Love Stung (Shower & Shelter Artist Collective Book 5) Read online

  ***

  Thirty minutes later, Drake and Macy entered the huge, 5th Avenue Patterson & Ray store. She asked one of the employees about Tabitha's whereabouts, and he told them she was upstairs in the office.

  It took Macy and Drake a few minutes to walk through the store, and on their way, Drake pointed out a few pictures of models he knew and had photographed. None of his work was hanging on the walls, but he pointed at one girl and said he had done a shoot with her just a few days before.

  "Knock, knock," Macy called as she and Drake came to the open door that led to one of the upstairs offices. It was a big room with a wall full of clothing in boxes that looked like it needed to be sorted before it could go onto the floor. It was definitely a multi purpose room, but Drake's eye went immediately to the girl in the corner who was staring at a desktop computer. He could only see the side of her face, but he knew she was Macy's sister. He had already met Isabel, and this young woman looked like a grown-up version of her daughter.

  "Oh, my goodness sakes! Dwake is hewe!" Isabel yelled as she caught sight of Drake and Macy. She had been sitting in a little alcove on the other side of her mom's desk, and it took her all of a split second to get to her feet and begin hopping toward Macy and Drake.

  "Izzybizzy, I came to pick you up!" Macy said.

  "Hi, Aunt Macy," Isabel said in a jerky, breathless way as she hopped toward them.

  "Hey peanut," Macy said.

  "And hello, Dwake," Isabel said. "What awe you doing hewe with my Aunt Macy?" She went right up to Drake with her hands in the air like she expected him to pick her up. Drake started to bend down, but Macy put her hands out like she assumed Isabel wanted to be held by her. Isabel dodged Macy's hands, and jumped into Drake's arms. Thankfully, he had half-been expecting her to do it, so he caught her easily and placed her comfortably on his chest as he stood. Tabitha had been staring intently at the computer screen, but she peeled her eyes away and swiveled in her chair, taking in the new arrivals for the first time and regarding the whole scene with a somewhat confused expression.

  "I'm sorry, who's this?" she asked, knowing she had missed something while she was preoccupied with her work.

  "This is my friend Drake," Macy said.

  Drake gave Tabitha a little smile and wave, and watched as she stared up at him with a look of genuine confusion.

  "The photographer?" she asked, tilting her head.

  Isabel leaned in front of Drake, putting her hands on the sides of his face and manually aiming his gaze in Tabitha's direction. "See, Mom what I told you what he looks like. This is Dwake, Mom, see what he looks like?"

  "I do see," Tabitha, said leaning back in her chair so she could take in the sight of her daughter in the arms of this guy. "Are you the one who wants the doll?" she asked, looking at him from over the reading glasses that rested on the tip of her nose.

  "I'd love one of your dolls," he said.

  "When'd you start wearing reading glasses?" Macy asked.

  Tabitha took the plastic glasses that were resting on her nose, and tossed them to the desk behind her. "They're fake," she said. "They're clear. I just wear them when I'm up here in the office. You know, to make me look in charge."

  Drake couldn’t stop an amused grin from crossing his face, and this made Isabel wiggle around in his arms. "See what he looks like, Mama?" Isabel asked, patting Drake's chest.

  "I do see," Tabitha said, going along with it. "And I didn't know he was this big when I agreed to make a doll for him. It might cost extra for such a big doll."

  Isabel beamed at Drake like he was the best thing she'd ever seen, and Tabitha stared at him like she was genuinely perplexed by his appearance. "Is this the same guy who took your invitation photos?" she asked.

  Macy nodded. "Drake."

  "I did not picture you looking like this at all," Tabitha said, staring at Drake with a straight face.

  "How'd you picture me?"

  "I don't know. Maybe not so manly."

  "Not manly? What's that supposed to mean?" Drake asked, looking offended. His question was made even funnier by the fact that his voice was deep and he had a dark shadow of a beard across the lower part of his face. He was sharply dressed, but in a casual and definitely masculine way.

  Tabitha shook her head at him. "You know, you're a fashion photographer," she said. "I guess I just thought you guys all looked like… I guess I just I pictured you… I didn't expect you to be so… rugged."

  Drake was mesmerized by her smile. As a student of smiles, he knew hers wasn't completely genuine, but it was beautiful in spite of the fact that it was forced. "I'd love to take your picture," he said.

  "I wish you would take Isabel's picture," Tabitha said. "I haven't taken anything but iPhone photos of her since she was a year old.

  "Both of you, then," Drake said. "Seriously, I'd like to. No charge."

  Chapter 4

  I stared in wonder as my daughter rested her head on this stranger's chest, giving him a tight squeeze. My sister's friend, Drake, had just offered to take mine and Isabel's picture for free, and Macy stared at me with wide eyes from her place next to him, telling me in sister code that it was a generous offer, and I needed to graciously accept.

  I smiled at Drake. I hadn't been expecting him to show up with my sister, and I was completely thrown off by his presence in general, but especially by the fact that he looked nothing like the skinny-jean-wearing, satchel-carrying, artsy photographer type I expected. This guy was a man—tall, dark, and handsome, like someone who would be your guide on a whitewater rafting excursion. It was no wonder Isabel was captivated by him—he was the type of man whose mere presence put you at ease.

  I was just about to say something to accept his gracious offer of a photo shoot when the worst thing I could ever have imagined happened. I saw a shadow come into the doorway behind them, but I didn't know it was J.R. until he came around my sister.

  I felt nervous and nauseated, and I sat there and stared at him like a deer in the headlights. Seeing him next to Drake was utterly sickening. It was impossible not to compare the two of them when they were standing so close to each other, and I felt grossed out and embarrassed. My stomach was so tightly clinched that I could barely breathe.

  J.R. stood there, taking in the scene with an expression of suspicion, and I felt instantly defensive.

  "This is my sister," I explained. "And her friend, Drake. Macy and Drake. They came to get Isabel, but we were just thinking about everybody's timing and saying she might have to end up staying with me after all." I paused and smiled at my sister. "Macy, this is my boss, J.R."

  Macy greeted J.R., but her demeanor was guarded. Drake, however, greeted J.R. with a big smile and a hardy handshake that required some adjustments of the way he was holding Isabel.

  "Hey there, pal," J.R. said when he and Drake shook hands. "That's some grip you have there." As they pulled away, J.R. grimaced and shook his hand as if to indicate that it had been tightly squeezed.

  "Sorry," Drake said. "I get a little carried away sometimes." He stretched his arms and neck casually. "That's what happens when you train as much as I do. MMA. Mixed Martial Arts."

  J.R. let out a laugh as if he thought Drake might be joking, but Drake just stood there and stared at him with a serious expression. There was an awkward pause where I prayed that my sister or daughter would say something, but neither of them did, we all just stood there and looked at the two men, wondering what outlandish thing they might say next.

  "Sounds pretty hardcore," J.R. said.

  "The hardest-core ever," Drake said, shaking his head seriously. "Super hardcore. I basically smash things for a living."

  "For a living?" J.R. asked, looking amazed but still skeptical.

  Drake nodded.

  "So, you're a professional fighter?"

  "Not full time or anything, but my true passion is fighting. I have fights on a regular basis. Destruction of any type, really. Smashing, crushing, ripping. I'm into it all." Drake did n
ot crack a smile the whole time he spoke, and we all just stood there and stared at him.

  "Are you being serious?" J.R. asked since none of us were saying anything.

  Drake nodded, and we all just stayed quiet for a few seconds before Isabel finally started giggling. "Dwake's pickin'," Isabel said, curling up to him.

  I watched in amazement as Drake stared point blank at J.R. and shook his head, clearly and most seriously disagreeing with Isabel without letting her see that he was doing it. I cleared my throat to distract from the obvious male tension in the room and to keep myself from laughing. If I didn't know any better, I would have thought Drake knew about J.R. and was acting that way on my behalf, but I knew Macy wouldn't have told him. It must have just been obvious that J.R. was a creep.

  "Yeah, I actually don't know how long I can watch her," Macy said, cracking the intense silence. We all looked at her and she smiled regretfully and gestured at Isabel. "I know I told you I could watch her this afternoon, but I just found out that I can't. I'm so sorry." Macy looked at Isabel. "Sorry, peanut," she said. "You're gonna have to stay here with Mom while she finishes her shift." Macy paused and looked at her watch and then at me. "You should be getting off soon, anyway, right? Because you and Drake were supposed to come to dinner with me and Ethan tonight. Double date, remember?"

  I swallowed hard, wondering how I was now suddenly dealing with a fake date, a cancelled babysitter, and a professional body smasher. I was overwhelmed by all the charades. J.R. was now officially annoyed by their presence in the office; I could see it in his expression.

  "I was going to see if you could just go ahead and come home now," Macy said, seeing my hopeless expression, and turning into a mother bird. She looked straight at J.R. when she said, "Tabitha's been working a lot of overtime lately. I'm glad you're here so you can help her figure out a way to take the rest of the afternoon off."

  "I'll be able to leave in a couple of hours," I said, in an effort to smooth everything over.

  "She knows her schedule," J.R. said with a defensive smile aimed at Macy. "She knew she had to be here till three today."

  "She's given a lot to this place," Macy said.

  "I won't argue with that," J.R. said with his hands raised. He gave me a little smirk and wink that probably was meant to be a compliment about my work ethic, but I took as something totally different.

  I could just imagine a huge fight breaking out where my sister got up in my boss's face and started pointing fingers. I felt hot blood as it rose to my face, and I knew my cheeks were turning red. I spun toward the computer and started clicking away so that no one could see my face. I reached out and grabbed my useless reading glasses and put them on out of nervous energy.

  "I think I got the schedule finalized for next week," I said, looking at the screen. My heart was still pounding, but at least I had a second to get my breathing under control. "I just have a few more things to get done up here, but I should be able to get out a little earlier than I expected." I clicked a few more times before swiveling to stare at my sister. "Thanks for coming by to tell me you couldn’t watch her," I said. "I'll be up here for the rest of my shift, so she'll be fine playing." I was so proud of Isabel for just sitting there while we talked, and I wrinkled my nose and smiled at her because of it.

  "Yep, I colowed six pages alweady, and we went fow a walk on hew lunch bweak so I'm not stuck inside all day."

  "Okay, well, I love you, and I'll see you when you get home," Macy said.

  "Okay, bye, love you, hope you have fun." Isabel said.

  "Bye, love you, hope you have fun," Macy said.

  It was a phrase our family used all the time, so both Isabel and Macy said the phrase in a practiced singsong way. Drake was still holding Isabel, and she swung in his arms to stare right at him. He pulled back a few inches so that he could focus on her with a smile.

  "Awe you weally having dinnew wif us?" she asked.

  Drake nodded without hesitation, and Isabel gave him a satisfied smile before squirming in just the right way that he set her to her feet.

  "Bye, wove you, hope you have fun," she said. I knew she was nervous by the way she didn't pronounce the L in love. She glanced down when he set her to her feet, so she hadn't been looking directly at Drake when she said it. Drake didn't know what to say when she glanced at him.

  "Me?" he asked.

  She nodded.

  "Bye, love you, hope you have lots of fun, too," Drake said in a reluctant way that said he was hoping he got all the words correct and in order.

  Isabel giggled as she skipped to the little spot she had set up in the corner near my desk. "Bye Aunt Macy, bye, Dwake," she called.

  "Bye, peanut."

  Drake waved at her. "Bye, Isabel, see you later, okay?"

  "Okay," she said.

  J.R. just stood there watching the whole thing, and I thought, I can't believe you're making them leave. No one invited you to come in here in the first place.

  "You sure you're okay?" Macy asked seeing my frustrated expression.

  "Yep," I said casually. "I'll be home in a little while." I turned to the computer again. I was so mad at J.R. that I couldn’t even look at him. I could feel his presence in the room, but I just stared at the screen, clicking absentmindedly on the little time blocks on the schedule.

  It was quiet for a minute before J.R. got up to walk across the room. I glanced over my shoulder only to find that he was peering into the hallway, watching Macy and Drake walk away. I pictured him as a rat while I watched him stare at them. While on first impression (and not while standing next to Drake) he was a decent looking man, the rat-like nature of him was so great, that he now came across as one big, walking, clothes-wearing rat.

  "That dude was crazy," was the first thing J.R. said once he decided the coast was clear. He said it in a light-hearted way that didn't necessarily require a response, so I just ignored him. "That dude," he pressed, coming to stand behind me. "He was crazy," he repeated. "Did you see how he was looking at me?"

  "No," I said distractedly.

  Isabel looked up, and I gave her wide-eyes and shook my head, telling her to be quiet.

  "Did you hear him tell me he liked smashing things?" J.R. asked.

  "No," I lied, working but not really working on the schedule.

  "I did," Isabel said. "Wemembew when Dwake said he crashes and smashes things?"

  "Huh? Oh, I must have not heard him," I said, distractedly.

  J.R. came to sit on the edge of my desk in a position where I had no other choice but to glance at him. I made quick eye contact with him and offered a fleeting smile, hoping it would be enough. He was looking back at me with desperate eyes. My plan was to just glance at him, but I couldn’t bear to follow through with it once I saw his tortured appearance. I locked eyes with him, returning his beseeching expression with a curious one of my own.

  "I need to talk to you," he said. He mostly mouthed the words, whispering barely loudly enough for me to hear.

  I gave him a questioning expression. "So, talk to me," I whispered, since there was no way I could put off hearing what he had to say now that he was acting so serious. I truly thought he was about to fire me.

  "I'm thinking about leaving her," he said with wide eyes.

  Short-circuiting.

  My brain was short-circuiting.

  It was like two wires had been connected and now weren't.

  His words made my mind lose track of reality. It took me a second to realize that this guy was telling me he was thinking about leaving his wife, and I could see by the way he looked at me like he thought I had something to do with his decision to do so. Nightmare. Seriously. Total nightmare. Worst-case scenario.

  All of this was happening while Isabel played quietly on the floor, oblivious to what we were saying. I looked at J.R. with a shocked expression and shook my head.

  "No, what?" he asked, still mouthing the words.

  I just continued to shake my head. "She just moved all the way ove
r here with you," I said in a breathless whisper. "And we're not… we can't do whatever it is we've been…" I trailed off, feeling too breathless to continue.

  My heart was pounding. It was my most dreaded confrontation come to life, only now I had the twist of him wanting to leave his wife. Not to mention, my four-year-old daughter was sitting three feet away.

  "I feel really bad about your wife. I was gonna talk to you about us keeping some professional boundaries." I was whispering and yet still my voice was shaky and uneven. I hated this moment. J.R. was already looking hurt and offended, and we had only scratched the surface of what needed to be said. "I think you should definitely stay with your wife," I added. "I love marriage. I think marriage is great. I was gonna tell you I felt bad about everything, anyway."

  J.R. had the nerve to smile at me like seeing me flustered amused him. "I thought you'd be happy to hear I was thinking about leaving her."

  I shook my head at him to assure him that was not the case, but Isabel made a movement that caught our attention. We both looked at her as she held up a piece of paper.

  "I'm gonna dwaw a pictuwe of Dwake," she said.

  "Okay," I said, smiling at my daughter even though I had barely even heard what she said.

  "You want me to put you on it with him?" she asked.

  She was looking right at me with an expectant smile, so I smiled and nodded. "Of course," I said, even though I hadn't really heard her question.

  "I will dwaw you and Dwake on the pictuwe," she said.

  "Okay, sounds good, baby."

  I turned to face J.R. again, considering vaguely in the back of my mind what Isabel was saying. I usually made an effort to pay attention to the things my daughter was saying, but in this situation, I was consumed by making sure J.R. knew I did not support any decision that involved leaving his wife. How in the world had I gotten myself into this?

  I hated the idea of hurting his feelings, but it seemed as though he was going to make me do it.

  "Seriously, J.R., I was going to say we needed to stop whatever was going on, anyway," I said, still whispering so Isabel wouldn't hear. I was glad for her presence because I didn't trust my voice at full volume. "You're married, and I'm seeing that guy, Drake, now." (I hated lying, and my breathlessness reflected that, but Macy and Isabel had already set me up for it, so I just went with my gut.) I gestured back and forth from J.R. to me. I was tired after a long, frustrating day, and I did my best to look frumpy, slouching as I sat in my chair. I smiled regretfully at him. "It really should have never happened in the first place."