Private Party (10 page)

“What did Jane want?” Chris asked. Carla could complain about the bodyguard all she wanted. As far as Chris was concerned, Jane herself was the real thorn in their side.

“Is she bitching about the flowers again?”

The bride couldn’t understand how flowers could cost so much when they were on a tropical island. She didn’t seem to understand that the hydrangeas she wanted didn’t grow in the Caribbean.

“No, this time it’s the catering,” Carla said. “She thinks we should be able to get a better deal on the champagne.”

Chris fired up his computer and quickly found the cell phone number of the bride’s personal assistant in his database.

“You’d think when someone’s making a million dollars per episode, they wouldn’t sweat this kind of thing.”

This wasn’t the first time Chris had questioned the wisdom of agreeing to host Jane Bowden’s wedding.

The money and the publicity would be fantastic, but after four weeks of negotiating every penny, he wasn’t sure it was worth the headache.

“I know,” Carla said. “I thought the whole point of this place was that if you were concerned about a budget, you shouldn’t be here.”

Chris managed a friendly tone when he left a message for Jane’s assistant requesting that she call him about the catering.

“If she doesn’t chill out she’s going to end up with a special surprise in her wedding cake,” Chris said.

“That’s not a very customer-oriented attitude.” Carla pulled out a file and handed Chris the latest version of the menu for Jane’s wedding.

“I’m not exactly feeling the love today.”

“Speaking of feeling the love, what’s your little friend up to today?” Carla asked.

PrivateParty

Chris scowled. “I wouldn’t know. I’m sure she’s keeping herself entertained.”

“I’m sure she is. There’s a lot of fun to be had at a place like this.”

“Oh, like you would know,” Chris snapped, “The woman who spends almost every night with Ben & Jerry.”

“Are you saying I’m getting fat?” Carla half rose from her seat. She ran every day and worked out faithfully with one of the resort’s trainers. Fat was definitely not an adjective Chris would use to describe her.

“No, I’m just saying you have no life.”

“You need to get laid. You’re starting to get cranky,” Carla said.

“You’re one to talk. What’s it been? Four years?”

“Three.”

“Bad enough. You’ve moved way beyond cranky into hostile. I think you’re the one who needs some action.”

“Nah, I can’t afford to lose my edge. Therefore, I get to be the cranky one.” She quirked her eyebrow at Chris. “You, on the other hand, have to be nice to all of the lovely people who come to visit you. I think you need to go find little miss Julie and get some relief.”

“I already told you—”

“Oh, right, your whole nice girl hang-up. Well, someone else then. How about Kara DeMartinis?” she mentioned the brunette that came with the bachelorette party. “From what I hear she’s the kind who’ll hang from the chandeliers.”

He wrinkled his nose in disgust. “Only if I want to catch something.” Kara DeMartinis was a well-known party girl, the kind of girl who was famous for nothing really, other than her outrageous behavior and long line of wealthy boyfriends.

He clicked open the budget spreadsheet for the wedding and started through the pile of notes Sarah, Jane Bowden’s assistant, had faxed over. He only wished he could follow Carla’s suggestion and find Julie wherever she was and spend the rest of the week—how had she put it—“rekindling their friendship.” PrivateParty

Oddly enough, despite what he’d said last night, the idea certainly had its appeal, even without the benefits she’d mentioned. Even though he hadn’t seen her and had barely kept in touch for the past several years, he’d missed her. Missed watching stupid movies with her. Missed the way she blushed even as she laughed at the dirtiest joke he could think of. Missed the way her nose would wrinkle as she gamely drank her share of keg beer. Missed the way she would oh, so politely fend off her would-be suitors so that they wouldn’t even realize they’d been dissed.

He’d left that friendship behind when he’d turned his back on the family and the business. And her hooking up with Brian was the final nail in the coffin. Not only was he unwilling to hear about her new life and new love, Chris also couldn’t help feeling that if Julie was the kind of woman who could fall for Brian, maybe she wasn’t the kind of person he thought she was. He had let their already infrequent correspondence die out. It had just been easier to cut the cord.

He was so lost in his musings that Carla had to physically walk over to his desk and wave her hand in front of his face to get his attention.

“Hello? Are the appetizer choices that interesting?” Chris realized he’d been staring blankly at the first page of the catering menu for the better part of an hour.

Finally he focused on Carla’s big brown eyes.

“I asked if you wanted anything for lunch.”

Chris looked at his watch. Only eleven A.M., but since he hadn’t had any breakfast, an early lunch sounded really good.

“Yeah, let’s go over to the café,” he said, referring to the small, casual restaurant next to one of the pools.

“Nah,” Carla said. “Let’s go to the beach bar. I think the view will be better.” Chris was still trying to figure out what she meant by that when his stomach, encouraged by the mention of food, rumbled loud enough to drown out any remaining thoughts in his head.

“Julie, do you want anything?”

Julie, half dozing in her lounger, turned her head towards Amy.

“Hmm?”

PrivateParty

Amy nodded her head to the cocktail waiter, waiting patiently in his uniform of tropical print shirt, baggy shorts, and no shoes. Julie couldn’t contain a smile. If this were a D&D resort, the waiter would have been in a starched shirt, slacks, and dress shoes, no matter that he worked on the beach under the relentless Caribbean sun. His casual attire was one of the simple, but nonetheless important, differences that made Holley Cay seem so much more welcoming than other five-star places.

After all, how was a person supposed to relax and have fun if he or she was constantly waiting to make some social gaffe?

“I’d love a Pellegrino with lime, please,” Julie told the waiter.

Amy rolled her eyes. “Oh, don’t be so boring.”

“Yeah,” chimed in Jen. “I’m having a margarita, Amy’s having a Bloody Mary, and Kara and Chrissy are sharing a pitcher of rum punch.”

The other girls looked at her expectantly.

Julie glanced at her watch. “But it’s only ten-thirty.” Kara rolled her eyes in what looked like sincere disgust. “Don’t be so uptight,” she said. Unlike Amy and Jen, her tone wasn’t teasing. “You’re allowed to loosen up a little.”

“I—”

“Julie, we’re just kidding. Order whatever you like,” Amy said, shooting a glare at Kara.

Julie was glad her flush could be attributed to the hot sun. How typical. Goodie-goodie Julie orders water while the other girls cut loose. Kara was right. She was on vacation. She was allowed, no, she
deserved
to loosen up a little.

“I’d like the Pellegrino,” she smiled at Amy, then shot Kara a sidelong glance, “and a Long Island iced tea.” As long as she drank water along with her alcohol, she told herself, she would be just fine.

The waiter was back within minutes with their drinks. Julie settled back in the lounge chair and took a long sip. Something about the sweet drink and the accompanying bite of liquor made her smile. She felt decadent, like she was getting away with something, and told Amy so.

“That’s a pretty sad state of affairs, Julie, if all it takes is a drink before noon to make you feel like a bad girl.”

PrivateParty

“It doesn’t take much, I’ll give you that,” she said, taking another sip of her drink.

“Here’s to being bad, or at least a little naughty,” said Amy, and the girls all obligingly clinked glasses.

Julie smiled at the group, grateful once again that Amy had taken her under her wing. Otherwise she would have spent the week feeling like an outsider, lurking around waiting for some-one to talk to her.

Even though the resort had a reputation as a place for single people to have fun, Julie noted that all of the other single guests had come with friends.

She knew she would relish the solitude and downtime while she was here, but it was nice to know she’d have company when she wanted it. And Amy and her friends, not to mention Mike the diver guy, as Julie referred to him in her head, seemed willing and eager to make sure she had a good time.

Unlike Chris, the jerk. She still couldn’t believe the things he had said to her. Did he really think she was some spoiled little rich girl? That all she wanted was to use him for some kind of revenge?

Okay, maybe he was right, at least a little bit. But she’d also slept with him because she’d really, really wanted to. And she really, really wanted to again, even though the admission—silent though it was—

nearly choked her.

Well, there was nothing to be done for it. She’d had an incredible night with him, and she would leave it at that and try to focus on the good parts—of which there were many. But she would definitely steer clear of him for the rest of her stay, if only to prove to him that she didn’t need his attention to have a good time.

But his easy rejection of her still rankled. How embarrassing! She’d made it clear that all she wanted was sex, and he couldn’t even be bothered with that. He’d made that perfectly clear at the bar last night.

Good thing she hadn’t told him the whole truth, about how she’d fantasized all the way down here about seeing him again. How he would pull her into his arms and kiss her in that toe-curling, blood-melting way he had. Then he’d spend the next week rubbing her down with coconut oil and making her come until she couldn’t move.

Instead, he’d greeted her with panic, coldness, and finally outright hostility.
Come down whenever you
need a break from the rat race.
Huh. If nothing else this whole fiasco would teach her not to impulsively accept an invitation that she knew damn well was only issued out of politeness.

Embarrassed or not, hurt or not, she was here now, and she was going to have fun even if it killed her.

She took another sip of her drink, surprised to see that she’d already finished half.
Better slow down
, she thought, and chased it with a sip of Pellegrino. The sun, combined with the alcohol lulled her into a dreamy, half-sleep state. Vaguely she heard the girls talking about some other guests who had just PrivateParty

arrived on the beach.

“I thought we’d have this place all to ourselves,” she heard Jen say.

The island had several beaches to choose from. Most guests, especially the couples, stayed close to their villas, where privacy was more easily found. Amy and her friends, in contrast, had chosen the main beach in front of the resort, preferring to be where the action was. So far the five of them were the only action to be found.

Julie cracked an eye open. Sure enough, it was the software mogul and his fiancée. They directed the attendant to pull their lounge chairs down the beach from the bachelorettes.

“So what’s up with you and Mike?”

Julie was silent a moment until she realized Jen was talking to her.

“Yeah, he’s hot,” said Chrissy, a short blonde who could have passed for Julie’s sister. “But so’s Dan, and since Mike seems otherwise occupied…”

“I just met Mike yesterday,” Julie said. “How could there be anything going on already?”

“Oh, give me a break,” Amy chided. “One day at a place like this is plenty of time.” She tilted her Versace shades down her nose and peered over the lenses at Jen. “Isn’t it, Jen?” Jen stretched luxuriously and said, “What can I say, time is short, resources are scarce, and I’ve gotta work fast.”

“Jen hooked up with Greg last night,” Kara said.

“He’s the guy with the dark hair and green eyes, right?” Julie asked, and finished her drink in one last sip. Almost magically, the waiter reappeared, and Amy ordered another round for all of them.

“No, that’s Dan,” Jen clarified. “Greg’s the one with blue eyes and dirty blond hair.”

“And then the other one’s Brad, right?” said Amy.

“You should know, you were sitting next to him at dinner,” chided Jen.

“Oh, like I would remember. I was so bombed by then, I’m lucky I remembered my
own
name,” Amy laughed. “Poor Brad, he probably thought he was going to get some bachelorette last-fling action.” She sighed. “Unfortunately for him, I am much too in love with Will to ever even look at another man.” PrivateParty

“Bullshit,” Kara said bluntly.

“Okay, fine, I’ll look, but I just won’t do anything about it,” Amy said.

Julie laughed and took her new drink from the waiter. She felt the slightest twinge of envy at the group’s familiar banter. Except for Wendy, Julie had lost touch with most of her girlfriends over the past two years, having spent most of the time with Brian’s friends and their wives. Although they were nice, they’d never stopped treating Julie with an unmistakable air of condescension, referring to her as Brian’s child bride. As a result, Julie had always been on her best, most mature behavior in front of them.

The girls promptly started telling other vacation stories, teasing one another about past exploits.

“Remember that guy in Jamaica, Amy—the one with the tongue piercing?” Jen asked.

Julie felt another stab of resentment. Thanks to Brian, she had missed out on making friends like this and having her own wild stories.

“Hey, I didn’t know that was allowed.”

Julie followed Jen’s gaze down the beach. The software mogul’s improbably endowed fiancée had taken off her top and was leisurely rubbing sunscreen over her breasts.

“Excellent,” Kara said, and wasted no time ridding herself of her own top.

Julie could only watch, openmouthed, as the others removed their bikini tops with remarkable speed.

“Come on, Julie,” Amy urged.

Julie shook her head. A drink in the morning she could do, but she definitely wasn’t up for baring her breasts to a bunch of strangers.