The Other Marlowe Girl (Marlowe Girls) (5 page)

“My big brother doesn’t like you. So what? He usually means well, but he can be judgmental sometimes. You knew he didn’t like you before he married your sister. If it didn’t bother you then, it shouldn’t bother you now. I don’t need Luke to tell me what to think if that’s what you’re worried about.”

“It does drive me crazy that he hates me so much, but that’s not why. And Enrique, you’ve outgrown bar girls. It was the first thing you said to me. I don’t want to get involved with you because I’m not stupid. I’m not what you’re looking for.”

“And what do you think I’m looking for?”

The other Marlowe girl.
 “I don’t know. An attorney or 
an accountant, 
maybe.
 

“Ahh. No, I’m not looking for a girl that makes money.” He pulled into a parking garage and circled to the nearest open space.

“That’s not what I meant.”

“What’s your degree in?”

One more way for Kammy Marlowe to eff up
. “I’m a dance school drop out.” I stepped out of the car.
 

“You dropped out when you got married.”

“Yes. Although, I’m not sure it was a bad idea. As limited as career options for a dance school drop out are, I don’t think a B.A. in dance is worth the money.”

“What kind of dance?”

“I did a lot. Theatrical, tap, jazz, hip-hop, ballroom, but my specialty is ballet.” 

“Did you quit dancing when you quit school?” 

Was he just trying to dig out every sore spot in my life? I stared ahead at the pink glow of the setting sun, not wanting to look at him. “Pretty much.” 

“Pretty much?”

“I dance around the living room.”

He smiled and took my hand. “Do you miss it?”

“Of course.”

As we walked out of the opening in the parking garage, I realized we were at the Keema Boardwalk. It made me smile, because this was exactly my kind of place. Restaurants and carnival booths lined the sidewalk with gulf waves beating against the grass behind it. 

“You ditched the loser. Why not dance again?” 
 

That was a good question. I would say I didn’t have time because I had to work now, but the truth was I’d gone through six jobs in as many months and none of them mattered. “I guess I don’t really have anywhere to dance.”

“Do you want to be a dancer?”

“I think it would be cool to be a Rockette. I’ve always dreamed of dancing in 
The Nutcracker
 with a professional ballet company. That would be awesome.”
 

“Can you do that here?”

“I don’t know.”

“Well, what were you planning to do with a dance degree?”

I felt the heat in my face as I laughed at my own stupidity. “I don’t know. My primary goal was for my dad to pay for my dorm room.”

Enrique laughed at me.

“I should check in to dance companies here. Tiffany gave me two weeks to get out of her house.” 
And I’ve got to come up with money to pay Daniel.
 

“We need a secretary.”

“Are you serious?”

“Yeah. Just go talk to the HR girl tomorrow and tell her I told you to.”

“Why would you hire me?
 I
 wouldn’t hire me.” We strolled along the boardwalk.
 

“I’ve heard you answer a phone, so I’m confident you can, and I assume you can type. There isn’t much more to it.”

“Thanks.”

“No problem.”

 “Here’s the rule. Ferris wheel first then you decide where we have dinner.”

 “Awesome.”

My phone buzzed in my purse. Another text. “Get my money.” I swallowed past the lump in my throat and hurried to put it back, but Enrique was reading it over my shoulder.

“Who is this guy you owe money?” Dropping my hand, he shifted his body, so that I had to look at him.

“Just… ” 
A drug dealer? Right, because that wouldn’t make you run for the hills.
 What could I tell him? “A friend of my ex-husband’s.”
 

“Why do you owe him money?”

“I don’t know.”

“BS. Let’s try that one again. Why do you owe him money?” 

“Okay, how about I don’t want to tell you?”

“Kammy, what are you looking for?”

That question caught me off guard. “What?”

“What are you looking for?”

“I don’t know. I wasn’t really looking for anything. I was just having drinks in a bar to kill time.”

His jaw clenched. “Are you killing time?”

“Not anymore.”

“Then be honest with me.”

“I was. I told you I didn’t want to talk about it.”

“You’re going to.”

My head darted up at him, and I shot him a glare. “Excuse me?”

“Whoever took your car apart wasn’t joking. God knows what the guy in the bar would have done last night if I hadn’t been there. If you’re killing time with me, that’s fine. But you’re staying with my brother and his baby, so you’re going to tell me who is harassing you and what he wants, okay?”

“I’m staying with my sister.”

“And her one-year-old. So if you’re not going to tell her about it—and I understand why you wouldn’t—you’re going to tell me about it, now.”

So I looked into Prince Charming’s eyes and wished one more time that I could be my big sister. The kind of girl good guys went for. “He’s a drug dealer.”

Enrique gave a hard nod but said nothing. When he finally spoke, he asked, “Are you using?”

“Using?”

“Drugs. Are you using?”

I shook my head. “No. I’m a screw up and a loser. I know that, but I’m not an addict. And I’ve never been.”

“I didn’t ask if you were an addict.”

“I’ve never used.” I made finger quotes around the word used. “But I think I was probably contact high once in high school.”

“Then what’s missing?”

“Huh?”

“You owe a drug dealer money but swear you don’t use. What’s missing from the story?”

“Daniel was Emmett’s dealer.”

“Emmett?”

“My ex-husband. Emmett owed him money for drugs he was supposed to sell for him but apparently used instead, and right before we got divorced, he broke down the front door of our apartment, and I thought he was going to kill Emmett. It took me a minute to figure out what he wanted, but when I did I wrote him a hot check.”

“You wrote a drug dealer a hot check?”

My cheeks were warm when I smiled. “Yes, then when he realized I’d written him a hot check, I paid him with cubic zirconias.”

“What would a drug dealer want with fake diamonds?”

I blushed. “He didn’t know they were fake.”

Enrique laughed.

“It’s not funny.”

He shook his head. “It isn’t, but it kind of is. This is one dumbass drug dealer. Why would a drug dealer take a check anyhow?”

“I don’t know. He said he had to have the money then. He was waving a gun around. It was the only thing I could think of. Emmett grabbed me and was using me as like a shield. I thought it was worth a try. And it did get him out of my apartment.”

“Whoa—wait. This guy used 
you 
as a shield?”
 

“Yes.”

“What a loser. Tell me that’s why you’re divorced.”

Tears stung behind my eyes, because I knew just how pathetic this sounded. “It’s not. He had an affair. I knew about it. I’d known about it, but when I told Tiffany we were getting married, she smiled and said we deserved each other. When she met Luke, he told me this would happen. I didn’t want to admit they were right, so I ignored it. But the day after Daniel came busting our door down, Emmett brought her to the diner I worked at. It was too much. I poured a cup of coffee on him, went home, packed my stuff, and moved in with my parents. Daniel realized the check was hot six weeks later, and I plucked CZs out of a bunch of costume jewelry and told him they were diamonds.”

“You’re shady.”

“I told you not to get mixed up with me.”

“You think on your feet, and you must be convincing.”

I smiled. “
I 
could be a defense attorney.”
 

“There is more to it than that, but yeah, you probably could.”

“How much do you owe the guy?”

“He wants ten thousand dollars. It was originally three. I think he’s charging me for the hot check and the CZs,” I said.

“I would charge you for the hot check and the CZs… Ten thousand dollars isn’t un-doable.”

“Yeah, maybe if you own a law firm, ten thousand dollars is doable.”

“I would say if someone is threatening to kill you, most people could take that out of their 401k. But I’m worried that when you give him ten thousand dollars, he’s going to ask for more.”

I stopped moving forward and turned to face him instead. “I—I know you couldn’t have anticipated that. If you’re not into girls who have psycho drug dealers chasing them, I understand. I tried to warn you.”

“I’m not as preppy as I look, you know. I do have a tough side. I think I’m probably pretty different than most of the guys you’ve dated. Is that why you keep trying to give me easy outs? Are 
you 
not interested?”
 

I didn’t see that one coming. “I…” 
I think you’re too good for me. 
“No, it’s not that.”
 

“I’m not looking for an easy out, Kammy.” He placed his hand on the small of my back and pushed me toward the line for the Ferris wheel.

He was so sincere when he said it. Something about the way he looked at me told me I’d never dated a guy like him before. And the night only got better. He slipped his arm around me at the top of the Ferris wheel. We had dinner at Sharks. I ordered a salad, because I couldn’t eat fish with the poor little guys staring at me from the other side of their glass tanks, but Enrique ordered shark, and when I told him it was gross, he leaned over the table and fed me a piece. It wasn’t bad, but something told me the man feeding it to me was more delicious.

Chapter 6

When we got back to Tiffany’s, he walked me to the door. He cupped my face in his hand and leaned in, inching his lips closer to mine. I’d never wanted anything so bad. He was so close I could smell the mint of his breath and feel the heat on my face, when he moved away from my face and hovered over my ear instead. Geez! What was he doing? 
Just kiss me already. 
He brushed my hair behind my ear and whispered, “I’m sorry. I forgot you asked me to wait.” 
 

He became more vertical and dropped his hands around my waist, pulling me to him. Locked in his arms, I felt safe for the first time in a very long time. “Forget I asked you to wait.” 
I did.
 

“No, ma’am. I have to think you asked me that for a reason, and my girl needs to know I respect her.”

“Fine. But last night was a date… Did you say I’m your girl?”

“Do you want to be?”

I gave him half a smile. The kind Nigel demanded for that stupid ad. “I don’t want anyone else to be.”

“I’ll take that. But I have to tell you I’m not so sure last night was a date. We just happened into each other at a bar.”

“You bought the drinks and brought me home. It was a date.”

“Maybe I can get two in tomorrow.” He pulled me in tight and gave me a quick squeeze. “Goodnight, 
princessa.”
 

I stood on the doorstep and watched him walk to his car. He waved goodbye before he opened the door, and I turned and went inside.

“You were out late,” Tiffany said from the couch. 

“Where is my brother with my keys?” Luke asked.

I tossed his keys at him. “He wanted to avoid the lecture.” 
Because I’m such a piranha you wouldn’t even wait until I was out of earshot to start.
 

He kissed my sister. “I’m tired.”

She giggled. “Well, go to bed. I’ll be there in a few minutes.” Once he was gone she asked, “Tiffany, did you look for a job today?” 

“How could I? Hello, my car got ransacked
 
in a parking lot last night. I had no transportation.”
 

“I told you that you have two weeks to get a job. I’m serious, Kammy. It’s not just me anymore. I’ve got a family now. I can’t spend my life taking care of you.”

“I talked to some people.”

“Oh?”

I gave a Cheshire grin and held my phone up as if it was proof. “I have an interview tomorrow.” 
And no way to get there.
 

“With who?”

“An HR lady.”

Tiffany rolled her eyes. “Where?” Her annoyed voice made me realize this was what she meant with her previous question.

“A law firm.”

She narrowed her eyes. “Doing what?”

“Secretary.”

“Oh. That will probably be good for you. Good luck.”

I did kind of have an interview the next day. Enrique had told me to talk to his HR girl. All of my clothes were still at my parents, my car was useless for anything but scrap metal, and I’d gotten three new threats from Daniel in the past half hour.

I sunk into the overstuffed bed in the guest room. Way more comfortable than the couch, that was for sure. My phone buzzed with another text, and I kind of hoped it was from Enrique, something cute about how he already missed me. It was an image of Daniel standing in front of Tiffany’s house pointing toward the numbers 3300on the brick. “You can run, but you can’t hide. Give me my $$ bitch.” 

My heart stopped. He knew where I was, and that message just came. Was he here now? Or had he recorded it earlier and waited until now to send it? I wasn’t safe here. Then I remembered what Enrique had said as we walked down the boardwalk. “They have a one-year-old.” God, Lucí wasn’t safe as long as I was here. I had to leave. I had nowhere to go and no car. I slipped through the house from room to room, making sure all the windows were locked and both doors were bolted. Then I took a golf club from the downstairs closet and went back upstairs. I lay down next to my niece on her toddler bed with my legs hanging over the end and the golf club clasped to my chest. I might be the loser ex-wife of a junky skater, with no prospects and no marketable skills, but I’d make sure my drug dealing stalker didn’t hurt anyone but me.