Fate Intended (The Coulter Men Series Book 3) (3 page)

Chapter 3

She didn’t walk home; she floated. Worries can’t bother a brain cluttered with whimsy and musings. And as of today…none of it was just a day dream. It was reality. She had the squirming, affectionate pup to prove she was wide awake. She hadn’t just talked to Mr. Perfect, AKA, Trip Coulter…she knew his name and the feel of his kiss on her lips.

It was a fact…he kissed her! The dreamiest guy in the world…kissed her.

Nothing could pop her happy bubble…not even the whole getting back to work thing. This day could hold no blemish. None whatsoever could be imagined…until she stepped off the elevator and remembered Sasha.

She forgot to ask her roommate, yet again, if she could bring home a dog. Sasha’s uncle owned the apartments and allowed them to stay rent free in exchange for caring for the building and its occupants. Were it not for Sasha, Jane would be homeless, or worse. She bit her lip and nudged the wooden door open a bit, poking her head inside. Silence. She breathed a sigh of relief. Sasha wasn’t home.

The tiny apartment was in the basement, wedged between the laundry and boiler room. It had the basics: a kitchenette the size of a small walk-in closet, a living room that fit a sofa and small chair, and two cubby-hole bedrooms joined by a shared bathroom.

Kissing the pup’s head, she set her on the couch, then stripped off her shoes and her tunic. Back aching from the heavy bags of laundry, she plopped down on the couch, sinking deep into the sagging cushions. Pulling Eve onto her lap, she figured she would rest a minute before heading to the last floor. Frosty appeared, nosing his way onto her legs as he sniffed and checked out their new guest. Jane scratched each dog behind an ear.

Guilt over the breach of roommate courtesy dissolved with the relaxed feel of her body as she closed her eyes and remembered the feel of Trip’s mouth on hers. Yesterday, she wondered if she’d ever speak to him…ever in her life. And today? She not only talked to him, she kissed him. What a precious moment…his body was so warm…lips sweet, with a hint of peppermint. A sigh escaped her and seemed to echo in the empty room.

Sasha found Jane with her sappy smile glued to her face, so engrossed in her thoughts, Jane didn’t hear the door open and close. Sasha stood in front of her, hands on her hips, face as grim as a prison warden’s, her voice harsh, her accent thicker than Jane’s. “Oh my god. Another dog?”

Her eyes popped open, and she nearly let out a scream. Tucking Eve under her arm for protection, she mumbled, “I’m just dog sitting.”

“For a resident?”

“Well, sort of.”

Sasha’s green eyes narrowed. She pulled her auburn hair out of its ponytail and rubbed her scalp. Sasha exhaled hard. “I hope they pay well.”

“Oh, yes, he said he’d pay me.”

“How much?”

“We didn’t have time to discuss that, but I’m sure he’ll be fair.”

“For God’s sake. You took on the responsibility of someone’s dog for nothing?”

Well, not nothing,
Jane thought.
For a kiss…and the opportunity to see him again.
She gave Sasha a weak smile.

Sasha frowned down at her and studied Jane’s face for a moment. “You’re as simple as a child. Does nothing I teach you open your eyes?”

Jane shrugged.

“This is pointless,” Sasha said with a sigh. “My only promise was to keep you alive, not make you smart. Why didn’t he put it in the pound?”

“Sash,” Jane scolded. “That’s mean.”

“Then I am mean. And you need to learn to be mean. Your life may depend on it. What if you don’t always have me? You’re safe now, but what will you do if we get out of this…situation…and you can be on your own? This world will eat you alive.”

“I’ll be fine. You just see the world as bad because you….”

Sasha shot her a glare. “Stupid girl. You grew up sheltered and spoiled; did that save you from reality?”

Jane shook her head. Sasha resumed, “So, don’t assume being an orphan changed me. This world has little justice, little mercy. Everyone’s out for themselves.” Sasha walked to the bar that separated the living room from the kitchen and picked up the mail, blindly flipping past envelope after envelope as she continued her lecture. “You must protect yourself, Jane. Life’s to be endured, not enjoyed.” Sasha tossed the letters on the counter and turned to Jane. “Your father ruined you with a soft, English mother. He should have stuck with a good Russian woman, and his life would have been easier.”

Jane nodded, hardly able to argue the rightness of Sasha’s theory. It was true. Her mother brought ruin to her father. She bit her lip and nodded, stiffly pulling the dogs closer for some comfort.

Sasha gave Jane a disgusted look and headed for the bathroom. She left the door open as she pulled out her make-up and began applying eye shadow. Jane followed, setting Eve on the floor by Frosty. She stood in the doorway and watched Sasha transform from beautiful to glamorous.

“Where are you going?” Jane asked, her curiosity wiping out all the guilt from Sasha’s scolding.

“Out.”

“A date?”

“Mmm, hmm,” Sasha said as she blended the black eyeliner into the smoky gray shadow.

Sasha awed her. She was stunning. Hollywood glamorous from the golden age. As for Jane, she was always in need of a make-up touch-up. Or her hair was either limp or would fly away. Sasha’s behaved.
It probably feared her,
Jane thought with a grin.

“So, who is the lucky guy you’re getting all dressed up for?”

“A fifty-year-old senator with a wallet as fat as his belly.”

“That’s mean…and sad.” Jane frowned. “You’re so pretty and intelligent, you could have any man.”

“I’ve done my homework. This man is perfect. High profile Washington urchin. Happily married, well connected. I’m sure he’ll be more than generous.”

“How could he be happily married and dating you?”

Sasha’s glare made Jane blush

Jane asked, “It’s just that if he is happily married….”

“All right, so he’s comfortably married and is looking for discreet entertainment.”

“Don’t you ever want to fall in love?”

“No.” She wiped excess mascara on a piece of tissue as she explained, “Love is weakness. People in love do stupid things, because it mushes up the head. And you remember what your father always says?”

“A fish rots from the head,” Jane answered, laying her head against the doorframe and rolling her eyes.

“And do you know what that means?”

Jane nodded, but Sasha explained anyhow, “Separate rational thought from emotion. Simple as that.”

“But love can….”

“Listen,” Sasha said as she twisted her hair and pinned it to the back of her head, “women make all the sacrifice, they give up everything to be shit on in the end. Take fatty. I bet his wife has spent her whole life building his family and his home… backing him as he climbed the ladder, and what does she get in return?”

Jane remained silent.

Sasha pulled a sparkling tennis bracelet from a box in the drawer and slipped it onto her slender wrist. “The bastard buys me diamonds. That’s who men are. Here, England, home…they’re all the same.” She bent over to grab her clutch purse from the cluttered floor. Eve was chewing on its edge. Sasha gently pried it out of the dog’s mouth. She shot Jane another scowl as she asked, “So, how long are we saddled with the animal?”

“Three months.”

“What the hell? Where the hell did they go?”

“He never really said,” Jane answered with a grimace and a blush.

“He?”

“Yes, it was a man.” Jane dropped her head in attempt to hide the two large pink splotches on her pale cheeks.

“What man?”

“His name is Trip.”

“No one in the building is named Trip.”

“He doesn’t actually live in the building. He dates the girl on four.”

“Which girl on four?”

“The lawyer.”

“Olivia?” Sasha said the name like Jane had told her she added a barracuda to the goldfish tank.

Jane nodded.

“Olivia?” Sasha repeated a little louder.

“Yeah.” Jane turned redder. “So?”

“So, she will whip your ass. There are bitches in this world and there are beasts, and she is definitely the beast of bitches.”

“Well, I’m not dating him. I’m just watching his dog.”

“So why the stupid grin?”

Jane shrugged.

“Holy shit, Jane. You are truly unbelievable. She has him, and you have the dog.” Sasha sighed. “Look, this man you get all pink checked over—he’ll marry the bitch on the fourth floor. She has status and culture and money. She will be the picture perfect wife and you’ll be the tramp cleaning shit for him.”

Sasha doused Jane’s good spirits with that shot of realism. Jane’s shoulders sagged.

“Ah, hell. Don’t.”

“Don’t what?”

“Look that way. Sad as the damn dog. I don’t mean to hurt you. But you must be taught to think.” She kissed Jane’s cheek and tweaked her ear like she was a child. “Don’t get involved with men who have women. It’s always a heartbreak. Or scandal. And you have more to lose than most, no?”

Jane nodded and picked at her thumbnail.

“You look like shit.” Sasha’s tone was gentler. “Your eyes are almost black. Tough night again?”

“Yes. It was the dream again. Maybe I should see a doctor? You know, a, ah psychiatrist? To see why I keep having the dream?”

“It’s stress. Drink a shot of vodka before you go to bed. That’ll help.”

“I tried it already. I’m beginning to think it’s something more than just stress.” She followed Sasha to the closet as Sasha slipped her feet into a pair of high heels. “I think, in my dream, I’m trapped in a coffin, getting buried alive. And I wonder if that could be, what do you call it? A symbol maybe. A forgotten memory?”

Sasha cursed in Russian and broke a nail as she got her thumb stuck in her shoe’s strap. “Nonsense. This is nonsense. Next you will think you are having a dream of future.”

Jane’s eyes opened wide. “I hadn’t thought of that.”

“Oh, hell.” Sasha rolled her eyes and pulled her long, curvy body erect. “It is a dream. You constantly worrying, trying to figure it out is what’s causing you to have it over and over again.”

Jane nodded slowly. Sasha was probably right.

“And get over the idea of talking to anyone. Much too dangerous.”

Jane bit her cheek and nodded her agreement, though she didn’t look completely convinced. Sasha stood in the doorway a moment as if she had something she wanted to say, but instead, she bent down and scooped Eve off the floor and looked her in the eye and warned, “Shit in my shoe like the other mutt and I’ll make a pair of gloves out of you.” She handed the pup to Jane, turned, and headed toward the door shaking her head. “Three months.” Sasha turned at the door and said to Jane, “Oh, and Eddie asked if you would come work the desk for him…again…. I told him probably…you’re a sucker fool.”

*****

“Miss Jane,” Eddie cooed. “Aren’t you a lovely sight for sore eyes?”

“No butter-up needed, Eddie. Go on home.”

Eddie rubbed his curly blond locks. He looked more like a California surfer than the apartment concierge. The look of leisurely slacker was deceiving. Eddie ran the front desk like a master. The residents loved him. He knew everyone in the building, and the names of their children, grandchildren, and probably where they all worked. Heck, he probably knew everybody’s favorite food delivery orders. Forrester Apartments had all the luxuries of home and a five-star hotel bundled into one high-rent package, and Eddie was part of that package.

“Ah, Miss Jane. I’d thought you’d be in a glorious mood today…seeing as how you got the guy and all.”

Jane’s mouth dropped open.

Eddie winked. “Don’t worry. Secret’s safe with me.”

“How did you..?”

“Brian, in security. Saw you two on the garage camera feed. Bow chicka wow wow.”

She gave him a shoulder shove. “Stop it!” She spoke to him like she would an annoying brother. “I was doing him a favor,” she said as she joined him behind the long desk.

“I’d say that’s some favor,” Eddie whistled. “Woo hoo. Probably lit the poor little nerd….”

“He’s not a nerd!” Jane gave him another shove.

Eddie laughed as he gathered his coat and back pack. “He’s a total nerd. But I like him. He’s a cool guy and deserves a helluva lot nicer gal than that bitch he’s dating. Man, she’s a piece of work. Fine ass, but….”

“Go, Eddie. I don’t want to talk of her. Not today.”

He slapped a big, wet kiss on her cheek. “Thank you, sweetness. And Jen thanks you. She hates walking to the strip club by herself.”

Jane rolled her eyes and waved him off. Jen was a waitress, but Eddie liked telling people he was dating a stripper. Made the men go ooh and the ladies go eww and somehow that entertained Eddie.

He paused at the heavy glass doors and said, “Seriously, Jane. You’re a great catch. Just make him see it. I speak truth, eh, Mrs. Little?”