Bedmates Soulmates

The Girl's Got Cojones

Gideon stood in front of the floor-to-ceiling window, a glass of Domaine Lecheneaut Les Pruliers pinot noir in hand.

The sun was slowly sinking below the horizon, filling the sky and Gideon's heart with darkness.

He replayed the miraculous encounter that day in his head for the thousandth time.

He was on his way to dinner.

When the car stopped at a traffic junction, he turned to look out the window, and there she was, strolling down the street with her head bowed, eyes glued to her phone screen. Fate had delivered her to him, but he'd let her slip through his fingers once again.

How could he lose her for the second time?

Gideon blamed himself.

If only he'd held onto her tighter...

A knock on the door broke his reverie.

'Come in." He finished the pinot noir in one gulp.

Martin entered. 'Young Master, this is what we can find on Helen Raynor,"

Gideon had never met Kira's mother.

When he lived with the Hewitts, both father and daughter avoided talking about Helen. But four years was enough time for Gideon to piece together a picture of the woman.

She divorced Leland Hewitt when Kira was just a toddler.

There were allusions to an affair.

Helen moved to Stamford after marrying another man

Gideon had come here to talk to her.

She was Kira's mother.

She had to know where Kira was, right?

Especially now that he knew Kira was in the city as well.

Fate had given him a second chance, and he was not going to mess up again.

Gideon scanned the dossier on Helen Raynor, who was now Helen Vaughn.

A minute later, he said, 'Get in touch with her. Arrange a meeting. "Yes, Young Master."

Austyn swirled the glass of Gaja Barbaresco in hand before draining it.

He tasted none of the rich fruit notes or the zingy balsamic bouquet.

When he refilled the glass and looked down, he saw Kina's stubborn face in the deep red liquid.

'I didn't need your help to begin with!' she shouted.

The Guff's Got Cojones

He tilted his head back and emptied the glass.

When Jesse reached Club Kyo, Austyn had polished off half a bottle of red wine.

In a corner, Luca was playing billiards with a waiter.

Jesse plucked a fresh grape from a bunch on the coffee table and popped it into his mouth..

He elbowed Luca. 'What's up with our friend over there?"

Austyn occupied a long sofa by himself.noveldrama

An invisible Force barrier surrounded, him.

Two hostesses clad in skin-tight dresses hovered nearby, hesitant to approach.

'Finding answers at the bottom of a bottle,' Luca said.

"Answers to what?" Jesse stroked his chin. 'He's not moping about Deborah again, is he?'

Austyn took to drink the year Deborah passed away.

For two years after that, Jesse seldom saw the man without a glass in hand whenever they met in private.

The doctor in him wanted to snatch the glass away, but the friend in him acquiesced.

Everyone dealt with grief in their own way.

At least Austyn didn't become a raging alcoholic, Jesse comforted himself.

And Austyn

seemed to have gotten the drinking under control in the past couple of years.

He would imbibe, but not to the point of getting sloshed

The one day in a year he would allow himself to drink with abandon was Deborah's death anniversary.

When Jesse saw Austyn knocking back one glass after another, he automatically associated it with Deborah. Luca dismissed the waiter.

He held the cue stick with one hand and hooked the other arm around Jesse's shoulder.

'Not Deborah this time," he said with a knowing smile.

"Then what? Trouble at work? Jesse rejected that thought as soon as he formed it. "Unlikely. The man's unbeatable in business." ""Not business. A woman.""

"Who? That actress?"

"Wrong again."

'Can't you just spit it out? Jesse poked his friend in the ribs.

'His wife

Jesse racked his brain.

He'd met Austyn's young wife before.

Austyn brought her to Jesse's office to have her wounds checked out.

He remembered she had a pretty face and a pleasant demeanour. 'What happened? Did Austyn have a fight with what's-her-name? The Get's Get Cojones

Luca, a witness to the whole Kayleigh vs Kira incident, told the story.

Jesse gave a delighted chortle. That girl has got cojones to go after Kayleigh like that. You said Kayleigh was sent to the hospital?"

'I heard she got over eighty stitches.' Luca nodded.

'Bravo.' Jesse clapped. 'A modern-day Hua Mulan. I didn't know Austyn's wife had it in her. She looked so tiny and well-behaved, I think I'm starting to like the girl.

'I ran into Austyn at the hospital earlier,' Luca said. 'You should've seen the look on his face. It was terrifying. Made a grown man like me shudder. I asked him what was going on. He refused to tell me and just dragged me here." 'Then how do you know it's about his wife?"

'He was leaving Kira's friend's ward. I inferred."

Jesse stole another look at Austyn.

He moved closer to Luca and whispered in his ear. "You have the girl's number?"

'Who? Kira? No. Why?"

'Then call Austyn's assistant Kai. Ask him to bring Kira here." The doctor's eyes were glinting with mischief.

'For what?"

'For our sulking friend over there, of course."

Luca pondered the idea, then shook his head. 'What if Austyn doesn't want to see her?'

'Numbskull.' Jesse picked up the white cue ball and rotated it on his palm. 'Aren't you the one who told me Austyn's upset because of his wife? He clearly has feelings for her. But drinking isn't the solution. A lovers' spat can only be solved by the lovers themselves." 'Are you sure about this?' Luca was still sceptical.

'Of course, I'm sure. Now make the call.'

Luca decided Jesse might have a point.

He'd tried and failed to talk Austyn out of drinking.

Maybe Kira could.

Even if she couldn't, it wouldn't make the situation worse, right?

Before he could take out his phone, the door to their private room was pushed open.

A tall, broad-shouldered man strode in.