Chapter 14
It was Wednesday. Yay. My favorite day of the week and my only day off work. I didn’t have huge plans for today.In fact,I had no plans at all. But that was fine with me. I wasactuallylooking forward to a day of lazing around my apartment.
Even though it was still dark outside, I grabbed my cup of green tea and strolledfrom receptionout the sliding glass doors.I was surprised to see it was raining.
I eased onto the seat and inhaled the freshness in the air. It was like cleansing my soul, which, considering mycrazy, unconventional life, was a miracle.
Other than the downpour, there wasvery littlemovement outside. I sipped my tea and watched the sun gradually illuminate the horizon. Spears of light shot up from the waterline to pierce the black clouds, offering some hope for a sunny day.
I’d nearly finished my tea, and the sun still struggled against the black clouds when a taxi pulled into the drop-off zone. Both the driver and another man climbed out and met at the trunk. Assuming they were removing the passenger’s luggage, I returned to my desk and grabbed the check-in cards.
The doors slid open, and a man walked in wearing jeans and a knitted sweater that opened at the collar to show hints of a checkered flannel shirt beneath. He dragged a small suitcase across the marble tiles toward me with his eyes lowered as ifhe wereassessing each step. The poor guy looked as if he’d come from a funeral or something just as depressing.
“Good morning, welcome to the Hot Horizon Hotel.”
“Thank you. I’m Cameron Jax, checking in.”
I shuffled through the cards, looking for his name. “Sorry about the weather.”
He huffed. “Yeah, I hope it’s not like this tomorrow.” His dark eyes intensified, becoming almost black.
“Oh? What’s on tomorrow?”
“A sunrise beach wedding.”
His depressing tone made me think this was some form of torture,rather than the joy I’d expectfora wedding. “Oh.”I winced.“That would be bad.”
“Bad? Pfft. That’s an understatement. The bride will seriously lose her marbles, and she’s already nutty enough.”
“Is she a friend?”
“Client.” He rolled his eyes and ran his hand over his rough stubble.
“A client?” I tilted my head.
“I’m a wedding planner.”
“Oh, I’ve never met a wedding planner. How exciting!”
“Yeah.” His answerwas loadedwith sarcasm. “As long as bridezilla doesn’t come out to play.”
“I’m sure it won’t be that bad.” I slid his paperwork across the counter. “Can you please check the details and sign here?”
“You’d be surprised.Iget to seeone of the worst human emotions pretty muchon a weekly basis.”
I frowned as I stewed over which emotion that could be.
Our eyes met. “Jealousy,”hesaid, deadpan. “It can make a woman very ugly.”
“Oh dear.”
“Yep. It’s my job to make the wedding the most incredible day in a bride’s life, but ifshe’s loadedwith jealousy, no amount of makeup or rose petals will fix it.”
I frowned. “Hmmm, I can see how that would be a problem.”
He frowned with me, and despite the concerned look marring his features, Cameron was handsome, in a guy-next-door-who-you-always-dreamed-of-hooking-up-with kind of way. The knitted sweater helped. I just wanted to jump into his arms and twirl around like they did in those romantic-comedy movies. I shoved the lovely thought aside and forced my brain back into work mode. “Here’s your access card. You’re in room seven.”
He reached for the card, and I noticed he wasn’t wearing a wedding band. Maybe he didn’t believe in marriage anymore.
“I hope you have perfect weather tomorrow.”
His shoulders sagged even further. “Me too. I was the one who convinced the bride to have a beach wedding.”
“Oh.” I had no idea what to say.
His lips tugged into a thin line and he sighed, grabbed the handle on his suitcase, and headed toward the elevators. I felt for him.Tohave so much pressure based on something that was completely out of his controlwas awful.
The phone rang, and I picked up the handset. “Welcome to the Hot Horizon Hotel, this is Jane, how can I help you?”
“Hey, baby-cakes. How’d you like to go on a date with me on Saturday the 24th of August?”
Henry? It sounded like Henry, but what if I’m wrong?I clutched the counter as the names of all the men I’d been with this year whizzed around my head.
“Jane, are you there? It’s Henry.”
“Henry! Oh jeez, you had me worried there for a minute.”
“Really? Who else would it be?”
Oh God, don’t make me answer that. “Ummm . . .”
He chuckled. “You don’t have to tell me. But you do have to answer my first question. So, what do you think? Fancy a hot date with a senile old bugger in two weeks?”
Relief came as an ice bath that flooded through me as I sat down. “I told you, you’re not old, and yes, I’d love to go out with you.”
“Perfect. I’ll pick you up at eight-thirty on Saturday the twenty-fourth.”
I smiled as I remembered our last date, and thenIcaught myself. Was that a date? He’d just asked me on another hot date, too. Did he think we were dating? The question confused me.
“Jane? Jane, are you there?”
He dragged me back from mental despair. “Sorry, what did you say?”
“I said, wear something comfortable.”
“Oh, okay.”
“Perfect. See you then.”
He hung up the phone, and as I mulled over Henry asking me on a date, Needledick entered through the sliding glass doors. I’d been so distracted with Henry that I hadn’t even noticed my boss was late.I finished the paperwork for Cameron, the wedding planner, as Needledick approached the counter.
“Crappy weather out there.” He ran his hands through his wet hair.
“Yeah, do you know ifit’s going tolet up?” I reached for my bag under the counter in a manner that ensured he couldn’t check out my ass.
“Apparently,although it doesn’t look like itat the moment.” He tossed his keys into the top drawer.
We did our usual handover, and after I said goodbye, I headed for my room.
I opened the door to my balconyso I couldlet in the lovely sound of the rain. For breakfast, I made eggs on toast and a strong coffee and stared out to the gloomy sea as I sat at mysmalldining table to eat. Beneath the clouds, the ocean looked like molten steel. Whitecaps punctuated the grey, showing just how choppy it was out there.
I shuddered at the thought of being on the water today. I didn’t like it at the best of times, but on a day like today, it would scare the crap out of me. The idea of curling up in bed and reading a book or watching a movie was much more appealing.
With sleep beckoning, I finished my breakfast, and asI was washing up the dishes, my phone rang.I quickly dried my hands and tugged my phone from the side pocket of my bag.
One glance at the number on the screen made my stomach sink. I forced a smile into my voice and jabbed the green button. “Hi, Mom.”
“Hi, Jane, how are you?”
“I’m good. How about you and Dad?”
“We’re both good, too.”
And, as usual, that’s where the conversation ended.
Mom cleared her throat. “We’ve decided to have a party for your father’s sixtieth birthday.”
“Oh.” Oh crap, here we go.
“Your father and I would love you to be there.”
“Oh, Mom, it’sreally hard. You know I work weekends.”
“That’s the reason why we’re giving you plenty of notice. It’s on the 22nd of October. That gives you two and a half months to arrange the time off.”
Acid bubbled in my stomach at the thought of going back there. “I’ll see what I can do.”
“Jane, if you love your father, you’ll come home for his birthday. He misses you.”
“Of course I love him, Mom, butit’s not easy to arrange time off.”
“When was your last vacation?” she snapped the question down the phone.
“Oh . . . ummm, I don’t know.”
“Have you had a vacation since you took that job?”
“No.”
“Exactly.Theyowe you time off. I don’t wantto haveto explain to your father that his only daughter can’t even make an effort on his special birthday.”
The acid in my stomach stirred, and I sighed. “All right, I’ll talk to my boss.”
“Good.”
“Okay, Mom, I’ve just finished my shift, so I’m going to sleep?—”
“There’s . . . one other thing.” The hesitation in her voice made dread inch up my spine.
I moved to my bed and sat on the edge. “What?”
“Alexander will be there.”
“There . . . there where?” I was pretty sure she didn’t mean just in Mildura, but there was no way she’d invite my cheating bastard ex-fiancé to my father’s birthday. Would she?
The silence on the phone was like a funeral parlor. “You’ve got to be kidding me. You invited that bastard to Dad’s birthday?”
“Xander and your father are friends.”
“Friends? What the hell?”
“They go fishing together.He’schanged, Jane; you should give him a chance. He’s been through such a terrible time.”
“He’s been through a terrible time? What the hell . . . he cheated on me.”
“Yes, and he’s really sorry for that.”
“Sorry! How can you even talk to him, let alone be friends?”
“Jane, listen to me. You and Xander?—”
“His name is Alexander.”
“Anyway, you two were together for three years. We got to knowhim. We liked him and, well, after you broke up, we continued to have him over to dinner and . . . now Xander and your father go fishing quite a bit.”
“Arggghhh,” I screamed. “I can’t believe this. How long has this been going on?”
She cleared her throat. “It never actually stopped.”
“Let me get this straight. Alexander had sex with dozens of women while we were engaged to be married, and after I broke up with him and left town, you continued to be friends.”
“Yes, and now, after what Chelsea-Lea did, he’s just so broken.”
“You’re unbelievable.” I wanted to launch down the phone and claw her tongue out. Instead, I clenched my jaw until my teeth hurt.
“Jane, please don’t. Your dad wants to see you. Don’t ruin his birthday.”
The acid in my stomach was a full-blown volcano as I seethed over how to respond.
“We love you, and we miss you.” Her statements seemed so hollow.
I was too stunned to say anything.
“Okay, you must be exhausted. Have a good sleep. I’ll ring you again next week.”
I groaned.
“Love you.”
After a pause, the phone went silent, and I flopped back onto the bed and rubbed my temples, trying to suppress the thump that hammered across my brain.
As the stupid conversation rolled around my head, Isent a text toLolly.
Hey, r u busy?
Nope.
Lolita responded immediately.
Good. I need some dojo time. Rukeen?
Hell yeah. U okay?
No. I just got off the phone with Mom.
Shit. Okay, I’ll pickuup in 20 mins.
She signed off with a smiley face that sported a huge cheesy grin.
I brushed my teeth, dressed in my gym gear, grabbed my Karate Gi andmy bag, and made my waydownstairs.Needledick waved at me as I crossed the lobby, and I reluctantly waved back.
His eyebrows drilled into a straight line. “Are you going for a run? It’s raining.”
“No, going to karate.”
“Oh, I didn’t know you did karate.”
My heart nearly stopped as I realized my mistake. My mind flashed to my karate chop that knocked Needledick to the floor in the elevator last week. Before I’d incapacitated him, I’d told him I was going to karate chop him in the throat.
Damn, why did I open my big mouth? “Oh, well, I’ve just started.” Lies upon lies upon lies. My once simple life had become very complicated.
When he squinted at me, I had a terrible feeling he’d seen right through my deception.
“Bye.” I picked up my pace, and as I raced across the lobby, my sneakers squeaked on the marble tiles.
I stepped through the sliding glass doors, and the tumbling rain perfectly matched my tumbling emotions. With a squeal of tires, Lolly skidded her Grand Cherokee to a stop. She was my knight in shining armor, and I had no idea what I’d do without her.
I climbed in, and she leaned over to hug me. “What did the bitch do this time?”
It was just like her to get right to the point.
Unclenching my jaw and forcing back the emotion that made it nearly impossible to speak, I told her everything.
“Jeez, what’s wrong with them?”
I shook my head. “I have no idea. They don’t seem to realize how much this hurts me.”
She squeezed my knee. “Well, I do. Let’sgokick and punch some of that anger out. Then we’ll make a plan.” We eased out of the drop-off zone, and the rain sounded much heavier as itpummeledthe roof of her car.
We arrived at Kamoto’s Karate dojo twenty minutes later and dashed through the rain to the front door. In the reception area, as I slipped into my Gi, Master Kamoto admonished us for not coming every week.
We waited out his speech in silence. It was a ritual we went through every once in a while, and after a brief discussion, he once again seemed to give up on converting us, turned his back, and walked away.
Lolly and I weren’t perturbed; we did karate purely for self-defense, not to win any competitions. I was happy with my green belt status, and I was sure Lolita washappywith her purple belt, two levels above me.
Odors of pine and disinfectant invaded my nostrils as we entered the large room surrounded by floor-to-ceiling mirrors. About twenty or so men were already in there, and Lolita and I found our own space at the back of the room, dropped our bags, and started with a warm-up.
After a series of stretches, Lolita led the routine, and we launched into a punishing workout of punches, kicks, strikes, blocks, and stances.
Lolly paused after she’d just kicked the crap out of a body bag I was holding, and when her eyes bulged, I braced for the announcement I knew was coming. “Okay, I have a plan.” Damn, she was loud.
Everyone in the room turned to us.
“What?” I whispered as I chuckled at her outburst.
“Come on.” She plucked our bags from the corner, then grabbed my arm, and I apologized to nearly everyone as she dragged me through the crowd and led me outside. The rain was easing, and a flock of rainbow lorikeets struck up a chorus as Lolita indicated that I should sit on the bench seat at the front of the dojo.
She stood, rubbing her hands together. “Alexander is a cocky asshole, right?”
“Understatement, but yes.”
“He probably thinks he’s done nothing wrong.”
“Well, obviously, my parents think that.”
“True. Here’s what you’re going to do. You’re going to go to your father’s birthday.”
I rolled my head back. “Oh, Lolly, I don’t know if?—”
“Shhh, hear me out.”
I cocked my head at her bossiness.
“You are going to that party, and you’re going to look so fucking hot they’ll hardly recognize you. That bastard is going to regret ever cheating on you.”
“I don’t think he knows what regret is.”
“He will when he sees the sexy, confident woman you are now.”
It had been more than three and a half years sinceI’dleft Mildura, and Lolly was right; I had changed. Forthe better, too. But could I confront Alexander? Just the thought of seeing him againhadan inferno of angerflooding through me.
She jiggled from foot to foot. “Oh my god, this is so exciting. We need to go shopping and buy you the sexiest fucking dress ever. His eyes will pop right out of his head.”
I couldn’t help but grin at her enthusiasm.
“Oooh, and you know what?If you get close enough to that bastard, you can knee him in the balls, too.You’re getting good at that.”
We both roared with laughter, and as I pictured doingexactlythat, her phone pinged, and she tugged it from her bag. “Shit, Cal says Savannah’s been throwing up. Sorry, babe, I’ll have to take you home.”
“Of course. I’m sorry.” We started toward her car.
“Don’t be sorry. You know you can call me anytime.”
“Thanks, Lolly. I don’t know what I’d do without you.”
“Pfft. Stop it—this’s what girlfriends do.”
As I buckled up, I thought about the friends I’d had before I moved here and met Lolita. Chelsea-Lea had been my best friend, and she’d turned out to be the biggest back-stabbing bitch ever. “Not all girlfriends.”
She shot me a glance. “Oh yeah. When you see that slut, slap her across the face from me.”
As I laughed aloud, I wondered if Chelsea-Lea had given birth yet, and then I wonderedwho the father was.Suddenly, the idea of going back to Mildura was appealing. Maybe it was time I went home and showed themjustwho Jane Nichols was.
Lolita drove into the drop-off zone at the Hot Horizon Hotel. We said our goodbyes, and I made my way to my room. After a quick shower, I crawled into bed, and as I tried to predict how mynextencounter with Alexander would play out, I drifted off to sleep.
Seven hours later, I woke feeling completely refreshed.I’d had a surprisingly great sleep, considering the morning I’d had.I jumped into the shower and washed my hair. After a quick blow-dry, I made a simple meal of grilled salmon and a salad that I tossed out of a packet.
With a sneaky glass of wine and my wholesome meal in hand, I moved out to the balcony.The rain had stopped, and the setting sun cast aninterestingsepia color over the ocean. People wereoutin droves on the beach again, enjoying the mild breeze and the final gasps of sunshine. I hadn’t realized how hungry I was, and I finished my meal in about two minutes flat.
As I sat back and sippedmy wine, I considered Lolly’s idea.With eachmouthful ofShaw Smith Sauvignon Blanc, the concept of going home grew more appealing.Itrulyhad changed since I’d moved to the Gold Coast. And not just in looks. I was now a strong, independent woman . . . who was having sexon a weekly basis. I giggled.
Alexander may have cheated on me with nearly every woman in Mildura, but at least the sex I had didn’t hurt anyone.In fact,it did the opposite. I always felt better afterward, and I wasprettysure the men I met did, too.
As if on cue,a man strolling from the shoreline with his pants rolled up and shoes in his hand caught my eye.His knitted jumper alerted me to his identity. It was Cameron, the wedding planner.
I was pleased for him; it looked like the weatherwas going tobe nice tomorrow after all. As I tried to picture him without the worried scowl on his face, the idea of going to him and having a rollicking good romp before my shift snapped into my mind.
I took my dishes inside, tossed them into my sink, and with another top-up of my wine, I headed to the bathroom.
Cameron and I had chatted for some time this morning, so I needed to change my eye color. I chose brown today and popped the contact lenses with ease. Applying more than enough makeup, I transformed myself into Memphis and selected the cute blonde bobbed wig.
At my closet,I debated what to wear.I wanted to make this a bit of fun. Cameron needed cheering up, and I also wanted to show him that not all women were bridezillas.
The poor man needed fixing.
With that thought, I pulled my naughty nurse uniform from the clothes hangar.