by Rowe, Julie
“I can see that.” He could. It was evident in her clenched fists and jaw.
“He scared me and I’m angry with myself for being scared.”
“He’s a bully,” Alex pointed out as calmly as he could “There’s only one way to get rid of a bully.”
“Stand up to them?”
He held out his hand, palm up. “You’re not alone.”
After a couple of seconds, she put the box down on her lap and put her hand in his. Something coiled tight inside him, unwound.
Her opinion mattered. It shouldn’t. Experience had shown that his brand of honesty wore people out. They might tolerate or even like it in the beginning, but after a while, weeks or months, of the constant truth they became annoyed, then resentful, and finally angry. At him.
He had yet to meet someone who could handle the truth and nothing but the truth. Could Calla be the one? She was the first woman who showed no fear of his sharp wit and tongue. She’d dueled with him verbally on many occasions and he found himself looking forward to their next encounter with a relish he usually reserved for the courtroom.
Dangerous territory.
His personal code of honesty had always come first. Always.
For her, he’d lie like the devil himself.
Chapter Seven
A few hours later, they drove up the private driveway to a truly ostentatious home in Hollywood.
Alex parked and came around to help her out of her seat. She was too busy staring at the grounds to pay attention to something as urbane as standing. “Are those swans?”
He glanced over at an elegant fishpond and gazebo that was hidden from view from the street by a large garage. “Yes.” He leaned close and whispered, “She used to have pink flamingos, but decided swans were more representative of her current decade when she turned seventy.”
The whole house was lit up and the door opened before they could reach it. A man with a similar facial bone structure as Alex waved them in. “Thank God you’re here.”
“Nice to see you too, Bert. How are things?”
Bert shrugged. “Weirder than normal.”
“Has there been a fight already?” Alex sounded only partially interested in the answer.
“No, but it looks promising between Aunt Gerri and your mother.”
“Really? My mother doesn’t usually participate in the main event.”
“Aunt Gerri is certain you’re crying like a little girl when no one is looking. Your mother took exception to that comment.”
Calla couldn’t help the snigger that snuck its way out.
Alex turned with great regal bearing and stared down his nose at her. “What are you laughing at?”
“Does your family know you at all?”
Alex opened his mouth, but Bert answered first with a wink. “Not really, no.”
“Calla,” Alex said. “This is my cousin, Bert.” Alex turned to his cousin. “Bert, this is Dr. Calla Roberts.”
“Nice to meet you, Bert.”
“Likewise Dr. Roberts,” Bert said inclining his head. “I’m out of here,” he said to Alex. “Have fun.”
Alex urged her inside with his hand at her back and whispered in her ear, “Come on, let’s go say hello to the belle of the ball.”
She liked the feel of his hand there. Too much.
They walked through a glitzy foyer and into a sitting room occupied by a beautiful white-haired woman dressed in a lovely gown and diamonds.
Alex guided Calla right up to her. “Grandmother, you look stunning tonight,” he said, giving her a kiss on each cheek.
“Thank you my dear boy.” She gave Calla a brilliant smile. “And who’s this?”
“I’d like you to meet Dr. Calla Roberts. She’s a new plastic surgeon working for Helen Ridgeway.”
“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Mrs. Clarke.” Calla extended her hand.
“And you my dear.” The lady took her hand and drew her close so she could kiss Calla on the cheek.
“Alex, she’s lovely.” She looked at the box of cupcakes in Calla’s hands. “Are those for me?”
“Yes, we picked them up a little earlier.”
“I adore Colin’s cupcakes.”
“They are popular, ma’am.”
“You must call me Grandmother. I insist.”
Calla glanced at Alex in shock, but he smiled and nodded at her. “Um, okay, thank you, Grandmother.”
“Wonderful. Now, Alex, you should introduce her to your mother and aunt, they’re in the kitchen.” Alex’s grandmother winked at the both of them, then waved them off with one hand.
“What does your Aunt Gerri look like?” Calla asked as they walked out of the sitting room.
“A million dollars.”
“She’s not going to ask for free Botox, is she?”
“That is a distinct possibility.”
“Great.”
They entered the kitchen. Two well-dressed, middle-aged women whose figures were too perfect for them to be all natural were yelling at each other. One with blond hair, the other with red.
Alex and Calla watched and listened for a moment.
The blonde was saying, “…I’m telling you, those are knock-offs. Genuine Jimmy Choo shoes don’t peel like those are.”
“They are not peeling,” the redhead said, crossing her arms over her chest.
“Sure they are. Look at the arches.”
“Are they really arguing about shoes?” Calla asked.
“Looks like it.” Alex stepped forward and hollered over top of them, “Mom, Aunt Gerri, I’d like you to meet someone.”
Calla wasn’t sure if it was the word meet or someone, but both women shut up and stared at him like they’d never heard him talk before. She moved to stand next to Alex and said the safest thing she could think of, “Hello, it’s a pleasure to meet you. I’m Calla.”
The blonde turned to the redhead and said, “You owe me fifty bucks.”
“Are you really a doctor or are you one of those people who go to school and get a doctorate in something useless like Dairy Herd Management?” the redhead asked with narrowed eyes.
“No, I’m a medical doctor.”
“Damn.”
“Pay up,” the blonde said, holding out her hand.
The redhead grumbled, but grabbed a purse sitting along the wall and dug around in it.
The blonde grinned at Calla. “I’m Donna, Alex’s mother.”
“Hi.” Calla smiled at her.
Donna angled her thumb at the redhead. “This grumpy bitch is my sister, Gerri.”
Gerri shot a dark look at her sister. “Hey, I am not grumpy.” She turned to Calla. “So, you’re dating Alex?”
Calla cleared her throat. “Yes.”
No one said anything for about two seconds, then Alex’s aunt said into the silence, “Bullshit.”
“Excuse me?” Calla asked. She couldn’t have heard the woman correctly. Wasn’t this a family dinner?
“We’ve never seen you before or heard a word about you from Alex, and you expect us to believe you’re together?”
Oh, so this is what Alex meant when he said his family was a tough audience.
His aunt smirked at his mother and said, “She’s doing him a favor. This is a mercy date.”
Calla’s jaw dropped. “What?” She glanced at Alex to see what his reaction was, but he just shrugged.
“Give me my fifty bucks back,” Gerri said to Donna, holding out her hand.
“This is not a mercy date,” Calla told them.
“Yeah, right.”
Anger and disgust burned a hole through her self-restraint. “The only reason I’m here is because Alex is important to me. I don’t love him for his money or to use him to meet his grandmother and wiggle my way into the entertainment world. I love him because he makes me laugh and he’s the most honest man I’ve ever met.” Calla stepped back and turned to leave the kitchen, but she thought of one more thing she wanted to say. “I also think he’s hot.”
Though surprised, she’d seen his eyes widen for a fraction of a second before she closed hers, and he hadn’t resisted. He put his hands carefully on her waist, probably to keep her from losing her balance, and held her like she was something rare and fragile.
His lips were firm and warm and the feel of them made her a little dizzy. She clutched him closer and suddenly he was kissing her back, his lips coaxing hers to part. She wanted to dive in and forget that they were being watched, but managed to hang onto her higher brain functions and not attack him.
Pleasure and need zipped through her, heating her belly and making her limbs shake.
He tasted of coffee and man, a delicious blend that went to her head and heated her from the inside out.
“Break it up you two.”
That had her pulling away far enough to glance over her shoulder.
Alex’s mother stood there with a smirk on her face. “You’re in the middle of a kitchen, not a bedroom.”
Calla blinked and pinned a smile to her face. “Sorry, got a little carried away.”
Alex cleared his throat. “I’m not sorry.”
Everyone looked at him.
“What? She started it.”
There had to be something wrong with her because that one phrase rolling off his tongue was enough to rekindle the fire his mother had put out with her interruption.
Panic and desire warred within her. She wanted Alex. Wanting was acceptable as long as it didn’t evolve into having. Having was dangerous. She couldn’t survive another betrayal like the one she experienced at the hands of her ex-fiancé.
“All right, all right, you’ve made your point,” Donna said. She turned to Gerri. “You want a receipt for that fifty bucks?”
“No, but make sure I get an invite to the wedding.”
“Did they con us into kissing for an audience?” Calla asked Alex.
“Yes,” Alex said with a rueful glance at his mother.
“Can we come back more often?”
Tension she hadn’t realized was hiding on his face loosened around his eyes. His answering laugh seemed more relaxed, too. But something still wasn’t right. Did he feel the attraction, too? Did it scare him as much as it did her?
“Are you okay?”
His lips pressed together briefly and he lowered his voice. “I’m not a big fan of being manipulated into kissing someone.”
Manipulated or not, that kiss had been smoking hot.
Could it have been a one-time thing? Brought on by the stress of the situation? Was it real or all in her head?
That she could do something about, and took his hand. “Where’s the washroom?”
The self-preservation side of her would have left it alone, but the rest of her wanted the truth, because if the chemistry between them was as good as she thought it was, one kiss wasn’t going to be enough.
“This way.” He led her back toward the front of the house and pointed at a doorway off the foyer.
She dragged him into the small room with her.
“Calla, what…?”
She didn’t let him get any farther with his question. It was do it fast or lose her nerve.
She pulled his head down and kissed him.
Again she dove headfirst into desire. Like sticking her finger in a light socket, the moment her lips touched his, an electric current seemed to run between them, drawing them together, heating up the air in the small room to temperatures better suited to Venus.
He tasted more decadent than any chocolate and his hands felt so good as they molded her to him. She grabbed his shirt collar and reeled him in, letting his lips go so she could taste his neck.
“Calla?” Her name came out of his mouth as a low rumble.
“Hmm?” She’d made her way down to his pulse point and sucked at it.
He jerked and swore, but didn’t pull away, rather he turned them so he could press her against the wall and rock an impressive erection into her belly.
Ooh, that was nice.
What they say about men and the size of their hands, feet, and nose was true after all. At least in Alex’s case.
“We have to stop.”
“Stop what?” she asked as she nibbled across his collar to the other side of his neck.
“Do you really want to have sex in my grandmother’s bathroom?”
She paused and considered it. “Tempting.”
He started to laugh.
She glanced up at him. He was watching her, laughing.
Heat flowed up her face. Oh my God, what was she doing? Making out in the bathroom of his grandmother’s home? “Sorry. A lunatic took over my body for a few minutes there.”
He seemed relaxed and happy. “I’m not, but I also don’t want to take advantage.” Too relaxed and happy.
Then she looked at his neck. “Um, I left a little hickey on your…” and pointed at the spot.
“You did?” He released her to look in the mirror. “I like it. It will keep Aunt Gerri from bugging me.” He grabbed her hand and opened the door. “Speaking of whom, we’d better get out of here before they send a search party for us.”
She bit her lip and shook her head. “You are such a guy.”
He chuckled and towed her back into the kitchen.
A short time later, everyone was called into the dining room to eat. Donna and Gerri were somehow seated right across from Calla and Alex.
“How long have you two been dating?” Gerri asked.
She and Alex looked at each other. She shrugged. “Not long.”
“How did you meet?”
“I parked in his parking spot at work.” There. Not everything had to be a lie. “I didn’t know it was his parking spot, so when he came out to tell me to move my car, I wasn’t convinced it was reserved. He made a joke about women drivers…”
“And she made a joke about my crooked nose…” Alex continued.
“And the rest is history,” Calla finished.
“You made a joke about Alex’s nose and he didn’t get mad?”
“I don’t know.” Calla turned to Alex. “Were you mad?”
“Nope.”
“So, when’s the wedding?” Gerri asked.
“Wedding?” Calla asked, thinking fast. “As much as we, um, care about each other, we haven’t talked about marriage yet. I mean, I’ve only just met you and Alex still has to meet my brother before we start thinking about rings and honeymoons.” The word honeymoon made her pulse race. She already knew he was a fantastic kisser. What else was he fantastic at? “We wouldn’t consider such a huge step without family approval, of course.”
Silence greeted her statement. Everyone stared at her like she had three heads and her stomach took an express elevator down to her feet.
What did she say that upset everyone so much?
“Is she Canadian?” Donna asked her son. It sounded like an accusation.
Alex started to laugh. It boomed out of him like it had been stuffed down inside for far too long.
He almost fell out of his chair.
Calla shook her head at him. “It’s not that funny,” she said to him.
“Yes, it is,” he said between guffaws.
Calla turned to his mother. “Ignore him. He’s an idiot.” That made Alex laugh some more. “I mean…uh boy.” She covered her face with her hands. “I want to start this whole conversation over.”
“Please don’t,” Gerri said. “I’m kind of enjoying this one.”
“We’re simply not used to someone thinking of others first,” Alex’s grandmother said.
Calla pulled her hands away to stare at Maddy in shock. “That’s…sad.”
“It is, isn’t it?” Alex’s grandmother smiled. “Has Alex talked about his first engagement?”
Surprise shut Calla’s vocal cords down. She shook her head.
“Grandmo
ther,” Alex said in a chiding tone.
“Hush, Alex. Calla is obviously important to you or you wouldn’t have brought her here. She ought to know what that female bovine did before some reporter yells it at her along with any number of inappropriate questions.”
“Cow?” Calla asked, fascinated by the female bovine term.
“Such a pedestrian word,” Maddy said with a tsk.
“If the hoof fits…” Donna said.
“What did she do?” Calla asked in spite of herself. She shouldn’t want to know, but when a man’s grandmother describes his ex in such a colorful way…her curiosity would not be denied.
“What didn’t she do would be a shorter list,” Gerri said, holding up one hand and ticking off fingers. “She cheated on him with one of his best friends.”
“Ex-best friend,” Alex added in a droll tone.
“She tried to get Mother to introduce her to directors or producers or agents,” Gerri continued.
“She threatened to deny me access to my grandson and any great-grandchildren my grandson might produce,” Maddy said with some heat. “If I didn’t help her become a star.” The last statement was said with some aplomb.
“She claimed she was pregnant,” Donna went on.
“It was my ex-best friend’s,” Alex told her with a sigh. “I found out the hard way.”
Calla was afraid to ask, but couldn’t help herself. “Hard way?”
“Front page of every newspaper and website in town,” he answered.
“Gong show,” Donna said in a sing-song voice.
“She also insulted Alex’s manhood in many of those articles and interviews,” Maddy said. “Implied he was small.”
Calla couldn’t contain the bark of laughter that came out of her mouth. The erection she’d encountered in the bathroom was nothing short of impressive. “Small? She obviously never…” Calla’s gaze collided with Maddy’s and she closed her mouth with an audible snap. Oh my God, she was sitting at his grandmother’s dinner table. “Um, looked at his hands or feet,” she finished on a weak tone.
“Hands and feet,” his mother drawled. “Right.”
Calla glanced at Alex and realized he was shaking with laughter. “Calla, dear,” he said between chuckles. “Why don’t we change the subject?”
“Yes, please,” she said in her best good-girl tone.