Another Vice (Forever Moore Book 2) Read online

  “I was halfway down the hall before I realized Tim wasn’t behind me. I stopped for just a second, wanting to run back for him, but my body wouldn’t let me. I froze– completely locked-up by fear. The next thing I knew, a SWAT guy had thrown me over his shoulder and rushed me out of the building.”

  I was about to reach for the bottle again but noticed that we had drained it, which was probably for the best. I had already developed a decent buzz.

  “Tim was dead. He was shot in the back while he got me out of the room. Twenty-four other kids died that day. I was the only one that made it out of the lunchroom alive.” Charley let out a deep breath and leaned back in the chair. “So that’s my story. Can we talk about something else now?”

  “Sure.” I was quick to snap out of the pity-party. “There’s something you should know about tomorrow’s wedding. The groomsmen will be wearing kilts.”

  “All of them?” Charley sat up in excitement.

  “All of them.”

  “What about the groom?” A small smile had returned to her face.

  “I’m glad you asked. Craig will not be wearing a kilt.”

  She playfully slapped my arm. “That isn’t fair!”

  I laughed. “I think the groomsmen would agree with you. Unfortunately, they lost the poker game and the kilts were their punishment. Craig actually was going to wear one, too, but his lovely bride, Carrie, found out and quickly forbade it. The groomsmen are getting their revenge by not wearing anything under the kilts.”

  “I’m just glad this isn’t an outdoor wedding. Though I suppose there could still be gusts of air in the chapel.” Charley shuddered at the thought of flapping kilts and exposed dangly bits.

  “And you thought this would just be another boring wedding.” I smiled when I saw the twinkle in her eye. She had recovered quickly from her trip down memory lane. “I haven’t even told you about the bride’s mother yet.”

  Charley leaned back and let me take over the conversation. I told her a bunch of stories about the people she would be meeting at the wedding, as well as some of my own childhood stories which were much lighter than hers and tended to be embarrassing. Charley laughed and smiled the entire time and it was only when I saw her eyelids start to droop that I decide to call it a night.

  “We should turn in,” I said when I caught her stifling a yawn. “Plenty of time to chat tomorrow.”

  I picked up our glasses and the empty bottle and Charley slowly followed me inside. She seemed reluctant to go to bed despite the obvious fact that she was exhausted.

  “I’m glad you agreed to come with me this weekend,” I said as I walked her to her assigned bedroom. We stopped in front of the open door, each of us awkwardly waiting for the other to make the first move.

  “So far my only regret is that last glass of scotch.”

  I smirked. “I was just thinking my only regret was not encouraging you to have one more glass of scotch.”

  Her eyes narrowed at me. “You’re not trying to take advantage of me are you, Senator?”

  “Not yet.” I took a small step forward and that was all the encouragement she needed in her semi-drunk state.

  She grabbed the front of my shirt and twisted it in her hand, drawing me closer. I slid my hand over the back of her neck and guided her head toward mine until our lips met in a drunken, searching kiss. She tasted like scotch and her lips were warm and inviting. Just as her body began to melt against mine, making every nerve in my body tingle, I sighed heavily and pulled away.

  “We shouldn’t do this tonight,” I said, slightly out of breath. “We’ve both had too much to drink.”

  She nodded without conviction. “Good night then,” she said, backing away reluctantly.

  “Sweet dreams, Charley.” I came close again, this time to kiss her on the cheek before flashing her one last smile and disappearing down the hall.

  CHAPTER FIVE

  Charley

  An hour later I was snuggled deep beneath the covers of my temporary bed, trying in vain to fall asleep. The last few hours had dredged up a lot of feelings I hadn’t allowed to the surface in a long time– fear about what happened that day ten years ago, grief over losing Tim, and guilt for being the one that survived. But what kept me awake long after I had pushed those other feelings away had nothing to do with my past and had everything to do with Nick Moore.

  My last serious relationship ended two years ago, and had lasted just short of five months. Both of us had known it wasn’t going to last forever and we had been more than okay with that. I had dated a few men off and on since then, none of them seriously and none of them for longer than a few dates. One thing they all had in common was that I had never opened up to any of them about my past. I had known Nick for less than a week and had let him see the darkest, most hidden parts of me. Even more concerning, I didn’t regret it. I liked talking to Nick, liked being around him, and I really liked kissing him.

  Needless to say, I was a little disconcerted when I woke the next morning and found myself alone in the house. I did a quick check of every room, but Nick was nowhere to be found. His car was still parked in front of the house, so he probably hadn’t gone very far. After a long, hot shower, I made myself at home and got the coffee pot brewing. I was just pouring my first cup when the back door flew open and Nick appeared, sweaty and smiling.

  “You’re up!”

  “As are you.” I tried not to stare as he lifted the bottom of his shirt to wipe sweat from his face. An undeniably fit torso taunted my wandering eyes. “Morning run?”

  “No better way to start the day.” He dropped his shirt back into place.

  “I beg to differ.” I lifted my coffee and took a long sip.

  “Can’t argue with that. Let me just take a quick shower and then I’ll join you.”

  The naughty Charley inside me almost said, “How about I join you instead?” But the good Charley kept her in check and Nick left the room alone.

  I grew restless waiting for Nick, so I took my coffee outside and strolled down to the beach. The water lapped gently against the rugged shoreline. The steady motion and gentle sound was soothing, a piece of calm in my otherwise chaotic life. I was so taken away by the moment that I didn’t realize Nick had joined me until I felt his arm brush against mine.

  “I thought I might find you out here.” His hand found mine and he gave it a soft squeeze. In khakis and a baby blue sweater that clung to the contours of his body, damp hair blowing in the breeze, Nick looked like he had stepped out of a romance novel.

  “Is this how you spend all your weekends? Relaxing in secluded beach houses?”

  “Not as many as I would like.” Nick took the mug I was still holding and finished the last of the coffee. “Let’s go into town and get some breakfast. We have a long day ahead of us.”

  We didn’t have to discuss where we would eat breakfast because the town only had one small diner, located on Main Street, naturally. Nick was clearly a regular there and we were seated at his usual table in the corner. None of the other patrons seemed very impressed by the presence of the most popular senator in America eating breakfast in their local diner.

  After a gluttonous amount of food and several cups of coffee, we took a lazy stroll through town. Nick told me about his family’s trips to the area when he was a boy. His dad would drive their old station wagon down the coast and they would stop at all the small towns along the way.

  “One time, he actually left me at a gas station about a mile from here.” Nick laughed at the memory.

  “On purpose?” It didn’t sound very funny to me.

  “No, not on purpose. He had four young kids to wrangle and he didn’t realize I hadn’t gotten back in the car after we stopped for a bathroom break. My youngest brother, Chase, knew I was still inside but he thought it would be funny to leave me there.” Nick laughed again. “He always was a bit of a sociopath.”

  “What did you do when you realized they were gone?”

  “I was ten year
s old– too old to start crying and too young to start panicking. I just sat on the curb and waited for them to come back. I waited for over an hour.”

  “Your dad must have been so worried when he found out you were missing.”

  “I’ve only ever seen him that upset one other time in my life.” Nick’s smile was gone and for the first time it occurred to me that he might be carrying a past as dark as my own.

  “When?” The word came out as barely a whisper, but in that moment, it might as well have been a gun shot.

  “The day he told us that our mom had left.” Nick glanced at me and he could see the question in my eyes. He answered it without me saying a word. “She just took off one day, without any warning signs. I was almost twelve at the time and I couldn’t for the life of me understand how she could do that. I kept thinking she would come back.”

  When I looked at him, I could see that confused boy, struggling to understand what had happened to his mother. I wanted to wrap my arms around him, wanted to take away that pain. But life doesn’t come with an eraser.

  Instead of hugging Nick, I said, “Life really sucks sometimes.”

  “Sometimes it does.” He paused and looked at me with an intense and indecipherable expression. “But other times it’s pretty amazing.”

  “Is it?” Nick sounded so certain, so optimistic, I wanted nothing more than to believe him.

  “Yes.” He hooked a finger through one of my belt loops and pulled me toward him. “And I’m going to spend the rest of the weekend proving it to you.”

  “That sounds promising.” I smiled as I leaned into his warm body. “You should know I’m going to need a lot of convincing.”

  Nick’s arms went around me and he leaned in close enough that our noses were almost touching. “Challenge accepted, Charlotte Tanner.”

  Aware that we were still in public, both of us exercised a modicum of restraint as our lips met and our bodies pressed together. After our PG-13 moment, Nick led us across town to the beach. It was too cold for anyone to be in the water, but the shore was speckled with the occasion couple having a picnic or group of friends tossing a football. We found a relatively quiet place and sat in the sand, watching the water and the people around us.

  Nick did most of the talking, turning into a little boy before my eyes as he talked about his interests– travel, baseball, and nerdy science fiction books. I spent a lot of time teasing him about the last one.

  “We couldn’t all be the popular kids in school,” Nick replied after one of my more brutal jabs. “Pretty girls like you spent your days ignoring me, so I spent a lot of time with my nose in a book.”

  “I happened to like nerds back then,” I said, elbowing him lightly in the ribs. “I still do obviously.”

  “Obviously?” He mocked hurt.

  “Once a nerd always a nerd.”

  “Well, I think we’ve talked enough about me.” Nick dusted sand from his hands. “Your turn.”

  “I was not a nerd. That’s all you really need to know.” I smiled sweetly and hoped that would be enough for him. I had done my share of storytelling last night and wasn’t in the mood to relive that experience.

  Nick wasn’t going to give up that easily. “Okay so if you weren’t a nerd, what were you? Cheerleader? Jock? Musician?”

  “I don’t believe in labels.”

  “You don’t have to believe in them to belong to one of them,” Nick quipped lightly. “I’m going to take your reluctance to talk about it to mean that you were actually an even bigger nerd than me.”

  “Take it whatever way you want.” The annoyance in my voice was hard to ignore but that didn’t stop him.

  “Mathlete?”

  “Nick. Let it go, okay? I don’t want to play this game anymore.” I attempted to stand up, but Nick was quick to grab my arm and hold me in place.

  “Charley, don’t get upset. I’m just trying to learn more about you.” Nick kept his grip on me until he felt me relax back into the sand. “We can change the topic of conversation. Books? Reality television? Bad dates?”

  He was being so sweet and earnest that even my heart of ice began to melt. “Class President,” I said in defeat. “And I played tennis and was a flautist in the band.”

  “I knew it,” he said with a delighted laugh. “Nerd!”

  “Yeah, well, takes one to know one.” My annoyance had faded and I was quickly becoming aware of just how smitten I was with Nicholas Moore.

  His persistence paid off because before I knew it, I was telling stories about my childhood. He laughed heartily when I told him about the time that Tim and I ran away from home, but returned an hour later because we were hungry and forgot to take food with us. We both laughed as I recalled my short-lived stint in the marching band, removed after tripping over my own feet and knocking down the school mascot.

  We were both reluctant to leave the beach, but the wedding was only an hour away and we still needed to change. When we stood, sand clung to our clothes and Nick helped me brush it from my pants. I was very conscious of the feeling of his hands skimming over my body. It took a lot of will-power not to jump him right there.

  Nick must’ve agreed because he said, “We could always skip the wedding. They probably won’t even notice if I don’t show up.”

  “I thought this was a good friend?”

  Nick shrugged. “I have other friends.”

  “Nice try,” I said, grabbing his hand and tugging him away from the water. “I’m not going to be responsible for the end of your friendship.”

  “You’re not even going to like Craig when you meet him. He’s rich and smug. I don’t even like him most of the time.”

  “It’s not going to work. We’re going to your friend’s wedding.” I stopped walking and kissed Nick on the cheek. “Don’t worry, we still have the rest of the weekend for us.”

  Nick’s face turned serious. “I really hope we have more than just this weekend.”

  “Me, too.”

  * * *

  “There are a lot of rich people here.” I looked around the parking lot at the other men and women that were headed toward the chapel. One gentleman looked familiar. “Is that our mayor?”

  “Yes.” Nick didn’t sound surprise.

  “Why is that not a big deal? He’s practically a celebrity.” After I said that I realized how ridiculous it sounded. Nick himself was even more famous than the mayor.

  “Craig and the mayor were roommates in grad school. They worked together on Wall Street for years. I would be more surprised if he wasn’t here.” Nick took my hand and led us into the crowd that was headed inside.

  “Wait,” I whispered loudly. “Is your friend Craig Bender? The Craig Bender? The billionaire?”

  “Yes.”

  “Way to bury the lead, Moore.” I glanced around, nervously trying to determine if I fit in with rest of the attendees in my off-the-rack dress. Inside, the chapel looked like a miniature version of a royal wedding. Diamonds sparkled like stars in the night sky.

  We slid into a pew near the back and I leaned close to Nick. “This was a bad idea,” I said in a hushed tone. “I don’t belong here.”

  Nick’s face registered confusion. “What are you talking about? Of course you belong here– you’re my guest.”

  “You should’ve brought someone else,” I insisted, fiddling with the hem of my midnight blue dress. “Someone fancier. Prettier. Richer.”

  Nick rolled his eyes. “Fancier and richer are overrated qualities in a woman.”

  “Well, fine. Prettier then.” My eye caught site of a woman that had likely been a swimsuit model at some point in her life.”

  Nick’s arm went around my shoulder and he pressed his lips to my ear. “I’ve never seen a more beautiful woman in my life.”

  I was about to tell Nick that I thought he was full of shit, but the organ struck up the bridal march and there was nothing I could do but relish in the lingering warmth from his breath on my ear.

  By all account
s, it was a normal wedding. Not average in anyway, but normal. Unflattering bridesmaids’ dresses, an obviously drunk groomsman, and a beaming bride. If the bride’s dress hadn’t cost more than my car, I could’ve almost forgotten that the groom was one of the richest men in the country.

  The pastor gave the usual speech about marriage being the union of two people and I stifled a yawn. When the couple began to exchange their vows, Nick’s arm tightened around my shoulders and his breathing quickened. It occurred to me that this was probably the first wedding he had been to since his engagement had ended. I placed what I hoped was a comforting hand on this thigh and he let out a low sigh and squeezed my shoulder.

  I dos were said and rings were exchanged. The whole ordeal lasted less than twenty minutes, but it felt much longer. We joined the other attendees in a round of warm applause while the newly married couple swapped some spit in front of all their loved ones. The whole thing was sickeningly perfect.

  I wanted to check in with Nick to see how he was holding up, but as soon as we stepped outside we were surrounded by people that wanted to say hello to Senator Moore. I stood by his side and smiled politely, shaking hands and making polite conversation. Fortunately, they weren’t there to see me. Nearly all the conversation was directed at Nick and he responded to it in perfect political form.

  By the time the crowd scattered to find the nearest bar at the cocktail hour, my cheeks were sore from all the awkward smiling. “That was intense,” I said as we walked back to the car.

  “Welcome to my life,” Nick responded with a grimace. “Everyone hates politicians until they need something. Then they’re the most popular people in the room.”

  We drove to the reception in silence. Nick was still tense and I couldn’t think of anything to say that wasn’t a comment on the wedding– the very topic I was trying to avoid. Since the town was so small it only took us two minutes to drive to the reception, but I was still anxious to get out of the car.