“Yes.” She smiled at me and shook her head before looking over at Robin. “It’s good to see you, Robin.”
“You too, Lucky.” Robin smiled back at her and walked over to me. “Is that coffee ready? I’m about to fall back asleep.”
“Well, if the coffee doesn’t wake you up. I know something that will.”
“Oh, really?” she purred.
“Really.” I leaned towards her.
“And what would that be?” She leaned towards me and I felt my body heating up.
“Well, it would consist of …”
“Guys, we are still in the kitchen.” Zane cleared his throat and grabbed Lucky’s arm. “Though I think Lucky and I will just go out for breakfast.”
“Oh, sorry. You don’t need to do that.” Robin blushed and shook her head. “Please don’t leave because of me.”
“No worries. It will give Lucky a break from cooking.” Zane rubbed Lucky’s back and she leaned into the crook of his arm. “You guys can come as well, if you want.”
“That sounds great.” Robin responded at the same time that I started shaking my head.
“Well, I guess we can go.” I said reluctantly. I didn’t want to leave the house. I just wanted to go back to bed and ravish Robin some more.
“You don’t want to just keep me in the bedroom, do you, Noah?” Robin raised an eyebrow and Lucky laughed.
“You tell him,” she giggled.
“Of course not.” I kissed Robin again. “We have plenty of time to eat and then come back to the bedroom.”
“Noah!” Both Robin and Lucky glared at me while Zane laughed.
“I didn’t mean it like that.” I put my hands up. “I was cornered into that statement.”
“Really?” Robin looked up at me with a devious smile. “I didn’t see anyone corner you.”
“Well, you know.” I laughed. “I’m a guy, it happens to us all the time.”
“Sure.” Robin laughed and backed away from me. “I’m going to go and shower. I’d love to go to breakfast. I have to get to work by noon.”
“Oh, no.” I groaned. “I wanted to spend the day with you.”
“Sorry,” she smiled sweetly. “I have to make money, and I took off yesterday after Zane came into the restaurant last week saying he really needed me to come and see you.”
“I was wondering how Zane set that up yesterday.” I laughed. “I’m glad to hear that it wasn’t too complicated.”
“I think I’m going to go shower as well.” Lucky smiled. “Shall we go up, Robin?”
“Let’s do it.” Robin leaned up and gave me a long deep kiss before walking out of the kitchen. I watched her walk out and then turned to Zane who was giving me a bemused look.
“What’s so funny?” I rolled my eyes at him.
“You look like you’re sprung.”
“Sprung? Who says that?” I laughed and sipped some of my coffee as my heart pounded.
“I say that.” He laughed. “And trust me, I recognize sprung when I see it.”
“Zane, every guy looks sprung after a night of good sex.”
“You dirty dog.” He winked at me. “I guess you have been in drought, huh?”
“I had sex in Palm Bonita.” I laughed and shook my head. “Though this is not a conversation I want to have.”
“Well, we both know we’re Beaumonts.” He laughed. “We can both get laid anywhere.”
“It’s not about the sex.” I shook my head and rolled my eyes at him. “And if Lucky heard you right now she would kill you and then leave you.”
“What’s the point of leaving me if I’m dead?” He laughed, but then his eyes grew dark and more serious. “Seriously, though, I hope you know what you’re doing. Sex is great, but Robin looks like she’s not the sort of girl to just have casual sex.”
“I’m not using her, Zane.”
“I know you’re not that type of guy, but you know, just be careful. I know things are complicated with you.”
“Nothing’s complicated.” I lied.
“Does she know about the other girl?”
“What other girl?” I feigned ignorance.
“The one you dated in Palm Bonita?”
“We broke up, Zane.”
“But there’s still unresolved stuff there. I can tell.”
“I don’t want to talk about this right now.” I shook my head. “I’ve got it handled.”
“Sure you do.” He sighed. “You may have the Beaumont sex appeal, but you also have the Beaumont knack of messing it up with girls.”
“You got Lucky.”
“Only because the gods were with me.” He laughed. “I swear I must have done something right in my life.”
“You’re a good guy, bro.” I said seriously. “She’s lucky to have you as well.”
“Sometimes I don’t know if I’m good enough for her.” All of a sudden he looked unsure of himself. “I love her so much, Noah. I never knew love could be like this. I still get overwhelmed sometimes. She’s everything to me. She’s my life. I’m so happy. You can thank her for me not killing you yesterday or today by the way. She’s grounded me and made me feel whole in a way I never knew was possible.”
“I don’t know what to say.” I stared at him. “I’m so happy for you. You’ve found a happiness that eludes many of us.”
“You’ll find it as well.” Zane paused and was about to talk again when my phone started ringing.“One moment.” I reached for my phone and my heart stopped when I saw Skylar’s number on the caller id. “Hello.” I spoke into the phone softly. There was silence on the other side. “Hello. Skylar are you there?” I held my breath as I waited for her to reply.
“Hello,” a voice whispered and I felt sweat break out in my face.
“Skylar?”
“Yes,” she mumbled.
“Oh, my God, Skylar, are you okay?” I spoke into the phone quickly worried she was going to hang up on me again. I saw a movement from the corner of my eye and I realized that I was still in the kitchen with Zane. He was staring at me with a worried expression in his eyes and I turned around. I couldn’t deal with him right now. I needed to concentrate on Skylar.
“Noah?”
“Yes, angel. It’s me.” I let out a deep breath. “Are you okay?”
There was silence on the other side of the phone and that I heard what sounded like sobs and I froze as my hand gripped the phone tightly.
“What’s wrong?” My voice rose slightly. “Tell me what’s wrong, Skylar.”
“You left me.” She sobbed, this time not hiding her tears.
“I didn’t …”
“You didn’t say goodbye,” she sobbed into the phone. “I miss you, Noah.”
“I didn’t want to make it harder.” I said slowly, not sure what to say. I had taken the coward’s way out. Everything had gotten so bad and I had no recourse, and I knew that I just had to walk away.
“I love you.” She cried harder. “You told me when people love each other, they are always there for each other.”
“I am always here for you.” I whispered into the phone. “I am always here for you, Skylar.”
“My arm hurts.” She stopped sobbing and her voice grew softer. “I have to go lie down because my arm hurts.”
“What’s wrong with it?”
“It got broke.” She sighed. “It got broke when I bumped into the chair.”
“Oh, my God,” I closed my eyes. “You didn’t bump into the chair, did you?”
“I bumped into the chair hard and it broke because I am clumsy.” She said the words that she had been commanded to say.
“Skylar, tell me the truth, please. What happened to your arm?”
“You don’t care,” she whispered. “You left me.”
“Skylar, please.” My heart ached for her.
“I have to go and lie down now.” She yawned. “I’m tired.”
“Didn’t you sleep last night? It’s morning, Sky.”
“I had to stay up last night and keep guard.” She yawned again. “I’m sleepy and my arm hurts.”
“Skylar, put Monica on the phone.” I spoke quickly.
“No.” she sounded scared.
“Please put Monica on the phone.” I begged, praying she would do as I asked. But then I heard a click and realized that she had hung up. I stood there with the phone next to my ear for at least a minute before trying to call it back again. This time the phone went straight to voicemail and I knew she had turned it off. I stood there for a moment in a complete panic, not sure what to do, when Zane spoke.
“What’s going on, Noah?” Zane looked at me with a concerned expression. “What was that call about?”
“Nothing.” I shook my head, not knowing how to explain the situation to him. An idea was starting to form in my mind and the less he knew the better. If he didn’t know anything, then the police couldn’t accuse him of being an accessory to my plan.
“Noah, I’m not going to ask you again. What was that about?” Zane looked at me with a furious expression. “It sure didn’t sound like nothing. It sounded like it was a lot more than nothing. Who is this Skylar and what does she have over you?”
“She doesn’t have anything over me.” I glared at him, my heart still pounding. All I could think about was how tiny her voice had sounded. And her arm. What had happened to her arm? I was pretty sure that whatever had happened hadn’t been an accident. I needed to get her out of Palm Bonita even if it meant we had to be on the run.
“Noah.” Zane grabbed a hold of my shoulders and looked into my eyes. “Are you in any trouble?”
“No. I’m not.” I shook my head and attempted a smile. I needed to diffuse the situation or he was going to keep at it. And I didn’t want to tell him anything. Part of my heart was splitting open as I realized that once again I would have to leave him without telling him what was going on. I couldn’t risk him knowing the truth.
“Okay.” He sighed. “Don’t tell me now. But I sure hope you know what you’re doing. You’ve got one girl upstairs in your shower and another one calling you on the phone and I’ve got a feeling that it’s not a good idea to be playing both of them.” He shook his head and walked out of the kitchen and I stood there frozen. I had almost forgotten about Robin. If I carried out my plan, that would mean the end for me and her and any possible relationship. I couldn’t expect her to understand my tie to Skylar. I wasn’t even going to try to explain it to her. I clenched my feelings as I realized that I was going to lose the chance to see what we could have been. I couldn’t dwell on a relationship that hadn’t even happened yet. I couldn’t regret the future that wasn’t to be. Not if I wanted to save Skylar. I pulled out my phone to call Sidney, to see if his son had found any loopholes in the law to allow me to carry out my plan without becoming a fugitive. The phone went to voicemail and I hung up without leaving a message.
“Noah, you still in here?” Lucky walked back into the kitchen, her long, wet hair hanging down her back. She gave me a concerned look. “Everything okay?”
“I take it Zane rushed right up to tell you about the call.”
“No, of course not.” She blushed and I knew she was lying.
“Lucky, I don’t want to talk about it.” I shook my head. “I’m going up to shower.”
“Wait a second.” She called out to me as I was leaving the room. “If you’re in love with someone else, it’s not fair to keep seeing Robin. It’s not fair at all.”
“I like Robin a lot. I’m not using her.” I turned around and looked at her with bleak eyes. “We have a very special connection.”
“As special as the connection you have with Skylar?”
“That’s not fair. Like I told you before you have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“Then tell me, Noah. Tell me and Zane. Let us in. We may be able to help you sort it all out.”
“Lucky, I would love to tell you both more than anything. But it’s too risky.” I shook my head. “I don’t want either of you to get into trouble. I just …” I broke off as Lucky’s face became even more worried. “I’m sorry, the less you know right now the better for you both.”
“You’re not going to do anything stupid, are you?”
“I always do something stupid.” I sighed and gave her a half-smile. “Thanks for your concern, Lucky, but I’m going to take care of everything.”
“Okay.” She sighed and looked away. “Hey, can I borrow your phone quickly? I wanted to test the Facetime feature out with my phone. Just while you’re in the bathroom?”
“I guess.” I handed over my phone reluctantly. “If Sidney calls me, don’t answer. I’ll just call him back later.”
“Okay, sure.” She smiled and took the phone. “Oh wait, can you unlock it for me, please?”
“I guess so.” I sighed as I punched in the numbers giving her access to my phone. For some reason I didn’t think she was being honest about wanting to play around with Facetime, but I didn’t really know what else she would want my phone for. “I’ll see you in a few minutes.”