Beach Reads Boxed Set

by Marie Force

  Juliana took the girl into the bathroom to wash her hair in the sink. She gave her the full treatment with a scalp massage and deep conditioning, making use of the products scattered about on the cluttered vanity. “Feel good?” Juliana asked.

  “Mmm. Really good. Where do you work?”

  “At Panache in Baltimore.”

  “I went there once with my aunt. It was awesome. Is it a fun place to work?”

  “It is. I like it.”

  “I love your leggings.”

  “Thank you,” Juliana said, amused by her enthusiasm.

  “How do you know Michael?”

  “You won’t believe it, but we met on an airplane.”

  “So are you guys going out?”

  Juliana smiled at the jealousy she detected from the girl. “No, we’re really just friends.” For the first time in two hours she thought of Jeremy and their mess. If she hadn’t come with Michael she would probably be home alone crying. “I have a boyfriend.”

  “You’ll have to tell me all about him. I can’t wait to have a boyfriend.”

  Hardly anxious to talk about Jeremy at the moment, Juliana rolled a thick towel around Rachelle’s hair and helped her stand up. “Have a seat at my station.” Juliana gestured to the closed toilet.

  “Very classy.”

  “Only the best. Which side do you part it on?”

  Rachelle snorted. “I have no idea. It’s totally out of control.”

  Juliana grabbed a large-toothed comb and a round brush from the chaos on the countertop. “Let’s see what we can do about that.”

  Thirty minutes later Michael came looking for them and stopped short in the doorway to the bathroom. “Where’s Rachelle?”

  Rachelle giggled. “I don’t know what she did. It’s a miracle.”

  The curls had been tamed into flowing waves that softly framed her face and cascaded down past her shoulders.

  “You look beautiful,” Michael said. “Really, really beautiful.”

  Rachelle blushed at the compliment from her favorite guy.

  Juliana applied one last squirt of hair spray. “You’re all done.”

  Rachelle gazed into the mirror for another minute before she gripped Juliana in a spontaneous hug. “Thank you so much. I love it!”

  “My pleasure.”

  “I wish I had a camera. My mom won’t believe this, and I’ll never get it to look this good again in my life.”

  Juliana laughed. “Just do like I showed you with the round brush and the hair dryer. You’ll get the hang of it.”

  “Will you come again?” Rachelle asked. “Michael, will you bring her with you again? We could do our nails or something next time.”

  Juliana glanced at Michael.

  “Sure,” he said.

  “I’d love to.” Juliana gave the girl a quick kiss on the cheek. “It’s getting late. You need to get to bed, and we’ve got to get to Baltimore. I’ll only come again if I hear you’re being good, all right?”

  Rachelle nodded. “I promise.”

  “Behave, brat.” Michael bopped her lightly on the shoulder. “I mean it.”

  “Again you force me to say bite me!”

  “Go to bed,” Michael ordered as he closed the door.

  “How’d you make out?” the police officer in the hall asked.

  “I think we settled her down,” Michael said. “But go easy on her, okay? This is tough on her, and our case is riding on her.”

  “You’ve got it, Michael. Don’t worry.”

  Michael shook his hand. “Thanks.”

  “Are they Baltimore cops or D.C.?” Juliana asked while they waited for the elevator.

  Michael held the door for her and then stepped in behind her. “Baltimore. They’re all on special assignment, but the District cops know they’re here in case they need backup.”

  “She’s adorable.”

  “I know.”

  “She’s got you firmly wrapped around her little finger. You’re aware of that, right?”

  “Yes,” he said with a sigh. “I’m way more involved with her than I should be.”

  “It would be hard to stay detached from her.”

  “Thank you, Juliana. You did such a wonderful thing for her.”

  “I enjoyed it.”

  “Yes, I could see that.” When he walked in on them in the bathroom, Juliana had been totally engrossed in Rachelle. He couldn’t imagine Paige ever being so selfless. “I really appreciate it.”

  “It was fun,” she insisted. “You don’t have to thank me.”

  “I don’t know about you, but I haven’t thought about any of my problems for a few hours.”

  She smiled at him. “Neither have I.”

  Chapter Ten

  They had the usually clogged Baltimore-Washington Parkway all to themselves on the way back to Baltimore. The closer they got to the city, the quieter Juliana became.

  “How’re you doing over there?”

  She shrugged.

  “You should probably tell me where you live.”

  “Butchers Hill. Collington Street.”

  He laughed. “You do not!”

  “Why?

  “I live on Chester.”

  “You’re kidding me! I can’t believe we’ve never seen each other in the neighborhood.”

  “I know. How long have you lived there?”

  “Four years. It used to be Jeremy’s mother’s house, but she got remarried and moved to Texas. He bought the house from her. What about you?”

  “I lucked into an amazing rowhouse about a year ago. I lived in an apartment across the street, and I got to be friends with the guy who owned the rowhouse when he was renovating it. He got transferred unexpectedly and needed to sell it fast, so he gave me a sweet deal on it. He said he wanted it to go to someone who would take good care of it.”

  “What a great story.”

  “It’s way too big for just me, but when I bought it I thought Paige would live there with me eventually. Oh well.”

  “You wouldn’t be interested in…” She stopped herself with a shake of her head.

  “What?”

  “Nothing. Just a ridiculous thought.”

  “Tell me. Come on.”

  “I was going to ask if you might be interested in a roommate, but that’s insane.”

  “Why?”

  “We barely know each other.”

  “I meant why do you want to live somewhere else?”

  “With everything that’s going on now between me and Jeremy, I can’t stand the thought of spending even one night in the house he pays for. If I went to stay with one of my friends, I’d have to explain why I’d left our place.”

  “I’m sure you contribute your share.”

  She looked down at her hands. “Here and there. I pay my mother’s mortgage, so I don’t have a lot of extra money. That’s why I shouldn’t have mentioned being roommates. I can’t afford it.”

  “Why do you pay your mother’s mortgage?”

  “It’s a long story,” she said, hesitating. “Basically it’s either that or she ends up homeless. When my father split, he cleaned out the bank account. We hired an investigator to try to find him, but he’s long gone.”

  “For what it’s worth, I’d love to have you as my roommate,” Michael said, sensing she didn’t want to talk about her deadbeat father. “We already get along better than most of the people I’ve lived with, and I’m hardly ever there anyway. I’ve got a big place, and I only use a fraction of it. You’re welcome to it if it would help you out for a while.”

  “You’re sweet, but it’s a crazy idea. Besides, I really can’t afford it.”

  “I don’t need the money, but I wouldn’t mind the company.”

  She turned to look at him. “You’re serious.”

  “Sure I am,” he said, taking the Inner Harbor exit off Interstate 95.

  “I’d have to pay you something.”

  He shrugged. “Whatever. I don’t care. So is that a yes?” />
  After a long moment of silence, she suddenly said, “Yes. Yes, I’d love that.”

  “What’s wrong now?” he asked when her smile faded.

  “It’s kind of… you know… embarrassing.”

  “What is?”

  “The reason Jeremy and I are taking this break. I’ve decided not to tell anyone about it because then people would know I wasn’t… well… enough for him,” she ended on a whisper.

  Michael reached over to squeeze her hand. “He’s a fool.”

  “Maybe I’m the one who’s been the fool.”

  “I don’t think so. Shall we go home?”

  “Now?”

  “Why not? You’ve got stuff with you, right? Will anyone be trying to get in touch with you tonight?”

  “No, we both have cell phones. We don’t have a phone in the house.”

  “Cool. You can get whatever else you need tomorrow then. And after work we can go get your car.”

  She laughed.

  “What’s so funny?”

  “I just feel better all of a sudden.”

  “Good.”

  “Oh, Michael, this place is amazing!” Juliana ran a hand over the exposed brick wall in the living room. Like most rowhouses, it was tall and deep. The living room fed into the dining room, which led to the kitchen. There were gleaming hardwood floors and a fireplace with a mahogany mantle.

  “Thanks, but I can’t take any of the credit. The guy who owned it before me did all the work. Check this out.” He opened a door where three stairs led to a small bathroom with dark red walls and the tiniest pedestal sink Juliana had ever seen.

  “It’s so cute!” She did a double take. “Is that a phone?”

  Michael chuckled. “He put one in every bathroom. You’ll never miss a call in this house.” He led her to the kitchen where cabinets were suspended from the ceiling over slate countertops.

  “Oh, wow! What a great kitchen.”

  “Isn’t it?” He opened the stainless steel fridge and peered inside. “I have beer, water, and beer.”

  “Um, I’ll have a beer.”

  “Good choice.”

  He opened two of them and handed one to her.

  “Don’t feel like you have to entertain me. I’m sure you want to get to bed.”

  “I’m kind of keyed up, actually. Let’s go upstairs.”

  The stairs were in the living room. On the second floor, he showed her to a guestroom with a bathroom. “The sheets are clean, and there’re towels in the bathroom.”

  She dropped her bag on the bed. “Thanks.”

  The second bedroom was a combination home office and gym.

  “Do you use the Bowflex or does it collect dust like ours does?”

  “I haven’t used it much lately,” he confessed. “Come see my view.”

  She followed him up another flight of stairs to his bedroom on the top floor. The room took up the entire third floor along with an adjoining bathroom. “This is beautiful.”

  “It’s my favorite part of the house.” He walked over to slide open the door to a deck and gestured for her to come out with him.

  “You can see the whole city!”

  “It gets better.” He pointed to wooden stairs and took her up to the roof deck.

  Gazing down at the lights of Fell’s Point and the Inner Harbor, she said, “What a view.”

  “Sometimes I still can’t believe I live here. I grew up in a tiny house crammed with people. I feel like I can breathe here.” He stretched out on one of the lounge chairs and invited her to take the other.

  She kicked off her shoes and sat down. “Having something like this to show for it must make all your hard work in law school and now with your job worth it.”

  “Yes,” he said. “It does.” He took a long drink from his beer. “Do you know what Paige said the first time she saw this place?”

  “What?”

  “That the basement was smelly and the carpet was ugly, but she could make it work if she had to.”

  Juliana snorted. “And you didn’t smack her?”

  “She never would’ve seen it the way you did, how having something like this makes all the hard work worth it.” He picked at the label on his beer bottle. “She’s never had to work for anything in her life, so she doesn’t appreciate anything. Sometimes I felt like I was just another thing she had to have.”

  “Seems like you did the right thing calling it off with her.”

  “I know I did. All day today I tried not to think about what happened last night, but then it would come back to me with this rush of pain. It’s strange. She made me so mad, yet still it hurts so much. Why do you suppose that is?”

  “Because you loved her, and she let you down. You’re probably disappointed more than anything.”

  “Probably.” He finished his beer in one long swallow. “She hit me.”

  “What? She hit you?”

  “After the party when she finally got that I meant it when I said it was over between us.” He brushed a hand over his face. “I can almost still feel it.”

  “Someone needs to smack her,” Juliana said with indignation.

  “We’re quite a pair, huh?”

  She laughed. “We’re a two-person support group for losers in love.”

  He rested his head back against the lounge chair and smiled at her. “I’m glad you’re here.”

  “I am, too.”

  Juliana woke up disoriented the next morning in the strange bedroom with the blue walls and curtains—until the events of the day before came rushing back to her. What am I doing here? I can’t stay with a guy I met on an airplane! I must’ve lost my mind while I was in Florida. She got up to make the bed, straighten the room, and get dressed. Tossing the last of her belongings into her bag, her hand brushed against the ivory silk nightgown she bought just last week with Jeremy in mind. An intense ache streaked through her when she imagined him with the faceless Sherrie. Had he acted yet on his newfound freedom?

  Juliana sat on the bed to catch her breath and fought the urge to call him. Was it too much to want to hear his voice like she had every morning for so long? “You will not call him.” Determined, she stood up, zipped her bag, and went downstairs. In the kitchen she looked for some paper to leave a note for Michael and instead found one from him sitting next to a key on the counter.

  “Good morning! I made coffee for you. All you have to do is press start on the coffeemaker. There’s cereal in the cabinet over the stove, otherwise it’s slim pickings. Here’s a key for the front door. Make yourself at home. Feel free to use the roof deck and anything else you want or need. I should be home by eight, and we can deal with your car then. Call my cell phone if you need anything (the number is on the card I gave you). Have a good day! M”

  Juliana read it again. He was such a nice guy, and it made her mad all over again to imagine his fiancée hitting him. He didn’t deserve that. What he did deserve was a friend. Standing there with his note in her hand, she thought of some things she could do to help him out while he was working crazy hours. Since she couldn’t pay him much rent, she could do the grocery shopping, cooking, and laundry. Maybe this would work out well for both of them. He’d give her a place to hide out for a while, and she would make his life easier during the trial. She put the key in her pocket and hit “start” on the coffeemaker.

  Michael’s day began at seven in a meeting with the jury consultants they’d hired to help them empanel the twelve citizens most likely to convict the Benedettis. They pored over demographic reports, census information, and a PowerPoint presentation that outlined the consultants’ idea of the perfect jury.

  We’ll never get it, Michael thought.

  The defense had an ideal jury of its own, and he could guarantee it looked nothing like the one on the screen. In one week, the battle would begin. If they were lucky, they would get half the ideal citizens the consultants identified.

  With the meeting heading into a fourth hour, Michael excused himself and left it in t
he capable hands of his second chair, George Samuels.

  Michael had just returned to his office when Tom Houlihan knocked on the door. The picture of an up-and-coming politician, Tom had close-cropped blond hair, blue eyes, and a boyish face that made him look much younger than his fifty years. Michael respected the hell out of the guy and didn’t like the expression on Tom’s face as he closed the door.

  “What’s up?” Michael leaned back in his desk chair and gestured for his boss to take a seat.

  “I heard you had quite a weekend.”

  “He didn’t waste any time,” Michael said through gritted teeth.

  “He’s upset. His daughter’s upset. His wife’s upset.”

  Michael hated having this conversation with his boss, of all people.

  Tom put both hands on Michael’s desk. “Here’s the deal, Michael. Your personal life is none of my business, and I told the Admiral the same thing. What is my business is the trial you’re starting one week from today. You’ve just broken up with your fiancée, and I wouldn’t be doing my job if I didn’t ask whether your head’s in the game the way it needs to be right now.”

  Michael didn’t blink when he replied. “It is. The trial is all I’m thinking about. You don’t need to give it another thought.”

  Tom studied him for a long moment before he said, “Good. You know my door’s always open if there’s anything I can do for you in the next few weeks.”

  “Thanks, Tom.”

  “Oh, just one other thing. I saw the report this morning from Rachelle’s detail. You had someone with you last night who wasn’t on the list. What’s up with that?”

  “She’s a friend who was with me when George called me in. Rachelle took a liking to her and wants me to bring her again. I’ll get her on the list.”

  “I don’t have to remind you to be careful.”

  “I’d never do anything to endanger her, Tom.”

  “I know.” Tom hesitated before he added, “Are you all right? You know, the thing with Paige and all…”

  “I’m fine. Thanks for asking.”

  Tom nodded. “Carry on then.”

  As Michael watched him leave, his cell phone vibrated on his desk. He checked the caller ID to find that Paige was calling again and ignored it. She had left six hysterical messages on his voice mail since he left her house on Saturday night, and he had no plans to call her back. He had twenty minutes until a meeting with his ballistics witness, which was just enough time to review the report one more time.