Naked (13 page)

As soon as I got the chicken started and my hands were washed I decided to call my dad.  It would be morning for him but he’d be at work by now and if he wasn’t too busy we could have a chat.  I set my phone on speaker and dialed his office.

“Tom Bennett.”

“Hey, Daddy.”

“Princess!  I’ve missed hearing your sweet voice.  This is a surprise.”  I smiled at my dad’s choice of name for me.  He’d been calling me Princess ever since I could remember.  And now that I was twenty-four years old, he didn’t seem bothered in the slightest about continuing with the nickname either.

“I thought I’d call you for a change.  I just miss you.”

“Is everything all right over there in London?  Getting excited for the Olympics?  How was Benny’s show?  Did you like how your pictures looked when they were blown up huge on canvas?”

I laughed.  “That was four questions all at once, Dad.  Give a girl a break would ya!”

“Sorry, Princess, I just get excited to hear from you.  You’re so far away and busy with your life.  The proofs you sent of your photos were magnificent.  Tell me about Benny’s show.”

“Well, it was a success.  Ben did well and the pictures sold.  I’ve had some more jobs too, so I’m just taking it slow and we’ll see where this leads.”  I was happy I could talk to my dad like this and that he supported my modeling.  He thought it was good for me, unlike my mother who was embarrassed by her daughter posing sans clothing.

“You’re going to be famous the world over,” he said.  “I’m proud of you, Princess.  I think that the modeling is going to help you.  I hope you feel that way.”  He sounded a little off to me, almost sad.  “What are you doing right now?”

“I’m making dinner.  Tacos.  I have a friend coming over in a bit.  Dad, is everything okay with you?”

He hesitated for a moment before answering me.  I could tell there was something on his mind.  “Brynnie, you heard about the plane that went down and Congressman Woodson’s death?”

“Yeah.  He was the one they were going to tap for vice president?  That was big news even for over here.  Why, Dad?”

“Have you heard about who is replacing Woodson on the ticket?”

I never expected the name he told me.  And just like that the past reared up and dug its claws in again.

“Oh no!  Do
no
t tell me Senator Oakley got the nomination!  You’ve got to be kidding me if that—that—
man
, could be the next Vice President of the United States!  How is it possible they want him?  Daddy—”

“I know, sweetheart.  He’s been working his way up the food chain these last years.  First State Senator and now U.S. Senator—”

“Yeah well, I hope they all go down in a big ball of flames.”

“Brynnie, this is serious stuff.  There’ll be digging into his past to find dirt on Oakley—on his family—by the incumbent party.  I want you to be careful.  If anyone approaches you or sends you anything suspicious you need to let me know right away.  These people have the resources to dig down deep.  They are like sharks. When they scent even a drop of blood get ready for a sneak attack.”

“Well Senator Oakley is the guy with the demon seed for a son.  I’d say he has a very
big
problem then.”

“I know, sweetie.  And Oakley’s people will work just as hard to keep his family secrets buried.  It’s not a nice situation and I hate that you’re so far away from home.  But I do think in this case it might be a good thing that you’re in London.  I don’t want anyone to hurt you and the further removed you are the better.  No evil stories to surface in the news or…anything else.”

Like a video. 
I knew that’s what my dad was thinking of.  That video was still out floating around in cyberspace somewhere.

“You’re doing so well, Princess.  I can hear it in your voice and that makes your old dad smile.  So who is this friend you’re cooking dinner for?  It’s not a man is it?”

I smiled as I mixed up the corn salsa.  “Well I met someone, Dad.  He’s really special in a lot of ways.  He bought my picture at Benny’s show.  That’s how we met.”

“Really.”

“Yeah.”  It felt weird telling my dad about Ethan all of a sudden.  Maybe because I’d never talked to him about boyfriends much.  There had never been reason to.  I hadn’t wanted one for a long, long time.

“Tell me more.  What does he do for a living?  How old is he?  Oh and go ahead and let me have his number while you’re at it.  I need to give him a call and set him straight on the ground rules with my baby girl.”

I laughed nervously.  “Well, I think it’s a little late for that, Dad.  Ethan’s pretty special like I said.  We spend a lot of time together.  He really listens to me and I feel truly…happy with him.  He understands me.”

Dad got quiet for a minute.  I think he was shocked to hear me talk about a man like I really cared.  And I shouldn’t have been too surprised either.  Ethan was the first in a long line of
firsts
with me.

“What is this Ethan’s last name and what does he do for a living?”

“Blackstone.  He’s thirty-two and he owns a private security company.  He’s so paranoid he has me assigned to a driver so I won’t take the Tube to get around.  All the influx of people for the Olympics has him nervous.  So you don’t have to worry about my safety at all.  Ethan is a pro.”

“Wow, that does sound serious.   Are you…are you guys sleep—in a relationship?”

I laughed again, this time feeling sorry for my dad in his obvious discomfort.  “Yeah, Dad.  We’re having a relationship.  I told you this one’s special.”  I waited into the silence on the other end of the phone and started warming tortillas.  “In fact he won some big poker tournaments in the states about six years ago.  I thought you might have heard of him.”

“Hmmmm,” Dad muttered.  “Maybe, I’d have to check.”  I heard some muffled talking in the background.

“I should let you go, Dad.  You’re working and I just wanted to say hi and tell you what’s been happening with me.  I’m doing well and things are good.”

“Okay, Princess.  I’m so glad you called.  And I’m happy if my baby girl is happy.  Be safe and tell your new boyfriend if he hurts you he is a
dead
boyfriend.  Don’t forget.  And give him my number too.  Tell him your dad wants to have a little man-to-man with him sometime.  We can talk about poker.”

I laughed.  “Right.  Will do, Daddy.  Love you!”

Ethan walked in just as I ended the call.  He had a six pack of Dos Equis and a predatory smile on his face.  I’d given my key to Neil who passed it along to Ethan so he could get in downstairs.  He plunked down my key and the beer on the counter before asking, “Did I hear you telling someone you loved them just as I came in?”

I grinned and nodded slowly.  “It was a man too.”

He came up behind me at the counter, his hands to my shoulders and started rubbing.  I leaned into his hard body and let myself enjoy the massage.  “That bloke is one lucky fellow then.  Wonder what he did that was so special.”  He peeked down at the food sorted out in bowls and snagged a piece of cooked chicken.  “Mmmmm,” he said as he savored it, his mouth at my neck.

“Well he read me bedtime stories.  Combed out my wet hair without snagging and hurting.  Taught me how to ride a bike and how to swim.  He always kissed my boo-boos when I got scraped, and most importantly, opened his wallet frequently, but that wasn’t until later.”

Ethan grunted, “I can do all those things for you and more.”  He stole another piece of chicken.  “Especially the
more
part.”

I smacked his hand away.  “Thief!”

“You’re a good cook,” he murmured against my ear.  “I think I must keep you.”

“So you do like my Mexican dinner.  I see you went with the theme and brought us Dos Equis.  Smart move, Blackstone.  You’ve got potential.”  I started moving bowls to the table.

“Dos Equis is from Mexico?”  He made a noise and shrugged.  “I just chose that one because I like the ads…the most interesting man in the world.”  He grinned malevolently and helped me transfer the rest of the food.

“A liar and a thief.”  I shook my head sadly.  “You just blew all your potential, Blackstone.”

“I’ll change your mind later I’m sure, Bennett.”  He grinned over at me from the sink where he washed his hands quickly and then opened two beers for us.  “I have an abundance of
potential
,” he said wiggling his eyebrows.  Ethan delivered my Dos Equis and looked over everything set out on the table, head tilted in perusal.  “Help me out here.  How do I put your chicken tacos together, which smell very nice by the way.”

I couldn’t help laughing at him.  The way he said ‘tacos’ in his British accent cracked me up.  And how he worded things too.  It just made me laugh.

“What’s so funny?  Am I amusing you now, Miss Bennett?”

“Here let me fix it.”  I showed him how to put on some chicken, the corn salsa, a drizzle of sour cream, a sprinkle of shredded cheese and a couple slices of avocado on the tortilla and fold it.  “You’re just adorable that’s all, Mr. Blackstone.  That accent of yours—it makes me laugh sometimes.”  I handed him his taco on the plate.

“Ahhh, so I went from losing all my potential to adorable in a very short time.  And just by speaking.”  He accepted the plate and waited for me to fix mine.  “I’ll have to remember that, baby.”  He flashed one of those million dollar Ethan smiles at me and took a sip of his beer.

“So go ahead and take a bite.  Give me your verdict and be aware that I will
know
if you lie to me.”  I tapped my head.  “Super powers of deduction.”  I picked up my taco and took a bite, moaning in over exaggerated sounds of pleasure and arching my neck back.  “So delicious I feel hot all over,” I purred across the table.

Ethan looked at me like I’d just sprouted devil horns and swallowed hard in his throat.  I knew he would get me back later for the merciless teasing.  I didn’t care.  Ethan was fun.  We had fun together and that was part of what I loved about him. 
Love. 
Did I love him?

He lifted the taco to his mouth and took a bite.  He stared at me as he chewed and swallowed.  He wiped his mouth on a napkin and looked up in contemplation, pretending to count on his fingers.  He took another sip of beer.

“Well, let’s see…”  He focused on me.  “Chef Bennett, I give you a five on execution.  Laughing at me got you a five point deduction right out the gate.  I think a six on presentation—all that moaning and thrusting at the dinner table was a bit unfair, don’t you think?  And a nine-point-five on taste.”  He took another bite and grinned.  “How did I do?”

He was so handsome sitting there at my table, eating the tacos I’d made, and sweetly telling me he liked my cooking, and just being Ethan, that I knew the answer to my question all in an instant.  Did I love Ethan? 
Yes.  I do love him.

12

Surprising
Ethan at his office seemed like a good idea but I wasn’t willing to do it without some assistance.  I enlisted Elaina’s help first.  I really liked her.  She seemed honest and very straightforward which I respected in a person.  She was also engaged to Neil.  I found that out after I started sleeping over at Ethan’s place.  One morning when we hit the elevators to leave for work, I saw Elaina and Neil coming out of the apartment on the other wing, hand in hand.  Ethan saw my surprise and told me they were getting married in the fall.

I was relieved Elaina didn’t act jealous about her fiancé driving me around London.  I think she was happy that Ethan had a girlfriend.  I’d noticed that his employees really seemed to care about him.  And I liked that too.

“Hi, Elaina, it’s Brynne.”

“Hello, Brynne.  Why didn’t you call through to his cell?”  Smart girl, Elaina, always aware of logistics.

“I was thinking of surprising him with lunch.  Can you check his schedule for me?”

I heard some flipping of pages and then she put me on hold.  “He is in office today.  Busy with conference calls and such but no appointments away on his schedule.”

“Thanks, Elaina.  I would just ask Frances but Ethan has her on speaker and he hears when I call so I can’t do a surprise.  Can I bring you all something from King’s Delicatessen?  I am just going to pick up sandwiches but I was thinking if you could get Frances to tell Ethan she was ordering then he won’t know it’s me being lunch lady today.”

Elaina laughed and put me on hold again while she got food orders from everyone.  “Frances told me to tell you she likes your style, Brynne.  Keeping the boss on his toes is good for him.”

“I think so too,” I said, writing down the sandwich orders.  “Thanks for your help and I should be there within the hour.”

We hung up and I phoned the delicatessen to order the food, and then Neil for a ride.  I cleared up my area and organized supplies while I waited.  I was done here for the day and wouldn’t be returning for nearly a week.  Final exams were coming and I needed to study.  My plan was to hole up at Ethan’s place and hit the books while he worked, use his home gym and magnificent coffee maker, and basically go off the radar for a while.  I needed the time and so did my grades.

I took a last look at
Lady Percival
and felt a burst of pride.  She had come along nicely and the best part was I now knew the name of the book she held in her hands.  Ethan had helped me solve the mystery when he’d brought me to work one morning and I’d invited him back here.

The book my mysterious lady held was in fact so special and so rare that the Mallerton Exhibition wanted her included in the show even though she was not even close to being fully conserved.  They wanted to showcase her as an example of how ambiguous clues can be revealed with proper restoration and cleaning.  The disclosure of what she held in her hand had also enhanced the provenance for the artist in general.  Sir Tristan Mallerton was now enjoying a renaissance of renewed interest and exposure even though he’d been dead for a very long time.

My phone buzzed with a text from Neil.  He’d arrived outside so I gathered my things and took off, waving to Rory as I checked out.

Neil helped me with the food and used a company credit card to pay for everything which got him a stern look from me.