She's Got Dibs

by AJ Nuest

  “Help me,” Tessa mouthed.

  He abruptly halted. “Ma’am, the car is warming. If you prefer, I will tell Mr. Brenner you’re awaiting him there.”

  “Very good, Gerald. I swear that man lives to be a complete annoyance to me.”

  Gerald nodded and left the room.

  The door opened and closed.

  Tessa said a silent prayer Caroline wouldn’t approach the fire. But her plea went unanswered as Dibs’s sister passed the end of the couch and faced the grate, shoulders slumped, her back to the room.

  So now what? Did she lie there like a plank of wood? Or try some lame commando maneuver, rolling off the couch and skulking behind furniture until she’d successfully escaped? Tessa rolled her eyes and sat up.

  Caroline stiffened, and then slowly turned. She gasped and clapped a hand over her mouth.

  They stared directly into each other’s eyes, and though Tessa couldn’t speak for her own, Caroline’s blue orbs were filled with fear.

  She lowered her hand. “Did you?” She jerked her head toward the doorway.

  Tessa nodded.

  Her gaze darted across the room and a bright smile lit her face, suddenly all happy eyes and glowing pink cheeks. “Are you leaving, Daddy?”

  Déjà vu hit Tessa square in the forehead. She knew that look, had worn it herself on many occasions—most recently at the Sandburg wedding, standing beside Michael.

  Over her shoulder, Mr. Brenner traversed the room, briefcase in hand. “I’ve been summoned to the car. Have a good trip back, Pumpkin.” He nodded at Tessa. “Ms. Adams.”

  “Nice to see you again, Mr. Brenner.”

  He smirked, as if her comment was hard to believe, swung the door wide and left.

  All the pleasantness vanished from Caroline’s face. She squared her shoulders, hands on her hips, apparently shoring up her defenses. “Are you going to tell him what I said?”

  Tell who? Mr. Brenner? Or the more obvious choice…Dibs. What purpose would that serve? Tessa lifted a brow. “Let’s play that scenario out for a moment, shall we? I tell Dibs what I just overheard, and he becomes angry. He goes to your parents, and they get even angrier. You get upset, Marcus starts cursing at everyone…and who do you think will get blamed for all that?”

  Caroline’s shoulders eased to a more natural position. “You’ve got a point.”

  “Creating a rift in this family is not now, nor will it ever be, one of my goals. But I have to ask. Exactly how many roles do you play, Caroline?”

  She stiffened, hesitated, and then dropped her shoulders a second time. “I’ve lost count.”

  “Well, then, I guess we can work this one of two ways. You can either consider me a friend, tell me the truth, and let Dibs and I try to help you, or you can place me in one of those many categories I’m sure you’ve invented. Trust me, I speak from experience. The choice is yours.”

  She turned away and paced the length of the fireplace, high-heeled boots tapping the slate. Three complete revolutions disappeared under her feet before she finally spoke. “Have you ever felt completely unsure of yourself? Like no matter what you do, you’re going to make a huge mistake?”

  So Caroline had opted for friendship, then. Tessa exhaled in relief. “All the time.”

  “Really? You seem so confident. Like you know exactly what you want.”

  She huffed. “A big façade. Everyone feels unsure at one point or another.”

  “Mother doesn’t.” Caroline’s words were clipped.

  Wait…what? The girl had just opened a topic of discussion no way Tessa was prepared to broach. Assessing Vanessa Brenner’s personality traits with Dib’s sister was tantamount to relationship suicide. Still, the anguish on Caroline’s face, the way she chewed her bottom lip. Her distress spoke of something much deeper. Something close to her heart…like the discussion she’d shared with her brothers.

  Yes. This conversation was about a young man.

  “What’s his name?”

  She peeked askance at Tessa, but not an ounce of surprise crossed her face. In fact, if anything, respect smoothed the tension in her brow. “Jeremy. He’s an artist, and unbelievably gifted.”

  Tessa inwardly grimaced, but kept her opinions to herself.

  “I know from the outside it must seem ridiculous. Poor little rich girl and all that.”

  “I don’t think your concerns are ridiculous at all.” She shrugged. “Look at Dibs. He’s convinced getting his parents’ approval means nothing, when even I can tell that’s not true. But I also think they may have left him no choice. The pressure has got to be enormous. It breaks my heart.”

  “Do what I say or get booted.” Caroline nodded.

  Tessa’s shoulders fell, her heart tumbling into her stomach along with them. She had been right. Based on Caroline’s words, her fear for Dibs truly had merit. The circumstances were every bit as dire as she imagined.

  She replayed everything she had learned about Dibs while she was here—the conversation on the stairs, the stories of his childhood, their disagreement about getting married. She braced her forehead in her hand as a dark shadow eclipsed her heart. Dibs would fight his parents and risk the possibility of being ostracized because he thought it was the right thing to do, for her and for their future.

  Tipping her head back, she searched the ceiling for a ray of hope, a light at the end of what was surely to be a long dark tunnel in their relationship. She finally faced Caroline. “Has it always been this way?”

  “It has always been this way.” She left the fireplace to join Tessa on the couch. “Even before my father was born. It’s the Brenner legacy. The parents decide whom the children should marry.”

  She had to be kidding. Hadn’t prearranged marriage gone the way of oil lamps and petticoats? “No one has ever bucked the system?”

  “Well, sure.” She glanced at Tessa. “But we no longer associate with those Brenners.”

  “Oh.” With every word, things just got better and better. What was she ever going to do?

  “He doesn’t know about the money.” Caroline rubbed her palms over her thighs.

  “Jeremy?”

  She nodded. “He despises people with money. He thinks we’re all phony. The bourgeois rich, he calls us.”

  “Does he think you’re phony?”

  Her eyebrows lifted. “No, I don’t think so.”

  “Well, then, he’s wrong, isn’t he?”

  She smiled gratefully.

  “Are you planning to tell him?”

  “I don’t know how.” She propped her elbows on her knees, fingers fidgeting. “I don’t want to lose him, but no matter what I do, it seems unavoidable. Ours is a doomed relationship.”

  Remorse tugged at Tessa’s heartstrings, tempered with a profound familiarity. She and Caroline were both struggling with the same issues, fighting the same enemy in order to protect the ones they loved. If they could somehow become friends, their relationship just might be the saving grace they both needed.

  That friendship would never happen, unless she was honest, though. Unless she told Caroline the truth…the whole truth.

  Tessa steeled her heart in preparation for a leap of faith, voice low, staring into the fire. “Dibs is going to buck the system. And he’s going to do it for me.”

  Caroline lowered chin. “I know.”

  “He proposed.”

  She whipped around, and a rueful smile tugged at Tessa’s lips. “Don’t worry. I know I can’t allow a marriage to happen…I won’t allow it to happen.”

  Caroline sat silent for a long moment before dropping her gaze to the floor. “Wow. You must really love him.”

  “I do.” A swell of warm tears rushed Tessa’s eyes, the fire blurring in her vision. “And my great fear is I love him so much, it will only end up destroying us in the end.”

  The front door swung open, ushering in a frigid gust of air. Tessa locked onto Caroline, hoping to convey the trust she had just offered, so their exchange would remain priv
ate. Caroline searched her face and nodded.

  Marcus and Dibs entered behind them, cheeks ruddy, booted feet covered in powdery snow, removing their hats and gloves and laughing while they unzipped their jackets. The way they were enjoying one another’s company lit a small flame of hope inside Tessa’s heart. Their camaraderie made the struggle of the past two days all worthwhile, even more so after learning of their history.

  Perhaps…in some small way…spending time with Dibs’s family was the real reason they had come to Vail, after all.

  Chapter Seventeen

  Sitting at her desk, sliding her letter opener into envelope after envelope, Tessa remained blissfully distracted by the tantalizing visuals of her last few days in Vail.

  After Caroline and Marcus departed, she and Dibs hadn’t left the house for anything. Why, when they could cuddle in front of a toasty fire, visit with Theresa and Gerald, and swim in an Olympic size pool—where she happily modeled each of her new swimming suits for Dibs? One whole night they picnicked on the floor of the master suite, the golden-pink rays of the setting sun streaking like an iridescent fan behind the mountains—surprised when a new day dawned and they’d never slept because they found everything they needed in each other. Time ceased to exist at Bernhamwood, the hours fleeting by while she gazed into her lover’s clear, blue-gray eyes. And whenever she tired and her lids fluttered closed, his breath was a reassurance in her ear, the velvet sweep of his lips tended hers. He would nuzzle her ear or trace the curve of her shoulder with the tip of his tongue, the stubble on his cheek a heady aphrodisiac along her skin.

  Each vision of their love-making sent thrills racing through her body, a heated rush of blood to her cheeks. Never before had she imagined such an all-consuming love could exist.

  The phone rang, and she smiled at the spike of excitement in her belly. Even the thought of his voice nearly had her unglued. “TNT Entertainment, this is Tessa.”

  “Is this as hard for you as it is for me?”

  She laughed. “I was just thinking about you.”

  “When can you leave?”

  “Dibs, it’s only a little after ten. I’ve got a ton of stuff to get through before I can even remotely consider leaving.”

  “Six o’clock is eight hours away. I’m never going to make it.”

  “Think about that night in the Jacuzzi. You’ll make it.”

  “I know you like to torture me, Rex, but that’s just cruel.”

  She cleared her throat. “Oh, okay. Then think about tonight, when I plan to—”

  “Yeah, I’m hanging up now.” The phone went dead.

  A wicked chuckle shook her chest as she lowered the receiver to the cradle.

  The majority of her day was spent with Tiffany and her new assistant, Roxanne, catching up on everything that had transpired while Tessa was away. She updated her calendar, and then reviewed the assistant candidates Tiffany had penciled into her schedule before sorting through her huge pile of mail.

  The clock finally ticked toward six, and even though stacks still littered her desk, each piece of paper had passed before her eyes or been stuck in her to-do folder.

  She pulled out her brush and compact, anticipation fluttering through her stomach. Only a few minutes and Dibs would be coming through the door, a smile on his lips, his strong arms open and waiting to receive her.

  The phone rang and she snapped her chin over. Oh no… If he was running late, she was apt to crawl out of her skin. “TNT Entertainment, this is Tessa.”

  “I had a feeling you’d be there.” She sharply inhaled. No, not Michael. Anyone but Michael. “Still like to work late, huh?”

  A hot needle of irritation wormed through her chest and she fought the urge to slam the phone into the cradle. He thought he still knew her so well…

  “Are you there?”

  “What do you want, Michael?” Elbows perched on her desk, shoulders high and tight, she kept her focus pinned to the front door. If Dibs chose this moment to appear, her goose was cooked.

  “I need to speak with you.”

  “So speak.”

  “Not over the phone. We should meet in person.”

  “Yeah, that’s not gonna happen.”

  “Look, I have some important things to discuss with you. And I’m not comfortable doing it over the phone.”

  “Well, I’m not comfortable doing it in person, so there we are.”

  The doorbell rang and her heart raced forward when Dibs breached the threshold and grinned at her across the distance. She needed off the phone. Right now. “The restaurant in the basement of the Palmer House,” she whispered. “One o’clock tomorrow.”

  Whatever Michael had to say had better be worth it. She replaced the receiver and stood.

  “Hi.” Dibs entered her office, eyes shimmering with desire. He rounded her desk, clasped her hips and yanked her forward, capturing her lips with his. His arms encircled her. The tip of his tongue danced lightly into her mouth. He trailed kisses down her neck, his hand nestled in the small of her back. “God, I missed the way you smell today.”

  She shivered when his breath tickled the tender skin under her ear.

  “I missed the way you feel.” He cinched her tighter, tangling his hands in her hair. “I missed your lips.” He tipped her head back and dotted kisses along her mouth.

  She linked her hands behind his neck. “Anything else?”

  “Your eyes.” He balanced his forehead against hers. “I missed the way you look at me.”

  She smiled.

  “Hi,” he said again.

  She laughed quietly. “Hi.”

  And standing in his arms, submersed in a love so strong it nearly stole her breath, a crisp image of Michael’s face flashed through her mind. Only moments before, she had agreed to see him.

  Dibs abruptly straightened, a crease denting his brow. “What’s the matter?”

  Shit! “What? Nothing, why?”

  His jaw tightened as he perused her face. “You suddenly had a strange look in your eyes.” He scanned her desk. “Who was that on the phone?”

  “No one. Just a client.”

  “Are you sure? Tell me what’s wrong.”

  “Nothing, really.” She closed the distance between them, hiding her face over his shoulder to avoid his intent inspection. “How was your day?”

  “Fine.” He withdrew and lifted her chin with the tips of his fingers. “You sure you’re all right?”

  “Yep. I’m just ready to get out of here.” She left his arms for her office door and removed her coat and purse from the hook. “Come on, let’s go home.”

  ****

  Her first thought as she came fully awake—she had consented to meet with Michael that afternoon. She tried to block the nauseating visual from her mind, tightened her arms around Dibs, and snuggled deeper against him. How could she leave such a warm safe place only to start a day when she would have to look into Michael’s sad brown eyes? Sit across the table from him while he explained…whatever it was he needed to explain. The mere idea was revolting.

  A pair of supple lips kissed the top of her head. “Good morning.”

  “Morning.” She pushed up on her elbow. “I love you, David Isaac Brenner.”

  He frowned. “What’s the matter?”

  Dammit! The man could read her like a book. “I say I love you and you ask me what’s the matter?”

  Sadness softened the corners of his eyes as he combed his fingers through her hair. “Whatever it is, you know you can tell me, Rex.”

  She folded her arms across his chest, her chin balanced on her hands. The last thing she wanted was for him to doubt her love. “If something was wrong, I would tell you. But since there isn’t, I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

  He lifted an eyebrow, but the slight tip of his head said he was prepared to let the issue go…for now, at least. “What’s your day like today?”

  “Busy. Lots of interviews for the assistant’s position, why?”

 
“I thought we might have lunch.” He brought a lock of hair to her lips.

  She covered her slight hesitation with a quick shrug. “Can’t.”

  “Okay, what is wrong with you?”

  “Nothing! I swear to God, you’re making me nuts.” She pecked his lips. “I love you very much and now I’m getting in the shower.”

  His hand slid down her arm as she rolled from the bed. “Hey,” he said.

  She met his eyes over her shoulder.

  “I love you, too.”

  ****

  By the time Dibs dropped her at work, Tessa’s concerns regarding Michael had dulled to an insignificant nuisance. More than likely, her first instincts had been right. Whatever he wanted would be of little to no consequence to her, and expending any more energy over whatever he deemed so important was certainly a waste of time. Instead, she would use this opportunity to stare him directly in the face and tell him to get lost for the last and final time.

  Her bigger fear was how meeting Michael might hurt Dibs. What if he somehow found out? Would he be angry? Distraught? Dismissive? His reaction was hard to predict without having all the facts. If she met with Michael on her own, then she could decide whether not to involve Dibs. Maybe Michael’s concerns surmounted to nothing other than a simple request. She could tell him no and forget he ever existed. The whole thing could be swept aside, and she and Dibs would both have one less thing to worry about.

  She spent the morning in interviews, candidate after candidate sitting opposite her desk explaining why they would be the perfect addition to TNT. None of her choices really knocked her socks off, but then again, the constant distraction of the impending appointment percolating in the back of her brain made concentrating nearly impossible. After setting the last of the morning’s folders aside, she checked her desk clock to find the dreaded hour had arrived.

  Snagging her coat and purse from the back of the door, a queasy anxiety roiling in her belly, she crossed reception and knocked on Tiffany’s open door. “I have some errands to run.”

  “’Kay.” She glanced up and did a double-take. “What’s wrong?”

  Tessa slumped. “I swear to God. Am I wearing a huge sign on my forehead that says ‘I’m in the midst of a crisis’?”