Touch Me and Tango (19 page)

He gave her one of those fabulous grins and rasped out,
“Only a shoulder wound. Just hurts like hell.”

“Is there anything I can do?”

“Yeah. Tell me you’ll never leave me again.”

Lying in bed for too long on his back aggravated his wounded
shoulder and sent a dull ache through his body. But having Tanya next to him
made Parker forget all about his discomfort. He tangled his fingers in her
thick hair that spread across their pillows. “You’ve got to tell her.”

“I know. I’ve just been avoiding it. I’m so worried she’ll
have a breakdown of some kind. That house is her identity. All she has left of
her family legacy. She loves that place.”

He understood. A home took on the nature of the person who
lived there. “Parker’s Paradise,” as his sister called it, was his own private
heaven. Especially now that Tanya spent most of her time here.

He tried not to get anxious about if or when she would leave
town. He doubted she’d stay. She already had some shows and competitions lined
up with Julio and sometimes talked about moving to San Francisco or Paris. He
wanted so badly to ask her to stay here, to be his. But he feared he might turn
the sweet feelings sour by taking that step, by asking too much. He wasn’t
about to set himself up to be devastated again.

But he had another idea. “Are you sure you understood
Stella’s passage? Maybe the steamer trunk is still there on the island. Maybe
we should keep looking.” He kissed her nose. “Together.”

Tanya gave him a coy smile. “Are you trying to give me a
reason to stay here?”

Caught. Funny how they started guessing each other’s
thoughts lately. “I’m not exactly looking forward to when you go. But I
wouldn’t be so stupid as to try and keep you from—”

“Ask me again.”

“What?”

She traced her finger over his mouth. “You once asked me to
marry you. To stay here with you and be your wife. Ask me again?”

He snatched her hand and kissed it. “I have loved you for so
long. I have never wanted anyone but you, Tanya. Will you marry me? Will you
stay here and make a life with me? You can still tour once in a while if you
want to. I would never ask you to—”

She silenced him with a deep kiss. “Yes, Parker. I want to
marry you, my love.” He sprang from the bed to the dresser and brought back a
tiny box—with a diamond ring.

“I’ve had this for ten years. Still can’t offer you much. I
could fix up the farmhouse.”

“I’d live in a grass hut as long as I’m with you.”

***

Tanya was taken by surprise when she heard the front door
close. In came Parker, striding through the living room, wearing a pair of
battered jeans, a worn out tee shirt and work boots. His right shoulder was
covered in bandages, his arm in a sling. In his left arm he toted a
sledgehammer.

“You look like an action hero from a dystopian zombie
flick,” Tanya said.

“Do me a solid?”

“Name it.”

“There’s a toolbox with a pair of work gloves on them out in
my truck. Go get it and we’ll have some fun in the attic.”

“Sounds kinky,” she teased. They’d been having sex in so
many places lately. But with a sledgehammer and toolbox he was probably in a
fix-it mode.

Three minutes later she stepped into the sizeable
Gentialliano attic. It took up a whole floor and could easily be accessed
through a flight of stairs from the main guest bedroom on the third floor.

Parker stood there pointing to the chimney. “It’s a fake.”

“What?”

“Your actual chimney, if you take a good look at it, is
about half the width of this. Somebody fattened it out for a reason. Slip these
on. Sorry, but you’ll have to wield the hammer, since my arm’s still out of
commission.”

“Well, if my dear mom hadn’t put a bullet in you.”

“She meant well.”

Tanya rolled her eyes and picked up the sledgehammer.

“Wait.” He passed her a pair of work gloves and a pair of
plastic safety goggles. “Better wear these.”

“Mind telling me what we’re doing?”

“I found another passage in Stella’s diary.”

“About Harry’s steamer trunk?”

He nodded. “They put off their plans and hid the trunk in
the meantime.”

“What if you’re wrong and I’ve busted this thing?”

“It’s not a real chimney, so it shouldn’t damage anything.”
He stroked her arm. “Ever use a sledgehammer?”

“Oh sure. All the time.”

“That’s what I thought. Okay, you’re a dancer so this should
come easy. Just bend your knees and bring the weight of it back close to your
body. On the release, let go of the hammer and straighten your legs slightly.
Make sure you let the weight of the hammer do all the work. Just sort of toss
it out there. Never muscle it. The tool will do the work for you.”

She gave him a look. “Sounds like something from a manual on
better sex.”

“Sex on your mind lately?” he purred.

Tanya gave him a peck on the mouth and hefted the sledgehammer.
“Whoa. Sucker’s heavy.”

“It’s gotta be. We’re taking down a brick wall. And don’t
worry. I’ll patch it all up when we’re through. Trust me. It’ll look good as
new.” He pointed to a spot about a foot up from the floor in the center of the
stack. “Right here.”

After a few strikes, the mortar started to crack and
crumble. Excited, she set down the hammer and began removing the bricks one at
a time. Parker helped, using his good arm.

Through the hole she could see a bluish green surface.
“Could it be?”

They moved faster, until an old steamer trunk became fully
visible. Tanya squealed with glee.

Parker wore a satisfied smile. “Let’s get that sucker out of
there and see what’s in it.”

Together they muscled the trunk from its eighty-year-old
brick and mortar grave.

Parker used a crow bar to break the padlock that sealed the
lid shut. They cracked it open.

“Caswell’s Coffee?” About twenty yellow-and-black coffee
cans filled the trunk. Tanya lifted one and pried off its rusted tin top. She
gasped. It was crammed to the gills with what looked like chunky bead-sized
pieces of glass… or diamonds. She could barely speak.

Parker put a hand on her shoulder. “The diamonds. We found them.”

It suddenly registered. The legendary treasure of her
infamous uncle, Harry Rubikoff. Tanya burst into jubilant shouts, jumping and
twirling. And racing down the stairs to tell her mother that the dream she had was
indeed true.

***

Between the diamonds, gold and loose cash, the grand total
inside Harry’s steamer came to about twenty-three million dollars. Eva gave
Parker his twenty percent, which was more than enough for him and Tanya to
start fixing up the farmhouse on his property for the family they planned to
raise together.

Her mother got to stay in the house Harry built, the home she
loved. By the day she held Parker and Tanya’s wedding there, Harry’s old house
and its surrounding gardens sparkled with new life. Of course, Natalie’s
catering service kept the party bouncing with trays of Harry’s Steamer
cocktails.

Tanya would be dancing in showcases and competitions with
Julio the coming year. But tonight she was dancing with her beloved husband.
All eyes were on Tanya and Parker as the two of them improvised a scintillating
tango across the floor.

A tango of never-ending love.

In addition to being part of today’s Indie author movement,
Alicia and Roy are also traditionally published. In 2009 they received a Daphne
Du Maurier Award for Excellence in Mystery/Suspense. They both share
backgrounds in the performing arts. Alicia spent years as a dancer,
choreographer and teacher. Roy in theater and standup comedy. Alicia is a
chronic reader of every genre including the classics. She also loves old
black-and-white movies, making organic soups from recipes she invents, working
out and, of course, dancing. Roy’s into sweaty workouts, too, as well as
watching boxing on HBO and eating Alicia’s organic soups. Their cat’s name is
Wallace, an orange ten-pounder who’s crazy over pizza. He and Roy do slices
every Friday night.

“…a husband and wife writing team that has managed to
capture the best in both men’s and women’s fiction…”

—Romance Junkies

Website:
http://aliciastreet-roystreet.com/

Facebook:
facebook.com/AliciaAndRoyStreet.authors

Twitter:
@AliciaStreet1

@RoyStreet4

KISS ME, DANCER
— Dance ‘n’ Luv Series
Book #1 (Casey & Drew)

After too many failures and disappointments Casey nicknamed
herself “Calamity” Richardson. But at twenty-eight she finally found her
calling working with children in her dance academy. Unfortunately she is about
to lose it. Should she accept the help offered by her student’s divorced dad, a
wealthy trucking mogul whose way too hot body and penetrating blue eyes have
been haunting her dreams? His arrogant, womanizing nature signals danger for
Casey, who’s already been hurt in the past. Can she save her school without
losing her heart?

Winning comes naturally to Drew Byrne. As head of a Fortune
500 company, he enjoys his wealth and has no problem keeping it a game with
some of the world’s most beautiful women. So why should his son’s challenging,
straight talking dance teacher get under his skin in a way no other female has?
He tells himself it is because Casey is the only one able to bring his shy,
uncommunicative son out of his shell. Or is it because Drew has finally met his
match?

“Giggles, gasps, and anxious page-turning” —Lost In
Literature

“I couldn't put it down. I'm waiting for more from the
talented duo that penned this great book.” – Storm Goddess Book Reviews

And don’t miss our short story prequel —
SNOW DANCE (Amanda & Russ)

After a bitter divorce, a former Broadway dancer from
Manhattan moves to a peaceful village on Long Island’s rural North Fork to open
up a vintage clothing shop. She wants solitude and anonymity, but instead she
finds herself involved with an elusive ghost, a troubled teenage girl, and a
sexy local fisherman who makes her believe in second chances.

Russ McNeil has very bad taste in clothes. A sixth
generation son in a family of fishermen that worked the Bay and the Sound, he
has no illusions about what life has to offer him, including in the romance
department. But he’s in for a little surprise.

While SNOW DANCE is a 13,000 word short story complete in
itself, it is also a prequel to the Dance ‘n’ Luv series featuring Casey,
Parker, Tanya and Jenna when they were younger.

Coming next – Jenna’s Story in Dance ‘n’
Luv Book #3!