Free Love to Hate Her by Kristina Lorie Page A

of it.  She knew
then, she would have him.  She was right.  And, of course, it didn’t
hurt that he was handsome, and built.  The only problem was, he bored her
to tears.
    He glanced over at her again. 
They were more than half way home now and he knew he had to break the news, but
he didn’t know how.   She works so hard , he thought.  She
deserves a vacation.  
    Andrew admired Nicole’s desire to
work.  She’d insisted that until they got married she’d continue to work
and pay her own way.  She had everything he’d always wanted in a
woman—beauty, ambition, brains, sensitivity, understanding—he lost himself in
her list of attributes.  Nevertheless, he had a multi-million dollar deal
going and he just couldn’t get away.
    “About vacation, Nicole,” he
started—
    “I know!  I can’t wait!” 
She beamed at him with her flawless smile and it broke his heart to continue.
    “I know you’ve been looking forward
to it for awhile now, honey, but I’m afraid I have a big deal going through
next week and I can’t go.  The buyers are insisting I’m there.  My
hands are tied.”
    Her face dropped.  Her first
impulse was to fly into a rage, but Nikki knew Andrew would not have
that.  After all, it had taken her months to transform herself into his
ideal woman.  She had been choking down the symphony, museums, food she
could not begin to pronounce, cultural events and fine wine… She couldn’t blow
it now.  She’d have to “understand.”  What a schmuck , she
thought bitterly.
    Nicole composed herself and smiled
sweetly. 
    “I know how much your father’s
business means to you, Drew.  I understand.”  She sat quiet and still
for a moment.  And then the wheels started to turn.  “The only
problem is, this is the only vacation I get, and I had to put in for it months
ago.  Now I’ll have nothing to do…”  She gave him a sideways glance
and put her best pout on.  She knew he’d take the bait.  She wondered
what she’d get out of it this time.
    Drew was quiet for a moment. “Well,
why don’t you go without me?  We still have the tickets and you’ve never
been to the Caymans before.  You can just relax on the beach.  If I
can get through this thing quick enough, maybe I can meet you there.  The
only thing is, I can’t guarantee that.  I’m sorry, honey.  There’s
nothing I can do.” 
    Nicole thought about it.  She
didn’t have a problem going anywhere without him, but she knew he could do
better. 
    “You know I’m terrified of flying,
Drew.  I can’t do it without you.”
    Andrew sat, silently wishing a
solution.  He found one, so he thought. 
    “Alright then.  Why don’t you
go down south and see your cousin Samantha for a couple of weeks?  You
talk about her all the time.  She’ll be glad to see you and you’ll still
be on a vacation.  We’ll just switch your ticket over.  How does that
sound?”  Wow!  That was a pretty good one for a dumbass!  She
paused just long enough for him to notice.
    “Drew, I just said I don’t want to
fly without you.  It’s a great idea, and I would love to see Samantha, but
I don’t think my car would make it.”  She looked up and shrugged her
shoulders, doe eyed.  That one always worked.  And, it was always
better when he thought he came up with the idea.
    The next day there was a brand new
black Mercedes SL 550 Roadster sitting in Nikki’s driveway.

Chapter Two
     
    “Sometimes you
outdo yourself, Nick.”  She spoke out loud as she admired herself in the
rearview mirror and fixed her lip gloss.  She started the car and cranked
The Doors on the radio.  “No more of that symphony horseshit.  These
two weeks are mine .”   She laughed out loud and wondered again
how she had been so lucky as to get out of spending two weeks alone with that
sap.  It would be bad enough after they were married.
    She sped down
I-95, with the top down and her hair flying behind her.  Nikki was
breathtaking but