The Scale (Martha's Way) (14 page)

“My name is Isabella,” the pretty brunette said with a
friendly smile. “Anything special you are looking for?”

“Uh…” God, how did she tell this woman she was looking for
sexy underwear to wear for a man who was accustomed to seeing beautiful women
in barely-there pieces? “Do you have anything in my size?”

Big, warm brown eyes gave her
a
once-over. Minka was about to run out of the store and usher a
sorry never mind
when the brunette
smiled at her.

 
“We carry a
broad range of all sizes. Would you like to look around, or I can show you a
few things I have in mind that you might like?”

Since she wanted to get out of the store as quickly as
possible, she decided to go with the latter and make the experience as quick
and painless as possible. “Please show me what you have.”

“We have some great thongs, cheeky panties and boy shorts,”
Isabella said, pointing to an area as they walked side by side in the store.

Cheeky panties, what the hell was a cheeky panty? Isabella
must have known most were not familiar with the term for she turned to face
Minka.

“Let me demonstrate. I’m going to touch your butt.”

What? The woman’s well-manicured hands were on the back of
her jeans.

“The cheeky panties have moderate back coverage from here,”
her hands moved on Minka’s butt to demonstrate where the coverage begins and
ends. “They are very sexy, ultra soft and disappear under clothes. I have a
pair on right now.”

Minka swallowed. She imagined they looked great on the other
woman, but her?
Never.
Her immediate reaction was to
point out her ass was probably twice the size of Isabella’s, which meant she
needed more than a flimsy piece of material that would cover one cheek or
anything that would get lost between her cheeks, for that matter.

“They’re very popular now,” Isabella added, “I’ll get a
couple in your size. Would you like to try anything on?”

Minka shook her head. If trying on a dress had been
self-inflicted torture, this experience was what she considered as close to a
slow death as possible.

“I think these would look great on you,” Isabelle continued.

The words somewhat registered in Minka’s brain. She was just
unable to respond. So she stood there as the pretty brunette with her perfect
figure suggested a variety of sexy, lace-trimmed thongs with some cheekies and
matching bras.

Twenty minutes later, Minka walked out with a bag filled
with enough lacy underwear to last her a lifetime. Minka rolled her eyes. She
had never owned anything that didn’t cover all of her behind.

Once in her hotel room, she reached into her purse for her
phone and frowned at the missed calls from Lily. It was out of character for
her friend to call so many times. As a last resort, her friend did send her a
text that simply read
Call me.
Guilt
ran over her. After Jason’s kiss, he had insisted they stay with everyone and
have a drink. Minka had just wanted to escape. The atmosphere had been too
much. So she had stayed for one drink, then left.

When her friend responded on the second ring, Minka noticed
the strain in Lily’s voice right away and frowned with concern.

“I’m sorry for reaching out to you so late,” Minka
apologized.

“Nate cheated on me.”

The words didn’t take long to register. Nate, Lily’s live-in
fiancé, had cheated on her. Questions ran through her head, but she knew this
wasn’t the time. Instead she offered the only words she could. “I’m sorry,
Lily.”

“The bastard!
He actually gave
himself up.
Idiot.
He asked me to look up a name on
his cell phone for him and there were all these vulgar text messages. He must
have forgotten to erase them.” Lily sighed. “I can’t believe I was such a
fool.”

“No. You guys were in love.”

A heavy sigh came from the other end of the phone. “I think
I was in love with the familiarity but it still hurts, you know.”

“There’s got to be something about him you couldn’t stand,”
Minka offered lightly in hope that would brighten her friend’s mood.

Lily let out a hollow laugh. “He was quite stale in bed, you
know.
Very mechanical.”

The two women laughed together. Only Lily could be upset one
second,
then
talk about Nate’s skill in bed in the
same breath. She sat back and allowed her friend the time to voice her
frustration without interruption.

She learned Nate Ryan had cheated with the cute waitress at
the family-owned restaurant they frequented.

“Naturally I wanted to pay her a visit, drag her by her hair
and beat the shit out of her,” Lily explained. “But logic sank in and I took
out my frustration on Nate and kneed him in the groin area before kicking him
out of my apartment.”

Minka was grateful. “At least that saved you a trip to a
jail cell.”

“And I’m sure he’s out of commission for a while. Not that
he was using it on me anyway. We stopped having sex about two months ago. I was
so relieved I didn’t even stop to think he was sticking someone else.”

“Have you told your parents?”

“I will.” She paused. “You know, now I’m officially a
spinster.” She groaned miserably.

Minka feigned offense. “You’re my age.”

“Hey, do you have any hot, rich guy on The Vineyard who can
pretend to sweep me off my feet?”

“Why don’t you come and find out?” she joked lightly then
thought about the suggestion for a second. Her friend probably needed the
getaway
.
 
They were both teachers and not working
for the summer. “Seriously, come Friday and you can leave Sunday or Monday.”

“Don’t you have things, or should I say someone, to do? I
don’t want to be a cock-block.” Lily teased.

Minka could picture her friend’s beautiful face smiling.
That image made her feel better. “That was a one-time thing. Well, kind of. He
asked me to spend tonight with him.”

Minka waited for the ball to drop, for a smart rebuttal from
her friend. Instead she got neither.

“I Googled Jason,” Lily announced quietly.

“Why would you do that?”

“I needed to know who my friend was finally having sex
with,” Lily answered “Did you know your boyfriend is a millionaire and he knows
Claire? There are pictures of them on the net.”

Minka’s heart sank. “Yes, I figured they knew each other. I
saw them together.”

“I don’t think they’re involved,” Lily said. “I’m sure the media
blew it out of proportion. You know, a good-looking, popular artist with a
good-looking millionaire hugging and…
voila
!”

Minka remained quiet. She didn’t want to think about the
possibility of Claire and Jason together.

“You should take a look after we get off the phone. His
father is pretty interesting too. I’ll send you the link.”

Minka thought of the man she had encountered this morning
while leaving Jason’s house, the way he looked down on her. She cringed. “I’m
sure I can just look it up myself.”

“Yeah, but I know you won’t.”

Curiosity was killing her. But Lily was the one person who
knew her well enough to know what she would or would not do. “I’ll send you the
link to the ferry. You can stay with me.”

“Or I can get my own room. I told you I will not
cock-block.”

Minka rolled her eyes. “You’re not cock-blocking anything.”

“Yeah, he would probably kick me out on my butt while he has
his way with you.”

“Lily, you’re exaggerating.”

“So, are you spending the night with him?”

Not quite sure how to respond, Minka remained silence.

Lily giggled on the other end of the phone. “Nice. Get your
freak on, my friend. I’m so proud of you.”

By the time the women said their goodbyes, Lily was
laughing, which pleased Minka. Shortly after, the Google link popped up on the
screen of her phone. Her eyes settled on the arrow wavering over the URL, and
she debated whether to click on it or not. It felt intrusive.

Her fingers swept over the link, snapping it open. Various
images of Jason splashed on her screen. The majority of the pictures were taken
about four to five years ago, pictures mostly with his shirt off. Minka noticed
his hair at one point was shorter. Either style suited him. The first picture
she examined showed Jason with one arm around Claire, the two laughing
together. In the picture the two appeared close.

Her eyes moved to one of Jason leaning on the rail of a
yacht with what appeared to be a beer in his hand and a cigarette dangling from
his mouth. His tattoos were fully exposed, his long blond hair blowing with the
ocean wind. He seemed to have been smiling at someone but his eyes didn’t have
the light she had become familiar with. He looked dispirited and in pain. Minka
ran her fingers over the picture before clicking on the link to read the story
behind it.

The headline caught her attention,
Millionaire’s Son Boozing after Mother’s Suicide.
Her eyes scanned
the story about his father’s alleged affair and then his mother, heavily
intoxicated, had driven her car over a bridge into the ocean. Her body was recovered
and buried in France, her birthplace. The article went on to provide a
biography of Jason’s mother. Her name was Victoria, a former French model.
Minka wanted to read on but the words became a big jumble of pain, blurring her
vision.

She exhaled with agony and the revelation of the man behind
Jason Montgomery. She did a quick calculation in her head; he had been barely
twenty-five when he lost his mother. She couldn’t imagine the pain he’d
endured. The story continued to mention Jason walking out of his father’s firm
and implied growing tension between the two. There were other pictures and
other articles, but she felt no need to go further. Instead, she closed the
link and leaned against the headboard.

Her own heartbreak suddenly appeared mundane. She thought
about the way he held her earlier while she cried. Who had he leaned on during
his time of loss?

She guessed Claire provided some support but from the
various pictures on the internet he seemed to have dealt with the loss alone,
relying mostly on alcohol and cigarettes. Some pictures were taken with one or
two women in his arms laughing, temporary distractions to fill a void that no
one could.

Minka glanced at her watch. She had a little time before
meeting everyone in Oak Bluffs. Jason had offered to pick her up, to which she
reluctantly agreed. There was no point in her driving; he made it clear she was
spending the night at his house, which meant she had to pack an overnight bag.
The idea excited and unnerved her. A frown crossed her face, the nervousness
about the night causing a knot in her stomach. Her body was still aching from
last night. Pulling herself off the bed, she entered the bathroom and turned on
the water to fill the tub. A nice bath would help her to relax.

As she removed her clothes, her eyes fell on the scale. She
stood and contemplated. The temptation to step on it overwhelmed her. Two days
ago upon arriving on the island she had weighed herself and jotted the number
on her cell phone with a goal to exercise and lose one pound a week. The two
pounds a week goal she decided was a bit unrealistic. She needed to set her
expectations to something more achievable. With a sigh, she turned and stepped
in the tub.

About fifteen minutes later, Minka slipped into the black
sequined dress and was applying her lipstick when she was informed of Jason’s
arrival. She made a point to go meet him at the hotel bar. Any chance of him in
her room and they might never make it to the restaurant.

She found him sitting at the bar engaged in a conversation
with the pretty waitress. He immediately turned and met her gaze before coming
to his feet. She stopped to catch her breath at the sight of him.

Dressed in a pair of slim-fit, broken-in chinos and a plaid
button-down shirt with the sleeves rolled to his elbows, he looked relaxed,
comfortable, and downright sexy. Without speaking, he extended a hand. The
hesitation she had earlier felt seemed to have vanished. It was understood what
they both wanted so she placed her hand in his and walked into his arms.

His lips covered hers. Not a deep kiss, but one that was
slow, sensuous and full of promises.

“You look magnificent.”

Without thinking she raised one hand to touch his lips,
removing the remnants of her lipstick. “I’m sorry, you had lipstick,” she
apologized, conscious of her action

Jason reached to take the overnight bag from her. “I’m yours
to do with as you please.” He threw in a rakish smile.

He needed to stop saying things like that to her. Words like
that could easily give a woman false hope into believing the possibilities were
greater than the reality of the situation. Minka knew better, but, more
importantly, she didn’t want more. One more night, she had told herself; one
more night to get him out of her system. As she walked out of the inn with him
into the parked Jeep, Minka tried to ignore the little voice inside her head
warning her she was playing with fire.

Chapter Ten

“Don’t trust the
scale, trust your jeans.”

Anonymous

Minka walked through the restaurant with her hand in
Jason’s. The maître d’, a handsome African-American, seemed to recognize him.
He released her hand to shake the man’s before introducing them. Then his
fingers threaded through hers once again. Ryan, the maître d’, smiled warmly at
Minka and patted Jason on the shoulder as he informed him his friends were at
the bar.

Minka spotted the group right away. Forrest was leaning with
his back to the bar talking to Adam, Jason’s business partner. Keely as always
was wrapped in Blake’s arms while talking to Claire. They were an interesting
bunch, Minka mused. Forrest was the tallest of the group, standing an inch or
two taller than Jason. His hair was slightly shorter but considered long for a
doctor. Adam seemed to be the most relaxed of the bunch. He was dressed in dark
denims with a button-down shirt. He was just as handsome with olive skin and a
mass of jet-black hair.