Summer's Landing (A Loving Summer Standalone Novel Series): Loving Summer Spinoff (Loving Summer Series Book 9) (4 page)

“Oh
my God, you and Summer,” she burst out loud. “Like a bunch of horny teenagers.
You guys…I knew it! You two were meant for each other. You can’t even keep your
hands off of each other. Can they, Luis?”

“I
won’t comment,” Luis said.

“Look
at Nat,” Rachel said. “He’s glowing. He’s happy. He looks like a man who had just
been pleased.”

I
went to my closet, opened it, and surveyed the beautiful array of stylish
designer dresses, jeans, and blouses. Nat definitely had nice taste.

I
grabbed a flowing peach chiffon strapless dress and pulled it on before
slipping into wedges with gold leather and diamond tiny flowers winding up the
straps.

I
brushed out my long hair and put on a little lipgloss and mascara before
hanging on delicate gold drop earrings.

“Summer!”
Rachel cried out rushing over to me when I walked out of my room. “You look
like a peach! Scrumptious. Nat no doubt had something to do with it, right,
Luis?”

Luis
looked Rachel up and down like he wanted to eat her as a peach.

I
laughed. “Nah, Rachel, we’re just happy to be alive and here.” I looked over at
Luis. Then Rachel. So, maybe the ones having unbridled sex wasn’t just Nat and
I, but Rachel and the sexy built like a sex machine Luis.

Life
had just gotten interesting, and this was even before we met up with Drew for
dinner.

Chapter 6

Rachel

I
knew the moment I saw Summer’s face and Nat’s
sparkling eyes that something had happened between them. When I left Summer for
a day or two to go return to my life as a glamorous Hollywood actress, checking
on my film schedule and going to an audition or reading that my agent set me up
on; Summer was so forlorn about Drew, it was heartbreaking.

Drew
definitely left her high and dry forgetting who she was. It was worse than an
in-your-face breakup. At least that would have closure for both of them. But
this…it was like a Still Alice loss of memory Alzheimer thing. Drew had
forgotten Summer and what she meant to him, while Summer had to hold on, yet
endure the pain of knowing, of being the one left behind, yet still waiting for
something to happen…for Drew to remember her.

I
don’t know if I would have held onto any hope. I for one, could never be as
committed as Summer was to Drew. After 10 years of waiting to get married to
Drew, this happened.

Drew
loved Summer with all his heart for so many years, it would be impossible for
him to get cold feet now just to avoid marrying her. Yet, this memory lapse of
him of her…it must feel like getting cold feet to Summer.

If
a man didn’t marry me after me shagging up and being committed to him for that
many years, I would have moved on to the next hot body already. So I commend
Summer for sticking with my darn fool of a brother this long.

Twin
or no twin, Drew was a damn fool who should’ve insisted on getting married to
Summer years ago.  Forget the high society must-have-everything-perfect
wedding. Sweep her away on a surprise getaway to Las Vegas and get married in
one of those chapels with an Elvis impersonator for a priest then. It didn’t
matter about the wedding, although I was the one helping Summer coordinate it.
Forget the right timing. Just get married if you love each other so much you
can’t imagine life without them.

That
was what I thought of Summer and Drew’s relationship. They seemed so in love…but
then when Nat showed up right before the wedding and bought Summer her wedding
dress as his present to her, the chemistry between Summer and Nat was undeniably
scorching everyone could feel it although they both seemed to deny it. Even laid
back old self Drew seemed aware of it.

How
could he not? If Nat didn’t leave to go on that trip to rescue Dad…if Nat did
not return under a different identity; everyone knew Summer would have been
with Nat. Drew tried desperately to win over Summer when Nat left, he even hid
the truth about Nat being alive from her. It was because of top secret reasons,
but somehow I suspect and even Summer questioned him on it and had a hard time
forgiving him when she found out, that Drew deliberately didn’t tell Summer
that Nat was alive instead of dead as she thought he was, so he could get
together with Summer.

If
so, it was a pretty low move, and if I was Summer, I would’ve kicked Drew to
the curb when I found out. But Summer, being the kind-hearted loving Summer
that she was, was too considerate of Drew’s prone to mental illness. She was
too worried about his feelings, and too hurt by both my brothers’ deception
that she just let it go.

Let
it go.  Summer, in my opinion, was too good for either of my brothers. I mean,
my brothers were the most desirable men around and were catches by any means,
but when it came to Summer, she far outclassed them.

Her
first boyfriend, and my former crush and now actor friend Astor Fairway knew a
good thing when he dated her. He still loved her, I suspect, which is why he
would do anything for her, including becoming a partner at her Aunt’s Acting
Academy. It was the kind of love that he kept to himself after all these years.
Unfortunately, no girl, including myself, could compete with his love for Summer.
Although now one-sided.

He
should’ve moved on.

I
did, and now I was enjoying the freedom of being unattached. I dated whoever I
wanted, and better yet, I slept with anyone I wanted.

Including
that hot beefcake Luis, who was giving me the eye as soon as I stepped onto the
ground of the compound.

He
seemed as stone-faced as a statue but when you get him alone and heated up, he
springs to action like a high-adrenaline sex machine. He almost wore me out the
first time we had sex. It was like I unleashed all of his pent-up sexual
energy, and he could not get enough.

On
the way over to Nat’s quarters, Luis tried to divert me, get me to go with him
to his quarters. “Nat’s busy,” Luis said, stone-faced.

“With
what?” I asked. “I want to see my brother. I don’t see him that often, and now
that I have one day off before I have to go on location for my new film, I have
to talk to him.”

“He
said he wanted no one to disturb him,” Luis said.

“Why?”
I asked. “He’s on some kind of zen meditation or…”

“He
runs a billion dollar multinational corporation and manages every aspect of it
hands on,” Luis said. “He personally goes on as many missions and meetings as
he could. Unlike some people who inherit their parents’ business, he built this
place with his own hands, hard work, and brains. He has a passion for what he
does, and everyone respect and admires him for it.”

Well,
although I knew Luis was talking about Drew and I as the ones who inherited
their parents’ business; I suddenly found a new perspective and even a kind of
respect for Luis.

“You,”
I turned to Luis, “are different than what I thought you are.” A puppet. A man
toy. A hot body to have incredible sex with without the consequences of a
committed relationship. Basically, a man whom I can go to whenever I want to
use his body for sex. Good for a nympho like myself.

Now
he was this man whom I can see as more than a body, but with some dignity and
standards. Fuck. I have to watch falling for him. Can’t have feelings and
emotions getting in the way of good sex.

So,
I’ll have to forego having sex with him this one time while I visit the
compound.

“Why
don’t we go to my place,” Luis was saying and gently touching my arm, running
his finger along my skin in sensual circles. “And catch up? We haven’t seen
each other for a while, and,” he moved in close, “I’ve thought about a lot of
things I want to do to you…things you probably have never done.”

I
raised my eyebrows. Now that would be something. I’ve practically done
everything so… “Really? So you’ve got some new moves, do you?”

“I
do,” Luis huskily said. “I dream about doing it with you, Rachel. I don’t think
any woman could match my drive like you could.”

“I’m
intrigued,” I said. “But I really need to talk to Nat before we meet with Drew
tonight. I need him to be with me on my plan to get him to notice Summer
again.”

“Summer?”
Luis asked.

“Yes,
Summer,” I said. “Drew’s fiancé, and my very best friend? She’s going to be
there.”

“She’s
there with Nat,” Luis said. “Been in there with him for hours.”

“I
see,” I said, suddenly coming to a complete halt on my way over to Nat’s.
Summer being with Nat alone for hours, and Nat telling his men to not disturb
him could only mean one thing: they were doing the deed.

The
hot chemistry between them could only lead to this, especially when Drew had
practically forgotten her and even thought they were together. He gave them
permission, telling Summer and Nat to go at it. He wanted to become an uncle
for goodness sakes.

“Genius!”
I exclaimed.

Now
that Drew had seemed to forgotten his feelings for Summer, would he feel
anything when he saw Nat get romantic with Summer?

I
wouldn’t know the extent of Drew’s memory loss but even a hardened red-blooded
man would react to seeing a couple get hot and steamy with each other. And Drew
had always been a hot-blooded, ruled-by-his passion kind of guy. That was why
Drew was Drew.

“Come
on Luis,” I said, “I’ve got to see this for myself!”

I
practically tried dragging the muscle-bound giant with me over to Nat’s.

I’ve
known Summer too long to not know what’s going on with her just by looking at
her face. She did not have a poker face, nor a deceitful bone in her body. If
she was truly feeling something, it would show. That girl wore her heart on her
sleeve like no one else. So…if she was back with Nat, if she wanted to get back
with Nat, I would see it a mile away.

And
when the door opened to a rumpled-haired Nat looking like a man who just got
laid, and a Summer whose face was a combination of afterglow and embarrassment;
I knew things between the Donovans, my brothers, and Summer had just turned the
corner into “Complicated with No Returns.”  

Chapter 7

Nat

A
ll my effort to spend quiet private moments
with Summer before most, if not all of, my time would be spent with my men and
on the mission, was thwarted by the persistence and the whirlwind personality
of my unbreakable and strong-will sister Rachel.

Fraternal
twin of Drew, she was the more sensible one of them, but still as wild and
high-octane charismatic as Drew. Including and especially to the opposite sex.

From
one look at Luis and Rachel, I knew my wild child sister had woven her magic
around my compound, and Luis had fallen for it.

Which
meant he was putty in her hands.

Which
meant there was no way he was going to be the one to stop Rachel from barging
into my place unannounced.

Thank
God I was decent, and Summer had changed.

“You
and Summer shacking up!” Rachel announced loudly as she walked over from
hugging Summer to me. “Who would’ve think? Not I? Not in a million years…well
heck, that was what I would’ve thought, only now…”

She
whacked her head with her hands.

“Drew?”

Summer
looked so flustered and embarrassed. “Rachel…I wish I could explain, but since
this is no ordinary situation…”

“There
really isn’t a way to explain it, Rach,” I said.

“I
want Drew back to the way he was, believe me,” Summer said. “And we’re trying
every way to get him back to his old self, but this coma medicine…its side
effects. We don’t know if Drew’s condition would be permanent. We’re trying to
explore every option, including…” she looked over at me as though she wanted to
watch what she would say.

“Trying
to locate the maker of that drug,” I said. “Summer’s coming with me on this
mission. So’s Luis. We leave early morning tomorrow.”

“Oh,”
Rachel said. “I thought you two were…”

I
looked over at Summer and then at Rachel and Luis, “That’s what we want everyone
to think, especially Drew.”

Rachel
nodded. “To jog Drew’s memory of Summer through his emotions.”

“Jealousy
is a strong emotion…one of the strongest emotions we have as humans,” Summer
said.

“It
drives people to do irrational things…it defies logic and rules,” Summer
continued. “Make them act out in ways that is pure, basic, primal, and
animalistic.”

“If
Drew had any feelings toward Summer of love and affection; any feelings of
threat or competition toward me,” I said, “hopefully triggering them through
seeing us together and most importantly, believing Summer and I are physically
together, will kick his memory back into place.”

“Got
it,” Rachel said. “So all this is to jog Drew’s memory back? It makes sense.”

“We
need you to play along, too, Rachel. And everyone Drew comes into contact with
would have to believe Summer and I are a couple,” I said.

“I’ll
play along,” Rachel said. “It’ll be easy because in a way, you two have always
seem so close.”

More
close than you think.

“Don’t
worry,” Rachel said, “I’ll pretend the last 10 years didn’t happen. Wiped away
like Drew’s memory. It’ll be easy to believe you two are having wild abandon
sex like you used to as teens. Nat’s weekend flights on the Donovan Dynamic jet
to visit Summer were legendary. How could I forget that? Nat was like a
passionate Romeo…he would do anything for Summer; he would do anything to be
with Summer.”

The
love of my life.  Still was and always would be.

There
was an awkward silence as everyone, except Luis, were lost in their thoughts
about those days when we were teens.

“Good
memories!” Rachel said. “Now let’s just hope Drew remembers them too. Speaking
of Drew…what do you plan on doing tonight? We’re having dinner with Drew, but
what do we plan on doing when we’re at dinner?”

“Um,
couple things,” I said. This making Drew jealous by going full pda with Summer,
was new to me.

Luis
cracked a smile seeing how awkward and uncomfortable talking about it made me.

“Great,
so while you’re doing couple things, what am I doing?” Rachel asked.

“Talking
about family stuff, what’s happening with Donovan Dynamics, your films…” I was
clearly awkward about this conversation. I was really planning on just focusing
on being touchy feely and kissing Summer throughout dinner.

“I
could come along,” Luis suddenly said, surprising all of us, especially Rachel.
“I could be Rachel’s date.”

“Good,”
I said, giving Luis a thankful eye but also concerned about what he wanted with
Rachel, my protective older brother nature kicking in.

“So
we’ll do couple things,” Rachel said, eyeing Luis wryly. “Lots of touching and
kissing, and making Drew want to be part of a couple, making him feel as though
he was missing being part of a couple…I get it.”

Summer’s
eyes were crinkling with laughter at my sister’s suddenly strange predicament.

Luis
looked proud of himself. I guess he should since my sister was a tough one to
land.

“Then
it’s settled. Luis would come with you, Rachel, as your date, and Summer and I
would be there as a couple. Meanwhile, all of this would be a secret between
us. No one is to know we are all pretending to be a couple, for Drew’s sake.”

“Right,”
everyone said.

“And
since we’re all here in my quarters, including you, Rachel, let’s talk about
this secret mission Luis, Summer, and I are going on tomorrow morning. No one
else except Hector and Dr. Turk knows about it, especially at the compound.”

“Why?”
Summer asked. “I thought you have a team preparing for it.”

“That
team is Luis, Hector, Dr. Turk, and I,” I said. “Because when the cat is gone,
the mice will play. There is a spy amongst us at the compound we need to weed
out. Someone had planted a bomb to try to kill me and my guys at the warehouse.
Luckily, it was just me who got injured. So no one should know I am going out
of the country for a few days. I don’t want another incident to happen here,
especially while I’m away.”

“How
could you mask your trip?” Rachel asked.

“Easy,
I’m holed up in my quarters for the next few days with Summer, wanting complete
privacy. The guys could imagine what we would be doing that entire time. They
all know my history with Summer, and if they were in my shoes, they would want
the same.”

Luis
grinned and nodded. It was something us men understood.

“And
of course, Drew would be hearing all about that as well,” I said. “In the
meantime, Hector and Luis would be out on a small mission to check out one of
our servers location abroad. Routine checkup for one of our most high-security
clients’ servers.”

“Sounds
like a plan,” Rachel said. “In the meantime, while you’re away, supposedly
shacked up in your love nest with Summer, I think I can get an hour or two away
from my production schedule to visit the compound. In my own ways, I will be
checking up on your guys too.”

“It
could be dangerous, especially with a spy around,” I said. “I trust most of my
guys especially around my sister, but since the explosion, I have to be
careful.”

“I’ll
be careful,” Rachel said. “I got you out of that hospital that one time, didn’t
I?”

“Yes,”
I said, grateful I have such a bold and spunky sister who could hold her own
against anyone.

“Great,
then count me in on this mission, too,” Rachel said. “I’m officially one of the
team, now.”