faking? Then I look like an idiot.”

  “Well,” said Sean. “We could shoot you in the arm if you want. Give you a flesh wound or something. You could say someone tried to mug you.”

  “Pass. For your information, I already went to the hospital. I tried to do the casual thing and make an appointment to see the doctor. When I called, the other nurses booked me for the same time Isabelle worked. She never came into the room. I did it twice. The doctor asked me if I was a hypochondriac.” He shrugged. “So I’d say she basically let me know she doesn’t want anything to do with me.”

  Adam took a breath and let it out. “The other nurses also told me she’s looking for a new place to live. That was a week ago. She’s probably already moved. I told her I’d help her.” He shrugged again. “Apparently, she doesn’t want my help.”

  Sean leaned forward. “What if--”

  “Look, I don’t want to talk about Izzy anymore. Let’s just eat.”

  No one moved.

  “Does she have a pet? We could kidnap it and then you could save it,” said Charlie. “She’d be really grateful.”

  “No pet.”

  “You could have her arrested for something, and then bust her out,” added Sean.

  Adam narrowed his eyes. “Get real.”

  Jeff drummed his fingers on the table top. “We could go into town and stage a bar fight. When you get arrested, you could call her to bail you out. Then you’d be in her debt. Girls dig that.”

  Adam actually considered that one for a moment before dismissing it with a shake of his head.

  “She has that sister,” said Sean. “Maybe she could help you?”

  Adam considered the fact that the sister did owe him. She was the one who’d lost the necklace, which in turn lost Adam his chance at doing things the normal way with Izzy. “How would I get her sister’s phone number?”

  “Pay an investigator?”

  “Wait outside her house?”

  “Do you know where she works?”

  He actually did. He’d gone to her place of employment, only to have her avoid him. All the waitresses had stared and he’d quickly left. But it might be worth another try.

  “If the sister doesn’t want to help, maybe you could bribe her with jewelry or something?”

  Adam had no desire to give that girl more jewelry. He still needed to clean up the piece she’d lost and basically handed off to a cat.

  “Maybe we’re looking at this all wrong,” said Charlie. “On the bright side, there are always other fish in the sea, right?” He glanced around the group for support.

  Other fish? Adam smiled humorously. Caitlyn had come by the other day, to give him one more chance and to downgrade Isabelle while building herself up. He’d practically thrown that nosy, interfering witch off his property. Apparently she’d received the message, shrieking abuse at him, calling his scars revolting, and questioning his parentage as she’d left. He wasn’t doing especially well with the opposite sex lately. “I don’t want to talk about it anymore.”

  “You have to talk about it,” said Brandon. “If you don’t, two or three years from now you’ll be lying on some therapist's couch and saying, I wish I would have talked to my good buddies about what happened so I wouldn’t have to be lying here talking to you.”

  Adam shook his head. He sighed. “Look, girls, she isn’t coming back. I have to deal with it. I don’t have to talk about it, too.” At least not with people who knew Isabelle personally. She’d really thank him for that.

  But maybe he could call Isaac Beckman later and see if he could give him some perspective. No one knew more than Isaac when it came to women.

  “Don’t worry,” said Charlie. “We’ll set you up with someone else. Someone better. My cousin is still single.”

  Yeah, sure. That sounded great in theory, but the reality was that there just wasn’t anyone better than Isabelle. Not for him.

  ~~~

  Later that night, with his house feeling incredibly empty, Adam called Isaac’s number. When he answered, Adam said, “Hi, it’s me.”

  “Hey. I’ve been thinking about calling you. How goes it?”

  Adam laughed without humor. “Oh, you know. Business is pretty good. I had the Starfire stolen and--”

  “What?”


  “And, now it’s been found again.”

  “I can’t believe you didn’t call me! Seriously, man. What happened?”

  So, Adam told his friend everything. About Isabelle, his manager borrowing the necklace for his daughter’s prom, about how Isabelle ended up being the oldest daughter of his manager, about her moving in, and about the necklace being found around a cat’s neck up in a tree. He even told him about how he’d considered keeping the necklace so he could keep Isabelle.

  By the end, Isaac was laughing his butt off. “Dude. That is the funniest thing I’ve ever heard! You found it up a tree?”

  Adam was able to laugh a little. “The girl who owns the cat must’ve been around seven or eight years old. Her mother had to drag her away as she continued to claim ownership while we all stood there in shock.”

  Isaac laughed harder. “Oh man. I wish I could’ve been there. Seriously. What happened with Isabelle?”

  “She left me about an hour later.”

  Isaac finally stopped laughing. “I’m sorry, man. I can tell from your voice that’s not a good thing. But maybe it’s for the best? I mean, with all this between you, maybe finding another girl would be a better option.”

  “There isn’t another girl.”

  “But--”

  “I don’t know how many times I’m going to have to say it tonight. There is no one else.”

  “Hmm. Believe it or not, I actually do understand.”

  Now it was Adam’s turn to be surprised. “You’re with someone? No way. I didn’t think you’d ever be ready to settle down.”

  Isaac snorted. “I can’t believe you can say that to me. When was the last time you were serious with a girl? Laura Smitty in the twelfth grade?”

  “Shut it. I’ve never been the player you are so don’t act all offended. So who’s the lucky girl? Anyone I know?”

  “Maybe.”

  “Why are you dodging? Do I know her or not?”

  “You know her. But we’re not actually together, together. The problem is, she’s known me for too long, so…”

  “So she knows about your sordid past?”

  “Exactly. And she’s holding it against me. She thinks I can’t be trusted to do the long-term thing. And so she doesn’t want to risk it.”

  “So who is it? Maybe I can put in a good word?”

  “Actually, I’m hoping you will.”

  “So, again I’m forced to ask, who is she?”

  Adam heard Isaac suck in a breath, hold it, then let it out as he blurted, “Grace.”

  Adam’s mouth parted. He shook his head once. “Grace?”

  “Grace.”

  “My sister, Grace?”

  Isaac huffed out a breath. “Yes, your sister, Grace. Who else?”

  A smile started to spread across Adam’s face and he barked out a laugh, then sucked in air and started to roar with laughter. About a minute later he wiped tears from his eyes as his laughter finally died down. “Seriously, Isaac. Was that a joke? Were you just trying to cheer me up?”

  “Now do you see why I only thought about calling you? Do you see why I didn’t bother?” His tone was disgruntled.

  “But Grace? Grace will chew you up and spit you out.”

  “I wish,” said Isaac sourly.

  “Does she know how you feel?”

  “She knows. And she pretty much had the same reaction you did.”

  “So why bother? Find another girl.”

  Isaac sighed. “I’ll repeat your own words back to you. There isn’t another girl.”

  “Wait a minute. Are you the troll under the bridge?”

  Isaac sighed. “I see she’s been talking to you.”

  “No, to Dad. She didn’t identify you by name. Just, well, never mind. So what are you going to do?”

  “I have a few ideas.”

  “Any that would help me with Isabelle?”

  “I have one. Where’s the necklace?”

  “At the bottom of my safe.”

  “And no doubt still covered in cat hair? You do know pouting is a very unattractive trait in a grown man, right?”

  “I’ll remind you of that when Grace tears you a new one.”

  “Why I’m willing to help you, I have no idea. But when I do, I expect some support on the home front. Got me?”

  “You help me with Isabelle, and I’ll sing your praises to Grace, and anyone else who will listen.”

  “Deal. I’ll hold you to it. Okay, so here’s the thing. Until you get rid of the necklace and the reminder that her family done you wrong--”

  Adam snorted.

  “You want my help or not?”

  “Sorry, carry on.”

  “As I was saying. You’ve got to ditch the necklace, because Isabelle probably never wants to see the thing again. And it’s got to look like her sister did you a favor.”

  “Her sister did not do me a favor. She ruined everything. And now she hates me.”

  “Of course she does. You represent an embarrassing episode in her life. In all their lives. Whether it’s your fault or not, if you embarrass a girl, she’ll never forget it. Anyway, the fortunate thing is that you’re actually sitting on a gold mine. So pulling this off should be a piece of cake.”

  “How do you figure?”

  “Don’t be dense. What did my father teach us? Jewelry with stories attached are more valuable. Stolen by a loving father who just wanted his daughter to have one memorable night in her poor, pathetic life. Lost after her first kiss ever, found by a cat, and brought to its owner, a darling little tyke who’s dying of an incurable illness and who placed it around the neck of her beloved pet so she could enjoy the sparkle from her sick bed. And last, but not least, found in a tree by the original owner who was heroically rescuing the cat from the tree during a horrible storm. With a story like that, you can pretty much charge what you want for it. You know that, right?”

  Adam sighed. “First off, Isabelle’s sister has a fine life. I’d even go out on a limb and say she’s a bit spoiled. And no way was that her first kiss. The tyke is perfectly healthy, and she’s a brat with a capitol B. Plus, I wasn’t particularly heroic, I was just trying to impress Izzy. And it was a sunny day--no storm.”

  “Whatever. You sit down and write that story and post it on the website. As soon as you’re done, text me and I’ll send off a note to Mrs. Haskell in Jersey. I’ll even tell her that if she doesn’t act fast, she’ll lose out on the deal. You know how much she loves cats. She’ll buy it by morning. The good news--that the necklace is sold and because of what happened you made a ton of money on the deal--will change everything. Isabelle’s guilt will fade away, and then you can make your move.”

  “How do I tell Isabelle?”

  “You don’t. That’s the brilliant part of my plan. When the necklace is sold, you tell her sister. Then you ask for her help. Bribe her if you have to. With the necklace out of the way and the sister on your side, you’re home free.”

  Adam didn’t say anything for a moment. Then, “You know what? That might actually work.”

  “Of course, it will work. And when it does, you’ll owe me big time. Don’t forget it.”

  “Thanks, buddy. I won’t.”

  ~~~

  Late afternoon the next day, Adam arrived in the lobby of the Italian restaurant Courtney worked at and asked if she was available. He’d called earlier to find out what time she started her shift, so he knew she was there. The host, an older gentleman, stared at the scar on Adam’s face, before jerking his gaze away and agreeing to get her.

  Adam was going to talk to her, whether she wanted to see him or not. She would hear him out. He found himself pacing, and forced himself to stop just as Courtney walked around the corner and halted beside the front desk. From her startled expression he could tell he’d caught her unaware. He half-expected her to run away so he rushed into speech.

  “Courtney, please, I really need to talk to you.”

  She arched a brow, glancing around at the host comi
ng up behind her. “Follow me.” She headed out the front doors, and he was right behind her. When they were by the side of the building, she turned and faced him, brows raised and arms crossed. “How can I help you?”

  Her coloring, so different from Izzy’s, didn’t hide the fact they were sisters. Courtney had the same slender build, and the same heart-shaped face, full lips, and delicate brows. Looking at her made Adam’s chest tight. “How…how is Izzy is doing?”

  She smiled, again reminding him of her sister. “You call her Izzy?”

  “What?”

  “Only family calls her Izzy.”

  He shrugged and took a breath. “I have a proposition for you.” He hesitated, then pulled out a folded check and held it up between two fingers.

  She gasped, staring at the check. “Oh, my gosh!” She looked at him with wide eyes and a grin spread across her face. “You’re totally going to bribe me to get to my sister, aren’t you?” She giggled. “This is so awesome.” She help up her hand. “Sorry, I interrupted. Go ahead.”

  “Um…”

  Her hand flew up again. “Wait, before you say anything, I have to know. Why don’t you just ask her out?”

  His lips tightened. He shrugged.

  Sudden sympathy filled her eyes. “You’re afraid to, aren’t you? You know, she’s had some time to think about everything that’s happened. My sister is a thinker and a planner.” She gestured toward the check. “Maybe you don’t need to bribe me. Maybe you just need to keep trying with her.”

  Having this girl read him so easily had his feet shifting. He swallowed. “Why do you say that? Has she said anything? About me, I mean?”

  “If she told me something in confidence, I could hardly tell you, now, could I?”

  He tried to read her expression.

  She sighed impatiently. “Look. I might help. I can see you’re hurting and you really love her.” She gestured toward the check again. “But what about the bribe? I’m dying to know what it’s worth to you!”

  He handed her the check and she unfolded it and gasped. She looked up at him wide eyed once more. “It’s for $50,000 and it’s in my name,” she whispered, refolding the check.