Open Door Marriage (8 page)

Chapter 8

10:07 p.m.

Alicia stiffened at the sound of Tori
’
s voice, but she was too shocked by Tori
’
s disheveled appearance to say much of anything. Her niece
’
s hair was all over her head, her eyes were bloodshot. Her pain was evident and it hurt Alicia
’
s heart.

Dallas slowly removed his hand from Alicia
’
s.
“
I was just leaving.
”

“
No, stay,
”
Tori commanded, gesturing to an empty seat next to Alicia.
“
You owe me at least that.
”

Tori turned her cell phone to face him.
“
The next time you want to have a heart to heart with my aunt, make sure your phone is locked.
”

His number was displayed on her screen, along with a clock timing the call that he
’
d accidentally placed to her twenty-seven minutes ago.

Dallas frowned, pulled out his own phone and disconnected the call.

“
Don
’
t hang up now,
”
she said.
“
I already heard everything. Enough. Too much.
”

Dallas settled back into the seat. He and Alicia shared guilty glances.

Tori reached for the half-filled glass sitting on the table and took a long swallow. The liquid came spraying out seconds later as she screeched,
“
What the hell is this?
”

Dallas
’
lips twitched in an effort to hold back a smile. He removed the glass from her hand and slid it back in front of Alicia, who was trying not to laugh.

For that one moment, Tori took in their humored expressions and actually grinned. The tension between the three of them lightened, but only for a second.

“
What are we going to do?
”
Tori finally asked, looking at both of them.

Alicia searched Tori
’
s face.
“
What do you mean
‘
we
’
?
”

“
How can the three of us make the best of a bad situation?
”
she asked pointedly.

Dallas shifted to the edge of his leather seat and peered at Tori.
“
I thought we decided to go our separate ways.
”

“
You
decided that,
”
she shot back.
“
You didn
’
t let me say much of anything.
”
She looked to Dallas, then Alicia.
“
So
this
is what true love looks like? A woman who didn
’
t love you enough to stick around,
”
she taunted.
“
And a man who falls for a woman who
’
s old enough to be his mother. That
’
s a match made in romantic heaven.
”

Alicia gave Dallas a knowing glance, then leaned back in her seat as though he should be the one to handle that barb.

“
Tori, you
’
re pushing it,
”
he warned.
“
Throwing shade isn
’
t going to get you good results.
”

Tori slid her hand forward, resting it on his thigh.
“
I don
’
t want to lose you,
”
she said in a voice so filled with emotion it caused a slash of pain across Alicia
’
s heart. The fact that her niece couldn
’
t walk away from Dallas spoke to the fact that Bernice had trampled out nearly every ounce of Tori
’
s self-esteem. The fact that Dallas was still in love with
“
an older woman
”
must have smothered the rest.

Alicia stood, unable to listen to anymore.
“
Well, that
’
s my cue.
”

“
Sit down,
”
Tori said in a tone that made Alicia whip toward her.
“
This concerns you, too.
”

Alicia looked at Dallas, who gave her a slight, almost imperceptible nod. Only then did she lower into the chair.

Tori wrung her hands in her lap.
“
Maybe I was wrong to force you into celibacy for a whole year. I know how sexual you are and—
”

“
I keep telling you—
”

“
Will you please be quiet!
”
she snapped.

Three heads looked their way: the lone customer at the bar, the bartender, and the barmaid.

Tori
’
s lips quivered in an effort to contain her emotions. She lowered her tone.
“
I
’
m trying to find a way to salvage our relationship.
”
She stole a sideways glance at Dallas, then looked at Alicia before focusing on him again.
“
Unless it isn
’
t important to you anymore. Unless I
’
m not important to you.
”

Dallas went to her and lifted her chin so they were looking each other directly in the eyes.
“
You
’
re my best friend.
You will always be important to me.
”

The tears that came into
Tori
’
s
soft brown eyes were enough to make Alicia want to slither away.

“
Then why
’
re you trying to end things?
”

Dallas released a weighted and weary sigh as he stood erect.
“
It
’
s not just about what happened with Alicia. It
’
s not just about what happened today.
This has been a long time coming, Tori. You hired a damn publicist.
And you
’
re conducting a virtual media blitz about our engagement and what
doesn
’
t
go on in our bedroom.
”
He shook his head.
“
You know how I am. You don
’
t ever see me talking about my life like that and I
’
d just had enough, Tori. This isn
’
t our wedding anymore. It
’
s your mother
’
s. It
’
s the media
’
s. I
’
ve had it up to here
”
—he gestured above his head—
”
with all of it.
”

Tori grimaced as though hearing his side of things pained her in some way.
“
I
’
m sorry about all that.
”

He shook his head.
“
I know that you are, but the final straw has nothing to do with you.
”
He paused.
“
I thought I knew myself,
”
Dallas
’
gaze went over Tori
’
s shoulder to Alicia.
“
But I
’
m realizing that I
’
m not as strong as I thought I was.
”

Tori followed his gaze to her aunt.
With resignation in her eyes, Tori said,
“
What if I said I
’
d get rid of all of that wedding stuff, get rid of the publicist, and,
”
she took a deep breath,
“
that it was okay for you to keep seeing her for a while.
”
Tori lowered her head, and the defeated movement made Alicia stare openly at her niece.
“
You know, sort of like getting her out of your system before we get married.
”
She paused, then amended her words.
“
Before we get married
...
or however long it takes.
”

“
What brand of crazy Kool-Aid are they serving your ass in medical school?
”
Alicia said.

Dallas peered at Tori in a manner that said he totally agreed with Alicia.
“
You
’
re saying
. . .
“

Tori nodded slowly, as though hating to confirm his summation out loud.

“
Hel-loooo,
”
Alicia crooned, waving a hand in front of both of them.

“
Be quiet,
”
Tori snarled at her aunt, who recoiled from the viciousness in those two words.
“
I
’
m negotiating the terms of marriage with
my future husband
. You
’
re just an unfortunate part of the equation.
”

Dallas tilted his head, frowning before one eyebrow shot up and his lips twisted as though in deep thought. His gaze shifted from Tori, then to Alicia and back to Tori again.

The man was actually considering Tori
’
s offer!

“
You
’
re talking about an
open
relationship? And maybe even an
open
marriage?
”
he said, frowning at her.

“
It
’
s obvious you have some kind of connection with her,
”
Tori said, as if the admission pained her.
“
I don
’
t like it, but if you
’
re going to be with another woman, I
’
d rather it be with her.
”
Tori passed an icy glance at Alicia.
“
At least she won
’
t go running to the press and damage your brand. And when you get this out of your system, she
’
ll disappear and we can resume our life.
”
Tori spoke with a finality like she
’
d worked everything out in her head.
“
And trust me, she knows how to
leave. It
’
s what she does best
.
”

Alicia
’
s head snapped to
her
niece
.
“
Really, Tori
?
”

“
It doesn
’
t matter,
”
Tori replied with a dismissive wave, but the two women
’
s gaze stayed locked for several moments. When neither Dallas nor Alicia said anything, Tori continued.
“
I was upstairs giving it a lot of thought. We can all benefit from this. Obviously, I underestimated your need for sex, and
—
“

Dallas interrupted,
“
I told you this isn
’
t about sex.
”

Tori ignored his words and turned to her aunt.
“
I have no intention of changing my celibate stance.
So he gets you for a while and I get him for a lifetime.
”

Dallas and Alicia stared at Tori as if she had grown wings.
“
Why would you want to do this?
”

“
Because in the end, this will work for me.
You might be all in lust now, but I know you love me, and I also know that you want kids more than anything else.
So when that lust shit wears off, you
’
ll long for a family.
”
Tori glared at her aunt again, before turning back to Dallas.
“
A family that only I can give you.
”