Ali took the grocery bag out of his arms and marched to the kitchen. “How about we make dinner first, and if there’s time, I’d love to go.”
Royce followed her into the kitchen. “Sounds good to me.” Then Royce cast a thoughtful look her way. “Hey, Ali, why’d you call me out of the blue?”
She turned away from the groceries she’d been removing from the bag and smiled. “We’re friends, aren’t we?”
“Yeah, but you’ve been busy lately.”
“I know I have. The truth is I missed having a friend to talk to.”
“You can’t talk to your, uh, boyfriend?”
Ali only smiled. She couldn’t give Royce a good explanation without spilling her whole sordid deception.
“Is he out of town?”
“No! I wouldn’t do that to you, Royce. The fact is, he wanted to come over tonight, but I realized I’ve been neglecting my friends. Besides,” she said, poking him gently in the shoulder, “you need to teach me how to make—” She frowned. She didn’t know what they’d be making tonight.
“Beef tenderloin with wild mushroom sauce.”
“My mouth is watering already! So go on, teach away.”
Royce laughed and gazed at her mouth in a dangerous way. She’d told him countless times they were friends and hoped he wasn’t reading more into this evening than that. He’d never really made a pass at her, and she trusted her instincts.
The one really good thing about being with Royce was that he liked her for herself. And she could simply be, when she was with him.
Royce immediately began barking commands, teaching her about different cuts of meat and how to look for marbling in the pieces she’d find at the market. He showed her how to prepare it and then went on to teach her how to make the wild mushroom sauce. He was actually a very good instructor, and Ali could tell how passionate he was about cooking.
By nine o’clock the meal was ready and they sat down to eat. Ali felt a measure of guilt when she thought about Joe. What was he doing now? She missed him terribly, but at the same time, she felt good about herself tonight. Like she’d reconnected to Real Ali. So much so, that after they ate the savory meal, she agreed to go dancing with Royce.
“Just for a little while,” she said on their way to Yountville. “I’ve had a busy week, and I’m a little tired,” she said.
Royce agreed. “No problem, Ali. We’ll have a drink and dance a little. I’ve been meaning to hear Charley’s new band. He’ll be glad I showed up. Consider this a favor for the cooking lesson.”
Ali relaxed more, glad that Royce didn’t view this as any sort of date.
When Royce pulled into the back parking lot of the small club, music blared out from the open doors. He parked the car, and they walked around to the front of the building. They entered Rock and a Hard Place, and immediately Ali loved the look of the small venue. It wasn’t a trendy New York club but a more rustic place with sawdust on the floor and a long wall-to-wall dark oak bar.
“They’re on now,” Royce said, pushing through a small crowd to bring her closer to the stage. He pointed to a band member with longish hair and ripped jeans. “That’s Charley on the guitar.”
Royce shot him a quick wave, and Charley nodded.
“What’s the name of their band?” she asked.
“Guts and Glory.”
Ali laughed and Royce joined in. “I know. Not exactly Bon Jovi or Queen, but they sound good.”
“They do,” Ali said, clapping her hands and tapping her feet to the music.
Royce leaned over to speak into her ear. “Want a drink?”
Ali had to raise her voice over the band to answer. “Sure. Whatever you’re drinking is fine.”
A few minutes later, Royce returned with two mojitos. He handed her one, and she took a sip. “It’s good. Thanks!”
Royce stood beside her until they’d both finished their drinks. “Want another?” he asked. “Or are you ready to dance?”
“Dance.”
Royce took her hand and led her onto the small, crowded dance floor. The band played all fast tunes, and Ali let loose, dancing in sync with the beat, despite bumping into other couples for lack of space. She laughed with Royce over the loud music, tossed her hair to and fro and shimmied with the best of them. After five back-to-back dances, Royce came close enough to ask if she wanted another drink.
Ali debated and finally nodded. “One more. But I’ll get them for us.” She felt better about paying her own way. Royce frowned but relented, and she stood at the bar with sweat dripping from her brow. She took a napkin and quickly wiped it away.
She was enjoying herself and burning calories, what more could a girl ask?
The band took a break, and as she waited at the bar for their drinks, she saw Royce speaking with his friend Charley by the stage.
A man sidled up next to her, and Ali turned, coming face-to-face with Nick Carlino.
“You’re a great dancer, Ali.”
“Nick, hi.” Ali kept the panic from her voice. She could only imagine what Nick was thinking. Judging by his compliment, he must have been watching her dance with Royce. “Thanks. I love it.”
Nick smiled. “Do you come here often?”
He made his point with the cliché pickup line, and Ali also knew that he was darn curious about her being here with Royce.
“No, I’ve never actually been here before.” Ali brushed her unruly hair from her face, a gesture Nick didn’t miss. “My neighbor Royce invited me to see his friend play. He’s in the band.” She pointed, but Nick didn’t bother looking.
“What are you doing here?” she asked.
“I’m on a date.”
“Oh, really?” Ali scanned the room but couldn’t find the woman he was with.
“She’s in the back, taking care of business, I presume. There was a problem with one of her employees.”
Puzzled, Ali asked. “What kind of business?”
Nick grinned. “She owns the place.”
Ali shook her head and smiled back at him. “I should have known.”
“I like you, Ali. In fact, if Joe wasn’t in the picture—”
“But Joe’s very much in the picture,” she finished for him.
“Doesn’t look like it tonight.”
“We don’t spend all our nights together,” Ali said in her own defense. Although since their trip to San Francisco, they had been inseparable. “And Royce is a good friend. That’s all.”
“Hey, I’m not accusing you of anything. I have my eye on your friend, though, just in case. If he’d so much as made an improper gesture toward you, I’d have decked him.”
“Would you?” Ali asked, not sure Nick was telling the truth. He was a charmer with a killer smile and a man used to getting his own way, yet she didn’t figure him as the brute type.
“For Joe. Yeah, I would.” Nick braced his arm against the bar and looked her dead in the eyes. “Are you going to tell him about tonight?”
Ali blinked. “I suppose. It’s no big deal.”
“Just be sure that you do. And don’t mention you saw me here.”
“Why not?”
“Because then he’d be pissed at me for not telling him I saw you.” Nick winked. “He’s a good guy, Ali. Don’t trample him. He’s been there and done that once already.”
“I wouldn’t hurt Joe for the world.”
“Good. Just keep it that way.”
Ali sipped the mojito the bartender put in front of her. “You Carlinos stick together, don’t you?”
“Like glue.”
Ali wished she had someone who watched her back, the way Nick just had for his brother. Most times she was on the giving end with friends and family. Both her father and mother had sought her out when they needed help, and Ali was glad to give it. But she’d never asked for the same in return. She’d grown up independent of others out of necessity. Her mother’s frivolous lifestyle hadn’t allowed for her to develop close ties.
It was at this mo
ment that Ali realized that she harbored resentment toward both her parents—maybe a childish notion, but she’d wished they watched her back and put her first, just once.
Nick picked up two drinks the bartender sent his way. “Gotta go find my date.” He began to leave, then stopped and turned around, his gaze flowing over her from top to bottom, assessing her hair, her face, her breasts and all the way down to her black leather boots. “I like the look, Ali. I think Joe would, too.”
Heat crawled up her neck, and she was darn glad that Nick had taken off before he saw how much his comment affected her. It was almost as if Nick had figured her out.
What if he had? What if he knew the truth? He’d seen her cut loose, dancing like a maniac, drinking and laughing with another man. Did he know she was a fraud? She feared that he did and that would spell disaster.
Ali knew her deception had to end. She had to call it quits and confess to Joe what she’d done. She had to hope he felt enough for her, to give his forgiveness. If she’d injured him in anyway, she’d never forgive herself.
Ali was on unsure footing here. She could think of a dozen worst-case scenarios, and each of them made her cringe with regret and anguish. But one thought preyed on her sense of optimism and gave her hope.
Maybe Joe would laugh it off and tell her he loved her no matter what.
Somehow, she didn’t see that happening.
A tremble coursed through her body, a quick shiver of impending doom. Ali couldn’t shake off the feeling that things were about to go from bad to worse.
When Royce returned, she handed him his drink. “Please drink it fast,” she said to him, urgently. “I need to go home.”
Eleven
Ali tossed and turned that night, unable to sleep. She missed having Joe beside her, listening to the sound of his breathing and waking next to him in the morning. She missed his kisses and the steady way he held her.
She finally managed to get a few hours of sleep, and when sunlight beamed its way into her bedroom, Ali glanced at the clock. It was after six, and Joe would be taking his morning swim soon.
Ali rose slowly, reminded of her restlessness from last night by a headache that throbbed in her skull. She rubbed her temples and padded to the kitchen to set coffee brewing. Her motions were by rote, one step in front of the other, and gradually, after she drank a cup of coffee and ate a piece of buttered toast, the ache in her head subsided.
“Okay, Ali. Be brave. Pick up the phone and call Joe.”
Ali waited ten more minutes, reciting in her head what she’d planned to tell him. Once she was sure he was out of the pool and dried off, according to his precise timetable, Ali picked up the phone.
She was greeted with a cheerful voice. “Good morning, sweetheart.”
“Joe,” she said with a sigh. Just the sound of his deep, sexy voice did things to her. “Hello.”
“How was your cooking lesson?”
“It went well. I think I could duplicate the dish for you one night.”
“I’d like that.”
“I, uh, missed you last night.”
“Same here, honey.”
“What did you do?” Ali, quit stalling. Tell him about last night and then ask to speak with him in person.
“Tony and Rena stopped by. They entertained me for most of the night.”
“That’s nice.”
“It was, actually.”
“How is Rena feeling these days?”
“She looked great, healthy. She’s a lot of fun. She even makes Tony tolerable.”
Ali didn’t respond to his little jibe. Instead, she began her explanation. “Joe, last night after Royce’s lesson, he asked me to do him a favor.”
“What kind of favor?”
“Just to go with him to a club. I think it’s called Rock and a Hard Place, if you can believe that. He had a friend playing in the band and so I went with him, and we listened to the band and had a few drinks.”
“Did you enjoy it?”
Ali decided the truth was her best option. If she was going to come clean with Joe, now was the best time to start. “The band was pretty good, actually. Great dance music. Yes, it was fun.”
“You danced?”
“I did, Joe.”
She heard Joe take a long, deep pull of air. Then silence ensued for what seemed like an eon. “What are you doing right now?”
“Now? I just finished breakfast. I’m not even dre—”
“Don’t go anywhere. I’ll be over in less than an hour.”
Joe hung up the phone before Ali could respond. “That went well,” she said, her body shaking. She couldn’t tell if Joe was furious or not. She had no idea what he was thinking. Joe didn’t wear his heart on his sleeve. He was steady and even and practical minded most of the time.
Ali hopped in the shower and dressed, with her eyes on the clock. If Joe said he’d be over in less than an hour, she knew he wouldn’t be late. She had her clothes all picked out for today. It was Saturday, and she’d thought she’d put on her tight stone-washed jeans and something wild and colorful. But Ali changed her mind at the last minute. She donned a brown knit blouse and beige slacks and then put her curly hair back into a tight ponytail. “You’re a chicken, Ali Pendrake,” she said, sliding her eyeglasses on.
She paced the room and finally settled down with a People magazine. She sat on the edge of her sofa and flipped through the pages until she came upon an article that held her moderate interest. Attempting to concentrate on a blurb about upcoming summer blockbuster movies, the doorbell rang. Ali jumped off her perch and tossed the magazine aside. Her nerves jangling, she strode to the front door.
With one hand on the doorknob, Ali took a deep breath, closed her eyes and said a little prayer. Then she opened the door slowly, afraid of what she might find on the other side.
Joe stood on her doorstep, wearing a grim expression, yet holding a big bouquet of the most gorgeous white lilies Ali had ever seen. Her mouth gaped open in surprise. Joe strode over her threshold, and after she closed the door, she turned to him in question. Without a second’s notice, he pressed his mouth to hers in a long leisurely I-missed-you kind of kiss that would have knocked her socks off had she been wearing any. He backed away after that awesome kiss and handed her the flowers.
“For you, sweetheart.”
Tears welled in her eyes. She didn’t understand any of this, but she was grateful she’d been given a slight reprieve. “Thank you. They’re beautiful. But what’s the occasion?”
“No occasion.” Joe took her hand in his. “I’m not the most romantic soul, Ali,” he confessed, using his other hand to move his eyeglasses up his nose. “But I really care about you, and I don’t want to take advantage of our situation. We haven’t dated at all. Hell, I’ve barely fed you dinner this week, much less taken you out.”
“We’ve had other things to do,” Ali said aloud.
“Yeah, we have. But you deserve more.”
“Joe, if this is about last night, it was completely innocent. Really, I have no interest in Royce. You have to know that.”
“I know it, or I’d be beating down his door right now.”
Apparently, Nick wasn’t the only macho Carlino. Ali almost smiled at the image of Superman Joe, taking on Royce, the surfer dude.
“But it was a wake-up call for me, Ali. I’ve only been in this partway. It’s my fault, and I want to make it up to you.”
“It’s not your fault. There is no fault.” Ali almost couldn’t bear to hear him out. She was the one at fault, not Joe. Guilt ate at her, weakening her knees. She hugged the lilies to her chest.
“Ali, I’ve got a vacation coming up in a month. I wasn’t going to take it, but I’ve changed my mind. I want you to come with me to our villa in the Bahamas. I think you’d love it.”
Staggered by his offer, and the implications that he wanted to share his vacation with her, Ali needed to sit down. She plopped on the sofa as myriad emotions caught her by surprise. Joy and love
burst forth, but then self-loathing and guilt reared its ugly head, destroying her good mood. “Joe, that’s so…um, I don’t have the words.”
“How about yes? That’s the word I want to hear.”
She couldn’t refuse Joe anything, much less a chance to be with him at a tropical paradise. “Yes.”
Joe smiled then reached for her, crushing the flowers she held between them, and kissed her again. “Good. I’ll make the arrangements. We’ll take a week. I’ll show you a good time, Ali.”
“Joe, you always do.”
He grinned and stroked her cheek. “Do you have plans tomorrow?”
She thought for a second, then shook her head. “No.”
“Great. I’ve rescheduled our bike tour. That was our deal, and I’m following through. You still want to see Napa?”
She’d follow him anywhere. “Yes, I look forward to it.”
“Great, well, I’ve got to get busy. How about dinner tonight?”
Ali smiled at him while a little voice in her head nagged that her inner chicken was hiding in the hen house. “I’d love it.”
He gave her a quick nod and looked deep into her eyes. “This time, I’m taking you to the nicest restaurant in Napa.”
“But Joe, you don’t—”
Joe put a finger to her lips. “Shh, Ali.” He bent his head and brushed a soft kiss to her mouth. “I’ll be dusting off my tux, so be ready.”
Ali leaned heavily on the door as soon as Joe left. Her heart in her throat, she felt as though she’d run a marathon without benefit of water. Everything went limp, including the smile she’d shown Joe.
Tears threatened to spill down her face, but she managed to hold her emotions in check and march over to her kitchen phone. She should have done this much sooner.
“Hi, Rena,” she said softly into the phone. “It’s Ali, and I need your help.”
“It’s a good thing I insisted you come over this morning, hon. I could hear by the sound of your voice earlier that you were upset.” Rena set a cup of tea in front of Ali on a charming round table for two in the Purple Fields gift shop. “I hated to bother you,” Ali said quietly.
Seduction on the CEO's Terms Page 13
