Paint Me Curious Bronze [Curious] (Siren Publishing Allure)

by Silke Ming

  “How did you find me?” Marianna asked.

  “I am well connected, as you very well know,” Lana replied. “When Seamus told me he wanted to find you, I put him in touch with a private eye I had once used to follow my husband around.”

  “Seamus wanted to find me?” Marianna asked in a cheerful voice.

  “Don’t get too excited, honey,” Lana said. “The reason he wanted to find you is to ask you for a divorce. He wants to marry his assistant and housekeeper, Summer.”

  “I take it you are not crazy about her.”

  “That’s an understatement. Why do you think I paid you five thousand dollars to come here?”

  “I don’t know, Lana. Does Fred still have that fetish?”

  “I paid you to come here. I paid for your hotel and your ticket to come here. This has nothing to do with Fred.”

  “Just a moment, Lana,” said Marianna. “You’re still sleeping with Seamus, and you want to get Summer out of the picture. Am I right?”

  Lana pulled an envelope from her purse and threw it her direction.

  “No need to count it, Marianna. There is five thousand there.”

  “I don’t want your money, Lana. You ruined my life and now you’re trying to ruin Summer’s. Why don’t you respect your age? You are almost twice as old as Seamus.”

  “Aren’t you going to help me?” Lana snapped.

  “No, Lana. You should leave Seamus alone and let him get on with his life. He needs someone in his life around his age, someone he can relate to.”

  “Don’t lecture me, Marianna. We helped the two of you during your hard times.”

  “To the point where you both wanted him,” said the woman. “Fred because of his sick fetish, and you because Fred wasn’t capable of satisfying you. The two of you intruded in our lives and wrecked our marriage.”

  “And you were handsomely rewarded, Marianna.”

  “How did I let you talk me into this?” she asked. “I want no part of this, Lana. I am leaving.”

  Summer was devastated. Seamus had a wife. Why hadn’t he told her? She became a prisoner in the bathroom stall, while the two women discussed actions which could affect her life. Her shoes were killing her from standing quietly in one spot, and she slipped them off and rested her head on the door.

  Outside, Seamus’s eyes searched the crowd for her. Where was Marianna? Did she find Summer and tell her the story?

  It seemed like an hour before one of the women left, and shortly after that, the other also did, slamming the door behind her.

  “What am I going to do?

  Then she heard his voice. Seamus calling out to her, but she did not reply.

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  His cell phone started to vibrate in his pocket. Seamus pulled it out and stared at it.

  “Hello,” he said.

  He listened to the voice on the other end.

  “What’s the name of the hotel where she’s staying?

  “Thank you,” he said, after conversing a few minutes more.

  He returned to the main hall where the crowd was now dwindling. There was still no sign of Summer, but Lana was milling around and socializing.

  “Have you seen Summer?”

  “No. Is she missing?” Lana asked.

  “Would you please look in the bathroom to see if she’s there? I hope she’s all right. She told me about twenty minutes ago that she was on her way there.”

  Lana’s face turned ashen. Was she there when she and Marianna were talking?

  “Can you take a quick look?” Seamus asked again.

  She returned with the news that Summer was not there.

  “It’s not like her to just disappear,” he said, pulling his phone from his pocket.

  He called the hotel and asked for his room number. The phone just rang and rang. She wasn’t there. He called her cell phone, but it went straight to voicemail. He just couldn’t understand why she would have disappeared without saying anything.

  “Marianna,” he said aloud.

  Perhaps Marianna had done something to her. She, too, had disappeared, but she wasn’t the vicious type.

  “What about Marianna?” asked Lana.

  “She was here. Suppose she did something to Summer. Maybe I should call the police.”

  “Are you talking about your wife? Was she really here?” the deceitful woman asked.

  “I saw her about an hour ago, but she has disappeared.”

  “Don’t be so hasty, Seamus. Perhaps Summer went out to catch a breath of fresh air. There are only a couple of people left here, so I will stay with you and help you.”

  “I can’t think, Lana. I’ll step outside and see if she is out there.”

  “Is her purse still there?” Lana asked.

  “I forgot about that,” he said, searching under the desk, where he found her briefcase but not her purse.

  “Have a look around,” said Lana. “I will keep an eye on things.”

  The moment he left, Lana took out her cell phone and made a call. Seamus returned in a matter of minutes looking very frantic.

  “She’s not out there,” he said. “I’m going to call the police.”

  Luckily the gallery was deserted when the police arrived, but they said they couldn’t file a missing person’s report, because she might have left of her own free will. The fact that his wife showed up and confronted his girlfriend may have accounted for her disappearance. A distraught Seamus decided he would go straight to Marianna’s hotel. Lana insisted on accompanying him, but when they reached there, she had already checked out. There was nowhere else to go but to his hotel room, and again Lana offered to go with him, because she wanted to be sure that he was all right. He stopped at the reception and asked if Summer had been there. She had asked for the key about two hours earlier. They went up to the room, but she had already left.

  “Where the hell could she be?” he shouted.

  “Let’s see if her clothing is still here,” said Lana, throwing open the closet door. “There is nothing here.”

  “That means she is probably on her way back to Whitney. What could’ve happened to make her do such a thing?” he asked out loud.

  “Don’t worry too much. When you return home, she will have a plausible explanation for this mystery. You will see.”

  Seamus tried to call her again, but each time her phone went to voicemail. He sat at the foot of the bed with his head in his hands.

  “Oh, Seamus, it’s not as bad as it looks,” said Lana, standing in front of him and massaging his shoulders.

  “How much worse can it get, Lana? She just up and leaves without saying a word. Suppose Marianna kidnapped her?”

  “Don’t be ridiculous, Seamus. Marianna brought her here, took her clothes from the hangers, packed them, and left with her?”

  “I guess you’re right. Summer must have left of her free will. But why? Why? Why?”

  “I wish I had an answer for you,” she said, sitting next to him and rubbing his shoulders. “You are so tense, Seamus. Much too tense!”

  He turned to look at her.

  “You just don’t understand, Lana. I love her and I don’t know what happened to her.”

  “Let me relieve your tension,” she said. “It will help you.”

  Seamus had no more fight left in him. He didn’t object when Lana opened his fly and pulled his beast out.

  “This will help you,” she said, caressing the crown with the tip of her tongue before inserting it deep inside her mouth.

  “Don’t, Lana. Don’t! I’m not in the mood,” he suddenly said, pushing her away when he realized the mistake he was about to make. “I thought you really wanted to help me.”

  “I do! I do!” she said, still hanging onto his penis.

  He jumped up and went to the bathroom and stared in the mirror.

  “Summer, where are you?” he asked aloud. “What made you leave without talking to me?”

  He reached down to tidy himself and found that the imprint
of Lana’s red lipstick had adorned his cock . He pulled a wad of toilet paper from the roll, wiped it clean, and then pulled his zipper up.

  “You’d better leave,” he said when he returned from the bathroom.

  “I was only trying to be a friend. I just wanted to help you.”

  “By seducing me, Lana?” he shouted. “Tell me something, Lana. Was it just coincidence that you and Marianna were staying in the same hotel?”

  “I have no idea why she was there.”

  “Did you have a hand in Summer’s disappearance? If you did, it will be something you will live to regret,” he threatened. “I know enough about you to bring your grand lifestyle to an end.”

  “Don’t be so dramatic, Seamus. I know nothing about it.”

  He grabbed her hand, opened the door, and was about to push her out.

  “And I trusted you. I allowed you to draw me into your web by putting me in touch with Henrietta Thompson. By the way, she called earlier to tell me that Marianna had taken a flight to Miami. That’s when I found out you were both staying in the same hotel.”

  “You are making a big mistake, Seamus. Please let me go.”

  “Not until you tell me what happened to Summer.”

  “As I said before, I have no idea where she is or why she left. Maybe she found something or someone better. Maybe she absconded with Liam O’Shea. I’ve seen the way they look at each other. He’s got more money than you.”

  “Get out of my sight, Lana,” he said, shoving her out and closing the door.

  It was a sleepless night. He opened his eyes and looked at his watch. It was only seven thirty in the morning. He dialled Summer’s cell phone number, and again it went straight to voicemail. Next he called his home number, and Millie answered the phone.

  “You are mighty early,” she said.

  “Millie, is Summer there?”

  “No, I thought she was with you. Well when you see her, tell her that an important letter arrived for her yesterday.”

  “Who sent it, Millie?”

  “A university in Boston,” she replied.

  Why now? he wondered. This is all I need right now. A place where she would find refuge.

  “All right, Millie. If she calls you, don’t tell her about the letter. I’ll see you tomorrow around midday.”

  “Seamus, is everything all right?”

  “Not really, Millie. If Summer shows up, please call me on my cell phone and let me know.”

  “What have you done this time, Seamus? If it’s drowning you’re after, don’t torment yourself by swimming in shallow water,” she said.

  “I know you are taking Summer’s side, but believe me, Millie, what happened this time isn’t really my fault.”

  “I’ll try my best to keep her here if she comes home,” she replied.

  Millie sat down and thought about the two young people.

  Why can’t those two just get along? she asked herself.

  Seamus hadn’t thought of Toby. If she is not at home, there is one only one other place she could be. Why didn’t I think of that before? He searched the directory on his cell phone and found Toby’s number. He dialled it and Toby answered.

  “Hi, Toby. This is Seamus Balsam. How are you?”

  “Quite well, Seamus.”

  “Is Summer there?”

  He paused before he answered.

  “Yes, Seamus, she is here.”

  “May I speak to her?”

  He did not expect her to come to the phone, but she did.

  “Yes, Seamus?”

  “Why did you leave without telling me?” he asked. “You know that nothing is too big that we can’t work it out.”

  “Seamus, why don’t you speak to your friend Lana? Ask her why she got together with your wife to destroy my life?” she said calmly.

  “What are you talking about, Summer? Did Lana and Marianna have something to do with your leaving so suddenly?”

  “Speak to Lana. She should be able to explain everything to you.”

  “If they did something to hurt you, I am sorry, Summer.”

  “How many times are you going to tell me you’re sorry, Seamus?” she asked, as if emotionally drained. “Each time you say you’re sorry, something always happens to make you repeat those same words again. Why didn’t you tell me that you were married?”

  “I didn’t think it was necessary to tell you because she left me a very long time ago. After I met you, I decided I wanted to be free to marry, so I hired a detective to try to find Marianna. Lana put me in touch with a detective named Henrietta Thompson. She said she had used her once before, and, fool that I am, I trusted her.”

  This time she knew he was telling her the truth.

  “Well she didn’t have your best interest at heart, that’s for sure.”

  “I know that now.”

  “I was in the bathroom when they came in. They were having a wonderful time at my expense. Well at least your wife seems to have a conscience, something which Lana doesn’t have.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Ask Lana how much she paid your wife to show up in Miami. You just don’t understand, Seamus. Lana is obsessed by you, and she will always come between us. It is in my best interest to clear the way for her.”

  “You know I have no interest in her. You are the only woman I really love. It has taken me over ten years to find you, and I will not let you go. What happened between me and Lana Podesta is all in the past, Summer. I’ll be at home around midday. Will you wait for me? I miss you so much. Please forgive my stupidity.”

  “I’ve got to go, Seamus.”

  “Please come over to the house. I want you to tell me what you heard while you were in the bathroom. When I am through with Lana, she will wish she was dead.”

  * * * *

  “So what is your plan?” Toby asked.

  “I don’t know. I am so confused.”

  “You are confused because you love him, and I’m sure he loves you, too.”

  “Then why do I feel so unhappy, Toby?”

  “Because you have refused to put distance between you and those people,” he said.

  “I didn’t want to start making demands on Seamus, so I tried to be tolerant.”

  “You know she doesn’t care for you. You have said that to me more than once.”

  “I guess I was stupid. What do you think I should do?”

  “Since you are asking my expert opinion, I would say give him another chance. It was not his fault. Those two women connived to get you out of the picture, and he is suffering the consequences. Don’t do it to him. If you do, you will be giving them exactly what they want.”

  “Maybe you’re right,” she said, as she jumped up to hug him.

  “When you close your eyes at night, isn’t he the last person you see before you fall asleep? Doesn’t it tingle between your legs when you think of him?”

  “Yes,” she said, returning to the sofa.

  “So what’s holding you back, honey? Go and get him.”

  “What about the job in Boston?”

  “Do you really want to move to Boston?” he asked, flopping down beside her.

  “No, I don’t.”

  “So why are you even considering it?”

  “Because I don’t want to make it so easy for him. He must understand that I won’t come running each time he snaps his fingers.”

  “Women are such difficult creatures,” he said. “No wonder I’m gay.”

  “We had nothing to do with that,” she retorted.

  “Does that mean you are still going to Boston?”

  “Yes.”

  “How will you get back?”

  “I haven’t thought about that yet. Maybe I won’t come back.”

  “You will regret it if you keep pushing him away,” Toby said. “He is young and virile, and he might meet someone else, and then you will be kicking yourself.”

  “I will call him tomorrow.”

  “Don’t wait too long, my fri
end. Don’t allow someone else to take your place in his heart.”

  “Thanks, Toby,” she said, kissing him on the cheek. “You’re a real friend.”

  * * * *

  When he got off the phone, Seamus did not have a good feeling. He found that Summer was much too calm and composed. After having a disagreement, she was never so amiable. Had he gone too far this time by hiding his marriage? Did he finally lose her?

  Chapter Thirty

  Seamus called the house again and spoke to Millie.

  “When Summer arrives, please try to keep her there as long as possible,” he said.

  “I will try my best.”

  “She trusts you and she will listen to you. Don’t let her leave before I get there.”

  “I know it is none of my business, but she was so happy when she left here. What happened between the two of you, Seamus?”

  “It’s a long story, Millie. I’m on my way to the airport. Do your best, Millie. I owe you one.”

  “One of what?” she asked.

  It was the first time he had laughed since Summer had disappeared. He had forgotten that Millie was from another place and another time. When he reached the airport he found out that his flight had been delayed by two hours. He moved from airline to airline, but there was nothing leaving before his scheduled flight. He paced back and forth, reading all the ads on the walls of the departure lounge. Sitting made him too nervous, and finally the two hours were up and just before he boarded the flight, he called Millie again. There was no answer. He was annoyed. Where was she when he needed information? He couldn’t eat in spite of being very hungry. The only thing on his mind was getting home to see Summer.

  When the aircraft landed, he hurried into the terminal and called his home again. This time Millie answered.

  “Have you seen her, Millie?”

  “Yes.”

  “And?” he asked, the blood pounding in his veins.

  “I tried, Seamus. I really tried, but she was hell bent on leaving. I also gave her the letter from the university.”

  “Did she say anything?” he asked, jumping into the limo.

  “All she said was that she would see me sometime soon,” Millie said.