Hurricanes in Paradise (23 page)

13

Tuesday evening . . .

The scents of Casa D’Angelo filled Riley. She loved this restaurant. Especially chef Angelo Elia’s herb-crusted rack of lamb. It was one of his signature dishes and her favorite. And his tiramisu . . . Well, let’s just say women didn’t need men with food like his. She sat at the bar to wait for Laine.

Laine arrived promptly at six thirty. She looked beautiful in a pair of flowing black pants and a black silk sleeveless blouse. Her blonde hair was pulled back behind her ears, and a few wispy pieces hung softly around her face. Her beauty really was arresting. Riley hadn’t noticed until this moment just how beautiful Laine Fulton was.

Laine walked up next to her and pulled out a stool. “Are the others here yet?”

“No, not yet.”

“Good, because I wanted to give you a heads-up. I think you need to watch yourself with that Mia girl. There’s something about her that I wouldn’t trust.” She turned her head to the bartender and ordered a club soda.

“Excuse me? I’m not sure that reading people is your primary gift.” Riley couldn’t hide the sarcasm.

She signed her receipt and turned back to Riley. “Touché, and honestly, I wanted to—”

“Good evening, ladies,” Winnie said as she came up beside them. “I don’t know if any of you checked out our pictures after our little excursion today, but if one of you so much as thinks about buying one of me in a wet suit, well, let’s just say the next book being written won’t be Laine Fulton’s. It will be a murder mystery written by yours truly.”

“Don’t pay her any attention,” Tamyra chided. “In fact, she even said it was slimming.”

“I said it was vacuum-sealing. I said nothing about slimming.”

They couldn’t help but laugh as they made their way to the table. “A little piece of Tuscany in the Carribbean,” Laine noted as they walked to their seat. The stucco walls and hand-painted ceiling gave all the diners a little visual Italian flavor. The intimate setting, delicious food, and expansive wine collection provided a flawless evening for anyone wanting a good meal and an inviting atmosphere.

Riley watched Laine all night. She was acting odd. Lighter, more amusing, kinder even. She was a sociopath for sure. Riley knew that was exactly how sociopaths acted before they went in for the kill. She may have fooled Max, but she hadn’t fooled Riley one bit. Laine Fulton was undeniably crazy; she was certain of it. As they finished up the final bites of their tiramisu, Riley felt someone approach behind her.

“Good evening, ladies. It looks like you are getting a taste of some of that Mediterranean fare that I love so much.”

Riley looked up. Christian stood over her looking like an angel with his white button-down hanging loosely over white linen slacks. With his black wavy hair, he simply took her breath away. “Oh, hey. How are you?”

“It’s been a long day, but this is a wonderful way to end it. Looks like you ladies had the same great idea.”

“Uh-huh.” Winnie cleared her throat.

Riley stood. “Oh, yes, Christian, let me introduce you. This is Ms. Tamyra Larsen, Mrs. Winnie Harris, and Ms. Laine Fulton.”

Christian went around the table and shook each woman’s hand. Riley could tell by their expressions that each of them were enjoying the new landscape. As Winnie chatted him up one side and down the other, Christian smiled warmly and finally excused himself. As he did, he caught Riley’s elbow, causing the soft terra-cotta leather of her jacket to rub against her skin. Its three-quarter sleeve grazed her elbow.

“I’m thinking breakfast would be good,” he whispered.

She laughed. “I can’t. But soon.”

“I’m holding you to that,” he said, then turned back to the other women. “Wonderful to meet each of you. I hope you enjoy the rest of your stay here at the beautiful Atlantis resort.”

Tamyra let out a soft sigh and nodded like an obedient puppy. Laine leaned back in her chair with a weird smirk on her face. And Winnie simply got up and gave him a hug as if he were one of her sons who had finally come home.

He obviously loved every minute of it.

Riley sat down and tugged at the bottom of her navy tank, then wiped her hands down her dark denim Seven jeans.

“He is completely crazy about you,” Laine blurted out.

“Smitten,” Winnie added.

“Gorgeous,” Tamyra interjected.

Riley cocked her head. She grabbed her water and took three large gulps before she set it down. “Well, thank you for your evaluation on Christian, but we are nothing more than good friends.”

“You’re crazy; he is beautiful. And he’s crazy about you. And you’re completely crazy about him,” Laine said. “So what are you so afraid of? Have breakfast with him tomorrow.”

Riley looked at Laine and raised her right eyebrow. “I assumed I would be having breakfast with you.”

“I don’t need you tomorrow. And I would leave me for a man who was that crazy about me.”

Winnie spoke up. “You can tell he is really taken with you, Riley, and he is completely charming. Seems like a precious young man.”

Tamyra came out of her trance. “That is one of the most beautiful men I have ever seen. And if I had someone look at me the way he looks at you, with such kindness and admiration, well, girl, I can tell you this: I would tell Laine Fulton over there to fetch her own breakfast.”

They all laughed. Riley got up from the table to make it clear that the conversation was over. When they walked outside, as in previous evenings, Tamyra and Winnie headed up to their rooms and Riley waited for Laine’s personality shift and her demands for the day to come.

“You should really meet him for breakfast tomorrow.” Her tone and her words were nothing like Riley expected. “What are you afraid of?”

Riley stood there staring at her. “Who do you think you are, really?” She crossed her hands awkwardly and finally put them on her hips. Two times in one day wasn’t going to win her friends or influence people. “First, you don’t even acknowledge our conversation this morning . . .”

“Well, in all honesty, this morning wasn’t a conversation.”

Riley looked at her incredulously. “Whatever you want to call it, you didn’t acknowledge it, or the fact that I revealed to you this morning some of the most private parts of myself. Then you tell me to watch out for Mia, a really nice girl who took time today to listen to me have an emotional breakdown because of you. And since we know how good you are at reading people, I honestly wouldn’t make telepathy my new occupation. And now you can’t let Christian go. What is with you? Do you major in making people crazy while minoring in ‘researching’ novels?” She used her fingers to emphasize the word as if she were in middle school.

Laine mimicked her finger punctuation. “First of all, you look like an idiot doing that. Secondly, I was going to acknowledge it this morning in the restaurant before Winnie showed up. But she interrupted me. Thirdly—”

Riley wasn’t going to let her off that easily. “How were you going to acknowledge it?”

Laine took in a deep breath and blew it out. Riley watched as her stature deflated slightly, taking with it the air of aloofness that accompanied Laine as easily as pineapple rings accompanied breakfast plates around here. “You’re right, Riley. I have been unkind and . . .”

“Mean. You’ve been mean.”

Laine raised her eyebrows and nodded. “Okay, you’re right. I’ve been mean. And I did misread you. But only slightly. You are perfect. You might have had some issues—and I do mean serious issues—in your life, but there is something inside of you that is just so pure and kind and . . . well . . . perfect.” Laine started walking through the corridor of the hotel.

Riley assumed that meant she wanted her to follow.

“You’re not like me, Riley. You’re still Southern and gracious. I’m cynical and . . .”

“Dreary,” Riley added.

“Excuse me?” Laine stopped.

“Well, you are. The all-black thing really is overdone and it just makes you look moody and . . . well, dreary.”

“Dreary? Okay, that’s the first time I’ve heard that one.” She started back up the corridor. “I wasn’t always this way, Riley. In fact, if you had met me about two years ago, you wouldn’t know I was the same woman.”

“Do you want to tell me what happened?”

Laine breathed a deep sigh again. “Yeah, I do. I owe you that much after what I’ve put you through these past few days.” Riley watched her hesitate before the story began to flow out of her. “It was the last night of my research trip in Dubai by myself. I have taken research trips like that for years. Gone alone, while Mitchell stayed back in L.A. to make sure the rest of my life functioned okay. He would give me a week by myself, and then he would come and join me the next week for a getaway. We would do this for all my research trips. It was kind of our reward to each other for me getting my work done.”

Riley could see the complete change in Laine’s demeanor when she talked about Mitchell. Her words were spoken through her smile. “He’s a good man, isn’t he?”

Laine turned to her, her face soft in the flickering movement of candlelight at The Cove. “He is a wonderful man. But I did a horrible thing.” Pain etched its way across her face immediately.

Riley felt sympathy swell to the surface. “You don’t have to tell me any more if you don’t want to, Laine; it’s okay.”

Laine shook her head. “I want to tell you.”

Riley nodded. “Okay. Go ahead.”

“Well, I had finished having dinner in my room. Because I hate to eat alone in a restaurant, in case you haven’t noticed.” She laughed slightly.

Winnie’s words rang in Riley’s head, but she didn’t need to justify herself anymore.

“So I went downstairs and heard music. I walked out to the back patio of the hotel. They had this terrific band; people were dancing and sitting at tables all around. I found a quiet little spot and was having a good time watching everyone, when a man, a gorgeous man, came up and asked me to dance. I love to dance. Mitchell hates to dance. And honestly, I didn’t think a thing about it. Everyone was having such a great time and it all seemed so innocent. We introduced ourselves, began dancing, and for the next five hours we talked and laughed and danced. He was with a group of other men on a business trip. He told me about his family. I told him about mine and we were just enjoying ourselves. We closed the entire event down that night at about three in the morning. When they cut the lights out, we were standing there on the dance floor. That’s when he leaned over and kissed me.” Laine paused and rubbed her hand down the side of her face. “It was so stupid.”

“But it was just a kiss, Laine.”

“No, it started with a kiss and ended up in my bedroom. And it was a ridiculous one-night stand with a complete stranger.”

Riley felt the thud in her gut and a deep compassion for Laine.

“I mean, I have this amazing husband who I am totally crazy about, who I had never one time thought about cheating on, and who was going to be there that afternoon. I was a wreck. A complete basket-case wreck. I threw up all day. By the time he got there, I was in bed and couldn’t do anything but cry and puke. He begged me to tell him what had happened. He thought I had been raped. He honestly didn’t know what to make of how I was acting. He called a private jet in and had me out of there by that evening.”

“Did you tell him when you got home?”

Laine finally stopped walking and sat down on one of the benches in the lobby. “I spent a week in bed. I knew I was officially dying. I mean, honestly, I felt like my heart was breaking inside of my body.”

“I completely understand,” Riley said.

Laine looked up at her and Riley could tell by her expression Laine knew that she did. “One day when he was at work, I packed up all of my things, put them in the car, came back inside, and sat down on the sofa until he got home. When he walked through the door, I told him everything. I told him how sorry I was, but I knew that he could never forgive me and I wouldn’t ask him to. I told him he could have the house and everything in it, that none of it mattered to me, and I walked out the door and moved into the Beverly Wilshire.”

Riley sat beside her. “What did he do?”

“He begged me to come home.” Laine’s voice couldn’t hide its emotion anymore, nor her tears. They began to fall freely, landing on her trousers. “Told me he could forgive me if I knew this would never happen again. Assured me he loved me and didn’t know how this had happened. But that we could get counseling and work through everything and that he’d go with me anywhere to get whatever help I needed.”