Renovation (A Golden Beach Novel) Page 21

  “Nothing.”

  “It didn’t look like nothing.”

  He came around to sit next to her and his expression went from teasing to alarmed. “Why have you been crying?”

  His thumb brushed away the tear tracks and he dropped a gentle kiss on her forehead.

  She took a calming breath and opened her computer. “Grace called. Mick put pictures of me up on the internet.”

  “Right, I’ve seen it.”

  “No.” She shook her head. “These are different.”

  She reopened the computer and turned on the screen so he could see them in all their glory.

  “Jesus.” He bit the word out, venom laced and disbelieving.

  “I . . . I don’t know when he took these. Why would he do this?”

  “Can you take them down?”

  “Drew’s working on it. He is . . . was . . . a lawyer.”

  She watched as he frowned at the pictures, brow furrowed, raking a hand through his sleep-tousled hair and sighing.

  “That guy is a sad excuse for a human being.”

  “Yes, he is.” She dropped her head into her hands and willed away the tears. “I don’t know why I ever dated him.”

  “It’s going to be all right. We’ll take care of it.”

  “But everyone will see. I’m . . . naked.”

  His arm wrapped around her and pulled her close. “I know. It’s shitty. But it’ll pass. I hate that people can see you like that. I want to be the only one who has that privilege.” He sat silent for a moment, then his lips pressed to the crown of her head. “You said Drew is a lawyer? He’ll be able to do something. We can all talk it over when they get here.”

  Sniffing, she breathed in his soothing scent and swiped at her cheeks. “I’m sorry.”

  He took her face in his hands and stared her straight in the eye. “You have nothing to be sorry for.”

  “I’m going to shower.” She stood and pushed away from him, needing time for it all to sink in, wishing it would just disappear.

  As she stood under the spray of hot water, she let the tears flow. She’d have to tell her parents and her boss. What was this going to do to her future teaching career? No one would hire her as a special education teacher if they could Google her name and find naked pictures. She had to hope that Drew could help. Mick was out of control.

  Was he dangerous as well as malicious?

  Hospitals—he hated them. Firefighters saw the inside of a hospital more often than most. On the job injuries, EMT duties, and in Donovan’s case, visits to friends and family. Sully sat in his bed, wiggling his toes proudly, when Donovan came through the door of his room. He’d had to have multiple surgeries on his spine because of his mistake. That beam should never have fallen on Sully; they should have been clear of the building long before a collapse was imminent.

  “Hey, D. Check it out, I can finally wiggle these babies.”

  Grief for Sully’s injury lanced him. “Awesome, man. What’s the good word? When are they letting you out of here this time?”

  “Couple more days. They think this one will relieve the pressure on my spine. Doc is hopeful I’ll be able to walk out of here. Slower than a fucking grandpa, but still, it’s better than in a wheelchair.”

  “You need anything?”

  Sully shook his head, still smiling that happy smile. What the fuck was he so happy about? The reason he was in such a bad way stood not three feet in front of him, without a scar of his own.

  “It was arson. Just like John. Same accelerant. Did the Chief tell you?”

  Sully nodded and sighed. “Yeah. This one makes five now.”

  “Sully, I’m so—”

  “No. It’s okay, D. It was just a stupid accident.”

  He swallowed hard. It was his fault, his stupid accident. He let out a heavy breath and grabbed a deck of cards from his pocket. An awkward silence filled the room save the soft sound of cards as they slid against each other. He didn’t know what else to say.

  “Poker?”

  “Definitely.”

  Donovan dealt the cards and before long he forgot he was in a hospital. He and Sully talked about Michael’s elopement, about Valerie, and surprisingly, about his own family. Sully was like a big brother, someone he was able to talk seriously with when he needed.

  “You think your mom will ever come around?” Sully asked, his eyes focused on the cards in his hand.

  Donovan shook his head. “Nope. She’s let him do it this long.”

  “Damn shame.”

  “Yep.”

  They focused on their game a few hands more, playing in silence, save the occasional chuckle from Sully when he won.

  “How are things with your girl?” Sully asked, an eyebrow cocked and a grin on his face.

  Donovan sighed as memories of her face—tear-stained and humiliated—flashed in his head.

  “I found out who hurt her.”

  “That douchebag doctor?”

  He shook his head. “No, he’s an ex from her time with Grace in England. He posted some skin pics of her online. The asshole took naked pictures of her without her knowing.”

  “Revenge porn?”

  “Looks like.”

  “Shit.”

  Nothing more was said on the subject. That was Sully; he knew when to push and when to hold back.

  “So . . . Michael’s happy?”

  Donovan looked up from his cards. “Uh, yeah. I guess. Lena’s bat-shit crazy, but I’m pretty sure he’s crazy in love, so they’re a matched pair.”

  “She’s not that bad. You just met her during a rough patch.”

  “Hmm . . . Valerie’s planned a surprise party for them this weekend.”

  Sully smiled. “That girl, she’s something else.”

  Donovan found himself grinning like an idiot. “Yeah, she is.”

  Things moved along smoothly after Donovan came to dinner at Valerie’s family home. Although she still wasn’t ready to tell him how she felt and the cloud of Mick’s voyeurism hung over them, Donovan seemed more at ease. He was calmer about their relationship overall. She thought maybe her opening up to him had brought some peace to them both. Now she was hopeful he would do the same.

  Nights he didn’t have duty ended in them tangled together in his sheets as he worked hard to make her forget there were naked pictures of her on the internet. Unfortunately, what should have been restful nights, were frequently marred by his fitful sleeping. Each time she tried to talk to him about his nightmares, he brushed it off saying he couldn’t remember anything.

  She pulled her pool-drenched hair back and braided it quickly. She’d been teaching for the better part of the afternoon. Now that school was in full swing, her students had all moved from morning to late afternoon times. She glanced at the clock and tugged her shoes on.

  Angela was waiting in the parking lot by now. Today, the sisters were heading out on a shopping trip to buy decorations for the surprise wedding party they were throwing for Lena and Michael. Lena was notoriously hard to surprise, but Valerie thought they had a foolproof plan set up.

  As she’d predicted, Angela was parked next to her, music blasting, eyes closed, singing at the top of her lungs. She knocked on the window of her car loud enough to be heard over the pounding beat. The vibrations of the music rattled through her hand until Angela turned it off and rolled down the window.

  “Riding with me?”

  “Only if I get to pick the music.”

  Angela shook her head. “No way, driver picks. Shotgun shuts her cake-hole.”

  “Fine, just not so loud, okay?”

  “You’re turning into a grumpy old lady.”

  “You’re not that much younger than me, you know.” She chuckled at the
thought of them arguing over coffee and bagels fifty years from now.

  “Don’t remind me.”

  As they drove, she held her tongue, not wanting to interfere with whatever was going on between Angela and Garrett. Before long, Angela broke the silence.

  “He didn’t like my songs.”

  “What?” Valerie couldn’t hide her shock. Angela’s songs were so beautiful. How could he not like them?

  “Well, really, it wasn’t that he didn’t like them. They don’t fit the band.”

  Acid coated Angela’s words, bitter and burning.

  “You are the band, a big part of it anyway. I’d say whatever you create is the band. Look at The Beatles. They morphed and changed to fit each of them.”

  “Yeah, but eventually that caused them to grow apart and break up.”

  “After making millions and becoming world-famous icons,” she interjected.

  Angela chewed on her lip.

  “Maybe Garrett’s just feeling threatened. You know, he’s been the main songwriter for so long.”

  Angela just shrugged as she turned into the Target parking lot.

  “Did you record your stuff anyway? It’s too good to forget about.”

  “I did. I mean, it’s just a crappy recording on my phone, but at least it’s something.”

  As they walked toward the front of the store, Valerie linked arms with her little sister. “It’ll work out. Now, let’s go spend some money I don’t have on stuff I don’t need.”

  Angela laughed, her face brightening honestly. “My big sister, always the wise old sage.”

  “It’s a gift.”

  After roaming the aisles for an hour, they wheeled their cart, filled with balloons, crepe paper pom-poms, and all manner of sparkly everything, back to Angela’s car.

  “Do you think we got it all?” Angela balanced a cake stand precariously on one hand as she opened her trunk.

  “I hope so. You’ll meet me tomorrow afternoon so we can decorate?”

  Angela nodded. “What about Lena? Do you think she’ll figure it out?”

  “I don’t think so. The plan is for her to meet me for a girl’s night. I’m going to tell her Donovan and I had a big fight. Donovan’s invited Michael over for poker. He got Klipper to cover Michael’s shift for Saturday so they can stay out tomorrow night with no excuses. We both should arrive at the same time, I hope.”

  “It sounds good. Too bad you’re a shitty liar.”

  Her face flamed. “I know, I’m just hoping she won’t see through me.”

  “I suppose if you were going to complain to anyone about Donovan, it would be her.”

  “Exactly, she’s not his biggest fan.”

  “Only because she’s jealous.”

  “Not anymore.” A smile found her lips as she recalled the happiness on her friend’s face.

  Angela pulled up to the pool parking lot, now filled with the cars of swim team families. “See you tomorrow. I’ll keep the stuff in my car if you want.”

  “Yeah, that’s great. I’ve still got to confirm the catering and cake.” She felt like pulling her hair out. “Maybe this was why they eloped. It’s not even my wedding party, yet I’m a stressed out mess.”

  Angela shrugged and waved goodbye as Valerie slid into her car. Her own wedding? What was she talking about? She shook her head and tried to push thoughts of weddings, specifically weddings and Donovan, out of her mind.

  Lena knocked on her door at six-thirty on the dot Friday night. Valerie answered, hair wrapped in a towel, bare-faced, and clad in a robe.

  “You’re not ready?” The look of disappointment on Lena’s face had her working to keep a grin away.

  Unbeknownst to Lena, they still had an hour until they were supposed to arrive at the party room of The Creekside.

  “Sorry. Donovan and I had a fight. He stormed out and I ruined my makeup. Give me twenty minutes?”

  A sympathetic look passed over her friend’s face. “You know what will help? Looking fabulous. What are you going to wear?”

  She took in Lena’s slinky silver dress; gorgeous and just a little too short. “You look amazing. Help me pick out something that won’t make me look like the ugly stepsister.”

  Twenty minutes later, she was encased in a sexy black dress that hugged her gentle curves and showed off the muscled legs hours of swimming afforded her. Lena had thrown Valerie’s long locks in rollers and motioned for her to sit still as she approached with a dangerous looking liquid eyeliner wand.

  “Winged eyeliner, red lips, blond hair.” Lena shook her head. “God, you’re such a bombshell.”

  Rollers removed, eyeliner applied, Valerie felt like a sixties movie star as she stared at the mirror. “Lena, you are so good at this. Is there anything you can’t do?”

  “Hmm . . . be short. I definitely can’t be short. You’ve cornered the market on that one.”

  Valerie laughed and slipped on her fire-engine-red pumps. She turned and looked at herself in the full-length mirror. This party might be all about Lena and Michael, but Donovan was only going to be looking at her.

  “How about some dinner first? We’re all dressed up, it’d be a shame to waste these dresses on a bar.”

  Lena’s eyes lit up. “Great plan.”

  “I’ll call a cab.”

  “Even better.”

  The taxi arrived within minutes and she glanced nervously at her phone. She didn’t want them getting there too early and spoiling the surprise. Donovan hadn’t texted her yet to let her know he had Michael in tow. They really needed to arrive together for this thing to work.

  “Where to, ladies?”

  “The Creekside okay with you, Lena?” She looked at her friend and tried to stay as casual as possible.

  “Yeah. That’s pretty fancy, though. Are you sure? I mean, it’s Friday night and we don’t have reservations.”

  Her heart hammered in her chest. “We can eat at the bar, it’s never full.”

  Lena shrugged. “Steak sounds amazing right now.”

  “The Creekside, then.” The driver pulled away from the curb and, after a twenty-minute drive, they stepped through the doors of The Creekside.

  As Lena had predicted, the restaurant was packed with finely dressed couples out for date night. The bar was fairly full as well, but Lena managed to talk two guys out of their seats without much trouble.

  “Cosmo or wine tonight?” Lena asked over her shoulder as Valerie snaked through the crowd and snagged the seat next to her friend.

  “Wine. Red, please.”

  They sipped and perused the menu, all the while Valerie craned her neck in search of Donovan’s familiar form. Lena was about to order, causing her a moment of panic, when in walked the most handsome man she’d ever seen. Her heart swelled with love, lust, everything, as she watched him cut a path straight to her. He wore a suit, deep blue and cut to fit perfectly. If she didn’t know better, she’d say it was bespoke. He still sported the faint stubble she loved to scrape her lips on. She bit that lip as his eyes connected with hers and he grinned. A wave of lust shot through her at the twinkle of mischief in his eyes.

  “What is he doing here? I thought you were fighting,” Lena grumbled, taking a slug of her wine.

  “He’s here for me. And, he is here for you.”

  Lena caught sight of Michael as he followed Donovan through the crowd.

  “Michael? I thought you had a poker game.”

  He shrugged and moved to kiss her. The lines of his suit flowed smoothly with his movements. God, these firefighters were enough to reduce their women to puddles.

  “Yeah, about that . . .” Donovan cast his eyes to the floor, reaching back and rubbing his neck with one hand. “There’s no poker game.”

  �
�What do you mean? What did I get all dressed up for? You told me it was a high roller game. Important.”

  “Come on, Mike. A high roller game in Golden Beach?” The sarcasm in Donovan’s voice was hard to miss.

  She could barely contain her excitement as she took Donovan’s hand in hers and motioned for Michael and Lena to follow.

  “Where are we going?” Suspicions raised, Lena followed with wide eyes.

  “Happy wedding.” Valerie giggled as she threw open the doors to the party room.

  Lena’s eyes shined with tears as she looked from side to side, taking in the candlelight, the ethereal hanging lanterns, and the soft creams and blush pink flowers on each table.

  “Val, this is amazing.”

  “We all pitched in. Your mom, the Oliver’s. We wanted to celebrate your marriage.”

  Lena hugged her, bringing Valerie close to tears herself. “Thank you.”

  She pushed her away, smiling. “Go on, get your groom and enjoy.”

  Michael swooped in and wrapped Lena in an embrace, whispering something in her ear that caused her to blush.

  “Good job, sweetheart.” Donovan’s voice tickled her ear and sent a thrill down her spine.

  “You too, hotshot. I almost thought we weren’t going to pull it off.”

  “Yeah, I told Michael.”

  She turned to face him, shocked. “What? You told him?”

  “It was the only way I could get him to wear a suit.” He shrugged.

  Disappointment caused her shoulders to slump.

  “Sweetheart, you and I both know this wasn’t for Michael. This was for Lena. As soon as I told him, he jumped in the shower, shaved, and put on the suit. He loves her so damn much, he’d do anything to make her happy.” His eyes burned into hers, his last statement was as much about himself as it was about Michael.

  She smiled and leaned into him, her heels putting her at chin level. “Thank you.”