Swindled (17 page)

Chapter 31

A few minutes later Beth was walking up three flights of stairs. She had managed to find Vickie and Scott to tell them the news about the sales director. Amid a great deal of excitement she had even managed to fend off the last advances of Brian’s numerous friends and had shaken hands with the last of the crooks. Her job today was well and truly done. She had even taken the time to say one last goodbye to Brian. The funeral team would take the body after the last of the guests departed so they wouldn’t, once again, have to sleep with a dead body under their roof.

Looking down at Brian’s body Beth realised that what remained didn’t look like Brian anymore. His personality had overshadowed his looks and in death he looked far more harmless then he had ever been in life. She wouldn’t miss him but she did regret that he was gone. She shook her head. She was exhausted.

Beth was walking upstairs to give herself a chance to calm her nerves and reflect before she headed back into the crowds to find David. Beth figured she could take a shower and meet him feeling much more herself. It might even give her a second wind. Beth wanted to see David face to face again and she wanted to relish every moment of it so she needed to feel refreshed. Her blood just pounded at the thought of him. It was time to sit down and find out just what this attraction was all about.

She reached the top of the house and heaved a relieved sigh. This floor was all hers. It was her place and quiet despite the funeral still going on downstairs. Beth had left all the day’s thoughts downstairs. Everyone there was happily stabbing one another in the back and as long as there wasn’t any actual stabbing taking place Beth was content to leave them to it. Vickie and Scott would watch out for any blood shed emergencies. Beth rubbed a hand over her eyes and headed into her sitting room. She wondered how long the people downstairs would stay.

*

David headed into the front room where the body was laid out. It all looked legit he decided as he made his way over to the coffin. Stopping and chatting to the occasional guest on his way through the crowds, David was relived to finally reach the dearly deceased. Glancing over his shoulder he reached into the coffin. While checking for a pulse on a dead man may not be the most logical thing to do somehow in this case it was justified.

“You’re the fifth person to do that today,” said a youngish sounding voice to his left. David glanced over. The guy who had spoken was about twenty and had a name badge pinned to the top pocket of his dark suit. One of the funeral staff. The expression on the guy’s face was incredulous. He must think it was some sort of family tradition for the dead to be checked for any signs of life.

“He was one of the best crooks in the business,” David explained patiently. The kid had the right to know. “We just need to make sure he is really dead and gone.” He gave the guy a grin and watched as recognition flittered across that young face. He loved it when this happened. For some reason once they knew who he was, no-one ever seemed to question what he was doing. He could have taken a stake and driven it through Brian’s dead heart and this kid would probably help clean up any spilt blood. Come to think of it maybe staking Brian would be the prudent thing to do. David looked down at the body again and raised a speculative eyebrow.

“Whatever you say S.. s… sir,” the lad stuttered back making David look his way again. He looked ready to faint and nervously plucked at the sleeves of his jacket. Before he could work up the nerve to ask for an autograph and before David gave in to the urge to turn vampire slayer, David turned and surveyed the room.

He felt a smile break over his face as he spotted what had to be Beth’s friends. They, like Beth, were wearing revealing satin numbers which ensured that no man within a ten foot radius would remember his own name. David glanced around. Where there were two there were bound to be a third. Ah yes. Standing with her back pressed against the wall and a polite sweet expression on her face was a lovely Asian woman. She was watching the hand gestures of the man speaking to her and every now and then wincing slightly as one of his larger then life explanations caused spit to rain into her drink. David headed over.

“I’m sorry to interrupt,” he said not sorry at all as he broke through the man’s focused explanation to Bee’s breasts just why she should think of investing in over-priced real estate. “But this lady is needed elsewhere.” David offered Bee a way around the fellow and together they moved away after Bee murmured a quiet apology.

“Hello David. You are my hero today,” she said with a smile of recognition. “Unlike some I could mention,” she continued as they walked toward Charlotte and Karin. He laughed. He felt like he would have recognised Beth’s friend’s even if they had been passing strangers on a street. They were almost as unique as Beth herself. Bee introduced him to Karin and Charlotte who had the silliest grins on their faces. Turning to her friend, Charlotte handed Karin a ten pound note. David raised an eyebrow at them.

“I didn’t think you would find her for at least another week,” Charlotte said with a shrug. The tilt of her shoulders literally stopped the waiter who was passing by in his tracks. He seemed mesmerised by the tiny glint of bronze reflecting off Charlotte’s halter top. She, on the other hand, was completely oblivious to the attention, as were her two friends. They watched David with beaming smiles. No man stands a chance with these women around, he thought.

“And you figured I would find her sooner?” David asked Karin raising an eyebrow.

“Nothing steps in the way of Fate,” Karin sniggered, nodding in agreement. “There was no way in the world the two of you were going to be kept apart.” The three friends all laughed as David rolled his eyes. He didn’t dare say anything. Fate, if there was such a thing, definitely had him in the good books. Not only had it thrust Beth into his arms the first time he met her, fate had managed somehow to bring them face together again, believe it or not.

David didn’t get a chance to chat with Beth’s friends for long. The surrounding men who had been waiting for a bit of attention finally lost patience. They were moving from the passive to the more active attack. David smiled, pitying the poor misguided fools. These three women could more then handle what came their way he decided as he extracted himself. He liked them he realised and looked forward to getting to know them better. First however it was time to find Beth and get to know her a bit better. Just as he turned away, Karin caught his arm.

“Beth lives in a flat at the top of the house,” she said with a gentle smile. ‘It would probably be easier to talk to her there rather then amongst the morbid.” David thanked her quietly as her attention was pulled away again. He walked away feeling cheerful. He was going to see Beth again.

The base of the stairs had a wide black ribbon tied across to stop people from wandering into the upstairs of the house. David was just about to step over it when he glanced up to see Beth heading down the hallway. His heart sped up for a moment then just as quickly his heart slowed down again. It wasn’t Beth. He watched the woman steer her way closer through the crowd. Following her was a tall blond man with an open face and ready smile. This had to be Beth’s sister David realised. Beth had mentioned her twin, Vickie and husband Scott but he hadn’t realised they were identical. It had never even occurred to him that they might be.

Just then as the crowd shifted David saw that Vickie was heavily pregnant, hence her slow progress toward the kitchen and past where he stood. David felt a kick in his gut. In a flash he could see Beth pregnant with his child. He wanted that. Everything around him stopped. He couldn’t hear the sounds of conversation, the shuffle as people wandered past. It was as if time had stopped. When had it gotten that serious he thought? He had fallen for her hook line and sinker he realised a split second later. They may have only have just met but all he wanted was her in his life. It felt right. He just needed to convince Beth of that.

David blinked allowing sound and sight to come back. Vickie had just made it the base of the stairs and was smiling up at him with a heart-wrenchingly familiar smile.

“You must be David,” she said as her husband gazed fondly down at his wife. He was a man clearly besotted David decided. He wondered if he watched Beth with the same look in his eye. He probably did David admitted.

“That’s me,” David replied smiling helplessly back at Vickie and Scott. These two were incredibly important in Beth’s life. If he was going to convince her that they were meant to be together then surely these were the two that he needed on his side. The problem was that David couldn’t get his nerves calm enough to function. At the thought of Beth pregnant his entire body sparked to life and felt out of his control. He felt light and couldn’t get himself to concentrate. He wanted to see Beth, hold her, talk to her. He wanted to see her now.

David managed to get through the introductions with Scott and exchange a few pleasantries but he was distracted. He kept glancing around to see if he could find Beth. He was aware of the faint amusement in both Vickie and Scott’s faces but he could bring himself to care. At another time or in anther place he knew they would be friends. He registered that they were good people but at this moment his mind was consumed by Beth. He was acting like a love sick puppy. David watched as Scott gently prodded his wife toward the kitchen again as if from a great distance. As they departed Scott slapped David on the back and gave a low chuckle.

“You’ve got her in your blood haven’t you?” Scott shook his head. “Once these Grants have you there is nothing to do but surrender and enjoy.” Still chuckling softly at David’s expression Scott wandered away with his wife as she gave David a wink. They were amazing women, David had to agree. He watched Vickie walk away and couldn’t help wondering if this be what Beth looked like when she was pregnant with his child?

*

One minute Beth was heading toward her couch and the next minute she was flying through the air with the wind whistled past her ears. Okay it wasn’t whistling but she was definitely flying Beth thought for the brief seconds after launch. Then she was landing face first on her couch. How elegant she thought, lifting her head up. She looked over her shoulder and spotted a brown worn leather carrier bag by the end of the coffee table. A soft chuckling filled the room. That warm deep sound was very familiar and melted ever bone in Beth’s body. Across from her, sitting in the big easy chair was David looking insanely handsome and illegally sexy.

“You really are the clumsiest woman I’ve ever seen,” David said shaking his head in mock despair.

“How can you say that?” Beth asked trying desperately to pull her flailing limbs together and heave herself out of the soft feather cushions to a semi upright position. She brushed a loose hair from her face and looked across at David.

“Exhibit A,” he said nodding his head toward her sprawled on the couch. He gave a cheeky grin and Beth noticed a small dimple near the corner of his mouth. He looked relaxed and laid back. He also seemed to be enjoying teasing her far too much.

“Not my fault,” she said “I tripped over a bag. A bag I might add that is not usually sitting in the middle of my floor.” Beth looked back at David. There was something so appealing about him. He sat back into the chair across from her. He smiled a very slow and predatorily type smile.

“Its mine,” he said.

“Well I figured that out thanks,” Beth retorted with a grin. “What is it doing in the middle of my living room?”

“I’m moving into a friend's spare room this afternoon and just stopped by on my way there to see if that idiot was trying to pull another fast one. The fact that you are here is an added bonus to my day.” He gave her another smile and continued, “the bag just came with me.”

“And you decided to leave it there?” Beth asked trying to stop her lips from quirking into a smile in response.

“I came up here to see if I could get to see you face to face without the posse of friends,” David replied showing off his dimple.

“Did you meet them then?” Beth asked curious to know how he had fared among the mad and insane.

“I just followed the revealing tops until I met them all,” he said with that same cheeky grin. “Karin and Charlotte were easy to find in the middle of a circle of men lapping it up. Bee was harder. She had been shanghaied by a guy in a really awful suit,” he explained.

“Oh no, poor Bee.” Putting her hand over her mouth Beth remembered that she had been on her way to save her friend before being waylaid. Trust Karin and Charlotte to let it get out of hand.

“Never fear. I delivered her to the other two for protection and threatened dire consequences if they abandoned her again.”

“Thank you,” Beth said and smiled back. “So you wanted to talk?” Beth tossed a lock of hair over her shoulder and looked him in the eye. There was no way she was going to make a fool of herself in front of him again, she decided. The only way to do that was to stay as still as possible and let him do the talking.

“Look the last time you and I were together it was… satisfying,” he paused and looked her in the eye. “But…”

“But?” Beth raised an eyebrow. Where was he going to go from here and did he really expect to survive what ever comment he made? And come to think of it did she want to hear what he might say next?

“Look we were both scratching an itch,” he said in a reasonable tone of voice.

“Scratching an itch?” Beth said widening her eyes. Okay it might be true but said out loud it just sounded sordid and mortifying. In her mind she had practically planned a life together with him over the past week and he was talking about scratching an itch.

“It was hot, it was sexy and it was one night stand sex,” David said, his voice deepening and his eyes darkening as he reminded her of their night together. “Neither of us planned on seeing one another again. Neither one of us thought it was anything more then it was. Am I wrong?”