Love on the Malecon (27 page)

Thank you to my husband for inspiration in
certain scenes. Wink, wink.

Aubrey Parr waited until her she was forty to
publish her first novel. Although she received her Master’s in
Accounting, Aubrey always knew that she wanted to write. She was
inspired by her great-uncle; author Evan S. Connell, Jr. With a few
years of life experience under her belt she decided it was time.
She lives with her husband and daughter outside of Chicago,
Illinois. When she’s not chasing after her daughter she sneaks off
to create steamy stories of wonderful love affairs.

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CHAPTER ONE

You would think that Kate Olesen was used to flying
on a personal jet by now, but she wasn’t. Every time she walked
into the luxurious cabin, it felt like a dream.

Her best friend Nicole had been married to
her husband, Derek Stone, for almost a year now. And he came with a
personal jet. Kate had spent the better part of the year visiting
them in different resorts almost every month. Usually the Stones
were in Mexico, but this time Kate didn’t need her passport.

Kate had just landed in Miami and was in a
cab, on her way to the hotel. The driver seemed to be in some kind
of hurry, weaving in and out of traffic while they crossed the
causeway to Miami Beach. It was making her sick. Even with the
window down, the humidity took over. It was a million degrees
inside the car. The cab driver was humming to salsa music that was
playing far too loud. She wondered how bitchy she would feel if she
still flew commercially. Kate didn’t like it when she was crabby
and for some reason, she was.

Well, she knew why she was. It was Ethan
again. Somehow she had pulled off the
“
acting casual” thing
far too well with him. Ethan seemed to see her as one of the guys.
They have worked together in the same law office for the past few
years and he had immediately caught her attention. No matter how
much she tried to ignore it, she had a thing for him, like a school
girl with a crush. She didn’t like feeling that way. She knew he
liked her, but just not in the way she had hoped.

Usually that was okay with her. But some days
were harder than others. Being a divorce attorney made her a little
jaded about relationships and marriage. It really wasn’t anything
she was interested in at the moment, anyways. Her career was going
great, she was on track to be a partner before she was forty, and
that was what was important right now. She was married to her job
and, so far, it was a great husband.

She leaned her head back on the seat and
tried not to breathe in the smell of the cab. Maybe that was her
problem. Maybe once she was able to get out of this little sweat
box she would be fine. She realized there were a lot of maybes
going through her mind at the moment. Soon she would be in Miami
Beach with her best friend and all would be right with the world.
Although she had traveled far more lately than she ever had before,
for some reason, it really felt like she needed this weekend
away.

By the time Kate opened her eyes, they were
in the South Beach area on Ocean Drive. She checked out all of the
hotels, each with outdoor restaurant seating in front. She could
see endless couples and groups of friends drinking and enjoying
lunch. It was a gorgeous day, the sun shining bright. She was
already feeling better.

Kate remembered Nicole telling her that they
chose a site that was a block inland. Nicole and Derek had stayed
at a hotel on Ocean Drive during one of his investigative visits
and they barely slept with the music playing till all hours of the
morning. Derek knew that his clients would not have wanted that for
their guests. The location he found was perfect. It was in the
middle of South Beach; one block’s walk from the excitement, but
far enough to provide a quiet night’s sleep. Collins Avenue had far
more stores than bars and the hotels had smaller bars with coffee
shops, rather than a party atmosphere.

The cab driver pulled up to the Ocean Azul
Hotel and Kate immediately relaxed. She grabbed her overnight bag
next to her, (she had become an expert packer), stepped out onto
the sidewalk, and looked up at the hotel. It was perfect.

It had a beachy chic look- stark white with
blocks of blue in different parts of the building. The name Ocean
Azul was written in a bright turquoise blue vertically down the
front. There was a small bar and restaurant in front, with tables
on either side of the entryway. Kate loved it.

After scanning the little hotel, she saw
Nicole and Derek sitting in the table closest to the door. They
looked deep in conversation and didn’t appear to have notice she
had arrived. Then again, it looked like they didn’t notice anyone
else around them either. That’s how it had been since they met.
Deep down, Kate hoped that one day she may be lucky enough to find
a love like that.

She walked right up to the table and didn’t
get their attention until she sat down next to Nicole. They
screamed at each other and hugged, like they always did. Derek got
up and gave her a welcoming hug as well. Nicole was relieved to
finally have her there. She loved their monthly weekend visits and
she was excited for her to see the hotel.

“How was the flight?” Nicole asked.

“That part was wonderful, as usual. The cab
ride smelled like shit, but I’m glad to finally be here.” Kate
crunched her face at the memory of the cab ride and leaned back in
her chair, excited for her mini vacation to begin. Derek hailed the
server and ordered Kate a dirty martini without even asking. She
loved that he had come to know her almost as well as his wife
did.

“Thank you,” she smiled at him. She really
had come to love him like a brother.

“I’m going to leave you two to catch up,” he
returned the smile and wandered inside the hotel.

“What shall we do first?” Nicole asked,
taking a drink of her wine. Just then, her martini arrived and Kate
was ready to savor it.

“I don’t think I’ve been here since college,”
Kate confessed.
“
I’m not sure what to do.”

“Did you think about the tattoo idea? We
could do that tonight.” Nicole loved tattoos and Kate had always
teetered on the edge of getting one. This time, she was prepared to
do it.

“I did decide,” she smiled, waiting for
Nicole’s response.

“Yes, finally! You can’t back out now. What
are you getting?” Nicole was ecstatic.

“I’ll show you a picture.” Kate pulled out
her phone and opened it to a screenshot of a tattoo, a simple
drawing of a little girl reaching for a red heart-shaped
balloon.

“You have this on the wall of your apartment.
What is it?” Nicole took the phone from her to get a better
look.

“It’s the Girl with Balloon stencil from
Bansky, the street artist. I love that there can be so many
interpretations. What does the balloon represent and is she
reaching for it or releasing it? Depending on my mood, I see it
differently. I’m thinking the inside of my wrist or the back of my
shoulder. I have to think of work, after all.”

Nicole wasn’t surprised at Kate’s choice.
Kate had been an art history major in college, before she decided
to change her major to pre-law and continue on to law school.
Something to do with artwork did make sense.

“I love it. There’s a tattoo shop Derek
suggested just down the street.”

“Great. I want to get into the room and take
a quick shower and change.” After that cab ride, Kate was a bit
concerned that she could still notice that weird smell on her.

Nicole already had Kate’s key. With their
hotels and resorts, Kate never had to officially check into a room
at the front desk. Nicole always had a key for her and the room was
always huge and excessive for one person.

This was not any different. The door opened
into a sitting area with a two comfortable chairs and a huge TV on
the wall. There was a small wet bar with a small refrigerator and
microwave. The fridge was always stocked with the tiny
airplane-sized bottles of alcohol and somehow there was always a
martini glass and shaker tin. Kate thought the personal touch was
sweet. The sitting room opened up to a bedroom with a king bed,
side tables, a dresser, and another large TV. The entire exterior
wall was all windows, with sliding glass doors that accessed a
balcony. The windows were already opened and she could hear the
sound of people talking and eating from the sidewalk tables
below.

Nicole grabbed the remote and sat down in a
chair.
“
I’ll wait for you to get ready.” Since her trips
were always just weekends, Nicole already knew she wouldn’t want to
waste time relaxing in the room. Kate turned on the shower and
stared at herself in the mirror while she waited for the water to
heat up. She noticed that flying in a private jet somehow made one
look far less disheveled than commercial travel. She wondered why
that was.

Kate was about 5’5” tall, with striking black
hair around shoulder length and angled toward the front. She had
dark brown eyes and a little button nose. Her mouth was big, with a
wide smile that made everyone in a room want to know what she was
so happy about. Her skin was fair enough that she always expected
to return home from visits with a freckled nose.

She could see Nicole through the reflection
in the mirror. She was sitting sideways in the big chair, her long
legs flung over the arm rest. She loved that woman like a sister,
but they looked absolutely nothing alike. Nicole was tall and tan
with long blond hair. Kate never wished she was a blond though. She
honestly liked the way she looked. That brought Ethan back to the
front of her thoughts. Was that the problem? Was he into tall
blondes? He seemed to genuinely like Kate, but maybe she wasn’t his
physical type. They laughed at work and hung out and had drinks
with everyone. She just seemed to be stuck in the Friend Zone and
she wasn’t sure why. She had never brought it up with him; that
idea made her cringe.
“
Girl, you need to get laid,” she said
out loud to the reflection in the mirror.

“What babe?” Nicole asked loudly from the
next room.

“Oh, just telling myself I need to get laid
this weekend,” Kate laughed. She would always tell Nicole anything.
There was no reason to feel self-conscience with her.

Nicole practically spit out her water she was
drinking.
“
We’ll get right on that, honey,” she called back
to her.

Kate showered and put on some makeup. Being
an attorney, she had to dress rather conservatively at work. She
used these visits to have some fun with her clothes. Nicole was
wearing a bright orange summer dress, so Kate chose a green
backless number that came just above the knee and tied around her
neck in a halter-style. There was a little bow at the base of her
back. When she was ready, she came out and turned around to show
Nicole.

“I love it,” Nicole smiled at her.

“I’m thinking about the tattoo as well. If I
decide on my shoulder, I figured this gave good access.”

“Plus, you’re bound to get laid wearing it,”
Nicole joked.

“Perfect. Let’s go.”