by Natalie Ann
“Oh dear. I’m making a mess of this in my excitement to be here. I really don’t mean anything bad by it.”
“It’s fine,” Ava said. “I understand. But remember one thing, the grass isn’t always greener.”
“Trust me, I know. Many are jealous I moved here, but they don’t understand that it costs more and it’s not like it’s a nonstop vacation. Greg is working nights when he never did before. He’s always been home at night and that will be something new for me. But I guess staying in the hotel, he is still there.”
“And living in a hotel isn’t all it’s cracked up to be when you’ve got to go to work the next day,” she said.
“I know. I thought of that too with the noise. You can’t get away from it especially this time of year. They put us up close to the top floor because they said it’d be quieter and we are on one end, but there is still noise. I’m not complaining because the view is wonderful and I can use all the amenities there too.”
“Then it’s a win win for the Bond family,” she said. “I’ve got one of my favorite nurses here with me and my cousins sound like they’ve got a good man too.”
“See. It’s things like that. You are so down to earth and sweet.”
“I’m just me,” she said but then wondered what others thought of her. Obviously not what she thought of herself and though she should be used to it, so many things in life bothered her more now than they did years ago.
Was it because she had things going wrong in her life, or maybe because things seemed to be going so right and she was fearful of losing them?
31
Goes On And On
“Look at you,” Seth said when Ava opened the door for him a week later. The first weekend in August and Mary was back in town and Adele had been dying for a sleepover with her grandmother. That gave Ava and Seth the night to themselves and she was looking forward to it.
Seth had told her she could plan the night out and she figured why not? She’d been letting him take the lead in everything else for their relationship and this was a little thing.
Dinner at The Bond Retreat since it was so close to her house and would allow them to dress up more than normal. Then a show at the other end of the island at the Casino. When that was done they were coming back to her place because Seth wanted to stay with her here. She wasn’t sure why but figured it wasn’t a big deal.
“Do you like it?” she asked of her summer dress. It wasn’t anything she’d wear to work or a wedding. It was a date night dress. Sleeveless, fitted and colorful. Normally she was more plain and simple in her attire. “Maybe Adele is wearing off on me with the color choice.”
“No,” he said, holding his hand up for her to spin. “It’s just right. Not too bright, but more than what you usually have on. Blue and purple are good colors on you.”
The blue and purple print wasn’t harsh on the eyes, but it was bold and she found she was pretty much in love with it herself. And it gave her an excuse to wear the purple pumps she’d purchased last year on a whim and never found much to match.
“Thank you. And though I’ve seen you in a suit for work, this is a nice look for you too. Fancy but not over the top. You almost look like Eli does on occasion. More like flashy.”
His black pants and light gray shirt, tailored to his large frame. He had a nice thin black belt on, black shoes that looked almost like designer sneakers. The two top buttons undone on his shirt made her want to reach in and release the rest to get her hands on his chest.
Later, she’d promised herself.
“I’m not sure anyone in your family is as flashy as Eli or has his wardrobe.”
“Probably not,” she said. “Why don’t you come in and I’ll get my purse. Dinner reservations are at six so we’ve got a few minutes before we need to leave.”
“Will we have enough time to eat and get to the show by eight?” he asked.
“Of course. Dinner will be fast. We will probably be out of there in an hour or less, the drive to the casino is about forty minutes. That still gives us plenty of time to park and get our seats. No worries.”
She picked her purse up that was in the living room, locked the front door, then went to the back door and set the alarms.
“How is that working out for you?” Seth asked, nodding his head to the panel of buttons.
“Fine. I don’t notice much to be honest. I know there are cameras all over the property, but I’m not sure where they are. Griffin didn’t tell me.”
“Seriously? Are they in the house?”
“No. Drew said he wouldn’t allow it anyway. It’s probably not legal for renters. And though Drew knows where the cameras are, Griffin felt it would be more natural for me not to know myself so that I’m not looking at them or for them. If anyone was watching me, which my guess is no one is, then they wouldn’t see me doing that.”
“Smart I suppose. Though it still bothers me. You say there is nothing going on?”
“Nope. I did check in with Griffin a few times and he said nothing is triggering anything. Who knows? Maybe it was a one-time thing. A tourist just looking around? Nothing is missing in the house. I’ve been here long enough to know.”
“We’ll just have to deal with it then,” Seth said and they walked out to his SUV.
“And we are. I’d rather not talk about this tonight. This is about us. Adele was fine going to your mother’s and knowing you were coming here?”
“I didn’t tell her I was coming here for the night. She knows we are together, but if I said I was coming here, then she might not have gone to my mom’s even though she missed her.”
“I find that sweet and a very good parenting decision on your part.”
He laughed and pulled out of her driveway. Less than five minutes later they were parking at The Retreat. When they walked into the lobby, he said, “This place is just stunning.”
“You haven’t been in it before?”
“I’ve had no reason. I’ve talked to Hunter a few times since I transferred. He does his banking at the branch at this end of the island, but we met one day there. I do spot checks at the other branches but not often. Not unless it’s needed. They’ve got branch managers running the show there.”
“But when it comes to bigger businesses you’re the man,” she said, laughing.
“I guess so.”
They moved past the luxury lobby and toward the back where the restaurant was. “Ava.”
“Hey, Hunter,” she said to her cousin. She looked at him in shorts and a T-shirt. “Not working, I see.”
“No. Not officially, but I’m always unofficially working. I came down to see what the specials were tonight and thought I’d do a quick pass of the place. If I’m dressed like this no one knows who I am and I can hear things more freely.”
“You mean hear what guests are saying?” she asked.
“Yes. Staff know me obviously. Getting some dinner? Good to see you, Seth,” Hunter said, putting his hand out to shake.
“Same here,” Seth said. “I have to say this place is beautiful.”
Hunter was eying the two of them. She was positive her cousin knew she was dating Seth. And her problems with the stolen identity. At this point most of the family knew, as she was fine with it not being that big of a secret. And her and Seth’s relationship had never been one either.
“We are. I thought I’d give Seth a treat with Grace’s cooking tonight. We had Duke’s a few months ago.”
“Grace has some great things on the menu. Enjoy.”
“Grace?” Seth asked when they got to the hostess.
“Mills for two,” she told the hostess. When they were walking to their table, she said, “Grace Stone is a Bond family member. She is Hunter’s first cousin on Charlie Bond’s side.”
“Hunter’s father,” Seth said. “I’ve talked to him a few times.”
“Yes. Charlie has two sisters that are married. Last names Stone and French if you hear them.”
“Guess this family just goes on and on,” he s
aid.
“You don’t know the half of it. My father has a brother that lives in Boston and he’s got two kids too. They have a summer home here. Not everyone ends up on the island.”
“Are you close with them?” Seth asked.
“When I was younger I was closer to Gabriella, but she is younger than me by a few years. Garrett is only a year older than me, but he was closer to Hudson and Carson.”
“And my next question...are they doctors?”
“Of course they are,” she said, laughing. “Well, Gabriella is finishing up and will be practicing soon. She went for pediatrics. Garrett oncology like his father.”
“Touchy field,” Seth said.
“Very. And no more family talk or history lessons. It’s about us tonight and I want to focus on that too.”
“We can do that,” he said.
But thirty minutes later when they were halfway through their meal, Grace came out to say hi. She knew darn well Hunter went and told her. Her family was going to be nosy and she should get used to this living on the island now. Though there were relatives in Plymouth, it wasn’t as bad as the small island.
“She is tiny,” Seth said when Grace left.
“She is. She’s a pistol like Hailey. We joke that she is as strong as her last name.”
“Well, her food is fabulous. I get the feeling she was here feeling me out,” he said, winking at her.
“That is family for you. Maybe I shouldn’t have designed our date night around places where the chances of running into them were greater.”
He reached his hand over and laid it on hers. “It’s all good,” he said. “Aside from my mother and brother, my family has never been close. We aren’t close with my father’s family either and even less when he moved out West to start his new life.”
“You don’t talk to him at all?” she asked.
“No. A few times a year doesn’t count in my eyes. He sends gifts for birthdays and holidays and I do the same. Not much more.”
And she knew he didn’t have much of a relationship with Ellen’s family either. “I want to say I’m sorry for that, but considering how meddling my family can be, maybe it’s not a bad thing to have some distance.”
“Depends the situation, I’m sure. I’m fine with it and have been for years.”
They finished up their dinner, not talking about family anymore and then drove across the island to the casino. There was a comedy show tonight and she felt like she needed the laughs in her life.
Especially when she was walking in and there was Eli. And he was dressed almost exactly like Seth. “We are twinning I see,” Eli said with a big grin on his face, shaking hands with Seth.
“So it seems,” Seth said.
She noticed Griffin standing not too far away across the room and lifted her hand to wave at him. He nodded back and moved forward with a smile on his face. Normally he didn’t smile much, but she was starting to learn he did it around Eli’s family now.
“Catching the show?” Eli asked.
“We are,” she said. “Checking out the security?”
“We’ve got men here, but Griffin is making sure it’s all running smoothly. I’m doing some rounds to say hi to those coming in for it, then I’ll be back in the casino.”
“He’s got to put his nose in everything,” Griffin said.
“Seems like that is part of his job that he does so well,” she said. “And we should go get our seats. Have a good night, boys.”
They moved into the large theater area and found their table toward the middle. “Sorry it’s not better seats. I would have preferred the second floor looking over, but it was last minute and we got a table in the middle.”
“This is fine,” he said. “Being too close they tend to pick on you and I’d rather stay low profile,” he said.
“Me too. And if they do pick on us then I’m going to think Eli put a bug in the guy’s ear and he will feel my wrath for that. It’s bad enough he came over to say hi.”
Seth laughed. “I think it was innocent enough and you are making more out of it than it is.”
“You’re probably right,” she said. “I just wanted this night to be about us and it seems family is everywhere. But in ninety minutes we will be on our way back to my place and have the whole night to run around naked if we choose. We can even scream out each other’s name and no one will hear us.”
“Now that is what I’m talking about.”
32
Nothing For Granted
“That was funnier than I thought it’d be,” Seth said.
“It did start out slow. And he was calling out people in the audience, but thankfully not us. Nor am I one to raise my hand if asked a question.”
“I’ve never been to a comedy show before. It’s nice to have those things here on the island.” They got into his SUV. He was looking forward to what was coming for the rest of this night.
“Eli does a great job with the casino. He employs a lot of people too, but many don’t live on the island. Since they work nights, they are coming over before their shift and then getting out in the morning to get the ferry back.”
“It’s probably a good thing many don’t live here because of the housing shortage,” he said. He’d seen himself how the island was booming over the past few years and he expected it to continue with more tourism businesses going up.
“Exactly. Remember those old coworkers of mine we ran into weeks ago?”
“The nurses?”
“Yes. Well, three of them were nurses. Anyway, one of them transferred here last week. I was so happy to see her. She’d told me she was interested and her husband had lost his job months ago and got hired at Atlantic Rise as a night manager. Their biggest problem was housing though.”
“I’m sure. But they found a place?”
“One of the new apartment complexes that will be completed early Oct. Until then they are staying at the hotel. I guess I was really lucky to have an in to get this place.”
“You would have never not had a place to stay,” he said. He was wondering if he would have offered his place for her at one point and was glad it never came to that. They hadn’t even slept together yet, but there was this draw to her he had and couldn’t explain it. He was getting to the point he didn’t want to find an explanation.
“I know,” she said, her hand patting his thigh. “Again, I’m very lucky and thankful at the same time. I don’t take anything for granted. I never did before and sure the heck won’t now though there were times I wanted to be on my own and not linked to my lineage so much.”
“Same here. I take nothing for granted.”
If anyone knew loss, it was him. When he thought his world was coming to an end he forced himself to keep moving. He had a little girl relying on him.
But the last thing he thought he’d find was love again. And here he was realizing that he was one lucky man to have it hit him twice in a lifetime when so many feared they’d never find it once.
Was it this island? Was it that simple? He didn’t think it was luck. He didn’t believe in that. But he believed in love because he was looking at the woman who stole his heart now as he pulled into her driveway and just hoped he was man enough to balance the love he felt for Adele and Ava.
“So, are we ready to get to the real fun of the night?” she asked when she got out of his SUV.
“You know I am.”
“Good. Because I’ve got a surprise for you under my dress.”
Oh yeah.
“What’s that?”
“It wouldn’t be a surprise if I told you,” she said. “But you can try to guess and if you are right, I’ll tell you.”
He put his palms together and rubbed them. “Hmm, there’s nothing under your dress?” he guessed.
“I’m not that bold,” she said. “Not to go out in public as much as we were today. Sorry about that. But maybe we can do that another time when we aren’t moving around so much.”
“The fact you are willing ju
st set me off,” he said.
“Oh, let me check. I’m a doctor and all,” she said, her hand cupping him. “Nice and happy to see me.”
“Always,” he said, shutting the backdoor with his foot and crushing his mouth to hers, pinning her to the wall, his hands going into her hair.
“I love when you get this way,” she said, her hands moving just as fast, pulling his shirt out of his pants and then attacking his belt and button.
“Greedy?” he asked. “Aggressive?”
“Yes to both.”
“We don’t get a lot of freedom. I guess this goes back to what you told Adele one day. If you have something every day nonstop it’s not special anymore. But if you spread it out, you just want more of it.”
“I could have this every day and still want more,” she said.
He felt the same way. “Damn, slow down,” he said when her hand went into his pants and gripped his cock.
“No. You speed up. We’ve got all night to do what we want. Even chase each other around the house naked.”
“That’s the second time you’ve said that. I think you want it.”
He spun her around and found the zipper on the back of her dress, lowered it and caught a glimpse of white lace on her back. When the zipper stopped, he pushed her dress off her shoulders and let it fall to the floor. All he saw now was the tiny remains of a white G-string.
“Do you like?” she asked turning around and kicking her dress free. The same lace pattern matched her barely there bra and the tiny triangle covering her lady parts. The only other thing remaining on her body were the purple opened toed heeled sandals she had on that showed her pink pedicure.
“That is a silly question from a smart woman,” he said.
“Catch up then,” she said, reaching for his shirt and undoing the buttons and then pushing it off his shoulders. “I’m not sure what you do to keep in such good shape, but it works for you.”
“There are some weights and a treadmill in one of the spare rooms upstairs,” he said. “I try to use them a few times a week.”