by Katie Dowe
“I have been better.”
“Want to talk about it?”
His eyes raked her exquisite face. “Think you can solve my problems?”
“About three quarters of them,” she told him with an impish smile. He stared at her dimples and had to drag his eyes away from her face.
“I strongly doubt that,” he told her coolly.
“Try me,” she said softly.
“You are playing with fire,” he told her in a menacing voice.
“I have the water and besides playing with fire is not so bad as long as you know where to touch.”
Her words had an astounding effect on him! His body tightened and for a moment he wanted to pull her into his arms! “Go home to your safe place, Jayda,” he told her a little wearily.
She reached out and touched his bare arm feeling the sprinkling of hairs on his skin. “I am here for you and I hope you will let me.”
He did not move his hand away and she kept hers there feeling the warmth of his flesh. “Why don’t you come back to my apartment and let me lose myself in your delectable body?” he asked her sardonically as he hardened his feelings. She still had her hand on his arm and he was starting to feel the sparks shooting through him. She leaned forward and kissed his cheek lightly before getting to her feet.
“You are not ready and I refuse to let you spoil it for us.” She touched his hand lightly. “Don’t drink too much.”
He watched as she weaved her way among the chairs, stopping to talk to a few people. He glowered as he saw a guy he knew hold her hand for too long. What the hell did he care, he thought recklessly as he finished his drink. She meant nothing to him!
*****
Jayda let herself into the house and went about preparing herself something to eat. For the first time since she had met Alessandro she was having doubts. She had told herself that he was going to take some effort and she was springing for a lifetime but seeing him tonight and feeling the waves of darkness surrounding him she was beginning to have doubts. She sat down at the counter in her large cozy kitchen and ate the soup she had poured from the can. Her phone rang and she saw that it was her mother. “Hey honey, I thought you were coming over?”
“I got hung up at the function and just now got in. I am afraid you are not going to be very proud. I am eating soup out of a tin.”
“I prepared lamb chops with the hope you were coming over,” her mother told her.
“I am tired, Mama, and I intend to make an early night of it. How is Dad?”
“He is still over at the church. They are having some leaders’ meeting. Are you okay?”
“Just tired.”
“Talk to me, honey.”
“Mama, you know I have always liked my life to be uncomplicated?”
“Yes, I remember you planning weeks in advance what you would be wearing for the weeks to come,” her mother said with a laugh.
“It has always stood me in good stead. There were never any surprises and things always went smoothly.”
“It sounds boring, honey,” her mother said gently.
“The joke is on me now. I have gone ahead and fallen in love with a man who is totally unsuitable and who wants to have nothing to do with me.” Her voice wobbled slightly.
“Love is a risk as with everything else in life. You have to know what you want and go after it. I taught you never to give up and I don’t want you to do so now. Go for what you want. As long he is not someone else’s husband, honey.”
“He is not.”
“There you go. The possibilities are endless. Go and get some sleep and everything will look different tomorrow.”
Chapter 6
“I thought you were smarter than that, Alessandro!” Adam Rivera snapped the door closed behind him as he marched into his son’s office.
“I would like to think I am,” Alessandro said slowly as he pushed back his chair and looked up at his father.
“Giovanni Russo called me this morning.”
Alessandro’s heart skidded inside his chest. “Why?”
“He asked about your no good cousin of yours, Alessandro. I have a pretty good idea that you heard from him. Have you?” Adam pulled up a chair and gave his son a direct look
“What did you tell him?” Alessandro reached for the stress ball and started squeezing it.
“I told him to get the hell off my phone. What is going on, son?”
“He came to me a week ago and asked for my help and I agreed to let him stay up at the cottage.” Alessandro almost squirmed in his chair making him feel like he was a boy again. “He said he just needed three weeks to hide out.”
“You deliberately put our family at risk?”
“I owe him, Dad,” Alessandro said defensively.
“You don’t owe him crap! He was the one who introduced you into that rotten life in the first place so you don’t owe him anything. You are going to fix this and you are going to do so now.”
Alessandro heaved a sigh. “I gave him my word.” He held up his hand. “I also give you mine that nothing will come back on this family. I am handling it. He is family no matter what he did and you always said that family comes first.”
Adam Rivera stared at his son and wondered where his little boy had disappeared to! His wife had insisted that he stayed in Italy in order that he get to know his roots and he had allowed it to his regret. “You are going to let me know as soon as he is ready to leave. I want him out of our lives, Alessandro, and I know that you are an adult and I cannot tell you what to do, but I don’t want him contacting this family again.”’
“I am way ahead of you,” his son said quietly. “I am sorry, Dad.”
They both knew what he was referring to.
Adam nodded as he got to his feet. “Your sister is having her own issues and you are caught up in this.” He waved his hand vaguely. “I understand that you both got most of your mother’s genes but sometimes I wished you hadn’t.” He ended with a sigh. “I just want to keep you guys safe.”
“I know. Thanks, Dad.”
Adam nodded and turned to leave. “There is a Jayda Walker out front to see you.” His eyes narrowed as he noticed his son’s tense expression.
“Send her in,” he said casually.
“She is a beautiful young woman.” Adam made the casual observation.
“I am sure she is.”
Adam searched his face and then went to the door and opened it letting himself out.
He was waiting for her when she came into his office. She held a large basket before her and he smiled slightly as he realized that it covered her upper body and hid her from view. He went to take it from her and her dazzling smile was almost his undoing. She was wearing faded denims and a white silk shirt. Her hair was brushed neatly and piled on top of her head and she looked so tiny that he wanted to lift her up and cradle her.
“You don’t have an appointment,” he pointed out.
“I figured I did not need one to come bearing gifts,” she said with an impish smile. He had turned to put the basket onto his desk and when he turned back she was right in front of him. “There are a variety of fruits and juices in there for you to enjoy. It’s compliment of some very grateful kids.” She went on her toes and touched her lips to his causing him to shiver slightly. She stepped back a little and raised her hand to his face. “You look tired. Are you okay?” Her concern was almost his undoing and her small hand against his skin had him closing his eyes slightly.
“You are playing with fire,” he told her again grimly but stayed where he was.
“I already told you that I am not afraid.” She caressed his jaw and he let her. “How about letting me cook you dinner? I am very good at making meat loaf.”
“I am afraid I will have to pass.” He had to clear his throat to get rid of the huskiness there. She rested her hand on his chest. He looked down at her small hand against the pale blue shirt he had on.
“Talk to me,” she urged him softly. Somewhere in the backgrou
nd the intercom sounded but they did not seem to hear it. “I know something is up with you and I want you to share it with me. I am here, Alessandro, and I am not going anywhere.”
Something inside him shifted and before he knew what he was doing he hauled her up to him and took her lips in a kiss designed to knock the breath out of her body! Alessandro’s control was unleashed as his mouth plundered hers, his fingers digging into her waist as he pulled her closer to him! Jayda gripped his shirt tightly, spiraling into another realm of passion so intense that she could not stop the trembling of her body against his! He put her away from him forcibly, his dark eyes blazing with the passion he was still trying to reign in. “I think you should leave now,” he bit out as he stared at her. He saw the tremors of her body and wanted to haul her back into his arms. For the first time he saw hesitation and uncertainty and he smiled at her grimly. “Do you now understand what you are up against?”
She lifted her eyes to his and her shoulders straightened. “If by that you mean my feelings for you have intensified then the answer is yes. It is not going away, Alessandro, you can count on that.” She stood there looking at him for a moment. “I am falling in love with you, Alessandro, so I am giving you fair notice that I am here to stay.” Without another word she turned and left him staring after her!
*****
“I am not leaving until you talk to me, Alec,” Isabella told him firmly. “I let you push me away for the past two weeks. That is enough time.” She had cornered him outside the precinct as he was leaving. His grey eyes lit up when he saw her and he tried to squelch the pleasure he had as he looked at her. He had been telling himself for the past two weeks that it was for the best but seeing her now with her tall cool beauty, the dark hair drifting down her back he knew it had not been true!
“Bella,” he sighed. She went straight into his arms and he held her. “What are you doing here?”
“I am here to see you because I know you need me especially now.” She held his face between her hands. “I heard it on the news and I am so sorry.”
He put his head on her forehead and closed his eyes breathing in her scent for a moment. He had always admired the subtle expensive scent she wore. She had told him the name and he had looked online for it thinking that maybe he could buy a bottle for her as a gift and had balked at the price. It had cost more than he worked in several months! “So am I.”
She wrapped her hands around his waist. “I am not leaving, Alec. I have told my parents and brother about you and they want to meet you. Please don’t tell me to go away.”
“I am happy you are here,” he told her softly.
“Good. Let’s go home.”
*****
Jayda had just come from choir practice at church when he called her. She had just stepped out of her shoes and was heading to the bathroom when her phone rang. “Hello?”
“Somehow you have gotten beneath my skin and I cannot seem to rid you from my thoughts.” His deep voice sounded in her ear and she had to take a deep breath before she answered.
“Hi.”
“I am not interested in a relationship. My life is complicated at best and I have no intention of complicating it further,” he continued.
“Where are you, Alessandro?”
“Are you listening to me?” he asked her gruffly.
“I am.” She went to the edge of her bath and sat there, cradling the phone between her shoulder blade and left ear as she massaged her instep.
There was silence from his end and she waited without saying anything. “Where are you?” he finally asked her.
“I am at home. I had choir practice earlier on and before that an office get together which ended at six.”
“You sing on the choir?”
“I do, ever since I was a little girl.” Her tinkling laugh caused a jolt straight through him! “I love doing it. I am hoping you will come and see us perform one of these days.”
“I am not the type.”
“What type is that?” she asked him softly.
“The religious type.”
“I am not going to beat you over the head with the Bible, Alessandro. I am going to love you just the way you are. No judgment.”
“I wish you would not say things like that to me.” His voice was rough.
“I am afraid I cannot. How about you? What’s bothering you?”
“I have not said anything is bothering me.”
“You can talk to me about anything. I want you to know that.”
He paused for a long time and then said gruffly, “Goodnight.”
“I love you.”
He paused again and she could hear him breathing. “I-er-” She heard him draw his breath in. “Goodnight,” he said and hung up the phone.
Jayda closed her eyes and put the phone on the side of the bath. “Thank you!” she whispered as she looked upwards.
*****
“We have been friends since we were little, right?” Millie began as they went around the room reserved for meals at church. It was Wednesday night and they had just finished choir practice.
“Yes.” Jayda looked at her friend curiously. She had not heard from or seen the girl in the past two weeks but had been pretty busy herself to notice much. “Why?” She went to get a bottle of water from the carton and pulled open the cap. She did not have anything going on for two days and was determined to do some cleaning. Her mother had also roped her into helping her out in the soup kitchen for tomorrow.
Millie folded her hands in her lap tightly and looked down at them. “I have something to tell you and I don’t want you to freak out.”
“It sounds serious.” She came and sat next to the girl. “I am listening.”
Millie took a deep breath. “Winston and I are together,” she blurted out.
Jayda stared at her in shock.
“I know it is against the best friends’ code or something like that but after you dumped him I saw him at Maude’s restaurant and we started talking. He is not such a bad person, Jay,” she said defensively. “We called each other and last weekend we sort of got together. He is a sweet guy and we want to know if you are okay with us being together.”
“Why didn’t you say something before?” Jayda asked her quietly.
Millie shrugged. “I did not want to hear anything negative.”
“I am your best friend and, girl, I don’t think I should be dancing around telling you the truth. You were the one who told me that Winston was not good enough for me.” She turned sideways and looked at her friend. “What are you doing, Millie?”
“I am not going to end up spending my life alone,” she said resentfully. “I am not like you, Jay. You are beautiful and happy and bright! You can get just about any man you want. Men barely notice me so when one does I am not going to turn the other way. It is not like you want him.”
“That is not the point. What I am trying to make you see is that you are doing this out of desperation-” She stopped at the stricken expression on her friend’s face. “I am sorry.”
Millie got to her feet. “Maybe you are right,” she said coldly. “Maybe I am desperate enough to go after your left overs but if that is the case, Jayda Walker, then I would say I am reaching pretty high, don’t you think? Winston and I are good together and we are going all the way. I hoped you would have been happy for us.” She turned and hurried out of the room. Jayda thought about going after her but decided to let her be!
*****
“You don’t like him!” Isabella accused her brother as she followed him out to the patio. Her parents had invited him over for dinner and after a moment of hesitation he had come. But Isabella had noticed that her brother had barely spoken two words. And now he was standing out in the dark looking as if he wanted to be anywhere but here.
Alessandro forced a smile as he turned to face his sister. She looked happy, he thought absently. “He seems like a nice guy.” He brushed back the hair from her shoulders and kept his hand there. “I have a lot of thin
gs on my mind, Bella.”
“Is that no good cousin of ours one of them?” she asked him curiously.
He stared at her sharply. “You have no need to worry about him. He will be gone by next week.”
“Are you sure you know what you are doing, Cara?”
“I know what I am doing. Go back in before the parents grill everything out of Alec. You know Mother can be a tricky one.”
Isabella came forward and hugged him tight. “I wish you would stop treating me like a child and tell me what’s going on.”
“I know you are far from being a child.” He dropped a kiss on her dark head. “But some things I am not prepared to share.” He eased her away from him. “Are you happy?”
“I am.” She nodded.
“Good, that’s all I need to know.”
“Don’t stay out too long, it’s getting cold,” she told him as she patted his cheek and left. He waited until she had gone and closed the doors behind her before he called her.
“Alessandro.” Her voice was soft and had a calming effect on his scattered nerves. He closed his eyes and leaned against the railing.
“Are you home?”
“Yes.”
“I am at my parents having dinner.” He knew he sounded inane but he did not quite know what to say to her. “I think I want to see you.”
“Why?”
He stiffened at the question. “If you don’t want to see me-”
“I asked you why because I want you to know something before we start anything. I am a virgin. I have been saving myself for the right man and you are that man. I am not going to have sex until I have your ring on my finger and we are on our honeymoon. We can get to know each other by talking and being with each other but that’s it for now, Alessandro. I am laying all my cards on the table. Do you want to come over and talk?”
Her entire sentence had punched him hard in the stomach. He had already suspected that she was an innocent but her candor almost knocked him over. “I want sex, Jayda, so I guess we are not on the same page. I have no intention of marrying you just to get into your panties so I am afraid you have the wrong guy.”
“I have the right guy, Alessandro, and you know that. It’s not yet nine and I will be waiting up for you.” She hung up before he could say anything else.
