Between Friends (39 page)

“I think I’ll lay low for a while. Maybe if she doesn’t hear from me she’ll figure out that my life doesn’t belong to her.”

“What if she doesn’t come around?”

“I love Mom, but … that’s her problem.”

Dallas chuckled in disbelief. “You’re willing to risk excommunication for Alikah?” He laughed. “Wow.”

“Well, if it wasn’t Alikah, it might be some other woman. What if she had been white?”

“Well?” she prompted.

“Okay, I get it. Same thing. I’ll let you know how things go with Mom.”

“Night, Dean. Good luck.”

She hung up and wondered about the call. Dean had never been one to seek advice from her about his love life. Maybe this woman was going to be the real thing. Or close enough that he had the strength of his own convictions.

Dallas poured a mug of coffee before she went to the office. She was making up the futon for Alex when she heard him behind her. She turned to find him standing with a towel wrapped around his waist. Another was draped over his shoulders. She noticed that Alex’s chest, like his eyebrows, had almost no gray hair in it. Alex lifted the towel and began to briskly rub his head, causing the strands to spike on top. There were fresh black and blue contusions on his shoulder and arms. More on his rib cage and thigh. Probably from the rescue, Dallas guessed.

His bone-deep weariness made his movements slow and lethargic. She didn’t feel any embarrassment or discomfort from his naked state. After all, this was not the first time. She silently pointed out the mug on her desk. Alex lifted the cup and took a long swallow.

“Thanks,” he murmured, his voice hoarse and thick. “I needed that.”

“Or a shot of whiskey. But I don’t have any,” she teased quietly.

He grinned tiredly at her. Alex glanced down at himself. “Sorry. I should have pulled my pants back on at least.”

“I don’t mind,” Dallas said smoothly.

“I wasn’t trying to be fresh or anything.” He shook his head. “Maybe I should just shut up before I say something really out of line.”

“Maybe you should just go to bed and get some sleep.”

He nodded. While she finished the bed, he glanced over the papers and things on her desk and bookcase. He found a bracelet made of plastic multicolored hearts and held it up with a questioning rise of his brows.

It was a painful reminder to Dallas. “It belongs to Megan. She left it on her last visit.”

He turned it over thoughtfully, drank more coffee. “Did Valerie stay, too?”

Dallas opened a closet and pulled out a pillow from the top shelf. She fluffed it and threw it casually on the futon. “Yes, but they left early.” She looked at him. “Do you want to call her? Let her know where you are?” Alex stared back at her, but she wasn’t uncomfortable under his scrutiny.

He shook his head. “No, I don’t. I want to tell you something.”

“You’re tired. It can wait until tomorrow.”

“It can’t.”

Dallas stood with her arms crossed as Alex sat on the edge of her desk and wearily rubbed his hand back and forth through his damp hair. She focused her attention on the center of his chest. “What is it?”

“I’m breaking it off with Valerie. I’m not in love with her.”

Oh, my God,
Dallas thought. “Why are you telling me this now?”

“Because you need to know. Right now.”

Her gaze raised to his, and she felt her heartbeat jump. “Have you … told her this?”

Alex flexed his jaw and shook his head. “Not yet, but it’s coming.”

The way he was staring at her was beginning to make Dallas nervous again. She felt as if Alex was drawing her to him with an invisible power that, nonetheless, felt inexorable. She felt no resistance. “I … don’t think I want to …”

“There’s someone else.” She didn’t respond. “Don’t you want to know who?”

She shook her head. “No … no, I …”

“Dallas …” he interrupted.

“I’ll get you some more coffee.” She took the cup and quickly left the room.

Her heart was racing, and she felt too hot. Alex was too close. But the emotions that coursed rapidly through her were a mixture of light-headedness and anxiety. As if she knew this moment was coming but had ignored it. She took her time to pour the coffee. Dallas was afraid to return to the room. She was afraid
not
to.

By the time she got there, however, Alex had discarded the towels and gotten into the makeshift bed. He still had Megan’s bracelet banded around the four fingers of his left hand. And he’d fallen asleep.

Watching Alex, Dallas felt a constriction in her chest. She admitted to herself that what she was feeling for Alex Marco was significantly more than mere friendship. Perhaps it had been there for as long as she’d known him. But that didn’t mean that all was right with the world. There were still more questions than answers, not the least of which was, would she and Alex have to redefine what their relationship was?

“… There was a dramatic rescue this afternoon, when a news helicopter went down in New York harbor with the pilot and a local reporter on board. Unfortunately, the pilot is being reported as dead, drowned, apparently, when he was unable to release his safety belt. Several teams of divers from the police department and the coast guard were aided by two ex-navy SEALs who operate a dive shop and sometimes conduct advanced training to police scuba-diving units. Mark Mackenzie was on the scene near the East River heliport when the body of the pilot was brought ashore. Mark …”

Lillian gasped, and her hands covered her mouth as she saw the hazy camcorder image of men in black gear. They were being assisted with their equipment as the reporter attempted to interview them.

“Oh, my god! Vin … wake up. Look.
Look!
It’s Alex …”

Vin started awake next to his wife as Lillian placed her hand on his shoulder and shook him.

“For Christ’s sake, Lilly. What’s the matter?” Vin turned over and struggled into a half-sitting position. “You sick or something?”

“Vin, it’s not me. Look. There’s a report on TV about a rescue. It’s Alex, Vin. Alex was there …”

“What are you talking about?” Vin muttered. Still dazed, he watched the quickly changing images on the screen. “I don’t see Alex.”

She nudged him in his arm. “There! Did you see him?”

A shot of Alex appeared on screen as he pulled off his mask and breathing apparatus. He still wore the hooded top, but there was no mistaking him.

“Listen to what they’re saying about him. He was in some special team in the navy, Vin. He never said anything about that before. Alex helped with some crash in the river today …”

Vin squinted and stared. Finally, he reached blindly for his glasses and perched them on his nose.

“… dangerous attempt under adverse weather conditions. Again, there is one confirmed death, that of the copter pilot, and two men hurt and removed to area hospitals, although we haven’t been told how serious the injuries are. Reporting live from the East River Pier on Thirty-fourth Street, I’m Mark Mackenzie. Now back to the studio …”

Lillian burst into tears.

Vin sat up. “Lilly, what? Why are you crying?” He tried to comfort her.

Lillian rejected him as she covered her face and sobbed. “He could have been killed today. I can’t stand it. I couldn’t take it if … if Alex …” She turned on Vin, her eyes watery and blazing with anger. “I want you to stop, you hear me?”

Vin gestured helplessly. “Lilly …”

“You listen to me, Vincent Marco. When I fell in love with you, I didn’t ask you first if you were Italian. I didn’t ask your sister who fathered her son before I said we’d raise Nicky like he was our own. I didn’t hate you when I found out that Alex was your child. You don’t ask those things, and you don’t place blame when you love people. Alex is your
son
!”

Vin collapsed against the pillows, looking bewildered and tired. He shook his head. “I know …”

“Well, you don’t act like it. When are you going to stop blaming him for your mistake? When are you going to see that Alex is a good man? He doesn’t want anything from you but for you to accept him as your son.”

“Lilly, please …” Vin whined, unable to defend himself against the truth. “You’re right.”

“I love you, Vin, and I’m sorry to say this to you. I know you adored Nicky. I know you adored your baby sister … but … but …” The tears rolled down her face. “Nicky wasn’t half the man Alex is. You know that. You
know
that. Maybe if I … I could have had children …”

Vin took his glasses off and sighed wearily. He pulled Lillian into his arms and absorbed her anguish. “Don’t say that. You know it doesn’t matter to me. I love you. Please don’t cry, Lilly. I’m sorry.”

“Alex could have been killed today. Oh, Vin … we could have lost Alex, too.”

Vin stared at the screen. The anchors had moved on to another report, but he wondered if they would repeat the story about the rescue mission in the river. He wanted to see it again. Not because he didn’t believe it, but because it confirmed what he would never allow himself to admit. Just like Lillian had said. Alex was, in every way, a son to be proud of. The kind of son he’d always hoped for.

Dallas was irritated when the doorbell sounded early the next morning. She was already awake, but that didn’t make it okay for Dean to show up.

There was no time to get dressed. She hurriedly donned a silk floral robe from behind the bathroom door. Dallas went barefoot down the hallway to the front of the apartment. The doorbell buzzed a second time as she reached it. She absently ruffled her fingers through her damp hair and tightened the belt around her waist before unlocking and opening the door. She was prepared to light into Dean, and was thrown off guard when she found Burke standing on the welcome mat.

For a long moment she stared wide-eyed at him, unable to fathom why he was there. He was dressed as urbanely as ever, fresh and alert for a day of business. He seemed not contrite but somewhat cool and aloof, as if this were just another matter of business. No consideration for her time or feelings.

“Good morning,” he drawled.

Still Dallas stared at him and realized that it might have been weeks since she last thought about Burke.

“What are you doing here?” Dallas opened calmly.

He raised his brows and spread his hands. “That’s all you have to say? I knew you’d be up. I figured I’d catch you before you left the house.” He casually swept his attention over her undressed state.

“This isn’t a good time,” Dallas responded. Under his scrutiny she touched the front of the robe to make sure it was closed securely. She stood partially behind the door, using it somewhat as a barrier between them. “You should have called first. I …”

“So you could put me off? I thought I’d extend the olive branch, or whatever that saying is.” He stepped toward her. “Aren’t you going to let me in? I can’t stay long anyway.”

“I’m getting dressed …”

A small knowing smile lifted a corner of his mouth. “Come on … I’ve watched you get dressed before. I’ve seen you without a damned thing on.”

His saying so seemed particularly off base to Dallas. She debated just closing the door in his face. But that was childish.

He put his hand on the door. “Come on, Dallas,” he said with a touch of asperity. “I’m here and this will only take a few minutes.”

She hesitated, and then stepped back to allow Burke to enter.

“Thank you,” he said sarcastically, heading for the living room,

Dallas followed angrily behind. He settled himself on her sofa, crossing his legs. She remained standing to make sure that Burke understood she didn’t consider this a long visit.

“Why don’t you sit down? You act like we don’t know each other.”

“I’m not sure that we do. Maybe we never did.”

“Why? Because you wanted something different from the relationship than I did? Don’t say I led you on, ’cause you know that’s not true.”

She flushed at his admission but kept her expression neutral. “You’re right.”

When she didn’t take the bait and become argumentative, Burke sighed and shook his head. “I thought you knew where I was coming from. We had a good thing …”

“
You
had a good thing. I didn’t make demands. Not that it would have mattered,” Dallas commented. “I only wanted you to not treat me as if I was here for your pleasure and convenience.”

Burke’s foot began to shake nervously. “You got something out of it, Dallas. I taught you a lot.” He looked smug. “Your ex-husband didn’t know a damned thing ’cept how to beat on you.”

“Burke, you don’t want to go there,” Dallas warned softly. “You never treated me the way he did, but there is very little difference between you and Hayden.”

He leaned forward and pointed his hand at her. “Hey … I don’t have to take that …”

She pointed to the door. “I didn’t ask you to come. What do you want?”

“Look … I’m sorry about the past few months. I’ve been under a lot of pressure. This job is coming through like I wanted, and I’ve been running around like crazy.”

She crossed her arms over her chest. “Congratulations.”

Burke stared at Dallas and finally shook his head. “Man … you are really going to be difficult. I came to tell you what’s been going on. Things can be different now that I have this job squared away. Now we can see each other …”

“No.”

He narrowed his gaze on her. “What? You trying to punish me or something because we haven’t been together lately?”

Dallas placed her fingertips at her temples, thinking. “Look … let me make it easy for you. We won’t see each other anymore. You were too busy to think about us for months. I’m too busy to care what or who the reason is. So why don’t we just say good-bye right now?”

Burke bounded up from the sofa. His eyes sparkled with impatience. “I know what this is about. You found out about Lana. She’s a new client. We signed her to an exclusive contract and were stroking her a bit.”

Dallas felt her own impatience rising. She hadn’t a clue who Lana was. Someone different from the woman at the lecture? Were there others? “Burke, I don’t want to know. Good luck with her.”

“You’re jealous, aren’t you?”

She glared at him. “God, you flatter yourself. I just said I don’t care. You’re free to go back to whatever new job or new woman you’re doing this week.”