Chapter 21

Vivian battled with too little sleep, reeling from a night full of earthshattering sex, which was a stark contrast to the gory world inside the courtroom.

At lunchtime, she met Gwen who worked as a probation officer downtown and had to attend a court hearing today. Vivian waved at her blonde friend, who waited outside on the marble flight of steps.

“Hi, Viv,” Gwen said as she hugged her. The two friends linked arms and walked chattering to a little bistro a block from the courthouse for lunch.

“What happened to you?” Gwen asked, eyeing her friend closely, once they sat at one of the tables and had ordered their food.

“What do you mean?” Vivian squinted her eyes, suppressing a yawn.

“You have dark circles beneath your eyes and have been yawning at least ten times on the walk over.”

Vivian blushed and then lowered her voice to a giggling whisper, “I may have had some extensive exercise between the sheets last night.”

Gwen’s eyes widened. “With Rock Martens?”

“Hmm…yes.” Vivian sighed with closed eyes.

“Are we talking about the arrogant, obnoxious and bossy guy, who’s so not your type?” Gwen queried with a raised eye.

“Well…he may have changed…actually, he’s wonderful. He’s so sweet and caring and…” The worlds bubbled out of Vivian’s mouth a mile a minute. It didn’t take much coaxing for Gwen to make Vivian tell the entire story, albeit leaving out the juicy details.

“You go for it, girl! I’m so happy for you.” Gwen hugged her, truly delighted like only a best friend could be. Vivian knew that since falling in love with Fernando, Gwen had been feeling guilty that she didn’t spend as much time with Viv anymore then she had used to.

Their lunch arrived, and they changed the topic and talked about Gwen’s pregnancy and the baby. Vivian was almost as excited as her friend was. Coming from a huge family she loved children. She’d grown up not only with five brothers, but lots of cousins and close friends. So there’d never been a shortage of playmates, and several of her cousins already had children. The hour lunchtime passed by at lighting speed and soon she hugged goodbye to her friend, with the promise to keep her posted about the relationship with Rock.

On her way back to court, she passed by a newsstand and her good mood vanished in the blink of an eye. There, splashed across the front cover of several gossip rags was a picture of Rock and Carla. Kissing.

It felt like someone had stabbed her in the heart and then twisted the knife. It was one thing to know her man was kissing another woman, and an entirely different thing to actually see the pictures. She wanted to tear the rags into pieces and trample on them. Hard.

 A masochistic wish for punishment drew her closer to the pictures, focusing on their mouths and their eyes. The actress looked convincingly in love, while Rock’s eyes seemed to give the barest hint of being uncomfortable. His eyes didn’t show that soft, glowing look he’d given her so many times last night. Neither did they convey the unconcealed desire, nor the raging lust. And definitely not the loving concern, he’d showered Vivian with this morning.

She forced herself to breathe. I can manage. It’s just business. It was a lie. She couldn’t manage. And it was never business, to see her man kissing another woman. Her gut twisted.

 “You want a paper, miss?” the vendor asked her, eyeing her skeptically when he saw her fingering one of the papers. Vivian shook her head and turned away making a straight line for work.

***

When she returned home in the evening, she was still frustrated and checked the training schedule on her phone. Running. That’s just perfect.

She changed into her running clothes and tennis shoes, actually looking forward to the upcoming exercise. After biting and clawing her way through the exercise the past few days, she’d come to realize it wasn’t as bad as she’d thought.

Today she managed to run the entire three miles without any stopping or walking breaks. She grinned and wanted to call Rock, to tell him about her success. Rock. A glance at her watch told her he’d be meeting this actress right now. Damnit! Her face fell and the good mood vanished.

Vivian entered the kitchen, drank two glasses of water, and then headed for the shower. She tried to stay upbeat, but her mind kept straying to Rock and what he might be doing at that moment. Would she try to kiss him again?

Vivian missed him like crazy and the fact that he was with her, didn’t help to calm her mind. She’d wanted to appear generous and understanding, not the stereotypical jealous girlfriend. However, good intentions were easier said than done. Jealousy gnawed at her insides.

She cooked pasta with cheese sauce and was watching the evening news when a knock sounded on her door. Rock? Vivian all but fell over her own feet in her rush to open the door.

“Oh. You. What are you doing here?” She stared aghast at the tall dark-haired man filling the door frame.

“That’s a nice way to greet your brother,” Chuck said with a chuckle as she stepped back and let him in.

“Sorry. I just wasn’t expecting anyone tonight. What’s up?” Vivian tried to mask her disappointment.

“I brought by my results from checking out Rock Martens,” Chuck said, holding out an envelope.

“So? What did you find?” Vivian rolled her eyes and then crossed her arms over her chest, daring him to come a single step closer.

Chuck sighed and dropped the envelope on her coffee table. “Nothing. Alright? I didn’t find anything on him. He’s squeaky clean.”

“Happy now?” Vivian teased him.

“Hmm…not really.”

“If you didn’t find anything, care to tell my why you look so worried?” she asked after seeing the genuine concern in his eyes.

He sighed. “Have you seen the pictures?”

It didn’t make any sense to deny. Probably half of the world had seen them by now. And whatever lie she came up with, Chuck would see right through her.

“Of Rock and Carla Dawson?” When he nodded with an uncomfortable look in his eyes, she said, “Yeah, I saw them on my way home tonight.”

“And?”

“It’s not the way it looks.” That sounded shallow. And so wrong. “Rock told me about it. The charity foundation needs a celebrity to participate in the triathlon. Carla Dawson is just a good business move.”

“That kiss didn’t look like business to me. He’s cheating on you.” Chuck said with the rightful anger of an older brother trying to protect his sister.

“He isn’t. She doesn’t mean anything to him.” Ohmygod, I’m sounding like a Stepford Wife. Vivian swallowed. “Believe me, it’s nothing. Rock explained it was only for business. As soon as the triathlon is over, he won’t see her again.”

“Don’t be gullible, sis,” Chuck said.

“I’m not. And besides, it’s none of your business,” she said, glaring him into silence.

“Hey Viv, it’s just, I don’t want you to get hurt,” he stuttered, closing the distance between them and wrapping his arm around her. “Promise, you’ll be careful?”

“I will. Thanks Chuck.” As much as she hated his irritating way of butting into her personal life, she was thankful for the way all of her brothers looked out for her. A tiny, smug grin appeared on her lips at the vision of her brother challenging Rock to a duel. “I love you, bro, but I’m a big girl.”

He grinned at her and started talking about Linda and how excited she’d been after coming home from the visit of the re-hab construction site. When he left half an hour later, Vivian leaned against the door, hoping she was right and Rock deserved her trust.