“Pretty sure. I’ll be there soon.” He paused and my finger nearly slid over the end call button, before he continued. “Hang in there, man.Don’t do anything…impulsive.”
“JJ, I’m fine. Don’t go calling some suicide prevention line. I just need a drink and some fresh air, all right?”
“All right.”
I ended the call before he could dig deeper. I didn’t want to hear his warnings or advice. Actually, I really didn’t want to think at all.
That lasted about half an hour. As soon as JJ and I sat down at a table on the patio of the burger joint, I ordered a beer—ignoring the raised brow of the waitress—and before I knew it, I’d spilled the entire story. As I was speaking, JJ’s face melted with compiled horror.
“Wait—Remy, stop,” he sputtered after I told him the part about punching Christopher. “You gotta back up, dude. You gave up your trust, traded your restaurant money for Livvie’s music business, and then hooked up with her? Then, you had the audacity to assault one of the richest bastards in LA?”
He scrubbed his face with the palms of his hands. When he looked back over at me, his face was red and his skin looked irritated from the pressure. “Have you lost your fucking mind completely? Christopher Diaz is not the kind of guy you need to be fucking with. You know that, right? I mean, the cops could be out looking for you right now.”
I took a long pull from my beer. I didn’t care. I knew Christopher wouldn’t call the cops, and even if he did, there were no witnesses. The case wouldn’t stick.
“Keep it together,” I told him. I set my empty bottle down and waited for the waitress to swoop by and get me another. It was ironic that JJ’s anxiety was somehow calming my own. While he was losing his mind and reeling from the bombshell I’d just dropped on him, my own thoughts reorganized and settled down.
“Hey, man, I’m cool,” he said, although his tight expression gave him away. “What’s your plan?”
I shrugged. “I don’t know. I gave Livvie the contracts that prove Christopher is using her. If she still wants to associate with him after that, I guess I’ll have to pull my support. I can’t work with her if she won’t trust me on stuff like that.”
“Can you do that, though? Were there contracts signed to guarantee a certain amount of financial assistance?” JJ asked.
“Yes and no. We had an unofficial agreement, but my lawyer is drawing up formal contracts.”
“So, what, you just wouldn’t sign them?”
“No.” My answer came out firmer than I’d intended, but it helped me see my feelings more clearly. Like that game where one person throws out a word and the other has to say the first thing that pops into their mind.
The admission hurt, but I knew that if pushed, it would be the only choice I could make. I was willing to give up, or at least put my restaurant on hold, to help Livvie and make her dreams come true. She deserved it and I wanted to help her, maybe even more so now that her success would also wreck Madge and Christopher’s plotting.
But she had to trust me. That was all I required.
“What do you think the secrets are?” JJ asked, pulling me back to the present.
I must have looked confused because he rephrased. “You said that Christopher gave Madge some kind of dirt. What do you think it is?”
I honestly didn’t know. I hadn’t formed any theories. Livvie and I had talked a lot over the three days that we had spent together at my penthouse. Her life sounded pretty straightforward to me, it didn’t seem like there would be much room for some big, dark secret to hide.
“Do you want me to do some digging?” JJ asked. I knew he could use his PI skills and probably figure it out in a few days.
“No.” I stared past his shoulder, out at the ocean, watching the waves rolling in as the tide changed from low to high. “I can’t expect her to trust me if I won’t do the same for her. If she’s hiding things, she will have to bring them out at her pace.”
I cut my gaze back to JJ and he looked surprised. “Wow. This one’s really got you, huh?”
I cocked an eyebrow.
“I’ve never seen you—or heard you—like this before. Where do you think this whole thing’s going?”
I took another chug of beer, stalling my reply.
“That good, huh?” JJ smiled.
I couldn’t help but laugh. “It sounds completely insane, but…” I trailed off, looking back out at the ocean. It was a perfect southern California day. My heart twisted, and I suddenly found myself wishing I was here with Livvie. Wishing that she was sitting across from me and that we were splitting a bottle of wine before going out to dip our feet in the ocean.“I think she’s it for me.”
JJ smiled and nodded at me. “I’m happy for you.”
I wished I could say the same. I wanted Livvie, and I knew she wanted me, too, but at the moment, there was so much bullshit in the way of us being together the way that I’d imagined.
Our food arrived and we changed to lighter topics as we both dug into our burgers. I hadn’t eaten since having dinner with Livvie the night before, and ended up wolfing down the buffalo burger with smoked Gouda cheese in record time.
When we were done eating, JJ announced that he had to get back to his office to meet with a new client, so I picked up the check and waved him off as I went up to the counter to pay. Once things were settled, I went back to the table and dropped a nice tip down for the waitress. I stood, staring out at the ocean and then used the patio gate to exit and started a long walk down the coast.
Eventually, I ran out of places to go, and headed back into the city to my penthouse—which I already knew was going to feel a lot bigger than it was, simply because Livvie and her infectious energy wouldn’t be there to fill it.
Chapter Four — Remy
I’d barely been back home an hour when the anticipated silence was broken by my phone buzzing on the granite counter top in the kitchen. I threw down my oven mitts after checking the frittata I had in the oven, and glanced over at the caller ID. It was the front desk. I snatched up the phone and clicked onto the call, silently praying that Livvie was downstairs waiting for me to give the word to send her up.
“Good evening, Mr. Maddox. Ms. Devereux is here to see you. Shall I send her up?”
Shit. What the hell is she doing here?
The residual anger and frustration from the morning welled back up and my fists clenched at my sides as memories of her conversation with Christopher still rattled around my mind. “No, don’t send her up. She’s not welcome here. Please tell her to go away.”
“Uhm—okay, sir. Yes, sir,” the front desk clerk—it sounded like James—stammered out.
“Remington, you will
not
embarrass me like this,” Madge hissed into the phone.
I grimaced, imagining the scene going on in the lobby. I just hoped she hadn’t clobbered James with her designer handbag to get the phone away from him. “Mother, I said I was done with you. Good bye.”
“This is about Christopher,” she retorted, as though that was the magic ticket.
I laughed harshly. “Well, in that case, there’s even less to say.”
I hung up the phone. It rang again two seconds later
“Mother, stop embarrassing yourself. You’re never stepping foot inside my apartment again. Clear?”
“Remington, the only one who should be embarrassed is you. What were you thinking? Assaulting Christopher in his own office. You’re just lucky he isn’t pressing charges. Obviously, you’re going through a lot right now, with the trust ending and all this tension. Let me come up so we can work something out.”
I rolled my eyes. So this was her new tactic? Her backstabbing, plotting, ice queen routine wasn’t panning out, so it was apparently time to switch gears and act like she gave a damn about me instead. How novel.
“Goodbye, Madge.” I clicked off the line again and raked my hand through my hair. This time, the line stayed silent for more than a minute. I dialed down and told James to not send up any more calls for the rest of the day. Madge was resilient, if nothing else, and it was only a matter of time before she’d come back to try for another round.
My veins were still flooded with molten lava, and I only knew two ways to get the pent-up rage out of my system—and a good fuck wasn’t available, so I set the baked frittata on the counter, put on my Nike shorts and went directly to the complex gym and didn’t go back up to my penthouse until every muscle in my body was shredded to the point that I could barely move. I rode the elevator back up to the top of the building, back home, and took a long steam in the sauna attached to my master bathroom.
By the time I’d showered, I barely had enough energy to collapse into bed. A sleepless night combined with all the stress of the day pushed me over the edge into a deep, dark, dreamless sleep within seconds of hitting the feather pillows.
Sometime later, a ringing sound ripped me out bed and had me running to silence the phone. I nearly clicked the silence button before seeing through groggy eyes that Livvie’s name was the one flashing on my screen this time.
“Liv?” I mumbled, pressing the phone to the side of my face.
“Remy! I—I’m sorry, to—” she paused and I could have sworn I heard her sniffling. “They said you’re not taking calls, but—”
“Liv, where are you?”
“Downstairs,” she said, sniffling again.
“Stay there.”
I hung up, and ran back to my room to throw on a t-shirt and a pair of shorts. I went downstairs and as soon as the elevator doors opened when I hit the lobby, Livvie was the first thing I saw.
God, she’s a mess.
She was crying and looked like she had been for quite a while. There were black smudges under her eyes, her hair was tousled like she’d just gotten out of bed, and she sniffled every two seconds.
Without a word, I stepped off the elevator and went to her, wrapping my arms around her. I pulled her close to my chest and she snuggled against me. I had no idea why she was crying or why she was here.All I knew was that holding her like that felt like heaven.
“I’m so—sorry, Remy. I was such a biiiitch,” she wailed again. Hot tears were splashing from her cheeks and soaking through my thin t-shirt as she sobbed against me.
“Shhh, Liv, it’s okay.” I smoothed her hair under my hands.
“No—it’s—not!” she insisted—each word punctuated with a body wracking sob.
“Hey, what’re you talking about? Of course it’s okay.” I tilted her chin back and forced her to look up at me. It killed me to see her gorgeous blue eyes clouded over with tears. “Livvie, it’s okay. I swear. Come on, let’s get you upstairs.” It was pitch black outside and the lobby was all but deserted, but the late-night front desk clerk looked a little too eager to overhear our conversation.
“I was so awful to you,” she said as I gently pulled on her arm and started leading her towards the elevator bank.
We stepped inside, and I hit the buttons before gathering her back in my arms and pulling her against me. “Livvie, please, it’s okay.”
She was still crying, but was slowing down. I didn’t say anything else and continued stroking her hair, hoping that somehow it was helping. I’d never really been the comforting boyfriend type—hell, before her, I’d never been the boyfriend type, period. I could only do what felt right and hope she calmed down.
By the time we got inside my penthouse, she had wound down. I led her inside, shutting and re-locking the door before taking her into the kitchen. “Water or something stronger?” I asked, opening the fridge wide enough for her to see inside from her seat at the kitchen island.
“Water’s good,” she answered, her voice still a little shaky.
I deposited a bottle in front of her and waited for her to finish her sip before asking, “All right, let’s start at the beginning. What’s wrong?”
She shook her head and pressed her eyes closed for a moment. When she looked back at me, her eyes were still sad, but she wasn’t crying anymore. “I was such an idiot. Remy, I was a major idiot.” She stopped to take a big gulp of air. “After you left, I went to Christopher’s office—”
“You what?” I roared, my eyes frantically searching her face and bare arms for any signs of harm.
Oh, my God.If he hurt her to get back at me, I’d never forgive myself, and I’d kill him.
“Hold on, let me get this out,” she said, holding up one hand to me. “I read the papers that you left, after our stupid fight. And I went down there to get some answers.” She paused, sniffling again. “And…and for some stupid reason, I thought there was a good explanation for the whole thing.”
“Livvie…”
“Wait!” She took a deep breath and continued. “Obviously, you know that isn’t the case. There is no good explanation—except the fact that he is a douche bag. He told me about the fight and then he accused me of putting you up to it. Remy, he was so mean to me. I just went home and cried and I was so scared—I thought I’d lost you. I was so stupid.”
She sniffled. “I hope you can forgive me. I know I was being a total bitch.”
I leaned on the counter across from her and studied her pretty face. Even blotchy and puffy from crying, she was the most beautiful woman I’d ever seen. She continued to blow me away and shock my system. In the past, a crying, hysterical woman would’ve been a major repellent—but as I stood there, staring at her, I wanted nothing more than to throw her over my shoulder, take her to my bedroom, and make her forget that Christopher ever existed.
“Say something, please,” she said, staring down at her hands self-consciously.
“You’re gorgeous,” I said.
“Remy! Come on, be serious,” she protested, but her eyes were sparkling when she looked back up at me.
“I am.”
I took the bottle out of her hands and set it aside. Her eyes locked with mine and her lips parted. I met her full lips with a hot kiss that made her breathless in seconds. Her hands clawed at my chest, ripping my t-shirt off in one swoop. Her fingertips raked over my firm chest and taut stomach, studying every inch like a map. I claimed her lips again and tangled her up in another wild, hot kiss.
We moved across the room like a hurricane, leaving clothes and shoes in a messy trail behind us. I had her completely stripped down, so I could explore every luscious curve. I barely had her laid out on the couch before my need for her swelled up so much I thought I’d explode. I knew I’d have her all night, and this first time, I wanted her coming hard and fast, and leave her wet and panting for more as soon as she finished.