Chapter 11
Vivian finished her workday and then headed to her parents’ house. The Armstrongs were a tight-knit family and not a week went by where she didn’t stop in for dinner with her mom, dad, and whichever of her siblings happened to be there.
She parked in front and surveyed the other vehicles in the driveway. Only her older brother Preston’s SUV was parked outside. Preston owned hotels and resorts all over the world, but his main offices were in L.A. Despite being a billionaire he’d stayed down to earth and tried to keep out of the press as much as possible.
“Mom! Dad! Where is everyone?” Vivian called out when she didn’t hear or see anyone inside.
Her mother came out of the kitchen, wiping her hands on a rag and wearing a welcoming smile upon her face, “Viv! Come on in. Preston and Gina are already here.”
“Viv. What’s new?” Preston asked and hugged her.
“Same old, same old,” she said with a shake of her head. “I’m sure you have more exciting things to tell from you last trip to Rome.”
“I could talk for hours about Italy. How was your day?” Gina giggled and kissed Vivian on the cheeks. Three times. The Italian way.
Preston’s girlfriend Gina was Italian and they had met on one of his trips to Rome. Now she lived with him in L.A., but frequently travelled to her home country. She was the perfect match for Preston – in private life and in business. After finishing her tourism studies, she’d started to work at Preston’s company, overseeing the business in Italy and Europe. He’d already been looking a long time for a person with local knowledge and mastery of at least two European languages. Gina of course spoke fluent Italian and English, but also French and Spanish. His perfect fit.
With her long, wavy dark brown hair, the fir-green eyes, olive complexion and her enviable curves she looked a lot Monica Belluci and was as temperamental as they came. A stark, but fitting, contrast to Viv’s calm and controlled brother Preston.
Funnily enough, the pair had met when Gina ran over Preston with her Vespa. Another accident. Like Rock and I.
She pushed that thought aside and nodded nonchalantly. “Just a normal day at work. Another Monday spent in the courthouse.”
Sounds from the front room announced the arrival of her brother Chuck, his fiancé Linda and their dog Courage. Chuck was one year younger than Preston, with the same dark hair and striking blue eyes, but he had one inch on his older brother. A fact that had annoyed the heck out of Preston during their teenage years. Chuck worked as private investigator and a while ago he’d met his fiancé Linda Ross as he worked for her mother the A-list Hollywood actress, Evangelina Ross.
Unlike Gina, who came from a close-knit family, Linda had lived through a difficult childhood as a single child with an egocentric mother and a father who hadn’t bothered to visit his daughter after his divorce.
Vivian smiled at how well Linda had blended in the crazy, loud, touchy-huggy Armstrong family in such a short time. Linda worked with therapy dogs in an animal assisted therapy practice. She was a rail-thin blonde with huge brown eyes and a soft voice. She usually stayed quiet, but under Chuck’s admiring eyes she transformed into a queen.
With some jealousy Vivian acknowledged the way all of her brothers treated their significant others like they were the most valuable things in their lives. True Queens. I want a man who treats me like that.
Her mother Annie poured everyone iced tea and the conversation continued after everyone had exchanged greetings and patted Courage.
“Have you been able to find a new employer?” Preston asked Linda. She worked in a practice with several doctors. Two of them had retired and the new ones wanted to shift the focus away from animal assisted therapy.
“Not yet,” Linda answered and shared a look with Chuck before she continued. “I’ve been thinking about opening up my own practice. There are plans for a new rehab center opening next year. If I could open my practice as part of it, that would be awesome.”
“Aren’t there rehab centers all over the city?” Preston asked.
Linda shook her head. “Not like this one. It will specifically cater to amputees, veterans and civilians alike. Rock Martens’ foundation will be building and managing the center.”
“Rock Martens? Isn’t he that Ironman champion?” Gina asked.
Chuck nodded. “Yeah. That’s him. Nice guy. I’ve only heard good things about him and his foundation.”
It they knew how frustrating he could be, they wouldn’t gush over this seemingly nice guy. Vivian faked disinterest at the topic and studied her fingernails.
“Nice? He’s scorching hot! All masculine,” Linda said with a giggle. When Chuck gave her a frown, she patted his arm. “But he can’t hold a candle to you, babe.”
“That’s what I like to hear,” Chuck said, mollified and kissed her on the lips.
“Isn’t his foundation called Rock Hard, or something like that?” Gina asked.
Blood rushed to Vivian’s face. She hadn’t missed his hard erection pressing against her thighs this morning.
“No!” she said a bit too loud and all heads turned toward her with quizzical looks upon their faces. “Rock Solid. His foundation is called Rock Solid.” Her blush intensified under the scrutiny of her family.
“How do you know what his foundation is called?” Chuck narrowed his gaze at her.
Vivian shifted her feet and shrugged, playing it down. “I’ve heard about the charity triathlon in two months.”
But Chuck wasn’t famed for being one of the best P.I.s in the country for nothing. He had the annoying ability to pick up on the things a person did not say.
“And since when are you interested in triathlon?” He continued his interrogation.
Vivian sighed. Now that her brother’s hunting instinct had wakened, she could as well tell them. “I met him the other day. And before you all gush about how nice he is, you should also know how arrogant he can be.”
“Do tell? How did you and Rock meet? That’s so exciting.” Linda nudged her.
Vivian could feel everyone’s eyes on her and she once again tried to downplay things. “I ran into him with my bike.”
“You ran over Rock Martens?” Gina asked.
“No, I didn’t run over him. He was running and I was biking and we collided. That’s all,” Vivian explained, hoping they’d stop their interrogation. Sometimes she hated to be part of a big and nosy family.
“An accident made in heaven. That is the best way to start. With a Big Bang.” Gina smiled from ear to ear and slipped her arm through Preston’s.
“For the record. I’m not interested. He’s an arrogant jerk,” Vivian objected, but by the looks of her siblings, nobody believed her.
“I’ll check him out,” Chuck said.
“Don’t you dare!” Vivian shouted at her brother.
“But…”
“No! You keep your nose away from him.”
“Who is Chuck keeping his nose away from?” Tyler asked, having arrived just in time to catch the tail end of their conversation.
“Rock Martens,” Gina supplied. “It seems your sister here collided with him.”
“Yes, and now she’s running in his charity triathlon,” Tyler blurted out.
“What?” several people questioned in unison.
“Yeah, Viv felt guilty for breaking his ankle when she hit him and offered to run the triathlon in his place. Why, I have no idea.” Tyler readily offered the information Vivian had tried to hide.
Everyone started talking at once, firing questions at Vivian. She gave Tyler a dirty look and then shook her head. “Stop talking all at once!”
“Vivian’s right. You all sound like a gaggle of geese.” Vivian smiled her thanks towards her mom and then groaned when her mother used the quiet to say, “Now tell us what really happened, dear.”
When Vivian had ended her story, they only missed one beat before jumping in again with the third degree.
“I’m for sure checking him out now,” Chuck said. “I can’t have my little sister using his pool if he’s some kind of pervert.”
Vivian rolled her eyes and struck out her tongue at him. Will they ever stop treating my like a little girl?
She dropped her head into her hands and made secret plans to get back at Tyler for his big mouth, while she listened with half an ear as her family continued to discuss her newfound love for sports, especially running.