"Nothing's wrong." Alice hugged her waist. She had answered too fast. Then she tried to spin out of it. "My life isn't working as it is right now. I've not solved one of my problems. I have to help my parents, and I've always wanted to be independent."
Vicki stared at Jennifer for a moment longer and then she turned all her attention to Alice. Her calmness yet attentiveness were new characteristics. Alice's skin prickled as Vicki said, "There is a time for independence and a time for your heart. What is it you want?"
Alice decided the latest bestseller needed to be held and she read the back blurb. "I want both. For years, I've told myself everything will be better when I move out on my own. It's time I do that. Today my condo is ready for me to move in. I ordered the furniture and the moving trucks months ago. All I have to do is pick up my key and walk in the door."
Jennifer tapped her foot. Then she stared down her nose. "So how does John factor in?"
Alice turned toward Vicki, but she had no sympathy from her either. She put the book back on the shelf. "I'd like to see him."
Jennifer rolled her eyes. "That's it?"
Guilt iced down her back, though she hadn't done anything wrong. She stared into Vicki's eyes. "John doesn't love me."
Vicki smiled and the brightness caused a chain reaction inside of Alice. Her insides quaked as Vicki said, "I don't believe it."
Alice's body heated again, even if John hadn't called her immediately. "You are saying that because he's your brother."
Vicki took both of her hands in hers and waited for Alice to gaze into her pretty blue eyes. "Exactly. Who knows him better than me? Alice, I have never seen John look at another woman the same way he looks at you."
Her heart hammered in her chest. "Then maybe he'll want to date, but for today, I have to do this."
Jennifer's sigh interrupted the moment. "What about me and Peter, Victoria?"
Vicki dropped Alice's hand, and her best friend's face flushed. "Jennifer, I love my brother, and I want you both to find your happiness."
Jennifer rapid voice sharpened as she spun on her heels. "You don't know anything."
The bookstore had customers in their aisle. It was more than time to go. Alice said, "I thought we came here today to see this store Vicki wants to open."
Vicki walked down the aisle to gaze out the big window. Alice didn't see anything unusual in the morning crowd that was shopping on the million-dollar boulevard. She scanned the street for signs of another bad guy, but nothing clicked in her head. "Okay, I think the coast is clear."
Alice joked, "You sound like your brother, the FBI agent, with that sentence."
Both women chorused, "John was in the FBI?"
Alice almost tripped over her feet. John had joined because of her. She hadn't realized she'd divulged state secrets. "You didn't know? Vicki, he's your brother."
"I love my family." Vicki stood at the threshold. "But I've been M.I.A. for a while now."
Jennifer joined in. "Peter never said anything."
Alice quipped, "'Friends with benefits' doesn't exactly inspire communication."
Jennifer's tongue came out of her mouth like she'd swat this conversation in the butt. Then she sucked it back in and rolled her shoulders. "Like you have any answers, Alice. I don't remember anyone ever finding you the least bit interesting."
Vicki crossed her arms and turned toward Jennifer, "You're both my friends, so stop that."
Jennifer would never be her friend, but Vicki was always friends with everyone. Alone, she might end up adopting a three-legged dog and every down-on-their-luck person they passed. Alice chose to smooth things over. "Okay, let's go."
Jennifer shook her head, but said nothing else. Instead all three of them walked outside and a few minutes later, they stood in front of an empty building on the Miracle Mile. Alice asked, "Is this where you want your shop?"
Vicki smiled and nodded her head.
Jennifer shrugged. "I don't get what you want a shop for."
No? Alice understood Vicki's plan to be independent and peered inside the empty window. "This place has potential, Vicki. All the brides will want to come to you."
"Come." Vicki rifled through her pocketbook and found a key. She unlocked the door and as she threw it open to the sunshine of the morning, she said, "I bought this place yesterday to be the base of my fashion empire. The address is perfect."
Good. Independence was something they should all enjoy. Jennifer had it with her telenovelas. Vicki would have it with her store and fashion world, and Alice would have it too once she found a buyer for the farm products, moved into her condo, and the potential threat was gone. The three walked inside, and Vicki locked the door right behind them.
Alice twirled on her heels. She could imagine the mirrors on the walls, and rows of changing rooms. The aisles would be filled with white dresses designed to help a woman feel beautiful on her special day. Right now, the place was completely empty of everything, but it had lots of potential.
"I've already sent the designs for how this place will look to my decorator." Victoria nodded, eager for someone to say something positive. "I'll have it open in two weeks."
Jennifer's face pulled back. "You're crazy. That's a lot of work."
Alice jumped forward. Vicki deserved someone's support. "The Morgans can have this place open in an hour."
Vicki added, "And the store is just the start of my plans."
Jennifer turned toward Alice. "You have a point."
Alice's heart grew lighter that her friend was alive. Her life had all the people she loved in it. One day soon, John would stop his emotional see-saw and recognize how beautiful his life could be. He had his family and it was a miracle.
Victoria paid neither of them any mind. Instead she hugged herself and said, "See, my friends can get along."
Police sirens echoed in the air. Alice's heart froze. Her limbs grew goose bumps as she looked out of the glass. Jennifer pressed her nose against the window. "I wonder if they arrested your stalker."
The police cruiser stopped right outside the dress shop. Alice bit her lip and took a step into the shadow. The memory of the man who had followed her replayed in her mind.
Then a split second later, John's car stopped in the street behind the police. Alice's breath caught in her throat. Maybe that's why he hadn't returned her texts.
Then her brother Colt got out of the passenger side as John stepped from the driver's seat. She held the pendant at her neck. She hadn't seen Colt in months, so she had no idea how he stood right next to John like they were old friends.
They had played football together. Perhaps her brother stopped at John's house, but that didn't seem right. She hadn't told her mother the address, though she had blocked her mother's number the other day which prevented her from calling. Her brother hadn't asked for an address either. The two men walked toward the store. Alice asked, "What are they doing here?"
Jennifer whistled and nudged her side with her elbow. "Is that your brother?"
"Yeah." Alice turned around now. She expected Vicki to be right behind them, but the two of them were alone. Alice scratched her head. "Where is Vicki?"
Jennifer pushed her arm toward the door as the men knocked. "It's better if you go out to the street and not let them in here."
Why? Her friend had vanished as if she were a ghost. Since she was alive, it wasn't possible, but Alice had no idea why Vicki would just take off. Surely the police were not here to arrest Vicki of all people.
"Okay, I'm leaving then."
Jennifer smiled and stepped into the door frame like she'd block anyone who entered. Something strange was going on, but right now she'd solve one mystery at a time. Alice stepped outside into the suffocating humidity.
John didn't wait for one word. He reached out, grabbed her and kissed her.
The world faded to black with his touch. All that mattered was the fireworks inside her.
Leaving John without a broken heart was no longer an option.
> Chapter 24
"Get in the car." Colt gestured to John's Mercedes.
This made no sense. The last time either man had seen each other was years ago at a football game. They never spoke, and they were not friends. Her brother was in the Marines. If he was here in Miami, then he'd be with his daughter. Her gaze shifted from Colt to John.
John's expression seemed relieved.
Alice bit her lower lip, held John's hand and asked, "Why are you both here?"
"You and Vicki texted me." Then John repeated Colt's message. "Get in the car."
That wasn't an answer. She tugged her hand to take it from him, but he held firm. She shook her head. "I have my own car in the parking lot."
Colt worked in unison with John. He opened the backseat of the car. John walked her and placed his hand on her head as if he could protect her with his body from a shooter. Colt assessed the crowd. "Sis, don't be an idiot. Get inside."
The hand that brushed against her back burned in her memory. So did the moment the bullet broke through the glass. She sucked in her breath. "I don't know what's going on, but it must be big if you are both here."
Without another word, she squeezed into the backseat of the car, which she quickly realized was overdramatic. The leg room was more than ample, she thought, as both the men in the front seat were all muscle. They stared at each other. She crossed her arms as the men closed their doors. "What?"
Colt turned to her from the passenger seat. John revved the engine. Colt asked, "Why weren't you at John's as planned? Did you two have a fight so you put your life in danger out of anger?"
Her skin prickled and her forehead felt hot. This discussion was not to be had with Colt. She shook her head. "No—and what a question."
His gaze narrowed like he was a hawk and she was prey. "Then why did you leave?"
"Today is move-in day with my condo. It's time I do what I need."
John gripped the wheel and she caught his gaze in the mirror. His blue eyes looked haunted. Then he handed her his phone. She stared at the newest model of the phone and realized this wasn't what she'd seen before. Whatever it was that brought them together had better not be technology-related. "This looks brand new."
John shook his head. Then he returned his attention to the black-tarred road. "I had to give my old one to the police. Listen to the voice mail."
The police. The thought that something had happened to her father replayed in her mind. He couldn't have had another heart attack. No.
"Okay." She hit play. This couldn't be happening. A chill raced through her body. The man had been a real threat. She coughed as the message replayed again. "Someone was following me. At least he didn't shoot me on the street."
Her entire body had a chill that ran through it. She could have been shot on the street where people buy wedding dresses and walk in their finest outfits to be seen.
John's hand went to her spine and he quickly massaged her shoulders. "Don't think about what might have been, Alice. You called and Vicki sent the video. The police are on it."
"Victoria dragged me inside the bookstore. Jennifer has the original footage of the man on video."
Again both men shared a look. Colt nodded, "I'll deal with Jennifer and get that to the police with her sworn statement."
John told her brother, "Thanks."
This was all her fault. She should have listened and stayed at John's home.
John sped his car down the street. Colt shook his head, stared back at her, and said, "You have two options until this all clears up, Sis. You come home with me to the parents' house, or you stay with John. You cannot be alone."
No. She gripped John's new phone like it was a lifeline. Her condo would only have locks, not the House of Morgan protection. She stared at John's profile. He kept his eyes on the road so she couldn't see them. She shook her head and turned her attention to her brother. "This is idiotic."
John tapped the steering wheel with his fingers. Her head snapped toward him and then she met his blue eyes for a moment in the mirror. "My house has security that the farm doesn't have."
To go back with John made her heart race. Alice recalled her fear at how close the stranger had come and decided she'd stay without one more complaint until the man was caught. It wouldn't be too long, not with video evidence. She nodded. "John's house is free of Mom and her constant negativity."
Colt stared at John next to him in the front seat. John nodded back, and then Colt ran his hands through his hair. "Mom has good reasons for not trusting the Morgans. She tried to call you."
Alice reached for her phone and unblocked her mother's telephone number. As her fingers clicked, her mind did the same. Whatever happened to fuel her mother's opinion of the Morgans, her brother knew.
John didn't have a clue how much her mother despised his family. She pressed her lips together as John told Colt, "You were the quarterback the year I was running back. Remember?"
Football seemed to be John's argument that Colt could leave her with him. Alice's mind prepared an argument for when that didn't work.
Then her brother shrugged. "Which is why I can let my sister stay with you. I don't think you're like your brother or father."
How did football translate into trust? Alice blinked, but kept her silence.
John said, "Alice, you didn't have to leave alone this morning."
Yes, I did. Though it hadn't worked out in her favor, she'd had to reach out for her independence. If she'd stayed in his bed, she would have turned into a needy sex-slave who begged for another moment of John's time. Not how she envisioned herself. She lifted her chin. "I'll stay for a few more days."
A few days she could handle. She dropped the phones on the seat beside her like they were heavy bricks.
John stopped at a light. "Colt, want to stay for dinner then?"
John seemed relieved as the light turned green and he accelerated the car. He had to know how he affected her. All her life, she'd had this overreaching crush on him that never wavered.
Her brother's brown eyes met hers. He nodded. "Yeah. John, we should catch up."
Strange. They drove back into the driveway of John's house where cameras waited outside. She kept her head down until the garage door closed. Despite the walls, she rushed inside with both men on either end of her.
Once inside, Alice rushed to pick up the flowers that she and John knocked down last night with the stand, before her brother saw it. A minute later, he walked in with John and Alice squared her shoulders. Colt nodded at her and said, "Text Mom you're here and you're safe."
Her mind went blank. "Mom?"
Colt again met John's gaze. Then he turned to her. "Yeah."
Again, Alice was hit with a jolt. Colt knew something she didn't about their mother.
John asked, "Anybody want something to drink? Water? Coffee? Soda?"
She took off her shoes and left them at the front door.
Colt walked in like he'd been here all morning. He slapped John on the back and smiled. "Iced tea."
"Me too," she said.
John went toward the kitchen, so Alice tapped her brother on the arm. She'd ask her questions before John came back. "Come on, Colt. Let's go to the living room and sit down."
He followed her. The sun shone bright in the window that faced the bay. She took a step toward the clear glass, but then her brother blocked the sun. "Now you can tell me why you left here without John's listening in."
Her face heated. No, she'd not tell him that. "I wanted my independence. I've lived with Mom and Dad for a while, and Mom always drives me crazy."
"I asked why you left John's side, not Mom's."
Adrenaline rushed in her veins. "I like him."
He shrugged his shoulders like she was the one that needed to see reason. "That's not a reason to put yourself in danger."
The birds chirped out the window as palm trees rustled in the breeze. She hugged her waist. She'd steer this conversation now. "Yeah it is. You know our mother hates his family
."
Instead of looking at her, he turned toward the blue waves outside the window. "She doesn't hate John. She doesn't know him. I don't even hate John."
She stood next to her brother, staring up at his profile. "Even? You should hate the others?"
His face turned red. "Let's not talk about me. What's going on with you?"
"I'm angry she disowned me, again." She took a step backwards. In the background, John put on some music.
"She's been like that all our lives. Don't let her get to you."
"Easier said than done."
Alice tucked her hair behind her ear. "I was supposed to move into my condo."
Colt crossed his arms. "Why didn't you discuss it with your boyfriend?"
"He's not my boyfriend."
That just blurted out as a defense. Alice wished she could take the words back. Her feelings for John were too complicated.
"He's not? So I should go in there and beat him?"
She grabbed her brother's arm with both hands. "No."
Colt called out over the music. "John, would you date my sister?"
John walked inside with three glasses of iced tea and placed them on the table next to him. "Yes. I already said I'd marry her."
"The last time you said that it didn't end well." Again, he told the same lie to her family. Everyone was liable to believe it. She shook her head. This was ridiculous. "Colt, stay out of my life. Wait. Don't you have to get back to Clara?"
"You want me to leave so you can talk to your guy?"
"Stop it, Colt."
"Sorry I can't stay for dinner, John," Colt said.
Her entire body heated. She pushed her brother to the door. He stalled and dug his heels in. "If you want this guy then go for it, Sis. Don't let what Mom says get in your head."
No answers on what charged up her mother against John in the first place. She'd ask later. It was more important to get Colt out the door before he had it in his head to speak to Mom about wedding planning. "Thank you."
[House of Morgan 01.0 - 03.0] Boxed Set Page 15
