by Francis Ray
The quick remark wouldn’t come. The attraction had caught both of them unaware. Yet while she accepted it, wanted to nourish it and watch it grow, Alec wanted no part of it, of her. That hurt, but not as much as the reason behind him wanting to turn his back on something she felt could be beautiful.
“So what do you want from me?”
His ragged laughter echoed off the wall of the underground garage. “You really don’t want to know the answer to that question.”
“Tell me, and let me be the judge.”
He came to her, heat and anger mixed with arousal. “I want you to lie down and open your—”
A car door slammed. He shook his head, then shoved his hand viciously through his hair. He walked away, then turned back. “You make me crazy. You make me want you until I can’t think of anything else!”
“I want you to want me because I want you. At times I can’t think of anything else,” she said, her voice trembling as much as her body.
A man and a woman passed and got on the elevator.
Alec reached for Celeste, then let his hands fall, shaking his head as if to clear it. “There are things in my life . . . I . . . I have to sort through. You, this, just makes things more complicated.”
“Why?”
“Don’t push this, Celeste. Just leave it alone.”
He looked tired. Without thinking, she brushed her hand over his head, smoothing back a lock of errant hair. She was tempted to curve her hand on the nape of his neck and bring his lips to hers. Instead, she curved her arm through his. “Let’s go upstairs and have a good time. We worked hard last week and this week promises to be more of the same. We deserve this.”
He took two steps before he stopped and stared down at her. “Today. Just today. There’s no tomorrow for us.”
Although she ached inside, she smiled. “Then let’s make it one to remember.”
Almost from the moment Alec and Celeste entered Patrick and Brianna’s apartment, he realized that he hadn’t been as good at hiding his problem as he’d thought. Besides Rafael, Alec’s oldest brother, Sam, and his wife as well as his niece, Brooke, and her husband, John, were there. It was telling that Alec hadn’t been aware of their coming. They were all worried about him.
His brothers might be able to hide it, but not the women. During brunch their touches lingered. They tried to stuff food into him just as Celeste had. He only marginally relaxed when they’d eaten and the men stepped outside on the terrace.
“It’s happening again,” Rafael said.
“What?” Alec asked, only half paying attention. The women were in the kitchen cleaning up. They’d all talked to Simon and Maureen, who were having a wonderful time, shortly before they’d sat down to eat. Afterward, everyone was going out on Patrick’s boat.
Alec could hear Celeste’s warm laughter mixed with the other women’s. She’d won them over as easily as she did everyone else. He wasn’t sure how it happened, but instead of dreading being around his family because he didn’t want to worry them, he’d been more aware of Celeste, the way the knit top kept slipping off her shoulder, how he’d like to take it off, and—
“Pay attention, Alec.” Rafael elbowed him in the side.
“What?” Alec asked impatiently. He’d tried to apologize earlier for his actions in the garage, but Rafael, in his usual good-natured manner, had brushed it off.
“It must be something in the water, since you aren’t living here in the condominium.” Rafael scraped the last bit of apple cobbler and ice cream from his bowl. “I might have to stop visiting or stick to bottled water.”
“As if any woman would want you,” Patrick said playfully.
“She’d have to be hard up in the worst way,” Sam agreed. Both men laughed.
“He’s a goner for sure,” Rafael said matter-of-factly. “Oh, well. I look good in a tux.”
Alec slowly straightened from leaning against the frame of the French doors on the terrace. He looked at his three brothers and Brooke’s husband as the implications of his brothers’ words finally sank in. “Now, wait a minute.”
Brooke’s husband slapped Alec on the back. “Welcome to the fraternity.”
Rafael shuddered. “One I never want to join.”
“Wait a darn minute.” Alec held up both hands. “I just met Celeste.”
Patrick curved his arm around his brother’s shoulders. “I knew almost from the time I met Brianna. How about you, Sam?”
“Same here.” Sam smiled and looked toward the kitchen. “Turned me down flat three times in a row, but I knew she was the one and only for me.”
“It takes some of us longer,” John said. “But once you stop fighting it, you wonder what took you so long.”
A strange panic hit Alec. “You have this all wrong. We’re just dating. Patrick invited her.”
“And you can’t keep your eyes off her.” Rafael’s eyes narrowed. “Although I can’t blame you. She’s beautiful, and the way that top—”
Alec wasn’t aware of the guttural sound he was making until Rafael laughed. “My job is done. I think I’ll go get some more cobbler and one of those cookies Celeste baked.” Whistling, Rafael went inside.
“He’s wrong,” Alec said, staring at the other men.
“Time will tell. I’m going to check on Brianna,” Patrick said. “I don’t want her overdoing.”
“Brooke won’t let her do too much. I’ll go with you,” John said. Both men went inside.
Alec went to the railing and looked out. The day was beautiful, the sky endless and blue. The calm waters of the river stretched out before him. It was a beautiful day to be alive.
“At certain times in a man’s life he shouldn’t be alone.” His brother came up beside him. “I’m glad you have Celeste.”
Alec looked at Sam, but his oldest brother stared straight ahead. He didn’t have to ask what Sam meant. “I’m fine.”
Sam turned, his gaze direct. “You know how it was when we almost lost Patrick. The anger, the helplessness, then thanking God that his life had been spared. No matter what, I’m glad you came home that morning. Just remember that.” Turning away, he went inside.
Alec stared out at the marina again. In his mind, he knew what his brother said was true. In the academy they taught you how to handle confrontations without using your weapon, but that once it was pulled, you had to be ready to use it. It all boiled down to who went home.
“Alec?”
At the anxious sound in Celeste’s voice he turned. “Is Brianna all right?”
“Yes.” Celeste stepped out on the terrace, placing her hand on his chest. “I just came to tell you we’re about ready to leave.”
“Then let’s go.”
She didn’t move. “Fun today, remember?”
That was the problem. He remembered too much. “Let’s go.”
“You, Max, have the once-in-a-lifetime task of creating a garden without walls that will be enjoyed by others long after you’re gone,” Nettie said as she stood on the acreage surrounding Journey’s End. “It will definitely enhance the appeal of your bed-and-breakfast, but more than that it will be a place of quiet beauty, tranquility, and contemplation. You couldn’t have selected a more apt name for your establishment than Journey’s End.”
“Then you think my plans will work?” Gina asked, her face bright and eager.
Max liked the look. Thank goodness he had come to his senses before he hurt her further.
Nettie took Gina’s hands in hers, a smile on her kind face. “It will be spectacular. The wisteria arbor in the center with a small table to relax works beautifully. Creating steps and perching planters on either side of them going down to the water is brilliant. So is the idea for a few more well-placed trees.”
“Gina has been on point with all of her suggestions for the B and B,” Max said, with praise in his voice that he had no intention of hiding again. “I don’t know what I would have done if she hadn’t agreed to help.”
Gina blushed prettil
y. “Thank you.”
“It will be a Herculean task, but the rewards will be immeasurable.” Nettie glanced around the yard. “The thing is to plan out everything, including the colors you want reflected, before you purchase one plant.”
Max smiled down at Gina. “I’ve heard that before. We worked on it, but Gina wanted your stamp of approval before we started.”
Ophelia laughed. “A man who listens.”
Gina and the others joined in.
“Thank all of you so much for coming.”
“Thanks for welcoming all of us,” Donna said. “The food was fabulous. I want to bake that bread basket for the next Invincible meeting.”
“I certainly plan to get the recipe for the strawberry tea.” Betty glanced at Max, then Gina. “I promise not to tell anyone outside of the Invincibles.”
“Certainly,” Max said.
Gina couldn’t stop grinning. “It will be my pleasure. Thank all of you.”
Nettie reached for Gina’s hand again. “You’re quite welcome, but you already laid out the foundation. You’re a smart woman.”
Gina’s eyes widened a bit at the compliment. “I— Why, thank you.”
“You’re welcome,” Nettie said.
“She certainly is,” Ophelia said. “I’m proud of her.”
Gina swallowed. “Thank you, Aunt Ophelia.”
“Just telling the truth.” Ophelia glanced at her watch. “We’d better get going. We have a tea at the church to attend.”
“I used to love going to teas,” Sophia said.
“Would you like us to let you know of the next one?” Nettie asked.
“I think I’d like that,” Sophia said.
“Consider it done,” Ophelia told her.
“I’ll walk you back.” Max caught the older woman’s arm, felt the slight weight, but her steps were steady, her gaze clear and direct. Opening the passenger door of the Mercedes, he helped her inside and closed the door. “Please come again. The door of Journey’s End will always be open.”
“After tasting the signature strawberry dishes, don’t be surprised if you get a call one Saturday afternoon to expect guests for Sunday brunch.” Ophelia opened her door.
“I’ll hold you to that, but you don’t have to call.” Max doubted they’d listen. The women were too polite and too well-bred to just drop by. “I welcome you to come by and see the progress.”
“Please do come back,” Sophia said. “It will be a pleasure having you here again.”
“We might take you up on that. Good-bye.” Opening the door, Ophelia got inside the car. Starting the motor, she backed up. With a wave, she straightened and drove away.
Max turned to Gina immediately. “You did it!”
“We did it,” Gina said. “But there’s still a lot of work to be done.” She spoke to Sophia. “You mentioned you wanted a retreat. I want to show you an idea I had.”
Gina led Max and his aunt to the side of the house with the garage. “You can add a surface of stone leading from the back porch to here. It will be easy to install pre-made bamboo lattice panels around the air-conditioning units to hide them and plant passion vines to lace over the panels. A tri-level fountain will drown out the noise of the units and help you relax. We can landscape the area with smaller-scale plants that will be low maintenance and add color. Well, what do you think?”
“What I’ve always thought.” Max hugged her to him. “You’re amazing.”
Gina’s eyes widened. He felt her heart rate increase.
“I’m sorry. That shouldn’t have happened,” Max said, his gaze on Gina’s stricken face, all too aware of his aunt slipping away.
“It— it’s all right,” Gina said, her hand fluttering to her hair. “I’d better be going as well.”
He’d scared her. “You haven’t seen your Web site yet. Perhaps Gabrielle and Ashton can give me their take on it.”
“A— all right.”
“Good.” Max breathed a bit easier and made sure he kept a respectable distance from her as they entered the house. In the study, he found Ashton watching a soccer game on television and Gabrielle talking on the phone.
Gabrielle saw Max, came upright from reclining on the sofa with her feet off the cushion. “Gotta go.” Trying to appear innocent, she quickly hung up the phone.
Max didn’t care about her being on the phone. She was cautious and suspicious of him. He just hoped her mother wouldn’t be as well. He was all too aware that Gina had lagged behind him as they came into the house.
“Gabrielle, I want you and Ashton to give me your opinion of the Web site I created for your mother.”
Gabrielle’s gaze went to her mother. The teenager shrugged. “Sure.”
Ashton left his TV program. “I wanna help, too.”
Seeing that Gina had finally entered the room, Max sat at his desk and moved the mouse. The first thing he did when he came downstairs each morning was turn his computer on. After a few seconds his screen saver, a picture of Journey’s End, appeared.
“Could you do that to mine?” Gina asked from two feet away.
“Sure. I’ll have your site up in a moment, and you can sit down and navigate it.” A few more entries and the site came up. He turned to look at her rather than the screen.
“It’s beautiful,” she said, edging closer.
“I thought I’d use rotating pictures of the ocean, beach, tropics, the city, and mountains to suggest all the places to travel. A person can select their mode of transportation, their destination, look for special deals. I’ll put a counter on so you’ll know the traffic. What do you think?”
“It’s wonderful,” she told him, her gaze going back to the computer. “I don’t know how I can thank you.”
He brushed aside her words. “It’s small in comparison to what you’ve done for me.” He turned to Ashton and Gabrielle. “Let’s ask the experts. Well?”
“It’s a definite improvement over what Mama had,” Gabrielle said.
“Gabrielle, I thought we had the conversation about not speaking your mind even when it’s true,” Gina deadpanned.
“Max asked for our honest opinion.”
“I did,” he said, glad for once that Gabrielle appeared to have stopped glaring at him and being suspicious of him, which gave him a thought. It probably helped that, during dinner, he’d convinced Gina to let the children call him by his first name. “Many adults will be traveling with children; what do you two think would make the trip better?”
Gabrielle looked at Ashton. “Not to be bothered by her little brother.”
“Or big sister,” Ashton came back.
“So,” Max said, trying to keep the peace, “if your mother offered free music downloads, electronic games, or interactive books for the children, would that work?”
Gabrielle and Ashton looked expectantly at their mother, who turned her horrified gaze to Max. Knowing Gina didn’t have extra money, he talked fast. “You can give five-dollar gift cards for the music downloads, and the interactive books can be found at the dollar store to start with. The electronic games come later, and only with trips that have a considerable profit margin.”
“Max, I think you just saved yourself from eating your own cooking,” Gina said.
It was almost nine thirty before Gina got Ashton and Gabrielle to bed. Max had named the section for the interactive books Ashton’s Place and the music selections Gabrielle’s Picks. Both were excited about being on the site and talked nonstop all the way home. Gina had been glad, because her own thoughts were in such turmoil.
She needed time to think, to remember Max’s impulsive hug. He’d apologized. She wished he hadn’t. Too restless to sit, she paced in her bedroom. His arms felt good around her. The beating of his heart was comforting and exciting at the same time.
She picked up the phone and punched in Celeste’s phone number, chewing on her bottom lip.
“Hello,” Celeste answered before the phone rang a second time.
“You must have be
en sitting by the phone,” Gina said.
“I was,” Celeste admitted. “I rather hoped Alec would stop trying to ignore this thing we have between us, but . . .”
“I’m sorry.” Gina sat on the side of her bed. “We aren’t having much success where men are concerned.”
“We? Explain yourself, chica.”
Gina picked at the navy comforter. “I, er, I’m not sure I can.”
“Just start talking, and we’ll sort it out.”
“I— I have these strange feelings toward Max, and this afternoon he hugged me.”
“Yes!” Celeste shouted. “I knew it!”
“He apologized, but sometimes I get the strangest feelings when he looks at me,” Gina confessed, then told her about the afternoon. “He’s kind, considerate. He’s careful to include Gabrielle and Ashton. Maybe I’m putting too much into this.”
“And maybe you’re not,” Celeste said. “Alec is fighting the chemistry between us with all he has. I plan to fight just as hard to break down his resistance. I just haven’t figured out what to do next.”
“We’re a pair,” Gina said. “A short time ago I was miserable, feeling like a failure.”
“And I hadn’t met a man who turned my knees to jelly and made me want to do wicked things to him,” Celeste mused.
“When you finish with Maureen’s house, I’m ready to look at redecorating around here.”
“Hallelujah,” Celeste cheered. “You have the samples of fabrics. Since they’re last season’s I can work a deal so your budget won’t even feel it.”
Gina realized something. “You knew how tight finances have been, didn’t you? That’s why you insisted I go talk to Maureen and Traci about their travel plans.”
“If I hadn’t had referrals, my interior design business would have never gotten off the ground,” Celeste said. “The main thing is that you came through.”
“Max built me a fantastic Web site that should help increase business.”
“If that happens, will you have time to continue helping him?”
Gina hadn’t considered the possibility. “I like helping Max.”
