Faye's Spirit (16 page)

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FAYE’S SPIRIT

Saskia Walker

104

Out of the three of them, Monica was the one who had the most high-powered career, and whilst Faye looked up to her sister, she knew she could never work anywhere like this.

Monica was the one with a business degree though, whereas Faye had a fine arts degree.

It didn’t help that she hadn’t changed into her nice dress for the event, as planned.

What with one thing and another, there hadn’t been time after work. She had meant to organise her outfit at lunchtime, but she’d spent the whole hour on the phone tracking information about adoption records. She’d made good progress there, so it was worth it.

She’d hooked up with a woman who had a genuine interest in assisting people’s enquiries, and she’d told Faye she’d look into it and get back to her. So, she was hopeful on that account, but she still wore her drainpipe jeans and a spider cobweb print top she’d made back in her print screen days at Art College. Not really fancy enough for Cumbernauld’s, but it would have to do.

She hurried through the reception—where there were chandeliers hanging from the ceiling, marble pillars, and black and white tiles on the floors—and headed for the Byron bar.

This meeting point was an elegant art deco cocktail bar, but it was much more pub-like than the formal reception area and the more subtle lighting put her a bit more at ease.

Almost immediately she saw Monica amongst friends. Her two lovers, Owen and Alec, hovered nearby chatting to other members of the group. Faye could sense how connected the three of them were even though they were able to socialise independently, and that left her in awe. Her attention went back to her sister.

It’d been almost a year since Monica had gone away on business and they’d only seen her for a day at Christmas, which made this reunion a special moment. And she was home for several weeks. Faye was close to her sisters and it warmed and steadied her to see her eldest back home, especially so because she looked positively radiant. Monica had gained a little weight, which suited her. She’d been too lean, in Faye’s opinion. Her posture was also much more relaxed than it used to be. Because Monica had psychic touch and experienced sexual history that way she’d tended to be a very isolated person. Not willing to joke around or touch and explore human contact in the normal way. Owen and Alec had changed that, and it showed. Faye felt incredibly grateful to them for bringing her sister such happiness.

Emotion welled in her chest. It wasn’t how she expected to react, and she chastised herself.

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FAYE’S SPIRIT

Saskia Walker

105

But things had been fraught over the last twenty-four hours. Happy tears for Monica though, she realised, then wiped her eyes and smiled.

“Monica looks great,” a woman nearby commented to her companion.

Faye took a sidelong glance. Five women were clustered together, and they all wore housekeeping uniforms. Monica used to be their supervisor before her promotion to hotel inspector for the Board of Directors.

“Yes, and she’s got that glow,” another of the women replied. “Hard to believe that bastard Flynn Elwood used to call her the Ice Queen,” she added.

Mumbled agreements took place between the women.

Faye gave an internal sigh. Of course it might appear that way to outsiders. Monica’s secret burden of psychic touch had made her a very aloof young woman. Her lovers had changed her forever. And it was obvious that Monica trusted them to care for her and protect her.

“Faye, are you all right?” Holly, the middle Evans’ sister, had arrived at Faye’s side and jolted her out of her thoughts.

“Yes. Just a bit overwhelmed at seeing Monica again.”

“I know, and doesn’t she look fabulous. I’ve never seen her so happy.” Holly put her arm around Faye’s shoulder then paused and glanced around. “I thought you were bringing someone?”

Faye’s stomach knotted. “Sorry, I meant to let you know. It’s just me. Not sure that’s going to work out after all.”

Holly studied her and Faye felt her cheeks flaming.

“It doesn’t matter,” she added quickly. That was a lie and it was futile, because Holly would sense it was a cover up.

“Do you want to talk about it?” Holly continued to study her. “We could grab two minutes to ourselves at some point.”

Faye forced a smile. “No, it’s okay, I just got ahead of myself as usual.”

Stewart had joined them. Out of all the men her sisters were involved with, Faye secretly liked him the most. Why, she asked herself? Mostly it was his chilled attitude to sexuality. Jai had that in common with him. He was sporty, and he protected those he cared for. Like Garth. The qualities that she admired in Stewart she saw reflected in them. She did www.total-e-bound.com

FAYE’S SPIRIT

Saskia Walker

106

have a type, she supposed. And so many ways, Jai and Garth were right for her.
And in so
many ways it was all wrong.

“Hey, how are you doing?” Stewart kissed Faye on the cheek. “How’s the ghost hunting business going?”

Stewart always asked. He seemed genuinely fascinated in both the paranormal work she did and her attempts to develop her own business. He was thinking of opening his own gym, and they exchanged ideas on the subject every time they met.

She was relieved to get off the subject of her love life. “Things are going better since one of my clients was very vocal about the work I’d done.”

Stewart grinned. “I’ll bear that in mind. Maybe I’ll have to be personal trainer to someone famous, huh?”

“Sounds like a good strategy to me.”

“You’re on an investigation at the moment?” Holly asked.

“Yes, it’s a fascinating ghost. She worked in a high class brothel in the sixties.”

“Seriously?” Stewart rubbed his chin thoughtfully. “I hope you’re documenting all these cases.”

“I haven’t as yet, but you’re right. I’ll definitely have to find time to make notes about Maud.” Monica waved at them and headed over, and for a few minutes the three sisters were properly reunited.

Later in the event Owen called everybody’s attention. “Many of you here might have guessed we invited you here in order to share this news with you.” He had his arm around Monica, drawing her in against him.

Faye’s breath hitched as she instinctively sensed what was coming next.

“Monica and I have been together for a year, and I’m delighted to share the news that she has graciously agreed to be my wife.”

A moment’s pause, then the room erupted into clapping and cheers and people began to step forward to congratulate the happy couple.

Faye’s thoughts went immediately to Alec. What did he think of this development, was he happy with it? It didn’t take long for Faye to spot him in the crowd. Tall, incredibly stylish and handsome, Alec Stroud stood out. And his attention was on his lovers. Faye didn’t have to wonder for long, it was written all over him. He was happy. It made sense too.

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FAYE’S SPIRIT

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107

He’d been in a relationship with Owen before Monica met them. Owen was the dominant one, the one with the hugely public persona now that he had taken over the running of his father’s hotel business. Alec would be at their side as he had been over the last year. Faye had no doubt about it.

He was approached a moment later by Holly and her lovers—Josh and Stewart.

Stewart had a big grin on his face and leaned in to Alec to whisper something to him. Alec nodded. There was a natural understanding between them all. Envy reared inside Faye, followed closely by a tsunami of guilt. They were her sisters, and she was happy for them.

She hated that she felt jealous, that she wanted that too. She recalled the moment Holly had phoned her to share what her relationship had become.

“I know it’s going to sound kind of crazy,” Holly had told her over the phone, “but we had a little ceremony on the beach last night. It was so pretty. Nothing official of course, but we bound ourselves to each other. I never thought it would work, but it has.”

That had been three months earlier.

Faye had to swallow down the lump in her throat. Was it human nature to be so greedy, she wondered? She didn’t shy away from it though. She wanted what they had.

Three people supporting one another, being strong for each other when one or even two weren’t so strong.

That’s when it struck her with a dazzling blow that her relationship with Jai and Garth could never work. Seeing her two sisters this way meant the horrible truth dawned on her.

Both their relationships were strong because the men were bisexual, the men were lovers too.

Her heart sank. She’d been so keen to experiment that it never occurred to her getting involved with two straight men might prove to be horribly complicated and impossible to manage. Garth and Jai had their own reasons for doing it, an old flame who had torn them apart. She was part of them working through a previous relationship. She’d hoped it had been more than that, but she had to face up to it and be realistic. They hadn’t known each other long, she couldn’t really expect more. Didn’t mean she didn’t crave it though. The resulting situation meant two old friends were now in turmoil, and she felt heartbroken and bereft.

It hit her so hard that she felt as if she wasn’t really at the event—that she was outside it all, looking in. The cheerful chatter and laughter seemed distant to her, and she never felt www.total-e-bound.com

FAYE’S SPIRIT

Saskia Walker

108

more alone that she did at that moment. Alone with her problems—problems of her own making. Emotionally adrift and physically shaky, she took herself off to the ladies’ cloakroom to check her mascara hadn’t streaked. It was bad enough feeling like a lovelorn panda without looking like one too.

The austere facilities of the Cumbernauld’s cloakroom didn’t make her feel any more relaxed or comfortable. Normally she might try to enjoy the luxurious surroundings, but the cool marble and numerous mirrors only seemed to reflect her increasing isolation at that moment.

While she splashed her face Monica arrived, apparently hunting her down. Faye hurriedly adopted a smile.

Monica wasn’t fooled. She hugged her, then very deliberately put her hands on Faye’s shoulders and looked deep into her eyes.

Faye tried to pull away. Monica was touching her. This was bad news.

“Monica don’t, please.”

Monica wouldn’t let her break the contact. “Holly said you were upset, and she thought it was something to do with a man.” Monica’s eyes widened. “It’s not a man, it’s two men?”

Sagging, Faye nodded. “I was stupid, I wanted to try it because you both had. I messed up, big time.”

Monica squeezed her tightly then moved one hand to Faye’s cheek, cupping her face.

“Oh my, you have been busy. All this happened in the past few days?”

Faye sighed. Monica had a psychic window to her experiences because she had touched her. Faye didn’t fight it because there was no point. There was nothing she could do about it. It took her right back to when she was sixteen years old and had headed off to a dubious party vowing to rid herself of her virginity. They had tracked her down. When they got her home Holly had given her a good telling off, and Monica had forced her to stand still while she found out exactly what had happened through touch. That time there wasn’t much to learn. Not so this time. Having a big sister with psychometric skills didn’t give her a lot of choice, but it also meant she didn’t have to explain herself out loud.

“Oh, my poor poppet. You’re really feeling it.” Monica drew Faye into her arms, hugging her.

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FAYE’S SPIRIT

Saskia Walker

109

She hadn’t heard her sister used the term “poor poppet”, for many years. She would usually retort that she wasn’t a poor poppet and stomp off. This time she didn’t. Instead, she melted into the embrace, savouring the familiarity, the comfort.

“Yes. I’ve fallen fast. Very silly of me. Don’t get me wrong, I went in with my eyes open and I was only looking for a bit of fun, I wanted to know what it would be like.”

Monica drew back and looked at her again. “And you thought they’d experienced a threesome before?”

Faye nodded. “As you can probably tell, it’s complicated. There was a woman in the past that they both cared for, and I think maybe I’ve brought bad memories for them.”

Her sister studied her with those wise eyes of hers.

“If it’s any excuse, I like them both. A lot.”

“Of course you do. It would be hard to manage them otherwise.” Monica laughed softly.

“It’s different to you and Holly. They are business partners, but they are both straight.

They’re friends and I feel as if I have come between them now.”

Monica frowned. She still had one hand loosely around Faye’s shoulder, so her information was coming in from both sources—what Faye said, and what she could see for herself. “Everybody went into this willingly?”

Faye nodded. “But now they’re arguing about which one of them gets to keep seeing me.” Her voice wavered badly, her emotions getting the better of her. “And then I heard mention of this woman they were both involved with.”

“It seems as if it happened quite quickly and things have got fraught and complicated now?”

Again Faye nodded, dabbing at her eyes she did so. “It was just a bit of playful sex to begin with.”

Monica finally broke the physical contact. “This relationship may or may not work out, but walking away from them won’t help sort it out, will it?”

“I know. It’s too soon. I had to get away because I could see it had become a big issue between them. I didn’t want to ruin the bond they had.”

“I can understand that. Nothing in life is simple. Even with a couple, there has to be compromise and sometimes that can be really hard. That’s what a relationship needs, www.total-e-bound.com

FAYE’S SPIRIT

Saskia Walker

110

investment of the self. When there are three of you, obviously there has to be three-way compromises. Sharing problems makes it easier, but it’s always more complicated when there are three. What you see of Holly and I and our relationships is really the end result, the rewards.”