“I don’t recall asking you what the fuck you thought about it,” Stone shot back at him.

“Stop it! Just stop it! Why can’t you be nice? You’re always so mean!” Presley wailed loudly.

Then there was silence.

I wanted to scurry back to my room, but I’d gotten so close I was afraid they’d hear me if I turned around and walked back. I needed to wait until there was shouting again.

“You live here for free. When your bitch of a mother wanted nothing to do with the spoiled brat she’d raised, I took you in. He didn’t. Don’t forget that.”

“That’s an unfair statement. Do you two always fight? I need some fucking caffeine and an aspirin to deal with this,” the other voice said.

“Unfair? You were married to her mother. She caught you fucking her daughter and kicked her daughter out. You weren’t asked to leave, and you stayed despite the circumstances.” Stone’s words had my jaw dropping open. Had I just heard that correctly?

“Let it go, Stone! Half the damn country has been married to her mother!” the other guy shouted back.

“Get out of my house, Wesley. If you want this, then go with him. But don’t fucking have a party in my home, trash it, and use it as a way to sneak this bastard under my roof.”

“You hurt me with her!” Presley cried.

I waited, covering my mouth in case some other insane bomb was dropped and I ended up gasping out loud. I had to move soon or one of them would come storming out of the great room and find me here.

“She needed somewhere to live. I gave her a place. The same as I did for you.”

“And did you fuck her like you did me?” Presley shot back.

There was a sigh. “It was once, Presley. We were drunk. You came onto me naked in the hot tub. I am a man, and you were straddling me rubbing your pussy on my dick. Trust me, I’ve regretted that lapse in judgment since the moment it happened.”

“You’re a cold bastard just like your dad,” the other man said.

“Says the man who was living off a woman and fucking her daughter behind her back. What happened Wesley? You run out of money, or is it you can’t find another brainless female to keep you?”

“Stop it! I can’t stay here with you! You’re nasty and cruel. I’m going with Wesley. He loved me. He cared about me,” Presley said the words as if they were a threat.

I backed up slowly praying no one heard my footsteps. This was not my drama and I shouldn’t have heard any of it. Staying here this long had been wrong. I’d been frozen in my spot listening to every word as if it was some television drama unfolding.

“Please, go with him. You have no money. His profession is to live off wealthy women. Good luck with all that,” Stone replied and I began to hurry as I tiptoed back down the hallway.

“You don’t know him!” Presley yelled.

There was no response.

I slipped back into my room and started to close the door when it stopped just before the latch clicked. A hand was holding it open. My heart quite literally stopped and I bit my bottom lip.

“I trust that answered your curiosity.” Stone’s voice was businesslike. I didn’t have time to decide if he was angry, or if I should respond. His hand was gone and the pressure from my body weight pushed the door closed with a slam.

I jumped back and stared at the door in disbelief. He’d caught me. But he hadn’t been upset. At least I didn’t think he was upset. That had been rude of me to listen. Intrusive even. I owed him an apology. I could have tried to escape sooner.

A few more doors slammed shut. Presley shouted things. I hurried to the bathroom to take a shower and dress for the day. I’d have to face Stone and apologize at some point.

I needed to think of how to say it though.

As the water ran down over my face, the image of Stone naked in a hot tub popped into my head uninvited and I tried to push it away. I didn’t want to think about Stone naked, but the image wouldn’t leave. I’d seen him shirtless. I knew how impressive his body was.

Frustrated, I hummed my mother’s favorite Elvis Presley song and tried to focus on the lyrics. I tried to picture anything but the image my mind kept displaying. When my body tingled as I unwillingly remembered Stone’s description of being straddled naked, I covered my face, horrified by my reaction and thoughts. How was I turned on by that? Was I sick in the head and only now realizing it?

“I am not a sicko, I am not a sicko,” I repeated quietly to myself until the water turned cold.

GERALDINE CAME TO THE DOOR wearing a red-striped bikini and a large straw hat, carrying around a martini glass full of milk. On one hand, I was a little shocked. On the other, I was grateful she was mindlessly packing for a nonexistent trip to the Caribbean because it helped me drown my thoughts.

I was cleaning up the kitchen after lunch when Geraldine finally came out of her spell.

“Why am I wearing this bikini?” she asked.

I spun around from loading the dishwasher to see her with a towel wrapped around her and her hat was gone.

“You were packing for a trip to the Caribbean,” I told her.

She sighed and rolled her eyes. “Dear God, if I ever visit that place again don’t let me wear this. My thighs have seen better days.”

I smiled. “I thought you looked great in it.” I hoped I had her attitude about life when I was older and my brain got scattered.

“Thank you. But trust me. There was a time long ago I could turn heads,” she said with pride.

“I believe you.”

She returned my smile. “I guess I have some unpacking to do. If you could water the garden for me while I put things away, that would be wonderful.”

“Yes, of course.”

She started to leave, then paused and looked at me. “You’re a good girl. I’ve known a lot of beauties. Many that have been in and out of Stone’s life. But never have I met one with your spirit or heart. Don’t give up on him.”

I opened my mouth to tell her that Stone was only helping me and she had the wrong idea about us. However, she had left the room and her footsteps were echoing down the hall before I could gather my words to respond.

Surely Stone had explained our situation to her. He wouldn’t want her thinking there was anything between us. Her mind was scattered. Maybe she was confused again thinking I was a girl from his past. That idea saddened me. Stone wasn’t an ideal guy to spend your life with. He was hard, blunt and cruel at times. He looked down his nose at others and was closed off. But he also had a soft spot. The idea of a girl hurting him made my heart hurt a little—only a little.

Watering the garden took over an hour. It was an impressive set up and she’d told me yesterday how Stone had helped her organize it during spring break three years ago. They’d spent four days preparing the irrigation and making sure the planting system was installed properly. He would have been a sophomore in college. His friends would have gone to some exotic location to party, but he’d come here to help an elderly woman begin a garden in her multi-million-dollar castle.

Actions like that made the Stone who had told me I hadn’t been in love with Jasper seem like a different person. It was as if there were two of him. One I respected and admired, and the other one I wanted to punch in the face.

I wondered how many childhood memories Stone had in this back yard. From the bits and pieces I’d learned about his parents, this must have been his safe place. He came here to be a little boy and feel secure. I’d been raised with love and security. I didn’t know what it was like to grow up with parents like his. I couldn’t expect him to be normal after that.