Page 17 of Nightclub Surprise
They’d barely known each other from Adam when the day started, having only spent a spot of time together in the car on the way home the other night. But there they were, acting as if they’d always known oneanother.
When we went to find something to eat, both of them ordered a cheeseburger, plain and dry with a side of onion rings and an orange soda. The way they laughed after saying the same thing had me tearingup.
“Jinx, you owe me a Coke,” August said after they’d said the same words at the sametime.
“What does that mean?” Calum asked him with a crookedsmile.
August wore a very similar smile as he explained the little saying, and then they both laughed. The sounds of August’s deep tones mixed with the high tones of my son sent chills throughme.
The day hadn’t gotten away from us, and we left with plenty of time to get back home to Los Angeles. The car ride was quiet as Calum had fallen asleep, completely wornout.
August took hold of my hand, pulling it up to kiss as he drove along the highway. “Thanks for today. I’ve never had that much fun in my entirelife.”
Raising one eyebrow, I gave him a questioning look. “Oh,really?”
“I mean, in that kind of way. Of course, I’ve had a few great times with you, baby.” He took my hand, resting it on top of histhigh.
“Thanks,” I said with sarcasm. “And thank you for taking us on this little outing. It did wonders for me as well,” I told him, referring in secret to my new thoughts on what I should do. I thought about when the time would be right for what I’d planned. “You should stay for dinner at my place tonight. I can whip up somepasta.”
“Or you two could come to my place, and I could have Tara whip us up something,” he said as his lips grazed the back of my hand, sending chills all throughme.
Hisplace?
It was very tempting to be able to see how the man lived—to learn that much more about him. “And Tara isyour…”
“Chef.” He smiled at me with that crooked grin. “And Denise is the head housekeeper. Max is my driver, and Joel is the groundskeeper. There are a couple of younger girls who come in with Denise twice a week to do the deep cleaning. To be honest, I don’t know theirnames.”
“And you live where, exactly?” I had to ask. With a staff that size, it had to be somewhereglamorous.
“Hidden Hills,” he said as he glanced at me, catching my mouth hangingopen.
“No! Did you know that Kim Kardashian lives there?” I wasflabbergasted.
“Well, yeah, she and Kanye only live two houses from mine.” He shrugged to accent how typical thatwas.
“Get out! No way!” My mind could only form two words at a time. Then I had to ask again, “So, what is it that you do,August?”
“Well, at the moment, I’m working with a couple of other men to open an incredibly exclusive nightclub, catering to only the wealthiest of people. We’ve named it Swank—it’s due to open on New Year’s Eve. I haven’t asked you yet, but I can now. Will you please be my date for that,Tawny?”
“So, you’re some kind of a nightclub mogul? And my answer is yes, I’d love to be your date for that.” I wondered how the hell a former marine had gotten intothat.
“Yeah, on top of other things. My fingers are in a lot of pies, so to speak.” Traffic slowed to a stop, and I found August looking out the window at the passengers in the car next tohim.
“You’ll have to fill me in on all the pies eventually,” I said as I watchedhim.
I realized that he hadn’t heard a word I said, transfixed as he was by the people in the car beside us. Too many seconds ticked by with him motionless, then I finally heard him whisper, “John?”
Everything seemed to happen in slow motion, like the calm before an explosion. One second August was fine, and the next, the name ‘John’ pealed out of his mouth in short bursts that changed to high pitchedscreams.
To make matters worse, his screaming woke up Calum, who began to cry, “What’s wrong with him,Momma?”
Taking off my seatbelt, I got on my knees in my seat and reached over, jerking on August’s shoulders to draw him out of the episode. “It’s okay, honey,” I said calmly, trying to get things under control. “August, it’s okay, babe. It’s notreal.”
“Momma!” Calum shouted as he cried hysterically. “Momma, make himstop!”
Looking at my son, I said firmly, “I need you to stop crying, Calum. August is having a hard time. You have to be quiet now. Right now.” Being so strict with my frightened son wasn’t an easy thing to do, but it was done, and thankfully, Calum’s loud cries became softwhimpers.
Turning my attention back to August, I climbed over the console that separated us, landing sideways on his lap and putting the car into park. “August, it’s okay. It’s me, Tawny. Everything is okay. What you’re seeing isn’t really happening right now. You’re fine. Everyone isfine.”
