Chapter 34

David
When David returned from test-driving his car, he found one of his security team waiting, and they took the keys. They would take it to his Malibu house for now. He was disappointed it wouldn’t be there for his use, but he understood. His car was a one-of-a-kind that Dodge had used to test the Demon concept. That first year they’d only made 3,000 of them, making his even more desirable to collectors in the future.

“I should probably drive it back to your house,” Cassidy said.

“No, you shouldn’t. Your dad’s here, and he wouldn’t be happy if you took off to go joyriding,” David said.

“I’ve decided I want to be your security again,” she said as she watched the Demon drive away.

“You get to tell Ruth she’s fired.”

Cassidy smiled. He didn’t know if that was good or not.

Brook’s phone beeped.

“Your mom says you need to get ready.”

David glanced over at Tami and saw her frown. She was probably wondering when his mother decided to have Brook do stuff like that and not her. That had to be a good thing, right? Tami and his mom had ganged up on him for years. Maybe he’d finally gotten through to his mom. Then again, he probably shouldn’t read too much into it—that leopard wasn’t going to change its stripes.

“I’ll see everyone at dinner,” David said as they went to their rooms.

Crystal was in the shower. He saw his new suit was laid out.

“Did you think I couldn’t dress myself?” David asked as he went to the sink to brush his teeth and shave.

“No, that was Adrienne. She had clothes for you to wear, but when she saw your new suit, she agreed it was the best option. She did leave you a shirt, boxers, and a tie,” Crystal said as she turned off the water.

David handed her a towel as he finished up at the sink. When she stepped out, he went in.

“I want to use my veto power tonight,” Crystal said.

If girls only knew that saying something like that to a guy only made them want to do just the opposite even more.

“Okay, tell me.”

“I have three. Brook Davis, Kate Upton,...”

His head shot out of the shower.

“ ... and Fiona Beckham.”

’What the actual hell?’ David thought.

Of all the women on the planet, Crystal had somehow picked out three of the five women he was most attracted to, the others being Adrienne and Rita James.

He’d already decided that Brook was in the ‘no-go zone’ due to long-distance reasons and because if he did sleep with her, all his old feelings would resurface.

Kate Upton was off the menu because she’d married that stupid baseball player. Somehow, she’d gotten herself knocked up, and they now had a little girl. What sucked even more was that David read she really loved the guy. He must have hypnotized her to make Kate pick him over David.

David and Fiona Beckham had dated for a while during the spring until she left to film a movie. Mr. Happy got a half-chubby as the big brain remembered her strawberry-blond, almost red hair that shimmered in the afternoon sun. It was thick and long, with a natural wave. When he’d first met her, she’d pulled it back into a sporty ponytail. Her piercing blue eyes that simply jumped off the screen in her films set off her look.

There were two problems with Fiona. The most significant red flag was she was tight with Lexi. The other reason he hesitated was that she and Crystal were equally good-looking. The only advantage she had as far as arm candy went was her fame. Not that David seriously considered that for a real girlfriend, but for a fake one...

Note to heart: ’Find other women to have crushes on.’

Note to self: ’Stop talking to yourself. People might think you’re weird. Well, weirder than usual.’

“Fair enough,” David said and went back to his shower.

“You sure?” Crystal asked.

“Yep. No problem,” he assured her.

“I thought Kate Upton was your dream girl.”

“You vetoed her.”

“Huh ... just like that?”

“Just like that,” David said as he shut off the water.

He was a bit irritated when there wasn’t a towel on the rack, so he stepped out and shook his head like Duke did when he got wet.

Crystal shrieked and ran out of the bathroom. He spotted a hand towel. He was frickin’ six-four and expected to dry off with a hand towel? Being a guy ... oh, well. He’d used worse.

“I’m being attacked by a unicorn. Help! It’s getting glitter on me!” David cried as he walked out onto the top deck.

The Queen Mary had an upper deck in the center of the ship. David, his closest friends, and his family were having a private dinner. Afterward, they would watch the fireworks before joining the rest of the guests on the much larger aft deck. That was where they would have cake and ice cream, followed by a party.

His niece and nephews had tossed handfuls of glitter and were now running for their lives.

“You three are on my you-know-what list,” David teased.

His horde was a step slower, so he squatted down and ducked his chin so they could toss glitter onto his hair.

“Rah!” David roared as he scooped up Carol, who was a step too slow on the retreat.

Peals of giggles and squeals of excitement followed as he scooped up each of his children in turn. He either tickled them or gave them raspberries on their tummies as they played a disorganized game of tag. For some reason, their dad was always ‘it.’

He wasn’t at all surprised to see Cassidy helping the munchkins get more glitter to toss on him.

Before it got too far out of hand, David collapsed on the deck and let the rug-rats climb on him. The adults began to take pictures of him in his thousand-dollar suit as he played with the kids. Cassidy dumped the remaining bucket of glitter on the pile of fun.

Finally, Ashley announced it was time to eat. Each of the mothers corralled their kids and pulled them off him. His buddies from high school, Tim and Wolf, reached down to help him up. They fell into step beside him, and David knew that his two friends were probably drawing blood from biting their tongues so hard.

Wolf broke first.

“He looks like he just came from the lunch show at the local titty bar. Did you have to pay extra to get your entire head between her tatas?”

“David’s gladiator name is Glitorous,” Tim said.

“Ow!” “Ow!”

David chuckled as Cassidy took them to their knees.

“Behave,” she warned and then went to sit down.

Tim and Wolf led David to a table of their old friends. He was glad Crystal had an empty seat next to her.

“Dude, incoming,” Tim warned, pointing behind him.

David whirled around without thinking. So much for cool—well, as cool as you could be with glitter stuck to your face and in your hair. So much for suave. So much for calm and self-possessed and witty and urbane. If his whiplash motion hadn’t drawn her eyes to him, David’s explosion of coughing had done the trick.

It was Gwen Larkin, the crazy woman who’d stalked him. Once his coughing attack subsided, and he could finally breathe again, he saw the true extent of the disaster about to befall him. Her hair looked like where birds went to die, and her eyes were rolling around until they locked on him. She made a beeline straight for him ... or so he thought.

“You! What are you doing with my man?!” Gwen screeched as she launched herself at Crystal.

Ruth came out of nowhere and tackled her. David had never seen Ruth unable to subdue anyone until that moment. Gwen went apeshit crazy, which scared the munchkins. David had had enough; he got up and physically hauled Gwen out of sight of onlookers.

“Let me go!”

“I’m only trying to do you a favor, crazy train. I’d rather walk across a bed of rusty nails than pretend to be anything with you.”

That brought her up short.

“But Lexi said...” Then she burst into tears.

’Lexi has gone too far,’ David thought, seething with sudden anger.

Before he could say anything—and really, what would he say?—Gwen disappeared down the stairs.

Ruth came to his side.

“Have the security team track her down. I’m afraid for her safety,” David said.

Gwen had mental health issues. Being an actress did her no favors because her studio and family wanted her on set instead of locked up somewhere where she could get the help she desperately needed.

Ruth held up a finger as she listened to her earpiece.

“They have her, sir.”

“Let’s hope that’s the last of the excitement tonight.”

Somewhere, God was laughing at him.

It was almost like it was his birthday because dinner was a big ribeye and a lobster tail. After they’d finished eating was when the intervention occurred. David should have been clued in when Tim, Wolf, and Crystal all went to the bathroom, and Rita James and Tracy took the empty seats on either side of him. Brook, Tami, Pam, and Zoe sat across the table.

“Halle feels awful,” Rita began.

“You need to forgive her,” Tracy added.

When David finally got mad, it was best if you left him alone. Usually, he got over it after he’d had time to work it through. Halle setting up Ben and Lexi felt like a betrayal he couldn’t let go of.

Then again, Halle grew up in Hollywood, where that kind of behavior was the norm. And after all, she hadn’t put a gun to their heads. Lexi and Ben were the real culprits in this unfaithfulness. It felt like his broken heart had been left bleeding at his feet when he found out.

In truth, David might not have cared who Lexi spent time with if she’d just come clean and told him. Over spring break, he’d started to return the feelings she’d confessed to having for him.

Colleen had blindsided him. While he didn’t have any deep feelings for her—even though the sex was great—it was the timing of it all. Everything seemed to happen at the same time, and Halle was an easy target.

He looked up and saw all the women patiently waiting him out. They knew exactly how to handle him.

“You all suck,” David said as he shook his head.

“He’s okay,” Tracy announced.

Rita sent a text, and a moment later, Halle walked onto the deck. She was wearing one of those sundresses that were meant to be taken off slowly. It was apparent that she wasn’t wearing a bra. His gaze zeroed in on a pair of perky nips he remembered so well.

“Friends don’t drool over other friends,” Brook quipped.

David’s eyes narrowed as he glanced at each of the women. Then he stood and hugged Halle.

“Let’s go somewhere to talk,” she suggested.

“Let’s not. Just know I’m not mad at you anymore and leave it at that,” David suggested.

Rehashing or listening to her apologize would potentially get him upset again. He wanted to enjoy the rest of his birthday.

“You’re really fine?”

What was it with girls not believing what he told them?

“Yes. I’m really okay.”