hooker and me. “When was the stranger here?” I demanded. Bram looked up at the ceiling as if it had an answer for him. “Evening before last.” Before Fabian’s death. Interesting.
“Are we done with him yet?” Sam asked, sipping the last of her vodka tonic through the straw until it sounded like the ice cubes were snoring. Bram turned toward me expectantly, a smile just stealing his lips. “Mmm, I like the sound of that. Use me then throw me away.” “Yeah, we’re done.”
Bram stood up so quickly, I didn’t see him move. “Very well, I will leave you two as I have things to do and people to see. Samantha, drinks are free if you are interested. Dulcie insists on paying for hers.”
He gave a theatrical bow and walked away. I glanced at Sam, who sat as still as a tombstone. “What prompted me to ever date him?” she muttered.
I laughed. “Beats the hell out of me.”
She just shook her head, and we both faced the throng of dancers on the floor. Holy Hades, I was so not in the mood to dance. Fabian loomed in the back of my mind like a monster in a kid’s closet. “Do you want to get out of here?” Sam asked. I frowned. “Why? I thought you wanted to go out partying tonight?” “I’m not really feeling it at the moment. You?” “Actually, I was just thinking the same thing.” She stood up. “Brilliant minds think alike.”
She started for the door, and I was right behind her. I stopped at the bar and mouthed “credit card” to Angela. She was quick with the receipt. I signed it and dropped the pen back on the bar. “Thanks Angela. By the way, did a tall, dark-haired stranger come looking for me?” “Yeah, maybe two nights ago. I told him he could find you at Headquarters.” “And he didn’t say anything else?” She shook her head. “Nope, that was it.” So, Bram hadn’t been full of it. “Great, thanks Angela. Have a good night.” “Will do, night guys.”
I followed Sam outside where Nick gave us a quick smile. Sam didn’t even slow down but ran-walked to the car as if she had to pee. I unlocked the door with my beeper remote. “Do you want to go somewhere else or call it a night?” I asked. Sam threw herself into the passenger seat. “I think I just want to go to bed.” I started the Wrangler and pulled out of the driveway.
“Okay, sounds fine to me.” Clearly, something was wrong, and I was pretty sure that something happened to have dark hair and a winning smile, even if he was a jerk. “Are you okay, with seeing Bram and all?” Nick watched us drive by and waved. I waved back, but I don’t think Sam even noticed him. Poor ogre. She sighed. Yeah, she wasn’t okay. “I thought I was, but I don’t know. He’s just so cute.” “Yeah, he’s cute. It’s a shame the cute ones are always jerks or if not jerks, gay.”
She nodded. “I mean, I think I’m over him. It just sometimes sucks seeing someone again that you used to have feelings for, you know?”
I knew only too well. I’d moved to Splendor from Estuary to ensure I wouldn’t have any run-ins with my ex. And so far so good.
“Well, give it another couple of weeks, and I bet you’ll be totally over him. You just need to find his replacement.”
“I could say the same to you about Jack,” she said and laughed. “You’d think between you and me and our abilities, we could create the perfect guy.”
I shook my head, instantly picturing Frankenstein. So not wanting to try that anytime soon. I had enough problems as it was. Still, it was an interesting thought… What was wrong with me? I was so not contemplating creating a man. Ludicrous.
“You’re thinking about it, aren’t you?” Sam asked with a wide grin.
No point in lying. “Sort of. But not seriously, of course. It would be cool though. Create some totally hot guy and make him clean our houses and do dishes and laundry.” “And watch chick movies with us,” Sam added with a sigh. I laughed and pulled up to her house. Sam undid her seatbelt and opened the door. “Thanks, Dulce. I guess I’ll see you Monday.” I nodded. “Well, have a good weekend if I don’t talk to you sooner.”
She hopped down from the Wrangler and pulled her house keys from her purse. I waited for her to unlock the front door. Before disappearing inside, she turned and waved. I pulled into the street and headed for my house, imagining our invented man wearing nothing but an apron and ironing my clothes.
###
Captain Slade stood before me on the sandy beaches of some foreign place that looked like Tahiti. The beaches were white, the sky dissolving into the ocean on the horizon. The Captain’s chest was bare, a ragged pair of pants his only clothing. My gaze traveled up his exquisite body until it rested on his face. But, it wasn’t his face at all, it was Quillan’s.
“ What are you doing dressed as a pirate?” I asked.
He shrugged. “I’ve been Captain Slade all along.”
I shook my head and couldn’t grasp how that could be. Captain Slade was a fictional character, and Quillan was my boss. I glanced at him again and Bram smiled back at me.
“ You’re the last person I wanted to see,” I said, horrified as he started toward me.
Bram threw me a smirk that was so uniquely his, he could patent it.
“ Dulce, Sweet, you know you find me attractive…”
“ Dulcie, I need to speak with you.”
It was a voice I didn’t recognize. It reverberated through the sky almost like it belonged to the clouds. But clouds don’t talk. I glanced around but couldn’t find the perpetrator.
“ Who is that?” I asked Bram.
“ Who is what?” he said and then shrugged, taking hold of my arms. “Let’s talk about us, Dulcie.”
I jerked away from him, the sand slipping between my toes and tickling me like thousands of fleas.
“ There is no us,” I said, my eyes still searching the clouds.
“ Dulcie.”
It was the voice again. Frustration surged through me as I searched the clouds, spinning around and around, but finding nothing. With a sigh, I stopped, feeling slightly dizzy. As soon as my gaze dropped from the sky, I was in Bram’s club. Bram was nowhere to be found. In fact, I was sitting in a booth completely alone-like No Regrets hadn’t opened for the night. So what was I doing here?
I glanced at the table and found a drink before me. I brought the straw to my mouth and took a couple sips. Hmm, Vodka Cranberry. Not bad. I glanced up and found the stranger who’d been in Fabian’s store sitting across from me.
“ You,” I said.
He smiled. “Sorry to interrupt your dream.”
“ I’m dreaming?” I repeated, staring into the crystal blue of his eyes.
“ You were.” He paused. “You’ll wake up thinking this was a dream but you need to convince yourself it’s real. We have much to discuss.”
I put the drink down, and it disappeared into the surface of the table. “You were in Fabian’s store that day. I saw you.”
He nodded. “I was there looking for you.”
“ But, I was there. Why didn’t you…”
He shook his head. “The situation wasn’t right, Dulcie.”
“ Who are you?”
He smiled and it was beautiful. “When we meet, I’ll tell you.”
“ How do I find you? I don’t even know what your name is.”
“ I’m waiting for you outside. Just come out.”
I blinked and found I wasn’t in Bram’s club anymore but was in my bed. My alarm clock glowed eerily, the only beacon of light in the dark room. I sat up and rubbed my eyes, glancing around myself as if to prove I really was where I thought I was. Talk about a weird dream.
Then I remembered the stranger’s words- You’ll wake thinking this was a dream. But, you need to convince yourself it’s real. We have much to discuss… Just come out.
Hmm. I rolled onto my side, threw my pillow over my head and went back to sleep.
FIVE
