Priest (A Standalone Bad Boy Romance Love Story) (9 page)

“There’s more,” I said, curling my lip.
Confessing to my priest wasn’t a good option; I needed to tell someone what I’d
done.

“More? You had sex with him again?” her
eyes were shining like that would be a good thing. I shook my head at her and
said,

“No, but I almost did. I need a big, fat,
scarlet S to wear on my chest.”

It was her turn to roll her eyes.
“Whatever—you’re so dramatic. You turned him down this time. There has to be
some points in there for you, right?”

I fingered the side of my glass and
wondered if I really wanted to admit my shame aloud. Finally, I said,
“Um…probably not. I’m the one that came onto him. He turned me down. It was so
humiliating.”

Carla was laughing so hard that she choked
on her drink. The waiter she embarrassed earlier even came over to see if she
was okay. I wanted to choke her myself. When she finally finished laughing, she
said, “You go, Daph! Give the girl a taste of some man candy and she can’t get
enough!”

In spite of myself, I smiled. It wasn’t
like I hadn’t had that thought myself. I loved that crazy girl, but it really
wasn’t helping me to talk about it. “Why don’t we change the subject?” I said.

She didn’t look like she wanted to, but
she kindly agreed, “Okay…so what are we going to do this weekend?”

“I’m afraid we’re not in the big city
anymore. There’s not a lot to do here; there are a few local bars, no big clubs,
and there is a canoeing trip with the church tomorrow. It’s in Boston at the
harbor. We can drive or take the church bus.”

Carla curled her lip. “All church people?”

“I do think that’s what I mean by ‘a
church trip.’”

“Will Father Hot Pants be there?”

“Stop it, Carla! Just calling him that is
a sin. But yes, I imagine he will be. Last I heard, there were going to be
about sixty people there, though. I’m sure we could manage to not even have to
talk to him. It’s something to do, but if you don’t want to…”

She got a sly smile on her face, and I
knew what she was thinking. She wanted a look at Jace. “I didn’t say I didn’t
want to go. Let’s do it. I don’t want to ride on the bus with the churchy
people, though. You know my mouth can’t be still for that long. And, it’s not
like they’re going to make me sit through mass, right?”

“No, you only do that when you’re hoping
for a dramatic scene between a married man, his wife, and his lover.”

She picked up her margarita and said,
“Here, here!” with a grin.
She has no
shame. It’s part of why I love her so much. I used to want to live vicariously
through her. Lately, I’m living more on the edge than she does.

CHAPTER
TWENTY-ONE

JACE

It was a gorgeous day for canoeing. The
weather was in the low eighties and the humidity was low; I woke up feeling
better than I had since the day I found out that Grandma had died.

Part of it was that canoeing was something
that my brothers, my grandmother, and I all enjoyed and did together every
chance we got. I love the Boston Harbor Islands. They’re great for camping,
hiking, or just taking a day trip like we were that day.

I showed up early to World’s End where we
would begin our trip. The church allowed me to use their large pick-up truck
and trailer to bring up the boats and the other equipment we were going to need
for our day trip. I stood in the center of the park and took in a deep breath
of the dewy morning air.

The place was such a gem. World’s End is a
park that’s part of the Boston Harbor Islands. It’s lovely just to walk through
and there’s usually more than one artist with their easels set up, painting the
gorgeous landscape of the harbor with the blue sky in the background.

I looked at my watch. It was still about
an hour before everyone else was scheduled to start showing up. I started to
unload the truck and I’d only gotten one boat out and dragged down to the water
when my phone rang. It was Ryan.

“Hey, little bro; what’s up?”

“That’s what I want to know,” he said.
“You dropped a couple of bombs on us the day we had lunch and then took off.
I’ve tried to call you three times since. What gives?”

“Um…I really don’t have time right now…”

“Nope, no way. You’re not going to hang up
on me and then not take my calls again for over a week. You said you got drunk
and had sex. I want details.”

“Jesus, Ryan, I never should have said
that.”

“Why? Is it not true?”

“No, it’s true…scary true.”

“Shit! My brother the priest is getting
more action than me!” he laughed.
This is
exactly why he is the wrong person for me to talk to about it. He’s going to
act like it’s a good thing.

“Ryan, this isn’t funny. This is worse
than if I had a spouse and I cheated on her. I broke my vows to God and the
Catholic Church.”

“Okay, you’re upset about it, I hear you.
But Jace, here’s the deal: you’ve spent your whole life doing what everyone
else thinks you’re supposed to do. You chose to be a priest because it’s what
Grandma wanted you to do. You were the only one of us who is good enough and
she knew it.”

“No Rye, it wasn’t about Grandma. It was a
calling and I believed…I believe in it. I made a horrible mistake, and I just
don’t want to talk about it like it’s a notch in my bedpost the way it would be
for you or for Max.”

“I’m sorry, okay? But I can hear in your
voice that you’re torn up about this. You always shut us out and act like you
have to deal with everything on your own. You have me and Max—you don’t have to
struggle through this by yourself.”

I heard my name being called out. I looked
around and saw Lily coming towards me.

“Hey, Rye, I really have to go. I will
call you tonight, okay?”

“Promise?” Sometimes he was such a child.

“I promise. I love you, man.”

“I love you, too. You better call me or
I’m going to drive over there and kick your pacifist ass.”

I laughed and hung up. If Ryan and I ever
got into a fist fight, and that was less than likely, I’d be the one kicking
butt.

I looked back up at Lily. She was wearing
cut-off jean shorts and a short pair of brown leather hiking boots. Her t-shirt
was simple, but it fit her perfectly to show off her womanly curves. She had
her hair pulled back into a ponytail and a pair of giant, Jackie O’ sunglasses
on. She looked gorgeous, and my body responded.
I can’t believe this. All of a sudden I’m acting like a damned man.
What the hell is wrong with me?

“Hey, Lily! You’re early.”

“Am I?” she said. It was just after six
a.m. I was sure I told her seven. The sun was barely up.

“Yeah, but that’s okay. I’m glad I’m here,
so you aren't out here alone.” She came over to me and gave me a hug. That
didn’t help my body’s response any, especially because she seemed to hang on a
little longer than she should have and, if I’m not mistaken, pressed her chest
into mine.

“I was just getting the boats unloaded,” I
told her.

“It’s so pretty here,” she observed,
looking around at the verdant green grass and the lush umbrella of leafy green
trees above our heads.

“Yeah, it’s one of my favorite spots. When
I was younger, I would come here with my brothers and Grandma and we’d kayak or
canoe or just take a hike and look at the views. There are some stunning ones
here and also on the island we’ll end up on.”

“Where are we canoeing to today?”

“We’ll start here and end on Bumpkin
Island. I’ve arranged for lunch to be brought out there to us, so we’ll eat and
then I have a boat coming to pick everyone up and bring them back here.”

“I heard Bumpkin Island is haunted,” she
said, grabbing the other end of the canoe I was carrying and helping me take it
down near the water. God help me, but I was watching her breasts bounce as we
did.
Am I completely ruined now because I
got one taste of sex? It was such a good taste, and maybe that was the problem.
Sometimes I wish I had been too drunk to remember.
“What do you think?” she
asked.

“About?” I wasn’t paying attention to a
word she said.

She laughed. “What do you think about the
island being haunted?”

“Oh, yeah. I’m not one of those people who
worry about things like that. There’s a ton of history there, and if you talk
to the old Native Americans, they’ll tell you it’s haunted. I don’t think it’s
haunted by anything evil, though. I always get a real sense of peace when I’m
there. You can ride in my boat. I have holy water.”

She laughed, “Agreed.” We put that boat
down and went up to get another. As we stepped up a relatively steep
embankment, she reached out and grabbed my hand. I held onto her and helped her
the rest of the way up to where the truck was and then reluctantly let her hand
go. Maybe that’s all it is with me, lately. Maybe I’m not craving sex as much
as I am human contact. That would make me less creepy, I think.

“Is the water really cold?” she asked.

“Not this time of year,” I told her. “It’s
not warm, but it’s definitely not frigid. My brothers and I used to swim in it
when we came out during the summer.”

“How are your brothers?” My brothers never
liked Lily. Neither did my Grandmother. They all thought she was too fast for
me and were afraid she’d break my heart. It turned out I was the one that broke
hers.

“They’re doing well, I guess. Max is doing
well. He’s always been the most likely to succeed, though. Ryan is a little
lost…more so now without Grandma. Hopefully, he’ll grow up soon. If not, I
might have to adopt him and let him live on my couch.”

She laughed. I couldn’t help but look at
her and wonder how different my life would be if she and I had never broken up.
Would we be married now? Would we have children? Or would I be the man she
divorced?

I pondered that while we finished taking
the boats down and I’d just grabbed her hand again to help her up the incline
when I saw another car arriving. I let go of her hand quickly…too quickly. She
stumbled and almost fell backwards. I reached out and caught her in my arms.

CHAPTER
TWENTY-TWO

DAPHNE

The first thing I saw as we stepped out of
the car at World’s End was Jace…with a beautiful woman in his arms.
What the hell? Is he a serial seducer of
good Catholic women or what?
He saw me about the same time and let go of
the woman. I was hoping he would drop her. I had no idea where this nasty side
of me came from.

I looked up and was glad to see that the
bus from the church and a couple of other cars were arriving just behind us.
Besides the fact that I thought he wouldn't touch the woman so much in front of
witnesses, I wasn’t really sure what to say to him. I was hoping to be able to
avoid him all together, if I could. At least I wanted to avoid conversation
with him—I was looking forward to looking at him.

“I’ve lived in Boston my entire life and
I’ve never been here. It takes a trip to Lexington to get me out here; go
figure,” Carla said. I’d had the same thought myself. Of course, my childhood
wasn’t really conducive to a lot of sightseeing trips.

“I’ve never been here, either,” I said. “It’s
so pretty, it kind of takes your breath away.”

Carla’s eyes had landed on something else:
Jace. I could see that predatory look she gets in her eye as she said, “It sure
does.” I wanted to warn her who he was, but he was upon us before I got the
chance.

“Daphne, I’m so glad you made it; and I
see you brought a friend.”

“Carla Rossi,” she said with her sexiest
smile as she tossed her black hair over one shoulder. I rolled my eyes. He held
out his hand and she took it. I waited.

“It’s lovely to meet you, Carla, I’m
Father Jace.” If this wasn’t my screwed up life, the look on her face would be
hilarious. Her jaw was scraping the ground and before Jace figured out it was
because she knew we had sex, I interrupted.

“We’re happy to be here, Father. It’s so
beautiful.” Jace’s eyes left Carla’s stunned face and transferred over to mine.
I searched his eyes for any sign that he was either thinking I was a pathetic
fool or wondering about his missed opportunity.

He didn’t seem to be showing signs of
either. He was acting like everything was…normal. I was not sure what to make
of that. Was it normal to him? Wouldn’t that be so wrong?

“We’ve got enough canoes for two to each
boat. Most of them are already down by the harbor. Do you two feel confident
enough to do this on your own?”

“I don’t know if we’re really strong
enough,” Carla started. She’s incorrigible.

“We’ll be fine,” I said with my teeth grit
in her direction. She smiled.
I am so
going to kick her ass.

“Okay then, just grab which one you want
and when we take off, we’ll all follow each other. We’ll have some time to
explore Bumpkin Island before lunch. It’s a great place, if you’ve never been
there.”

“Okay, thanks.” He smiled again.

God,
he’s so beautiful.
I watched him walk away to go greet the
rest of the canoe party and I actually forgot Carla was there until she said, “Whoa…he’s
hot! I wish I was screwing a priest.”

“Carla!” I tried to act shocked, but I had
to smile. She’s too much, but no one can ever accuse her of not speaking her
mind. I wished I was more like her, sometimes. Most of the time, actually.
“Come on, let’s get a boat.”

As we walked down towards the edge of the
water she said, “He’s good.”

“What do you mean?”

“I got no indication the two of you had
sex from him. He’s good. I wonder how many other women he’s seduced.” She let
that hang in the air. I’d had the same thought, but I didn’t want to say it aloud.
That might make it real.

We picked out one of the canoes and
dragged it off to the side. I was on the side facing up the hill and I could
see Jace. He was talking to the hot woman in the cut-offs. She had a radiant
smile as she looked at his face.

She kept touching him on the arm as they
talked, and whatever he was saying must have been hilarious because she kept
tossing her head back and laughing out loud. Or maybe she was just flirting and
liked to toss her long, dark hair. She would be a brunette. It was further
proof that I’d just been a fluke because he was drunk and I wasn’t his usual
type.

I felt the twinge of jealousy in the pit
of my stomach, although I knew in my heart that was just one more sin to add to
the trail I was leaving of them lately.

“Hey! I’m talking to you,” I heard Carla
say.

“I’m sorry. What did you say?”

She shook her head. “Baby girl, we all
fall in love with our first. You won’t ever forget him and you might even be a
little bit in love with him forever, but it doesn’t mean he’s the right one for
you. He’s super-hot and I’d do him, but, baby girl, you’ve got a conscience
like no one else I know. It would eat you alive. Get over him and find a real
man that you can be with and not feel bad about, okay?”

I nodded, feeling a lump in my throat. I
knew she was right, not that he’s not a “real” man, he is…most definitely. But,
I know what she meant. He’s not available and he never will be.

I didn’t really even know him. What I did
know wasn’t good. He was worse than a guy who cheats on his wife or girlfriend.
He cheated on God. He took vows and he broke them at least once. I should walk
away quickly, lesson learned.

I glanced back over to where he and the
pretty woman were getting their boat ready to go into the water. If I knew he
was so bad for me, then why did my chest fill with want and need every time I
looked at him? Hopefully, Carla was right and it’s just because he was my
first. That infatuation would have to fade with time…wouldn’t it?