Freefall (Santa Cruz Skydivers Book 1) (11 page)

Chapter Eleven

Levi

The entire way to meet my father, I thought about Andi, and the emotions she stirred in me. Plus, I still couldn’t shake the feeling I knew her. Impossible—she said it herself. She hadn’t been to LA since she was a kid, and I hadn’t lived there until four years ago. I knew it wasn’t anyone else. Apart from a few recent one-night-stands, there had only been one major love in my life. My high school sweetheart and ultimately the one who ripped out my heart, Taylor Lawson. Hollywood’s current “it” girl. She had been my life.

We’d had big plans for our future, but things had changed when she left Sydney for LA following some acting gigs in a few Australian soap operas. Taylor’s instant fame was unexpected. Her agent encouraged her to strike while she was hot, so she left halfway through our senior year. I was to join her in LA following my graduation, but my mom died unexpectedly and I couldn’t leave. Emotionally, I had been wreck. Mom had always been my pillar of strength, my only family. Financially, I was tied as well. I had used all my savings to pay for her funeral and wasn’t about to hit up Derek for a loan. Back then, I refused to acknowledge him in my life. I blamed him for her death, as I still do now.

Even though I wasn’t with Taylor, I had thought of her every day, and when I eventually had enough money to travel over to LA to be with her, she shattered my heart. Alone and stranded in LA, I found myself in a completely fucked up situation. I had no other option, and was forced to dial Derek for a handout. But with Derek, nothing came for free, especially being his son. I had to earn it and agree to his terms. In a nut shell, I may as well have signed my life over to the devil. He called the shots. I hated him, but hated myself more for letting him back in my life.

In a way, though, I owed him my dream job, although I was still far from grateful toward him. I met the owners of LA Flyers at one of the many publishing functions. Perhaps they were looking for favors from dear old dad, but they gave me a job and trained me up. Unfortunately, because of our agreement, Derek was still in my life. Something I aimed to rectify.

Standing at the front of The Wine Bar, I took a deep breath and gave myself a couple of minutes before pushing the doors open. I needed my head clear to deal with dear old dad. The place was empty of patrons, except for Derek, who was sitting by a vast window facing the ocean view, his back to the empty room. I approached his table and pulled out the chair opposite him. He had his ear to his cell phone, barking orders down the line when I sat down.

“Just get it done. What the hell am I even paying you for? I don’t want to hear from you again unless you have the right answer.” Typical Derek behavior.

He disconnected his call, and indicated at a bottle of red on the table. A Penfolds Grange Vintage. “Pour yourself a glass.”

I was more a tequila and beer type of guy, but knew I’d need something alcohol-based to get me through this lunch. I poured myself a glass until it was nearly overflowing and practically inhaled the wine, then refilled. “What’s so important that you need to see me today?” Blunt and straight to the point. Language he understood.

“I thought it time you and I got together and discussed your future with James Publishing.” He swilled his wine glass under his nose and took a sip. “Like this wine, you need to learn to appreciate the finer things in life, son. It’s not all cheap, hard, and fast.”

“If I want advice from you, which I don’t, I will ask for it.” I took another large mouthful of wine just to piss him off. This bottle of wine was worth at least a week of my wages, probably more, but I didn’t care. He was paying. I looked him direct in the eye. “I don’t have a future with James Publishing.”

He pushed a copy of the morning’s local paper across the table to me, front cover side up. On the front was a photo of Taylor smiling, kneeling next to a hospital bed surrounded by balloons and flowers, holding the hand of young child undergoing cancer treatment. It was a total farce. She would have only been there to promote herself. She didn’t have a caring bone in her body.

I pushed the paper back to him. “What has this got to do with me?”

He tapped the photograph of Taylor. “This is your future.”

“Do you mean Taylor or the paper?” I tried to keep my voice calm, but I could hear the quiver in it as it started to rise.

“Why choose?”

“Fuck Taylor.” I spat the words at him.

He raised his eyebrows, then went in for the kill. “I want you to take control of the Santa Cruz publishing area.”

“Pass. Not my scene.” I needed more wine. I drained my glass, refilled, and took another mouthful.

He picked up the paper and flicked through the pages before he folded it back on itself and threw it down in front of me with the social pages on display. I picked it up. A large color photo of Andi and me from last night took up a majority of the page. We were both smiling broadly. Her cheeks were flushed pink and her eyes were twinkling. She looked stunning. I remembered her running into me. All I saw were blue eyes.

He flicked at the paper in my hands. “I expected more of you than this. I’ve fired the editor and the photographer today for this unprofessional piece of journalism.”

“You what?” I exploded at him. If I remembered correctly, the photographer was a friend of Andi’s.

“Do you think I like to see my son in the social pages with a checkout chick from Costco?”

Now I was pissed. Andi deserved a voice here. “I don’t believe you. You’ve even researched her. Your morals have no boundaries. I don’t care what Andi does for a living. She’s a wonderful, funny girl and she’s got something that you will never have. Integrity.”

Over Derek’s shoulder, a tall blonde walked in the door. And even though I couldn’t make out her features, I would know that gait anywhere.

Angrily, I pounded my fist on the table, shaking the glasses. “What the actual fuck, Derek? You invited Taylor here? What game are you playing at?”

“I thought it time you both sort out your differences and patch things up. She will be perfect in assisting you in your new role in James Publishing. The
Bay Herald
paper is flailing and I’ve been consulting with Taylor about turning it into an entertainment paper. Give Murdock a run for his money. With Taylor’s connections in LA, we would have access to breaking stories. I’m also currently in negotiations to start an entertainment cable channel, like E!, that will be its sister publication. And a rekindled romance between you both would be perfect to launch the new paper.”

His fat, bloated face was red with too much wine and too much bullshit. I glared at him. He sickened me to the core. “Who the fuck do you think you are? You are MIA for my whole life and may as well have poured the barbiturates down my mother’s throat, given the way you dumped her for the piece of ass that opened her legs for you. I want no part of Taylor and no part of this. Go fuck yourself.” I was done with this conversation. I drained my glass of wine before pushing my chair back to leave.

“Levi, you are too much of a hot head like Rosa.”

I pointed a finger at him angrily. “You have no right to talk about her. She raised me on her own. You left her knocked up with nothing other than a regular check to keep her mouth quiet about your affair. You couldn’t have the hired help tell everyone what you were really like.”

“Sit down, Levi, you’re behaving like a child.” He swilled his wine again and took another sip. “Don’t forget our little agreement.”

Before I could tell him to shove his agreement and that I wasn’t his man-whore, a pair of familiar arms wrapped around my waist and an overwhelming aroma of Chanel no. 5 washed over me. I almost threw up.

“LJ, I’m so glad you came,” Taylor said much too sweetly for her nature, and kissed me on the mouth in greeting.

I didn’t move for a few seconds, stunned. Once I overcame my shock, I grabbed her by her shoulders and pushed her away, scowling at her. “What do you think you are doing, Taylor?”

She smiled sickly sweet at me. “Saying hello, of course.”

“What about Ben? You can’t kiss me like that when you’re with someone else. Old habits die hard, huh?”

“I broke up with Ben last night. He’s not what I want.”

The look on her face brought me back to when we were in high school in Sydney. She used to look at me with that same look, like I was her everything. I would have moved the earth for her back then. But now I knew better.

My fists clenched by my sides. “Cut the shit, Taylor. Your acting has improved, I’ll give you that. I’d say that performance right there is worthy of an Oscar.”

She didn’t drop the look, but instead took my hand and tried to encourage me to sit back at the table.

“LJ, let’s just listen to what Derek has to say. What’s the harm? We have so much history between us. I think we should give us another chance.”

“You know what I think? I think you can both go fuck yourselves.”

And with that, I spun around and stormed out of the restaurant, determined to hit the gym back in the condo complex. There was a boxing bag that had Derek’s name on it.

Chapter Twelve

Andi

I was disappointed about not having lunch with Levi. It was hard to deny that churned-up feeling in my stomach every time I thought about him. I was borderline obsessed. I had to learn to set myself boundaries. Starting...now! New rules. Don’t let myself fall too hard over him. Lust over him only, wait for my obsession to run its course and then move on. After all, I did tend to fall in and out of lust pretty God damn quickly. I honestly couldn’t help myself. There must be a twelve-point program for romance tragics like myself I could enroll in. Hi, my name is Andi LaRosa, and I have x-rated daydreams about hot guys falling in love with me that always end in a happily-ever-after. I needed professional help. I didn’t think I could go cold turkey on this one, not this time.

Not making excuses for or anything—okay maybe just a little one—this crush seemed different. Levi made
me
feel different, special somehow. Previous unsuspecting recipients of my affections never really paid me any attention. Guys like Ben, for example, would always look straight through me. Not Levi. He wouldn’t just look at me, but
really
look at me. Ha! Talk about a tragic. All of this was really just silly high school thoughts and writings straight out my romance novels. Not real life.

I couldn’t allow myself to entertain these unrealistic emotions. It wasn’t good for my anxiety or me. Perhaps I was hormonal. Yes, that was it, I must be mid-cycle. My boobs felt bigger than normal, and I was sure that had nothing to do with the bag of peanut butter M&Ms I ate a few nights ago. Come to think of it, I actually cried during a Simpsons re-run the other night, for heaven’s sake. Although, in my defense, it was the one where Bart got the psychiatric patient who thought he was Michael Jackson to sing Lisa a birthday song. Got me every time.

Deep down, I would have loved to spend the whole day with Levi, but all things considered, there was no way I could have met his father dressed the way I was, looking the way I did. My hair currently resembled something a bird would nest in, and my clothes were at least a size too small and two years old. While looks weren’t everything, you first had to have the looks to appreciate their value. I wanted to make sure I was appropriately dressed for a man of his stature. Levi didn’t care—he’d made that much clear. Then again, I got the feeling he didn’t give a flying fuck what his dad thought of him, or anyone else for that matter. How refreshing that would be. To do something, anything, and not care what other people thought of you. To not feel like you were being judged on what you wore or what you ate, or what size pants you had to squeeze into.

Speaking of which, I had to pop the top button in these pants. The waist had been cutting in all morning. They had been the only clean jeans in my closet. I guess a trip to Mom and Dad’s was in order again today, so I could pick up my freshly laundered jeans for Phil’s party tonight. I intended to make more of an effort tonight and actually do my hair and try a bit more makeup. In the whole grand scheme of things, it couldn’t hurt.

It was a bitch Lili wasn’t talking to me. She would have enjoyed playing hair and makeup with me. God knew my minimalist sense of style sometimes made her want her to slam her head against a brick wall. I really hoped she was talking to me. Living with the silent treatment sucked big time. I could only hope that whatever had crawled up her ass last night had been shit out, because I couldn’t handle another verbal attack like last night. Besides, I beat myself up enough about my pitiful life. The last thing I needed was my best friend joining in on my pity party.

As I pulled in at the apartment complex, my cell dinged through a text message. I waited until I had parked before reading.

When are you going to give me deets? Call me!

Crap. I had forgotten about Char. I quickly sent through a reply.

Just got home. Call you in five.

I’ll be waiting.

Smiling, I gathered my belongings in my arms and climbed the steps of our apartment two at a time. At least one of my friends was keen to hear about my latest crush.

Lili was sitting on the couch when I walked in, resembling nothing short of a train wreck. She was still in her pajamas, plus her hair was worse than mine, and I had just jumped out of a plane!

“Hey.” She sniffed dramatically as I shut the door behind me.

Her eyes were red and puffy, and her face blotchy. She had either been crying or had had a major allergic reaction.

“Are you okay?”

“Scotty dumped me.” She wailed loudly as tears started pouring and she dropped her face into her hands. Her shoulders shook with every ragged breath she took.

Throwing my purse on the spare couch, I went to her and knelt by her side, rubbing her back comfortingly.

She looked up at me. “I can’t believe it. I thought he loved me.” The pain and desperation in her voice ripped straight through me.

I kept rubbing her back, unsure of what else to do for her. “What happened? Everything last night between you two seemed fine.”

It’s not like I was lying to make her feel better. They really did seem fine, apart from Lili flirting outrageously with Levi and her not wanting to return Scotty’s affection. But that was nothing out of the ordinary for her when they were in public.

“He said he was tired of my high school attitude.” A fresh flood of tears started flowing. “And then he told me it was over. He didn’t even give me a chance to defend myself.”

My jaw hit the ground. He had always seemed so affectionate and loving. “When did he tell you all this?”

She wiped her face on the sleeve of her pajama top, trying to gain some composure. As long as we had been friends, I had never seen her this cut up over a guy.

I gave her an awkward hug, not used to having to comfort her. The whole idea felt foreign.

“Just after you left. It’s my fault really. I was complaining to him about how you were going on a date with Levi, and how stupid I thought you were for going with him when you had only just met him.”

I pursed my lips, remembering that conversation. Now was not the right time to discuss how hurt I had been.

She dabbed at her eyes with a tissue. “I’m so sorry for that, by the way. I guess I was just jealous of you getting attention from him. I’m not used to feeling like that.”

“It’s okay.” I patted her arm. Her apology was good enough for me. I wasn’t one to hold a grudge. Besides, she did look genuinely sorry.

“Anyway, then he just snapped at me and he told me I was a jealous bitch, especially to you, and said he was sick of my shit. That I only wanted him when it suited me. And just to rub it in, he said there were plenty of other girls from the office that wanted to date him.” She started crying again, but looked like she was winding down. Her tears were now silent.

“He really said all that?”

“Yeah. I think I really screwed up this time, Andi. I took him for granted. Do you think he’ll take me back?”

“I’m sure he will. You guys have been together for ages. Just give him some time to cool off.”

She forced a smile at me. “Thanks. I’ll call him later.”

A loud knock at our front door made us both jump.

“Were you expecting any visitors?” I asked her.

“Maybe it’s Scotty.” She started trying to smooth down her hair. Her face, on the other hand, was a complete lost cause. She’d need some major cold compresses on those eyes before they would de-puff.

I frowned at her as I stood. “But he has a key. Why would he knock?”

“You’re right.” Her face fell again, defeated.

“Andi, it’s Tony. Are you home?”

“Coming,” I yelled back, and walked to the door to open it for him.

I opened the door a crack to see my second oldest brother dressed in his police uniform presenting me with what looked and smelled like Mom’s homemade lasagna.

“Mom asked me to drop this to you on my way to the station.” He pushed the door open and attempted to step around me.

I put my hand on his chest to stop him from entering. “Now’s not a good time,” I whispered quietly, so Lili wouldn’t hear me.

Automatically, his face changed into police protector mode, his eyes scanning my body and face. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing’s wrong with me. It’s Lili. Scotty dumped her. She’s a bit upset, and not up to visitors.”

He screwed his face up in distaste and pushed past me regardless, thrusting the tin foil covered baking dish into my hands. I couldn’t stop him. He was so much taller and bigger than me. Lili glanced up at him in shock and automatically turned her back to him so he couldn’t see her face. Lili very rarely saw anyone without a full face of makeup, let alone with eyes that looked like she had smoked a pound of weed.

This diversionary tactic didn’t deter Tony. He simply knelt in front of her, lifting her chin with his bent finger and making her look at him. That’s why Tony made a good cop. He didn’t take no for an answer.

I grabbed him with my free hand and tried to pull him away. “Tony, please leave Lili alone.”

“Leave us alone for a couple of minutes, please, Andi. I want to talk with Lili.” Tony didn’t even break gaze with her.

I opened and closed my mouth, thinking of what to say to my pushy brother. I could be just as pigheaded as him. “Only if that’s okay with Lili.”

Lili nodded. “That’s fine.”

I huffed at them loudly to indicate I was pissed, muttering something about how I wasn’t their fucking slave, and went to the kitchen to put the lasagna in the refrigerator. I gave them two minutes exactly before I went back into the room, clearing my throat with a cough to let them know I was there. Tony had been speaking softly to her, making her smile, a total reversal in her demeanor only moments ago.

“Well?” I asked him, still pissed at the way he had dismissed me.

“Well, I’m off. Gotta get to work. See you tomorrow at family dinner, Bella.” He smiled at me, and let himself out the front door.

I was rooted to the floor in surprise. “What was that all about?” 

“It was nothing. He was just giving me a little pep talk. You know how your brothers are.” She gave me weak smile. “How was your skydive?”

Considering how upset she had been, I played along. She didn’t want to share, so I didn’t force. Tony had always had a little soft spot where Lili was concerned. She, on the other hand, knew exactly what to say to take the focus off herself.

I felt my face flush. “It was unbelievable. Something I never thought I’d enjoy, but I loved it.”

“What about Levi? How was he today?”

“He was just as hot as last night,” I gushed, his gorgeous face flashing before my eyes. “He’s amazing. A complete professional.”

“Sounds like you had a good time.” Her voice was flat. She seemed to not even be interested in what I was saying. Instead, she was playing with a loose thread on her top.

I wondered if she had expected me to say more, or less.

“So, you keen for a night in? Tub of ice cream and
The Notebook
?” She looked hopeful.

“Um, I can’t, sorry.” I looked away, not wanting my face to betray my enthusiasm. In fact, I think I may have been blushing. “Levi and I are going out tonight. To a party.”

“Oh.” Her mouth turned down. “That’s great. I’m happy for you, I really am. I’m just having trouble showing it, that’s all. You know, with the whole Scotty thing.”

“Maybe I should cancel,” I mused. “If Levi is keen enough to see me again, he’ll understand.”

She smiled weakly at me. “You’d really cancel your date with Levi just to stay and watch a movie and eat ice cream with me?”

“Yes, of course. Who could turn down a night with Ryan Gosling?” Inside, I was screaming a solid
no
.

“I can’t make you do that for me,” she concluded quickly. “I can tell you really like him. This seems different than all the other guys you have liked.”

“Yeah, different like it’s actually not one-sided. This one even knows my name.” I forced out a laugh.

“Something like that.” She managed to break into a smile. “What time is he picking you up?”

“He’s not. I’m going to meet him at the party. He had to have lunch with his father, plus, I need to go get some clothes from Mom and Dad’s. I’ve got nothing decent to wear here.”

Lili sat in pensive thought, looking me over.

“What?” I demanded.

“I’m thinking.” She tapped a manicured finger on her lips. “I’ve got it. You can wear your black jeans with my black silk top. And before you say it won’t fit you, I know it will. It’s big on me, so it will be a perfect fit on you. Actually, come to think of it, your boobs will fill it out more than mine ever did. And you won’t have to wear a bra with it. That’ll be super hot. I’ll also do your hair and makeup, and by the end of the night, Levi will be begging for you to have sex with him.”

I scoffed. “Do you really think he might be interested in me? As in more than just a friend?”

She jumped up and pulled me up with her, more energized than before. “Of course. Why wouldn’t he?”

“Well, today he kept saying stuff like we were friends and buddies.”