If Paradise Was on Earth: (Huntington Beach BOOK 3) Read online

  Alice mumbled incoherently, before her eyes flickered closed, and she collapsed onto the floor.

  ***

  Fiona

  Her mother exited the main entrance door and rushed over to her.

  “Get away from her! Get away from her!” Fiona shrieked.

  The crowd slowly stepped a little bit back, and Fiona shielded Alice with her body, in hopes that no one would snap a picture of them.

  "Look what you've done! All of you, you're terrible! Get away from her!" Fiona shouted.

  Fiona tried to lift Alice’s unconscious body, and a doorman came to help get her back inside. They placed her in the waiting room of the hotel, on a luxurious two-seater couch, and tried to wake her up.

  “Go get some ice, and some water! Quick!” Fiona ordered the doorman.

  8

  Alice

  A lice finally woke up after a while, and her head hurt.

  “What? What happened?” Alice whispered.

  “The crowd outside surrounded you and then you passed out. Are you okay my baby? Are you in pain at all?” Fiona said lovingly.

  “I’m okay. Little bit of a sore head. Nothing that’ll kill me.”

  Alice sat up and down her glass of water.

  “I think it’s best to leave outback just for now. Didn't you start this movement? Why are they being so cruel to you?" Fiona whispered, fixing up Alice's messy hair.

  “Yes, good idea. You know I don’t like big crowds. Yeah, I just didn’t spread any of that information under my name, so they think I am a part of this. I may have messed up a little now. Father might be a little angry… I was a little overwhelmed and I just said stuff and spoke my mind and... ”

  “What did you say?”

  Alice paused a moment. This was a terrible mistake. Her father would likely figure it all out now.

  “I said that I don’t condone what he’s doing, and well, this is probably going to hit the local news within a few hours to a few days,” Alice said.

  “Oh no, Alice. This is bad. This is really bad. You can’t be here when he finds out,” Fiona whispered so no one else would hear.

  “Yeah, I really messed up.”

  Alice held her hand to her forehead. Her head was throbbing now and the pain was getting worse.

  “Okay, I have an idea. Stay at Richard’s for a few days until all this blows over. I’ll try to calm your father down and I will let you know when it’s safe to come home,” Fiona said.

  “Ma’am, some painkillers,” the doorman said and handed her some pills.

  “Thanks, you’re a darling,” Alice said.

  Alice and Fiona rushed upstairs to Alice’s bedroom, and they packed some of her clothes in a suitcase. She tried to pack everything, but she kept feeling like she was forgetting something. Alice made sure to bring the camera with her. They packed enough clothes for about a week, and rushed out of the back entrance, hoping Jeremy wasn’t walking around the hotel so he wouldn’t ask any questions.

  “Okay, I’ll drop you off, I don’t want you walking the streets right now.”

  Alice packed her bags into the boot of their Roll Royce, and they drove to Richard's house. Alice got out of the car, and Fiona walked with her to the front door. Fiona knocked on the door, and Richard opened it after a few minutes. He had a pair of shorts on, and no shirt. His hair was still wet and water droplets were dripping from the ends of his hair. This added a misty look to his beautifully chiseled body.

  “Oh my,” Fiona said, her mouth agape.

  “Mom! Behave,” Alice whispered.

  “Oh! Mrs. Rineheart. Forgive my indecency, I just got out of the shower. Good morning, how are you doing? What’s going on?” Richard said, looking down at the luggage bag that sat behind Alice.

  “Please, feel free to say no, I will understand. But my daughter has fallen into some… trouble and she needs a safe haven for a few days. Do you mind allowing her to stay?” Fiona said.

  Richard allowed them into the house and Alice set down her bags. Richard could see she looked shaken, and a little bit rough.

  “What happened? Is everything okay? Do I need to call the police?” Richard said, pulling on a t-shirt.

  "No, no. This is a family matter. There were some reporters out in the front of the hotel, and Alice may have said some unsavory things according to Jeremy. They'll publish it in a few days, if not a few hours, and I think Alice should be far away from Jeremy. He will blow up, and I fear his temper may be a bit too much for her to handle. I will try to speak to him, and I will let you know when it’s safe to go back home,” Fiona said.

  “Wow, okay. I would never say no, so don’t worry. I don’t mind having her here,” Richard said.

  “Thank you. Don’t get up to no good while you’re here, Alice,” Fiona teased, “And Richard, can I speak to you for a moment, in private?”

  “Of course.”

  They went into the back garden where Alice couldn't hear, and she sat with Emily.

  “Richard, you will look after my baby properly, okay? You promise?” Fiona whispered.

  “I promise. I will take very good care of her, don’t you worry,” Richard said.

  Fiona sifted through her handbag and looked through her wallet. She pulled out a few notes and handed them to Richard. It was a thick stack of money, and it had to be about five hundred dollars or more.

  “No, no, I can’t accept that. Really, it is no worry. I don’t need that,” Richard said.

  Fiona put it in his hand and closed his fist around the money.

  “I insist. It’s the least I can do, I want to help you, and anything that can make things more comfortable for you, I will do. You treat my daughter right. You deserve it. Besides, it means you can treat her to some nice dinners and outings while she’s here,” Fiona said.

  Fiona turned around to walk back into the house but turned to him again.

  “Also, are you using protection? Don’t go and get her pregnant. She wants to study and make a career for herself. She wants to be independent in her own little way, respect that. At least not until she’s ready for it!”

  Richard's face grew as red as a tomato and he felt incredibly uncomfortable. He understood where she was coming from, Alice was her daughter after all, but it was still embarrassing, nonetheless. Richard cleared his throat.

  "Yes, ma'am. We are very safe when it comes to… those things. Don't you worry about that one bit," Richard said nervously. Fiona was small and thin, but the air that emanated off of her was intimidating. She was a no-nonsense woman that spoke her mind freely. He respected that about her, and he could see a lot of similarities between Alice and Fiona.

  "Okay, good. Look how red you've gone. You're like a little lobster," Fiona teased and pinched his cheek.

  “You’re making me blush,” Richard said.

  “Also, please excuse me if this is wildly inappropriate, but you are so damn attractive. My daughter really knows how to pick ‘em. Jeremy is nothing compared to you. He’s short and chunky. But I guess that’s just something that comes with infinite wealth, huh. Good thing I’ll be divorcing him soon.”

  Richard raised an eyebrow.

  “You’re getting divorced? Really?”

  “Yup. I’ve made my decision, and I won’t be backing out of it. I have been treated with enough disrespect through the years, I am done.”

  “I am proud of you for finding the strength to do this, Mrs. Rineheart. I will be here if you ever need any help, just give me a call!” Richard said sincerely. He was growing to like Fiona’s true personality, compared to the person that she was only a few months ago.

  “Thank you. Who knows, maybe I’ll need a little hunky muscle to help me with lifting some things,” Fiona said and winked.

  Richard put the wad of cash into his wallet, and they headed back inside. Alice was busy helping Emily with a drawing.

  “Everything okay?” Alice said.

  “Yup, I was just giving him the old classic talk a parent has with their da
ughter’s boyfriend, nothing bad,” Fiona said, gathering her things so she could leave.

  "Oh no mom, you didn't embarrass me, did you?" Alice said, and facepalmed.

  “Only a little,” Fiona giggled.

  “Well, thank you for the help mom. I love you. I’ll call you when I can, and check up on how things are going,” Alice said.

  She got up from the coffee table and went for a loving embrace with her mother. They hugged tightly, and Alice sniffed her mother’s perfume. It was sweet, and florally. She was going to miss her while she was gone.

  “I love you too, be good, you two. I have to head back to the hotel so that your father doesn’t suspect anything,” Fiona said, and kissed her on the cheek.

  Fiona left, and Richard hugged Alice. He could tell she needed it.

  “Let’s go unpack your things, Alice. I have lots of space in my closet. It’ll make you feel a little better and more at home,” Richard said.

  Alice took her bags to his room and began unpacking. She selected a few dresses and skirts for her stay, as well as a few swimsuits. They may as well have a little fun while they were here, together, right?

  Richard came up and hugged her from behind and kissed the top of her head.

  “This is going to be a fun week, my sunflower. A blessing in disguise,” Richard whispered.

  “I’m really excited, I’ve never stayed longer than a night and a morning! I can’t wait.”

  Alice began to unpack her underwear into the closet and Richard chuckled.

  “So, you brought your finest sets of lingerie along to your safe house? What were you planning on doing, hmm?” Richard teased.

  “Yes, yes I did. I’m planning on doing so much,” Alice said in a sultry, seductive voice.

  Alice turned around and wrapped her arms around his neck.

  “I can’t wait,” Richard said against her lips as they kissed.

  “Oh! Richard, I brought his for you, I nearly forgot. I was on my way to bring it over before all that stuff happened at the hotel,” Alice said.

  She went to fetch it from her bag, and she handed the wrapped present to him. It was shabbily wrapped, with more scotch tape than necessary.

  “Huh, wow. Not very good at this whole present wrapping thing, are ya?” Richard teased.

  Alice stuck her tongue out at him. She’d never wrapped a present before. The house staff in Las Vegas usually did it for her before she had a chance to. So, she never really had any practice.

  “Pfft, I can’t be good at anything, Richard. You’re going to rip the paper off of it anyway, so does it really make a difference?”

  “Not at all. That’s a good point. Anyway, this is cute. I like the bow. Red’s my favorite color,” Richard said.

  He tore the paper from it.

  “Oh, my goodness, this came out way better than I thought,” Richard said.

  “I got two different pictures framed so you can put them in different places in the house,” Alice said.

  “They’re beautiful. Thank you,” Richard said and kissed Alice on the forehead. Alice’s body went warm with love and affection.

  Richard put on one his nightstand, and the other in the living room, in places that he could easily look at every day. The picture was perfect, the blue sky and the even bluer ocean in the background made Alice’s eyes pop, and it almost looked surreal with how good they looked together.

  “Daddy, that’s us! And mommy!” Emily said, and pointed at the framed picture in the living room.

  “Yes, yes it is, little one,” Richard kissed Emily on the top of her head.

  They spent the day together, chatting and playing with Emily. They went to the beach and helped her build sandcastles. Alice took more pictures and captured a lot of fond memories that Emily could look back on when she was older. Alice thought it was a little bit of a waste not to document at least some of your life - of course, remembering to still live in the moment, but it was nice to be able to have a physical photo album to look at in ten or twenty years. That was something that was lacking in the current day and age, tangible memories that could be cherished for years to come.

  They finally went back home as it started getting dark, and they got started on dinner for all of them.

  “So, what did my mom say to you anyway? I hope it wasn’t too bad,” Alice said while she was cutting carrots.

  “Uh, do you really want to know?”

  “Yes, of course, silly.”

  “She asked if we were using protection and then she told me not to get you pregnant because you want to focus on your studies and your career and such,” Richard said.

  “Oh my god,” Alice giggled.

  “And she gave me money,” Richard said, “I didn’t want it but she insisted.”

  “It’s nice to know that she understands me a little better now. She was so reluctant to let me go to college at first. I think this has been such a good thing for all of us, you know, coming to Huntington Beach. A little fresh air goes a long way, you know?”

  “Of course, I know. The beach has treated me so well, despite all my struggles and hardships, I’ve never been happier, and I want to continue providing this good life for my daughter… and you, my love. I want you in my life forever and always,” Richard said.

  “I love you,” they both said as they pecked each other on the lips.

  “So, since you’ll be staying here a while, you’ll be experiencing the mom life. Waking up early, helping feed her breakfast. Getting her dressed and bathed and fed again. As well as reading the same bedtime story to her over and over again until you’re sick of it. Are you ready for that?” Richard said.

  “I am so ready, Richard. I love Emily too,” Alice said.

  “Good. Oh! I almost forgot! Our little sunflowers have started to bloom. There are a couple of green sprouts coming out of the ground now. Only a few more months and they will fully bloom!”

  “Oh, my goodness, I am so excited!”

  A few days went by, and Alice loved every second of it. She loved waking up next to Richard in the mornings and being able to spend most of the day with him. She loved the lifestyle, the feeling of total bliss that came with waking up to the sounds of the ocean. The beautiful views she could stare at for so long in the mornings while she had her first cup of coffee. And looking after Emily was going incredibly well too. She was a good child, and she was calm around Alice. She read a toddler’s version of Alice in Wonderland, a more dumbed down version, to Emily every night before bed.

  Alice decided that as soon as Emily was old enough to read at a more advanced level, she would buy her an authentic copy of Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. She couldn’t wait for that day to come. Alice soon forgot all about her woes, feeling like this life is the one she has always lived. She was so happy, and so was Richard.

  9

  Richard

  I t had been about six days since Alice left the hotel, with no word from her mother saying that it was safe to go back yet. Alice, honestly, preferred if she could just stay at Richard’s forever. She loved cooking dinner with him at night, and she loved their ritual of stargazing at night after Emily was fast asleep.

  There was a frantic knock on the door at the early hours of the morning, and Alice and Richard were woken by it. They pulled on some clothes to make themselves more decent and went to the front door.

  “Alice! Alice Rineheart. I know you are in there. Open the door up, right now!” Jeremy shouted. He continued knocking.

  Emily walked over to them, rubbing the sleep from her eyes.

  “Daddy, who is it?” Emily said.

  Alice picked her up and rested her on her hip, stroking her hair to comfort her.

  “Richard… What are we going to do? My father must have found out where you lived,” Alice said.

  “I am not leaving until you open this door and face me, you coward!” Jeremy spat.

  Richard slowly unlocked and opened the door, to reveal a red-faced, angry Jeremy, and a cry
ing, messy Fiona. Her mascara ran down her face, and she looked so tired.

  “Alice, I'm sorry, I’m sorry, I tried to stop him, I tried, I tried,” Fiona said through sobs.

  Jeremy gave Fiona a sharp look.

  “You shut your mouth, woman,” Jeremy spat.

  “Alice, go inside. Go to the room and lock the door. Take Emily and your mother with you,” Richard said.

  Alice nodded and swiftly followed his orders.

  “Come inside, Mr. Rineheart. Sit down, you’re upset, I understand, but you can’t come to my house acting like this. I have a daughter, and I won’t stand for this kind of behavior in front of her,” Richard said, in a calm, soft voice.

  “Don’t you dare try and act kindly to me. I have a mighty bone to pick with you. Ever since you came across my daughter, there’s been nothing but trouble. You’re a bad influence on my daughter and I will not stand for it! How much? How much will it cost for you to just leave us alone?”

  Richard felt his temper rising. The mere thought of Jeremy even suggesting something like that made Richard’s blood boil. This was not going to end well.

  “How dare you even suggest something like that? Do you have no compassion?” Richard said. This Mr. Rineheart put a bad taste in Richard’s mouth.

  CONTINUE THE STORY!

  Click the book cover below to be taken to BOOK 4

  in “If Paradise Was on Earth” – Huntington Beach Series.

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