Looking very happy, Ali strolled off toward the hotel for her spa appointment.
Will watched her go, knowing that this time, there would be no standing her up, no rejection, no heartache, and absolutely no regrets. Because tonight, he was going to do everything he’d done wrong all those years ago, right.
5
RIGHT ON TIME, A KNOCK sounded on Ali’s hotel room door. She did one last quick check of her reflection in the dresser mirror. For tonight’s dinner and dance, she’d bought a slightly more close-fitting dress than she normally wore and she had to admit that the off-the-shoulder bodice and the formfitting material across her midsection did fabulous things for her figure, making her feel incredibly sexy. She was completely relaxed from her hot stone massage, and her skin and face glowed from all the extra pampering, too.
Slipping into her three-inch heels, she grabbed her clutch and headed for the door. When she opened it and saw Will standing on the other side looking devastatingly handsome in a classic black suit, she was completely awestruck by the gorgeous, confident man he’d become.
“Wow,” he murmured, his dark blue gaze drinking her in, from her loose, blond curls all the way down to the tips of her one and only pair of black patent Louboutins. “You look incredible.”
She flushed, feeling a bit giddy deep inside. “Thank you.”
After last night and their time together this afternoon, there was a certain vibe in the air, one filled with all sorts of possibilities. Tonight she was going to enjoy everything about this night with Will—even if they were spending most of it with their classmates. For her, this was the date that should have been. When she walked into the dinner dance with Will, she had no doubt she’d be the envy of all the women there.
“Ready to go?” He held out his arm in a very sweet and romantic gesture.
“I am.” Smiling, she looped her arm through his and they headed toward the elevators, looking very much like a couple.
“Did you enjoy your time at the spa?” he asked, his tone curious.
“Very much. It was quite a luxurious treat.” She glanced at him, wondering how he’d spent the past few hours. “What did you do this afternoon? Anything fun or exciting?”
“I walked around and explored the resort.” He grinned as he pushed the button for the elevator, which opened right away. Once they were inside, he continued. “Did you know that they even have a carnival here on-site, with arcade games and all sorts of rides?”
“I had no idea.” But she wasn’t surprised, considering that Celebrations catered to all kinds of reunions, including some that even involved kids. “This place has it all, doesn’t it?”
“Pretty much.” The elevator arrived on the ground floor, and Will led the way first across the lobby, then out a side door to a softly lit pathway.
Ali frowned, and tugged on his arm. “We’re going the wrong way. Tonight’s dinner is in the Festival ballroom, back in the hotel.”
He stopped, but didn’t turn around, just glanced down at her, his expression hopeful. “I planned something quieter and more intimate for dinner, for just the two of us. After that, we can make an appearance at the dance. Is that okay?”
“Absolutely.” She was more than okay with being alone with Will, instead of being seated at a large round table where the conversation was loud and intrusive, with people she had no interest reminiscing with.
Happily now, she followed Will, until they came to a small, intimate outdoor atrium, filled with fragrant flowers and lush plants. A gazebo, strung with thousands of white twinkling lights, sat in the midst of it, and inside was set with a linen-draped table and chairs for their dinner.
Blown away by this very romantic setting, which Will must have arranged that afternoon, she climbed the stairs, grateful that he’d gently pressed a hand against the base of her spine to keep her steady. He held out a chair for her, and she sat down, recovering from her speechless surprise. “I think you’ve outdone yourself.”
He settled in the seat across from her, looking very pleased with himself. “I had a lot to make up for.”
She knew he was referring to their canceled date ten years ago, and the fallout after the fact, which made her appreciate even more all the thought he’d put into tonight to make this special. “This is going to be pretty hard to top as a first date.”
He smiled at her. “I’d like to think it’s going to be your last first date.”
The implication was clear—not just with him, but with anyone. Wow. He was clearly staking a claim, noting that whatever this thing was between them, it was stronger than before and he wanted more.
Before she could reply, a male voice interrupted the moment.
“Good evening,” the waiter said, holding an open bottle of wine in his hand as he came up the steps of the gazebo, then poured them each a glass of wine. “I’m Geoffrey, your personal waiter for this evening. Our chef has prepared a dinner of chateaubriand, with wild mushroom risotto and seared green beans. I’ll be starting you off with a salad with a walnut pomegranate vinaigrette.”
And so the evening’s courses began. As they were served each dish, she and Will discussed anything and everything, from his company, to some of the more well-known clients she’d done graphic artwork for, as well as what they each enjoyed doing in their lives now. He even touched on why he was single after all these years, telling her that money and success had a way of skewing a woman’s view of him. He hadn’t found someone who was interested in him. And not what his wealth could provide. Because she knew him from way back, had liked him from the start, he trusted her, she realized, and that gave her a special place in his world aside from this very strong attraction.
They still had a lot in common, and it was clear to Ali that at the core, they were just ordinary people who enjoyed the simple things in life, as well as each other’s company. Immensely. Throughout dinner, their conversation was easy and comfortable, marked with plenty of teasing and laughter, and by the end of the dessert she was feeling utterly content, in more ways than one.
Once the empty plates were cleared and they were alone once more, Will moved his chair so that he was sitting next to Ali. He was so close that he was able to grab her hand and hold it in his. Suddenly, his gaze turned serious, and she wondered what had prompted the unexpected change in him.
He cleared his throat, his gaze holding hers steadily. “There’s something I’ve been wanting to tell you, about why things ended so badly between us in high school.”
Ali was aware that he’d never given her a reason for the breakup. After his heartfelt apology, and spending the past two days with him, she’d simply chalked it all up to high school drama and teenage angst. “It’s okay. It doesn’t matter.”
He exhaled a deep breath, but forged ahead, determined to have this discussion with her. “I’m glad to hear you say that, but I want this out in the open between us, because it matters to me.”
She couldn’t stem the flutter of worry that took flight in her stomach—she had no idea where this conversation was about to lead. But she wasn’t about to deny him the chance to explain, if that’s what he needed to do. “Okay.”
He brushed his thumb over the knuckles of the hand he held, his warm touch chasing away the uneasy chill starting to take root inside her. “It’s not a secret that I was a target for the bullies at school. One of the worst offenders was Tim Delgado.”
She winced, because her own past with Tim had been tumultuous, too, for different reasons. “I know.”
“After I asked you out, and you accepted, word spread around school pretty fast about the nerd who was dating the cheerleader. A few days later Tim and some of his football buddies cornered me after school and told me that you were his girl, and if I didn’t break things off with you completely, I’d be very sorry.”
“I wasn’t his girl,” she said, angry that Tim would make such a claim. He’d manipulated Will. And her. “I went to the prom with him and that was it.” The prom, which had been a complete
disaster because of Tim’s obnoxious behavior, had been a few weeks before Will had asked her out, long after she’d ended things with Tim.
“That night, he made sexual advances toward me, and when I refused, he pushed the issue and told me I was just playing hard to get. He liked playing that game just fine because it made sex that much better.” Just thinking about the incident made her sick all over again. “When he dropped me off at home, I told him we were done. For good.”
“Well, he obviously believed differently.” Will continued to caress her hand, as if touching her made it easier for him to spill this agonizing secret he’d kept to himself all these years. “At first I told Tim I wouldn’t break things off with you, that he had no say in who I dated. Two days later, on that Friday afternoon when we were supposed to go out, he caught me alone again. But this time, he didn’t just verbally threaten me. He physically assaulted me. And I was no match against a burly linebacker. One hit to the stomach, and I went down. He continued to kick me in the stomach until I was doubled over in pain and literally couldn’t breathe.” Will glanced away, but not before she saw the shame in his gaze. “He told me to expect much worse if I didn’t call off the date, and I had no reason not to believe him. So, I called you and told you that I’d changed my mind, that I wasn’t interested in you any longer.”
Ali remembered that phone call verbatim, and how upset and confused she’d been that he’d just dumped her without an explanation. But now she knew, and her throat closed up with the pain and heartache of knowing what Will had suffered.
“Oh, God, Will.” She placed her palm on his cheek and made him look her in the eyes again. “Why didn’t you tell me the truth about what happened? Why didn’t you report Tim to the school?”
He laughed, but the sound lacked any real humor. “I didn’t tell anyone because I was mortified and humiliated. I didn’t want to bring attention to what had happened to me, how I couldn’t defend myself. I was already teased for being a computer nerd. This would have made things worse. And I couldn’t bring myself to tell you the truth because you had the guts to actually say yes to the date. You took a chance on us despite what your friends thought, and I couldn’t even stand up to Tim the way I should have.”
She swallowed past the lump growing in her throat, because now it was her time to come clean. “I have something to confess, too.”
His brows knitted into a frown, and he waited for her to go on.
“I was so excited when you asked me out, but I suffered a lot of backlash from my friends because of it,” she said, releasing her own painful secret. “And when you called off the date, while I was hurt and upset, a very small part of me was relieved. I wouldn’t be subjected to any more gossip and whispers behind my back. It was so selfish and stupid, and I’m so sorry, for all of it.”
“I get it, Ali. And I understand.” His expression gentled, and he leaned forward and pressed his forehead to hers. “God, being a teenager sucks. It’s not easy for anyone, is it? The nerd or the cheerleader.”
The amusing note to his voice made her smile, and she knew everything was going to be okay between the two of them. “I guess not. As teenagers, we all have our issues to deal with. I’m just glad you came to the reunion, that you and I had the chance to finally get everything out in the open and start again. As adults who don’t care what other people think or say.”
“Agreed.” He leaned even closer and touched his lips to hers in a soft, reverent kiss filled with unending promise before pulling back just a bit, his eyes now glimmering with affection, all for her. “There’s still one part left to our evening. What do you say you and I head into the reunion for a bit of dancing?”
She thought about suggesting they skip the dance altogether for more sensual pursuits, but there was a part of her that wanted to make up for the past. She was going to walk into that ballroom with Will on her arm to show everyone that the cheerleader and the nerd were an item. She was damned proud of it.
Liking that idea, she placed her hand in his and stood. “With you, absolutely.”
* * *
HAND IN HAND, WILL WALKED with Ali back into the hotel lobby and down a wide hallway that led to the Festival ballroom where the class of 2002 was in the midst of enjoying the evening’s gala. As they stepped inside the room, he realized that while dinner was over for the guests, they were now watching a slide show of old high school pictures and topics that had been specific to the year they’d graduated. World events flashed on the screen, along with the top grossing movies, sports trivia and other fun and interesting subjects from that time period.
Quietly, he sat down with Ali in the very back of the room, so that they, too, could watch the display. Songs from 2002 accompanied the presentation, and the one currently playing was Kylie Minogue’s “Can’t Get You Out of My Head.”
Ali leaned in close and cupped her hand around her mouth to whisper in his ear. “When you were tutoring me, that was my song for you. I played it on my iPod constantly.”
He grinned, and they went back to viewing the slide show. Other familiar songs followed, such as No Doubt’s “Underneath It All” and ended on Kelly Clarkson’s “A Moment Like This.” When the lights went back on, the DJ announced that the dance floor was open and that everyone should get their groove on.
The only person Will wanted to get his groove on with was Ali. They’d come to the function to dance, but after a few songs they’d be out of there. He intended to spend the rest of the night alone with her, just the two of them. After all, they had a lot of lost time to make up for.
Keeping their fingers entwined, he guided her toward the dance floor, feeling like the luckiest man on earth. He’d been given a second chance with the woman by his side. Their conversation out in the gazebo had changed everything between them, had brought them closer. And it closed a chapter in their lives that no longer mattered. Life was good.
Alumni watched and stared as they worked their way around the tables, his hold on Ali possessive enough to let everyone know she was his. It didn’t take long for people to start talking, taking note of the fact that they were now clearly a couple.
Reaching the dance floor, he spun her around in his arms in rhythm to the fast tune currently playing. “A few dances, and then you’re mine for the rest of the night,” Will growled against her ear, uncaring of how aggressive he sounded.
She didn’t seem to mind. She flashed him a flirtatiously sexy smile. “Oh, I’m counting on it.” Then she slipped back out of his grasp and let the upbeat music dictate her very sensual dance moves.
Oh, yeah, it was going to be a very good night, Will thought.
Three fast songs finally segued into a slow melody, and Will didn’t hesitate to pull Ali right back into his embrace. The dance floor was fairly crowded, and the other couples around them joined in, enjoying a little close time with their significant others.
Ali’s body aligned perfectly with his. As he looked into her flushed, smiling face, he couldn’t remember ever wanting a woman as much as he desired her. “Will you come up to my room with me tonight?” It was a straightforward question, leaving no doubts to what, exactly, he meant. He wanted her in his room and in his bed.
“I’d like that,” she murmured, her green eyes shining with the same sensual kind of need that thrummed though his veins. “Very much.”
His gaze dropped to her parted lips, and it took a Herculean effort not to kiss her in front of everyone. It was one thing to let their classmates know they were a couple, but quite another to make out like out-of-control teenagers in front of them. “As soon as this song is over, we’ll go, okay?”
She feigned a pout, her plump bottom lip tempting him even more. “You’re going to make me wait that long?” she teased.
She obviously didn’t know the restraint it took for him to be a gentleman, because he was so damn close to hauling her over his shoulder and walking out of the ballroom with her, caveman-style. Yeah, that would set tongues wagging, for sure. “It’ll be wo
rth the wait. I promise.”
“Hey, I’ve been looking for you, Ali,” a too-familiar voice drawled from behind Will, putting him on full alert.
Tim had managed to make his way through the crowd and stood next to them. Ali’s entire body tensed, and her expression filled with dread. It was clear that Tim had been drinking. And the guy never had a problem making a scene or drawing attention to himself, even when he was sober.
Will knew that whatever was about to happen wasn’t going to be good—even the couples slow dancing next to them started moving away, giving them a wider berth. And while Will’s first instinct was to flatten the guy, he decided to keep his temper in check for the time being.
Tim ignored Will and gave Ali a grin that was more like a crude leer. “How ’bout a dance, for old time’s sake?”
More politely than Tim deserved, Ali looked at him and said, “No, thanks.”
“Aww, come on, Ali,” Tim said, his voice turning into a taunting sneer. “You know you want to.”
“No, I really don’t.” She glared at Tim, her jaw clenched in irritation. “Just go. You’re making a fool of yourself.”
He made a snorting sound, like a half-assed laugh. “Jeez, you don’t have to be such a bitch about it.”
That was it. Will had had enough. He released Ali and faced his nemesis. “Back off, Tim,” he said, his voice vibrating with barely suppressed anger. “Ali said no.”
Tim turned his narrowed gaze on Will and puffed out his chest, like a cocky rooster getting ready for a fight. “Back off? Really?” He stepped closer, invading Will’s personal space. “And what are you going to do if I don’t?”
Will’s hands curled into fists as his sides as he and Tim locked gazes. Will was not a fighter, but those memories of how Tim had mercilessly beat the crap out of him were strong and overwhelming, making him itch to give a little payback. He certainly wasn’t afraid of Tim any longer, but neither was he one to instigate a physical assault, either.
The Guy Most Likely To...: Underneath It AllCan't Get You Out of My HeadA Moment Like This Page 11
