Open Door Marriage (5 page)

Dallas put his fork on his plate and stared at her for the longest time.
“
Tori, at least three children, if that
’
s the case.
”

“
Why
’
re children so important to you?
”

“
We
’
re educated,
”
he began, swirling a bit of lemonade into the sweet tea in his glass.
“
And we have morals, and money. Add marriage to that, then we
’
re definitely the type of people who are
supposed
to have children.
”

Tori thought about that a hot minute, then raised her glass of wine in a toast.
“
I
’
ll drink to that.
”
Then she gave him a wide smile.
“
At least until I get pregnant with the first of our
two
children.
”

Dallas chuckled at her attempt of narrowing the number down.
“
Well, I guess if I
’
m going to marry a woman,
”
he said touching his glass to hers.
“
It probably should be to a woman who
’
s always had my best interest at heart.
A woman who cares about me, and a woman who I care about, too.
”

Tori beamed as she asked,
“
So, Dallas Avery … will you marry me?
”

* * *

Tori had first suggested they elope right away and kept at it until he finally insisted that they wait until after basketball season. He paid for that delay when she began to prepare for a lavish wedding. The amount of money that Tori was spending on their wedding and the extensive amount of interviews that she
’
d been giving lately had cast shadows of doubt for Dallas on Tori
’
s true motivation of wanting to be with him.

Only in the past few weeks had Dallas realized the crucial mistake he
’
d made by saying yes to her marriage proposal without giving it the weight he normally gave the heavier decisions that affected his life.

Now they were both paying the price.

Chapter 5

9:31 p.m.

Dallas looked across at Tori as she was still trying to come to terms with the fact that her aunt had more of a claim to his heart than she ever did.

“
Did this happen …
”
Tori said, her voice trembling.
“
Did you make love to her because I said I wouldn
’
t have sex until we got married?
”

Dallas shifted his gaze to the slender, golden-skinned woman, who still looked beautiful even with the effects of pain so clearly etched in her classically pretty features.
“
I keep telling you, that
’
s not what happened tonight.
”

“
Then fill me in, because my mind
’
s running wild.
”

He grimaced, once again wondering what it was about Alicia that had caused him to almost have a serious lapse in judgment. Inwardly, he believed fate had landed him and Alicia in the same place tonight. Unfortunately, the timing of their meeting was off.

“
Sweetheart,
”
he said, watching as Tori rubbed her temple,
“
I promise you, we stopped before anything happened.
”

“
See, that
’
s what I get for letting my mother talk me into visiting all those people,
”
Tori said, shaking her head.
“
I should
’
ve been at the house when you got there and this—
”

“
Tori, you have every right to be upset,
”
Dallas said, interrupting her,
“
but that wouldn
’
t change anything. Yes, your mother saw us together, but she lied when she said she caught us in bed. You can believe her if you want, but that
’
s the bottom line.
”

As he had done throughout the last year, Dallas once again quelled his natural inclination to pull her into his arms and give her the comfort she so richly deserved. Tori had never been one for public or private displays of affection
—
something else that gave him pause about making things more permanent.
“
A year together and I haven
’
t come close to doing anything like this.
”

“
If waiting was going to be a problem,
”
Tori snapped,
“
you should have said something before now.
”

“
That
’
s not what I meant,
”
he countered in the most patient tone he could manage.
“
And let
’
s get something straight
—
you set the terms for marriage. You didn
’
t ask me, you
told
me we were going that route. And I went along with it.
”

She lowered her gaze.

He said,
“
What I was actually saying was waiting wasn
’
t a problem.
I
’
ve been celibate for an entire year and never came close to taking another woman up on what they offered
—
until today.
”

Tori looked at him with a mixture of weariness and sadness.
“
You don
’
t have to worry about it anymore. Do whatever the hell you want.
”

Dallas was never one for knockdown drag-out fights.
His parents had years of vicious verbal fights that had left a stain on his soul and he
’
d vowed never to get into it with anyone that way
—
whether in his professional or personal life.

Dallas stood, straightened his slacks, swept through the room and went for the door.
“
Good night, Tori.
”

“
Where
’
re you going?
”
she asked, moving from the sofa to perch on the edge of the dining table.

“
I shouldn
’
t stay here.
”
He held up his hand to ward off her verbal attack.
“
I have some things to sort out.
”
Taking in the defeated set of her shoulders, he added,
“
I thought I was doing everything right. Got back in church, got my career going with an NBA contract, was ready to make my best friend my wife. None of my plans included hurting you in any kind of way.
”

Tori glared at him as she said,
“
You can
’
t go without telling me. I need to know what really happened.
Mama said you were naked. Aunt Alicia was naked. Tell me.
What happened?
”

He sighed.
“
I
’
d just come out of the shower. I walked into the wrong room. Alicia was already in the bed. I didn
’
t know she was there,
”
he said. He decided to leave out how close they
’
d really come to making love, not wanting to hurt her even more with all of the intimate details.
“
Bernice walked in the room and
assumed
that we
’
d slept together,
”
Dallas continued.
“
I. Didn
’
t. Make. Love. To. Alicia. Tonight.
”

“
But you wanted to,
”
Tori challenged, waving her hand in the air.

Dallas stared at the diamond on her left hand that took him hours of working with a designer to create. His answer to her statement was,
“
Keep the ring, the condo, and the car. I
’
ll have everything paid off and moved into your name.
”
When she didn
’
t respond, he pressed on.
“
And I
’
m going to put some money in your account. I don
’
t want you to have to worry about anything while you
’
re starting your residency. I owe you at least that.
”

Tori blinked twice. Her pink lips opened and then suddenly closed. Several moments later, she finally found her voice.
“
Are you ending our relationship?
”

“
Tori, let
’
s be honest,
”
he said slowly.
“
We
’
re friends. Great friends, but we need to leave it at that.
”
He moved forward to continue his path to the door, but was halted by her voice.

“
Wait, but … I …You said our friendship is what made our relationship so special,
”
Tori stammered.

“
I know, but I was already wavering over this whole thing, and today solidified it.
Because I
’
d turned down
every
woman that came my way, but Alicia . . . Alicia makes me lose my damn mind.
”
Dallas shook his head.
“
Now what does that say about me?
”

Tori stared at him.

“
I have to go, sweetheart,
”
he whispered, unable to spend another moment witnessing the damage he had done.
“
You can send the things I left at your parent
’
s house to my place.
”

She caught up with him at the door and placed a hand over his.
“
Do you …
”
Tori cleared her throat. Her golden skin flushed considerably.
“
How can you be in love with her?
She
’
s …. She
’
s … old!
”

Dallas took in the tears slowly making their way down her face. He resisted the urge to wipe them away.
“
Age doesn
’
t have anything to do with love,
”
he said, before adding.
“
And she
’
s not old.
She
’
s mature, no games, a lot of wisdom to share. Alicia is every bit of wonderful.
”
He caught himself, sure that was not what Tori wanted to hear.

“
So the wedding
’
s off?
”
Tori asked, frowning.

Dallas released a heavy sigh.
“
I come to meet your whole family for the first time and this happens? Not exactly a recipe for
‘
til death do us part
’
,
”
he countered.
Then with the tip of his fingers, he finally wiped away the tears streaming toward her chin.
“
You won
’
t forget it; neither will they.
”

Tori placed her back against the door, blocking his exit.
“
So what I want doesn
’
t factor into it? I haven
’
t even said everything I wanted to say.
”

He paused, waiting for her to continue. He did owe her at least that.

“
You did wrong,
”
Tori whispered, then looked at him and amended,
“
almost
did wrong, and now I
’
m the one being punished for it.
”

Dallas placed his hands on her shoulders.
“
It
’
s not punishment. You deserve a man who can be faithful.
”
He meant that. As much as he adored Tori, there was no way he could be faithful to her now that Alicia was back in his life.

Alicia had stolen his heart, then shattered it by leaving him with more questions than answers. But in just those few moments with her tonight, Dallas experienced a feeling of expectation—of possibilities, of passion, that he never wanted to go away. Chemistry and passion that was missing with Tori.

“
Was she
that
good? I mean, when you were with her before?
”

“
Tori,
”
Dallas warned.
“
Don
’
t ask me a question if you can
’
t stand to hear the answer.
”

Tori fell silent, inching away from him.

“
I have to get some sleep,
”
he said as he watched he
r back up
.

He opened the door, but she gripped the edge of his shirt.
“
We haven
’
t finished.
”

Dallas placed his hand over hers, giving it a gentle pat.
“
Get some rest and know that I
’
m truly sorry.
”

He kissed her, implanting the memory of her taste and feel in his brain. He was saddened by the fact that he didn
’
t have that same spark of desire for Tori that he had in just those few minutes with Alicia.

“
Goodbye, Tori.
”
Dallas walked out of the suite.