Notorious Read online

  Chapter Two

  Luke stood alone, his face pale, the pain he so carefully kept in check, starkly apparent. Shelly’s parents headed for the doors to leave, and by their posture, they were nearly beside themselves with tears. It must have been an excruciatingly sad reunion, leaving both Luke and them devastated. Cassie was watching Luke, concern etched in her face. Kelly sighed. If anyone could distract Luke from his pain, it was she.

  “Hey there, brother. I was thinking we should toast officially being family now.”

  Luke turned toward her. She put a beer in his hand. His stricken expression changed to anger at her sudden appearance. His blue eyes stared into her eyes for a long moment, and then he looked over her shoulder, clearly dismissing her. Her toes curled at the slight.

  She could handle the entire citizenship of Seaclusion’s disapproval of her, but for some reason, this one man’s utter disdain of her hit her gut with surprising force. She didn’t know why it was exactly, that she was so concerned that Luke Tyler thought so little of her. But she’d cared ever since the first time he turned his face away from her with a sneer of disgust.

  She smiled wider at his frown. She had a huge smile, a smile that graced more magazines than she bothered to count, but right then, it took all her professional ability to keep her smile in place when faced with Luke’s glacial response to her.

  “You and I are not officially anything. Nothing more than we were three hours ago. Which, in fact, is less than nothing to each other.”

  “Sure we are, we’re some kind of in-laws. Our siblings are married, so we’re like siblings in-law.”

  “That’s the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard. And the last thing I am is related to you.”

  “You know what they say, you can’t choose your family.”

  “Family? You don’t know the meaning of the word. And you are most definitely not my family.”

  “I know the meaning of the word.”

  Her tone stopped him, and he glanced at her. She continued, “Just take a drink, and pretend you’re having a good time talking to me so that my sister, who is definitely my family, quits looking over here like she’s about to start crying for you on her wedding day.”

  Luke glanced over at John and Cassie. His jaw tightened. Luke took the beer and nodded his thanks to her, as he gave her a strained smile. Then he took his drink and abruptly turned and left her alone.

  The rest of the evening, Kelly did her best to stay in the vicinity of Cassie and John. She took pictures of them, talked and laughed with them, sat next to them, and toasted them. She was John’s first dance after Cassie. And finally, after every wedding tradition had been performed, dancing opened up, and there was a full dance floor almost immediately.

  Kelly tried to remain out of view, in the corner of the room, hoping people were over the novelty of her and bored from looking at her. She was tired of it now and had no desire to try and pretend it was fine anymore.

  She was standing there, quietly watching John dance with Cassie as they swayed intimately to a slow song, when she was suddenly jostled from behind by two men, in their early twenties.

  “Hey there, model. Wanna dance?”

  “No.”

  “Come on! Give a guy a thrill, well beyond what you’ve already given us.”

  Her nude photos graced hundreds of websites and magazines. She didn’t usually react to comments about it, but right now, she was at her sister’s wedding and distasteful wasn’t funny tonight.

  “I said, no.”

  “Why not? It’s just a dance. We’ve already done far more together.”

  “I don’t want to.”

  “What? You think you’re too good for us?”

  Kelly shuffled her feet. She turned her back on the boys.

  One of them grabbed her arm to turn her back toward them. She yanked her arm from their fingers with a snarl. She was used to turning guys down, used to them thinking that because they’d seen pictures of her naked, they somehow had an in with her. Or that she was something to them. She so wasn’t.

  But she didn’t want to deal with this tonight. Not here or in this town. But of course, it was a fact of her life that she should have expected. The later it got on a Saturday night, the sooner proper behavior toward her would dwindle. But this wasn’t just any Saturday night, and she didn’t want to cause a spectacle at her sister’s wedding.

  The man’s lip curled up and his eyes narrowed.

  Kelly sighed. “Look, I’m sorry I don’t want to dance with you, and I don’t want a scene, so please, just leave me alone.”

  “What kinda porn star are you anyways? What a bitch,” one of the guys said his tone far louder than necessary. It caused several of the Tyler family members to turn toward her.

  “Better than a son of a bitch,” a man’s voice cut in sharply from behind Kelly. Kelly turned, startled, as Luke came up behind her and took her arm. “Come on, we’re dancing.” Then Luke glanced at the two guys and said, “Get lost.”

  Instantly, the situation was diffused, and Kelly was in Luke’s embrace, dancing. She glanced back at the creep who made the scene as he scowled after them, then turned and blended into the crowd. There were a few lingering stares, but for the most part, people went back to their business. And to her relief, Cassie and John were off talking to John’s parents, and none of them had witnessed the episode.

  “Thank you.”

  “You know as well as I do that you didn’t need any rescuing. I was just trying to prevent an unnecessary scene for Cassie’s sake.”

  “I wasn’t the one acting inappropriately, he was. Who is he, by the way? Family?”

  “I don’t think he was an actual guest. I suppose you wouldn’t know that.”

  “Know what?”

  “Half the guests here aren’t our guests.”

  “Because of me? You’re kidding, right? People came just to see me?”

  “Yeah. Come off it, you’re used to it.”

  “Yes, but it doesn’t mean I always expect it. Thank you, even if you were just saving the wedding.”

  “I owed you. For earlier.”

  They were quiet then. The music surrounded them, Luke’s arms encircled her. He held her with surprising strength and guided their movements with self-confidence. He was not only a good dancer, but she was physically reacting to him. His blond hair caught the lights off the dance floor, his blue eyes were suddenly close and compelling. His face, usually so at ease, looked intense no doubt due to her nearness to him. But still, it was hard not to feel an attraction toward him.

  If only she weren’t an inch taller than he in her heels! But she was wearing heels so she was taller than Luke, ruining any effect she could have over him. No man wanted his woman to be taller. Luke and she stood eye-to-eye on flat feet. A fact that she used to drive him nuts over the past few months during many of their infantile squabbles and silent standoffs. All she had to do was put on any of her high heels and she was instantly taller.

  “Did you hear what they said to me?”

  “Yeah.”

  “I suppose you think I deserve it. I know what you think of my career, and you’re pretty clear what you think of me and my life choices.”

  Luke sighed and rolled his eyes. “I don’t think you deserve to be hassled after you said no.”

  “For the record, I’m no porn star. I’ve never crossed that kind of line.”

  “And if you had, you still would have every right to say no to anyone you want to.”

  “I know that. I’m glad to see you know that. But just for the record, so we’re clear, I’m not a porn star.”

  “Fine. Noted. Just for the record, I don’t particularly care.”

  “You were just making sure I didn’t make a scene?”

  “Was I supposed to do something more?”

  “No,” Kelly said, her tone flat. She turned her head so he couldn’t see her grimace. For a second, she wanted to believe Luke had defended her honor or some archaic thing such as tha
t. But no, Luke was only shutting her up.

  “And for the record, you’re a lot of things, but I don’t think you deserve being called a bitch for not dancing with some drunk.” The song ended, and he let her go, disappearing into the crowd.

  ****

  By the time the reception wound down, it was nearly one o’clock. Tim had been sent home with John’s parents, and the bride and groom left for their hotel room. Mostly the younger crowd remained to party and dance. Kelly stayed only because she was paying back a favor. To Luke. He just didn’t realize it.

  After their dance earlier, Luke avoided her. So did everyone else. She kept tabs on Luke. He started to get drunk. It was probably the only way Luke could get through this night. Now, he was finally good and drunk. Slurry and blurry-eyed, he didn’t even care when she came over and gathered him up to go home.

  Home for Luke was a four-bedroom house in a quiet neighborhood that had commanding views of the Pacific Ocean. It was the house that Luke bought with his wife, from her parents, to start his own family in. It was a three-story, rambling house of which the location alone should have made it untouchable to Luke on a teacher’s salary. But since Shelly’s parents had built it, they were glad to practically give it to their only daughter.

  Luke sold the house to his brother. Cassie and John bought the house, and Luke was moving to a condo a few miles down the beach. It was good that Luke had sold her sister the house because that meant Tim got to have the home he needed. But she ached thinking about what it must have been like for Luke, having his brother give his house a wife and child. Was it any wonder Luke got drunk tonight?

  Luke nearly passed out on the drive home. When they arrived at the house, she had to push and prod to get him inside. Finally, she got him to his room where he fell onto his bed. Only while easing off his shoes and tuxedo vest, and tossing them aside, did he register she was there.

  “I think I got a little drunker than I meant to.”

  “No kidding.”

  “It was kind of a stressful night for me.” Luke flung back onto his bedspread, fully clothed, his arms spread over his head.

  “I know.”

  She turned to leave when he suddenly grabbed her wrist. She flinched. She hated to be grabbed.

  “Kelly?” His eyes stayed closed.

  “What?”

  “Stay here tonight.”

  Kelly froze, then she shook off Luke’s hand from her wrist. His hand dropped like a dumbbell to the mattress. “I am staying here. I’m in the guest room upstairs.”

  “No,” he mumbled, his blue eyes suddenly opening, staring at her. “I meant stay in here. With me.”

  Chapter Three

  Luke put a hand to his head as he woke up. It pounded as if feet had been stomping on top of his forehead. He opened his eyes to the faint daylight that leaked through the blinds. He sat up slowly. His veins were filled with black tar.

  He’d drunk too much. Somewhere between when he danced with Kelly and coming home, he drank way too much.

  Home. Kelly. Shit.

  Luke straightened his back, only to have his stomach heave in protest. Faint memories were fragmented in his mind. Kelly had driven him home, and he remembered her in his bedroom. Why? What was that memory? He looked at the bed. The covers were destroyed. He’d done that alone, hadn’t he? He was sure he’d remember that, especially with Kelly Reeves, of all people.

  Oh God! Was that a high heel? He shot up and bent over to retrieve the red shoe off his floor. The motion made his head spin and stomach lurch, or maybe that was caused by the object in his hand. Only Kelly wore red heels like these. Oh shit. What had he done? Kelly. Not Kelly.

  Luke shut his eyes. It wasn’t like she was some random one-night stand he could ignore and never see again. No, he had to choose the one woman who was guaranteed to be part of his future for the rest of his life. In his drunken stupor, he slept with the one woman he would never, when thinking clearly, sleep with. Hell, he didn’t even seek Kelly out for a conversation.

  Kelly Reeves. How was this going to go over? He had no hope Kelly would keep her mouth shut about this. What could he expect from a woman who let nude photos be taken of her for a living? Discretion? Yeah, right. John would know, his parents, and Cassie would know. That’s just what he wanted, his sister-in-law to know that he used her sister for sex. Sex that he couldn’t even remember clearly. Luke squashed his fingers into his eye sockets. And to top it off, Kelly was staying all week here with him. Between the two of them, they would babysit Tim while John and Cassie enjoyed their honeymoon.

  Luke made it to the kitchen, thrilled to find a pot of coffee and the house silent. Now he had to figure out what he was going to say to Kelly. He was finally coherent after a cup of coffee when Kelly came in. She appeared in the kitchen, took one look at him, and broke out in a grin.

  “Good morning. I see it’s not so good for you.”

  He stared up at Kelly, puzzled. That was it? Acid was eating through his stomach lining and all that Kelly has to say after last night was a chipper, “Good morning?” She was way more comfortable at this than he. One-night stands didn’t exist in his history. Maybe Kelly’s life was a different story. But they did have a history. She should feel something about it.

  She was dressed in a sweat suit, which was fine, except for the odd addition of the knee-high boots with long, spiky heels. Who in her right mind walks on the beach in heels? With sweats? Then again, he had a feeling she purposely wore the heels when she was around him just to make him feel inferior. Be taller than him. It pissed him off to no end.

  “John and Cassie are coming back sometime to grab their luggage and say goodbye to Tim. I’ll bet they hate to tear themselves away from their hotel room. I imagine there’s nothing like your wedding night. But at least, after their plane ride, they’ll get six more nights together.”

  Kelly walked through the kitchen, talking as she grabbed water from the fridge and took a long drink. Really? That’s all Kelly has to say? She chattered on as she passed him. She didn’t make eye contact with him, but neither did she seem to be avoiding him. He shook his head unsure what the hell to do with this, when her stupid chatter finally penetrated his brain. She was looking at him expectantly. Had she asked him something?

  “What?”

  “Did I leave my heel in your room? I had an arm load last night, and I don’t know where it ended up.”

  God, it was nothing to her. She was worried about her shoe. He didn’t know if he should be glad that having had sex changed nothing for her, or because she seemed so totally unaffected by it. Was he that bad?

  “You dropped one by my bed. It’s still there.”

  “Great, I’ll grab it on my way up.”

  “Yeah, just great,” he mimicked. His bad temper dipped even lower.

  She turned to leave, and then looked back at him. “Doesn’t this feel weird? Like we’re right back to where we were before.”

  “Before?”

  “You and I staying together in this house. Of course, this time we lack all the drama of John and Cassie, but in a way, it’s like we’re roommates again.”

  “Yeah, roommates,” he echoed, at a loss of why she sounded so casual about all this. They spent the previous winter nearly trapped in this very house together as they waited out the long ordeal of Cassie’s ex-husband. Cassie was staying with John and Luke while the police tried to locate her ex-husband, who was stalking Cassie and Tim. It was a stressful few weeks that had them all seriously scared. Especially after Marcus Leary, Cassie’s ex, trapped Kelly and beat her up as part of his sick torment of Cassie. It was during those few weeks that John and Cassie had rekindled their decade-old love.

  The last thing Luke wanted, however, was to be roommates with Kelly Reeves. Their relationship didn’t even warrant sitting together over coffee.

  Luke showered, hoping the hot water would clear his head. He met his parents at the door to gather Tim, and he tried to not cringe in pain over Tim’s voice chatti
ng as they moved about the house together.

  It wasn’t long before the newlyweds made their appearance, still smiling and making sure to touch each other at every opportunity. He couldn’t meet Cassie’s gaze. She was not going to like that he’d slept with Kelly. Cassie was blindly devoted to her younger sister. No matter what Kelly did or didn’t do, Cassie defended her like a mother bear.

  Cassie cornered Luke in the kitchen. “Are you all right?”

  “I’m all right. Quit looking at me as if I’m going to fall apart.”

  “It’s just the wedding had to remind you of Shelly and everything.”

  “It did. But I’m okay. Really. I’m happy for you and my brother.” He leaned into the counter, pushing a glass back and forth, he avoided Cassie’s gaze. “But I have to tell you something.”

  “What?”

  “Last night I ended up pretty drunk.”

  “I know—I saw you. Don’t give it a second thought.”

  “No, it’s not that. I don’t know how to tell you this.”

  “Just say it.”

  “Well, I think we were both drunk, and that’s no excuse…”

  “But what?”

  “Kelly and I slept together last night. I wanted you to hear it from me.”

  Cassie didn’t react. Nor did she speak. She tilted her head, her eyebrows lowered, puzzled. “No, you didn’t.”

  “What do you mean no, I didn’t?”

  “Well, first of all, she did put you to bed. But that’s it. Nothing happened.”

  “But I remember…”

  “You remember asking her to stay with you.”

  “Yeah. How do you know?”

  “Kelly told me. But she wouldn’t sleep with you. You were drunk. You were missing your wife. And besides, Kelly isn’t like that.”