by Angelo, Judy
And so she sat there, staring at nothing, while the tears streamed down her face.
CHAPTER SEVEN
For the first time in his life Storm was watching an NBA game and could not focus. If anybody were to ask him what two teams were playing he’d probably get it wrong, he was so distracted. Asking him the score at that point was futile. He was still seething. Why had Dani come on to him, knowing she was a virgin? He knew that a woman’s first time was usually a significant milestone in her life, one she would not take lightly. She’d remember it for the rest of her life. And she’d remember him. How then could he casually have sex with her? And that was all he’d wanted, just sex. Nothing more. But she would want ‘forever after’.
And there was no way he was going to commit to ‘forever after’. Not now, anyway. Maybe when he was forty. Maybe even thirty-five. But now? Not happening.
Okay, so he was a coward. He didn’t want to commit to anyone but that was why he had hired her, wasn’t it? She was supposed to be there to keep women off his back and his parents out of his business. But she'd betrayed him. She was trying to complicate his life even more than it already was. Talk about a turn of events.
He rubbed his hands across his eyes and gave a sigh of frustration. He didn’t need this kind of stress on a Sunday afternoon.
His cell phone rang and he gave it a suspicious glance. He didn’t want to talk to anyone right now, least of all his mother or father. But it was neither one of them. It was Lola.
God, what now? Another drama? Against his better judgment Storm reached out and pressed the answer button. This had better be quick. He put the phone to his ear. “Yes?”
“Storm, I’m so glad I got you. I need your help. We need your help.”
“We?”
“My friend Charlene, she’s starting a new business and we desperately need your advice.”
“We?’
“Well, she needs your advice. Not we, she. But I was wondering, can we come see you and discuss her business plan? We just need to know if it makes sense.”
“Not now.”
“Of course not, Storm. We weren’t planning to come now. What about one day this week? What about on Wednesday?”
For a long while Storm did not speak. He was in no mood to deal with Lola or her friend. He was a busy man and on top of that he had a lot on his mind. But he knew Lola. If she didn’t get what she wanted she was like an alarm clock that never shut up - the kind that kept moving and hiding till you'd chased it all over the room. As much as he hated the idea the only way he’d be able to get rid of her would be to see her.
“Come by the office at four o’clock,” he said, his voice impassive.
“Four o’clock. That’s a little too early for us. What about six?’
“I leave the office at five. It’s four o’clock or nothing.”
“I’ll take it. I’ll see you then, Storm,” she said in a sing-song voice.
“I? I thought it was 'we'.”
“Oh, yes. We’ll see you then. Au revoir.”
When Storm hung up the phone he gave up on the game, snapped off the TV and went to bed. It was the first time since the age of three or four that he’d be heading to bed while the sun was still in the sky but he just didn’t have the energy to stay up any longer. He felt drained.
But in the bedroom sleep would not come. He lay on his back and stared up at the ceiling. What was happening to him? In his mind he kept reliving the previous day -the journey to Indiana, meeting Dani’s brother, the fun they’d had on the way back…and then that disastrous night when she’d almost trapped him in her virginal dream. She was looking for a Prince Charming, not him. Not the man who hated the very thought of being tied down.
Storm had no idea when he finally drifted off to sleep but obviously he had because next time he opened his eyes it was Monday morning. And he felt lousy. And all he could think was, Danielle Swift, stop screwing with my head.
Wednesday came around but at four o’clock neither Lola nor her friend showed up at Storm’s office for the meeting. He didn’t bother to call to find out why. There was one thing he knew, though. They’d never get a slot on his calendar again.
That evening Storm was reading the day's news on his iPad when he heard a car pull up outside. He went to the door just as Lola hopped out of her silver sports car. She skipped up the steps, all smiles.
“Storm, you look so gloomy. Aren’t you happy to see me?” She walked up to him and gave him a peck on the cheek.
“Lola. What are you doing here?” This woman was becoming an annoyance.
“The business plan, remember? We were supposed to discuss it today.”
“At four o’clock.”
“Oh, that. We got stuck at an event downtown. Couldn’t make it.”
He didn’t bother to argue. What would be the use? “So where’s the 'we' you’ve been talking about? All I see is you.”
“Oh, Charlene couldn’t make it,” she said with a flippant wave of her hand. “It doesn’t matter. I know all about the business. I can discuss the plan with you.”
Storm seriously doubted she could, or if there was any plan at all, but he left it alone. He’d not been himself lately and he was not up to knocking heads with a woman as stubborn as Lola.
Once inside the house Lola seemed to have totally forgotten about the business plan. She made herself comfortable on the sofa in the den then found a way to cross her legs so that the slit in her skirt revealed a long length of thigh.
So she’d come to his house to flirt. Without being rude he’d have to find a way to extricate himself from this mess.
“Storm, honey, could you get me a drink? I’m so thirsty,” she said, fanning herself with her hand.
“Water?”
“Chilled white wine will do nicely,” she said. “Thank you so much.”
It took all his willpower not to throw her out of his house. Gently, Storm. Just give her the wine then tell her to go. He left her lounging on the sofa and went to the kitchen. As soon as she’d had her drink she’d be gone. She’d already worn out her welcome.
******
To call him or not to call him, that was the question. Dani stared at her cell phone yet again, trying to shore up the courage and take the plunge.
Three whole days had passed since she’d last seen or heard from Storm and today, Wednesday, would make it four days. Since agreeing to play the role of his pretend fiancée this was the longest she’d gone without speaking to him and she felt as if she’d lost a limb. Was this what it meant to be in love? To be so consumed by another person that you couldn’t eat, you couldn’t sleep, from thinking about them? If so, this love thing was nothing but a nuisance. She’d been happy before she met Storm and now she was miserable. This kind of problem, she could do without.
She needed to talk to Storm, though. She had to tell him she would not be attending the party with him on Saturday night.
She was still staring at the phone, trying to work up the courage to make the call when it rang, making her jump. It was Storm. Ready or not, it was time to start talking.
She pressed the green button. Before he could even speak she blurted out, “Storm, I can’t go through with this. I can’t go to the party with you on Saturday night.”
The response she got was surprising. Complete and utter silence. “Storm, are you there?” she asked.
The voice that came back to her was not Storm’s at all. It was the high-pitched voice of a woman. A voice she knew. Lola’s.
“Oh, please. Why would Storm take you to the party when he’s got me?” She gave a mocking laugh. “In fact, we’re all tied up right now. Aren’t we, honey?” There was more laughter then the line went dead.
Dani took the phone from her ear and stared at it, not believing what had just happened. Storm had actually dialed her number and given his cell phone to Lola so the woman could insult her? How could he have sunk so low? With trembling fingers she laid the cell phone on the coffee table, her heart sin
king to her toes. Storm must really hate her to do something like this. If only she’d never met him.
******
Dani’s eyes welled up with tears and as they spilled over onto her cheeks she dabbed at them with a tissue. It was so sad, oh so sad. Why did they even make movies like this?
And yet, Steel Magnolias was one of her favorite movies. Each time she’d watched it she’d felt sad but she’d never actually cried until now. What was wrong with her? It was as if now she could cry at the drop of a hat.
What a way to spend your Saturday - watching old movies and bawling. She was reaching for another tissue when she heard the buzzer. Now who could that be, buzzing her at seven o’clock on a Saturday night?
Then she froze. Surely it wasn't Storm Hunter? She prayed someone had simply pressed her buzzer by mistake. She got up and pressed the button on the intercom. “Hello.”
“Are you ready?” Storm’s voice boomed back at her.
Her heart fluttered in her chest. “Ready for what?”
“For the party. I’ll wait for you in the lobby.”
“But…I’m not going.”
That was greeted by silence. She’d thought he would shout, she’d thought he would rage. But when he spoke it was in a voice that was quiet, firm and ice-cold. “I’ll give you until seven-thirty. If you’re not down here by then you can go your own way and I'll go mine. But just remember, you’ll have to pay me back every cent I’ve given you under this contract.” He didn’t wait for a reply and Dani was left clutching the phone to her ear, her body frozen in shock. Then she sagged in defeat.
She’d wanted to defy Storm. She’d wanted to hurt him as badly as he’d hurt her. But it was no use. He was too strong. He knew she couldn’t pay him back and that was why he’d played that card.
She glanced at the clock. Two minutes after seven. No time to stand there pondering. She had exactly twenty-eight minutes.
Dani moved at the speed of light. She grabbed a dress of burnt gold from the closet, slipped on gold sandals then ran to the bathroom where she brushed the curls from her hair and fixed it into a sleek chignon. Then she applied make-up. Luckily she’d never been too heavy in this department so she was done in minutes. Then she dug in a box in her closet and pulled out her one elegant purse, a gift from an old family friend. Now she was ready and the clock read seven twenty-five. Just in time.
When Dani stepped out of the elevator she knew she looked composed and elegant. No one would have guessed she’d just been frantically dashing around the apartment. When Storm came forward to greet her she gave him a frosty look and a tight-lipped smile that would leave him in no doubt as to how she felt. She did not appreciate being bullied.
His greeting was just as cool. “Dani,” he said with a nod then gave her his arm.
“Storm,” she replied just as coolly, and slipped her hand into the crook of his arm.
They turned together and walked out of the lobby and toward Storm’s waiting limousine, saying not a word until they were seated in the luxurious car.
Dani had thought that things couldn’t have gotten any worse than that. But they did.
In the car there was no need for her to hide her true feelings. At the party, it was another matter. There, Dani was introduced to friend after friend of Storm’s and each time she’d had to smile brightly and act happy and in love.
When they saw his parents the experience was even more trying. Whereas the friends merely greeted her, Edgar and Janet questioned them at length, even on matters that should have been personal. When were they going to start a family? If there were issues would they consider fertility drugs? They weren’t married, hadn’t even made the engagement public, and already they were getting the third degree.
Dani could see that Storm was not comfortable with the line of questioning. She was not surprised when he took her hand and asked her to dance. She knew exactly how he was feeling. Like him, she just wanted to get away.
They excused themselves and walked out onto the dance floor. Unfortunately, right at that moment the DJ decided to switch from the party beat of Rihanna’s ‘Love In A Hopeless place’,” to the slow and sultry 'Crazy Love' by Brian McKnight. When Storm reached out to gather her in his arms she could hardly resist, not in front of all these people. As much as she wanted to stay far away from him she had to do her job and play the part of loving fiancée. He’d made it clear that shirking her duty was not an option and she planned on fulfilling her obligations to the letter.
Dani melted against Storm and gave him a look of love that she was sure could have won her an Academy Award. His look of surprise was enough to tell her the act was believable. And that was all it was - an act. Because from here on that was as far as she was going with Storm and not one step farther.
And so they danced in close embrace like any loving couple would, and no one could doubt their love.
The song had almost come to an end when they heard a clapping of hands and Dani, Storm and everyone else turned to see Edgar, looking grand in his beige suit with gold tie, calling for their attention. The DJ lowered the music and Edgar stepped forward, looking flushed and eager.
“Friends, I’d like to make an announcement.”
There was a hush over the crowd as they all paused to listen.
“I have happy news,” he said with a broad smile. “I don’t think it’s a secret that I’ve been hounding my son to settle down for the last couple of years. Well, folks, I’m happy to tell you that he has finally selected his bride-to-be and she is right there by his side tonight, Miss Danielle Swift.”
A murmur went through the crowd and everyone turned to stare at the couple who stood frozen on the dance floor.
No one was more surprised than Dani. What had Edgar done? This was supposed to have been a game, nothing more, just something to keep the overly-eager parents happy for a while. Now Edgar had gone and made the whole thing public…without their permission.
Edgar and Janet were beaming proudly at them while Dani’s heart was sinking into her shoes. She was not engaged to their son and never would be, not in this lifetime or ever. Even if she’d once held out hope of his ever loving her, she knew now that it was a hopeless dream. The man had engaged in the worst deception of all - at the same time he was playing games with her he was still leading Lola on. Obviously, he’d made the woman think she was still in the picture. What kind of man would do that? Unless he really did want Lola?
She had no chance to ponder that question because at that moment Storm put a firm finger under her chin and lifted her face to his and before she could react he was kissing her in front of the now cheering crowd.
It was too much. The betrayal, the shattered hope, the pain…and now having him kiss her like he was in love with her when they both knew it was a lie.
Distraught and furious, Dani pulled out of his arms, stepped back and slapped him across the cheek. Then she whirled, hot with humiliation, and ran across the dance floor and out the door.
CHAPTER EIGHT
Dani had nowhere to run. She had no car and because she’d stormed out of the place she had no purse. She wanted to leave. She wanted to get away from the reach of Storm and his friends and family. But how could she escape?
She hurried down the driveway, walking as fast as her high heels would take her. She would walk all the way home if she had to.
She heard footsteps and she didn’t need to turn around to know who was following. She could sense Storm’s presence from a hundred yards away.
He caught up to her in seconds and grabbed her arm. “What kind of stunt was that you pulled in there? You embarrassed me in front of everybody.”
Dani jerked her arm away and turned on him. Even if she had no right to be furious, she was. “You deserve it, you beast. How dare you kiss me like you mean it when you have Lola waiting in the sidelines? Why didn’t you hire her to be your fake fiancée?”
He frowned. “Lola? What the hell does Lola have to do with any of this?”
&nb
sp; “Oh, don’t play dumb with me, Storm. I’d respect you more if you’d just come clean.”
“Come clean with what?” he almost shouted. “Will you stop talking in riddles and tell me what you mean?”
“Well, if you insist," she said sarcastically. “You called me Wednesday night and gave Lola the phone. What did you expect us to talk about? You?” She put her hands on her hips. “Or were you just trying to make a point, that if I didn’t want to play the part you still had Lola to fall back on? What kind of a sick-”
“Hey, stop. You just stop right there.” He put up a hand, silencing her. “First of all, I did not call you on Wednesday. Since last Saturday the first time I reached out to you was tonight.” He folded his arms across his chest. “And secondly, there is nothing going on between Lola and me and there never will be.”
He sighed and released his arms. He looked like he wanted to hold her but instead he shoved his hands into his pockets. “I think I know what happened. Lola dropped by my place uninvited Wednesday night. I left for maybe five minutes and went to the kitchen. She must have used the opportunity to find your number in my cell phone and call you.” He shook his head. “You have to understand, Dani. Even though there was never anything between us, Lola sees herself as a woman scorned. She would do anything to destroy what we have.”
Dani’s heart lurched. “What we have?” she whispered, almost afraid to repeat it. “But…we have nothing.”
Slowly, Storm shook his head and a smile softened his lips. “That’s where you’re wrong, Dani. We have everything. I was just too stubborn to admit it.”
Dani stared up at him, confused. “I…don’t understand.”
“I don’t blame you,” he said enigmatically. “The truth is, I didn’t understand either, until tonight.” He took her hands in his. “Do you know why I got so angry last Saturday when you told me you were a virgin?”
“No,” she said, frowning. She was still lost about that one.
“I was a coward, Dani, afraid of commitment, afraid of losing my bachelor lifestyle. When you told me you’d never made love before I realized that I couldn’t be with you and walk away. You’d want more. And I was afraid of that.” He gave a bitter laugh. “I was so darned stupid. It took the time I spent away from you, time I spent in misery, for me to realize how much I want you in my life.” Then he gave her a look so open and honest that she could not doubt his words. “I’m tired of running, Dani. I want to commit and I want that commitment to be with you.”
