The Ultimate Romance Box (6 Bestselling Romance Novels)

by Eckhart, Lorhainne

  He chuckled. “I did my high school, college, and law school in Boston.”

  “Why so far from your hometown?”

  “After my parents’ death in a car accident, my grandmother insisted on sending me to America. According to her, Boston has the best educational programs.”

  “Oh I’m sorry. I didn’t know about your parents. Is your grandmother going to be safe there on her own?”

  “She came with me, to live here with my sister.”

  “Here? In your condo?”

  “No, in her own house, a place my grandfather bought years ago in Bayview.”

  “Oh.” Afraid to pry into his family affairs, she didn’t ask if it was a little house in the secluded neighborhood or one of the mansions on the Intracoastal. To think she’d dreamed about visiting his place of birth with him. “You should have asked me to go along,” she teased, eager to learn more about his mysterious past in mafia land.

  “To Sicily? You’d have come?”

  “For a few days. Why not?”

  “Oh.”

  “You mentioned a sister. Any brothers?” she blurted before thinking.

  “My older brother died years ago.” His voice hardened, forbidding more probing.

  “An accident too?”

  “A gunshot.”

  His stony expression froze the words in her throat. “Oh.” A slight shiver skated down her spine. She knew very little about her gorgeous neighbor although she’d melted in his arms as soon as he’d returned, and they’d almost made love a moment ago. Love?

  Her fingers tensed in his hand. She never took the word love lightly. Greg repeated he loved her often enough, and she thought she loved him until the day she discovered she hated him.

  And now with Dante? An unfamiliar angst twisted her heart. She’d rather not play with the word love. A long sigh escaped her.

  “What’s wrong? We just had a lovely time together.”

  “We almost...had sex.” She bit her lip, already regretting her eagerness.

  Suddenly halting, he pulled her hard against him. “Don’t make it sound cheap, Alexa. I’m too attracted to you to call it just sex. And I know you’re attracted to me.”

  “I am. Honestly.” Her heartbeat echoed against his in the night.

  He uttered a doubtful grumble.

  “Dante, I’m going away soon. I’d better not give in to any attraction.” Or any feelings.

  “I know, Alexa. Maybe with time I’ll be able to convince you that all men are not jerks. Like your ex and Steve.”

  Before she could answer, he cupped her face and kissed her on the mouth, a tender kiss that soothed and reassured her. Taking a step back, he gazed at her for a moment, then turned back, and put on his tank-top.

  “We’re almost at the Blue Waves.” She slipped on her capris and donned her blouse over her dry bikini.

  ****

  They crossed the garage and reached the entrance to the building. Dante opened the door for Alexa and let her pass in front of him into the lighted hallway leading to the lobby.

  “Oh dear.” She froze in her tracks at the sight of Greg flanked by his girl friend, Dianna Oliveira, and their neighbor, Julia Bairey. If looks could kill, Alexa would surely be pulverized by the three of them. Bracing for battle, she squinted.

  “Where have you been?” Greg called out as he strode toward her, his eyebrows gathered in a stern scowl.

  Her chin hitched up. “What’s wrong, Greg?”

  “The detective is going to be here in five minutes. You’re not even dressed yet.”

  Still out of sight in the darkness of the garage, Dante gently rubbed his hands over her back. His touch filled her with warmth and urged her to keep her cool. Focusing a cold stare on Greg, she shrugged. “I don’t plan to go upstairs,” she said, challenging the rebuke in his eyes and voice.

  “You aren’t going to attend this meeting like that?” His face reddened, he gestured toward Dianna and Julia, both looking as if they were heading for a dinner party. Sultry, raven-haired Dianna sashayed in a short red dress molding her hips and revealing a plunging décolletage. High-heeled red slippers elongated her perfectly tanned legs. Julia, petite and blonde, wore her trademark black pants and a classy printed silk blouse.

  For the first time in her life, Alexa felt out of character… and didn’t give a damn about it. “Watch me.” She wouldn’t let Greg intimidate her in front of her two nemeses.

  Julia took a step forward and narrowed her baby blues. “You could at least have the decency to be presentable when defending yourself.” She hissed under Alexa’s nose.

  Dianna smiled. Her dark eyes glimmered, made bigger by a heavy layer of mascara, and her lips curled into a condescending twitch.

  Alexa frowned. “Defending myself from what?”

  “From causing Steve’s death, of course.”

  “Are you crazy?” Alexa wouldn’t let the woman drag her into a useless squabble. “Move over, you guys. I have a meeting to attend.” She spun toward Dante who rewarded her effort with a big smile.

  “Superb,” he whispered as he stepped from the garage into the hallway, his sudden appearance causing their three opponents to gasp. The women focused their hungry gazes on the tank-top hugging his wide shoulders and muscled chest.

  Greg’s face turned apoplectic at the sight of Dante. “Cantari, no one told me you were back. You’re supposed to notify the front desk as soon as you arrive from a trip.”

  Dante smiled saccharinely. “In that case, I’m not officially here yet.” He waved Alexa to go ahead.

  “You were swimming together?” Julia asked, her eyebrows rising suspiciously.

  “I hope you don’t plan to sit in on this meeting with us,” Greg snapped.

  “I appreciate your concern, Partson,” Dante said, keeping an unwavering smile in place.

  Alexa stifled a chuckle. Greg who intimidated people into compliance was now at a loss for words. At least for the moment.

  Leaving Greg and the two women, Dante touched his hand to Alexa’s back and accelerated his pace toward the conference room. As they reached the door, a tall sturdy man accompanied by a security guard came from the lobby.

  Greg caught up with them and extended a hand to the newcomer who introduced himself. “Detective Bob Ladd.”

  The detective reminded Alexa of an overweight and taller Hercule Poirot. Same dark hair, cynical dark eyes and dark mustache, but the man was huge, with large beefy shoulders and arms.

  Greg shook his massive hand. “Greg Partson, my wife, Alexa. Mrs. Julia Bairey, Steve’s widow, and Dianna Oliveira. All neighbors.”

  Dante smiled as Greg conspicuously avoided mentioning his name.

  “Ex-wife,” Alexa specified. “Dianna is Greg’s fiancée and Dante Cantari is my lawyer.”

  “Since when?” Greg asked with a scowl.

  “No way,” Julia said, and then pursed her lips. “I asked him to be my lawyer months ago. Way before you.”

  Not in a mood to start a discussion, Alexa shrugged and remained quiet.

  Dante shook hands with Detective Ladd. “We’re ready, sir.”

  The detective’s back hunched a tad. He twitched his mustache and examined them as if he were a cat weighing his options. Which mouse to consume for appetizer and which one to leave for dessert? “I’d like to get the names of the people who talked to the deceased today, and then I’ll interview you one at a time. So let’s go to the conference room and start.”

  They settled around the long oak table. The detective put his pad and a wireless mini-recorder on the table. “As you can see I use a recorder to help my fading memory. Getting old and weak is difficult,” he added, as he cracked a pencil in two. Julia cringed, but Dianna licked her lips and her eyes sparkled with excitement. How could she date Greg when she drooled at the sight of macho hunks and physical strength?

  Greg sniffed, a sure sign he didn’t appreciate the detective’s high-handed manners.

  “Before I ask any questions, can
each of you please write down your name, address, and phone number?” He tore sheets of paper from a notepad and distributed them with pens. His gaze rested on each of them in turn as they filled their sheets.

  “Done,” they said one after the other.

  “Thank you.” He scanned the first sheet of paper and turned the tape recorder on. “Now I’ll ask you all a few general questions. Mrs. Bairey, you live here in the Blue Waves. Apartment 1202.”

  “Correct.”

  “How did your husband start his day?”

  Julia snorted. “How should I know? He doesn’t live with me anymore.” She threw a venomous glare at Alexa. “Maybe she could tell you.”

  The detective’s gaze flitted from Julia to Alexa, and then to Greg who didn’t bother answering.

  Dante folded his hands on the table. He’d better take control of the situation before the antagonists bonded against Alexa. “Mrs. Bairey and the deceased were separated. Steve shared apartment 502 with his business partner, Carter Morton.”

  “Thank you, Mr. Cantari.” Ladd jotted a few words on his pad. “I will talk to Carter Morton later. Now, I need to establish Steve Bairey’s schedule for the day, and then I’ll question each one of you privately.” He spun to fix his eagle’s eyes on Julia. “Did you talk to Mr. Bairey today?”

  She lowered her lashes and hesitated. “He stopped by our apartment for a few minutes.”

  “At what time?” He extracted a new pencil from his briefcase and rolled it between his fingers.

  “I’m not sure. Maybe around one o’clock.”

  “Did anyone else see him or talk to him today?” Ladd’s gaze probed, analyzing the various expressions.

  Dante looked at Alexa. A shadow darkened her eyes, but she straightened. “He came to see me at one thirty.”

  Julia’s eyes shot daggers. Following the detective’s gaze, Dante studied her. Did Ladd draw the same conclusion Dante did? For someone claiming to be so attached to her husband, she looked more like an angry shrew than a saddened widow.

  “How long did he stay, Mrs. Partson?” Ladd waited, his pencil in hand, half way toward his mouth, as if he planned to bite on it.

  “He left by 2:00 pm.”

  “Did anyone else see Steve Bairey after that?”

  Dianna crossed her hands on the table and twiddled her perfectly manicured fingers. “I passed by the Jacuzzi on my way from the beach. I stopped and talked to him for a few minutes,” she said with a lilting voice and a Latino accent.

  “I wonder if you were the last person to talk to him,” the detective mused. “Was any one else around?”

  “There were people in the pool around the corner, but he was alone in the hot tub.”

  “Thank you. Did anyone else see him today?”

  “I saw him in the elevator, around noon,” Dante said.

  “Were you going up or down?”

  “Up. I’ve just arrived from the airport. He got off at the fifth floor.”

  “Okay. Mr. Partson?”

  “I saw him several times. In the morning and later in the afternoon. I’ll tell you about the details later.”

  Dante stifled a sigh of exasperation and noticed Detective Ladd’s eyes narrowing. Greg had to act differently from everyone else.

  “Very well. Mr. Partson, I’d like to post a note on the bulletin board notifying the owners and residents that anyone who saw and talked to Steve Bairey should come and see me. Now I will talk to each one of you separately. Ms. Oliveira, I’ll start with you. Stay here please. The others leave the room but not the building. You need to be available for questioning tonight.”

  “Why all this questioning?” Dianna asked. “Do you suspect foul play?”

  “So far it’s a simple routine investigation,” Ladd answered, his tone as neutral as could be, without looking at any one of them in particular. “Oh, and don’t talk to journalists if they contact you for comments.”

  Dianna patted her hair, a subtle smile on her lips. “Really, the press is going to be here? Would they take pictures of us?”

  “I hope not,” Greg grumbled. “We don’t need negative attention on our building.”

  For a change, Dante couldn’t agree more with Greg. The idea of his picture displayed in the newspapers, and maybe captions about the address where he lived, repulsed him.

  They reached the door, but Greg remained seated at his place.

  “Mr. Partson, you can leave too.”

  “Dianna is my girlfriend. We have no secrets from each other.” He accompanied his statement with a menacing look at Dianna that meant he wouldn’t tolerate any secrets on her part. “You can shoot your questions in front of me.”

  Dante stifled a snort. A few minutes ago, Greg had introduced Alexa as his wife, not his ex. Now, it didn’t bother him to publicly reveal that Dianna was his girlfriend. Talk about a nabob.

  “Mr. Partson, please don’t interfere with how I run my investigation,” Ladd said with a cold stare and a glance at his watch. “And don’t delay us. It’s already 8:30.”

  Dante held the door open for Greg and closed it behind him. Even if Greg insisted on staying with Alexa for her interview, he’d be kicked out.

  Greg scowled at him. “You can stop smiling, Cantari. The troubles are just starting. For all of us.”

  Chapter Four

  “Dante, sit down.” Alexa shuddered, blinking several times. “Seeing you standing at the bar reminds me too much of Steve hovering there.” Would she ever stop seeing Steve’s ghost in her home?

  “On the contrary, my dear. Maybe seeing me in the places where he stood will make you forget him. Maybe I should kiss you in every one of those places to give you different images to replace the lousy ones.” He waggled his eyebrows and she couldn’t help laughing. He walked to her and handed her a glass. “Here, a light Zinfandel. It will help you unwind.”

  Alexa didn’t feel like drinking, but automatically extended her hand to accept the drink, her gaze lost in the delectable contemplation of Dante’s wide shoulders, now dressed for the evening in a striped shirt, his strong legs clad in a pair of beige pants. With his dark curls smoothly combed into place, he was the best thing she’d looked at in a long time.

  Although it was already nine, she hoped they would go out for dinner right after their interview with the detective. Alexa had slipped into a black silk dress with a silver sequined top and matching high heeled sandals.

  “Believe me, I was unwinding plenty before we met those people downstairs.” While she sipped the light wine, a thought hit her. “Do you think Greg will keep harassing me now that he’s insisted loudly Dianna is his girlfriend?”

  “Knowing Greg, one has nothing to do with the other. The man sets himself above every decent law and thrives on control. He may show up with the detective. Just ignore him.”

  As if fate had heard them, the bell chimed.

  “I’ll get it.” Alexa rushed to the door, more than eager to get her interview over with.

  Sure enough, Greg accompanied the detective. Detective Ladd turned toward him. “Thank you for bringing me to Mrs. Partson’s apartment. I will talk with Mrs. Bairey next, and then with you.”

  “You can interview Alexa and me at the same time.” As usual, Greg never gave up.

  “Mrs. Partson?” Ladd raised his eyebrows asking her opinion.

  “No. I don’t want anyone present while talking to you,” Alexa said, for the sake of making a point.

  “In that case, excuse us, Mr. Partson.” The detective stepped into her entrance hall and simply closed the door behind him, before Greg could protest.

  “This way, please.” She waved him to the living room where Dante lounged in a chair.

  “Should he go too?” Ladd’s smile indicated he already knew the answer and the reasons behind it.

  “He’s my lawyer.”

  “I see.” His smile widened. He sat in one of the leather chairs, turned on his mini-recorder, and opened his pad. “Mrs. Partson, how long have you known S
teve Bairey?”

  “I met Steve and Julia when they moved into this building eight years ago. Greg and I went out for dinner with them and other neighbors a few times, but we weren’t particularly close. After my divorce, they offered their help. At first they came together to ask if I needed anything from the supermarket, or the hardware store. A year later, Steve started coming on his own.”

  “What would they get you from the stores?”

  “Nothing. Greg made sure the bar and the fridge were well stocked for his own use.”

  “Did Mr. Partson keep coming after your divorce?”

  She sighed. “Divorce didn’t bother Greg. He was here every other day for one reason or another.”

  “You never threw him out?” Ladd arched a curious eyebrow, and Dante studied her sheepish expression and the blush covering her cheeks.

  “I just couldn’t be that rude. You see, Greg was my father’s best friend. He helped me after Dad’s death. He came here mostly to read his email when his computer was down.”

  “Sweet Alexa. Some people don’t deserve your kindness,” Dante mumbled, while shaking his head. “You’re too sweet for your own good.”

  “Have you ever been intimate with Steve Bairey?”

  When Alexa glanced at Dante, the detective cleared his throat. “Do you want Mr. Cantari to step out?”

  “No. I don’t mind talking in front of him. He may as well hear it all now.”

  Dante rewarded her with a warm smile.

  “We used to greet each other with a kiss on the cheek when the four of us met. Steve continued to do this. I didn’t worry about it at first. One day, he tried to give me a deeper kiss. I pushed him away. He wouldn’t let go and started grabbing my breasts. I pulled at his hair, kicked him, and managed to get him off me.” Her gaze flew to Dante.

  His eyes glared with a menacing glow and his lips stretched into a thin line, but he didn’t interrupt her.

  “And?” Ladd prompted.

  “He immediately apologized and told me he’d fallen in love with me and was going to ask Julia for a divorce and marry me. I said, ‘No way. Get out.’ That was a year ago.”

  “Did he bother you again?”