Still The One

by Joan Reeves

  He tried to tell himself it was for the best. No one could live on the emotional roller coaster he and Ally had ridden for the nine months of their marriage. Why just look at the torrent of emotion she had unleashed just by coming here tonight. They'd sniped at each other and flung insults just like in the old days. Old habits were hard to break, he guessed. He took a deep breath and began walking toward her.

  "Well, I guess it really is over," he said lightly. But he didn’t really believe it. "I had some crazy thought that, despite what you said, you really came here to reconcile with me." He knew that if he had more time with her that she’d revert to old habits and reveal her true self.

  "Reconcile?" Ally laughed. "Why, what a thought, Burke. She was proud of her performance. "How silly."

  "Yes, I guess it was my overactive imagination," he joked, feeling more uncertain by the minute. Could she really no longer care? At her continued laughter, he said testily, "It wasn't that funny!"

  Ally smiled. "The first time you and Tiffany get to Dallas, we'll have to have dinner together." That would be when they wore snow suits in Texas in July, she thought, holding her fake smile in place.

  "Oh, yeah. Sure. That will be fun." Burke said as he handed her the coffee mug. An awkward silence fell between them. Was it really, finally over between them?

  Burke seated himself on one of the couches. Ally turned away and set the mug down on the coffee table. She blinked the mistiness from her eyes and sat on the other couch opposite him. She was being silly, but she felt as if she'd lost him all over again. She swallowed hard, refusing to give in to maudlin sentiment. Their relationship had ended long ago. Apparently, despite everything, she just hadn't accepted that fact.

  "Yes," she said bravely. “Dinner with you and your," her mouth snapped shut. Wife. She couldn't say that word. "With you and Tiffany will be lovely." As if interested, Ally pretended to study the design on the coffee cup. Why did she feel so desolate? She'd made a good life for herself without Burke. But, if she could change what had happened six years ago. She risked a glance at him. He made her want to throw the past, and caution, out the window. No other man had ever had this effect on her.

  "So tell me why you broke up my wedding." Burke asked.

  "Oh, yes." Ally took a deep breath. Being near Burke, she felt like a poor little moth contemplating the flame. “You're sure you're ready to hear this?"

  "Quit stalling. At the moment, I'm calm and relaxed, but the chill pill is starting to wear off. I've waited about as long as I can. So start talking. What's this all about?"

  He might be calm now, but it was just the calm before the storm. “I think I'll need this to make it through my story." She sipped her coffee then grimaced.

  "What's the matter? Didn't I put in enough milk and sugar to disguise the taste of coffee?"

  "Actually, I drink it black now." She felt oddly pleased that he'd remembered how she'd drunk her coffee.

  "Oh." He looked sheepish. "I'll get you another cup." He reached for the mug. Their fingers touched, and, suddenly, all Ally could hear was the sound of their breathing. She forgot what they were talking about.

  "What?" she asked breathlessly. She fought the temptation to close her eyes and lean toward him.

  "Huh?" Burke asked. His eyes looked deep into hers.

  Ally's breath caught in her throat. She moved her index finger a millimeter. It slid against his for a brief moment.

  Burke's hand jerked. Coffee sloshed over the rim of his mug and onto his fingers. "Ouch!"

  The spell was broken. "Are you all right?" Ally asked, pulling the mug from his hand.

  "Sure." He pulled his handkerchief from his inside coat pocket and wiped his fingers.

  "The coffee is fine this way," she said hurriedly. "I don't mind it at all."

  Burke's pulse raced like a quarter horse pounding the track. "Okay. Go on with your story." He settled back. His hand felt shaky. He made a fist and squeezed it. He nodded at Ally and gave her a tentative smile.

  When she smiled back at him, Burke stared at the tiny dimple that peeked out from the corner of her mouth. He remembered kissing that dimple. And, suddenly, the only thing he wanted was to kiss it again. What was between them couldn't be over. It couldn't be if he still felt this need, this hunger for her. Whatever had drawn them together still smoldered between them. At least it did inside him. Time seemed to stop for an instant. When it started again, his heart pounded at double speed to catch up. Ally stirred up impulses that would get him into all kinds of trouble.

  Ally kept reminding herself that Burke was six feet two inches of trouble. He didn’t belong to her any more. She needed to get this snafu taken care of and then her life, and his, could get back to normal. She'd go home to Dallas and continue her peaceful life. Her peaceful, dull, boring life, a little voice inside her amended. That was what she wanted.

  Wasn't it?

  Chapter 5

  "You remember when we decided to get divorced?" Ally asked.

  Burke's brows shot up. "Decided to get a divorce? The way I remember it, there was no decision. You decided on your own to get one. I had no say in the matter."

  "Well, you precipitated the matter. I distinctly recall the situation."

  "Yeah," he said, disgust shading his voice. "So do I. You were in a jealous rage when I came home late after a study session."

  "A study session with that woman you spent more time with than with me!" Ally said, trying to keep her voice calm.

  "And you launched into an all out attack, listing my so-called flings since we'd been married." Burke scowled. "I don't know how you think I'd have had the energy to carry on with that many women when I was working full time, not to mention trying to finish my master's degree. Babysitting you and trying to keep you happy was a full time job in itself."

  "Babysitting me? Is that how you saw our marriage? Why, you!" Ally couldn't think of anything foul enough to call him. Guilt rode her hard. He was right, and she knew it though she didn't want to acknowledge it. The truth hurt. She lashed out, "You insensitive, arrogant. . .man!"

  Dismayed that she'd lost control despite her best intentions, she clamped her lips shut, determined to control her roiling emotions. She wouldn't give him the pleasure of thinking she was still that immature. With immense effort, she gained control of her anger, but hurt colored her next words. "I didn't come here to get into that. All I'm trying to tell you is what happened. But, back then. . . ." Her hands twisted in her lap. "I was upset. You told me if I thought you were running around then to divorce you. So I did. I just forgot to sign the darn papers and get them filed."

  "You forgot to sign them?" he asked, his disbelief evident. "How could you forget a thing like that?"

  "I told you. I was upset!" She blew her breath out and stared at him as if daring him to challenge her.

  "Upset? You don't know upset." He slammed his mug down on the coffee table so hard, black liquid sloshed over onto the varnished oak.

  "Well, if you're so smart, why didn't you realize they hadn't been filed? Didn't you think it strange when you never received copies?"

  Burke retrieved his mug and gulped his coffee. It burned all the way down. He didn't look at Ally nor reply. He remembered how he’d thought maybe she had come to her senses. After a while, he’d conveniently forgotten the matter.

  "Well, don't you have an answer?" she prodded.

  "I was upset too," he muttered, not looking at her and not willing to give her the satisfaction of knowing that he’d thought she would come back to him.

  Ally was speechless. Was that hurt she heard in his voice? She cleared her throat. "Yes, well, that's understandable."

  "So how did you find out that we weren't really divorced?"

  "I had a call from my grandmother. You remember Granny Edith?"

  "The one who lives in Galveston, right?" He grinned. "Though I haven't seen her in years, I remember her well. I always thought she and my Granddad would have hit it off."

  "Oh, no." Ally
shook her head vigorously. "I don't think they'd have anything in common."

  "Sure they would." He rolled his eyes. "That's beside the point. We don't need to get into an argument over that. Go on with your story."

  Granny called me at the office today. She said she'd been cleaning out the attic where I have some things stored. In one of the boxes, she found the divorce papers. She looked them over and realized they'd never been signed."

  Ally shrugged. "I don't know how, but she knew that you were getting married today and thought she better tell me."

  "Wow. I can't believe it. Still married after six years of living single."

  Ally bet his single life had been more exciting than hers. Oh, she'd dated, but not seriously. Of course, she'd been busy with college and establishing a career.

  Preston Kesey was the only man she dated regularly, but instead of a lover, Preston had become her best friend. Neither of them wanted more than friendship, but, she decided, Burke didn't need to know that.

  "This news will certainly put a crimp in my social life," Ally said, preferring him to think she had to beat the men off with a stick. "But I shudder to think what would have happened if I hadn't stopped your wedding."

  "Yeah," he said. "Bigamy isn't something I want to list on my resume. I suppose I should thank you for arriving when you did. I just wish it hadn't been quite so dramatic."

  "You and me both. Making a spectacle of myself isn't my idea of fun. Too bad Tiffany didn't stick around to hear the explanation."

  "Well, she probably wouldn't have had time anyway. She still had to pack," his voice trailed off. He flushed.

  "Yes, so she said." Ally couldn't help herself. "I don't mean to be nosy, but she seemed rather, uh, oddly concerned with business."

  "Oh, that." Burke’s ego rallied to the occasion. He was horrified that Ally would probably think he couldn't get a woman. He resented the fact that no woman had ever come close to inciting the emotion in him that Ally had tapped. This was his chance to show her that she didn't still have a hold on him. Because she didn't!

  "Well, Tiff and I are business partners first and foremost." Let Ally infer whatever she pleased from that fatuous statement, he decided.

  Ally dropped her eyes. "Oh. How convenient."

  "Tiffany is a woman in a million," he elaborated, choosing his words carefully. "We've been business partners for years. We share the same priorities in business and life."

  "How nice," Ally murmured.

  I am not jealous of that witch. I am not jealous.

  "We've been together long enough for our relationship to withstand the test of time," Burke said expansively. Nothing he'd said was exactly a lie, he rationalized.

  "How wonderful," she murmured.

  "Our company needs an influx of capital to expand. That’s created a lot of stress. That's one reason Tiffany reacted so oddly. She's stressed out. She's really a wonderful person. I'm sure you would see that if you got to know her."

  "Oh, I'm sure we'll become the best of friends," Ally said. Sure. When pigs skydive.

  Burke looked at her closely. Was she mocking him? "Anyway, we hit a brick wall in our expansion plans. Tonight was just an example of, uh, frayed nerves."

  That's all he would say, Burke decided. Let her go back to Dallas and then he'd worry about getting the money from Sakamoto Limited. Without having to take a wife to do it.

  "So you'll go on with your wedding as soon as this problem is taken care of?"

  "Oh, sure," he lied. "When you've been partners as long as Tiffany and I have, you take things like this in stride."

  Partners, huh? Ally gritted her teeth. Why didn’t he just say lovers? "I see," she managed to reply. "It sounds as if you have a great arrangement. The best of all worlds with none of the legal entanglements. Why spoil a good thing by getting married?"

  Burke shrugged. "To make a long story short, in order to close this deal, I need a wife. Japanese investors are extremely conservative. The gentleman who owns Sakamoto Limited is even more strait-laced than is usual. According to my sources, he views our company as too risky because Tiffany and I jointly own the company and neither of us is married. So we decided to eliminate the problem by formalizing our arrangement."

  "Eliminate the problem? Formalize the arrangement?" Ally's voice trailed off as if she hadn't heard correctly or didn't believe what she'd heard. She shook her head. "That's sounds like you're writing a business plan. You and Tiffany were getting married because you needed a wife? To close a business deal?"

  "And he still needs one." Burke and Ally turned toward his grandfather's voice.

  Frederick Winslow stood in the doorway. "That coffee smells good. Think I'll join you in a cup." He grinned at them. "As they used to say, Elvis has left the building."

  "I beg your pardon?" Ally frowned. "Did you say something about Elvis?"

  "Granddad, I didn't hear you come in." Burke wasn't surprised to see his grandfather. Frederick Winslow seemed to have a knack for being in the center of action in everything. He suspected the man missed his glory days of bossing oil drilling crews.

  "What I mean to say is the chick has flown the coop. Tiffany's dad came back in and told me that they'd be bobsledding down the highest hill in Hades before he'd let his daughter go through this farce again."

  Burke shrugged. "Can't say I blame him. Guess Tiffany and I are back to square one."

  He didn’t sound very upset about the situation, Ally thought. Maybe he wasn’t as committed to Tiffany as he wanted her to think.

  "So what are you going to do, son? You still need a wife. I rather think your partner has decided it's not going to be part of her job description."

  Burke shrugged. "I'll think of something."

  "I guess I've made a mess of things," Ally said uncertainly.

  "Did Burke tell you everything?" Frederick Winslow asked. Before she could answer, he said, "It's a good thing I decided to pop over here. I can shed some light on this situation."

  Burke cringed. With Ally's attention on his grandfather, Burke shook his head and pressed his index finger to his lips in an effort to warn the man not to say anything else.

  His grandfather had never been enthusiastic about the wedding and would no doubt spill the beans to Ally that Tiffany and he had never even had a date. He’d be sure Ally knew every detail about Burke's miserable social life.

  Unfortunately, Frederick Winslow either didn't understand, or he chose to ignore the warning. Knowing how quick-witted his grandfather was, Burke figured the tall, white-haired man who'd raised him and Rod had decided, for whatever reasons, to ignore Burke because he plunged ahead.

  "Did you tell Ally why you and Tiffany came up with this wild scheme?"

  "A little," Burke muttered. He was going to be humiliated. "I was just about to, uh, clear things up when you walked in."

  "Well, don't let me stop you. I'll just be quiet as a mouse."

  That would be the day, Burke thought. "Granddad, I'll take care of this. You can go on home. I'll drop by later and fill you in," Burke said.

  "Oh, that's too much bother for you. I'll just hang out here for a while." He raised his long arms over his head and stretched. "I got tired of listening to all the gossip over in the church. You'd think those people didn't know there was a perfectly good baseball game on tonight. They could be home watching the Astros beat the heck out of the Rangers, but they'd rather flap their jaws about you and Ally."

  Burke and Ally groaned in unison.

  "Let me get my coffee. Go ahead, Burke. Don't mind me." Frederick served himself then came over and sat next to Ally on the couch.

  Burke didn't miss the glimmer of amusement in his grandfather's eyes. Granddad was enjoying this little comedy.

  "I was telling Ally about Sakamoto Limited. You see, Ally, my company has developed software that will revolutionize the computer industry."

  "What's the name of your company?" she asked.

  Burke grinned. "Byte Me, Baby. Spelled b-y-t-e."
r />   "That's cute," Ally said, laughing. "So what does your company do?"

  "We design and manufacture computer software, specifically for low-tech users like seniors. We offer the most user-friendly tutorials created just for people who know nothing about computers. Our latest product makes it possible for users to customize their desktop easier than ever before. Someone can compose a list of the software they want in their machine, and our software will go through a search and destroy, adjust the registry, and organize the software requested. Then it will delete everything else that isn't wanted, including duplicate files, icons on the desktop, everything that was bundled and sold with the computer. You know all those limited trials and other bloatware."

  "That’s such a good idea." Ally felt an undeniable sense of pride for his achievements. "I’ve wanted to get rid of that excess stuff, but I discovered that if you delete a program you don’t want then another program you might want could be affected and not work properly if the registry was altered."

  "Exactly. Our software will analyze every file of every program that you want and then configure the entire system to work properly. Just think of the market for a product like this that's just plain easy to use. We've worked for four years to develop this."

  "When Burke and Tiffany first went into business, they bought the old Havenpark Social Club building," Frederick said.

  "It didn't cost much to remodel it for producing our first products, mostly games, but we need to expand and upgrade the facility before production can be started on this new project," Burke said.

  "So that's where Sakamoto comes in," she summed up.

  "Right. We need a capital investment to get underway. Of course, we'll recover the start-up expenses in a relatively short period of time."

  "I see why this is so important to you," she said.

  "Even by Japanese standards, Sakamoto is terribly old-fashioned. He thinks that a man and woman who are business partners, and not married to each other. . . ." Burke shrugged.