Chapter 10
Before I even stepped onto Lolita’s driveway, I was affronted by thumping music and raucous voices. It sounded like there were a hundred people in her house, and I already knew I was likely to be deaf by the time I left this afternoon.
I didn’t bother knocking. Instead, I pushed the front door open and made my way to the kitchen. Cal was at the counter, separating sausage links, dressed in khaki shorts, a white T-shirt, and an apron that made him look like he was wearing a Scottish kilt.
“Jane.” He wrapped his arms around me and kissed my cheek. “How are you?”
“I’m great. Where’s that crazy wife of yours?”
He chuckled. “She’s out by the pool, supervising the scavenger hunt.”
“Right.”
The second I passed through the glass door to the backyard, the noise levels hit a whole new crescendo. Lolita was impossible to miss in a bright orange strapless dress that hugged her torso but flared out into a full skirt that must have layers and layers of lace beneath. She was stunning and could have easily passed as a human Barbie doll.
“Jane.” She waved me over, and we hugged.
“Hey, Lolly.”
“Thank God you’re here. You need to save me from all this testosterone. Nine-year-old boys are psycho.”
I laughed because despite what she’d said, her grin was enough to know she loved every minute of it.
“Here, give me a hand, will you?”
For the next three hours, we herded the twenty or so energetic kids from one game to the next and fed them an abundance of food. Lolita had outdone herself with Maddox’s birthday cake. It was a pirate ship, complete with four masts with sails that looked to be catching a breeze and even a gangplank that she’d made out of chocolate.
Blue jelly surrounded the cake to look like water, which had seemed like a great idea until nearly all the kids in the room had blue fingers and blue lips that no amount of soap would remove. We laughed at that after all the kids left and Cal, Lolita, and I began the massive clean up.
Lolita and I headed out to the backyard to pick up all the scraps, and I told her about the Total Fitness Expo conference at my hotel.
Her eyes lit up. “Oooh, that sounds great. I want to see. When does it finish?”
“It’s on all weekend. Closes at nine tonight and five tomorrow night.”
“Oh, goody. I should be able to come later tonight. How about if I got there at seven—then you can have a look with me?”
“Great. Sounds like a plan.”
At two o’clock, I said goodbye and headed home. Within fifteen minutes of walking in my door, I was curled up in my bed and more than ready for sleep.
My alarm sounded at six-thirty, dragging me from a deep sleep. I stretched, yawned, and hauled myself into the bathroom. Even after my shower, the creases down my cheek failed to disappear. I devoured a peanut butter sandwich and was brushing my teeth when there was a knock on my door.
I peered through the peephole to see Lolita’s giant grin. She bounded in with her usual abundant energy and hugged me, pushing her boobs into mine. “This’s going to be so much fun.”
I returned to the bathroom and spat my toothpaste into the sink. “I know. How was the rest of your afternoon?”
“Not too bad. I took the kids for a bike ride, trying to work off some of that sugar.”
Of course, she had. Every other human in the world would have collapsed on the lounge after a kid’s party like that, but not Lolita. She was a machine.
I grabbed my bag off the kitchen counter. “Ready?”
“Yep, let’s do this.”
We returned to the elevator, and it opened straight away. We stepped in and Lolly examined her reflection in the mirror. She checked her teeth, presumably making sure nothing was there. She adjusted her hair with her fingers, and she reached into her bag and pulled out lipstick.
I didn’t know why she was fussing— she was perfect.
When the doors pinged open, we stepped onto the lobby tiles, and we were caught up in the energetic buzz. People were everywhere—women, men, young, old, fit, and not so fit. But the one thing they all seemed to have in common was the smiles on their faces—they all looked super happy.
Maybe they’d all been drinking Frankie’s beer. Thinking of him made me smile, and I was truly looking forward to chatting with him again.
Lolly led the way, practically diving onto Xavier’s vibrating skateboard as soon as it was available. If I didn’t know Lolita was happily married, I’d swear she was flirting with Xavier. The two of them struck up a banter full of innuendo that had me laughing along with them. When Lolly declined to hand over her credit card, Xavier’s sad face had her giving him a hug that had him smiling again.
She strolled to the next stall and sampled the protein powders and power bars. Between the two of us, we handed over ninety dollars. At one of the equipment stalls, Lolly purchased a pair of weights that she could strap to her ankles.
So now not only would she be running at maximum speed and have the treadmill elevated to its maximum level, she was also planning on wearing an extra pound on each ankle.
I didn’t know whether she was amazing or completely nuts.
At the clothing stand, I tried on the lime green exercise gear the tattooed salesman had put aside for me, and it was perfect. I paid him before I was tempted to look at any more styles.
“What do you think of this one, babe?” Lolly held up a fluorescent yellow crop top with matching Lycra pants that had a yellow sunburst pattern adorning the lower hem.
“I love it. Suits you.”
“Yep. I agree.”
She loaded up her arms with several outfits and headed into the changing room. As I waited for her, I turned my attention to Frankie’s stand. I could barely see the caravan because of the number of people hovering around. The noise in the hall was loud, but a good majority of it was coming from the back corner. Even though I barely knew the man, I was happy for Frankie. He was obviously very passionate about his beer.
I just hoped he was ready to get passionate with me a little later, though I still had no idea when later would be.
Lolly stepped out of the changing room and handed a pile of clothes to the tattooed man.
“Happy?” I sidled up beside her.
“They’re awesome. Did you buy any more?”
“No, just the green one.”
She scowled at me, but I ignored her.
With our bags hanging from our arms, we carried on strolling along the first row, and each time she stopped, I strained to see or hear Frankie. It seemed like an eternity before we actually arrived at his cute little caravan.
“Let’s try this.” I hooked my arm into hers and led her through the crowd.
“What is it? Beer?”
“Yes, but you have to try it.”
“You know I don’t like beer.”
“Just try it.” We arrived at the caravan, and I placed my hands on the counter before Frankie.
“Hi, Jane.” His smile shone through his ginger beard like a beacon.
Yay. He remembers me.“Hi, Frankie. Looks like you’re having success.”
“It’s been a hit so far. And who do we have here?”
“This’s my friend, Lolita. She doesn’t like beer.”
His eyes bulged. “Right. Well, we need to fix that. You drink wine, right?”
“Yep.” Lolita nodded, all serious.
“White or red?”
“Both, but mostly white.”
Frankie held up his finger, turned his back to us, and moments later returned with a plastic cup for each of us. “Here’s yours, Jane. The Frisky Filly, right?”
I loved that he remembered and couldn’t help smiling. “That’s correct.”
I took the drink he’d handed me and sipped. Once again, I was pleasantly delighted with the crisp, fresh taste.
Lolita accepted the cup offered by Frankie, but by the look on her face she was reluctant to even taste it.
“Try it,” Frankie and I said at exactly the same time, and we laughed together.
Lolly alternated her gaze from me to Frankie, and when a mischievous twinkle sparkled in her eyes, I stopped laughing for fear of what she was about to say or do. She winked at me, and I knew I was in for trouble.
Lolita raised the plastic cup and sniffed it as if it were an expensive wine. I found myself bracing as she took a sip. She screwed up her face, and I laughed because I was pretty sure that was similar to my reaction yesterday.
“Ewww. Okay, see? Beer’s not my thing.”
“Wait.” Frankie showed her his palm. “We haven’t finished yet. That’s my benchmark beer; from here, I’ll be able to work out which way to go.”
Lolly put the cup down and pushed it toward him. “I’ve tried plenty of beers, but I don’t like it.”
“You haven’t tried mine.” His tongue glossed his lips, and the simple move mesmerized me more than it should have. “Answer me, quick—fish or beef?”
“Fish.”
“Olives or grapes?”
“Olives.” She grinned at me, and as I smiled back at her, I found myself intrigued by her answers.
“Lemon or honey?”
“Hmmm . . .”
“Quick,” Frankie urged.
“Okay, lemon.”
He turned away again and returned with another plastic cup filled with a liquid that was paler than the first.
She smiled as she sipped this time, and I tried to take in both her reaction and Frankie’s. His fabulous green eyes were intense, as if willing her to like his beer. He grabbed his beard and tugged on it. His hands were tanned, his fingers thick and manly, and he wore no rings.
Yay me. Without a doubt, I’d be seeing Frankie later.
“Mmmm.” Lolly licked her lips. “That’s not bad.”
Frankie’s shoulders slumped. “Not bad isn’t good enough.” He turned again. “I’ll get you to try this one.”
He handed over another sample, and Lolly seemed eager to taste this one.
“This’s called Wild Stampede.” Frankie splayed his fingers on the counter and leaned forward as if determined not to miss a word Lolly said. His lovely green eyes flicked to me, and when he blinked, I noticed how long his eyelashes were.
My heart fluttered. Frankie may be a little scruffy, and he was nowhere near as buff as all the other men in the room, but I could barely take my eyes off him. Maybe it was his passion for his work. Maybe it was his fascinating green eyes. Maybe it was the genuineness about him. Frankie didn’t seem to be trying to be anyone but Frankie.
“Ohhh, I love this.” Lolly sipped some more.
Frankie slapped the counter. “Fantastic. You, Lolita, are a Wild Stampede woman.”
She laughed, and when I laughed along with her, she turned her intense blue eyes to me and stared.
I frowned. “What?”
“Oh, nothing.”
But I knew it wasn’t nothing. We moved aside to finish our drinks, and Frankie turned his attention to his next clients.
“You look like a love-struck teenager.”
“What?” I scrunched my face and shook my head.
She nodded, all confident and knowing. “I saw it in your eyes. You were practically drooling over him.”
I chuckled. “Was not.”
“Frankie’s your guy, isn’t he?”
I rolled my eyes and flicked my hand as if waving her away, trying to act like I had no idea what she was talking about. But my act was pointless. Lolita could read me like a twenty-foot billboard. Soon, I grinned like a schoolgirl.
She slapped my shoulder. “I knew it. So, how are we gonna make this happen?”
I frowned. “Make what happen?”
She pointed at Frankie, who was smiling his extraordinary smile at a man muscular enough to compete against my Corben. “Make you and Beer Boy get together.”
“Beer Boy? That’s not nice.”
She wiggled her head. “I’m not being mean or anything. It’s just you have a room full of hotties, and you chose the hairy dude who looks like he doesn’t know what a gym is.”
Although it was true that Frankie was easily the least muscular man in the room, I felt an unfounded desire to defend him. “He has the most amazing eyes. His hands are strong, manly, and you know what appeals the most? He seems truly genuine. I think Frankie will be exactly who he appears to be.”
“Whoa, hold your horses, babe.”
“Ha ha, funny.” I cocked my head.
“Looks to me like wild horses wouldn’t stop you.”
“Oh, my god.” I rolled my eyes and drank the last of my beer.
“You’ll be riding that bucking bronco before?—”
“Will you stop?”
“This’s fun.” She looked to the ceiling as if searching for another corny cliché. Next second, her eyes snapped to me, bulging with excitement, and I braced for her next comment. She clutched my arm. “I have a fucking brilliant idea.”
“Oh, God.” I sighed.
“What? Have I let you down before? Did my act with Corben and Needledick fail?”
“No.”
“Exactly. I’m a genius, so hear me out.” She leaned toward me, mischief gleaming in her eyes. “I’m going to cover for you at reception while you take that stallion up to his room and ride him till the cows come home.”
“What! Have you lost your mind?”
“Nope. It’s brilliant. I can do your job while you do him. What’s your job involve, anyway? Just sit there and look pretty?”
I rumbled a breath through my lips. “I have a very important job, actually.”
“Yeah, yeah, I know that . . . but really, what do you do?”
“I run the hotel, take calls, check in guests.”
She flicked her hand, waving away my tasks like they were minor inconveniences. “I can handle all of that. Let’s see, this finishes at nine o’clock, right?”
I blinked at her. Somehow, the crazy bitch had declared our discussion closed. Dumbstruck, I just shook my head.
“And you start at nine-thirty. So, here’s what we’re going to do.”