Tangled Beauty (3 page)

Hooker.

I smiled. “Sorry, don’t waste your time. I’m happily engaged.”

She gave me a pou
ty look and leaned over the pub-table, offering a better view of her tits. “You sure?”

My pants
tightened, involuntarily. “Yes. Sorry.”

Her eyes raked over me, appreciatively, and she
licked her glossy lips. “Tell you what, handsome, I’ll give you a free wedding present. It will be our little secret.”

I chuckled. S
he literally drove a hard bargain. “Thanks, but I really can’t.”

She straightened up
and tossed her hair to the side. “Fine, then. Your loss.”

I didn’t even bother to respond as her hips swung angrily out of the bar in search of another conquest. Instead, I
shut off my computer and thought about my bride-to-be, wondering where the fuck she was. She wasn’t returning my calls or texts.

Sela
.

I’d only known
the twenty-three-year-old French model for six months, but she’d seemed to be everything I’d wanted in a woman- beautiful, sophisticated, and an energetic little wildcat in bed. Unfortunately, she was also spoiled out of her fucking mind with a temper that had already cost me thousands of dollars in china and fine-art. The last time she’d freaked out, I’d almost called it quits. But then she’d gotten down on her knees and stared up at me with her pouty lips, begging to suck my cock.

What
could any red-blooded American guy say other than,
“Oui
”?

This week she’d went on another rampage, angry that I’d asked her to fly back to
the states to meet my parents. Fortunately, she been on the other side of the world when I’d asked and it hadn’t cost me anything but a headache.

Marriage.

Really, what in the hell am I thinking?

Sighing, I tried calling her cell phone
once again, with the same irritating results.

Sinclair

For the next hour, Jesse showed me around the luxuriously opulent home, pointing out designer wall hangings and furniture- pieces that, singly, cost more than my entire childhood. Most of the décor was contemporary, with white and black as the main color scheme, plus a handful of blue or burgundy pieces thrown in. With all of the white furniture and even whiter, plush carpeting, throughout the house, I was afraid to sit, stand, or step on anything.

“Nice and crisp, huh?” remarked
Jesse. “That’s what comes to mind whenever I visit. You know me- I prefer bright colors, comfortable furniture, and plenty of eclectic pieces. My mother and I have
far
different tastes.”

“You say that like i
t’s a bad thing,” interrupted an older woman’s voice.

We were in the library,
the
whitest library I’d ever seen, and both of us turned to face a tall, thin woman with a silver bob.

“Hello, mother,” smiled
Jesse.

She walked over to him, grabbed his hands, and air-kissed both of his cheeks.
“Jesse, darling. I’m so glad you could make it.”

“Me too
. By the way,” he said, putting an arm around my waist, and reeling me in. “This is my girlfriend, Sinclair Jeffries.”

“Yes, you were telling me about her.
Very
nice to meet you,” she smiled, although her dark, blue eyes regarded me, shrewdly. “I’m Mimi Eddington.”

I accepted her cool
heavily jeweled hand and shook it. “Nice to meet you, as well, Mrs. Eddington.”

“
Oh, just call me Mimi. So, Jesse tells me that you’re a Cosmetologist?”

“Well, yes,” I said.

“Do you own your own business, then?” she asked.

I stared at her mouth
in awe. She had, what appeared to be, a permanently puckered look- reminding me of someone who’d just tasted a lemon or smelled a bad fart. Staring at her lips, I tried to keep a straight face. “Not yet, but I’m hoping to open my own shop, someday.”

She patted her silver hair and smiled. “W
ell, my stylist, Gigi Sparks, owns a shop in Beverly Hills. She’s very successful, although most of her clients are famous, and obviously, that helps.”

I smiled. “I’ve heard of Gigi
Sparks, she really is a phenomenal stylist.”

“Mm… yes, I agree. Anyway, it just goes to show that anyone can become successful if they work hard and put their mind to it,” she said, turning to
Jesse. “How’s
your
career going, by the way? Still with that quaint, little firm?”

“Blake Designs?
Yes, mother, I told you that on the phone last night.”

She sighed. “Oh,
that’s right, I’m sorry. There’s so much going on right now, I don’t know which end is up.”

“Don’
t worry about it, mom. So, where are Dad and Reed?”

She closed her eyes and rubbed her forehead. “Well, your father is still at the office and Re
ed, well, he should be flying in sometime tonight.”

“Unbelievable. I s
till can’t believe Reed is making an appearance.”

“Your brother is engaged
, you know,” she said. “A model named Sela Royce.”

Jesse
’s eyebrows shot up. “No fucking way! She must be one good cock-”

“
Jesse, please!” gasped Mimi.

He chuckled
. “Oh, come on mom. Reed isn’t exactly the marrying type. Is she pregnant?”

Her eyes darted to me and
then back over to him. “Of course not,” she answered with a disapproving look. “At least,” she paused, biting her lower lip. “I don’t think so.”

He glanced at his nails and shrugged. “Well, you said she’s a model? I guess if he was going to settle down with
anyone
, it would be one of those.”

Mimi
walked over to a book that was sticking out too far on a shelf and pushed it in. “Unfortunately,” she said, turning back around. “We may not have the pleasure of meeting her this weekend. She’s at a photo-shoot in France. Reed said she was going to try and fly back here sometime today, but I haven’t heard from either of them.”

“
So, you haven’t met her, either?” he asked.

Mimi
moved a hand up to her pearls and began twirling them around her finger. “Well, I’ve spoken to her on the phone before, but other than that- no. Reed has been too busy these last few months. He
is
a lawyer.”

I want
ed to ask why
that
was relevant, but it wasn’t my place and I didn’t want to offend anyone.

Jesse
didn’t care, however. “Well, shoot. If I can make it back here the first weekend of every month, Reed should certainly be able to fit you in, with all of his resources and money.”

She pointed to him.
“You live less than an hour away and he lives in New York. You, dear boy
,
should be over more than once a month.”

He put his hands on his hips and scowled
. “My schedule is busy too, mother. I work over sixty hours a week, you know. It’s hard for me to get away, as well.”

Right.

Jesse was dating the owner of Blake Designs and the only thing
hard
for him on the weekends, was Alex.

“Well, that’s good,” she replied. “A
hard-working man stays out of trouble.”

“Oh, I’m still trouble,” he smirked. “Right
, Sin?”

I
leaned over and gave him a kiss on the cheek. “Definitely.”

She turne
d to me with her puckered look and studied my face. “You know, you look very familiar, have we met before?”

“I don’t think so,” I answered.
I’d never forget a woman with a permanently, sour expression.

She raised her finger to her chin and nodded
. “I know what it is- you look like that actress, Sophia Loren, when she was a young woman. Are you Italian?”

“I’m not sure,” I said. “I was adopted.”

She cringed. “Oh, I’m terribly sorry.”

I raised my eyebrows. “
As far as I’m concerned, there’s nothing to be sorry about,” I said. “My adoptive parents are wonderful. They’ve always treated and loved me like I was their own. I’m very blessed to have them in my life.”

“
Well, that’s fortunate. Then, you don’t hold any hostility towards your birth mom?” she asked.

I shook my head. “No. How can I feel anger towards a woman I’ve never met? I’m sure she had her reasons.”

“Okay,” interrupted Jesse, “enough digging into Sin’s life. When’s dinner?”

“Oh,” said Mimi
, checking her watch, a diamond-clad Rolex. “Dinner is in an hour. Did you bring something appropriate?” she asked, glancing at my rose-colored, peasant blouse and white Levis.

I looked at
Jesse. He’d never mentioned anything about a formal dinner on the first night. I’d packed a dress for the party, tomorrow, but had selected something more casual for this evening.

“Of course, she did,” he said, grabbing my arm
and stirring me towards the door. “I’m going to show her to one of the guest rooms and we’ll meet you down in the dining room, at eight o’clock.”

She nodded.
“Very well. Don’t be late.”

“Good going,” I whispered, as he led me away. “You didn’t mention I had to wear anything special tonight. I thought this
,” I waved towards my jeans.  “Would be appropriate enough from the way you were talking.”

“
Sorry, I wasn’t thinking. So, um…what about that little black dress you have? I thought you said you were bringing it?” he asked.

“
I did, but it’s for the party, tomorrow.”

He sighed. “We’
ll go shopping in the morning. In fact, since you’re helping me out, I’ll even buy you a new dress to wear to the party.”

“
That’s fine by me,” I said. “Rent is due next week and my credit cards are almost maxed out.”

“If I’m buying,
however,” he said. “
I’m
picking out the dress, sweetheart. If you’re going to be my date, it has to be sexy and over-the-top. I want the other women in the room to be pissed off and the men walking around with gloriously raging hard-ons.”

I laughed.
“Why does it sound like you’re really getting into this?”

He touched the top of his spiky hair
and smiled. “Because, even though I’m not going to get laid this weekend, I want everyone in the room thinking that I am.”

“You’re a nut
.”

“Damn right I am,” he smirked. “That’
s why we get along so good, Sin. I’m completely nuts and you need that in your life, right now.”

“I won’t argue that,” I said.

Without Jesse, I’d be alone in my apartment, arguing with my cat, and searching for batteries for my vibrator. This was definitely going to be much more stimulating.

I hoped.

Reed

“Evening,
George.”

“Mr.
Eddington,” nodded George, as I set my overnight bag down. “So nice to see you again.”

“And you, as well,” I said.

“Dinner will be served in just a few minutes.  Would you like me to put your things in your room, so you can join the others?”

“That’s okay,” I said. “I’ve got it. I want to change before I eat.”

George nodded.
“Very good. Will Ms. Royce be joining us this evening?”

I sighed. “Doubt it
. The last I heard she was still overseas.”

“
How unfortunate. You know, Jesse brought a girlfriend, this weekend.” he said with a sparkle in his eyes.

I raised my eyebrows.

He went on. “Yes, a
nice young woman, named Sinclair.”

I stared at him for a minute. “You’re serious?”

“Oh, yes, Mr. Eddington. They arrived a couple of hours ago.”

I rubbed my jaw
and smiled. “Interesting. I can’t wait to meet her.”

“
Yes, she’s rather lovely.”

“I’m sure. Well, this should be a very interesting evening.”

“Indeed. Let me know if you need my assistance with anything.”

“Thanks, George.”
I picked up my bag and walked up the white, spiral staircase leading to my old bedroom, wondering what the hell was going on with Jesse.

***