I handed her the martini. "You're not drinking?" she asked.
"I'm good. I just had a beer. I had to wash away my visit to Hell House." Kimberly and I spent most of our time together in bed, but in between, we talked enough to know about each other's lives and childhoods. We'd both grown up in wealthy households, only Kimberly's early life had been filled with glamour and excitement. Unlike my dad, her parents knew how to enjoy money.
"I thought you seemed a little off." She sipped her drink. "And here I was hoping you were down because I'm officially out of the game."
"Trust me. That depressing reality was just another blow to a long month of blows."
Kimberly stirred the martini with the olive toothpick. "How is your new business going?"
"It's not." I walked over to the front picture window and pulled open the drapes to watch the sun reflect off the deep blue ocean. There were thin wispy clouds layered across the horizon.
"Why is that?" she asked.
"Just don't have the energy to start it."
"That doesn't sound like the cutthroat, failure-is-not-an-option man who used to fuck my brains out in every room of this house."
"Maybe being cutthroat isn't so great and maybe failure isn't so bad. Enough about me," I said curtly. "You haven't told me about him, the guy who finally reined in the wildest heiress on this side of the Atlantic." I sat down on the couch.
The turn in topic enthused her. Kimberly grinned as she admired the ring on her finger. "Paul has a winery in France. He's not overly wealthy, but he's very comfortable. And, I admit that's what attracted me to him. He has a better sense of reality than most men. You being the exception to that, of course."
"Of course. But this was kind of sudden. Are you sure?"
She smiled and her mind seemed to coast off to a daydream. "We've only known each other a month, but almost from the moment we first kissed, I was sure he could be my Prince Charming."
"Wow, he must be really great." I tried to sound happy for her, but I just wasn't finding the enthusiasm.
She reached over and squeezed my hand. "You should try it yourself, Nash. Being attached is not nearly as awful as I thought. The opposite in fact. And Paul is almost as good in bed as you."
"Now you're just trying to make me feel better."
"No, it's true. But with a little training, I'll have him whipped into shape."
"Odd how your mind goes right to the word whip." I grunted in frustration. "Can't believe I'm never going to spank that beautiful ass of yours again."
Kimberly laughed. "My ass is something else, isn't it?" She splashed back the rest of the martini and handed me the empty glass. "I've got to drive out to Bel Air. My parents are expecting me for dinner."
I walked her to the door. She stopped in the entryway for a long hug. It was strange holding her as just a platonic friend and yet I wasn't feeling any sense of heartbreak. She walked out and I lingered to watch her walk down the steps. I liked Kimberly a lot, but I never loved her. She was fantastic and gorgeous and fun and sexy, but I never felt anything deeper than friendship with her. I didn't know how to fall in love. I'd grown up in a household that avoided even using the word. While my dad was busy molding his son into a money making machine, he forgot to turn on the human switch. Jack loved to joke about my lack of emotion, and I didn't mind because I'd grown up learning that feelings of affection, empathy and sorrow were the things that made people weak. But I'd let my physical needs, superficial as they were, get in the way. I was at a tipping point in my life, it seemed. Continue on the path of self-gratification until I reach the end, whatever that ending is, or straighten out and get back the steely determination and iron will to succeed.
After a few more minutes of searching the kitchen for something edible, I pulled out my phone to call for a pizza but the doorbell rang. I glanced around to see if Kimberly had left her purse, but I didn't see it. Maybe she had changed her mind.
"I knew you couldn't live without my cock," I blurted as I swung the door open.
Big brown eyes blinked up at me. "Oh wow, I knew this was a big mistake."
"Shay. Sorry. That comment was meant for someone else."
"So that's not the way you usually greet people on your front stoop? Good to know." Her gaze swept along the front of the house. "Nice place. Guess this is what you meant by luxury."
I stepped back. "Would you like to come inside?" I stood aside and waved her in, but she stayed put.
"I'll just stay out here if that's all right. In fact, it was silly of me to come." She pointed back with her thumb. "I'm just going to climb back into my condo on wheels. Have a nice day." She turned to leave.