18. William
18
WILLIAM
“ H ey, you,” Kristin said as she wrapped her arms around my hips. She wasn’t short, but compared to me, everyone was short.
I bent down and drew her in for a kiss. “Missed you, Sunshine,” I said as I tipped her chin up.
Her lips tasted like bad decisions. And by bad decisions, I meant an ABC store’s worth of alcohol.
“Damn, what are you drinking? It tastes strong enough to be a bull tranquilizer.”
Kristin laughed. “Some concoction Luca made. You want one?” She looked around. “He’s around here somewhere.”
“Thanks, but I’ll pass. Hangovers hurt a lot more than they used to.”
She slipped her hand into mine. “I think you’ve already met everyone, haven’t you?”
A burly, bearded man wandered up and offered his hand. “Steve Pelham. You must be Will.”
“That’s me,” I said as I shook his hand. “Kristin’s told me a lot about you and your wife. Pleasure to meet you. ”
He eyed me cautiously like he was sizing me up. Satisfied I wasn’t a threat, he nodded and walked over to Erica, who offered a friendly wave.
“Luna!” Kristin exclaimed. I followed her over to the doorway where Chase and Luna stood. She dropped to her knees and baby-talked the dog, telling her that she was the goodest girl.
I gave Luna a scratch behind the ear, and she licked my hand. Sweet girl.
Kristin had told me all about Bridget and Chase’s drama and how awkward it had been, so I was a little surprised when Bridget came over and knelt by Chase’s feet.
She lavished Luna in affection, smiling as Luna sniffed all over her. Chase reached into his pocket and handed Bridget a dog treat. She took it and held her hand out. Luna sniffed once, carefully assessing Bridget’s hand before gingerly nibbling at the little dog biscuit. Luna thanked her with a grateful lick across her cheek.
I was about to kneel down beside Kristin and Bridget, but an unseen hand grabbed the back of my pull-over and dragged me outside. Kristin was busy smothering Luna with love, and didn’t notice when I stumbled backward.
“What the?—”
I came face to face with Isaac Lawson. His hands were balled into fists, and he looked positively homicidal.
“Lawson—”
“Cut the crap, Solomon. What the hell are you doing sniffing around Kristin?”
“Yo, Lawson!” Another male voice called out. “You out here? We’re about to deal.”
Isaac’s glare pinned me to the wall of the house.
“Dude, what are you doing?” The other man said as he rounded the corner. He spotted me and offered a head nod. “‘Sup. You must be Will. Kris said you were coming tonight.” He looked at Isaac. “What the hell are you doing? ”
Isaac gave him a look that said, are you fucking kidding me ? I couldn’t quite see who it was, but I guessed it was Maddie’s husband. He was the only one I hadn’t met yet.
“Taking care of business,” Isaac spat.
The other man laughed and shook his head. “Don’t go all Godfather on him. You’re not as scary as you think you are. He’s already met Steve.”
Isaac pointed at me and glared at Maddie’s husband. “You don’t know who this is?”
“Should I?” he asked.
Cackling, Isaac took a step back so the other man could step closer. “Luca DeRossi, meet William Solomon.”
Oh shit.
Alarms went off in my head. It was only a matter of seconds before Luca?—
“Ho-ly shit!” He enunciated every syllable and then laughed. “Small fucking world. You’re Kristin’s Will? Fuck man—good to finally meet you in person. I’ll be honest. I didn’t think you actually existed.”
I knew what he was referring to. I was an investor in the DeRossi Hospitality Group—one of the many ways I diversified my portfolio.
I had never met Luca; never been to an investor’s meeting. My signature on documents was intentionally illegible. The P.O. box address I used for business with his company was in Livingston, Montana. I had everything forwarded to my box in New Bern.
Isaac held out his hand to silence Luca. His eyes turned to me. “He’s also the new owner of the Taylor Creek Inn,” Isaac sneered. “Isn’t that right, Solomon?”
Like a switch flipped, Luca’s face changed from light to dark. He cracked his knuckles. The sleeves of tattoos on his arms made him look like a prison brawler.
Suddenly, Steve didn’t seem half bad .
“I swear to God—if you’re coercing Kristin into sleeping with you because you’re her boss, I will rip you limb from limb just so I can smack you in the face with your own hand.”
“Whoa,” I said, putting my palms out. “It isn’t like that. Kristin doesn’t know I bought the inn.” I cut my eyes to Isaac. “And you signed an NDA.”
If Isaac hadn’t been friends with the woman I was crazy about, I would have rained down legal hell on him.
Luca looked at Isaac. At least his anger wasn’t pointed only at me this time. “Kristin’s been worried sick about losing her damn job, and you didn’t think that information would help? You knew about this, and you didn’t say anything?—”
“Knew about what?”
The three of us looked over and saw Hannah Jane and Maddie standing a few feet away. Maddie crossed her arms. Her usually bright disposition was stone-cold serious. “What the hell is going on? Do y’all know each other?”
Fuck.
I scratched the back of my neck. “Kind of.”
Hannah Jane put her hands on her hips. She looked lethal in those high heels. “Well, I don’t have all night. Are we telling Kristin we killed her boyfriend before or after we dump the body?”
Boyfriend. Disposing of bodies. I had so many questions.
“I mean, I listen to a lot of true crime podcasts while I’m decorating wedding cakes. They’ll never find his body,” Maddie said.
Hannah Jane pointed at Isaac. “That’s the face Isaac makes when he wants to kill people.” There was a vein about to burst in his neck.
“Let’s just take a step back before y’all start committing crimes. Okay?” I craned my head around and caught a glimpse of Chase and Kristin deep in conversion. Luna was at her feet. I didn’t want her to overhear what I was about to say. “Okay, yeah—technically, I’m the one who bought the Taylor Creek Inn. ”
Hannah gasped.
Before she could interject, I raised my hand to stave her off. “I’m not running it. It’s just an investment. But after my accountants got their hands on the books, they found some discrepancies.”
Hannah nodded slowly as if the puzzle pieces in her mind were clicking together. “So, that’s why I saw you talking to all the employees while you were staying there.”
Luca cocked his fist. “If you’re using Kris?—”
“I’m not!” I interjected. “Okay, maybe at first I started talking to her to see what I could find out about the inn. But it’s not like that now. I care about her.”
Isaac scoffed. “Yeah, you care about her, so you’re lying to her face?”
I cut my eyes to Isaac. “You and I have discussed this.”
Hannah looked at her boyfriend. “You knew all this time, didn’t you?”
Isaac sighed. “It’s complicated, Princess. I told you there were details I couldn’t talk about.” He glared at me. “But I didn’t know he was the Will who’s dating Kristin.”
I knew the longer we were out here, the antsier Kristin would get inside. I didn’t want to risk her walking in on a conversation that I wasn’t ready to have with her yet.
I knew she’d be mad, but our relationship was still on rocky ground. One wrong step, and I’d lose her. And I couldn't lose her.
“I’m going to talk to Kristin about everything. I promise I won’t hurt her, but I need a little discretion from all y’all.” I looked at Hannah Jane. “That means no one else at the inn can find out. I don’t want anyone giving Kris a hard time.”
“Yeah,” Hannah muttered. “Rich has it out for her as it is.”
I looked at the rest of them. “Are we good?”
Maddie and Luca looked at each other.
“Tell her,” Maddie urged. “Sooner rather than later. She’s been through enough as it is. Don’t give her a reason not to trust you.” She looked at Hannah Jane and Isaac. “But… We can keep it quiet and give you some time to get your ducks in a row.”
After the showdown outside with Isaac, Luca, and their women, poker night was pretty damn fun. I was kind of disappointed that they stuck with Texas Hold ‘Em. I’d clean house if they switched to blackjack. Counting cards was a specialty of mine.
Still, it was fun to crowd around a table and shit-talk each other like old friends. After getting a bite and a beer at Jokers, I learned that you were only a stranger around the poker club the first time. After that, you were family.
We only played a few rounds before calling it a night. Like Kristin said, it was more about hanging out than placing bets. Kristin and I said our goodbyes and then headed to Havelock in my truck.
“Did you have a good time?” I asked as I reached across the console and grabbed her hand, sliding her fingers between mine.
“Mhmm.” Kristin’s phone was in her free hand, and she was rapidly firing off text messages.
I chuckled as I looked back at the road. “Let me guess—you’re telling the kids to make sure everything’s clean, right?”
That made her back turn ramrod straight. Kristin bit her lip, desperately trying to hold down a smile. It was useless, but the attempt was friggin’ adorable.
“Maybe,” she giggled. “I didn’t have enough time after work to get everything done.”
Chuckling, I stroked the back of her hand with my thumb and said, “Sweetheart, I couldn’t care less if you have a mountain of laundry on the couch and a sink full of dishes. Life is messy. Messes just means you’re living.” I squeezed her hand.
“Your house is so clean…”
I grinned. “Yeah, because it’s just me. Maybe I should get a dog like Chase did. ”
Kristin leaned over the center console and rested her head on my bicep. “Do you get lonely?”
Kristin and I still hadn’t broached the topic of past relationships, and I certainly wasn’t going to spook her with the I got out of a long-term relationship that involved a ring bombshell.
I was smitten, not stupid.
“Yeah, I do,” I admitted. “Working for myself has its perks, but it makes it hard to socialize. And I’m not that extroverted as it is. I’d rather be home than out and about.”
“I get that,” she said. “The only reason I ever go out and socialize is that they make me.”
I cracked a smile. “You found yourself a good group.”
“They found me,” she said softly.
I felt her begin to pull away, so I brought our clasped hands to my lips and pressed a kiss to the back of hers. Kristin relaxed.
“The week after I took custody of the kids, I spent so much of it with lawyers and social workers, trying to get all the guardianship paperwork straightened out. My parents’ assets were seized, so I had to pack what I could for five people—the necessities and a few sentimental things. It was the middle of the school year, and I had to learn bus schedules and figure out homework and teachers for three kids while also taking care of a baby. I had to move out of my dorm and into the only rental I could afford. Steve and Chase checked on me every day.”
She took a deep breath. “At first, I was skeptical. I figured they assumed I was tied up in selling drugs too. But then Steve’s first wife, Heather, started dropping off casseroles and brought me some stuff for the house. Nothing big, just some dishes and bedding. Then, one day Chase came by and said that there was a job opening at the Taylor Creek Inn. His friend, Hannah Jane, worked there and said she would vouch for me.”
“And the rest is history?” I asked.
Kristin smiled. “Every Monday is poker night. We try to get together for girls’ night once a month, but the guys come too. I see Hannah Jane every day and usually run into the others a few times a week. The group text is obnoxiously active…” Kristin paused. She stared out the window, and her voice turned wistful. “But I love them.” She turned to look at me and asked, “Have you ever met someone, spent five minutes with them, and then wondered how you ever lived without them? That’s how I feel about the poker club. They’re the family I’m supposed to have.”
I swallowed the lump in my throat. “Yeah.” Giving her hand another squeeze, I added, “I know exactly what you mean.”
Kristin guided me off the highway to a bumpy back road. Street lights flickered and buzzed with surges of electricity. The mobile home park sign was askew and faded with age. She tensed as the front of my truck dipped into a pothole and bounced out.
I saw her car parked in front of a single wide. It had tan siding and a gray metal skirt. Three wooden steps led up to the screen door. There were lights on inside, and I could see shadows moving behind the curtains. As I threw my truck into park beside Kristin’s car, one of the kids pulled the curtains back and peered at us through the window.
Kristin pressed the back of her head to the headrest and squeezed her eyes shut. “Welcome to my shitshow.”
“Kristin,” I said as I unlocked my seatbelt and leaned over the console.
“What?” she groaned.
“I’m gonna kiss you now. And everything’s gonna be okay.”
Her eyes opened half-mast and then closed again as I craned over and cupped her cheek. Kristin’s lips still tasted the faintest bit like liquor. I kept my tongue to myself and didn’t take the kiss nearly as far as I wanted to. I pushed it enough so that she would remember that I was the man who gave her butterflies.
I broke the kiss and rested my forehead on hers, just long enough for her to catch her breath. With one last peck, I reached into the backseat and grabbed the handles of a brown paper bag.
“What’s that?” Kristin asked.
“Gifts,” I said as I opened my door and got out. I shut the door and walked around the hood to open Kristin’s.
As soon as I opened her door, she said, “Gifts for what?”
“For the kids.” I reached in the bag and produced a bouquet of flowers. “And for you.”
Her eyes widened in surprise. “You got me flowers? A-and y-you got the kids gifts?”
“Sweetheart—” I moved in and tucked her hair behind her ear. “If you’ve never been given flowers before, that’s a damn shame. But yes, I did get flowers for you because I want your siblings to know just how crazy I am about their big sister. And yes, I bought presents for them, too. Nothing big, but I want them to like me. And I’m not above bribery.”