Bravura (Portentous Destiny Series Book 3) Read online

  I’m beginning to get antsy. I need to get out of here for a few days. Cami and Lena, my two besties and fellow nurses, come barging into the break room as I pour myself my first cup of coffee the next morning.

  “So, we have decided since we are all off this weekend, that we are going to Miami!” Cami squeals as she comes into the break room.

  “Say what?” I ask, putting down my coffee.

  “Miami, you in?” she reiterates as she pulls her food out of the fridge.

  I shrug, trying to seem nonchalant, while internally yelling “yes” at the top of my lungs. I haven’t really wanted to do anything, other than eat, work, sleep, and try to avoid Dr. Tomlin since I’ve been back. And speak of the devil, as if on cue, Dr. Tomlin walks in and smiles at me.

  “Hey, Zoe, what are you up to this weekend?” he asks as he pours himself a coffee.

  “Off to Miami,” I answer without even thinking.

  Cami smirks at me from behind him, and I want to look at her with my dagger stare, but Rick is blocking me.

  “Oh?” Rick asks as a look of disappointment crosses his face.

  “Yep, girl trip,” I say as I start toward the door.

  “Well, have fun,” he says. “We’ll have to catch up when you get back. I’d love to hear about your trip to the Galapagos.”

  “Yeah, sure,” I answer as I do my best to make a quick exit.

  Cami runs out after me. “So, I take that as a yes, you want to go to Miami?”

  I roll my eyes. “Yes, beotch, I want to go to Miami. Text me the deets.”

  She laughs. “OK, but bring your party clothes because we will be going out every night!”

  I chuckle as I walk back to the nurses’ station. By the end of my shift, I have my flight booked and my hotel room paid for. Three nights in Miami sounds like fun, and maybe I can find some eye candy to stop me from thinking about Cody.

  Chapter 7

  Zoe’s Playlist: “Woman” by Ke$ha

  I throw myself down on the bed in my hotel room. It’s beautiful, and I love everything about it. We decided to stay on Key Biscayne at the Ritz Carlton. Cami said we needed a few nights of luxury. It’s pricey, but the three of us aren’t married, and we work crazy hours, so we have some spare cash. I sit up and look around my room. Aside from my nice king-sized bed, there is a dresser, bedside tables, a small desk, and a lounge chair with an ottoman by a sliding glass door that leads out to the balcony. I decide to explore my bathroom first. There’s a giant soaker tub and a window with a view of the ocean. I smile and start the water in the tub. Might as well get this vacation started on the right foot, I think as I pull out a small bottle of champagne from the mini bar. I pour myself a glass and walk out onto my balcony. The salty air blows my hair to one side, and I smile as I look down at the pelicans that are feeding in the waters right off the beach. I internally “cheers” myself, and then give myself a pep talk about how great this weekend will be and how I need a girls’ weekend to clear my head. It’s just what the doctor ordered!

  I slip out of my clothes and into my tub. I turn on the jets in the tub and situate my back against one of them. It feels amazing and my muscles finally start to relax. I pour more bubbles in, knowing full well Jacuzzi and bubbles don’t mix, but I decide I don’t care. I need to be a little reckless. The bubble bath feels luxurious, and I’m nearly asleep when my phone rings.

  “Yep?” I answer without even looking at the phone.

  “Get your ass down here, we are starting the pre-party at the bar,” Cami demands and then hangs up immediately. I laugh and crawl out of the tub. It takes me a good thirty minutes to get ready. I throw on a new cute dress and some fun heels and put my hair up so that it’s off my face.

  Cami and Lena are sitting at the bar when I arrive. They scream “we’re on a girls’ getaway” in their sexy party dresses.

  “Get over here and catch up, beotch! We are already on our second,” Lena says as she sips a martini.

  “Aye, aye, party cruise captain,” I say as I order myself an amaretto sour. Three drinks later, we hop in a limo that Lena had decided we absolutely needed for at least one night. I believe her exact words were “We are staying at the Ritz. We don’t do cabs.”

  I laugh at the memory as Cami pops open a bottle of champagne, and we sip and enjoy the ride. We pull up to a popular discotheque and go to get in line with the others when I stop in my tracks as goose bumps form on my arms. I sense him before I see him, and I immediately turn around before I can stop myself. Walking up to the bouncer is none other than the hottie I banged on vacation, Cody. I panic for a split second. Do I run to the end of the line and hide? Do I make up some bogus excuse why we need to go to a different club? Do I walk up to him and kiss the shit out of him? Before I can decide on my next move, Cody’s head turns, and his eyes meet mine. A smile spreads across his face, and he crooks a finger at me. Well, this isn’t going how I planned.

  I walk over to Cody who has two other gentlemen with him that appear to be a few years older than him. Both are attractive, and I notice neither is wearing a wedding ring. I feel Lena and Cami’s eyes on my back.

  “Fancy meeting you here,” Cody says with a smirk and raised eyebrow.

  “Likewise,” I answer, trying to sound cool and unassuming.

  Cody looks behind me at my friends. “You ladies going into this club?”

  “Oh, well, we were considering it. Why? Would you recommend it?” I ask, batting my eyelashes.

  Cody’s smirk increases. “Raul, these ladies will be joining us tonight.”

  The giant bouncer, who is seriously so big, I’m pretty sure his neck has its own area code, nods in our direction and opens the door for us. Cami and Lena give me a look that I can only read as “sweet, Zoe knows hotties that are connected, and we are about to party like rock stars.” I roll my eyes at them and follow Cody inside.

  We are led to the back of the club. Another bouncer nods at Cody and pulls back a rope so that we can go down a hallway at the back of the dance floor. Then we walk up a flight of stairs, and we are suddenly in a private space above the dance floor. There are low sofas surrounding big circular coffee tables. There are a few lounge chairs and a small private bar. Farther down the room there looks to be two or three similar alcoves. One of them has people in it. In front of the bar, there’s a smaller private dance floor and balcony that goes out over the main dance floor below. Cody motions for us to take a seat.

  “What would you like to drink?” he asks, leaning in toward me so that I can feel his breath on my ear.

  I try to keep my lips from curling up as I lean over toward him. I watch his gaze slip toward my cleavage. Once my breasts are sinfully close to his chin, I lean in and whisper in his ear, “Sex on the Beach.” I keep my eyes trained on his neck and watch as he swallows hard.

  I start to pull away, and he grabs my wrist and looks into my eyes. God, I’ve missed those eyes. They’ve haunted me in my dreams over the past few weeks. Never has a one-night stand stuck with me like he has.

  “That can be arranged,” he says with a smirk and lets go of my wrist. I sit down on the sofa next to him. A waitress comes over and takes our drink orders. The girls order more martinis and the men all order some manly drink like scotch or whiskey.

  Cody introduces us to his colleagues, Jeff and Mike. They work with him on a project near here. I introduce them to Lena and Cami. I give them another once-over and confirm that they really are good-looking, and I know the ladies will enjoy themselves tonight. They can use it and frankly so can I, of course, I really wanted to have a fun vacation fling to help me forget about the former vacation fling that has conveniently reappeared on my current vacation. Seriously, I’m so fucked. I look back at Cody who is eyeing me with intrigue.

  “So, what brings you to Miami? I thought you had some project in South America,” I ask him.

  “I do. I had an issue with a project up here. I was in Bogota and decided to hop on a plane and come up here for a day or t
wo to make sure everything got worked out. I was going to leave tomorrow night and head back.”

  “Oh?” I muse as I take a sip of my drink that the waitress has brought to me. “You were going to leave?”

  “Yes, I was,” he says with another smirk.

  My mind wanders, and I realize he’s come from Colombia, where Lily is at right now. Other than the “I made it here” text, I hadn’t heard from her. It’d been about a week or so. I look at him quizzically.

  “Your project is in Bogota?”

  “Well, no. My project is in Ibague, but I’ve been in Bogota attending to another project that we are getting started on soon. I came up here so fast that I haven’t even called Lance to tell him I’m here. Shit, I probably won’t even bother since I’ll be back in another day, and then I’m heading to Ibague the next day.”

  “Wait, hold the phone. You guys are in Ibague?” I am suddenly speechless.

  “Yeah, why?”

  I shake my head in disbelief. “That’s where Lily is.”

  I see his eyes widen, and he starts laughing.

  “Hey, what’s so funny?”

  He shakes his head. “The universe.”

  I smile at him.

  “Can you do me a solid and give me Lily’s phone number?” he asks.

  I lean my head to one side wondering if I can trust him. I look into his eyes and something tells me, yes, I can trust him. I ask for his phone, and I punch in Lily’s number.

  “Lance is going to owe me, big-time,” he explains as he looks down at his phone.

  I raise my eyebrow, and he smiles at me. He types something on his phone and then turns his attention back to me.

  “What are you doing here?”

  “Girls’ weekend,” I explain, motioning to my friends.

  He nods. I decide that if the universe finds it amusing to toss this amazing sexy man at me yet again, I might as well have fun with it, or maybe that’s the copious amount of alcohol coursing through my veins.

  “Ladies, shall we go dance?” I ask, taking another long draw of my drink. Cami and Lena seem torn between flirting with the men sitting by them and shaking their booties on the dance floor, but they had wanted to dance, so we all stand, and I excuse us as we head downstairs. The small dance floor up here only has a few people and something about clubbing makes me want to get lost in the sea of people.

  We get out on the dance floor just as the DJ kicks up a house version of a pop song I like. The three of us start moving to the music, and after a few songs, I begin to feel my drinks, and I loosen up and lose myself in the music. I close my eyes and let myself enjoy the movement of my body. I feel free and excited to be out having fun and slightly intrigued by the presence of Cody. For once in a very long while, I feel young, and I sense the night holds many exciting adventures and I am ready for them.

  After a few songs, I open my eyes as I feel someone looking at me. My gaze moves up toward the balcony and the VIP section, and I can see Cody standing there watching me. His eyes are dark and his gaze intense. Our eyes lock for a brief moment, and then I purposefully close mine again and let my body move to the music, only this time I turn it up ten notches because I know I have an audience.

  “Jesus, girlfriend, you better watch it or some guy’s going to haul you off the dance floor and have his way with you,” Cami yells in my ear. I laugh and keep dancing. When I open my eyes again and look up, Cody is gone. I’m slightly disappointed. I decide to let it go, and I continue my dancing, closing my eyes once more.

  Suddenly, I feel arms come around me. Goose bumps form on my skin as the hands lightly touch my arms. I know it’s Cody before I can even open my eyes. His smell and the feel of his body are embedded in my head, and I can’t get rid of them. I open my eyes and turn around to face him. He looks down at me with a stare that could light a city on fire. Well, I guess that “sexy dancing thing” worked.

  I smile at him and nonchalantly turn and begin to dance, my hips and ass grinding back against him as I sway to the music. I can feel his erection and it only spurs me on to dance closer to him. I’m pleasantly surprised that Cody can dance, I mean really dance. Before I know it, he has me doing tango and salsa moves that I barely remember from three ballroom dancing classes I took on a Groupon last year. For a moment, I forget about the crazy sexual pull between us and I’m just having fun. People part a path for us on the dance floor and I’m swept up in Cody’s strong arms as he leads me. After two songs, I throw my head back and laugh as he dips me. He pulls me up close to him in a Dirty Dancing style of dance. Our lips are dangerously close to one another.

  “I love that sound,” he breathes against my skin.

  “What sound is that?”

  “You, laughing,” he says. I smile shyly at him trying to keep myself from blushing.

  “You’re a good dancer,” I say.

  He shrugs. “I was in my friend’s wedding a few years ago and they made us take dance classes, so they could have one of those big crazy dance shows at their wedding. I guess I remember more than I thought I did.” He leans his lips close my ear. “You have some pretty good moves yourself.”

  I laugh. “Club rat in college,” I explain. He nods, and we dance in silence for a song or two, our eyes never leaving the other’s.

  I realize I’m getting a little sweaty from all the dancing. And, truth be told, the intensity between us is getting to be too much for me.

  “I need a drink,” I yell in his ear over the music from a speaker that is quite frankly way too close to us.

  He nods and as I turn to head off the dance floor, I feel his hand come to the small of my back. Cami and Lena are dancing with Jeff and Mike and look to be having a great time. I smile at them as I walk by and Cami flashes me a special wave that is our girl’s version of a “thumbs-up.” I laugh and walk back up to the VIP lounge. Cody motions for the waitress, and she brings us another round of drinks and some waters.

  I sit back on the sofa and let my head fall against the cushion. My feet are killing me, and I could really use a shower. I feel the sofa give as Cody sits down next to me. I look over at him and smile.

  “So, what are you ladies doing tomorrow?” Cody asks as he takes a sip of scotch.

  “Don’t know,” I answer as the waitress hands me another Sex on the Beach. “Maybe just hanging out at the beach. Our hotel has a great waterfront area.”

  “Oh really, where are you staying?” he asks.

  “The Ritz,” I answer nonchalantly. I see him try his best to not smile. Oh, dear God, he knows. “You knew that didn’t you?”

  He shrugs. “I may have seen you earlier.”

  “Of course, you did,” I answer dryly. Part of me is annoyed and other part says “fuck it, and just have fun.” He places a hand on my arm as if sensing my annoyance.

  “You’re upset,” he states as his thumb rubs my arm.

  I look at him. “No, I…” For the first time in a while, I’m speechless. I don’t know what to say or do. I can feel the heat radiating off his body, and I can smell his cologne and I can’t think straight. I want to kiss him and run away from him at the same time.

  He places a hand under my chin and forces me to look at him. “What’s going on in that pretty head of yours, princess?”

  He leans in closer almost like he’s about to kiss me, but then the spell is broken by the arrival of our friends.

  “Come on, guys, we’re going to the beach,” Cami says as she sways into my shoulder and holds on to my head, so she doesn’t fall.

  “Geez, Cami, way to hold your alcohol,” I murmur.

  “Oh, Zoe, you’re so funny,” she says as she slaps me on the back.

  I look at my phone and see it’s after one in the morning.

  “Guess we’re going to the beach,” Cody says as he leans back and says something else to his friends.

  I stand up and excuse myself. I find the nearest bathroom, which is a small private one off the VIP room. I look at myself in the mirror and give my
self a pep talk. I can do this, no big deal, it’s just the beach. It’s one more night and then poof, Cody will disappear again.

  I walk back out and everyone is downing their drinks. I walk toward the stairs and feel Cody come up behind me. I feel his presence all the way down the stairs, past the dance floor and out the front door. Cami has called our limo and it pulls up as we exit. We all pile inside. It’s much cozier with six of us in it. Cody’s thigh brushes against mine, and I will myself to push my feelings aside. Cami cranks on some music and makes the limo into a dance party in no time, and I can’t help but laugh as Lena falls over trying to dance as we turn a corner.

  “Seriously, girls, let’s try to not check out the ER facilities while we are here,” I scold them. They wave me off and keep up their funny antics until we pull into the Ritz. As we get out of the limo, Cody leans over to me.

  “We’ll meet you down by the beach in about thirty minutes,” he whispers in my ear. I nod and do my best to steer my two friends up to their suites which is a rather large undertaking since they are both bombed off their asses. I manage to get them both in bikinis with cute hoodie cover-ups. I throw on a bikini and a pair of shorts and a sweatshirt. Maybe if I’m not so cute, he’ll lose interest and then I can move on to fresh meat tomorrow, I think to myself.

  We head down to the beach, and I can see a small fire set up farther down the beach with some chairs. Cody is standing by the pool and motions for us to come over toward him.

  “I took the liberty of having the hotel set us up a fire pit,” he says as he motions toward the fire. Of course, he did.

  The girls squeal in delight and start toward the fire. I feel Cody’s hand go to the small of my back again, guiding me toward the chairs. I take a seat and look around. He’s thought of everything. There are thermoses of hot beverages, sticks for roasting marshmallows, and of course everything you need to make s’mores. I do my best to refrain from rolling my eyes. Cody pours what looks like a coffee concoction into six glass mugs. He hands me one, and I take a sip. I smile as the warm liquid slides down my throat. It’s coffee with Amarula.