A Fare To Remember: Just Whistle\Driven To Distraction\Taken For A Ride (23 page)

Sabina nuzzled his chest, laughing softly. “We’ve probably passed each other on the street, maybe even sat in the same subway car or stood in line at the grocery store together. And we may have gone our entire lives without ever meeting. But that morning on the sidewalk, it was as if there were outside forces at work.”

“Maybe there were,” Alec said.

“Or maybe everything does happen by chance.” Sabina looked down into his eyes. Alec pressed a kiss to her forehead. “Why do you want my grandmother’s building?” she asked. “Why is it so important to you?”

“We don’t need to talk about this now,” Alec said.

“It’s like the elephant in the room,” she replied.

“It’s business.” He ran a fingertip along her shoulder to her breast, then slowly circled her nipple. “This was pleasure.”

“Was it? Or are you hoping that if you spend enough time with me, you’ll convince me to help you out with your plan? That won’t happen, you know.” Her words contained only a trace of teasing humor. She was looking for assurances.

“Is that want you think?” Alec murmured. He pushed up on his elbows. “Do you regret what just happened?”

“No. I wanted it as much as you did. I’m just wondering if we wanted it for the same reasons,” Sabina said. “I’ve lived here my entire life. This isn’t just some building to me, this is my home. And I don’t plan to leave it anytime soon.”

“You feel safe here,” Alec said.

“I do. These people are like my family. The Wilburns have lived here thirty-five years. They were both teachers in the public schools. And Mr. Harcourt had a little shoe repair place just around the corner. He’s lived here for almost forty years. And Mrs. O’Keefe was a nurse. Her husband died last year. They moved in here on the day they were married in 1963.” Sabina paused. “They helped raise me.”

“Sometimes it’s good to make a break with the past, to start a life of your own.”

Sabina rolled her eyes. “Pot, I’d like to introduce kettle. You’re not the one to make that point, Alec. You work for your father.”

“Technically, he works for me now. And if I had to, I could make a living anywhere.”

“This is where I chose to make my life,” Sabina said. “Near my grandmother, and our friends.”

“And what if you had a reason to leave?”

“What possible reason would I have to leave?” Sabina asked. “Money? I have all I need for now.”

“What if you got married?” Alex challenged. “Moved to a new city, a new state?”

“And why would I have to move? Why couldn’t my husband live here with me?”

Alec glanced around. “It’s a little small for a family, don’t you think?” The moment the words left his lips, Alec regretted saying them. He wasn’t planning their future together, he was merely posing a hypothetical question. Still, he was desperate to know where he stood with her.

Did Sabina consider this just a simple one-night stand? Or did she imagine them in a relationship, falling in love and then getting married? For so long, he’d avoided even the thought of commitment. But now Alec understood the allure. To spend every night in bed with a woman like Sabina would be like a little slice of heaven on earth.

He pulled her closer, tucking her backside into the curve of his body. “I like your apartment,” he said, his lips pressed against her shoulder. “It feels like a home.”

Sabina sighed as if willing to give up the argument for now. Alec closed his eyes and let his thoughts drift. It did feel like home, lying in her bed with his arms wrapped around her naked body. This was all a man really needed out of life, he mused. He could be satisfied with this and nothing more.

But Alec knew from experience that sooner or later reality would creep back in. For him, it had always been sooner. But this time, he’d found something special, something he was willing to protect at all costs.

Sabina wriggled in his embrace. “Why are we talking about this?” She tossed the covers back and crawled out of bed. “I’m getting dressed and then I’m going to go fetch us dinner. You can relax.”

“I’ll come with you,” Alec said.

“No,” Sabina said. “You’ll just slow me down with those crutches. And I’m starving. Thai or pizza?”

“Thai,” he said. “Noodles with peanut sauce.”

“To drink?”

“Beer. Always drink beer with Thai food.”

She grabbed a light cotton dress from her closet and pulled it over her, then slipped into a pair of sandals. Bending over the bed, she gave him a quick kiss. But Alec slipped his hand around her nape and held her close, lingering over her lips for a long moment.

“I’ll be back in a few minutes,” she said.

As he listened to her leave, he realized just what had happened in Sabina’s bedroom. He’d crossed a line, stepped into something that he’d never experienced before. He didn’t want to spend a single minute away from her. Already, the world seemed empty without her near.

Alec rolled over and stared at the ceiling. Was this what love felt like? He threw his arm over his eyes and cursed softly. He thought when it finally happened to him it would come slowly, giving him time to be certain of his feelings. But this had hit him like the express train to Brooklyn, knocking him flat on his ass and jumbling his senses.

CHAPTER FIVE

A
LEC STOOD IN THE HALLWAY
outside Sabina’s apartment. She’d left the apartment an hour earlier to tend the shop, telling him she’d bring coffee and bagels back once Chloe arrived for work. He’d spent the past four nights in her bed, falling asleep with her in his arms, then rushed back to his house the next morning to shower and change before work.

But today was Saturday, and he’d decided that now would be a good time to settle things once and for all. It was time to shoot the elephant in the room, or at least move it to other quarters. Alec reached up to rap on Ruta’s apartment door, but it swung open in front of him before he could touch it.

She stood in the doorway, dressed not in her Gypsy costume, but in a simple pair of trousers and a teal polo shirt. She looked so young, her gray hair drawn back into a ponytail and her feet bare. Alec was drawn to her eyes, the same pretty violet that Sabina’s were.

“You have come to talk to me,” Ruta said. “I have been expecting you.”

Alec observed her dubiously. “How did you know I was here?”

“I felt your presence,” Ruta said.

“Or you were watching out the peephole?” Alec asked.

Ruta gave him a grudging smile. “Not much goes on in this building that I do not know about.” Her blunt words made her meaning perfectly clear. She knew he was sleeping with Sabina and she wasn’t pleased. Still, she hadn’t cursed him, that was a positive sign.

“We need to talk,” Alec said. “We need to sit down and discuss an offer for this building. I’m not going to badger you like my father did. I ask that you listen and then give me an answer one way or another. I promise I’ll make a fair offer if you’ll give me a fair hearing. May I come in?”

Ruta nodded. “I think you are a gentleman like your grandfather. It is good you do not take after your father. He is a jackass.”

Alec chuckled. “I’d tend to agree with that opinion.”

He followed Ruta into her apartment. Though the layout was a mirror image of Sabina’s place, this apartment was decorated like the interior of a Gypsy wagon.

Rich fabrics draped the walls and windows and an assortment of bizarre items cluttered all available surfaces. A stuffed raven perched on the mantel and a jar full of black pebbles sat on a table near the door. He crossed the room and stood by an ornate Victorian sideboard, examining an intricately carved box, inlaid with ivory.

“This is beautiful,” he said, running his fingers over the top.

“It belonged to my mother,” Ruta explained. “She carried it from the old country. It was filled with all her charms and potions.” She crossed the room and opened the box. She held up a necklace with a small clay pendant on the end. He’d seen Sabina wear one much like it. “This is the charm my mother used to catch my father.” She pulled out another necklace. “And here is the charm that I used to catch my own dear husband. And I gave it to my daughter when she met a man she wanted.”

“And they worked?” Alec asked.

Ruta nodded. “We fall in love fast in our family. I expect Bina will be the same, once she finds the right man. It will happen like a thunderbolt.”

The old woman was very wise. It was no wonder so many came to her to help them solve their problems. She charged far less than a Manhattan psychologist, but she seemed to know human nature just as well. “I didn’t know my grandfather well,” Alec said. “But I can understand why he gave you this building.”

Ruta reached out and took Alec’s hand, giving it a pat. “He was a fine man. A man who loved his wife as much as any man I have ever met.”

“He died when I was nine,” Alec explained. “My grandmother died five years later. I always remembered how happy they were together. You were part of that.”

Ruta shrugged. “Your grandmother would have gotten well whether I told that fortune or not. Her fate was not in my hands.” She pointed to the sofa. “Let us sit down and you will tell about this deal of yours. I will listen and then I will politely refuse you. Or perhaps, this time, I will change my mind.”

“Would you really consider that?” Alec asked, stunned by her admission.

“If the terms are right. But I have terms of my own. I would expect you to take good care of all of my tenants.”

She sat down on the sofa and he sat next to her. “We’d be prepared to find them new places to live, together if they’d like. And they would get a generous settlement that would make them all very comfortable.”

“And if they wanted to stay?”

“I think I could arrange that,” Alec said. He leaned forward, catching her gaze. “Why sell now? What changed your mind?”

“It was something my friend Mario said,” Ruta explained. “As long as I am here, Sabina will feel tied to this place. It is time she set out on her own path in life and stopped following mine. She is a very talented designer, but she is stuck here watching after me and the people in this building. This is not the life I want for her. If I sell, I can give her the money to start her own company. I can give her a future.”

“Maybe this is the life she wants,” Alec said.

Ruta reached out and took his hand again. But this time, she turned his palm up. She traced the lines with her fingertips. “I think you are falling in love with my granddaughter,” she said. “Or are you in love with her already?”

“You can see that there?”

Ruta laughed softly. “No, I see it in your eyes when you look at her. In the way you stand beside her as if you are ready to protect her from anything that might hurt her. You watch out for her the way my husband did for me.”

“It’s crazy, I know,” Alec said. “We’ve known each other just over a week. The moment we met, she had me. For a while, I thought she might have put a spell on me, but now I realize that she’s just the most wonderful woman I’ve ever met.”

“Perhaps it was your destiny that you meet.” She frowned. “I must speak to your grandfather about this. I am certain he would approve.” She turned his hand over and gave it a pat. “So, Alec, what do you plan to do about this?”

Alec braced his elbows on his knees and studied the lines in his palms. “I don’t know how she feels. I don’t think she really trusts me completely.”

“Do you blame her?” Ruta asked.

He shook his head. “I guess not. But I’m happy to wait until she does.”

“Good. Then, let us talk terms. Tell me your offer.”

They talked for a long time, Alec outlining his proposal and Ruta countering with her own ideas. She was a tough negotiator, but she was also fair, understanding his point of view on each matter, though not necessarily agreeing. He sketched out each of the conditions of the sale on the back of a manila envelope, and when he was done, he handed it to her.

Ruta slowly read the outline, then nodded. “This will do.” She took the pen from his hand and scrawled her signature on the bottom. “I am satisfied that you have dealt fairly with me. You are a good man and George would be proud.”

Alec took her hand, but instead of shaking it, he pressed a kiss to her wrist. “And you are a beautiful woman, Mrs. Lupescu.”

“Alec!”

They both turned at the sound of Sabina’s voice. A moment later, she appeared in the door. “Alec?”

“I’m in here,” he said, rising from the sofa.

Sabina walked inside, frowning. She glanced back and forth between Alex and her grandmother. “What are you doing in here?”

“Mr. Harnett and I have been discussing his offer to buy my building. We’ve agreed on terms.”

Sabina gasped. “What?”

“Do not worry. You will not be homeless, Bina. In fact, you will be a millionaire several times over. I plan to give you enough to start your own company and to settle you in a new apartment. You can sell all those pretty things that you make. And maybe you will be famous.”

“No!” Sabina cried. “How could you do this? This is our home.”

“And I am getting too old to care for it. It weighs on my mind, Bina. And it is time to let it go. Besides, your Alec is offering me a very fair price.”

“
My
Alec!” Sabina shouted. She turned to him. “Is that what you told her? Is that why she’s selling to you, because she believes there’s something between us?” She turned to her grandmother. “Don’t do this.”

“The decision is already made, Sabina.”

She stared long and hard at Alec, a look of utter betrayal on her face. She spun on her heel and walked across the hall, slamming her apartment door shut behind her.

Alec sighed deeply, then turned to Ruta. “Maybe this isn’t such a good idea.”

“No, it is. Time to push this chick out of the nest. She has gotten far too comfortable with her life here.”

Alec folded the manila envelope in half. “I’ll have the papers drawn up. But first, I’m going to go explain this all to Sabina.”

Ruta touched his arm. “Leave her alone for now. She has many things to think about. I am sure she will see the wisdom in this.”

At first, Alec didn’t want to heed Ruta’s advice. But she knew Sabina far better than he did. And if he’d learned anything from the Gypsy woman over the past few days it was that she had a good sense of people’s emotions. “I’ll call her tonight.”

“Wait until tomorrow, or even the next day,” Ruta said. “Make her wonder if you’ll ever call again. And then when you do, she will realize how much she has missed you.”

Alec nodded, then walked to the door. Though it went against every instinct he had, he passed by Sabina’s apartment door and took the stairs to the lobby. When he reached the street, he paused, wondering if he ought to tear up the agreement and toss it in the nearest garbage bin.

But if Ruta didn’t sell to him, then sooner or later she’d sell to someone, someone who might not treat her tenants as kindly as he would. No, this deal was for the best. And if Sabina never came to realize that, then he would be sorry for it.

But he had to trust that her feelings for him were as strong as his for her. If not, then there was really nothing to lose at all.

“I
DON’T UNDERSTAND HOW YOU
could do this,” Sabina said.

She sat on the floor of the shop, a box of candles in front of her. Unpacking them seemed like a silly waste of time. Why was she even worried about sales when the shop would be just a faint memory by next year?

“You do not think I have a right to live the rest of my life in comfort, knowing that I have enough money to make you happy?”

“How could you think this would make me happy?”

“It gives you your freedom, Bina. You can do what you want with your life. You can open your own store or you can travel or you can sit in a room and sulk while your money earns interest at the bank. I do not care. Just find whatever it is that makes you happy and grab for it.”

Sabina picked up a ylang-ylang candle and sniffed at it, letting the scent slowly seep into her. Mixed with myrrh, the resulting blend was meant to put a person in touch with their sensual side. She didn’t want anything to do with that side of her personality. That’s what had gotten her into this mess in the first place.

She snatched up a lavender candle and inhaled the soothing scent, then closed her eyes. Images of Alec swirled in her mind and she cursed softly, then dropped the candle back in the box. She couldn’t ignore the fact that she missed him. Every night she went to bed determined not to dream of him, and every morning she woke with a strange, empty feeling inside her.

“When is this all going to be final?” she asked.

“He sent the papers over yesterday,” Ruta said. “I had my lawyer read them and he says they are all in order. No tricks or fine print.” Ruta held up the envelope. “I was hoping you might deliver them for me.”

“No.” Sabina shook her head. “I don’t ever want to see that man again. He used me and then he betrayed me. If I hadn’t let him into our lives, this never would have happened.”

“What? I never would have sold the building? Believe me, Bina, I have been thinking about that for a very long time. Or perhaps you are talking about something different. If you wouldn’t have invited him in, you wouldn’t have fallen in love with him. Is that it?”

“Don’t be ridiculous. I don’t love him.”

“But he loves you,” Ruta said. “I made sure of that.”

“What are you talking about?” she asked, getting to her feet and dusting off her hands.

“The charm I gave you,” Ruta explained. “It worked. And then I gave him the potion that night when he was lying in your bed. It was in the tea.”

Sabina’s jaw fell and she stared at her grandmother. “You put a potion in his tea? Damn it, Nana, I told you, no more potions!”

Ruta shrugged. “It was just a little potion. But it did the job.”

“And you think I’m happy about that? Why would I want to trick a man into loving me?”

“It is no trick, it is just a bit of encouragement. It gave him time to realize that you are the woman for him. Believe me, some men would never get there on their own.”

Sabina grabbed the envelope. “This whole thing has been a nightmare and I just want to put an end to it once and for all. I’ll take the papers over there and that will be it. I’ll never have to set eyes on Alec Harnett again.”

But as Sabina walked to the door, she knew that she’d still see him every night in her dreams. It would be years before she’d put this mistake behind her and move on. Maybe her grandmother was right. She needed a fresh start, perhaps in a new city where she wouldn’t have to worry about running into Alec on the street.

She glanced down at the envelope. Fifty-ninth Street between Park and Lexington. She could catch the F train and be outside his building in a matter of minutes. But as she walked to the subway stop near Washington Park, Sabina began to worry.

What if her grandmother was right? What if he did love her? And what if she refused to see those same feelings in herself just to prove a silly point? So he’d accomplished his goal—he’d bought her grandmother’s building. Did that really negate everything they’d shared?

He’d made such a point of separating business from pleasure. But could he make that disconnect, or was that just a smoke screen to lure her in?

The subway was stifling, the air humid and close. Sabina found a seat and closed her eyes, the rocking of the car relaxing her. If she had anything to say to Alec, then perhaps it was best to get it done and get on with her life.