Crossing the Line Part One (A Novella) Read online

  Crossing the Line

  Part One

  Copyright©2014 By Samantha Long

  Smashwords Edition

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  respecting the hard work of this author.

  Thank you to my husband for encouraging me to try something

  new. Thank you to Nina, who helped me tell Nick and Victoria's story

  the right way. Also, thank you to Christi, who helped so much with

  my line by line editing. And lastly, thank you to my readers. You rock!

  Table of Contents

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter One

  Victoria stretched to ease the stiffness in her back and looked around the combined living room and kitchen area of the condo. The work made her proud. Color and life, furniture and art now filled the previously hollow room.

  Rachel would sell this condo in a flash now.

  Her cell rang from inside her purse and she dashed to the bar in the kitchen and dug until she found it. She bit back a curse when she saw the display.

  Roger. Roger, who was supposed to be picking up Lucia and Helena from school today. Roger, the ex who wanted to "go find himself" and decided a wife and family weren't part of that. He'd only waited two days after the divorce was finalized to date a socialite.

  She reminded herself that the divorce was a year old and that bitterness didn't suit her. "Yes?" If she answered the phone with a little bit of bite in her voice, it didn't make her bitter. It showed how tired she was of him bailing on her.

  "Hey, babe." Roger still didn't get the fact that he couldn't call her babe. Ever.

  A headache started at the base of her skull. "What is it? I'm busy." She needed to meet her dad and the contractor at her new office.

  "I can't pick up the girls from school. I'm having dinner with someone and I'll be late if I don't leave now."

  "Roger," she sighed and looked at her watch. The girls needed to be picked up in ten minutes. "You promised me you would get them. Plus, I'm on the other side of town. There's no way I can get there in time." Sanctuary Bay wasn't a large town, but tourist season had started, so traffic would be heavy.

  "I'm telling you ahead so that you can make arrangements."

  Temper ignited at the exaggerated patience in his voice. "You're telling me ten minutes before they're supposed to be picked up. That's not telling me in advance."

  "Look, babe. I can't make it. Give my love to the girls."

  Victoria glared at her phone when he hung up. She closed her eyes and took three deep breaths. There was a way to solve this situation without maiming her ex. She'd just have to call one of her sisters.

  She dialed her youngest sister, Addison, with her fingers crossed. Addie taught at a school not far from the girls. If there were no meetings, Addie should be able to pick them up.

  "Who's my favorite sister?" Her voice dripped syrupy sweet when Addie answered.

  "God, what? You only act like this when you need something." Addie said.

  Victoria heard the smile in her sister's voice and took heart. "Can you pick up the girls?"

  "Did Roger back out again?"

  "He decided to have dinner in the city." She leaned against the counter and surveyed the condo again to prove to herself that she'd moved on after the divorce. That she was better off. That her girls were better off.

  "That douche. I'll leave right now. But you owe me dinner."

  "Thanks, Addie."

  After she hung up, she changed into a black pencil skirt, a white button up shirt, and red pumps for the meeting. She pulled her black hair into a sleek ponytail, dressed her brown eyes in natural makeup and mascara.

  The drive to the ocean front office on the boardwalk took an extra thirty minutes. It didn't bother her, though, because the warm air smelled like the sea, and she enjoyed every minute of it. She pulled her SUV into the shopping center and spotted her father's truck parked close to the office he'd helped her buy. Being a retired contractor, he recommended a friend of his to redo the inside to fit her needs. She had high hopes on the outcome.

  "Hey, sweetie." Her father stood outside the door, his salt and pepper hair close cropped. He shared his sloe eyes with his two eldest daughters, and they warmed when he saw his oldest. "How was the staging?" he enveloped her in a tight hug.

  "Great, I finished the condo for Rachel and I have consults tomorrow for a few personal interior designs." Victoria looked at the door. Her stomach tightened in excitement. An office of her own. She wouldn’t have to work out of her house anymore. "Let's go in. I want to see it again."

  Her father gestured toward her oversized purse. "If you can find the key in that suitcase of yours."

  Victoria laughed. "Lucia and Helena bought it for me for my birthday. It's a little big, but they were so excited when I opened it. I think they combined both their allowances for a month to buy it."

  "Your mother helped them with some." He said as she pulled the key out.

  "See? Only took a minute." With a quick smile she unlocked the door and stepped inside.

  Wallpaper hung from the walls in tatters, the carpet smelled musty and had black and red stains all over it. A receptionist counter covered in chipped black and white Formica was the only furniture in the room, thank God, Victoria thought.

  "Needs a lot of work."

  "I know, Dad. Did I make a mistake? Picking this place out?" Worry clouded her excitement.

  "Do you know how you want this place to look?" He looked at her and she saw the faith in his eyes.

  She regarded the place and imagined what she wanted. Dark hard wood floors, antique furniture, some potted plants. Graphite colored walls with white trim. Elegance and style. "Definitely."

  "Then there's no mistake. You're going to build a business here. You're already doing great out of your house. You'll be able to accommodate more clients out of a real office. You can even get an assistant for scheduling and stuff."

  Her father was the driving force behind her confidence. Whenever she couldn't imagine herself with her own business, he built her up. Pushed her toward better things. He looked in the direction of the parking lot at the sound of a truck door shutting. "Here comes Nick now."

  Victoria turned when she heard the door to the office open and the shock shot straight to her toes. Thank God she'd fixed her hair and makeup. A friend of her father's? No way. This tall and lean guy was nowhere near her dad's age and had muscles that were evident underneath his gray t-shirt. Tattoos peeked out from under the sleeves and twisted down his arms to his wrists. Shaggy black hair framed a face with a square jaw and full lips.

  Anatomy that she'd tried to forget about roared to life.

  Which was ridiculous because the last thing she had time for was a man, even one as gorgeous as this one. She recognized him from high school, although they'd never been in the same circles since he'd been more of a bad boy.

  Catching herself, s
he held out a hand and said coolly, "Hi, I'm Victoria. Wes's daughter."

  His eyebrows rose over ice blue eyes. "I'm Nick."

  She ignored the interest on his face as his lips quirked.

  "Hey, Nick. Thanks for meeting us. Want to take a look around?" Wes shook his hand.

  "Sure." Nick pulled a small notebook from his back pocket and a pencil from behind his ear. "What are you looking to do to the place?"

  Victoria tried to bring her thoughts back to the business. Her dad was up to something, she could tell. He would've never hired out the job to someone else, even if he was retired, because he'd want to do it for her.

  Wes glanced at her. "Ask her. She's the designer." His phone rang. "It's your mother. I'll take this outside."

  Victoria watched him leave with a mutinous glare.

  "So, Victoria. What do you want to do with the space?" His voice hinted at his amusement.

  "You think this is funny?" She pursed her lips. "They're trying to set us up. It's mortifying." How could Nick not see what was going on? He definitely looked like the type who could get his own dates. If her sisters knew about this she was going to rain hell down on them.

  Nick shrugged, the muscles in his torso and shoulders catching her eye. "I think it's funny. Wes told me he had a client for me. Didn't say it was one of his beautiful daughters."

  Heat unfurled in her abdomen. She told her brain to tell her newly awakened anatomy to slow its role. "Where do we go from here?"

  "I hear there's a new restaurant on the boardwalk we could try out." At her glare, he laughed.

  The laugh shot straight to her core.

  "I could design you an awesome office space. I am good at what I do. We can ignore the fact that our parents are working against us. Or we can make them happy and go out. I do love my mother very much, and this would make her very happy."

  She couldn't help but smile. He was a charmer. "How about you design my awesome office space and we ignore our parents?"

  "Sure, we can do that. But you can't blame a man for trying." Nick turned to the room. "So, the space?"

  "Well, first of all I want that hideous receptionist counter gone. Demolish it. I need an office of my own in the back, and a small break room with room for counter space, a table, and a fridge. I'm going to design it like a regular kitchen, without the oven. I'll need a unisex bathroom." She continued with details while he took notes.

  "This shouldn't be hard to do. I'll have to start the designs and get your approval before going for the permit." He tucked the notebook back in his pocket, the pencil behind his ear.

  "How long will the designs take?" She looked out toward the parking lot, past it toward the beach. Anywhere but at him. She couldn't let herself be tempted. A man was a complication she didn't need. Not with her daughters and her expanding business.

  "A week, tops. I have a job I'm finishing now but it shouldn't take too much of my time."

  The door opened and her dad stepped back inside. "Your mother was having a small dinner crisis. Needs me to pick up some stuff on my way home."

  "Does she now?" Victoria narrowed her eyes so that he'd know she knew exactly what he was trying to do. Her dad deftly avoided eye contact. "Anyway, we're done here so I'm going to head home." She handed Nick her business card and tried to ignore the laughter in his eyes as she left.

  Chapter Two

  Victoria walked into her house and the sound of music from the living room assaulted her ears. Her feet screamed for relief so she slipped off her stilettos and carried them through the small foyer into the living room.

  Her daughters and Addie danced across the white carpet with the Wii remotes in their hands, concentration and laughter on their faces. Lucia and Helena's identical features, black hair and hazel eyes, belied their different personalities. Victoria watched them dance, and not for the first time wished she could've chosen better for their father. No other excuse than she was young and stupid.

  Her family was supportive, not wanting to tell her Roger wasn't good enough, wanting her only to be happy. All except Addie, who'd protested loud and often that he was nothing but a douche. Victoria watched her sister keep up with the girls and smiled. Her sisters had helped her through the past year and without them, she didn't know what she would have done.

  "Hey, Mom." Lucia waved when the game came to a lull. "I'm beating Addie to a pulp."

  Addie glanced over, blue eyes from their mother lit with a competitive fire. It didn't matter that the girls were younger. Addie had to win.

  Victoria noticed Helena didn't say anything but guessed she was too focused on the game. She continued through the living room and into the kitchen, immediately going for a bottle of wine. She hated that Roger still got to her, even after all these years. His attitude toward marriage--toward her--had been the same for the last twelve years. He wasn't going to change just because they were divorced.

  "Pour me a glass." Addie's long black hair fell down her back in a straight waterfall, her make-up light. "Teaching third graders can be stressful. I'll be gray by the time I'm your age."

  Victoria lifted a brow, poured the wine into two wine glasses. "Mom always taught us that more wine equaled less gray."

  Addie lifted the wine in a toast. "That she did."

  The wine warmed her throat and stomach after she sipped. "Thanks for picking up the girls."

  "You know you don't have to thank me for that. I love spending time with them."

  Victoria moved to the fridge, trying to decide what to make for dinner. "I met with Dad and the contractor today."

  "How did it go? Did they say how long it would take for your posh new office to be done?" Addie smiled and slid onto a stool. "What are you cooking?"

  She pulled a mix of chicken stir-fry she'd frozen a few weeks ago, held up the bag for Addie. "The contractor is going to draw the designs and blueprints first. Then he'll meet with me and let me know how long it'll take. Did Dad tell you who it was?" She looked at Addie, saw the question on her face, knew Addie didn't know. Addie had the worst poker face. "He's a freakin' hottie." She turned the fan on above the stove, then fanned herself.

  "Tell me more." Addie laughed. "You haven't blushed like this since you met dick face."

  "Addie." Victoria nodded toward the living room, where the girls argued about who would bowl first on the Wii.

  Addie shrugged. "Sorry, but they aren't paying attention to us. Why did you ask if Dad told me?"

  "It was embarrassing. He got a phone call from Mom when Nick walked in--"

  "Nick is a sexy name."

  Victoria tried not to laugh at that. "Shut up. Anyway, we could both tell our parents were setting us up."

  "He didn't spook about that?"

  Victoria moved the stir-fry around in the wok. "No, he suggested we go out to eat."

  "Tell me you agreed. You need some hot sex to loosen you up."

  "Stop." Victoria shook her head. "I don't have time for that right now. I need to focus on my girls and my business. Not sexy men in butt hugging jeans and t-shirts. Do you remember him from school? He may have already graduated already when you started high school. He has a younger brother named Luke."

  "I think I vaguely remember Luke. They were total cuties, but bad news from what I remember." Addie said.

  "He's graduated from cutie to complete hottie."

  "I really need to accompany you to your meeting." Addie drained the rest of her wine. "Make sure you two accidentally fall into each other's arms or something."

  "You're crazy."

  "I volunteer for baby-sitting. Anytime."

  Victoria laughed this time. "Quit. I'm not interested in him. I've had enough of men for a while."

  "I know a few cute girls who'd be interested in you."

  "You really are crazy."

  During dinner Addie had the girls laughing about her third graders. Helena pushed the food around on her plate and didn't look at her mom the whole time. Victoria tried to get her attention, but was mainly baffle
d as to why Helena treated her that way.

  After dinner, the girls went upstairs to shower and get ready for bed. Addie went home, promising to watch the girls again. Victoria shooed her out and settled down in her bedroom at her small desk.

  Looking at her calendar, she had several appointments this week with real estate agents who wanted her to stage their beach houses, apartments, and homes. She'd always had an eye for dressing up rooms. It was a talent that she was lucky she'd been able to turn into a business. Hopefully it would be a lucrative one. Five years ago she started it, building it slowly, networking, cultivating connections carefully. She did some interior decorating for clients, looking for stuff they wanted at flea markets and antique shops in nearby cities. It was a hobby she adored and fit in whenever she could.

  She never did anything rash, other than marrying Roger, and look how that turned out.

  "Mom?"

  Victoria turned to see Helena standing in the doorway. Ever day she worried about boys because of her daughter's willowy bodies. She dreaded they day they would learn to drive and their first dates. How was she going to deal with it?

  "What is it, sweetie?" She coaxed Helena into explaining what bothered her.

  Helena sat on the edge of her mom's bed and picked at the white duvet. "Lucia is going to try out for the cheerleading team."

  Victoria heard the hurt in her daughter's voice, knew Helena wasn't trying to blame her sister, but something about it obviously bothered her. Victoria moved to sit next to Helena. "And you don't want to?"

  Helena shrugged, a small pout on her lips. "No, but this will be the first time we don't do something as sisters."

  Victoria's heart ached at the worry in Helena's voice. "It doesn't mean that you two are going to grow apart. You're best friends, and always will be. Like me, Addie, and Halle. We are very different, but very close."

  "Lucia said that trying out for the math club at school made me a nerd. But I don't like dancing around, and I love to solve problems. It makes me happy."

  There it was. The real reason Helena's feelings were hurt. She was the quiet one, the analytical one, who wanted to be good and please everyone. Especially her twin, Lucia, who on the other hand, was rash, impetuous and loud. Everyone wanted to please her. It didn't surprise Victoria that the girls were branching out, doing stuff on their own.