Don’t you just love Maggie?
Regina began to lose her patience. “Mr. Bennet, can you please let me go?” “No, tell me you’re going to end this tonight.” Owen blocked her every move, and the more she pushed, the more he backed her into the corner. “I’m not doing anything wrong.” “Yes, you are, Regina. You are sleeping with a married man.” “Whoa! Whoa! Whoa! Sleeping? First, I’m dating, and now I’m sleeping with him?” She felt angrier about being misjudged. “I can tell you this is further from the truth. I am not sleeping with Raffy, and we are not cheating on Maggie.” It pissed him off some more that they were on a first-name basis, and she had a nickname for the doctor. “No? Then just promise me you’ll end this now.” “There is nothing to end.” “End it.” He glared, but she was too stubborn to explain their situation or yield to his demand. “And if I don’t?” She taunted him, goading him into getting angrier. “I’ll give you another reason.” “Good luck with that because—” Owen gave her a warm, breathless
That same night, as Regina paced around her bedroom, she heard the intercom ring from the lobby. ‘It must be them. Shit! Should I ignore them? They’re probably here to scold me.’ “Ms. Regina,” Jeffrey, the doorman, phoned to tell her she had a guest. “Yes, Jeffrey?” “There’s a Mr. Owen Bennet here to see you.” ‘Of course, it’s not Raffy. They wouldn’t have announced their arrival. They’d just come up.’ “Ms. Regina? Should I send him away?” He asked when she failed to acknowledge him. “Send him up.” “Are you sure? It’s kind of late, and you’ve never invited anyone upstairs before.” He whispered into the phone. “Thank you for your concern, Jeffrey. I’m too tired today, and I have to talk to this guy privately.” “But Ms. Regina—” “It’s okay, Jeffrey. He hates me like the plague, so I doubt he’ll do anything,” she argued. Jeffrey looked at Owen with scrutiny. He doubted the gentleman hated Ms. Regina, as he carried the most beautiful flowers Jeffrey had ever seen. It looked
“Okay, I made sure Mr. tall, dark, and handsome is nowhere to be found. I even braved to check his office to make sure.” Marius looked around and made sure none of the household staff were within hearing range either. He opened and closed doors as they readied Mrs. Bennet for her afternoon exercise. “Who are you talking about, Mandy?” “Whatever it is you’re asking, my answer is no.” Regina glared at Marius. “No? But I haven’t asked my question yet.” “What is the question, dear? Ask me. I know a lot of things.” “I know what it is, and the answer is still no.” “What are you saying no to, Mandy? That man on the couch with you?” Regina caught Mrs. Bennet and her not-so-subtle wink, but she was thankful Marius was intent on asking his question and missed a very juicy gossip. Regina signaled, zipping her lips, and Mrs. Bennet nodded before giggling. “So my question was, could anyone ever resist his charms? Then I would have followed with, could you?” “And since you answered no—“
A few weeks ago, Mrs. Bailey woke up with enough energy and motivation to do the usual things she did around the house, so she requested Regina to accompany her shopping. During her heyday, she was a fashion icon. Paparazzi would follow her around to find out her latest attire, what she loved to eat, and who among the designers she favored. She had an expert eye for spotting potential newcomers, so designers always sent her stuff to try, but Hailey always loved being out in the mall. It excited her to see clothes on mannequins and bags displayed on the shelves, calling for her to take them home. Like Regina, she had an obsession with purses, and because she had a disposable income, she just bought everything she fancied. “Regina, do you have the latest Dior purse?” Regina was checking out the fragrances to distract herself from looking at the purses. It was not in her budget to buy one right now when she just splurged on the Gucci purse she had on her arm. “It’s painful to l
“Welcome to Tesoro Cafe. How can I help you?” A female server cheerily greeted Owen as soon as he approached the counter. “I want to talk to the owner of this cafe.” “Hi, I’m Jason, and I own this cafe. How can I help you?” Jason replied, though just one look at Owen told him looking for the owner early in the morning would end in a disaster. “I believe you are a friend of Regina’s.” “Who are you?” Jason’s defenses were up at the mention of her name. “I want you to wrap up all her favorite breakfast items immediately.” “You cannot buy her affection with pastries. She’s much classier than that.” “You bribe her with favors and these sweet things all the time. That’s why she’s here every day, isn’t she?” Owen smirked. “That’s none of your business.” Jason’s eyes narrowed. “It is my business because she is important to me.” “If she was so important, why did you let your mother order all those things and leave Regina with the bill?” “What? I thought my mom took care of those. Re
“Thank you for bringing me breakfast. You want to take some of it home. I can’t finish all of this.” Regina was trying to dismiss him, so she could get back to relaxing, but he couldn’t take the hint. “Sure,” he nodded. “I heard you ran in the mornings, so I wanted to go with you.” “Are you implying I’m fat?” Regina was on her 2nd pastry and wondered when he was leaving. “It’s the weekend, and I try to rest for the next two days.” “That’s fine with me. We can stay in all day. I bet we have a lot to explore about each other.” He grinned mischievously, like a man with ideas in his head, and all of them required getting naked. “Your idea of a date is not fun,” she mumbled while chewing her food to avoid replying to his sexual innuendo. “It’s okay if you’re not up to it. We can take a walk so you don’t get left behind.” “I see what’s happening. You fed me pastries so you can outrun me.” Owen laughed. “No. I got those because I didn’t know what you ate for breakfast. There’s ham and
Regina swam all the way to the other side, expecting Owen to stay on the sidelines when she got pulled back under the water. She turned around, and Owen pushed her back up to the top. She sputtered water while laughing and threading the water on the deep end to keep afloat. “You’re awful!” “And you are a big tease.” Owen splashed more water on her. They did several more laps before ending up on the lounge chairs, exhausted from all the exercise. After lying in the sun a bit, Regina took out all the pastries Owen brought with him earlier and served more iced tea on the patio table. “I can show you the bathroom if you want to get out of your wet clothes.” “My workout clothes have moisture-wicking qualities. They’re already dry.” “I’ll take a shower later after you finish eating.” “Well, I eat slow. I want to relish the food and enjoy the outdoors.” “I’m not complaining.” “Being at the hospital all day got me cooped up. The only time I saw daylight was when I took a break. I
“My sister is a character, isn’t she?” Owen nodded and waited for Ronnie to say more, anticipating the lecture he knew was coming. “Regina is the youngest member of my family, and my parents gave up hope of ever having a daughter until she came. I was a teenager when she arrived, and she was the most precious thing I’ve ever held in my arms, so you understand why we love her a lot. It is also the reason we get protective.” Ronnie poured himself a mug of coffee and offered Owen one when they walked to the kitchen to sit at the counter. Owen never thought of Regina other than as a blonde bimbo who was out to get him and his brothers, but getting some input from her brother changed his perspective. Now he could see her as a sister with very caring brothers. There were three of them in the pictures, and now he could see how she got her spunk to speak up to him. “I understand,” he answered. “I trust Regina, and if she said nothing happened here today or last night, then I will believe