Chapter 3
CHAPTER THREE
“Sir, as I’ve stated several times, the noise-canceling headphones are free for anyone to use.
I just need credit card information from you to ensure they are returned by the time we close.
” Lydia smiled sweetly, gritting her teeth and pulling the zipper of her jacket up to her neck.
The stocky man who had been standing at her booth for the last twenty minutes asked a lot of questions about the festival and how she was involved.
It wasn’t so much what he had asked but how he leered at her chest as if he was groping her with his eyes.
“Why don’t you just let me back there and get a sampling for myself?” He licked his lips as if the idea made him drool. Obviously, he was done being polite and indirect.
“I’m sorry, sir. If you don’t need a set of headphones, please proceed to the festival, so I can take care of the other attendees.”
“There’s no one around, sweet cheeks. Just me.” His Cheshire cat grin had her internally cringing.
“Hey, Lyds! Everything ok here?” At the sound of her brother’s voice, she closed her eyes in a small prayer of thanks.
“Yeah, the chick was just going to give me a special tour of her palace, if you know what I mean.”
Lydia’s skin crawled at the idea.
“Excuse me?” Remy seethed, getting in the man’s face.
“Hey, hot head, I was here first. But I’ll give you dibs on that sweet ass when I’m done with it.”
“Remy, you brought my cash box. Thank you so much. Maybe you could help me get it set up.” She hoped her brother saw through her thinly veiled plea. Clutching the man’s collar, Remy looked at her and back at the stranger.
“That’s my sister you’re harassing. But even if she weren’t, it wouldn’t make it ok. Now apologize and get out of here. If I see you bothering her again, I’ll have security after you.” Remy hissed, dropping his hand with a slight shove to the man’s chest.
“Dumb bitch isn’t worth my time anyway,” the aggressor, needing the last word, called out.
“Are you ok? Why are you alone? Isn’t Kim supposed to be here with you?”
“She was. But she and Jeff got into another fight, and they ran off.”
“I hate to think about where they’re making up. Hopefully, they waited until they got to the house.”
“I’ll be fine. It’s only a couple of hours until Auggie and Birdie take over until later this afternoon.”
“Sure. That’s why you forgot to get the cashbox, and Joey asked me to bring it to you.
And that’s why a sleazebag was r…” Remy went on, but she was stuck on his comment that Joey wouldn’t come see her himself.
It only seemed to confirm that he didn’t think of her the same way.
She didn’t doubt his attraction. She could feel its evidence.
But she didn’t want just a hook-up with him.
Her family and friends were tired of listening to her lament the relationship.
They all told her to get him out of her system and move on.
Did they not think that in the six years she’d known him, she hadn’t tried to date other people?
There was just something about him, especially when he seemed to understand her better than she did herself.
“Did you hear me?”
“What? Sure…”
“I said, I’ll send one of the cousins over to help you, but make sure you don’t walk around alone. I don’t think that guy is going to take ‘no’ so easily. Where’s Sofia?”
“She’s helping the band.”
“Maybe you should too, when you’re done here.”
“Yes, sir,” she saluted him in jest and was rewarded with his contagious laugh. “Hey, Remy, thanks for your help. I’m glad we’re good again.”
“I’m always here for you, Lyds. And we were never not good.
You were just being a jealous brat. I’m glad to have you back to yourself.
” If he only knew how untrue that was. She might not be jealous of him and Dahlia anymore, but she was feeling broken inside.
Worse, she was mad at herself for letting herself crumble over a man who wasn’t deserving of her.
She resolved to let it go, to focus on her career and make a new life for herself.
As if he read her mind, the hayride turned the corner to the main strip of tents.
Dressed in a leather jacket and blue jeans, he looked like a movie star filling in for someone in a Western at the helm of a horse-drawn cart, reins relaxed in his large, strong hands.
Even his usually soft melodic tone was harsher as he emphasized his Rs and rounded his vowels, at a jarring volume that could be heard not only by the passengers but everyone in the vicinity.
“If you’re looking for something less stimulating, there’s yoga and art therapy at the gazebo and noise-canceling headphones…” She waved and smiled at the mention of her stall. His passengers responded excitedly, but he didn’t make eye contact with her.
“Hey, you look so familiar. Weren’t you that Formula One guy from way back?” An older man on the ride leaned across the seats to get a closer look at Joey.
“I get that a lot, but I’m afraid you have the wrong person.” They were so close to her, she could practically feel him bristle at the man’s words.
“No way. There’s no mistaking that face and accent. The girls were all gaga about you. Well, until you just vanished.”
“It was nice meeting you all.” Joey jumped down from his perch, far from where the drop-off was supposed to be. “The festival will officially kick off in a few minutes at the main stage.” He helped each of his passengers down, until the man who was determined that Joey was someone else.
“Joey Cruz! Yeah, that’s the name. How about an autograph and a selfie before I go? Come on, Joey!” The man’s rowdiness was drawing attention that seemed to make Joey more uncomfortable as he averted his gaze and pulled a ball cap out of his jacket pocket, angling it low over his forehead.
“I’m really sorry, but I don’t know anyone by that name.
” Joey rushed back into his seat and flicked the reins for the horses to move before he finished his sentence.
Joey could dodge her questions with ease.
A wink and a question to redirect her rarely failed.
Nothing ever seemed to rattle him. There had to be more to this.
“What was that about?” Great Aunt Althea tiptoed to the booth to keep her spiky heels from getting stuck in the ground.
“Do you know anything about Formula One or a guy named Joey Cruz?”
“The only Joey I know is that gorgeous chauffeur. I know he’s fast, but not as fast as me,” Althea cackled, thumbing toward the direction Joey had already disappeared.
“Will you be ok if I take a quick break?”
“If you’ve got a place for me to rest these old gams, I’m ready to take on the men of Washington.” Resting on the stool provided, Althea smacked her thigh with a loud guffaw.
Lydia loved spending time with her outspoken, confident aunt, but she needed to do some digging for information.
She started walking aimlessly, fingers flying across her phone screen, until she heard the familiar snarl of the lecherous man from earlier.
Turning quickly, Lydia escaped into the baking contest tent.
The appetizing scents mingled, making her stomach growl, but she stayed focused on her phone and hid in a corner out of the way.
Now that she had a name, page after page of stats and pictures of her Joey appeared.
There was no mistaking the visage that she had stared at so often.
His life unfolded before her, from his youth in the small Medieval town near the coast to learning to race and traveling the world.
He was mentioned in so many articles, it was hard to understand what might have caused him to go into hiding.
Her mind spun with the possible trouble that had driven him to disappear, and what the dangers were to her family.
She had to figure out a plan. Did her aunt know about Joey’s history, or was Lydia the only one in the dark? Who did she confront first?