Sultry in Stilettos (24 page)

"You did what?"

Ricca kept her eyes on her drink as
Micha's voice went up two decibels. Luckily their usual hangout at
Synthesis Bar was still relatively empty, it being a Wednesday
night and happy hour being over. "You don’t have to shout, Micha."
Looking at her friends’ surprised faces, Ricca sighed. "I slept
with Beckett. No big deal."

Jaya’s brows furrowed. "Wait, when did
this happen? Because he hasn't said a word. I had him over to
dinner last night in another failed attempt to get him and Alec to
make besties. Had to invite Caleb too as a buffer. Though he wasn’t
much help. Anyway, Beckett never said a word or gave any
indication."

How to phrase this properly without
full freakoutage? "Um, well, first time was a few weeks ago after
the car accident."

Jaya's eyes went wide, and Micha
slumped back against her seat, blinking her eyes and shaking her
head as if she didn’t believe what she was hearing. "Look, guys, I
know, okay? It’s Beckett. And before you start worrying, this is
fun and easy. We’re still friends. We just happen to be sleeping
together now.”

Micha shook her head. “Why wouldn’t
you tell us? Were you sitting in my apartment when I creepy stalked
Caleb? I don’t understand.”

“I didn’t want you guys to worry. Or
judge me."

Micha leaned forward clasping her
hands. "Honey bunches of oats. Now you know I love nothing better
than to form judgment about people, but you—why would we judge
you?"

Ricca shrugged. “I don’t
know. I just wanted to keep it private for a while, I
guess.”
How the hell to explain
this?
“I mean, clearly I’ve had this thing
for Beckett for years. I mean, the only person it was a secret to
was him.”

Jaya put down her drink after a long
pull. “I can’t believe he sold you on this stupid benefits idea. I
love him, but God, he can be so selfish sometimes. I mean, you were
vulnerable, and he has to know how you’ve felt about him. God, I
could—”

Ricca cleared her throat. “It was my
idea.”

Jaya’s mouth hung open.

Micha just grinned. “Hot damn. Look at
you taking charge of your sex life. Me hearts it. Now, get to the
good stuff.” Micha put her hands up about a foot apart. “What are
we talking here? Gifted and talented or…” Her voice trailed
off.

Ricca blushed, blood heating her
face.

Jaya guffawed. “Micha! For the love of
all that is holy.” She rolled her eyes. “You’d have a pretty good
indication if you ever saw him swim.” She turned to Ricca and
winked. “Congratulations.”

Ricca had to laugh. She deserved a
little ribbing. They could have given her a hard time, but true to
form, they were just her friends.

Jaya touched her hand.
“Honey. I love nothing more than the idea of you and Beckett
together. It’s like a fantasy come true. Like watching
90210
Brandon and Andrea
get together or something. Except you are so totally
hot."

Ricca slunk back. "Shit, I’m not that
pathetically in love, am I?"

"No.” Jaya cringed. "Not at all. I’m
just saying that’s the level on which I would want you guys
together. Every girl in America watched that show and wished it
would happen. It’s just in reality that Beckett is, well, Beckett.
Neither one of us wants you to get hurt. I mean, you and he are one
of those couples you think you'll never see in action because he's
not mature enough to make it happen.”

“I don’t need it to happen. I’m good
with how things are,” she lied. “And he makes me feel…” She let her
voice trail for a moment. “I feel sexy. Like I’m a Goddess. And
every time he kisses me—it’s like I finally get what all the fuss
is about. I’ve always liked sex fine, but never felt like holy
shit, I can’t go without it. I know what that feels like now.
Especially the other night on Jaya’s Balcony.”

Micha grinned. "Hot damn, you lucky
bitch. I knew you were up to no good."

Jaya nodded. "Okay, yeah, that's wow,
um. Okay."

The three of them collapsed into
giggles.

Jaya chewed her lip. "So what you're
saying is, I almost got an eyeful at my party?"

Ricca had the urge to hide so no one
would notice her. "Yes,” she squeaked.

Micha just chuckled. “I never thought
you had it in you."

"And normally I don’t. But I don’t
know…the chemistry is so off the charts. You know that tingly
feeling when you're aroused? It’s like I'm walking around with that
kind of haze all the time."

Micha took the lead in her
characteristic way. "Does he know you’re in love with
him?"

Ricca snapped her head back as if
she'd been slapped. "I'm not in love. Not anymore. That was years
ago. I’m just enjoying the sex."

Micha raised a delicately arched
eyebrow. "That goofball grin you've been wearing around for
weeks—we thought it was the new gig."

"And the silly smile you have
plastered on your face.” Micha laughed "You're in love."

The truth Ricca had been avoiding and
hiding from for weeks stared her in the face. Her heart hammered.
If the two of them knew, it was probably visible to anyone
watching. Especially Beckett.

"May I join you ladies?"

The regal voice stopped Ricca's
thoughts mid flow. Holy Mary, mother of the apocalypse, Adele
Westhorpe wanted to join them for a drink? Sure, she was Jaya’s
mother-in-law to-be, but she terrified Ricca. Suddenly Ricca lost
all power to speak. She could feel her jaw working, but no words
came out. Even Jaya seemed tongue tied. Only Micha seemed
completely unfazed.

"Sure. Slide on in. What are you
drinking?"

Adele cocked her head and smiled at
Micha. "You're not immediately terrified of me. I like you
already."

Micha barked out a laugh. "No one said
I was smart. I get the impression it might be smart to be a little
afraid of you."

Adele shrugged. "You’re probably right
about that." She patted Jaya's hand. "How is everything? I really
wish you’d let me get you a wedding planner to assist."

Jaya smiled but resolutely shook her
head. "Too much of a control freak. I won’t be able to sleep if I’m
not touching everything."

The older woman nodded. "Well, if you
change your mind."

She then turned her attention to
Ricca. "How is your young man?"

At first, Ricca wasn’t sure Adele was
talking to her. And her mouth still did the whole guppy out of
water thing.

Micha spoke for her. "Uh, they
actually broke up. The little turd wasn't so nice about it
either."

Adele drew her eyebrows down over her
eyes. "Are you talking about that portly gentleman she showed up at
the Gala with?"

Ricca finally found her voice. "Who
else would you be talking about?"

"That gorgeous slice of a swimmer you
were arguing with the night of the Gala. That’s Beckett Mills,
right? I saw him in the Olympic Trials years ago. He's currently
trying to buy some building in the East Village. I heard about the
unfortunate fire the other night. Word is, he wanted to turn it
into a swimming pool for underprivileged children. I'm on the board
he's petitioned for part of the funds."

There. It did it again—Ricca’s voice
poofed into thin air like an American Idol runner up. When she
finally found it, all she could muster was, "Oh, he's not mine. We
aren’t—um. We're not dating."

Adele raised an eyebrow and smiled.
"Well, I didn’t think you'd be dating dear. If you were smart,
you’d get him in bed with a quickness. I know if I were thirty
years younger, I would."

Several things happened at
once: Jaya covered her mouth and gasped; Micha cackled, a full
belly laugh kind of laugh; and Ricca just stared as Adele
Westhorpe,
the
Adele Westhorpe, took hold of Ricca’s untouched martini and
slugged it down.

The old lady smiled at her and said,
"Now, how about we get me a real drink, and you tell me how I can
live vicariously through you. I could have sworn my plan would
work."

"Plan?” Ricca stumbled out, then
stared at her empty glass. She'd wanted that drink.

"From the moment you walked in at the
Gala, he was staring at you. Then I saw the two of you talking. Any
idiot can see the two of you were dancing around each
other."

Wait, Adele had been playing
matchmaker? Her whole tidy life had been turned upside down at the
whim of a billionaire? Jaya was in trouble with this one as a
mother-in-law.

Adele eyed Ricca. "I would almost say
I was sorry...if I was. But the way I figure it, you should be
happy. Why aren’t you?"

Jaya chimed in to help out. “It's been
a little complicated. Now Ricca's gone and fallen in
love."

Adele nodded. "And
Beckett?"

Ricca sighed. "Not so
much."

Adele signaled the bartender, and he
started pouring bourbon into a glass. "I wouldn't be so sure about
that. I know men. So when are you going to tell him the good
news?"

Ricca's eyes popped.
"Never."

Adele chuckled. "Well that sounds like
an imperfect plan. But what I really meant to ask is how are you
going to show him the light? Sometimes men need a little
nudge."

Beckett coughed up another
round of soot and phlegm.
Shit
. Two days had gone by, and he
could still taste the ash on his tongue. Ricca had him on suicide
watch or something. She texted every few hours to see if he wanted
to go out or get out of the office. Braedon kept calling too, but
Beckett’s brother couldn’t seem to find any words, so they sat in
silence until one of them hung up.

Beckett scrubbed his hands over his
face. He had a huge decision to make. If he kept on this path and
tried to rebuild, he'd need a lot more money. Insurance would cover
some of their costs, but after talking to the adjusters, they would
be starting from scratch, the damage was so extensive. The bank
wouldn’t give him that kind of loan, and Braedon, like Beckett, had
already sunk all his cash into that building.

Bitter disappointment, anger, and the
gnawing failure clenched at his gut. He’d let their mother down.
All this work and they would have to start all over
again.

He didn’t want to think about it. He'd
made such a fucking mess of things. The building. Ricca. This
job.

A brusque knock at the door had him
bringing his head up. "Micha?" He tried for a smile. But he was
confused. They were friends, but not exactly BFFs. He could count
the number of times they’d hung out alone on one hand. "What’s up?
You looking for Ricca?"

She smiled as she came in and closed
the door behind her. Beckett momentarily feared for his life. Micha
had a way of intimidating most people, and she wasn't afraid of
anything, even when she should be. He liked her. She was fun. But
he always had a feeling that she saw too much and was making hidden
judgment calls on him, so he steered clear. She also had a
no-nonsense bullshit meter.

"Actually, I came for you. Can I sit
down?”

“Yeah, sure. What’s up? You have a
dead body or something to move? You don’t usually come for
me.”

She shrugged. “I wanted to let you
know how sorry I am about Swim on J. If you want any help raising
funds to rebuild, please let me know. I can leverage the magazine’s
resources.”

Wow. He sniffed, worried for a minute
there that he might actually break into a sniffle. “I don’t know
what to say.”

The corner of her mouth tipped up in a
smirk. “Don’t go getting all emotional on me. It’s not like we’re
going to hug it out or anything. But you were doing a good thing,
and I want to help where I can.”

“Thanks. I appreciate it, even without
the hug. I’m not sure yet if I’m going to rebuild. I’m starting to
think that place is cursed or something.”

She pursed her lips and nodded her
head ruefully. “You going to give up?”

His anger simmered to life. “It’s not
giving up, exactly. Sometimes you just have to know when to say
die.”

“Bullshit. You think I don’t know you
very well, but I know you’re a fighter. Besides, with Ricca in your
corner, I think you’ll figure out how to see things a little more
clearly.”

Beckett raised his eyebrows. He was
right—Micha Bennet saw too much. “You know all this about
me?”

“You and I are a lot alike. We talk
the game, but neither one of us is willing to be vulnerable. I also
know what it's like to think you don’t have what it takes to do
something. Or worse, be with someone."

Beckett’s mouth went dry. "Micha,
I—"

She held up a hand. "Look. I know it's
none of my business. I get that. And I know, if it’s possible, you
love Ricca more than I do. But I also get the feeling that this
isn’t fun and games for you. I've been seeing you watch her for ten
years now. I didn’t think you'd actually ever pull the
trigger."