Page 25 of Paradise West
With dawning horror at the image she must have presented to the men below, she noted that her hair, which was still technically in a french braid, was matted and standing up on one side. A lovely shade of midnight circled both of her eyes, giving her the perfect racoon look, and Jack was right—shewasin her favorite matching blue underwear.
She cringed at her ‘crazy lady’ image. With dismay, she realized she had gone out on the balcony—in front of the entire neighborhood—like this.
Oh. My. God. I’m the complete definition of ‘hot mess’...ugh! Please just let me die right here.
She moaned again, closing her eyes to hide the spectacle in the mirror.
There was another loud flutter of wings and more outraged squawks, followed by curses and more shouting from Jack and his workers. Charli grinned despite herself. It sounded like George was really putting up a fight down there.
She sighed and shook her head, then winced, instantly regretting that small movement when her head threatened to explode. Slowly breathing out, she washed out her mouth and brushed her teeth. What she needed now was a scalding hot shower followed by a hot cup of coffee. After that, she promised herself she’d work up the nerve to go outside.
* * * *
Nearly an hour later, Charli emerged from the house with her shredded dignity somewhat restored, a mug of coffee clutched tightly in her hands, and her sunglasses on against the bright morning sun. The hot shower and coffee had both worked their magic, andafter chugging two bottles of water, she felt nearly human again.
Heat rushed through her body when a handful of workers turned to stare at her. It felt like a walk of shame for the ages. Mortified, yet undeterred, she took a deep breath, lifted her chin, and continued her progress across the street to the compound.
Jack, who was standing at the wall, glanced over his shoulder, and smiled when he saw her. He turned a bit and motioned her his way.
“I was starting to wonder if I’d have to go check for signs of life over there.” His smile turned teasing. “You look like you feel better.”
Charli grunted. “I was hugging the porcelain god for a while.” She waved her hand at his look of concern, then added, “Don’t worry about it. The shower and a couple cups of coffee worked wonders. And thanks for the ibuprofen.”
He grinned. “Don’t mention it.”
She sighed and stared up at him, noticing how his dimples deepened into full grooves as his grin grew bigger as he stared down at her. “Um, Jack. How much did I drink last night?”
Jack chuckled and scratched his head. “Honestly, I’m not sure. Generally, once the ladies start drinking, their glasses are never empty. And last night was no exception.” He shrugged. “Plus, it was your initiationinto the society, so they made sure you had plenty of sangria. I can safely say your glass was never empty but there’s no telling exactly how much you consumed.”
Charli groaned as flashbacks from the previous evening began shooting through her brain. She covered her mouth as the urge to vomit again began to build.
“But if I were to guess,” he continued, “I’d say you had at least six, maybe seven, glasses of sangria after we got back to the house—that’s on top of the mojito you had at The Spent Pickle.” His eyes softened and his hand came up to lightly touch her chin. “Don’t sweat it. That sangria goes down so smooth that it’s easy to overdo it, especially since none of you had anything to eat after the drinking started. Just promise me you won’t drink that stuff again unless I’m around, and certainly not on an empty stomach. The ladies have been known to get a little wild when they really get going and I’d rather not have to bail you out of jail for streaking down Duval Street.”
After meeting the group last night, she could easily picture the amount of havoc they could create. Charli laughed and nodded, the movement making her head pound. She pressed her lips together and took a deepbreath, her fingers massaging between her eyes as she willed the pain away.
Jack’s hands closed around her elbows. “Are you okay?”
She swallowed and mumbled, “Mmmhmmm. Just give me a sec.” She drew in another deep breath, clutching the mug to her chest. Opening her eyes a moment later, she started to find Jack’s concerned face only a few inches away from hers, his chocolate brown eyes intense as he stared at her.
She felt her heart flutter... he was so gorgeous. Almost too gorgeous...
“Are you sure you’re up for this?” he asked. “You don’t have to be over here today if you’re not feeling well. My guys have everything under control.”
“I’m okay, Jack. I promise.” She pasted a smile on her face, trying to put him at ease. “I shouldn’t have nodded, that’s all.” She gestured toward the work going on just over the wall, desperate to change the subject. “How’s everything looking?”
Charli squirmed as he stared down at her with narrowed eyes for several moments, clearly evaluating for himself whether she was really okay. Eventually he appeared satisfied, and relaxed, leaning his tall frame against the compound wall. As Jack opened his mouth to reply, a tall, dark-haired man with a deeply tanned face framed by a shortly croppedbeard stepped up behind him and peered at her over Jack’s shoulder.
“Progress is good so far,” the man answered. He grinned and stepped around Jack with his hand outstretched to Charli in greeting. “And since this guy forgot his manners, I’ll introduce myself.” He gave her a dazzling smile as he shook her hand. “I’m Gustavo, Jack’s partner. My friends call me Gus.”
Charli’s brows rose. “It’s nice to meet you.” She glanced between the two men. “I didn’t know Jack had a partner.”
Jack snorted. “Yes, Jack has a partner. Jack also has a voice and can speak for himself.”
Gus chuckled and tucked an elbow into Jack’s side. “I like to give this guy shit as often as possible.” He grinned at Charli. “And it looks like I have a new partner in crime,” he added, giving her a wicked wink.
Gus pointed toward the far section of the garden. “I was just telling Jack that we have to be careful because we’ve found a small banyan tree that we may need to keep. We’ll have to contact the forestry manager to determine what we’ll do.”
Charli wrinkled her nose. “The forestry manager? They have those in Key West?”
