Читать книгу Fortune's Surprise Engagement - Nancy Thompson Robards - Страница 9

Chapter Two

“Olivia, wake up.”

The soft voice bounced around her dreams, beckoning her to open her eyes. Maybe if she ignored it, it would go away and she could go back to the dream of kissing Alejandro... His hands in her hair, pulling her mouth to his; him slowly but firmly guiding her in a backward walk, until he’d pinned her against the wall... His fingers lacing through hers, then pushing their joined hands out and up over her head so she could feel the length of his body pressed into hers.

It was glorious and she wanted more of him, all of him.

“Olivia. I’m not kidding. Wake up. It’s an emergency.” Why was Rachel’s voice in her dream? She was intruding again. Only this time she was being more insistent and it seemed like she wasn’t going away. Olivia tried to force her eyes open...to no avail.

“Olivia.” Something was shaking her body in a way that didn’t mesh with Alejandro’s tender caresses. She managed to force one eye open. She saw Rachel’s and Zoe’s anxious faces staring down at her as searing pain shot through her head.

She felt as if someone had clocked her.

As she pressed the palms of her hands over her eyes, everything came back to her. She’d been clubbed by one too many Fuzzy Handcuffs. Okay, maybe a few too many. And then there was Alejandro. She’d all but had him for dinner. Kissing him hadn’t been simply a dream. It had been very real—

Oh, no.

“Olivia, wake up!” It was Rachel shaking her. “We have a situation.”

At the sound of her sister’s no-nonsense tone, Olivia removed her palms from her eyes and forced her eyes open. For the love of God, her head was about to split wide open.

“It’s Sophie,” Zoe said. “She’s missing. We can’t find her anywhere.”

It took a moment for Olivia to piece together last night’s events: the drinks, her spilling the beans to her sisters about how she felt about their parents’ relationship—or lack thereof—Sophie getting upset and running off.

“What do you mean she’s missing?” Olivia asked. “Maybe she went out for coffee?”

Every word was a nail in her brain. Her mouth was so dry her lips stuck to her gums like they’d been pasted together. She needed water. It probably wouldn’t be a good idea to ask them if they could go look for Sophie and bring her back a bottle of ice-cold water.

“Do you think she’s in danger?” Olivia asked.

Rachel and Zoe looked at each other.

“No,” Rachel said. “Otherwise we would’ve called the police.”

“All of her stuff is gone,” Zoe said. “She must have packed up and taken it with her. And I must’ve been sleeping deeply because I didn’t even hear her moving around.”

Zoe and Sophie had shared one room in the two-bedroom suite. Olivia and Rachel had shared the other one.

“Personally, I think she’s freaked out over what you said last night and has cold feet,” Zoe said. “You know, prewedding jitters. I get it. I totally understand. It happened to me. That’s why we need to find her and let her know the way she’s feeling is perfectly normal and everything will be all right.”

“Have you talked to Mason?” Olivia’s voice was scratchy. “I’ll bet she’s with him.”

Again, Rachel and Zoe exchanged a look.

“He just called. In fact, his call woke Zoe up,” Rachel said. “He was looking for Sophie.”

“Did you tell him she’s at her bachelorette party and that means no boys? He can live without her for a weekend.”

Zoe sighed. “Normally, I would’ve told him that, but he said she’d left him a distraught message last night after he’d gone to bed. Apparently she said she needed to talk to him as soon as possible and he should call no matter the hour. Now she’s not picking up, and she hasn’t returned any of his calls or mine. We’re worried about her, Liv.”

Olivia regarded her sisters, who were still in their pajamas. “I’m guessing you haven’t gone out to see if she’s down in the café? She might’ve just gone out for some breakfast or some fresh air.”

Olivia could have used both right about now.

She forced herself into a sitting position, trying to ignore the daggers that stabbed at her brain and filled it with a soup-like fog that refused to let her think straight.

As if reading her mind, Rachel produced a bottle of cold water and a wet washcloth.

“You look like hell,” she said. “You’re positively green. Drink this and wipe your face with this cool cloth.”

Olivia did as she was told. Only then did she realize she was still fully dressed in the outfit she’d worn last night. At least she was dressed. She might have smirked at the thought, if the reaction wouldn’t have hurt so badly. Of course she was dressed. She’d only kissed Alejandro. She hadn’t slept with him. The memory of him walking her up to the suite and the two of them indulging in a delicious good-night kiss right outside the door flooded back. Her sisters didn’t need to know about that. Besides, they had more important things to worry about with Sophie going AWOL.

“What time did you get in last night?” Zoe asked.

Olivia took a long drink from the water bottle. When she was finished, she said, “I don’t know. Late. You all jumped ship and left me with a tray full of drinks to polish off. It took a while.”

Zoe frowned. “I’m sorry we left. We were concerned about Sophie after your little down-with-love tirade.”

Tirade?

It hadn’t exactly been a tirade. It’d been honesty.

“Yeah, well, I wish you wouldn’t have kept pushing me to offer love and marriage advice. I felt like you backed me into a corner.”

The sisters sat in silence for a moment.

“Of course, the drinks didn’t help matters,” Olivia said. “They sort of greased the hinges on propriety’s trapdoor and once the words started spilling out, there was no stopping them. I feel bad that Sophie was so upset. It wasn’t what I intended.”

The washcloth had warmed up. Olivia held it by the corners and waved it back and forth to cool it off before pressing it pressed to her eyes again.

Visions of kissing Alejandro played out on the screen in her mind’s eye. She was so glad her sisters hadn’t pressed her about whether or not she’d polished off the remaining drinks alone. The thought of those Fuzzy Handcuffs made her stomach churn, and the thought of trying to explain what happened with Alejandro tied it up in knots.

Olivia looked at her sisters. “Was Sophie here when you went to sleep?”

“She was,” said Zoe.

“In fact, I thought she was out like a light when I finally turned in. I tried to talk to her before she went to bed, but she said she was fine and just wanted to go to sleep. So I went in and took a shower and then I was on the phone with Joaquin for a while. When I came out of the bathroom, she was snuggled down under the covers. I thought she was just missing Mason.”

“Me, too,” said Rachel. “But that’s why we’re concerned that he can’t get in touch with her. Where do you think she would go?”

“So obviously you two haven’t even been out of the room,” Olivia said.

“No, not yet,” Zoe said. “We hated to wake you since you obviously played a little hard last night.” She gestured to Olivia’s outfit.

“Not really. It’s not as if I did the walk of shame this morning.”

But she had kissed Alejandro. The thought made her already knotted, churning stomach clench a little bit more. She put her hand on her belly to quell it.

It would’ve been easy to give in to lust and do a lot more than kiss Alejandro last night, but she hadn’t. Actually, she’d tried, but he’d been the gentleman.

Even so, the essence of him clung to her. Like he had gotten into her pores. If she shut her eyes, there was Alejandro invading her thoughts the same way he had invaded her dreams. Her fingers found their way to her lips as she remembered every delicious detail about their kisses.

Olivia had a lot of faults, but getting blackout drunk wasn’t one of them. No matter how much she had to drink, she was always in control of herself. Sometimes it made her a little looser. She paused. Maybe looser wasn’t the best word in this particular situation. The Fuzzy Handcuffs had unshackled her inhibitions. That was a more apt description. The drinks had simply allowed her to experience a pleasure in which she might not have otherwise allowed herself to indulge. Yes. That was what’d happened.

She was more than willing to own her actions.

And in owning them, she had enough good sense to know kissing Alejandro last night was as far as things would go. She’d gotten him out of her system and it wouldn’t happen again. Of course not. She would be far too busy focusing on her bridesmaid’s duties this wedding week.

As fractured as the night had been with her sisters, it was still a girls’ weekend. Never mind how gorgeous Alejandro Mendoza was. She’d resisted him. She hadn’t bailed on her sisters to spend the night with him.

Even if her sisters had bailed on her.

With great care, Olivia swung her legs over the side of the bed. She put her feet flat on the floor, hoping that the effort would ground her and help her regain her sense of equilibrium. Instead, the room spun. She hated being hungover, but she’d done this to herself. She had no choice but to power through. Do the crime, do the time.

“You do look like hell,” Zoe said.

“I’m fine,” Olivia answered, pushing to her feet.

“I’m going to get dressed and head downstairs to look for her,” Rachel said. “Will you help me look, Liv? I think Zoe should wait in the room in case she returns.”

She considered asking, What if she doesn’t want to be found right now? What if she just needs a little time? I’m the one who has a pounding headache. Why can’t I wait in the room? But she knew this was their way of nudging her to make amends with Sophie. To go look for her and find her so the two of them could talk this out and make up.

Of course, that’s what she intended to do. She took a deep breath and tried to shake off the irritation that prickled her. How had this suddenly become her fault?

Olivia knew her sisters meant well. This was simply their sister dynamics in play: Zoe was the hopeful one; Rachel was the strong one; Sophie was the baby; Olivia was the one who fixed problems and rallied everyone to take action.

Often, Rachel and Zoe formulated a plan and Olivia made sure it got done.

Olivia cleared her throat and shook off the cobwebs from last night the best she could. It gave her a little more clarity. She made a mental note to have someone kick her if she ever felt compelled to finish off a tray of drinks. Though it would surely be a while before she imbibed again.

Her sisters were chattering at her. As their words bounced off her ears, she pulled jeans, a black blouse and fresh undergarments out of her suitcase and disappeared into the bathroom.

“I have to take a shower before I do anything,” she said.

“We can go down to the lobby together,” Rachel said. “I’ll talk to the bellhops and ask if she called for a cab or if they remember her taking an Uber. Since we all rode here together, we know she didn’t drive away and I doubt she walked. We can split up and have a look around the hotel.”

Minutes later, after they’d dressed, Olivia grabbed her cell phone and room key and said to Zoe, “Let us know if you hear from her and we’ll do the same.”

When they got down to the lobby, Olivia looked around as if she might see Sophie standing there waiting for her. She wasn’t there, of course. Next, they pulled up a picture of Sophie that Olivia had taken last night with her cell phone and asked the attendants at the porte cochere if they’d called a cab for her or seen her this morning. They hadn’t. Next they decided to split up and each search a different half of the hotel.

Had Sophie really taken her words to heart? Regret churned in Olivia’s stomach, adding to last night’s bile, making her feel sick again. Only this time it had less to do with the Fuzzy Handcuffs and more to do with her big unfiltered mouth and how it had shoved her sister down this spiral of doubt on the eve of wedding-week festivities.

She had to fix this. She would fix this.

She decided to check the café first since it seemed a likely place to find Sophie.

Olivia pulled open the beveled glass doors of the 1886 Café & Bakery and stepped inside. The place was buzzing with families and couples and individuals sitting at the dark wooden tables and booths enjoying Sunday breakfast. She scanned the room with its white honeycomb tile floor and kelly green accent wall that separated the open kitchen from the dining room, and the flagstone archways that partitioned the dining room into smaller, more intimate sections. She fully expected to see Sophie sitting at one of the tables, noshing on a warm chocolate croissant and a café latte.

The place was crowded so Olivia had to walk around. As she did, she breathed in delicious breakfast aromas. Maybe, she thought, a good breakfast would be the cure for her hangover. Or at least the start. But first—Sophie. She would locate her sister—it couldn’t be that difficult, even though she clearly wasn’t in the café—and then she would treat herself to something delicious. In fact, it would be a good idea to treat Sophie to breakfast too, so they could talk things out and settle this once and for all.

Speaking of delicious...

As if she’d conjured him, there sat Alejandro Mendoza, at a small table tucked into a corner of the restaurant. He was enjoying a hearty omelet that looked like it could feed three people. As if he sensed her watching him, he looked up from the piece of the Sunday New York Times that he had folded neatly into quarters, allowing him to read while he dined. He snared her with his gaze before she could turn away and pretend she hadn’t seen him.

That sexy, lopsided smile of his that crinkled his coffee-colored eyes at the corners made her breath catch. Visions of kissing him last night—of how perfectly their mouths and bodies had fit together—flooded back, swamping her senses and throwing off her equilibrium.

Get it together, girl.

“Good morning,” she said, trying her best to appear nonchalant, to act as if it hadn’t taken every fiber of her willpower to go to bed alone last night rather than give in to the chemistry that pulsed between them. She could still feel his kisses on her lips. Her mouth went dry at the thought and she bit her bottom lip to make the memory go away. As if.

He looked her up and down and smiled as if he approved of what he saw. She was acutely aware of the fact that her face was scrubbed fresh and makeup free. She’d pulled her long dark wet hair into a simple ponytail. She felt exposed and vulnerable, but he didn’t seem to be turned off by her appearance. Not that it mattered. In fact, maybe it would be better if he was turned off because she would want nothing to do with someone that shallow. Still, she sensed that Alejandro Mendoza might be something of a player.

Maybe he was playing her right now.

“Good morning,” he said as he stood. “You’re up early.”

“So are you,” she returned.

He laughed, a deep sound that resonated in her soul and wove its way through her insides.

“Please sit down and enjoy your breakfast,” Olivia said. “I don’t want it to get cold.”

He waved her off and remained standing.

“I have to drive over to Hummingbird Ridge for a business meeting later this morning,” he said. “I wanted to grab a bite before I go. Join me. You know what they say about breakfast. It’s the most important meal of the day.”

The thought of having breakfast with Alejandro conjured all kinds of other possibilities—of what might have happened after the kiss and before the eggs and bacon if she hadn’t said good-night—but Olivia blinked away the naughty thoughts.

“Thanks, but I’m looking for Sophie. You haven’t seen her, have you?”

He looked confused. “Not since last night before she left the bar.”

“So she hasn’t been here this morning?”

“Nope. Please join me until she comes.” He pulled out the other chair at the table for two.

Needing an ear, she sat down and he helped her scoot in her seat, and he motioned for the server to bring another cup of coffee.

She appreciated his gentlemanly way. Of course, she was perfectly capable of scooting in her own chair, but she had to admit the gesture was nice. It said a lot about him. She thought that chivalry had become a dying art these days. It was nice to meet someone with such good manners.

She bit her bottom lip again as she weighed how much to tell him. He already knew that Sophie had left last night’s party upset and that Olivia’s blunt words about love had offended her. They’d kissed and shared that secret. She might as well share this, too.

“I can trust you, right?”

He leaned in and studied her, as if he was trying to figure out what she meant, but he nodded. “Of course.”

The server delivered a cup of coffee. After adding cream, she took a sip and felt some of the fog lift from her brain. She leaned in and rested her chin on her left hand, toying with the handle of the mug with her right.

“When my sisters and I woke up this morning, Sophie was gone.”

“Gone? As in...?”

“Gone. As in packed up her things and left.”

“She’s not in any danger, is she?”

“We don’t think so. Well, not physical danger, anyway. Maybe in danger of calling off the wedding because of my unfiltered tirade on love. I need to find her and fix this.”

Alejandro looked concerned. “Have you called her fiancé?”

“He called us, saying he couldn’t get in touch with her. That she’d called him last night while he was sleeping and left a couple of messages, and when he tried to call her this morning he couldn’t reach her. She wasn’t picking up. I’ve looked all over the hotel and she’s not here. The best I can figure is that she called an Uber and left.”

“Where would she go?”

Olivia thought for a moment, changing gears from likely hiding places in the hotel to where Sophie might go outside of the place. She had an idea.

“We know she’s not at Mason’s. He said he’d call if he heard from her. I can think of a couple of places I’d look to start. She probably went home to her condo.”

She shook her head. “I’m going to have a lot of explaining to do when I find her.”

“Don’t jump to conclusions,” Alejandro said. “Maybe it’s not as bad as you think.”

Olivia shrugged. “My sisters and I think that last night sent her spiraling into a case of prewedding jitters. You know, cold feet.”

Alejandro opened his mouth as if to say something, but sighed instead.

“What?” Olivia asked.

“Nothing.”

“No, it’s something. Tell me, please.”

“If she’s so easily spooked, maybe she knows something we don’t.”

“Such as?”

“Maybe she’s questioning whether she should get married or not. If so, that’s not your fault. In fact, maybe you did her a favor. Maybe what you said made her think. If she’s having second thoughts, isn’t it better to call off the wedding than to get a divorce?”

“We can’t call off the wedding, because it’s Dana and Kieran’s wedding, too. And if Sophie opts out, it will certainly put a damper on their day.”

“So you’re saying truth be damned? She should just suck it up for propriety’s sake? Because if so, maybe you’re not as antiestablishment as you think you are.”

She squinted at him. “That is not what I’m saying. This has nothing to do with me and everything to do with my sister’s happiness.”

“But you’re making it sound like this is all about you. You must think you have some kind of power over her if you think your feelings about love and marriage can change her mind.”

“I’m not saying I changed her mind. I’m saying I’ve spoiled the mood, cast a black cloud and now she’s got cold feet.”

Cocking a brow that seemed to say he wasn’t convinced, Alejandro sat back and crossed his arms. He looked at her as if the judge and jury resided inside his head and they’d already come to a verdict on the matter. “You’re saying all you have to do is talk to her and you can change her mind.”

It wasn’t a question. It was a statement, and Olivia didn’t like the implications. She stood.

“Look, you don’t know me or my sister. I don’t know why it seemed like a good idea to burden you with the details. So please forget everything I told you. Sophie will be fine. The wedding will be fine. Good luck with your meeting.”

As she turned to walk away, something made her turn back. He watched her as she returned to the table. “I hope it goes without saying, but please don’t mention this to anyone. Okay?”

“Of course. And I won’t mention the kiss, either.”

He had the audacity to wink at her. All cheeky and smug-like. That’s what he was—cheeky and smug. And a player who took advantage of drunk women.

Okay, so maybe the kiss wasn’t so bad.

Olivia flinched and waved him off. Her stomach remained in knots even as she made her way into the majestic Driskill’s lobby, away from Alejandro Mendoza. The guy was a piece of work. A smug, cheeky piece of work who called it as he saw it no matter how awkward it rendered the situation. In fact, he seemed to get some kind of pleasure out of making her uncomfortable.

She’d do her best to steer clear of him for the duration of the wedding.

She hated the disappointment that swirled inside her. Because she wanted another taste of Alejandro’s lips—she wanted more than just another taste of his lips, if she was honest. But she also knew that the only thing she should be focusing on this week was making sure she got Sophie to the wedding and down the aisle. The conflict tugged at the outer reaches of her subconscious, and she shoved it out of her mind.

She stared up at the gorgeous stained-glass ceiling, taking a deep breath and trying to ground herself. She took her cell phone out of her pocket and checked the time. It was almost eight thirty. There were no calls from her sisters. Dana and Monica were supposed to join them for brunch at eleven, which gave Olivia two and a half hours to find Sophie and make amends.

She called Sophie’s cell again. After one ring, the call went directly to voice mail.

She did not leave a message. Instead, she texted her.

Where are you, Sophie? We’re worried about you. I understand why you’re upset and I’m sorry. I really am, but please let us know where you are...that you’re safe.

Fully expecting the message to sit unanswered, Olivia shoved her phone into the back pocket of her jeans and made her way toward the elevators. As she waited for the doors to open in the lobby, her cell phone dinged.

Olivia’s heart leaped when she saw that Sophie had replied.

I’m safe.

With shaking hands, Olivia typed:

Where are you?

She stared at her phone as if she could will her sister to answer. But by the time the elevator arrived, Sophie still hadn’t replied.

Olivia tried to pacify herself with the thought that maybe there was no cell service in the elevator hallway. She walked back into the lobby and typed another message.

Thank you for letting us know you’re okay. Will you please meet me for a cup of coffee before the brunch so we can talk about this?

There’s no need. I’m going to pass on brunch. Please give my regrets to Dana.

She was going to pass on brunch?

What am I supposed to say to Dana?

Tell the truth. Tell her I’m not getting married.

I’m going to call you. Please pick up.

There’s nothing to talk about.

Are you kidding me? I worked my butt off to give you and Dana a nice weekend. You can’t just opt out without so much as a phone conversation. I don’t care if you thought I was a little harsh last night. Sophie, you need to grow up. Your deciding not to get married affects others besides yourself.

Seconds after she sent the message her phone rang. It was Sophie.

“Hi,” Olivia said. “Thank you for calling me.”

“Say what you need to say.” Sophie sounded like she was crying and Olivia’s heart broke a little more.

“Sophie, please, you can’t take to heart what I said last night.” She moved out of the lobby and into the bar area where they were last night, looking for a quiet corner where she could talk to her sister privately. “Please don’t let my cynical drunken words cause you to make the worst mistake of your life.”

“Those weren’t just liquor-inspired words, Liv. It’s the truth. Every single word of what you said is true. Are you trying to tell me it’s not?”

It was true. Her parents had a terrible marriage. If you could even call it a marriage. They led separate lives because they couldn’t stand each other.

“I thought so,” Sophie said on a sob when Olivia didn’t reply. “Look, I need some time to figure out what I’m going to do. I appreciate all the time and hard work you put into the bachelorette party, but I need some space right now. I hope you understand.”

“What do you want me to tell Dana?”

Sophie was inconsolable. It killed Olivia to hear her sister in so much pain. Especially since she was the one who’d caused it.

“Tell her whatever you want, Liv. I have to go.”

“No, Sophie. Please tell me where you are—”

But it was too late. Her sister had already disconnected the call.

Olivia stood there trying to get her bearings, trying to figure out how to fix this mess—and quickly. It was best not to push Sophie about the brunch. Olivia kicked herself for scheduling the bachelorette party the weekend before the wedding. She should’ve done this last month. Sophie wasn’t a partier and she was probably exhausted and overwhelmed by all the hoopla leading up to her wedding day. The best thing Olivia could do right now was to show her sister some compassion, give her the space she so clearly needed.

They’d simply tell Dana and Monica that Sophie was under the weather. Given the Fuzzy Handcuffs, that wouldn’t be such a stretch.

As Olivia made her way upstairs to tell Zoe and Rachel that she’d talked to Sophie, she saw Mason at the front desk.

She called out to him and steeled herself for a frantic response from the bridegroom, but Mason smiled at her, appearing remarkably calm.

“Hey, Liv. What’s the latest?”

Good old Mason, the calm to Sophie’s occasional dramatic storm. She said a silent prayer that they would be able to weather this Category Five. How, exactly, did one explain that his fiancée was possibly backing out of the wedding? Then, in a moment of clarity, Olivia realized that even if her careless words had set off Sophie, it was Sophie’s responsibility to tell Mason she wanted to call things off, not hers.