Authors: Adrianne Byrd
“So it would seem,” she said, tightly. Her malevolent gaze leveled with Miles.
“Aw, come on.” Wes draped his arm back around Miles to include him. “You know I was just playing with you guys. Loosen up. This is supposed to be a party.”
Celeste shook her head. “I think I need some fresh air.” In a flash, she slipped from under Wes’s arm and disappeared into the crowd before either man had a chance to stop her.
“I take it she’s upset,” Wes said.
Miles shrugged. He wasn’t in the mood to play head games with Celeste. “I’m sure she’ll get over it.”
Wes laughed and shook his head. “I don’t get it. Women constantly throw themselves at you and you act like you don’t notice or you don’t care.”
“There’s an old saying—the one who cares the least in a relationship is the one who’s in control of it.”
Wes’s eyes widened as if he’d just been enlightened. “I’ll make sure that I remember that.”
“Besides, life’s too short for a bunch of drama,” Miles murmured.
“Come on, man. You’re still on that kick that you’re going to die young?”
The light buzz Miles had been enjoying from his wine vanished. “This is not just some overblown superstition, Wes. I come from a long line of men who never live to see their forty-sixth birthday.” He held Wes’s gaze for a tense moment and then smiled in an effort to revive their earlier joviality. “Which is why I intend to live my life to the fullest. I’m going to drink, be merry and enjoy women.”
Wes shrugged. “Best to go out with a smile, I always say.”
Miles held up his glass in salute. “I’ll drink to that.”
“So you want to head on upstairs? I got a few dancers on the pole tonight. I guarantee they have what it takes to get your mind off Celeste for the rest of the night.”
“Trust me. My head isn’t stuck on Celeste.”
“Oh, no?”
“Nah. Did you know that we have a new neighbor moving into the place across from here?”
“Oh, really? Male or female?”
“Female.”
“Is she hot?”
“I thought so—until I met her girlfriend.”
“Then why in the hell didn’t you invite them to the party?”
“No, you don’t understand. I mean her
girlfriend.
”
Wes paused. “You mean...?”
“Yeah.”
“Then you definitely should have invited them over. You know I’m down for a ménage à trois. Talk about getting your freak on. Is the girlfriend hot, too?”
Miles laughed good-naturedly. “They’re both beautiful.”
“Well, hell. I’ll go and invite them.” Wes turned and headed toward the door. He’d actually managed to maneuver through a few people before Miles caught up with him.
“I don’t think that is such a good idea,” Miles said, shaking his head and draping his arm around Wes’s shoulders.
“Why not?”
“They don’t strike me as the party type.”
Wes frowned. “Well, what type are they?”
“Let it go. I’ll find out the 4-1-1 on them soon enough. I think one of them may swing the other way.”
“How do you know that?”
“She was flirting with me.”
“No lie?” Wes’s eyes lit with excitement, then quickly narrowed with suspicion. “How come I get the feeling that you don’t want me to go over there because you’re going to try and make a play for both of them?”
Miles laughed and lifted his wineglass in a mock toast. “Like I said, I plan to live life to the fullest.”
Chapter 2
L
u Jin slashed open a box label
CDS
only to discover that it had been marked wrong. At first glance, she assumed the papers to be more of Destiny’s legal briefs, but a newspaper heading caught and held her attention. She reached inside and withdrew a stack of newspaper clippings.
“Mystery Surrounds Attorney Adam Brockman’s Suicide.” Lu Jin flipped to another. “Sex, Lies and Political Favors Swirl Around Brockman’s Untimely Death.”
“What are you doing?” Destiny asked suddenly from behind her.
“Oh.” Lu Jin jumped and dropped the clippings before looking guiltily at her best friend. “The box was labeled wrong,” she confessed.
Destiny’s gaze fell to the floor, but she didn’t kneel to pick up the articles. “I knew I should have thrown those damn things away.”
The weight of Lu Jin’s stare finally forced Destiny to look back at her friend. “I’m hungry. You want to order a pizza?”
Lu Jin frowned, and then crossed her arms. “Why would you want to throw these away?”
Destiny shrugged and forced any telltale emotion from her voice. “Because it’s been two years and it’s time to move on.”
Lu Jin held Destiny’s gaze and then made a grand show of applauding. “Bravo. I think I’m not the only one who should be pursuing an acting career. Any way I can convince you to go to Broadway with me?”
Destiny rolled her eyes and knelt to pick up her belongings.
Lu Jin helped. “Are you still angry at Adam?”
“And if I told you that I wasn’t?”
“I’d tell you your nose was growing.”
“You’re suppose to be my friend, not my therapist.”
“You’re right.” Lu Jin nodded while thinking. “You should be paying me.”
Destiny laughed and the tension dissipated. “I couldn’t afford you anyway.”
“You’re probably right. As screwed up as you are I could wipe out your inheritance. Then maybe
I
could afford to live in this place.”
Destiny continued laughing. When the joviality died, she looked at her best friend with sober eyes and confessed, “I miss him.”
Lu Jin opened her arms and Destiny eased into her embrace.
Adam Brockman had been a hero to many people throughout his short life: whether it was during his time as the captain of the football team or later when he’d graduated cum laude from Princeton. He became a young trailblazer in the political world. Through it all, no one looked up to Adam Brockman more than his twin sister, Destiny.
Adam’s suicide, as well as the rumored political corruption that surrounded him, devastated young Destiny. So much so that at one point Destiny questioned her own ability to be a good lawyer. The news of her brother’s failings also haunted her father, the Honorable Edward Brockman.
Her father spent his last days in shame of the scandal. When he passed away, it became an unspoken rule between Destiny and her mother not to speak of Adam, but every once in a while her brother’s image crept into her dreams and she would wake to find her pillow soaked with tears.
Yet, somehow the corruption that followed Adam to his grave fed Destiny’s resolve to redeem the Brockman name. She would succeed where her brother had failed.
There were times when she thought it ironic that she had once wanted to be like her brother and now she wanted to be better than him; sometimes that meant she needed to bury his memory. However, there was a part of her that wouldn’t allow her to do that, it was the part that wouldn’t allow her to throw away the newspaper clippings.
“You know a pizza does sound good,” Lu Jin said almost wistfully.
Destiny pulled out of Lu Jin’s arms. “Sounds wonderful. Let’s ask the guys.”
“I will if they ever get back up here. They went down for more boxes, I swear, half an hour ago.”
Destiny frowned. “You don’t think they dipped on us?”
“I’ll kill them.”
“It would be just like them to show up late and leave early.”
“It’s hard to find good help.” Lu Jin got to her feet. “So what’ll ya have? Meat Lovers or Supreme?”
Destiny’s stomach growled as if it were trying to answer for her.
Lu Jin and Destiny laughed.
“Let’s go with the Meat Lovers and make it a large,” Destiny said.
“You got it.” Lu Jin went in search of the cordless phone.
Destiny smiled as she watched her. She couldn’t have asked for a better friend than Lu Jin. Of this, she was sure. They’d met in their freshman year at college—an awkward time in both of their lives. The two roommates couldn’t have been more different, but somehow they’d managed to create a bond that each cherished.
Zack and Elliott breezed into the apartment. Neither carried a box.
Destiny and Lu Jin rushed into the living room and simultaneously crossed their arms while Destiny demanded, “Where have you two been?”
Zack eased forward with a wide smile. “There’s one heck of a party at the condo on the other side of the building. You girls need to come and check it out.”
“You’ve been at a party all this time?” Destiny asked. “I thought you two were supposed to be helping me?”
“We are—we will. I mean—you’ve got to come and check out this party.”
“I’m not about to crash some party and I can’t believe you guys have. These people are going to be my neighbors, remember? What if they find out you two weren’t invited?”
“Hey, we
were
invited. Some guy in the elevator told us we needed to check it out,” Elliott defended and moved to stand next to Zack. “Take my word for it, you ain’t never seen a party like this. There’s something for everyone.”
“Oh?” Lu Jin perked with interest.
“That’s just great. I take it you’re going to bail out on me, as well?”
“No.” She looked to the guys. “I mean, uh...”
“All we’re suggesting is that we take an hour break, socialize with your new neighbors, then resume working. That’s all,” Elliott said.
“You two just got here about an hour ago and now your need a break?”
Lu Jin draped her arm around Destiny’s shoulder. “Now, calm down. There’s no need for you to get upset. We promised you that we’d help and that’s what we’re going to do. Right, guys?”
Crestfallen, the guys nodded.
“Even if it takes all weekend,” Lu Jin continued. “We’re just asking for an hour break—which we were about to take anyway once we ordered a pizza.”
Destiny suddenly felt as though she was being the bad guy by forcing her friends into doing something they apparently didn’t feel like doing.
“Fine. Go to the party. I don’t care.” She turned away from them.
Zack and Elliott raced toward the door, hoping to escape before Destiny changed her mind.
“Why don’t you come with us?” Lu Jin suggested.
Destiny shook her head. “That’s all right. You go ahead on. I’ll see you back here in an hour.”
Lu Jin didn’t immediately head for the door. “Are you sure?”
Destiny faced her. “I’m sure. Go have fun. It’s okay.”
Lu Jin still didn’t move.
“You better hurry up. Your hour is going to be over soon.”
“All right.”
Destiny waited until Lu Jin closed the door behind her before she slumped to the floor in defeat. Why did she always have to come off acting like a prude? So what if her friends wanted to go hang out at some party?
“Nice going, Destiny,” she mumbled. There were times when she envied Lu Jin and her spontaneity. Whereas Destiny was reclusive, Lu Jin was gregarious. People had always flocked to Lu Jin, including men. Why couldn’t she just be more like her friend?
What harm would it be to crash
one
party in her life? Like Elliott said—it would be a great chance for her to meet her new neighbors. Maybe even a chance for her to let her hair down.
She shook her head and chastised herself for even thinking about chucking her responsibility to go somewhere she hadn’t been invited.
She stood and laughed at what now seemed a ridiculous idea and returned to the bedroom to finish unpacking her things. No sooner had she returned to her room, did she hear a slight knocking behind her. She jumped and pivoted to the bedroom door.
“Lu Jin.” She breathed a sigh of relief. “You scared the heck out of me. What are you doing back?”
“You didn’t think I would really abandon you, did you?”
Destiny furrowed her brows and nodded.
Lu Jin covered her heart with her hand. “I’m hurt.”
“I’m being honest,” Destiny retorted with first a stern face, but then allowed a lopsided grin to slide into place. “But I’m glad you came back.”
Lu Jin moved over to her with her arms spread wide, and then embraced Destiny. “Now, I couldn’t let my best friend down,” she said with an added squeeze of affection. When Lu Jin withdrew, she held up a slender finger. “However, I do think we need to order that pizza before my stomach eats a hole clear to my back.”
Destiny laughed. “You got it.”
Chapter 3
T
he next morning, Miles jerked up in bed at the sound of the phone ringing somewhere in the vicinity of his head. He fumbled with the pillows and bumped into a warm body lying next to him. He wondered briefly at the woman’s identity before the phone rang again.
This time the noise caused his temples to pound. For a fleeting moment he wanted to throw it and the now-snoring mystery woman out of the room so he could return to his dream of a harem of gorgeous women.
Finally, his hand hit something hard beneath the sheets and managed to pluck the phone from the numerous folds of material and answer it before the caller was sent to his answering machine.
“Hello.” He winced at the sound of his brassy voice. He coughed, trying to clear his throat, but only succeeded in igniting a small fire that burned through his larynx.
“Hello, yourself.” The sound of his mother’s sharp and agitated voice had no trouble penetrating the thick haze around his brain. “Is it too much trouble for a mother to ask her son to help with a few minor chores around the house? I mean, if it is, just let me know and I won’t trouble you any more than I have to.”
Miles moaned and fell back against the pillows.
His mother’s voice raised an octave. “Hello. Are you still there?”
“Yes. I’m still here.” He sighed heavily, then managed to pry his eyes open to look over at the clock. “Mom, it’s only ten. I have plenty of time to get over there and check out that leak.”
“Please. You have to get up, shower, get rid of the woman that is undoubtedly lying beside you and eat breakfast before you get anywhere near your car to come over here.”
Regardless of his headache, Miles couldn’t help but emit a low rumble of laughter. “Calm down, Mom. I’m getting up right now.”
On cue, his mother sighed deeply into the phone, and then started her weekly spiel. “I don’t understand how come you can’t just find yourself a nice girl to settle down with and stop all this bed-hopping you do. Don’t you know how dangerous it is nowadays to be doing that sort of thing?”
“Yes, Mom.” Miles stood and glanced down at the women in his bed. So, he had ended up with the curvaceous woman in red after all. He smiled, and then turned away from the bed and headed toward the bathroom. His smile disappeared when his attention returned to his mother shouting over the phone. “Yes, Momma. I hear you. And no, I’m not interested in meeting your bridge partner’s daughter.”
“It’s that Wes character, isn’t it?” his mother continued on. “I’ve been telling you since you two were in junior high that that boy is a bad influence. I wish you would just stop hanging around him. His father was no good and you mark my words that the apple doesn’t fall too far from the tree.”
Miles’s smile widened. If anything, he was the bad influence and always had been. However, he wasn’t about to tell his mother that. “Wes is cool. You’d like him if you got a chance to know him better.”
“I don’t want to know him better. In fact, while I’m thinking about it, I’m not too crazy about most of your friends.”
Miles continued to smile against the phone while he wrenched open the medicine cabinet and retrieved the bottle of aspirin.
“Really, Miles. How come you can’t find better friends?”
“I know this may come as a surprise to you, but I happen to like my friends.”
“Humph.”
Miles laughed. “Let’s just agree to disagree on the matter.”
“Fine. Have you thought any more of taking your cousin Fred’s case?”
Here we go.
“Why don’t we talk more about that when I get there,” he stalled.
“There’s nothing to talk about. He’s family. Family takes care of family.”
“We’re not the mafia. Besides, we barely know that side of the family. For all we know, he may be the sort of man to harass an employee.”
“Oh, I don’t believe that.”
Miles turned on the shower. “How can you be so sure? When was the last time you talked to Aunt Elise, let alone visited her and her son?” Miles stopped. “Come to think of it, I thought you and Aunt Elise had a falling out a few years ago?”
“Water under the bridge.”
Miles shook his head. “We’ll talk about this when I get there.”
“Fine. Try to make it here at a reasonable hour. The girls are coming over for a game of bridge.”
“Deal.” Miles disconnected the call. His mother was something else and he loved every bit of her. She was either eccentric or nutty as a fruitcake—it all depended on one’s perspective. He believed she kept him grounded—to a certain extent.
He remembered the loving stories his father told him of how and when he’d fallen in love with the wealthy Violet Somers. His father said he was the envy of all his friends. He was also certain his love for Violet would break any silly notions of a family curse.
Miles stepped into the shower and hung his head low beneath the steady stream of hot water. A familiar ache rose within him and pounded in time with his heartbeat. He missed his father, more so now than ever. Everyone kept saying time healed all wounds—but time was the one thing he didn’t have a lot of.
* * *
Destiny rose early, despite the fact she’d only gotten three hours of sleep. By eight, she’d already eaten her breakfast, depleted her third cup of coffee and finished reading the morning paper. Now, she sat pecking away on her laptop, working on a legal brief that, according to her personal schedule, needed to be done by Monday.
A soft knock on the door drew her attention. She glanced at her watch and was excited to see that it was ten.
She sprinted from the table to answer the door, but was taken aback by an angry woman.
“Where is he?” the woman demanded and pushed her way into the apartment.
“Wait a minute. What in hell do you think you’re doing?” Destiny demanded in equal measure.
The woman settled her hands on her hips while her gaze raked over Destiny. “So who are you, his latest conquest?”
“What?” Destiny shook her head. “You know, I don’t even care what you’re talking about. You have exactly ten seconds to get out of my apartment before I call the cops.”
“I’m not leaving here until I talk with Miles.”
Destiny held fast to her temper. “You have the wrong apartment. Mr. Stafford lives across the hall.”
The woman’s color drained as her mouth dropped open and formed a perfect circle.
Destiny pulled the door open farther. “This is the part where you leave.”
“I’m so embarrassed.”
“With good reason.” Destiny gestured toward the door. “Have a good day.”
The uninvited guest moved timidly toward the door. She stopped when she reached Destiny and looked as though she wanted to attempt another apology. She walked to the door and nearly collided with someone on the other side.
“Oh, hello.”
Destiny recognized her mother’s voice outside of the door.
“Hello,” the stranger greeted in kind, and then excused herself without any further ado.
Destiny poked her head around the door and smiled at her mother, Adele. “It’s about time you got here.” She looked around. “Where is Jasmine?” She referred to her mother’s feline.
Adele jutted a finger at the woman who had just left the apartment and was now banging on the door across the hall. “A friend of yours?”
“Not hardly. Come on in.”
Adele crossed the threshold into the apartment just as the door across the hall jerked open.
“Gina.”
Adele and Destiny turned toward the startled male voice in the hallway.
Gina pushed her way into Miles’s apartment, yelling at the top of her lungs.
Miles poked his head out into the hallway and his gaze swept toward Destiny and her mother. He gave them an embarrassed smile. “Good morning, ladies.”
“I knew it!” Gina’s voice reached a new octave.
Miles rolled his eyes, and then ducked back into his apartment just as the sound of two women’s voices filled the hallway.
Adele turned toward her daughter.
Destiny could only shake her head. “Please don’t ask.” She shut the door behind her mother, but they were still able to hear the commotion across the hall. “How ghetto is that?”
“You told me not to ask.”
Destiny shook her head determined to put all thoughts of her philandering neighbor aside, but failed. “That man is something else.”
“He is a handsome devil. I’ll give him that much.”
“And milking it for all it’s worth. I’ve been here less than twenty-four hours and I already don’t like him.”
Adele looked at her daughter with a spark of curiosity. “Is that so?”
Destiny frowned. “What?”
“Nothing.” Her mother shrugged, and then moved past Destiny to head for the kitchen. “I sure hope you have a pot of coffee on. I’m ready for a caffeine fix.”
“A caffeine fix? You’ve been watching too much TV.”
“Agreed. Which is why I intend to go on a seven-day
vacation and I want you to go with me.”
“Come again?” Destiny followed her mother into the kitchen. “You know I can’t do that. I just started a new job and have been handed my first case. I can’t just pick up and leave right now.”
“How do you know unless you ask?”
Destiny plopped her hands on her hips. “You’ve got to be kidding me, right?”
Adele threw her hands up as if frustrated by some unknown burden, but she remained mute to whatever was troubling her.
“What’s wrong, Mom?”
“Nothing’s wrong. Can’t a mother want to spend time with her daughter if she wants? I hardly see you anymore. And since your father passed way, the house...”
Destiny watched the shift of emotion on her mother’s face. “What about the house?”
Adele’s transformation was nearly complete. Twice before Destiny had seen this fragile, almost vulnerable side of her mother. The first time was when she’d learned of Adam’s death, and then again as she stood beside her husband’s casket.
“The house is so empty...and haunted.”
Startled, Destiny blinked; sure she hadn’t heard her correctly. “What do you mean haunted?”
Adele gave an embarrassed laugh and shook her head. “I don’t mean I see ghosts roaming around the house or anything like that. I just mean...” She shook her head and took a deep breath. “I have memories in every corner of that house. Some good ones and some bad.” She lowered her gaze, suddenly fascinated by her hands.
Destiny’s heart went out to her.
“It’s funny,” Adele went on to say. “I always thought I’d cherish those memories. Now, I dread whenever I turn a corner—afraid one day I’ll see your father standing there.”
“Or Adam?” Destiny asked.
Adele’s head snapped up. Her gaze locked with her daughter’s. Before she could speak, tears shimmered and trickled over her lashes.
“Oh, Momma.” Destiny embraced her mother as if she was a fragile child. “Sometimes I feel as if I’m haunted by them, as well,” Destiny confessed. “Why don’t you put the house up for sale? There’s no need to keep putting yourself through this.”
Adele pulled out of her daughter’s arms and shook her head. “I considered it, but for the same reasons I dread the memories, I love the house. Your father and I have always loved it there. If I were to sell it now, I’d feel like I was betraying his memory.”
“But you have to do something.”
“I am,” Adele said, wiping at her tears. “I’m taking a vacation and I would like for you to come with me.”
Destiny pulled away. “I can’t do that. I mean I wish I could, but I simply can’t.”
Adele drew in a deep breath and nodded in understanding. “Still off to conquer the world?”
“Just determined to make a difference.”
“Are you sure that’s all?”
Their leveled gazes locked.
Destiny knew her mother didn’t understand her motivation to redeem the Brockman name so she did the only thing she could. She lied. “I’m sure.”