Loving Vivienne: The Publicist, Book Six Read online

  Yes, she had a book she needed to finish. Well, actually, needed to start writing, but deep down—so deep it was a place she rarely visited—was a thought she tried desperately not to entertain. She wanted a life, a real one. Kate, as busy as she was running a publishing house, was a prime example of having it all. Viv wasn’t sure she would ever able to pull it off.

  Gregory squirmed on her lap, wanting to get down. He was walking well—no, mostly running—which Nick insisted was going to give him heart failure one of these days. Once Gregory was safely occupied with a toy, Viv looked up to see her brother was walking toward her with a glass of champagne, Kate just behind him.

  “Let’s do a toast,” he began, still standing, and Viv took it as her cue to stand as well. He lifted his glass. “To my über-talented little sister, who is doing amazing things with her life.” He beamed proudly and Viv swallowed, hard. She had done only one amazing thing, and that had been a total fluke. But instead of correcting him, she gave him a peachy return smile and clinked glasses with him, and then with Kate.

  “Now,” Kate sad as she sat next to her, “you’ve got to tell us what it was like to work with all of those amazing actors. Is Bradley Cooper as handsome in person as he in the movies?”

  “Hey,” Nick teased, “are you going to cast me aside for Brad?” He sat opposite his sister and Kate and flashed her his brilliant, handsome smile.

  “Never,” Kate said and winked at him, “You’re much better-looking than Brad.” And Kate wasn’t kidding. She’d told Viv his nickname at the chain of health food stores he owned was “Bradley,” a nod to Mr. Cooper himself; and, in fact, several of the folks he employed had crushes on her husband they weren’t the least bit ashamed of nor tried to hide.

  Viv’s favorite story was from the last time Kate visited one of Nick’s stores. Steven, the newly hired head of organic produce, was swooning over his boss.

  “Mrs. Lavigne,” he began. “You are sooooo lucky. Your husband is absolutely swoony!” Kate laughed when she told Viv how Steve then threw her an “if he ever decides to play for the other team, I’m first in line” grin, complete with wiggling eyebrows and a nudge.

  Yes, her brother had his fans, and his wife was so secure it didn’t trouble her at all. In fact, she seemed to enjoy the clowning.

  “So what are your plans now that you’re home?” Nick beamed.

  She sipped her champagne, hesitating for a brief moment before saying, “I’ve planned a little vacation.” At that Gregory giggled and reached his chubby arms out to his aunt. Kate handed him off as the intercom buzzed.

  “That’ll be dinner!” Nick got to his feet with an eager grin. “I asked our chef to deliver tonight’s meal so you,” he looked meaningfully at Vivienne, “can tell me if you think it’s good enough to hold its own.” Nick had just started incorporating food delivery into the many things his stores offered. Food delivery was a huge market, and also fiercely competitive in New York, but he’d hired an excellent, experienced chef who’d come up with some unusual menu items. He was hopeful he could pull it off.

  Kate threw Vivienne a raised-eyebrow look. “I wanted to cook, but your brother is excited about having us try out some of the new stuff they’re offering. So we’re having gourmet pizza with Belgian Gouda cheese, smoked ham, cured onions, and peaches. I hope you don’t mind not having a home-cooked meal?”

  Viv kissed Gregory on his head and said, “I love your cooking, Kate, but right now I’m just glad to be here.”

  “Though not for long,” Nick said, opening the front door. They could hear the elevator chime and the doors slide open. “Where are you going for vacation? Somewhere not far, I hope.”

  Viv sighed, bracing herself for the inevitable, but thankfully Nick was distracted by his delivery person. After he closed the door, he carried the savory-smelling bags to the kitchen and started getting out plates and utensils.

  “I’ll get dinner set up; you ladies relax,” he said while he opened the delivery bags and the scent of dinner wafted in from the kitchen. “Now, Viv, what’s this vacation about?”

  Viv shrugged and threw Kate a nervous look, “I just want to get away, and I’m taking Evie and Samantha.”

  Nick raised an eyebrow. “Hurricane Samantha?” he said, using his nickname for Viv’s wild friend.

  “They’re my best friends,” Vivienne insisted, and they indeed were, though Sam had earned her brother’s nickname. Several times over, in fact.

  “We’re going to Costa Rica, and I’ve already bought the tickets,” Viv blurted, nervous and mad at herself for not being more adult about the whole thing. It was her trip, her money, and she was an adult—something her brother often forgot.

  Nick stopped what he was doing and looked at her. “Costa Rica, isn’t that a little far?”

  Viv rolled her eyes, “Seriously, Nick. It’s a week, and, yes, it’s a plane ride, and I’ll be fine.” Out of the corner of her eye, she caught Kate suppressing a laugh.

  “This sounds fabulous!” Kate chimed in, winking at her. She knew all too well how overprotective Nick could be.

  “Isn’t there some political unrest there?” he asked, clanking the plates a little too loudly.

  “In Costa Rica?” both women hooted at the same time, and Kate broke out laughing.

  “Nick, honey, I love you, but really, it’s going to be so great for her to get away with her friends. I bet after the grind of the past few months, she needs the break.”

  “You always hear about single girls going to these places and disappearing,” Nick said, his voice a little tight.

  Vivienne got up, holding her nephew close for moral support. “It’s an enormous five-star resort, Nick. Nothing bad happens at five-star resorts.”

  “Hmpfh,” Nick said, putting the plates down on the dining room table. He lit three candles on the table that sat in a votive holder Kate bought during their honeymoon. “Okay, let’s eat,” he said with less enthusiasm than when he asked the first question. Then he asked, “When do you leave?”

  “Next week,” she said while she set the baby down in his high chair. Gregory immediately decided to play drums with his tray, signaling that he, too, was hungry.

  Viv walked over to her brother and nudged his arm with her shoulder. “I love you, brother dear, and I love that you worry about me, but I’m very excited about this trip.”

  Nick hugged her to his side. “Yes, I know I can be ridiculous, but underneath the concern, I truly do hope you have a great time. Just not too great.”

  5

  A week later, Vivienne was standing on one of the most beautiful and pristine beaches she’d ever seen. The stunning white sand must have stretched for days. Though she spent a lot of her time on many Southern California beaches, she’d never seen anything as beautiful as this. Costa Rica was magnificent.

  “I am not at all sure I like what this humidity is doing to my hair!” said Samantha, who was already semi-clad in her skimpy excuse for a bikini with a scarf of the same color tied around her slender hips. Viv and Evie both wore more modest one-pieces.

  Their beachside resort was combination of hotels and cottages scattered across the landscape, and most of the cottages had their own patios and ocean views. Viv rented two of them—a small one for herself, and the other one a two-bedroom. She offered to take turns in the single cottage, which was actually more of a suite, but the girls insisted she take it. It was probably not a bad idea, since it might allow her, in her off hours, to keep working on her book.

  Yeah, right, she thought.

  In the week she was home she made very little progress and had considered, more than once, calling Kate to ask if she could get her deadline extended. But she decided not to. She would see how much progress, if any, she made by the time she got back from the trip, and then she could break the bad news to her sister-in-law only if absolutely necessary.

  The girls found three vacant lounge chairs together, and Sam tossed her towel and beach bag down on one of them.
/>   “I’m going to order cocktails,” she chirped. “You having the usual, Viv?”

  Viv nodded. “Yes, please.”

  Sam sauntered over to the beachside bar, a rustic but welcoming cabana with six stools that were never completely vacant. She ordered a vodka tonic with a squeeze of lemon for herself, always cautious of those calories. Then she ordered two margaritas on the rocks for Viv and Evie. While she was gone, Viv and Evie ordered some tortilla chips and pico de gallo from room service to snack on and were already grazing when Sam got back with the drinks.

  Thanks to a short-term stint as a cocktail waitress, Sam had no trouble carrying three drinks, and Viv had seen her carry five. She stood up to help Sam with the drinks and handed one to Evie.

  Evie licked the salt on the rim of her glass and picked up where she and Viv left off. “So, did you want me to look into any adventures, like snorkeling, or any tours? Or should we just lie here all week? I’m fine with whatever you decide.”

  Viv took a quick sip of her drink, set it down, and then nodded toward the clear, blue ocean. “Right now the water is calling to me. Anyone else want to come?”

  Sam took a sip of her drink and shook her head.

  “I’ll hang out here, too, for a bit,” Evie said, grabbing a chip. Viv sauntered down to the ocean, then inhaled deeply and looked around, letting the warm water lap at her feet.

  Gazing out across the water, she let the wavelets lapping at her feet pull her worries and exhaustion out to sea and into the distance. The color of the sea, almost a transparent, jewel-toned blue, was more breathtaking than she’d expected, and the beauty of the water held her almost mesmerized.

  Eventually she waded in, and when the water was up to her thighs, she dove, eager to swim farther out. She wanted to body surf, which she hadn’t done since she and Nick used to ride the waves together as kids in California.

  Out farther, past the cresting waves, she heard voices drifting across the water, which then were muted by the crash and rumble of the waves.

  Behind her, the water buckled and she quickly positioned herself to grab the swell and ride it in.

  What? Something pulled her down, tugging gently at first, and then harder. In a flash, Viv was sucked under. She bobbed up to get a breath but was yanked down again almost immediately.

  Kicking and struggling, desperately needing to breathe, she surfaced again, mouth open to yell for help, but another wave crashed on top of her, tumbling her down, down, down yet again. No, mustn’t swallow the salt water, mustn’t inhale—where is up? There! A ray of sun. She followed the ray up, her lungs screaming for air, her legs burning from the struggle.

  Finally she surfaced, coughing and sneezing, and tried to get her bearings...

  She was alone. How could she have been so stupid? Maybe Nick was right and she shouldn’t be let out without a babysitter.

  She tried to call for help, but she could only croak, her voice too hoarse from coughing to yell.

  Again the undertow inhaled like a giant of the deeps and pulled her down, this time harder and deeper. Her mouth was closed, thank God, but the current was strong. Too strong.

  When the ocean released its grip this time, she bobbed to the surface in front of a wave she hoped she could ride in, but the current pulled her under again almost immediately.

  Heart hammering, lungs seizing, she accidentally gulped in more water, this time swallowing some of it.

  Exhausted, disoriented, she blinked at the stars dancing in front of her eyes. And the water was so clear beneath the waves that she could see all the way to the bottom, which was racing up toward her.

  An abdominal spasm said time was running out, and she kicked and flailed and paddled madly toward the surface. But she was tired, so tired. It was tempting to relax and let the ocean carry her.

  Oh God, what if this is it? What if I die here in Costa Rica? She shook her head hard and forced herself to concentrate on getting to the surface again. She struggled up and up and up. Before there was time to gasp in a full breath, another wave hammered her down again.

  Her lungs burned, her legs burned, her eyes burned, and her heart set up a crazy, erratic rhythm. And she was weak, too weak. Eyes and thoughts starting to fade, her lungs ready to take over and inhale any moment, and she could no longer control her own body. Panic took over, her arms and legs flailing uselessly, fighting against something wrapped around her wrist.

  She was able to focus briefly while she struggled against whatever it was, but then she realized something—no, someone, arms around her waist—was pulling her up toward the light. The surface? Or had she died and her soul was going toward the light?

  Then she felt air on her face and her lungs took over, inhaling with great, gasping whoops. She coughed and hacked and threw up a bit of seawater, her eyes still closed.

  “Come on,” a male voice said. “It’s going to be fine. I’ve got you.” She was being pulled along in the water, and could feel the panic slowly drain away from her limp, exhausted body.

  “I’m going to carry you up onto the beach,” the male voice spoke again. “You’re going to be fine.” He sounded calm and assured.

  Vivienne felt herself being lifted free out of the water, and she dimly heard a garble of voices around her. Was someone calling her? Warmth seeped in from the arms carrying her and from the warm shoulder where her head rested. She tried to lift her head, but the fatigue. She couldn’t. Just couldn’t.

  Then she was lying on something scratchy and flat.

  “Stand back!” her rescuer commanded. “Give us some room! Can someone get these people to stand back?”

  He tipped Vivienne’s head back and pressed his mouth to hers, pushing air into her lungs while compressing her chest rhythmically. That was all it took. She coughed and gagged and threw up more salt water, and a bit of her lunch, mucous and water pouring out of her nose, eyes tearing and burning.

  “Oh, God, Vivy!” Evie cried, her voice wobbling. “Why are her lips blue? We’re her friends, Sam and I, we came with her.”

  “Miss, do you feel discomfort or pain anywhere besides your throat and sinuses?” the man asked while he held onto her wrist a finger against her pulse.

  Vivienne, who was still coughing, tried to sit up, to open her burning eyes, so she could answer him.

  “Stay down,” he ordered. “I’m a doctor, and I’m here to help. I’ll do everything I can to make sure you’ll be fine.”

  Through the screen of her eyelashes she watched him look up, shielding his eyes from the sun. “Can you get someone to bring one of those beach umbrellas over here?”

  “I’ll get it.”

  Vivienne recognized Sam’s voice and managed look to the side in time to see one of the hotel staff already headed her way. Word of the nearly drowned woman had spread quickly.

  Vivienne finally opened her eyes fully while the umbrella was being positioned next to her lounge chair, and another of the hotel staff brought water, towels, and a robe.

  “Oh, Dr. Fiore, thank God you are here. Shall I call an ambulance?” The hotel manager was there, too, clearly nervous because one of his guests nearly drowned. The man tending to Vivienne ignored the manager, focusing on his patient.

  “What’s your name?” he asked, and Evie blurted out, “Vivienne. Her name is Vivienne.”

  He nodded and smiled patiently, “Thank you, but I need to hear it from her.”

  “Vivienne,” she croaked, and immediately began coughing, her insides knotting and spasming again.

  “Nice to meet you, Vivienne. Lovely name. My name is Daniel, but folks around here just call me Dr. Dan.” He bowed slightly and added, “At your service.”

  And though Vivienne was still muddled and unfocused, she didn’t have to be a rocket scientist to notice how unbelievably handsome this man was.

  “Th-Thank you,” she said hoarsely, “v-very much.”

  He had deep brown gypsy eyes, almost the color of chocolate, and one of those smiles you see in the movies. Perf
ect, flawless, and really hot.

  He began to check her for other things like breaks and numbness.

  “Can you tell me what year it is?” he asked.

  “Two thousand and sixteen,” she said quickly, and he nodded.

  “It’s the undertow. I’ve told these hotels they need to post more warnings about going too far out during certain times of the day.” He twisted to look up at the hotel manager, who nodded with a nervous, guilty smile.

  “Now that you’ve caught your breath, where is your room? We should get you there.”

  “We’re in the cottages,” Evie told him. She then turned to Viv, “Oh God, Vivy, we were so scared for you. One minute you were there and the next…” Tears spilled over and trickled down Evie’s cheeks as her voice trailed off. Sam took Viv’s hand and patted it, trying to provide some comfort.

  “I’m fine,” she coughed again.

  “You’re not fine,” Daniel said, “but thankfully you should be. Now let’s get you back to your room so you can rest in private.” He scooped her up. Without any effort, mind you.

  “I can walk,” she protested softly.

  “You cannot, and you will not. You need to rest, at least the rest of the day and night.” Then he nodded to Sam and Evie, “Ladies, show me the way.”

  “We can get a wheelchair!” the manager offered, but Daniel ignored him. Probably because getting a wheelchair across sand would be harder than carrying her.

  Daniel carried Vivienne back to her room, her body cradled against his naked chest. His perfect, naked chest, with just a dusting of hair in the right places. The rest was, well, hard and tanned.

  Once they reached her suite, Sam unlocked the door and pushed it open. Daniel carried her through to her bathroom and set her on her feet, watching her carefully.

  “Do you think you can manage a quick, warm shower?” he asked gently. “You’re probably feeling chilled, and you’ll sleep better if you’ve rinsed off the sand and salt water.”

  Sam popped in. “I’ll help her, Doctor. Doesn’t that shower sound good, Vivy?”

  Vivienne nodded, only now aware that she felt cold to her bones. How surprising, considering the balmy temperature.