Remember the Dreams (13 page)

❧

Kyle willingly complied with Madeline's request that he stay out of her way, and threw himself into a sweat-inducing workout on the weight machine.

The Toni he'd known five years ago no longer existed. Somewhere along the line she'd been cured of that delusive Polly anna innocence. In many ways, he liked her better without it, or so he told himself. She had clearly given up all of those idiotic romantic notions she used to have. And after last night, it was obvious enough that she had no compunction about adding sex to their relationship. So, why not take advantage of what she was offering? There was no denying that he wanted her!

Hell, he corrected, his muscles straining as he fought the resistance of the machine's hydraulic system. He ached for her!

His need for Toni was more than physical though. She was becoming more important to him every day. If they had an affair, she'd become even more important. Then what would he do?

Marriage was out of the question. If Toni had become the person he thought she had, she wasn't interested in it anyway. But was risking the loss of their friendship worth it for something that could never lead anywhere? Affairs had to end, didn't they? And what about the other men in her life?

Kyle didn't have the answers.

❧

His last question presented itself again several hours later. It was seven-thirty and his guests had already started to arrive. Toni still wasn't home.

Kyle had just opened the door to greet another couple, when he saw the silver Mercedes pull into the drive. He recognized that car immediately—as well as the man behind the wheel.

The driver of that car was Dr. Greg Nichols. And Toni was with him.

The couple Kyle turned toward saw nothing of the strain behind their host's welcoming smile.

The schedule Toni had planned for the day had fallen apart right after her first meeting. Who would ever have thought that her last appointment would take four hours? Or that her rental car would pick this particular Saturday to develop a temperament?

"Thanks, Greg," she said, picking up her briefcase from the floorboard and opening the passenger door of his car. She glanced toward the house. The driveway was full of cars, and they'd passed at least two dozen more parked along the street. "I appreciate the ride."

Greg nodded his curly blond head and flashed her a glimpse of his even white teeth. The dark tan he'd acquired during the medical conference he'd just returned from in Hawaii, and his imported cashmere sweater in a shade of green that matched his eyes perfectly, hardly helped promote the image of a struggling young doctor. Struggling and young were his terms. He was almost forty and, being quite familiar with his financial statements, Toni knew that his only struggle was one for tax shelters.

"No problem," he returned amiably. "How about dinner some night this week?"

The invitation was casual. Probably an attempt to return the favor she had just done him by presenting the investment package he wanted to his associates. That's what they'd been discussing all afternoon.

"Sounds fine." She swung her legs out the door. "We can talk about converting those gas bonds into the stocks I mentioned earlier."

"Good idea. I'll call you the first part of the week to set something up."

Toni let herself out of the car and headed up the walkway. She enjoyed working with Greg. Their business relationship was a good one. It was too bad that Kyle nearly turned green every time he heard Greg's name. Too bad, and very flattering.

The laughter coming from inside the house greeted her before she even reached the front door. The party was well underway. Somehow she had to make it to her room without attracting anyone's attention—especially Kyle's.

The Fates were with her. Breathing an excited sigh as she burst through the door of her room, she headed straight for the closet.

Kyle had made that comment about her legs when he'd subjected her to that nerve-wracking massage her first Saturday here. He'd also asked her to wear a dress for this party.

Well, she smiled to herself, stepping back out into the hall twenty minutes later. If he wants to see legs, he most definitely will. Along with a flash of thigh and a bared back.

The halter-style skim of toast-colored crepe brushing her knees had cost a small fortune. Considering the possible return on her investment, it was worth every penny.

With her hair knotted in a sleek French twist, the gold squares adorning her ears, and the carmel-toned pumps accentuating the long line of her legs, she was all honey and cream and sultry turquoise eyes bright with anticipation. Cool sophistication wrapped around a bundle of nerves.

Kyle had invited some sixty-odd people. Though she knew that a lot of the guests were downstairs, she could have sworn that most of them were packed into the spacious living room. There may have been over thirty people there, but her eyes unerringly fixed on Kyle.

He was standing by the wet bar talking to a group of men. His back was to her, but even with the crowd separating them, she could feel the impact of his presence. Odd how one person could affect her so when she was surrounded by so many others.

"Toni?"

The question that accompanied her name was to become a familiar sound within the next hour. She never did reach Kyle. Since he hadn't appeared at her side either, she was almost certain that he didn't even know she'd come home.

Most of the guests were people Toni had known from years ago. People she used to work with and clients of Kyle's company. Her conversations were polite, her smile genuine. But her eyes were constantly seeking the one person who seemed to have disappeared completely.

It was while she was still looking for Kyle that she spotted Jana Rand standing by the sofa. The tiny brunette looked like she was about to deck the bald man talking to her cleavage. Toni and Jana had only spoken briefly—they were old "lunch buddies"—and Toni decided that now was as good a time as any to have the little talk they had promised each other. Jana might also know where Kyle was.

Snagging two glasses of wine from the bar, she cut her way through the crowd.

"Do you have a minute, Jana?" Toni extended one of the glasses to her and was blessed with relief in the woman's wide hazel eyes.

"Do I ever," Jana breathed.

Toni smiled tightly at the glassy-eyed man she recognized as an old client of Kyle's. Both women ignored his sputtered, "Hey, baby, where ya going?" as they moved out to the deck.

The night was cool, almost cold, but the people lining the redwood railing either didn't notice or didn't care.

Todd Ruger, looking considerably cleaner than he had at the football game, materialized from somewhere beside them. "Hi, ladies!"

"Don't take this personally"—Jana winked at Toni, then looked up at her co-worker—"but since you have the misfortune of being a male, I don't think we want to talk to you."

Todd's smile faltered, his glance jerking from one woman to the other.

"Oh, stop looking like a wounded puppy," Jana muttered, taking a cigarette from her purse and lighting it. "I was only kidding." She exhaled a puff of smoke. "Thanks for the rescue, Toni."

"What rescue?" Todd's eyes were still darting back and forth.

"From Larry the Leerer," Toni supplied, referring to the man who'd been practically salivating down the front of Jana's blouse.

Todd was frowning. Jana laughed. "Larry Norman," she clarified. "The lech of the Northwest's Wall Street."

Todd's boyish features split in a grin. "And the ink isn't even dry yet."

It was Toni's turn to look puzzled, but Jana's quick response answered her unspoken question.

"I guess it's something I'll have to get used to. I'd swear that all men think it's open season on any woman who's about to join the ranks of the single."

Jana was apparently getting a divorce. Toni had attended her wedding. "I'm sorry, Jana," she said quietly.

The small woman pushed back a handful of her dark brown curls and squinted through the haze of smoke. "Me, too."

Todd had gone through a divorce a couple of years ago—he'd told Toni that at the game—and she took his silence now for empathy.

Unwilling to let that silence become acute, she glanced up at her companions. "Have either of you seen Kyle?"

It was Jana who answered. "The last I saw of him, he was headed downstairs. Shall we go find him?"

"No, that's ok. I just haven't seen him yet and . . ."

"You're about to." Jana~was nodding toward the doorway.

Before the words had even left Jana's mouth, Toni felt the fine hairs on the back of her neck begin to prickle. That slightly unnerving sensation traveled down her bare back, and it was impossible not to shiver. Her eyes, eager for the sight of the only man who could have evoked such a reaction, darted over her shoulder.

Kyle stepped into the space between her and Todd.

"Hi," she managed softly.

"Hi, yourself," he returned. His mouth curved upward, but his smile didn't quite reach his eyes. He glanced from Todd to Jana. "Am I interrupting anything interesting?"

Toni hadn't expected anything more than his perfunctory greeting. After all, this party really was a business function. And Kyle was always the same around his business associates. Reserved. Coolly aloof. He could be very intimidating if he wanted to. Or like now, appear friendly without ever allowing anyone to see behind that unemotional facade.

His manner now was a striking reminder of the Kyle she had first come to know.

"Heavens no," Jana was replying to his question. "We were just about to discuss the perils and pitfalls of marriage, which car manufacturer will get the next government subsidy, and who's going to drop the first nuclear bomb."

There was something about Jana that prevented her words from sounding bitter. Maybe it was the sad smile that never seemed to leave her eyes. Or the sense of strength packed into her petite frame. Whatever it was, Toni couldn't help but admire her. Her world was probably falling apart, and she was still able to poke fun at it.

"I'm all for light conversation." Kyle crossed his arms over his tailored gray suit jacket. He looked wonderful in gray. "So let's start with cars. Where's yours, Toni?"

His expression revealed nothing. But Toni didn't need any brilliant flashes of recognition to realize that he must have seen Greg bringing her home.

"In the parking lot at Westline Clinic with a short or something." There was really no need for further explanation, and it was only for the benefit of the others that she continued. Kyle already knew about the Westline account. "I was there to meet with some investors ... a group of doctors . . . and when I left, it wouldn't start. One of the doctors brought me home."

Todd's eyebrow raised at her last word. Toni ignored its significance and, with a laugh meant only to mock her procrastination, she added, "It's a rental anyway, and I suppose that tomorrow will be as good a time as any to start looking for one to buy."

The funny expression on Todd's face told Toni that he wasn't interested in her car problems. "You said he brought you home? Here?"

Toni's eyes darted to Kyle. His private life had been a constant source of speculation among his employees, and apparently still was. It was also apparent that Kyle hadn't mentioned their living arrangement. She'd leave it up to him to answer Todd.

His bland tone indicated that he wasn't particularly displeased with this invasion of his privacy—or hers. "Toni lives with me . . . Just in case you were interested."

Kyle was looking at Todd. Todd and Jana were both looking at Toni. She didn't know why she felt the need to undo Kyle's seeming implication. Unless it had something to do with the fact that, as openminded as she told herself she was, she was still saddled with a few Victorian principles.

"I've been staying here for the last few weeks," she said evenly, taking an unhurried sip of her wine. "I haven't had time to find a place of my own yet, and Kyle's out of town a lot."

"Not that often," Kyle commented tonelessly. "Can I have one of your cigarettes, Jana?"

Toni's brow creased. Both at his request—he'd said he'd quit smoking three years ago—and at his heavily suggestive words. It wasn't until she saw the look Kyle slanted at Todd when he touched his cigarette to Jana's lighter that Toni realized what he was doing.

Kyle was making it very clear to Todd that she was off limits.

Any embarrassment she might have been feeling was forgotten, and she suppressed a smile of delight. It was too early to congratulate herself over any victories yet. But she was definitely making some positive inroads.

She was about to capitalize on her progress—a veiled little comment certainly wouldn't hurt— when Jana suddenly ducked behind Todd's bearlike frame.

"Oh, God," Jana moaned. "Larry's coming out here. I swear that man's got a one-track mind."

"Men don't have an exclusive corner on that market," Todd laughed, pulling Jana around. "And you can let go of my jacket. He went back inside."

Toni's amusement at their exchange wavered as she turned to Kyle. He was looking at her very strangely.

Jana and Todd were still bantering about something. But Toni didn't hear them. She was too busy trying to fathom what she was seeing in those enigmatic gray depths. It was almost as if he were accusing her of some unspoken transgression.

How can she look so innocent? Kyle asked himself while she stood there holding his gaze. She's got half the men in this place drooling like Pavlov's dogs, and she doesn't even look like she cares!

His eyes raked over her dress, then settled hard on her face. No doubt about it. Toni had definitely changed.

That unveiled inspection told Toni quite plainly what the problem was. Her dress was provocative, but no more so than most of the other women's—and she doubted that he was treating them to any searing looks of disapproval!

With a kittenish grin, she turned back to the others.

". . . have to stick to what really counts," Todd was saying. "Forget about involvements for a while, and just concentrate on work. At least that's always there to fall back on."

The conversation was preparing to settle on a more serious topic. "You're right." Jana nodded thoughtfully. "Doing what we do for a living doesn't give you time to think about much of anything else ... at least between the ungodly hours of 5:00 a.m. to whenever you can finally get away."

"Just remember to keep your priorities straight, Jana," Kyle warned. "You've got that little girl to think about."