The Bad Boy Next Door: A Red Hot Bad Boy Romance (4 page)

“What did you do before you came into money?”

“A number of menial jobs, mostly restaurant work,” Isaac said with a snort.

“So, go to college and learn a trade, or open a business. I don’t know. I just think that you can’t really keep up a partying lifestyle like this. It’ll kill you, or at the very least, send you to the poor house.”

“Ha! My friends would look after me,” Isaac responded. “Besides, you have no idea what I’m worth.”

Ruby smiled wistfully at him. “You show people what you’re worth constantly by your actions and words. And would these people be your friends if you quit throwing parties for them?”

Isaac looked away and didn’t answer. After a couple of minutes of silence, drowned out by the loud music from the living room, Ruby went back to her own house.
What is it with us?
she asked herself as she went into her bedroom to get ready for bed.
We start out having a perfectly lovely conversation and then it degrades into—I don’t know what.

Ruby noticed, as she pulled her earplugs out of her night stand however, that the music had been turned off next door. She peeked through the curtains and saw people piling out of the house and into taxis and hired cars, going back to wherever they were from. Ruby smiled to herself and closed the nightstand, opting instead to open the window to let in the night breeze.

***

She dreamed again that night.

Isaac whispered sweet nothings into her ear as one hand cupped her breasts, fingers pinching softly at her nipple until it stood erect. His lips went to her other breast, teeth teasing at the sensitive erogenous zone there, until it was as erect as its twin. Ruby felt Isaac’s hard shaft pressing against her pubis, then felt her legs part slightly. Isaac looked into her eyes, taking the invitation, and in one swift movement his knee had parted her legs and his thick, hardness was thrust into her.

Ruby moaned and arched her back. Isaac took the arched back as another invitation, and sucked at each breast until the nipples were hard once again. Ruby felt her hands running through his hair, fisting in it, legs wrapped around his hips, pulling him deeper until they were both exhausted.

Ruby woke in a sweat again, berating herself.
Dammit, I know it’s just a dream, but why him of all people? Why can’t I be dreaming about Brad Pitt or something? Why him?

Chapter5

Genie Randles sat at a scarred diner table picking at her French toast. Her four-year-old daughter, Regina, sat next to her in a booster seat eating a pancake in the shape of a teddy bear. The thin layer of Formica covering the top of their small table looked as though it had barely survived the Seventies. Genie idly wondered how many previous patrons had stubbed out their cigarettes in its pale top before smoking in restaurants was abolished. The tell-tale brown rings were numerous, and Genie wondered why the owner of the greasy spoon had never bothered to replace any of the tables or chairs in the place. The woman sitting across from her polished off her mimosa and signaled for another.

“It was over between us years ago,” Genie said to her. She pushed the remains of her breakfast, now cold, around on her plate.

“Maybe so, but I’m telling you, Isaac Ross has become a freakin’
gold mine
since those parents of his kicked off
.
”

“That is a really mean thing to say,” Genie admonished her mother, but she was smiling nonetheless.

“What do I care? They always looked down their noses at you and me both.” Judith Randles downed her third mimosa in one go.

Maybe because you’re a lush,
Genie thought. She said nothing aloud however. Her mother had a point. Isaac Ross had pledged his love to her, and then left her when his parents won the lottery and threatened to cut him out of the will if he didn’t dump her. She had been heartbroken but didn’t know what she could do about it. Genie had even called his parents, but his mother’s response was a cruel laugh followed by the dial tone. Genie had been crushed. She knew Isaac’s parents had never really accepted her, and she had no idea why, except that perhaps after meeting her mother, it had only clinched in their minds, her unsuitability for their son. A sort of guilt by association, Genie thought.

“He owes you,” Judith said firmly. She pulled a cigarette out of a tarnished silver cigarette case and plucked a lighter out of her purse. The waiter came by and gave her a stern look and a shake of his head.

“You can’t smoke here, ma’am.”

Judith rolled her eyes and slapped the case and lighter down on the table top. “Another mimosa then,” she barked at him.

Genie signaled for the check and paid it, stifling a sigh at the price of the four mimosas her mother had drank in lieu of a real breakfast. “I have to get Reggie to the babysitter so I can go to work.”

“I need a ride home,” Judith said standing up and tapping her foot.

Genie stifled another sigh of agitation. Her mother was forever holding her back with one hand while pushing her into her little schemes with the other hand. Genie drove to the babysitter’s apartment in silence. Judith Randles had slumped against the passenger side window moments after getting into the car, her cream foundation leaving a greasy smear down the tempered glass as her head made its slow trek towards her chest.

Mom is right,
Genie thought to herself.
Isaac left me high and dry with nothing to show for the three years we were in love. He
does
owe me. That money should have been ours. It was only sheer dumb luck that his parents even bought that stupid lottery ticket and even dumber luck that they were the
only
winners of that big pot of money.

The more she thought about it, the more she stewed. By the time she dropped Regina off at the sitter’s house and pointed her car toward her mother’s small town home, Genie was already formulating a plan in the back of her mind. Ten minutes later when she shook Judith’s arm to wake her, the plan was solidified. Genie wasn’t going to share it with her mother, however. The second Judith Randles caught the scent of greenbacks, she would take over. More than that, she would think
she
deserved a cut of whatever Genie got.

No, this is all mine,
Genie thought with a little smile.
Mine and Reggie’s. This is for my daughter.
Then she corrected herself.
I mean,
our
daughter.

“Come get me after work so I can get my car from the diner,” Judith said without a backward glance as she fumbled her intoxicated way out of the passenger seat.

“Sure thing. See you at eight.” Genie watched her mother drop her hand bag and then fall to her knees trying to recover it from the tall grass that was badly in need of a good mowing. Genie wondered why the landscapers hadn’t been by recently. They charged an arm and a leg, she thought. Judith finally regained her feet, handbag firmly clutched in one manicured hand, the other hand clinging desperately to the railing of the porch as she made her way up to the front door. Genie took off, not bothering to wait and see if her mother could manage her house keys. She had to get to work and go over her plan for getting back into Isaac’s life.

***

Isaac sat on the steps of his front porch, watching Ruby’s front door to see if she was going to come out for a run. She had mentioned to him that she liked to run in the mornings, but so far he had sat for an hour and there was no sign of her.
Time to go knock on the door like a big boy
, he thought to himself as he stood up. He had donned jogging pants and a plain tee shirt that morning, thinking to take a light jog with her while he tried to smooth things over. He’d had a lot of time to think about the things she had said to him the night before. Many of those things rang all too true, uncomfortably so in many cases. The initial knee-jerk anger had worn away quickly, leaving behind only regret. Regret was something Isaac Ross did not deal with well; something he avoided at all costs.

He knocked on her door and soon after, it was pulled open by a disheveled and sleep-rumpled Ruby. She squinted at him for a moment before backing up so he could let himself in through the screen door.

“Good morning, Neighbor,” he said with a bright smile.

“What do you want?” was the reply. Ruby turned and padded into the kitchen where Isaac watched her scoop expensive coffee into her machine.

“I want to apologize for last night,” Isaac said. He crossed his arms protectively over his chest in case she railed at him again. “I acted like an arrogant jerk and I want to say that I’m sorry.”

Ruby snorted. “Accepted. Now I need breakfast.” She kept her back to him more out of discomfort for the rather erotic dream she’d had about him the night before, than out of any anger. Indeed, in his physical presence she realized she didn’t have the capacity to remain pissed off. This frustrated her, however. More than that, she realized that there was something chemical between them, and Ruby Schmidt was not prepared to deal with that kind of hanky panky right now. She had another novel to outline, and a book launch party to organize.

“Let me take you out on a proper date,” Isaac said. “Prove to you that I can be an amazing person.”

“You don’t need to prove anything to me,” Ruby said a little more sharply than she had intended. The truth was, her heart was pounding at the prospect of a date with her sexy new neighbor. So why was she pushing him away? She shook her head to clear it and turned to face him. “Why do you want to take me on a date?”

“Because I like you. You’re nice, beautiful, and those cheesecake strawberries were to die for. Plus, you aren’t afraid to put me in my place.” Isaac looked at the floor and made absent circles with one sneakered toe. “None of my new friends ever disagree with me, unless it’s about shutting down a party. They grumbled and complained to high heaven last night when I made them all leave. But none of them ever stand up to me.”

“I highly doubt they are your friends,” Ruby said softly. “Were these people your friends before you came into money?”

Isaac’s eyes darkened. “No, but I don’t want to believe that they are only here because of my money.”

“Then stop throwing parties for a couple of weeks and see how many of them call you, or come by to see how you’re doing.”

“Deep inside, I know what you say is true, but I still can’t bring myself to accept it.” Isaac hugged himself tighter.

“Did you ever talk to anybody after your parents passed away?” Ruby asked, putting one hand on his muscular arm.

“Like who? I have an aunt; she mainly handled the arrangements. When I found out what happened, I went on a drinking binge and wasn’t in any shape to handle things.”

“I mean, like a grief counselor,” Ruby said gently. “I don’t know how long ago this happened, but it’s clear that you have some anger, or grief, or something boiling inside of you. Partying all the time like this is not healthy, and part of you must know that you’re going to be heading for disaster if you can’t find a productive outlet.”

Isaac grimaced at her. “Go on a date with me tonight,” he repeated.

Ruby sighed. “Okay. But it’s not a date. We’re just two people getting to know each other. No alcohol, no drugs, no parties. Those are my terms.”

“Fair enough,” Isaac said. “I’ll pick you up at six.”

“Do you have a car?” Ruby asked. “I haven’t seen one parked in the driveway.”

“I have a service,” Isaac replied.

“Okay.” Ruby walked him to the front door and watched him walk across the lawn to his own side of the property line.
What in the world just happened
? she asked herself as she put bread in the toaster and pulled out fig spread. Ruby called Julia after breakfast and asked her to come over that afternoon to help her decide what to wear.

“You’re going on a date with the sexpot?” Julia squealed.

“He’s not a sexpot,” Ruby laughed. “It’s not a date. We’re just friends going out for dinner together.” She could practically hear Julia rolling her eyes over the phone line.

“Sure, right, not a date. Whatever you say, dearest. I’ll be there at four. Be showered and have your hair dried, and I’ll fix it up for you,” Julia promised before the two women said goodbye to one another.

***

During her break at work, Genie Randles made a call to directory assistance and had them connect her to a number she hadn’t called in six years.

“Hello?” came a pleasant and feminine voice.

“Hi, um, Amanda Johnson?”

“Yes, who’s this?”

“Hi, Mandy! It’s Genie. Genie Randles. It has been forever, hasn’t it?” Genie crossed her fingers, hoping Isaac’s aunt wouldn’t hang up on her.

“Oh, hi, Genie. Yes, it has been forever. I haven’t talked to you since you and Isaac split up.” Amanda Johnson’s voice was even, and gave away nothing which Genie could read into.

“I moved back to St. Louis recently,” Genie pressed on, “and I haven’t seen Isaac in forever, so I thought I’d catch up with him. I can’t seem to locate him though. None of his friends from his old stomping grounds have seen him in a while.”

“He moved to Texas,” Amanda responded. “A couple of months ago now. Just packed up and left.”

“Oh, gosh. I wonder why he did something like that. You and he were pretty tight.”

Amanda snorted. “We still are, Genie. He moved down to the Dallas area, changed his phone number, the whole shebang.”

“Any chance I could get his new address so I can send him a letter?” Genie crossed her fingers even harder then.

“No chance. I remember you well, Genie. You and that mother of yours. I remember how you both came sniffing around when Isaac’s parents won the lottery, looking for a gold mine. I liked you up until that point. But there is no chance I’m going to help you get into his life again now that he’s inherited. Have a good day,” Amanda Johnson said in the same pleasant voice before disconnecting.

Dammit to hell!
Genie thought to herself as she slammed her cell phone down on the table top in the break room. She should have known Amanda Johnson would hold a grudge. No matter, Genie though, deciding to play her ace. She dialed the number for directory assistance and this time she wrote the number down before they connected her once again to Isaac’s Aunt Mandy.

“Hello?”

“Amanda, please. Don’t hang up. I have something important to tell you.”

There was an irritated sigh at the other end. “Fine but hurry up. Some of us have to work for a living.”

“I have a child,” Genie said, blurting it out. “I didn’t tell Isaac because I was afraid his parents would make me get rid of it, to get rid of any connection I had with him. I kept it a secret, but he has a right to meet his daughter, doesn’t he?”

There was a long silence at the other end of the line. “You’re telling me that you have a child, and that Isaac is the father?” Amanda’s voice was skeptical.

“Yes. I knew his parents thought I was a gold digger and that it would be better if I just went away. I didn’t know I was pregnant until after Isaac and I broke up, though. Please, next time you talk to Isaac, tell him. Let him decide if he wants to speak to me or not. You don’t have to give me any information on where he is, but give him my number and address in case he wants to meet his daughter.”

There was silence again. “If you consent to a DNA test then I’ll tell him and he can make the choice himself,” Amanda said. Her tone left no room for negotiation.

“Fine,” Genie said. “I’ll even pay for it if you want.” She gave Amanda her number and then said good-bye, slipping the phone into her back pocket. She blew out a breath she hadn’t realized she was holding and stood up into a long, lithe stretch before going back on the clock and finishing her shift.