Loving Graham Read online

  “Hey, Sherman, how’s your morning?” I ask the old German Shepherd. He yawns and whines like he’s trying to tell me something, and I slide my hand out from under my pillow to scratch him behind his ears.

  In an instant, Klondike is nudging poor Sherman out of the way jealous of the attention he’s receiving. “Hey now, there’s enough for both of you, don’t be greedy.”

  The bed shifts behind me, and Graham’s arms slide around me pulling my back to his front. “How about me? Can I be greedy? Because I’m not sure I can help it, you’re irresistible, you know?”

  I laugh when Klondike jumps on the bed and licks Graham’s face. “I think I’ll let you work that out amongst yourselves.”

  “Yuck, dude, don’t lick my face, come on now,” he yells swatting at Klondike who’s jumping on the bed behind him.

  “Maybe they need to go out, what time is it?” Graham’s head pops up to look at the clock.

  “Shit, it’s almost nine o’clock, I have an appointment at nine.” He kisses the back of my neck quick and hard and throws off the covers jumping out of bed. “I’m going to get in the shower. Would you mind letting them out?”

  “Sure. Come on you twats, let’s go outside before you make a mess in here.” I stand and stretch my arms over my head. I’m facing away from Graham’s bathroom, but I feel his eyes on me. I turn, and sure enough, he’s leaning on the doorjamb brushing his teeth and taking me in.

  “What?” I say scanning the floor for my jeans. When I find them, I shake them out and shove a leg in.

  “I like having you here when I wake up, just wish I didn’t have to go to work so we could lounge around together all day.”

  “Do you work tomorrow?”

  “No, I might have to go in and catch up on a client I missed yesterday, but I’m not scheduled, why?”

  “I could come back and spend the night again tonight. We could hang out tomorrow, and you could show me what I need to know about taking care of the dogs while you’re gone.”

  He disappears to spit toothpaste in the sink, and I hear him call as he gets into the shower. “It’s a date, I should be done by five, but you’re welcome to stay while I’m at work if you want.”

  Klondike is sitting at my feet sneezing over and over, and Sherman is right next to him whining. I take these to be signs that they aren’t up to waiting much longer. “Okay, come on now,” I say walking toward the bedroom door. They bolt out ahead of me confirming my suspicions that I only have moments before they have an accident. I open the door and follow them out into the gorgeous day.

  The sun is warm on my bare chest, and the sparkling pool beckons me. I go and sit down at one of the tables next to the pool and wait for the dogs to do their business. I’m daydreaming a bit when I hear a stranger’s voice coming from behind me.

  “Dude, I totally thought you were workin’ today till I saw your truck in the driveway. We need to get out there. The wind’s totally offshore, man, and the waves are all A-frame and shit. You up to gnar some waves?”

  I turn in my chair and find a hot kid in board shorts, long blond hair, cut abs and flip-flops standing on the patio. Klondike and Sherman are swarming around his feet like they know him.

  “Whoa, dude. Sorry, man, I thought you were G,” he says, but his attention falls to the dogs. “Hey dogs, ‘sup little dudes?” he says squatting down to give them attention.

  I’m not sure where he’s come from—inside or through the gate. I get up and walk to the patio. “You’re looking for Graham?”

  He looks up at me with the biggest, whitest smile made even whiter by his extremely tanned skin. “Yeah, you seen him?”

  “He’s in the shower, should be out soon.”

  “Sweet, hey, I’m Greg. I live up the beach,” he says trying to extend his hand for me to shake, but Klondike won’t stop licking him, and Sherman has taken up residence between his legs.

  “Nice to meet you. I’m Levi.”

  He wipes his face and stands up to get away from the dogs. “Your accent’s gnarly, man. Where you from?”

  “Originally England, but I’ve been in the U.S. for a long time.”

  “You should keep it, dude, chicks dig accents. They’d be droppin bikinis all over the sand for you.” I lift my eyebrows amused, and he suddenly stops talking looking back into the house and then at me. “Ah, man, sorry you’re not into chicks, huh?”

  I chuckle. “No, not even a little bit.”

  “Ah, sweet, more for me.” He cups his hand around the side of his mouth, “Sorta relieved, ya know? G’s so cool I know he’d bring you with him, and all the honeys would be way into you.”

  My first instinct was to be jealous of this man walking around so comfortably in Graham’s house, but it seems he’s more about women than men, and I’m glad. I would be no competition for this man’s charm and natural sun-kissed good looks.

  “You and Graham surf together a lot?” I ask.

  “We used to, then he went all adult on us for a while, but he’s been gettin’ back out there lately. Old dude needs to go out on the regular, ya know? He was losin’ his sic skills.”

  “Old dude?” I laugh. This guy is in his early twenties and already calling someone in their early thirties old.

  “Like, no disrespect or anything, he’s rad as shit. Everybody loves him.”

  I’ll bet, he’s easy to love. I know from experience.

  “Hey, Greg, what’s up, man?” Graham says joining us on the patio dressed in dark blue, tight-fitting jeans, a white linen shirt, and gray Sperrys. His hair is wet and slicked back after his shower, and his eyes are bluer than usual. He looks like he’s going to do a photo shoot on a yacht.

  “Hey, dude!” Greg yells and throws his arms around Graham hugging him fast and hard. “Saw your truck and came to see if you were coming out this morning, but looks you’re going to tease the ladies today, huh?” He crouches down shooting Graham with finger guns when he says tease laughing at what he considers to be an awesome play on the word.

  Graham chuckles. “Yeah, gotta work, bro.”

  Greg switches his focus to me. “How bout you, British, you down to shred?”

  “I don’t surf. Thanks for the invitation, though.”

  He looks back at Graham, “What the hell? You’re chillin’ with non-surfers now? That’s lame, we gotta get him in the water, dude, like stat and shit.”

  Graham laughs. “Maybe in the morning, Levi’s spending the night.”

  Greg’s eyes light up. “Oh yeah, if you dudes are like together, together, we gotta teach the Brit boyfriend to surf fur sure. Supposed to be glass tomorrow, dude. I’ll be out there at five so come down like whenever.”

  “Will do, see you later, Greg,” Graham says.

  “It was nice to meet you,” I say unsure if I should try to shake his hand or leave it casual. Greg solves my dilemma by saluting and turning to saunter back through Graham’s house.

  “He’s an interesting fellow,” I say when I hear the front door close. “Did you forget to lock up last night?”

  “Nah, he has a key. We’re old friends.”

  “Graham, he can’t be more than twenty-one or two. Were you more than surfing buddies?”

  “Remember last night when I told you I only have casual things with guys?”

  “Yes.”

  “I had a casual thing with Greg. It was brief and fun, but it didn’t mean anything to either of us. I think he was experimenting with his sexuality and decided he prefers women if you want to know the truth.”

  “But he has a key to your house.”

  “Oh, yeah, he usually watches the dogs for me when I’m gone on shoots. I never asked for it back, I guess.”

  “I see.”

  One side of his mouth rises in a smirk. “Do I detect a hint of jealousy, Detective Levi Yale?” He reaches out and pulls me against him wrapping his arms around my waist. “Because you have absolutely nothing to be jealous about.”

  I roll my eyes and look over his s
houlder.

  “It’s like I don’t see anybody but you anymore. I used to have this hot guy radar going on in my head all the time. Hey, did you shut it off? Is that something they teach you in the police academy? How to shut off hot guy radar 101.”

  Now I laugh. “No, that is not in the curriculum.”

  “Hmm, must just be you then. That’s your superpower shutting off hot guy radars.”

  “I don’t know about that, but I’m glad to know yours is out of commission.”

  “What about yours?” he asks.

  “Mine? I don’t have one. I deactivated it years ago after Neil.”

  “So how do you explain me?”

  I smile and kiss him softly. “I think your hotness was so intense it gave my hot guy radar a power surge and turned it back on.”

  He nods his head slowly. “Nice save.”

  “It’s the truth, what can I say?”

  His phone buzzes in his back pocket, and I feel it reverberate through his body. “That’s probably Gloria bitching me out for being late. She’s been stalling for me for ten minutes.”

  “You’d better go then. I’ll hang out here for a while and swim, but I need to go home and change and check in with Nicky. Call me when you’re off?”

  “I will.”

  I start to pull away, but he holds me still. “What?”

  He pierces me with his intense blue eyes. “I love you.”

  The words take my breath away. I’ve only heard them from two people in my life so far—Nicky and Neil—and neither made them sound as beautiful and full of truth and promise.

  “I love you, too.”

  He pauses for a moment before releasing me. “I’ll see you tonight.”

  “Bye.” I watch his perfect backside walk away taking a big chunk of my heart with him, and that makes me nervous. It’s the hardest thing imaginable for me to allow someone such complete access to my heart. I swore I’d never do it again, and even though I know it’s different with Graham, very different, it’s still scary.

  I wonder if some experiences are so damaging they are impossible to recover from. Will I ever fully open up and wholeheartedly trust another man again? One thing’s for sure—if I can do it with anybody, it will be with Graham.

  Chapter Eighteen

  Graham

  “I have a question for you,” I say plopping down in Gloria’s station after a long and busy morning and early afternoon.

  “Shoot, boo boo, what’s up?”

  “Gloria, how many times have I told you not to call me that in public, especially in the salon? Nobody will have any respect for me if it catches on,” I say looking around to make sure no one heard.

  “Oh stop, nobody heard me, you big baby. What’s your question?”

  “Well, I’ve never been in a serious relationship before, ya know?”

  “Yeah…”

  “And I was thinking, you know that guy I dated for a while, the surfer, Greg?”

  “Oh, dios, por favor, dime que, no estás saliendo con ese niño.”

  I pause and backtrack trying to figure out what she’s just said in Spanish. I’ve gotten pretty good at translating over the years, and the best I can come up with is she thinks I want to date Greg, and she thinks he’s a child. She’s right on one part, he does act like a child, but I don’t want to date him.

  “I thought you and Levi were getting along so good, what happened?”

  “No, no, Levi and I are fine. I don’t want to date Greg, but he has a key to my house from when he watched the dogs for me. Do you think it would make Levi feel better if I asked for the key back?”

  “He knows Greg has a key?”

  “Well, yeah, he let himself in this morning when I was in the shower, and it caught Levi off guard.”

  She stops straightening her station. “Yes. Are you estúpido?”

  “Well, I’d like to think not, but I didn’t want to hurt Greg’s feelings either.”

  “Who cares about Greg… Levi is the one you have to look out for. His feelings are what are important, not Greg’s.”

  “You’re right.”

  She stares at me for a while leaning her ass up against the counter behind her and crossing her arms over her chest. “You love this boy, don’t you?”

  Our eyes lock. “Yes, I do.”

  “You tell him?”

  “Yes.”

  “He loves you, too?”

  “Yes.”

  “Oh, boo boo, I’m so happy for you. You’re such a good man, you deserve someone like Levi.” She sits down on my lap in her black wrap-around dress and hugs me tight kissing me leaving a big red lipstick mark on my cheek. I laugh and thank my lucky stars that she likes Levi because if anyone knows how to make my life miserable, it’s her, and when she doesn’t like who I’m seeing, she’s a tyrant.

  “All right, lady, up. I have to go watch the CCTV recording of the other night before my next client comes in.”

  “Okay. You think it’s gonna be different this time?”

  “No, but you never know, I might see something nobody else saw.”

  “Good luck. I’ll call you when your next appointment is here.”

  “Thanks.” I walk to my office and close the door, sit down and power on my computer. I sit back in my chair and stare across the room at the mural on my wall. Most people think it’s just a painting of a random woman, they couldn’t be more wrong.

  My muse has a name, and it’s Awen. Awen was my Gloria before Gloria. I met her in Europe when I first went there to model. She was thirty years old and still doing an occasional shoot, but for the most part, she worked for the agency helping to guide young models in the right direction.

  She was so beautiful and kind, and she taught me to be generous and live with an open heart. I loved her, she was my European mother and best friend until she got cancer and died a year later.

  I partially attribute my drug addiction to her death. I was just a kid. I had never known anyone who died before let alone the person I was closest to and depended on for so much. That was the beginning of my downfall. It’s when I started hanging out with the wrong people doing drugs, drinking, and getting into trouble. Her demise was the beginning of my downward spiral.

  When I finally kicked my addiction and opened my salon, I knew I wanted to honor her somehow. She became my muse, which is ironic because Awen is a Welsh name that means muse. I think of her inner and outer beauty every day of my life, and I will never forget what a wonderful woman she was.

  My computer springs to life, and I pull up the footage from the latest robbery. The video isn’t long. The thief slides in very aware of the camera and avoids it. Dressed in all black with a black ski mask, black gloves, and black boots, it’s impossible to identify who it is. I can’t even tell if it’s a man or woman, but if I were forced to guess, I’d say a smallish man.

  My phone rings in my pocket. I take it out and see Levi’s face smiling at me from the screen. “Hey there, how was your swim?”

  “Hi, great. It must be nice having a private pool right outside your door all the time.”

  “It is, and now you do, too. You’re welcome anytime you want to use it, or anything for that matter.”

  “Thanks. How’s your day going?”

  “Great, we’ve been busy. I’m taking a break to watch the CCTV footage from the robbery.”

  “Yeah? I stopped by the precinct today and watched it, too. Not much to see, is there?”

  “No, as usual. Whoever it is knows where the camera is, that’s for sure. And is it just me or does this person act so gender neutral it’s hard to tell if it’s a woman or a man?”

  “No, it’s hard, but if I had to guess, I’d say it’s a smaller man.”

  “That’s what I thought, too. I don’t have anybody that size working for me. My guys are either muscle heads or twiggy, no in between. It doesn’t matter, though, I decided to stop accepting cash. That thief’s cash cow just dried up.”

  “I’m sorry, I feel respo
nsible. If I had found your thief, you wouldn’t have to do that.”

  “It’s okay, I don’t know why so many clients pay with cash anyway. I just hope it doesn’t push the thief over the edge, and they start messing with the credit card payments.”

  “This could be a good thing, Graham. If that person starts getting anxious without their easy money, you could pick them out easier.”

  “Yeah, that’s what I was thinking. I know it’s shady, but I’m going to throw a bridal shower for Suni and her fiancé, Thomas, to see if anybody is acting off.”

  “That’s a great plan. I can get some buddies to come in undercover and listen in on conversations if you want.”

  “Sure, there will be so many people there, nobody will know who belongs to who.”

  Gloria’s voice comes over the salon’s intercom. “Graham, your next client is waiting.”

  “Shit, I need to go, but hey, I wanted to tell you I’m asking Greg for his key to the house back.”

  “You don’t have to do that just for me.”

  “Yes, Levi, I do. Your happiness is important to me, and I don’t want you ever to doubt my feelings for you.”

  “Thank you, it means a lot. You should be extra careful, too, now that your thief is cut off. You never know what they’ll try to do. Does anybody else have a key to your house?”

  I cringe when he asks. “Yeah, several people do but not for reasons you might think. I go out of town a lot on photo shoots, and I need somebody to watch the dogs and the house. I also have a few friends who stay with me when they’re here for shoots, and it’s easier for them just to have a key.”

  “Maybe it would be easier to change the locks.”

  “I think you’re right.”

  “I’ll go to the house and call a locksmith. I know somebody who can have it done today.”

  “Okay, but don’t tell Gloria.”

  “Why? Is that her territory?”

  “It used to be. I think it’s fast becoming yours, though.”

  “Do you want to ask her to do it?”

  “No, you go ahead. I’ll deal with her.”

  “Okay. Oh, and also I’m cooking you dinner tonight so don’t eat.”