One Foolish Night (Eternal Bachelors Club #4)

The word sliced into her and sent a wave of adrenaline through her veins. His hand came up again, and she glimpsed a wedding ring on his finger. “What would your wife say if she found out what you were doing in San Francisco?”


He halted in his movement in an instant. “My wife? She doesn’t care who I fuck. And right now, I’d like to fuck you.”

“Never!” she ground out, and prepared to defend herself.

He pushed her against the wall of the pool house. Holly lifted her knee and aimed for his groin. Her kick hit air when the drunkard was jerked back.

“Leave her alone!” came Paul’s angry voice. “Fucking drunk!”

“Stay out of this!” the drunk growled, and jabbed his elbow back, thrusting it into Paul’s chest.

Behind them, people had started to turn their heads to watch the exchange.

Paul gripped the guy by the collar and jerked him around. “I said, leave my girlfriend alone!”

“Girlfriend? She’s a fucking hooker!” the man yelled.

Paul’s face distorted from stunned surprise to rage, while his fist swung at the guy as if on autopilot. But despite his inebriated state, the man sidestepped him and stumbled closer to where more guests had gathered. Everybody seemed to be looking in their direction now, the conversations suddenly silenced.

“Yeah, a fucking hooker!” he yelled again, pointing at Holly.

Holly wanted to sink into the ground.

“Shut your fucking mouth, or I’ll shut it for you!” Paul yelled, and swung again.

This time his fist connected with the guy’s face and whipped his head sideways. The drunkard stumbled and fell against a passing waiter carrying a tray of drinks. Holly watched as the waiter lost his balance. Two hands reached for the tray and took it from the falling waiter’s hands so the drinks wouldn’t crash to the floor. Holly stared at the man with the quick reflexes: Jay.

Then her eyes went back to Paul and the man who had accosted her.

The man wiped blood off his mouth and glared at Paul. “Yeah, a two-bit hooker. That’s all she is! What are you paying her, huh?”

Paul looked as if he were seeing red and pounded his fists into the man in such quick succession that his opponent couldn’t even lift his arms in defense. All the drunkard could do was step backward to try to escape Paul’s unrelenting fists. But there was no escape.

With Paul’s next punch, the man stumbled over the ledge of the pool and fell in. Water sloshed over the edges, splashing onto some of the guests who stood close. A collective gasp went through the crowd.

“Paul!” His mother screamed.

Paul’s head jerked up to see his mother, who glared at him and then turned her gaze on Holly. “Is this true? Is it true what he said?”

“He attacked Holly!” Paul ground out.

Holly stared at the party guests, who all stared at her now. They had all heard the drunkard’s words, accusing her of being a hooker.

It was dead silent now. The only thing that could be heard was the sloshing of the water in the pool, as the drunk tried to keep his head above water.

Paul’s mother pointed at Holly. “Somebody remove that woman from my property!”

Holly didn’t wait for anybody to approach her, but turned on her heel and ran down the path that led to the beach.

“Holly!” she heard Paul call after her, but she didn’t slow her pace.

The jig was up. Everybody knew what she was. She couldn’t stay here. Not now, not when everybody was pointing fingers at her and looking at her with disgust.

When the breeze from the ocean hit her face, she realized that she was crying. But no amount of crying could undo what had just happened.





27


Tara stared at the shocked crowd, then her eyes drifted back to the man struggling to keep himself from going under. She couldn’t believe what she’d just witnessed. Had the man in the pool really accused Holly of being a hooker? Well, it didn’t matter right now, because from what she noticed, it looked like the man either couldn’t swim or was too drunk to remember how.

“Isn’t anybody going to help him?” she asked, looking at the party guests.

When she received only blank stares in response, she slipped off her high heels and dove into the pool. She didn’t mind the cold water as she swam to the man who needed her help. When she reached him seconds later, she put her arms underneath his armpits and started treading water.

“I’ve got you. Don’t move.”

But the man kept kicking and moving his arms. She struggled to keep hold of him and quickly kicked her legs, maneuvering herself and the guy toward the shallow end of the pool where steps led up to the deck. By the time she reached it, other guests came to her aid and helped her pull the man out.

Tara breathed heavily and plopped down on the closest lounge chair. She was instantly aware of the fabric of her thin chiffon cocktail dress clinging to her body and looked for a towel, but there was none. All the towels that were usually strewn about the pool area had been removed before the party. Great! Now everybody would be gawking at her. She sighed and her eyes fell on a tray of drinks a waiter was holding. That was what she needed now.