LAUREN

 

 

“So?” Sadie asked as we looked around one of the newly revamped rooms of Haven’s Rest. “What are your initial thoughts?”

I chewed on my bottom lip. “That these rooms look just like every other hotel room I’ve ever been in.”

Sadie rolled her eyes. “Those sorts of comments are not helpful. Now put that camera up to your eye and tell me what you see.”

I did as she asked, but it served little purpose to change what I saw. The bed was still a bed. The wardrobe still a wardrobe. The bathroom still a bathroom. Sure, it had all been updated to modern lines and dull colours, but basically, it was a room like all others. It was there to serve a purpose and little more. It was to be whatever the person needed it to be.

Sadie walked over to the bed and danced her hands through the air theatrically as if attempting to grasp an idea. “Nope.” She shook her head. “Still nothing.” Flopping to the bed, she lay on her back and stared at the ceiling. “I’m beat. My mind is blank. These rooms could be anything, anywhere. There is nothing to make them stand out.”

I lifted the camera and snapped a shot of the immaculately dressed and perfectly groomed Sadie lying on the bed, blonde hair spilling over the covers. We had lived together for over three weeks now, and I felt like I was only just getting to know her. Sadie was a contradiction and an enigma. At work she was everything organised and controlled. At home she was everything but.

Moving to take another photo, I hoped inspiration might strike if I caught the correct angle. “Maybe that’s what we need to concentrate on.”

“What? I literally said nothing.” Sadie sighed.

“On the fact that the rooms could be anything, anywhere. Behind closed doors they could be anything you wanted.”

Sadie sat up, eyes shining. “Like how it could be an outdoorsy family getaway for some and a fuck-pad for others!” she exclaimed.

I frowned. “Not exactly what I was thinking, but close enough.” I took another shot of the light hitting the small jewel-studded lampshade in the bathroom.

“I can see it now.” Sadie stood and paced the room, talking almost more with her hands than her voice. “We could have it set up as friends gathering for a drink before a night on the town. A group of girls sipping wine, scattered makeup in the bathroom, clothes spread on the floor.”

“Not everyone lives like you, Sadie. Have you noticed that there is actually a floor in my room?”

Ignoring my comment, Sadie stood with her fingers clutching her chin. “Only one problem with all this.”

“What?”

“Models. Considering our budget is somewhat limited at the moment, getting enough models for the initial concept will cost us more than I’d like. We could consider using people we know, just for that concept shoot, but it usually shows in the finished product.”

“Remember you said that my images show humanity without using humans? Why don’t we do that here? Have everything you just talked about, but with the people gone. Like they simply vanished. Poof.”

I walked over and grabbed a couple of wine glasses out of the cupboard. “Half-finished glasses, maybe a spill of wine. Clothing tossed over the bed, makeup scattered by the mirror. Shoes toppled onto their sides at the edge of the bed.”

Sadie picked up one of the glasses, placing her lips on the edge, feigning taking a sip. “Smudged lipstick on the glass.” She clapped her hands together. “Oh, this is perfect. The slogan could be, ‘Behind closed doors our rooms are whatever you want them to be,’ or something like that anyway.”

She looked around the room as both of us imagined the different scenarios. The scattered roses, chocolates, champagne on ice and messed sheets. The tennis rackets, gym shoes and sweaty clothing piled in a corner. The wet footprints from the occupant recently returned from the pool.

“I think we’re onto something here.”

Sadie’s phone rang and she brought it to her ear. “Hello? Oh, hey,” she said, her voice softening. She angled her body slightly away from me, a sure sign it was Tyler on the other end of the line. “Of course I don’t mind. I’ll call over in a bit. It’s going great.” Her eyes slid to mine. “She’s fine. Good. Good. Yep, I’ll tell her. See you in a bit.” She hung up.

“Tell me what?”

Sadie screwed up her nose. “You know that function we’re going to tonight?”

I sighed. “Tyler is going to be there.”

Sadie had insisted we attend a fundraiser for networking purposes. I hated the thought of networking but Sadie insisted it was important for a new business.

“He just wanted me to let you know.”

“Mission accomplished. I know.”

“And you’re still going?”

“It’s not like I’m trying to avoid him, Sadie. Our paths are going to cross from time to time.”

“So you’re not annoyed?”

“It’s a fundraiser. He has as much of a right to go as I do,” I replied.

Sadie looked at me sceptically, head tilted to the side.

“It’s fine,” I repeated with more determination than I felt.

The last few weeks had been difficult. I missed Tyler. A lot. I fell to sleep thinking of him and each night my dreams were a jumbled mess of dark hair, strong hands, soft lips and fervent kisses. Lately though, the dark hair began to blur with blond, and brown eyes blended with blue. My memories had begun to blend together in a terrible nightmare of trying to keep everyone happy and ending up miserable.

Dressing for the fundraiser that night took me longer than I had ever taken to get ready for an event. Despite being annoyed with Tyler, I still wanted him to look at me and want me. It was cruel, I know, but I still longed for the feel of his eyes on me, his hands on my flesh, his mouth on my lips.

In the end, I went for a simple black dress, one that flowed to the floor but had a single split up my legs and a deep-cut exposed back. I accented it with a simple diamond necklace that Tyler had given me and a pair of black heels. Sadie helped me straighten my hair so it hung down either side of my face, almost reaching my waist. She never said anything, but the smirk across her face told me she was having a difficult time keeping her mouth shut. She knew what I was doing.

It was a small gathering, just a few people who had exclusive invites. I was only there because I was Sadie’s plus one. She was only invited because she knew Tyler Thornton. We were there for our business, to mingle and market. Despite my initial hesitation, and after talking to a number of people, I had to admit that Sadie’s suggestion of our company name was a perfect way to break the ice when talking to potential clients. It was also something that was sure to stick in their memories. Sadie had printed business cards, her name on one side and mine on the reverse. People chuckled when Sadie handed them out, immediately commenting on the name.

An hour into the event and I still hadn’t spotted Tyler. I was beginning to wonder if he had decided to skip it altogether. Feeling the need for some fresh air, I left the room and headed outdoors, plucking my phone from my bag in an attempt to ward off anyone looking for conversation.

But it was out there that I spotted Tyler. He was talking to a group of people, a glass of whiskey in his hands, and dressed impeccably in a black suit. His eyes met mine as I crossed the path. My heart fluttered merely at the sight of him.

“Excuse me,” I heard him mutter to the group of people he was with.

I felt him fall into step behind me. Of course, I couldn’t see him, but I knew it was him. My body sensed him. I felt his presence as keenly as if he had gripped me from behind.

“Lauren,” he said. I would never grow sick of the way he said my name. It was a command and a question. A plea and an accusation.

I turned and met his gaze, doing my best to mask my attraction and bring my defiance to the fore. He invaded every defence I had, assaulting me merely by his proximity.

Dark eyes locked on mine and he smiled. “Lauren,” he said again, tipping an invisible hat.

The world faded as my attraction to Tyler flooded my senses and drowned my resistance. His voice reminded me of when he'd growl my name. One whiff of his scent and I was there, pressed against his naked body, my head resting on his chest, one leg splayed across him.

I was transfixed, trapped by his eyes.

“Tyler.” His name came out as a gasp.

“It’s good to see you. I hope you’re well?”

I struggled to regain my composure, feeling the heat creep up my cheeks as visions of us entwined in the bedsheets came unwantedly to my mind.

He seemed to know what he did to me, how my body responded to him despite my attempt to ignore it. He stepped closer, invading my space.

I scanned my surroundings as though looking for someone, mustering what indifference towards Tyler I could. “I expected you to have a date,” I replied, lifting my chin a little.

“I don’t play games, Lauren. You know that. I would have brought a date had I wanted the company of another woman. I don’t.”

His eyes bore into mine, trapping me in his gaze until Sadie stepped beside us.

“You definitely need one of these.” She pressed a business card into Tyler’s hand.

Moving his eyes away from mine, they dropped to the card. “Slag?” he questioned.

“Sadie’s idea,” I was quick to say.

“Clever,” Tyler replied. His eyes only flicked to the card briefly, otherwise, they remained stuck on me. 

I swallowed, my heart thumping in my chest. His eyes lowered to my throat. I wanted to reach out and touch him. I wanted to bring his fingers to my mouth and taste him.

“How is the family?” I asked, wishing he would leave at the same time as desperately hoping he wouldn’t.

“As well as can be expected. Billie isn’t impressed you haven’t been to see her yet.”

“I—I—” I stammered, unsure what to say. It had never entered my mind to go and visit Billie. With my life no longer tied to either of the brothers, I’d assumed my friendship with Billie would finish.

“You may be able to get rid of me, but don’t think for one minute it will be as easy to get rid of Billie. I’m afraid she’s claimed you for life.”

“I should really go visit her.”

Tyler’s phone beeped and he slipped it from his pocket, excusing himself by taking a step away.

Sadie leaned in close. “You cannot tell me you don’t have feelings for that man. The way you’re looking at him doesn’t lie.”

“I never said I didn’t have feelings,” I hissed back. “I said he didn’t trust me.”

“He didn’t trust—” Sadie started, then held up her hands. We’d had this conversation many times before and usually Sadie was unapologetic. Tyler was her boy, as she put it. She hated seeing him hurt and that’s exactly what he was according to her. Hurt and lonely.

Tyler stepped back, cleared his throat and caught my hand by the wrist, sending shock waves of excited tingles through my limbs. “Can I speak to you for a moment?” At my look of panic, he added, “It’s not about us. Not really.”

I followed him to a secluded corner of the garden. His eyes roamed over my body appreciatively, making me want to throw my dress to the floor and wrap my body around his at the same time as wishing I had more layers. His eyes lingered on the split showing my leg just a little longer than necessary.

I cleared my throat, hoping that somehow it would dislodge the knot of need stuck there. “You wanted to talk to me?” I repeated, hoping my voice didn’t betray the conflicting thoughts racing through my mind.

“Have you looked online lately?”

The flesh where his fingers had encircled my wrist still burned. I wanted to lift it to my nose and inhale the scent of him. I took a step back and shook my head. The stories of the Thornton men had died as quickly as they had surfaced. They were merely a flash in the gossip pan.

He cleared his throat again, visibly nervous. “Another story has come out,” he said. Tyler tilted his head from side to side as though tossing up options. “It involves you.”

“Me?” I repeated.

“And me.”

I knew the time would come where I could possibly be known as Tyler’s partner by the media. We had been together at the casino’s opening night, the media were there. To be perfectly honest I was surprised it had taken this long for them to figure it out, though I was grateful it had. The last thing I had wanted was to be splashed over social media like Tyler, Jake and Gabe had been. Even Billie didn’t escape the ridicule, people commenting on everything from her age, to her outfits, to her choice to leave the baby to attend the opening night.

Tyler’s features twisted into discomfort. “And Gabe.”

The colour fell from my face.

“And the fight at the casino,” he added

“Show me,” I ordered.

Tyler handed over his phone. I ignored that my image was still the background, and clicked on the icon he indicated, opening a link from his newsfeed.

The first image was a picture someone had pulled from my profile with the heading, ‘Is this woman the reason for the fight between the Thornton Brothers?’ And it wasn’t the most flattering image they had to choose from. It was one taken of Peta and me, arms wrapped around each other while out for a few drinks, only Peta had been cropped out and my eyes were glazed and red.

I quickly skimmed the article which claimed a ‘source’ close to me said that I had dated both the eldest and youngest of the Thornton Brothers, and, in fact, there was a time when the ‘source’ was sure I was dating both at the same time. They went on to describe me as a nice girl, though nothing special, in fact, the source had difficulty explaining why two such men would want me. But they did go on to explain how I was left devastated after my fiancée left me at the altar for another woman.

Sickness lodged itself in my throat. I exited the article and started to scroll through the comments.

‘I don’t get what all the fuss is over,’ the first one read. ‘FFS how is this news?’ was the second comment, with another person replying, ‘It’s a gossip site, you twat.’ Another comment simply said, “Eww. Siblings. That woman needs to get some morals.”

I scrolled down until I reached the final comment. It simply read, “She’s a bit chubby, isn’t she?” with a response of, “I wouldn’t kick her out of bed.”

“Who wrote this?” I asked, trying not to let the tightness in my throat slip into my voice. The article was posted on a blog which only identified the author as E. Blaire.

“I’ve got no idea but I intend on finding out.” Tyler stepped closer and I resisted the urge to lean into him and inhale his scent. His hand drifted in the space between us, the threads of his neck flexing as he worked his jaw back and forth. Dark eyes skimmed over my body before coming back to rest on my eyes. They were filled with lust and desire and it gave me the strength to straighten my shoulders and lift my chin.

“Thank you for telling me.”

Tyler snorted. “That’s all I get? Thank you for telling me?” He stepped closer again, his mouth dangerously close to mine.

“Did you expect more?”

“Lauren,” he growled and the heat of his breath brushed against my skin.

I closed my eyes as the memories of all the times he had said my name like that crashed over me. Steeling myself, I forced my eyes back open and smiled. “I should be getting back to Sadie. We’ve got networking to do.” Turning on my heel, I walked away.

“Lauren,” he called again, but I gritted my teeth, resisting the urge to turn back, and walked into the room, losing myself in the crowd of people.

* * *

Seeing him again addled my brain.

I was intoxicated by him.

Drunk on the memory of him.

If I had been strong, I wouldn’t have spent the evening flicking through the photos I took of him. I wouldn’t have let my mind wander back to that day in his office and my bold and brazen behaviour. My body wouldn’t have quivered and trembled at the memory of later that night.

But I was not strong.

* * *

The next evening, I sat on the couch with Sadie, reading and rereading the article over and over, looking for hints of who had spilt my secrets. I stared at the images of me. None of them flattering. All of them true. They had managed to pick me out from the group of people gathered around the two brothers as they fought on the floor of the bar. The image perfectly reflected the look of horror on my face.

“Ignore it,” Sadie said, digging a spoon into a tub of ice-cream.

“All very well for you to say. It’s not your face splashed across the media.”

“I would hardly call one little article ‘the media’.” Sadie rolled her eyes and sucked on the tip of the spoon before tilting it towards me. “Want some?”

I shook my head as someone pounded on the door.

Sadie lifted her brows. “I’m telling Tyler if it’s Gabe.”

“It’s not Gabe,” I said, pulling myself up from the couch.

“It could be,” she replied.

“It’s not.”

I pulled the door open to be greeted by Billie. “You are here,” she said in a tone that implied I’d been ignoring her.

“Hey, Billie.” I opened the door wider and ushered her in.

“Don’t you ‘hey’ me,” she replied, heels clipping over the wooden floor. She stopped halfway down the narrow space, peering into the bedrooms and shaking her head before continuing to walk into the lounge.

“I expected more of you, Lauren Greer.” Billie plonked herself down into a spare chair. “Here I am, basically a widow, and you haven’t even come to check how I’m doing? What if I was an inconsolable mess? What if I needed help with Oliver? I was counting on you in my testosterone-filled world, and you let me down.”

Sadie whistled as I sat back beside her. “Not good, L,” she said, having chosen to adopt the nickname my sister used. She shook her head. “Not good.”

“I’m sorry,” I offered, more of a question than a true apology. It had honestly never occurred to me to visit Billie. I was certain that I would be on the outs with both her and Hamish after having messed—Hamish’s word, not mine—with both men.

“No need to be sorry. I’ve come up with a way you can make it up to me.”

“You have?”

Billie rolled her eyes dramatically. “Do you actually have anything to add to this conversation or are you just going to sit there and offer pithy comments and terse replies?”

Sadie elbowed me. “Yeah, L. Is that all you’re going to do?”

Without waiting for a reply, Billie adjusted the way her shirt bunched over her breasts and sighed. “You know that Hamish’s time at the resort is coming to an end next weekend.”

“Resort?” I questioned and Sadie elbowed me again. “I do,” I said more firmly, even though I didn’t know. Hamish Thornton’s schedule was not on my mind. Ever.

“You do,” Billie confirmed. “Well, the entire family is to attend a weekend at this lodge. An adventure therapy weekend.”

“Adventure therapy?” I repeated.

“It’s where you complete various adventure-themed tasks as a group in order to bring you closer and help work through any issues,” she said, as though reading off the back of a brochure.

“Sounds delightful.” I still wasn’t sure what this had to do with me, but I was beginning to suspect. Billie wanted me to babysit Oliver, and I couldn’t think of anything I’d like less. I needed to distance myself from the Thornton family, not become the youngest son’s babysitter.

“Hillis said it will be good for the family,” Billie said firmly.

“Hillis?” Sadie asked and it was my turn to elbow her. We didn’t need to encourage Billie by requesting details.

“My therapist. I needed one after all the shit I’ve been through. He’s the one that runs these weekends and he said it would be perfect for our situation. So we leave at six o’clock on Friday evening. Be ready.”

I looked at her questioningly. “Ready to…?”

She frowned. Well, attempted to, anyway. Her eyebrows bunched but the skin around them did nothing of the sort. “To come, of course. Hillis thinks it’s important that you are there since you are so involved in our current family issues.”

I shook my head before I even started to answer. “I’m not going.”

“Yes, you are,” Billie shot back.

“No,” I replied firmly. “I am not.”

“You owe me,” Billie attempted to raise her overly manicured brows.

“I owe you?”

Sadie could barely contain her grin. “Come on now, L. She’s got a point. You clearly owe the woman.”

“What fucking point?” I said, struggling to keep my annoyance at bay.

Billie threw her hands into the air. “You just answered your own question.”

Getting to her feet, Billie walked towards the hallway, as I looked over at Sadie who just grinned back at me stupidly.

“I told the sitter I’d be home hours ago. Remember,” she threw over her shoulder, “we’ll be here six o’clock Friday to pick you up.” She shut the door behind her.

“What just happened?” I asked, turning to Sadie.

Sadie dipped the spoon into the ice-cream and sucked the contents off loudly. “You heard the woman. You’re going on an adventure therapy weekend with the Thorntons. I almost wish I was going too, just to see how uncomfortable it’s going to be.” Her eyes twinkled. “You’re going to have so much fun!”