Naughty Little Wishes (Birthday Dare)

by Nina Crespo

  “Oh.” Frowning, Shana slowly took the photo from Tab. “How did that get in there?”

  Tab’s heart beat harder and questions hovered on the tip of her tongue. Was it coincidence, maybe fate?

  “Wow.” Shana smiled sadly and shook her head. “That was so long ago. These are my parents and that’s Andrew.” Her eyes grew bright and she blinked rapidly. “He was in the car accident with me. We broke up right after it happened, and we haven’t spoken since.” She hesitated as if debating to say more, and Tab sat on edge willing her to finish. “My husband claims Andrew is one of our problems. He says he’s the ghost that haunted our marriage.”

  Like you’re haunting Drew. Tab fought to stay professional and not spill out her feelings “Is that what you think?”

  “I don’t know. Maybe. I’ve wanted to contact him, but I doubt he’ll see me. He’s moved on. He’s led a successful life. Why would he care about me?”

  “I think he does.”

  Shana’s gaze narrowed with curiosity. “Why would you say that?”

  Chance, a sign, she couldn’t let it pass. “I know him.”

  Chapter Twenty

  Drew walked out of the ocean, toweled off, and sat on the beach. Today’s training ended smooth, almost stress free. Having Tab around would have made it complete.

  He wanted to walk through the door of his home and find her there. To hold her in his arms when he fell asleep and wake up to her smile. He even missed her swiping sips from his coffee mug and sneaking in sugar to suit her tastes. And her chasing him down in the morning and making him change into what she claimed was the right shirt or tie. Walking in the door at the end of the day and not sensing her presence or seeing her things lying around made the house seem empty. He missed talking to her, hell, he missed arguing with her.

  Wind blew through his hair, and he raked his fingers through it. She’d convinced him to grow it a little longer, and he’d agreed to see how he liked it. Shana had asked the same a few months before the accident and he’d refused. She hadn’t fought him on it. Instead, she’d made another half-hearted change to like something he found interesting. He’d felt guilty. As a trade-off, he’d gone to a party thrown by one of her friends and tried not to let it grate on his nerves while she played to the glamour and hype.

  Tab wasn’t as easy. He had to stay geared up for anything. She drove him to the point of near insanity, but the layers of humor, softness, and caring underneath her big personality got to him every time. Once they were in bed, and she whispered his name as he slid between her thighs, he didn’t give a damn about the issue or where they stood. With all the chaos she stirred up in the midst of his calm during the past few weeks, he’d never expected to feel like they fit. Their weekend together would give them time to talk and decide where to take their relationship.

  Bode-Wynn kept him busy, but he’d find a way for them to spend time together. He wouldn’t expect her to plan around him. He’d work something out with Devin. They could delegate more tasks to key people like Mitch and Ethan. From what Tab said, Ethan’s relationship with Jasmine had grown more serious. Jasmine came to Florida at least once a month. If Ethan had fewer assignments and more admin time at headquarters, they’d see more of each other. It would also make Tab happy for her friend. He wasn’t averse to stacking the deck in his favor if it would get him what he wanted. Tab. Not just sex, but a chance for something real to grow between them.

  The sun dropped farther down the horizon, turning the water a darker color. Time to head home and push through one more night and a wake up until Tab returned.

  He drove past the blue mini-van parked in front of his house and turned into his driveway. It probably belonged to a neighbor’s kid or one of their guests. He didn’t mind where they parked as long as they didn’t block him in. He rounded the curve and a smile snuck on his lips. Tab’s rental. She was back early.

  Drew parked and grabbed his things. A breeze wicked away the moisture dampening his T-shirt and swim shorts. Gritty sand and the smell of the ocean clung to his skin. A shared shower would help them get reacquainted. He walked in, and his heart accelerated with the sound of soft footsteps coming from the living room.

  “Drew.” She breathed out his name with a smile and came to him.

  He dropped his gear bag, freed up a hand to wrap around her waist, and gave her a long welcome-home kiss. Sweet mint flavored her mouth. The coolness swirled in his as their tongues stroked and glided. Water ran through the pipes in the guest bathroom. Damn.

  Reluctantly, he lifted his lips from hers. “Someone’s here.”

  Tab’s expression sobered and she rested her hand on his chest. “If you want to go upstairs and get cleaned up first, we can wait.”

  Not if he could handle whoever it was and send them on their way. “Who is it?” He followed Tab’s gaze over his shoulder. Time and memories raked over him, leaving a chill.

  Shana smiled tentatively and smoothed her palms down the front of her jeans. “Hi, Andrew.”

  …

  Tab paced the entire length of Drew’s living room. As she passed the blue sofa, she plumped the throw pillows and continued over to the glass doors overlooking the pool. Undecipherable murmurs filtered through the door of Drew’s office.

  She paced back. I made the right choice. Once Shana had gotten over the shock, she’d accepted her explanation of why she’d made contact. Shana had asked to see Drew. When Tab considered the options, it made sense to do it before she left town. She and Drew would have the weekend to talk about it…and for him to forgive her. It would upset and relieve him to find out he wasn’t the cause of the accident. Shana had a lot on her mind when it happened. It was late. She and Drew were both tired. When the deer appeared in the road, she wasn’t ready. The accident wasn’t his fault. He had nothing to do with it.

  The sound of Drew and Shana’s voices ceased.

  What was happening? Was he holding Shana? Was she asking him for forgiveness for what her father had done? Was he willing to give it to her and move on?

  Tired of pacing, she went to the kitchen and washed dishes. The door to Drew’s office opened, and the sound of uneven footfalls and sobs echoed from the entryway. Shana. Tab lost her grip on a saucer, and it slipped into the soapy water with a thud. She dried her hands on a dish towel and ran to living room. The front door shut. Drew stood in the arch leading to the entryway. His cool gaze connected with hers.

  Dread crawled over her skin. “What happened?”

  “What do you think happened?”

  She stepped toward him. “I don’t know. Are you okay?”

  “Am I okay?” He released a humorless chuckle. “Now you want to check in with me. No, Tab, I’m not okay. With all the resources at my disposal, did it ever occur to you that if I wanted to talk to her, I would have?”

  “But Drew—”

  “No.” He sliced his hands through the air. “Sleeping together didn’t give you the right to butt into my past. I’m not one of your clients begging for you to fix my life.”

  “Wait a minute. I wasn’t trying to fix anything. Shana wanted to see you and set things straight. Didn’t you want to know the truth?”

  “The truth?” He laughed harshly. “Oh yeah, it feels real good to know the woman I was engaged to was cheating on me, and that the only reason she stuck around was because her bastard of a father insisted on it.” Sarcasm dripped from his voice. “The part about her being so fed up with the lie she threw my engagement ring at me right before the crash, that makes up for all the shit she and her father put me through. And now that she’s had a chance to let me know, she feels great. Why not share the burden of truth since I’ve been living it up all these years while she’s been suffering because I ruined her marriage?”

  Tab blinked. That’s what Shana told him?

  Drew raked her with a hard look. “What did you think? That you would be here to console me and force the opinions you call wisdom down my throat? That I’d be grateful to the glorious T
abitha Drake who knows what’s right for everyone and does no wrong?”

  Shock cascaded over her and she struggled for what to say. “This wasn’t about me. I care about you. I wasn’t going to stand by and watch guilt rip you apart. You needed the truth.”

  Drew crossed his arms over his chest and smirked. “Rip me apart? I was dealing with it long before you got here. You have no right to judge. You’re so jaded by whatever happened to your brother you think anyone who doesn’t handle things the way you think is right is doomed to follow in his footsteps. You didn’t dig up Shana to help me. You did this to deal with your own shit.”

  Tab recoiled. “I don’t have a right to judge? You don’t know me or what happened to my brother.”

  “You’re right and unlike you, I’m not going to pretend I do.” He stalked to the front door.

  She grabbed his arm. “You can’t leave. We need to finish talking about this.”

  “There’s nothing more to say. We all got what we wanted. I got my contract, Shana skipped out of here with a clear conscience, and you got your shot at fixing me.” He gazed down at her, his eyes void of caring emotions, and tugged back his arm. “And now we’re done.”

  Chapter Twenty-One

  The doorbell rang. Tab tugged the blanket up and burrowed deeper into the sofa cushions. Finally, the ringing stopped. Silence. The door to the back terrace of her townhouse rattled. Tab shot from the couch.

  “I know you’re in there. I can see you,” Jasmine banged on the glass.

  Tab stomped to the hallway, disengaged the burglar alarm, and unlocked the terrace doors. Then she stretched out on the couch and covered her head. The terrace door opened and shut with a whoosh.

  “You’re lucky I didn’t call the police.”

  Tab squeezed her lids shut, but the force of Jasmine’s tirade penetrated her refuge.

  “You haven’t contacted your office in days. You’re not answering the phone or returning messages. What’s the matter with you, and why is it so dark in here?” Jasmine pulled the blanket.

  Tab yanked it back. “Go away.”

  “This ends now.” Jasmine went around the living room and opened the blinds.

  Tab squinted against the bursts of sunlight. “You’re being cruel. If you loved me, you’d leave me alone.”

  “To do what, exactly? Suffocate under your Cinderella blanket? Look at you. Your hair is twisted like a rat’s nest. You’ve got crumbs on your face, and I don’t want to guess what that is on your sweatshirt.” Jasmine looked around. Stacks of unopened mail lay on the coffee table amid wine bottles, empty glasses, sticky strawberry ice-cream containers, and crumpled tissues. “What in the world have you been doing in here?”

  Shame scalded Tab’s cheeks. She had a right to fall apart. She’d left Texas happy and content with her life intact. She hadn’t planned on falling in love and having her heart broken into pieces and stomped into the ground. Drew hated her. She’d hurt him and lost him forever. How was she supposed to live with that? Jasmine had Ethan. She didn’t understand.

  Tab glared and pulled up her blanket. “If you’ve come to pass judgment on my housekeeping skills, you can take your skinny butt home.”

  “And leave you here looking like you’ve been slapped six ways to Christmas? I don’t think so. I had to get out of bed at the butt-crack of early and trade elbows with vicious elderly people and crying children to get your favorite—”

  Tab peeped out.

  Jasmine held up a pastry box from their favorite bakery. “—Sugar-cinnamon-and-chocolate covered éclairs.”

  “I’m not in the mood.”

  “You, Miss Party Central, not in the mood to celebrate the start of your birthday week? You’re either drunk or delirious.”

  “Fine. You want to celebrate. Whoopee.” Tab gave her a jazz-hands wave. “Okay, we’re done. Now get out.”

  Jasmine gave her a long, hard stare. “You’re acting like an evil bitch right now, but you’re my girl, so I forgive you. Take your stinky butt to the shower. Make yourself presentable, and meet me in the kitchen.”

  “I don’t stink.”

  Jasmine raised a brow.

  Seeing an unavoidable ending to her vigil of pain, Tab trudged upstairs. She opened the bedroom door and stood on the threshold. Packed luggage still sat on the bed. Once she’d arrived home, she didn’t have the strength to sort it out. She’d sunk into a jumbled mix of eat, drink, and cry according to how the mood struck. Last night, she’d added screaming into her pillow and cried herself to sleep. She’d dreamed of him, heard his voice, felt his kisses and caresses on her skin. She’d ached for him.

  Tab went into the bathroom and came out, by her estimation, slapped five ways to Christmas instead of six. She dressed in shorts and a T-shirt, and went downstairs. Jasmine sat at the tile-topped table enjoying a fat éclair. Tab poured a mug of coffee and joined her. As she cut through the pastry on her saucer, the aromas of fresh cream and cinnamon rose from the layers. Even in her funk, she still couldn’t help but savor the pastry as a culinary masterpiece.

  Jasmine peeled off a corner of her éclair and popped it into her mouth. “Mmm, I missed this…and I guess I missed you, too.”

  “Same here.” Tab forced a small smile. “But, I also hate you a little.” Glossy black waves framed Jasmine’s face, and she looked relaxed and comfortable in a sunny yellow tank-top and jeans. “You look really good.” And in love. A pang stabbed into Tab’s chest.

  “It’s a gorgeous Sunday, and I’m eating the best pastries in the world so it’s all good.” Jasmine licked sugar from her fingers. “I also have this best friend who’s a personal stylist. She says on a beautiful day, a woman should always look her best because you never know what might happen. She’s usually right.”

  “Or maybe she’s full of shit.”

  “The start of a confession emerges.” Jasmine wagged a finger at Tab’s silence. “You’re the one who brought it up. Speak. What happened with you and Drew?”

  “I was an idiot.” Tab sipped her coffee and set it on the table. “I had my assistant work her magic and track Shana down. I brought her to see Drew.” Tab averted from Jasmine’s look of disbelief. “He found out she’d cheated on him during their engagement. She also told him she and her father lied about him causing the accident.” Saying this aloud highlighted the two dumbest choices she’d ever made. Trusting Shana and blindsiding Drew. She’d assumed Shana wanted to apologize for what her father had done. That Drew would forgive Shana, let go of guilt, and be ready to focus on their relationship. Instead, she’d led Shana right to Drew and let her hurt him again. “I didn’t expect her to twist a knife in his chest. I thought they had issues from the accident. I knew he’d be upset, but we’d planned a trip for the weekend. I thought I could convince him to forgive me.”

  “Ahh,” Jasmine nodded. “So you were going for the ‘you can’t fight naked and not be distracted by my boobs’ strategy. That’s a good one.”

  “I should have known it was—”

  “A dumb idea.”

  “I can’t believe I was—”

  “Naive and oblivious to Drew’s feelings.”

  The lingering taste of coffee turned bitter in her mouth. “I don’t need help filling in the gaps.” Crawling back on the couch and hiding under her blanket grew more attractive by the minute. “He walked out and didn’t come back. I’ve tried calling him, but he won’t answer. I went to Bode-Wynn to see him, but security wouldn’t let me in the building. I honestly don’t know how to fix this.”

  Jasmine halved a pastry and dropped a section on Tab’s plate. “We can fly to Florida and kick Shana’s ass.”

  “As good as that sounds, let’s be real. We played each other, but she got the jump on me.”

  “We can trash Drew for doubting your integrity.”

  Tab flopped back in the seat. “That’s not right either. He has a right to be upset.”

  “Well, well, Sherlock. You finally figured it out.”

  �
��Don’t rub it in. I wasn’t trying to hurt him.” Emotion balled in her throat. “I wanted him to have a chance to find what Corey didn’t.”

  “And that’s the big problem.” Jasmine shook her head. “Drew’s not your brother, Tab. He’s your man. You can’t get that twisted around. Think about it. You couldn’t fix what happened with Corey, so you confronted Drew with the most vulnerable time in his life? In what screwed up universe does that make sense?”

  “I was trying to help.” Tab pressed against the ache in her chest.

  “And you went over more shaky bridges than you ever have. You need to ask yourself why, and I don’t think it’s just about Corey.” Her eyes narrowed in thought as she sucked icing off her fingers. “You know what. I’m ready to name your birthday dare.”

  “Now?” Tab sputtered. “But that’s not fair.”

  “Fair.” Jasmine released a sharp laugh. “Let’s talk road trip, three years ago. I wanted to keep driving to civilization, but you thought it would be fun to stay at a motel in the middle of nowhere.”

  Tab shuddered. Creaky floors, weird noises in the middle of the night. The guy from housekeeping who practically screamed “I make human-skin suits in my basement.” She waved her hands in surrender. “Stop. Let’s get this over with. What’s the dare?”

  She saw it in her eyes. She’d wanted Drew to close the door on the past. It was time she did the same. Tears stung as she waited for her to say what scared her shitless and gave her hope. Jasmine’s eyes grew bright. “It’s for your own good, sweetie.” She squeezed Tab’s arm and gave her an encouraging smile. “I dare you to make things right with Drew by your birthday.”

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Early morning sun warmed Tab’s skin as she stood on a hill overlooking the pasture. Regardless of what happened or how bad, coming home to the one-hundred acres of Drakewood Ranch always brought peace. Today, it didn’t come easily. She’d called, left messages, sent texts. Drew still refused to respond, and no one would tell her where he was. He’d shut her out of his life.