by Vivian Ward
After Miss Legs finishes her safety demonstration and spiel about what to do in the event of an emergency, the pilot gives us a brief announcement before the plane lifts into the sky. My stomach is still churning at the thought of facing everyone and everything when I return home.
Trent Richardson. The good brother.
What I mean by the ‘good brother’ is that he’s on the up and up. He’s legit, owns and runs an extremely lucrative investment property business and treats women like they’re God’s greatest gift. He’s romantic, thoughtful, charismatic and charming. If it weren’t for his brother, Zack, I would’ve gone out with him years ago when he first started chasing me.
But danger has a funny way of betraying a woman.
There’s something alluring, wicked and downright sexy about a bad boy. Zack’s always lived on the edge and flirted with danger—and me. At first, I thought maybe it was just sibling rivalry. You know, he wasn’t interested until his brother laid eyes on me? But with the way the two of them have fought about me, I realized long ago that it was much deeper than a simple case of jealousy.
“Ma’am, would you like a complimentary refreshment during your flight?” Miss Legs asks as she walks past my aisle.
She has the coolest New York accent and the sweetest smile. Damn it. I can’t even hate her for being tall and having a perfect body if I wanted to.
“No, thank you,” I offer a weak smile. “Actually,” I catch her attention as she turns away. “Could I have a Sprite or something to settle my stomach?”
You got it,” she smiles.
Zack is what you’d call sex on legs. He’s cool, calm and collected, even when he’s in a tough situation—and he loves to get himself into trouble. If I had to bet, I’d say that Trouble is his middle name. I can’t even count how many times his brother saved his ass while we were growing up.
“Here you go, ma’am,” the stewardess hands me a lime carbonated soda. “If you feel the need to be sick, the restroom is right there,” she says, pointing in the direction.
“Thank you.”
The problem I always had was choosing between the two of them. As a young girl, you can be easily influenced and persuaded, especially when you have two attractive men who are both well off and have always treated you like a queen.
How do you choose between a prim and proper business man or a rough, rugged, bad boy? I could never make that kind of decision, which was a big part of why I left in the first place. I know my dad wanted me to stay home with him, but I had to get away.
I needed to think for myself and figure out what I wanted in life. With the constant battling between the two of them and my dad weighing in on every decision I made, I couldn’t take it. I thought I was going to snap.
When things got too complicated at home, I started applying for jobs online. Not long after, the casino offered me a job, and that’s when I packed my bags and was on the first plane that would take me to Vegas.
Glancing at my watch, I see that we were scheduled to land at the Spirit of St. Louis Airport in less than an hour. After chugging down my lime soda, I motion for the flight attendant.
“I’m sorry to bother you, but can I get a drink?”
“Another lime soda?” she asks sympathetically.
“No, a real drink. A drink-drink. How about a Sprite with vodka and a cup of ice?”
She checks her watch and tilts her head from side to side. “I’ll go get it for you, but we’ll be landing in about 45 minutes, so you’ll need to drink it quickly.”
“As bad as my nerves are, I don’t think that’ll be a problem,” I tell her.
I pour myself a drink over the cup of ice and gulp it down until every last drop of liquor is gone. Before I know it, Trent will be picking me up from the airport and taking me to the condo where I used to live with my dad. I don’t know what to expect once my plane lands, but I am going to make sure I am prepared.
When I called my dad and asked him to pick me up before I left, he said that he wouldn’t be able to because he had a doctor’s appointment with his specialist that he couldn’t miss. I offered to wait at the airport until he was finished, but he insisted that he would send Trent to pick me up.
Trent owns the condo my dad lives in, along with many, many others, so they speak regularly. Anytime I call him, my dad always brags about how well Trent takes care of him and how much they sit and visit with each other.
Stepping off the plane, the air feels supercharged as goose pimples break out all over my body, causing my hair to stand on end as though I am near a giant electric static ball—like the one at the Magic House that I used to visit as a child. Chills run down my spine even though it is spring and St. Louis is a warm 83 degrees.
“Wow! You look even better than I remember you,” I hear Trent’s familiar voice as I walk past security.
Turning to face him, I can’t help but smile. The corners of my lips instinctively turn upward when I lay my eyes upon his handsome face.
“Hi, Trent.”
Sweet Jesus!
Age has definitely agreed with him. His facial features are more defined, and his emerald eyes sparkle more now than I have ever remembered. And he appears…buffer, beefier, and sexier.
Someone’s been working out.
Zack has always been sex on legs, but Trent? He is giving Zack a good run for his money! As he walks closer to me and hugs me, a whiff of his rich cologne fills my senses.
His scent is the perfect mixture of sexiness. It might as well be sex in a bottle. Be still my heart.
“It’s so good to see you! Are you hungry? You must be starving. Let me take you out to lunch,” he flashes his pearly whites at me.
“Oh, no. I couldn’t. Besides, I want to get home before dad does and surprise him.”
He reaches out and grabs my hand, and his touch sends tingles through my sweaty palms. The sweaty palms that I was trying to hide.
It almost feels like my hand is being electrocuted.
“Your dad gave me very specific orders. If I recall, he said—and I quote— ‘Pick up my Joline, and take care of her. If she has even one complaint, I’ll call your mother.’ So, I’d like to make sure that you’re fed, happy, and comfortable.” He leans over and picks up my luggage. “Come on, I’ll even let you choose the restaurant.”
Chapter 2
Since I can’t make up my mind and choose a restaurant, he drives us to what used to be my favorite restaurant when we were in high school. I have no clue how he remembers that I enjoyed going there, but it’s one of the little quirks that I love about him. He has the ability to retain information that he deems important and will pull out that knowledge out of the bag almost on cue.
“Are you going to order your usual?” he teases.
“And what would that be?” I test his memory.
He remembered the restaurant where he, his brother and I would come almost every Friday night after school, but will he remember what I used to order? I don’t put it past him because knowing Trent, he’ll remember.
His lips pucker as he puts his finger on them as though he’s in deep thought, “Hmm. I’m going to say that chicken strips with onion straws and a chocolate milkshake are what you used to order. Am I right?”
Still cocky and confident as ever, a clever grin pulls at the corners of his mouth as he pleases himself with his answer.
Damn. He is good!
“Uh, we’re grown-ups now,” I laugh. “It’ll be a chicken sandwich with veggies on it with a side of coleslaw and sweet tea.”
“Is that right?” he folds his arms.
“I’m kidding. I’m totally ordering those chicken strips with onion straws.”
The two of us bust up laughing. It feels good to sit and laugh with Trent, and god does he give me butterflies! As the two of us eat lunch, I can’t get over how mature he looks and his charismatic personality could sweep any girl off her feet. I look at his finger to see if there is a ring on it. Certainly, he’d be taken by now.
“Nope. Still single,” he catches me looking at his finger.
Heat begins radiating my cheeks before it spreads to my lady parts. I can’t believe he caught me looking and then commented on it! On a scale of 1 to 10, I am embarrassed about a twelve.
“I just…,” I shake my head and a nervous laugh escapes my throat. “Never mind.” His eyes look at me deeply as though he is trying to read my mind. “It’s just that I can’t believe you’re still single.”
He sets his fork down and folds his hands under his chin as he looks out the busy restaurant window.
“That’s because you left. I swear you’re as close to perfect as a man can get.”
Whoah! Is it getting hot in here?
The heat that I felt a second ago? It just got turned up about fifteen degrees. I want to reach into my glass of ice water and fish out a few cubes to rub on myself, but I don’t want him to think that I am doing it to seduce him. A light aching sensation starts pulling between my legs as I focus and zone in on his partially unbuttoned dress shirt.
Wonder if that hard, sexy chest matches his abs?
“I, uh,” I glance out the window to watch traffic with him. “We better get going.”
“But you’ve hardly touched your food,” he counters.
“I’ll take it home and eat it later.”
During the drive home, we reminisce about old times. Fun times. It feels relaxing and wonderful to sit and talk with him, and just hang out. Like really hang out. I almost feel like I am 19 again, a couple of years before I moved away.
“Remember that one time when you wanted to get back at the head cheerleader, so Zack and I drove you to her house, and we did a stakeout? We waited until her boyfriend snuck into her room and we just knew they were having sex and that’s when you called her parents and they caught her in bed with her boyfriend red-handed?” he laughs.
“Oh my God! I’d completely forgotten about that! Yeah, that was fun,” I laugh as I replay that night in my head. “I’m probably going to go to hell for as bad as she got her ass beat by her mom. I’ll never forget those smacks that we heard coming from her bedroom window after I made that call.”
And I won’t. It was awful. Thwack! Thwack! Thwack! They all rained down in hard, quick cessation. I felt bad almost as soon as it happened. But her naked boyfriend running out of the house with his blue jeans covering his little pecker was priceless. For being the quarterback, you’d think he would have run faster, but I guess he was probably too scared.
“Do you want me to help you carry your bags in?” he asks as we pull up to my dad’s driveway.
“No, thank you. I can get it and thanks for picking me up.” I grab my luggage out of the backseat. “This is only a very small part of my wardrobe. I have the rest of it being sent, and it should be here in a few days.”
“Okay,” he gets out of the car and walks me to the front door.
“Thanks again,” I say.
“Lunch was great. Maybe we can do that again sometime?”
His question isn’t a casual question. It’s direct, and he’s waiting for an answer.
“Are you asking me out?”
“Maybe,” he glances around the neighborhood and then locks eyes with me. “Actually, yes. I am. I’m asking you out. How about if we have dinner tomorrow? I’m entertaining a potential new client and would love to have you dangling off my arm as eye candy.”
“Seriously?” I crinkle my nose and laugh. “Okay, I’ll go.” He opens his mouth to say something, but I cut him off before he utters a single word. “But only as friends.”
“If that’s what you want to call it,” he winks. “I’ll pick you up around seven?”
“Sounds good.”
He leans down, invading any personal space that is remaining between the two of us. He’s so close that I am consumed with the smell of his mint gum. Tenderly, sweetly, he kisses my cheek and for a minute, my skin tingles. I’m not sure if it’s the mint that’s making my skin tingle or his kiss, but I imagine that it’s probably the latter.
“Have a great day, beautiful,” he says goodbye as I pop open the front door.
“Thanks, you too,” I turn and go inside before my I trip over my own two feet.
How does that man still have such an effect on me as a grown woman who hasn’t been around in so long?
When I walk into my old bedroom, everything is still the same—well, except about three inches of accumulated dust. Dad hasn’t touched a thing since the last time I came home and visited a couple of years ago. I flop onto the bed, tired from traveling, and think about my luncheon with Trent.
In the past, I would never consider dating him, but he looks so good. Too damned good. Butterflies begin stirring deep in my belly as I think about what he looks like now that we’re all grown up and all the things he said. He’s still the same old, familiar, yet incredibly sexier man than I saw the last time we bumped into each other.
Trent’s a self-made millionaire and has spent several hours in the gym; that’s for sure because it definitely shows. I didn’t notice it until we were standing on the front porch, but when the sunlight hit him, I could see more definition in his body than I had noticed when he first picked me up from the airport. I wanted to rake my fingers across his taut torso, but I stopped myself before I did anything foolish.
I don’t know. I could see myself dating him. Yep, totally.
I imagine we date for a couple of years, and he proposes. Maybe someplace downtown. It has to be one of the most romantic places in all of St. Louis because of the Arch, the riverfront and all of the beautiful things it has to offer.
Our wedding would be pure bliss. We could have one of the biggest, most upscale weddings in the history of St. Louis and invite everyone we know. I’m sure our wedding announcement would be printed in the Post-Dispatch newspaper. We could have our honeymoon all across Europe, traveling to various areas, enjoying everything from backpacking to dining at the finest restaurants and making love in the fanciest hotels.
Shit! The wedding!
I picked up my phone and dial Karli, my best friend who is actually getting married.
“Hello?” she answers.
“Hey, girl! I’m in the Lou!”
“You’re home already? I figured it’d take you a lot longer to get back. How was your flight?”
“Good. When do you want me to try on my bridesmaid dress?”
“Any time you’d like. If you want, you can even come have dinner with us tonight and stay for a while.”
“Oh, I can’t do that. I’m waiting for my dad to come home from his doctor appointment. I haven’t even seen him yet, and I’ve been back for almost three hours. I can come over tomorrow before I go out to dinner with Trent.”
Shit! I hadn’t meant to let the cat out of the bag.
It’s not even a real date. Is it?
“What? Wait a minute! You’re going on a dinner date with Trent? Trent Richardson?”
“No! I mean, yes. No, I mean, I’m not going on a date with him, but a dinner meeting. With one of his new clients. A potential client, anyway.”
“Uh-huh! Girl, you better spill it!”
“It’s not that big of a deal.”
I don’t know if I am trying to convince her or myself but either way, I can feel those butterflies fluttering around as their wings sprout and take off in my stomach. For a moment, I am glad that I am alone. No one can see the rosy glow my cheeks are filled with as they heat up while I picture Trent from when we were out on our lunch date earlier today.
“Joline? Are you home?” I hear my dad’s voice as the front door clicks shut.
“In here,” I call out to him. “Listen,” I talk into the phone, “my dad’s home. I’ll call you later.”
“Okay, talk to you soon,” she says.
“Okay, and not another word about Trent! Bye.”
The call ends before I can get that last bit out; she already hung up.
“Hey, dad,” I walk down the hall and
greet him with a hug. “Oh, I missed you so much!”
After he finishes squeezing me, he holds me out at arm’s length and looks me over.
“The older you get, the more you look like your mom. You’re so beautiful, and I’ve missed you so much.”
“Awe daddy, thank you. I’ve missed you, too,” I kiss him on the cheek. “How was your appointment? What did the doctor say?”
“You worry like her too,” he chuckles. “I’m fine. The doctor said that I need to up my dosage or my hands will get worse, but don’t worry about me. Let’s hear about you.”
“Oh, daddy! You know how bad your arthritis can get. What did he say about the pain?”
“I didn’t tell him, but that’s enough about me. How was your flight? Did Trent pick you up on time? Did he take good care of my baby?”
“My flight was fine, and yes. He was waiting for me before my plane even landed,” I bite my lip as I picture him sitting across from me at the table in the restaurant. “And then we went out to lunch—he said you insisted.”
“Good,” a warm smile pulls at the corners of his eyes. “Where did the two of you go?”
“Helen’s. Do you know they haven’t changed the menu there since we were kids? It’s crazy that they still serve the best onion straws on the planet.”
As we stand there talking, it dawns on me that I need to get a game plan together. I need to get a new resume written and get myself back on the job market ASAP. Jobs in St. Louis are competitive, and if I want to find anything that pays well, I have to bring my A-game—and do it fast.
“What’s wrong, baby?” he asks, noticing that I am hardly paying attention to him.
“I’m worried. What if I don’t find work right away? Or what if nobody good is hiring?”
“So? That means you get to keep me company a little longer. I’m not getting any younger, you know?”
“That’s not what I meant,” I rest my head on his shoulder. “I’m just worried that I won’t find a job and two things will happen. I’ll run out of money, and I won’t have enough to buy a new car.”