Still The One

by Joan Reeves

  "What got into her," Ally asked.

  Burke shrugged. "I guess she didn't want breakfast." He looked at his watch. "I've got to fly."

  "We haven't finished discussing this."

  "Yes, we have. I think there's a guest list on the writing desk in my bedroom. Look it over and we'll talk later." He turned to go. "Oh. I guess you'll need something to wear to the party. I forgot about it when we went shopping." He reached into his pocket and pulled out his wallet. He tossed a platinum card ontp the table. "Use this. My treat. Maybe shopping will use up some of your nervous energy so you'll be too tired to argue tonight." He grinned. "And take the Jag. The keys are on the desk too."

  Ally's mouth dropped open in mock surprise. "You're trusting me with your prized possession? I'm honored."

  "Don't be a wise ass." His grin took the sting out of his words. "But, please, do be careful with it."

  Chapter 9

  Ally changed into tan slacks and a matching sleeveless blouse. She ran a brush through her hair and applied some lipstick before she went to Burke's room. As soon as she stepped through the doorway, she could smell his after shave. She inhaled deeply and closed her eyes. How intense would the scent be if she pressed her lips to his skin? His presence was so strong in the room, Ally felt her nipples pucker in longing.

  She looked at the massive bed that occupied the middle of the immense room. Deirdre had already made the bed and vacuumed in here. Even though the monochromatic-loving decorator had struck here too, Burke's bedroom had more personality to it than the rest of the house. His presence was stamped on the room by the musky scent of his cologne, the paper-strewn mahogany writing desk, and the stack of books, crowned with a graphite-colored ebook reader, on the bed table.

  With Burke gone, she tested the bed, flinging herself into the middle of the huge ivory quilted spread. Just lying here and dreaming about Burke made her dizzy with longing. She stretched and then luxuriated in the feel of the quilted silk fabric, turning her face into the covers to enjoy his scent. She couldn't help indulging in thoughts of what might have been if life had worked out differently.

  After a few minutes, Ally rose, not wanting to take the chance that the stern housekeeper would find her lounging on the boss's bed. To her consternation, she saw a faint smudge of coral lipstick on the spread. Blood stained her cheeks. Great. Just great. She grabbed a tissue from the box on the bed table and carefully rubbed the tiny patch. After a bit, it just looked like a pink spot. Maybe he wouldn't notice it.

  She saw the car keys on the writing desk. Beneath the keys, she noticed a piece of paper covered with his scrawling handwriting. Ally plucked the keys off the paper and read the message written in bold, block letters.

  Meet me at the office for lunch at noon if you're not too chicken.

  "You insufferable jerk!" She exclaimed. Yet she couldn't help the smile that bubbled up. She turned on her heel and left his room, forgetting in her haste to straighten the rumpled spread.

  * * *

  Burke sat in his office and stared out the window. He'd got himself in a pickle. All he could think about was Ally. He should be concentrating on the typed reports on his desk, but he'd given up on them an hour ago.

  Impatiently, he checked his watch. Another hour until noon. Would Ally show for lunch? A tap on his door brought him out of his reverie. "What's up, Dave?"

  "Just thought I'd let you know that I'm bringing Clarissa tonight."

  "Great. Did you tell Meg so she could make reservations?" At Dave's nodding assent, Burke asked, "How many does that make?"

  "I think Meg said she'd made reservations for seventeen, just in case Ally's grandmother feels like driving up from Galveston."

  "Excellent, excellent. I offered to send someone after Mrs. Fletcher, but she would have none of that. Maybe if she comes, Ally won't feel like such an outsider."

  Burke stared out the window. He didn't notice the kids playing in the park across the road nor their mothers who watched them. In his mind's eye, he was seeing Ally. At least, he was seeing her the way he wanted her to be tonight when he brought her home from dinner. Relaxed and in a good mood from the camaraderie of his friends, the great food, and the frozen margaritas. Burke grinned.

  "Uh, Burke?" Dave asked.

  "Oh, sorry, Dave." Burke turned back. "Anything else?"

  Dave chuckled. "I guess not. Somehow I have a feeling you won't be worth killing until the next two weeks are past. And I'm not referring to Sakamoto." He lifted a hand to stop Burke's protests. "It's cool, man. I should tell you. Frederick's on his way up."

  Burke watched his friend, and the vice president of his company, leave. Unfortunately, Dave was right. He couldn't seem to focus the way he normally did. And he couldn't seem to stop fantasizing about Ally. Having her share his home had backfired on him.

  What did he want where Ally was concerned? He'd thought he wanted revenge. Instead of plotting vengeance though, he spent most of his waking hours scheming about how to get her in his bed and his sleeping hours dreaming about the same thing.

  When his grandfather poked his head in, Burke waved him in. "You know, Granddad, this is all your fault."

  "Uh oh. What have I done now?"

  "It's Ally, Granddad." Burke ran his hands through his hair. "She's driving me crazy."

  "Well, what's she doing, Burke?"

  "Lots of things."

  "Like what?"

  "Well, she walks around there in little shorts and a tee shirt that barely covers her wasit. She could at least put something over her legs," he blustered. "And then she sticks her hair up where it's half up and half trailing down her back. Makes her look as if she'd been rolling around in bed. And she paints her toe nails a red so blatant that even they look provocative."

  "Yeah," Frederick said wryly, "I can see how that would upset a man."

  "And, the way she smells."

  "Stinks huh?"

  "No! If only she did! It's that perfume she wears. I walk in at night and smell her as soon as I step into the living room. It makes me," he broke off. His face flushed. "Never mind."

  "Still a sucker for her, huh?" Frederick asked with a broad grin.

  "The more I'm around her the more confused I get," Burke said. "I should have bundled her off to Dallas when I had the chance."

  "Well, it's not too late. You can get Meg to make a reservation for the next flight."

  "No, I can't do that."

  "Why not? It's a simple problem that can be solved with a phone call to an airline."

  Burke fidgeted. "It's just not that easy."

  "Why not?"

  "It's just not. Okay? Let's change the subject. "Have you decided to come to dinner with us tonight?"

  Frederick could hardly suppress his glee. "I might drop by," he told his grandson. "Got to run now. Just wanted to check out the lay of the land, so to speak. See you later."

  Frederick put action to his words and nearly ran from Burke's office. As soon as he was in the hall, he pulled out his cell phone.

  "Darlin', it's going great. Things are progressing just the way I figured they would. Like grandfather, like grandson, I guess." He chuckled then asked, "So tell me, have you looked over the calendar and selected a date for us yet?"

  Chapter 10

  When Ally pulled in to the parking lot in front of Burke's office building, she was a nervous wreck. She saw Frederick sitting in his car and parked in the row behind him. Nervously she tapped the steering wheel while she waited. He was smiling while he talked on his cell phone. How was she going to explain this latest little fiasco? She hoped Frederick could help. Seeing him here must be a sign that her abominable luck was changing for the better. When she saw him tuck his phone away, she left the Jag and went to him.

  He glanced up when she tapped on the window. He smiled a welcome and got out of his Cadillac. "Ally, what a pleasant surprise."

  "Granddad, you have got to help me."

  "Why, what's wrong?"

  "I need you to take me
to the airport. Please."

  Frederick frowned. "What? Why would you want me to do that?" He looked as disturbed by the proposition as Ally felt. "I thought you had promised Burke you'd stay for two weeks."

  "I did. But when he sees what happened to his car, he's going to murder me, then he'll be sentenced to prison, and his life will be ruined." Ally tried to laugh at her feeble attempt at humor, but she knew her smile probably looked as weak as she felt.

  Frederick laughed. "Gosh, for a minute you scared me. Now what has you so upset?"

  "Come with me." Ally took his arm and led him around to the right side of the Jag. She pointed and whispered, "Just look."

  "Oh, dear." Frederick walked over and squatted down to look at the crumpled right rear fender.

  "It wasn't my fault," Ally said diffidently. "I know Burke is going to hate me for sure now."

  "Whoa. Slow down. Stop pushing the panic button and tell me what happened."

  She shrugged helplessly. "I don't know. I came out of the mall and saw it immediately. Someone must have backed into the Jag and just left! Drove off without bothering to leave their name or address!"

  Frederick shook his head. "Well, those things do happen."

  "But why to me? And why to Burke's car?" She wailed, "He's going to kill me."

  "No, he's not. Just explain and he'll understand."

  "But he loves this blasted car," she said tearfully. "He told me how much it means to him."

  Frederick nodded. He wanted to tell her that Burke loved her even more, even if his hard-headed grandson wouldn't admit it even to himself. But he dared not. It was too early. Besides, those words needed to come from Burke.

  "You could always, uh, how shall I say this delicately, withhold disclosure until another time," he advised with a grin.

  "Oh, no. I couldn't do that. That would be like lying." Ally protested. "And I'm sure he'll notice it."

  The decision was taken out of her hands for Burke stepped out of the double glass doors in the main entrance and headed toward them. Ally faced him as if she were facing a firing squad.

  "My Jag! What did you do to my Jag?" Instead of a shout, Burke's question was an intense, mournful whisper.

  Ally trembled. Then the dam of tears breached the flood gate of her control. "I'm sorry. Oh, Burke, it's horrible I know. I feel terrible about this. I'm so sorry."

  Without quite knowing how it happened, Ally found herself in his arms. His hands stroked her hair as he murmured meaningless words to her. The storm of tears passed as quickly as they'd come, but she remained still. His embrace felt wonderful. Elation swept away the last shred of misery, and she simply savored being in his arms. Gee, if she'd known it would feel this great, she'd have crumpled that fender long before now. She sighed and swiped at the tears on her cheeks.

  Burke took out his handkerchief and handed it to her. He saw Tiffany exit the building and waved her away, not wanting to be interrupted. She chose not to follow his bidding. Of course, she was still miffed at him even though she was back to a "business first, personal second" attitude.

  Tiffany walked over to the Jag and bent down. "Tsk, tsk," she said. Her fingers stroked the new scar on the automobile. Then she looked up. "My, my, I'm always amazed at how some women try to worm their way out of their responsibilities by shedding tears."

  Ally's head jerked up. "What did you say?"

  "You heard me. I didn't whisper."

  "I'm not trying to shirk my responsibility. I'll gladly pay for the damage to Burke's car."

  "Are you sure you can afford it?"

  Ally saw red. "You're darn right I can! I could even afford to have plastic boobs like yours if I wanted them."

  "Uh, we’d better get moving," Burke said, stepping between the two women hurriedly.

  "That's okay, Burke. I'm not going to attack your pretend-wife," Tiffany smirked. "I learned a long time ago that the same women who use tears, hurl insults when confronted with a woman who is smarter, better looking, and more physically appealing."

  To cap off her little speech, she leaned toward Burke and kissed him on the mouth. "See you later, lover," she said and patted his cheek.

  Burke didn't know who was more shocked, Ally or him. But he suspected he was. What had gotten into Tiff? Speechless, he watched Tiffany walk away, obviously working it. She walked and moved in a way he'd never seen before.

  Ally seethed. "So you and Tiffany are just business partners? You were going to have a marriage of convenience? Ha!"

  She was jealous! Again, he found that her jealousy didn't disturb him as much as it once would have. Was that because he was the insecure one now?

  "I guess this means we won't be lunching together?" Burke asked. He grinned like he was supremely happy about something. What, Ally couldn't begin to guess.

  Feeling like a fool for reverting to old bad habits, like jealousy, she made a quick escape. Burke didn't stop her from climbing into the Jag and driving away.

  She knew she needed help. She'd deluded herself where Burke Winslow was concerned. Teach him how it felt to be jealous? That was a laugh. She was the one who'd been on the receiving end of that lesson today. But it wasn't too late to turn the tables.

  She pulled into the local hamburger joint and ordered a vanilla shake at the drive-thru. While she waited in line, she decided to call Preston. He'd help. She'd explain how she had exaggerated their friendship into a romance. He'd play along if only because he had a heightened sense of the ridiculous. She grabbed her cell phone before she lost her nerve.

  When he answered, she said, "Preston, I need your help, and you can't say no."

  "Well, hello to you too, Ally Cat. I figured you'd be changing your mind about staying in Houston."

  Preston’s irrepressible good humor made it easy to explain what she wanted. "You remember a long time ago how you asked me to act as your personal twelve-step program so that if you were going to fall again for a no-good bimbo, I would talk you out of it?"

  "Sure. But I’m between engagements you might say."

  "I know you don't need me, but I need you to talk me out of something totally insane. Tell me I’m nuts if need be."

  "Okay, you’re nuts. Now tell me why you’re nuts."

  "Well, it’s Burke."

  "Uh oh. I told you not to go down there. You should have telephoned your almost-ex."

  Ally grimaced. "Believe me, I wish I had taken your advice. He blackmailed me into staying here, but it's a heck of a lot more difficult than I imagined it would be."

  When Preston erupted into loud laughter, Ally held the phone away from her ear. Then she said, "Would you quit laughing. This isn’t funny."

  "Oh, yes it is. The mighty Ally has fallen. Funny I didn’t hear anyone yell timber over you."

  "Preston, it’s not like that. It’s just . . . .just," her voice trailed off.

  "Love?" Preston finished for her.

  "No!" Ally drove forward a car length and stopped. "No. It's not love," she said vehemently. "I guess it's just lust."

  "Excuse me?" he asked.

  "Don’t mock me. I am twenty-four years old. I can lust if I want to."

  That really set him to laughing. "This I’ve got to see."

  "Rather than sending you a video, why don't you just come down here and witness it first hand?"

  "Yeah. I think I will. I just turned in that piece I was doing for the museum. I think I'll take the next week and a half off and visit you."

  "Would you?"

  "You mean you really want me to?" he asked, sounding surprised.

  "Preston, I'll be your devoted friend forever if you'll do that."

  "Ally, are you all right?"

  "Just a minute. I've got to pay for my milkshake." She drove up, handed the money to the girl, and took the icy-cold shake. Then she pulled around and parked, took a long pull of the cold, sweet goodness and realized she was using food to deal with her emotions.

  Damn.

  She set the cup in the console and told Presto
n, "I have got to get a grip."

  "Yeah. Hitting the ice cream, and it's not even five o'clock," he joked.

  "It's that woman," Ally explained. "That Tiffany that Burke was going to marry. She's making me crazy. Kissed him right in front of me. And he tried to make me believe that she lives and breathes computer print outs, twenty-four-seven. It's not that I'm jealous. Well, actually it is. But I don't have any reason to be. I mean," she ground to a halt. "It's not as if I have any claim on him."

  "You're his wife, aren't you?" Preston joked.

  "Well, yes, but not really. Oh, this is more complicated than it should be. I just need someone in my corner to kind of serve as a buffer between us. Someone who will remind me of who I am and where I belong. Will you come down here, Preston? Please say you will."

  "Sure, Ally Cat, why not? What are best friends for?"

  Chapter 11

  Ally took special care with her appearance that evening. She decided to leave her long hair loose about her shoulders. She used the curling iron and spent more time than usual styling it. She studied the tousled curls and nodded. That was exactly the effect she wanted so she sprayed it lightly.

  She intended to be on time for the dinner party, but she also intended to make Burke wait until the last possible minute to leave. She hoped Preston would show up before then. He'd told her that he'd rent a car at the airport and be at Burke's house in plenty of time to make their restaurant reservation. Actually, Preston should be ringing the doorbell any minute. She hoped he had sufficient nerve to pass himself off as her lover because she was pretty hopeless when she got around Burke.

  Again, she checked her appearance in the mirror. The bright red dress swirled sexily above her knees. The shirred and gathered halter top displayed her assets to the best advantage. All in all, it was the kind of dress a woman wore to attract a man. She just hoped it would make Burke aware of her as a desirable woman. Maybe she could convince Preston to nuzzle her neck or gaze soulfully into her eyes. That should put Burke off, and give her some breathing room.

  When she couldn't stand the waiting any longer, she grabbed the small red clutch bag and stepped into the red high heel sandals. Her pulse sped up in anticipation as she walked down the stairs. Burke was lounging on the sofa in the great room. She stopped abruptly on the last step.