Lisa knew she paled slightly, but otherwise didn't respond.
"It was quite an illuminating evening I can assure you. Not many husbands get to watch their wives cavort half-naked on stage in front of a roomful of leering men. Why did you behave so—?"
"Wantonly?" she supplied with a naughty smile, which lasted only a brief second, but still had the power to deepen his scowl. "First of all, the fact that I'm still your wife is a mere technicality. I don't have the money to hire a lawyer just yet, but when I do, that'll be it. We'll be history. And what I do with my life in the meantime is none of your damn business. We're separated, in case you haven't noticed."
"You're my wife!" he insisted. "I never agreed to a separation."
"That's your problem, not mine. Now please step out of my way. I have to leave for work."
"This isn't over yet, Lisa."
"Oh, really? Well, it certainly seems over. And you can quit sending me flowers with love notes attached, because if you really loved me, Alexander Mackenzie, you would have tried to contact me long before now. I could have been dead, for all you cared."
Okay, so they hadn't been separated for even a month yet, but still…
Wincing at the hurt in her voice, Alex reached for Lisa, but she stepped back just in time. "I thought I was being kind by giving you time to get over your anger. I was frantic with worry after you disappeared. You left no note, no explanation as to where you had gone or what I had done."
"Ha! You didn't even try to call, that's how much you cared." And for Alex not to know what he had done was ludicrous, laughable, an out-and-out lie.
"I didn't know where you were. And I did call, several times. I just didn't leave a message."
"So that was you? And you had to have been spying on me to know where I lived."
"I wasn't spying. Well, not exactly. I came across that information quite by accident."
"What did you do, pay a private investigator to locate me, or threaten my mother for the information?" Josephine would have been only too happy to spill the beans. The Terminator was a till-death-do-us-part kind of woman.
"No, nothing that dramatic. I paid a visit to your sister's apartment. Francie wasn't home, but while I was there I happened to see you enter Leo's place, and I put two and two together."
"Well, now you know. Leo and I are living together, and we're very happy. In fact, I've never been happier."
His amused smile said he didn't believe a word she was saying. "Leo is gay."
"Hmph! That's how much you know. He went straight as an arrow for me. In fact, I'm working for him at Designing Women. I'm going to become an interior designer. Leo thinks I have oodles of talent." She raised an eyebrow meaningfully. "And not just in design."
Alex shook his head. "If that man is straight, then I'm the frigging king of England."
"Don't you mean queen? Excuse me," Lisa said, pushing Alex out of the way as she exited the apartment, shutting the door behind her. "I have to go. It's been lovely talking with you, Alex. Have a nice life."
"You are, without a doubt, the most stubborn, irrational woman on the face of this earth."
Pausing, Lisa turned back. "We can't all be sweetness and light, like your mama. Now can we, Alex?"
Confusion creased his eyebrows. "My mother? What does she have to do with this?"
Oh, puhleeze! Was he really that dense?
Well, he was a man.
"Everything, you dolt. Everything."
Watching Lisa walk away, Alex felt a multitude of emotions: Love. He was more in love with his wife than ever. She was beautiful, stubborn, exasperating— and he was crazy about her. Guilt, as his worst suspicions had just been confirmed. It had been his parents' treatment of Lisa that had caused her to bolt. And he was to blame. He should have stepped in, taken her side, done what any good husband would have done to protect the woman he loved. And hope. He'd do everything in his power to win her back.
Why was I so stupid?
"Dammit!"
His parents were snobbish, foolish people, but they weren't monsters. He was positive they had acted out of love for him. But there was no denying that their behavior toward Lisa had been mean-spirited.
At first, she had tried to please them, but it was hard to satisfy Miriam and Rupert Mackenzie. They lived by their own rules and value system, and they weren't about to change now.
Age did that to people. Made them rigid and unbending in their beliefs.
Lisa had confessed that she'd had similar problems with her parents. They'd never accepted her for who she was and were always trying to change her, make her conform to what they considered normal behavior. And then she had received the exact same treatment from his mother and father.
Alex sighed, tunneling frustrated fingers through his hair and wishing he'd had this insight several months ago.
It had taken this disaster with Lisa for Alex to finally realize that though his parents had meant well, in their own self-serving way, it was time for him to stand on his own two feet and make his own decisions.
Living up to his father's expectations had been the driving force behind many of the choices Alex had made in his life, but not anymore. He was determined to become his own man.
And it was about damn time!
Resigning from his, father's firm had been an important first step. Now he was putting his plan into motion. He'd already spoken to several bankers and had another appointment with Citicorp today. He'd found a good downtown location and hoped to rent it, as soon as he could float the loan he needed.
Alex had his grandmother's inheritance, but that money wasn't enough to fund this venture. Investors were definitely the best way to go, and he had several more interested individuals to talk to.
But first, he needed to talk to Josephine Morelli.
Based on what Lisa had told him previously, her mother was pleased that she'd finally gotten married and settled down. Alex figured the older woman couldn't be happy about his and Lisa's estrangement and might be willing to help him convince his stubborn wife to reconcile.
It was worth a shot, anyway.
"You're late! And I can tell you right now that Leo is a stickler about things like that. So if you want to keep this job, in the future you'd better show up on time."
Lisa nodded at her sister, hanging her coat on the brass rack in Francie's office. "I know. I'm sorry. But I have a really good excuse. Alex came by to see me this morning, just as I was leaving for work."
"You're kidding!" Francie's eyes were huge as she handed Lisa a cup of coffee, then patted the space next to her on the blue-suede sofa. "Tell me everything. Were you happy to see him? Did he apologize? Where's he been all this time?"
Sipping the hot coffee, Lisa attempted to push Alex's disturbing image out of her mind; she barely succeeded. "He's been here in Philadelphia, staying with an old college buddy or so he tells me. And he's been spying on me. Alex knew about my job at the nightclub. In fact, he saw me perform."
Francie smiled. "How romantic, about the spying I mean. It shows that Alex really cares about you, Lisa."
"It shows that he's too nosy for his own good. I told him to knock it off, and I also told him to quit sending me flowers." Realizing she'd slipped, Lisa slapped a hand over her mouth.
"Alex sent you flowers? You never told me."
"It was the night we were on the phone and the doorbell rang. Remember? And I didn't tell you because I knew you'd get all excited and read stuff into it that didn't belong."
"He loves you. I knew it. How can you deny that?"
"I just do. Alex is probably more interested in keeping up appearances, like his parents. Most likely it didn't go over well at the club when they found out his wife had left him."
"Oh, Lisa, you don't really believe that, do you?"
Lisa shrugged. "I don't know what to believe anymore." And that was the absolute truth. She'd had so many conflicting emotions since seeing Alex this morning: love, hate, disappointment…love.
Dammit!
"What I do know is that if I don't get started working, Leo is going to fire me. And I refuse to be fired on my first day again. It's too humiliating. I don't think my ego—what's left of it, anyway—could take another shot."
Smiling in understanding, Francie patted her sister's hand. "I think having you around is going to be much more entertaining than watching a soap opera. I know we're going to have fun working together."
Lisa thought so, too. "So what's my first assignment? And where's Leo?"
"Leo drove to New York City to pick up fabric for a customer."
"But I thought that was my job." Lisa couldn't keep the disappointment out of her voice. She'd been looking forward to going to New York and had planned to get some shopping in, once her work was completed, and maybe lunch at a fancy restaurant now that she was gainfully employed again.
"It is. But Leo's nervous about this new customer. Mrs. Wallace is very picky and persnickety, and he didn't want anything to go wrong. Not that he thought it would," Francie added quickly, "if you'd done the pickup."
"I hope not, because I really want to do a good job here. I plan to work very hard and make a new career for myself." Although Lisa hadn't quite convinced herself that interior design was her calling. But she was willing to give it a try.
"That's good. And since you're so determined to get to work, you can start by hauling some of these fabric swatches into the showroom. I have an appointment with the ever delightful—Not!—Mrs. Melbourne, who's changed her mind about the fabric she picked out over six weeks ago for her living-room drapes."
"Of course, this is only the third time she's changed her mind. I had to call and cancel the last two orders, which thrilled my supplier to no end, but the customer comes first, right?"
Lisa gazed at her sister as if she'd lost her mind. "Are you serious? I'd have told the old bat to shove it. Once somebody picks out fabrics, they should have to stick with them."
Francie grinned. "That is why you're not working with clients just yet, Lisa. First, we need to give you a crash course in the care and nurturing of customers."
"I should have stuck with dogs. At least they don't talk back."
"No, but apparently their angry owners do."
"Okay, okay, I get the picture. I'll just shut up and do my job."
"Good." Francie picked a sheet of paper up off her desk and handed it to Lisa. "Here's a list of the fabric samples I need. Mrs. Melbourne will be here in twenty minutes, so you'd better get started."
Dismayed, Lisa's eyes widened. "Hell, this could take the rest of the day," she said, staring at the large number of swatches she had to pull.
"Yes, it could. But it's only going to take you twenty minutes, right?"
Heaving a sigh, Lisa wondered why gainful employment had to be part of her vocabulary. "Right."
Josephine Morelli answered the door on the third knock, and by the huge smile on her face, Alex knew Lisa's mother was happy to see him. In fact, she looked as if she'd been expecting him, and her next words confirmed it.
"I've been wondering when you were going to show up, Alexander Mackenzie. I'm glad you decided to get your head on straight. Women like my daughter don't come along every day. I hope you know that."
"May I come in, Mrs. Morelli? I'd like to talk to you about Lisa."
The older woman, looking a little bit like a tattered American flag in faded blue polyester pants, a red sweater and a white apron, led Alex into the kitchen and seated him at the table, then busied herself at the stove.
Setting a plate of pasta and a glass of wine before him, she said, "It's lunchtime. We'll eat, and then we'll talk. Conversation can sometimes ruin a good lunch, and my stomach's not what it used to be. I think it's my heart, but don't tell my girls. I wouldn't want them to worry."
Privy to the heart-attack hypochondria, Alex just nodded. He had already eaten a hamburger before coming over, but he knew it would be a major mistake to offend Lisa's mother, who was offering him hospitality, if not heartburn. "Thanks! It looks delicious. I love linguini."
They ate in silence for several minutes, then Josephine looked up, fork poised in midair, and said, "What happened between you and my daughter?" apparently willing to risk indigestion rather than wait any longer to get all the gory details.
Alex's eyebrows shot up. "You mean, Lisa hasn't told you?" He figured his wife had told everyone every little secret about their marriage.
"I want to hear your version of the story. Sometimes a woman can be a bit too emotional."
Nodding, he heaved a deep sigh. "It was a mistake moving in with my parents. We should have stayed in Philadelphia and made a life on our own, I realize that now. My parents weren't welcoming to Lisa. I thought they'd come around eventually, but they didn't."
"What's wrong with them, that they don't like my daughter? I admit, Lisa has her ways, but she's a good girl and she was brought up properly with good manners. My husband and I saw to that."
"There's nothing wrong with Lisa. She's wonderful. It's my parents. They're wealthy and…well, they're snobs. They go for appearances and pedigrees."
Josephine's eyes widened. "Like dogs?" She cursed softly under her breath, and Alex was grateful he didn't speak Italian.
"They didn't take the time to get to know Lisa, as I do. If they had, they would have loved and treated her much differently."
"Why didn't you stand up for your wife? Are you a mama's boy, like my daughter says? Not that there's anything wrong with that. A boy should show respect to his mother. But still… It's in the Bible."
Alex smiled. "You could say that. My mother has doted on me my entire life. I was an only child because she couldn't have more children."
"Children are a gift from God."
"I should have stood up to my parents when they began attacking Lisa, but I thought they'd relent. I guess I didn't realize the extent of their nastiness. Though I know that's no excuse."
Sipping her wine thoughtfully, Josephine finally asked, "And now what do you intend to do?"
Full to bursting, Alex set down his fork. "That's why I've come to you, Mrs. Morelli. I thought maybe you could help me figure out what I should do. I've tried talking to Lisa, but she won't listen. She says she's going to get a divorce and I can't let that happen. I love her."
Josephine's tone softened. "My daughter is stubborn and headstrong, Alex. She always has been. And Lisa's never paid any attention to what I or my husband tell her, so I'm not sure what you think I can do."
"I need an ally. I need someone to talk to Lisa and try to convince her to stay in our marriage and work it out."
The dismay on the older woman's face didn't bode well for Alex. "I tried that once. I spoke to my daughter until I was blue in the face, trying to make her see that she was making a big mistake. But would she listen? These young women of today think they know everything."
Josephine shook her head. "I'll be honest with you. I wasn't happy that you and Lisa married outside the Catholic Church, but a marriage is sacred, no matter if Elvis performs the ceremony or not. It would have been better with a priest, though."
"Just so you know, the Las Vegas thing wasn't my idea."
"You don't have to tell me that, Alex. Don't you think I know my daughter by now? This is a woman who dated a transvestite and didn't see a problem with it."
Alex's jaw dropped. "Really? I didn't know that."
"There's probably a lot about Lisa that you don't know. But she's a good girl with a good head on her shoulders. She just needs to use it. And I know she loves you."
His heart filled with hope. "Did she say that?"
"She didn't have to. A mother knows these things. And you forget that I'm a woman, too. Don't I know what a woman is thinking? Don't I know my own daughter?"
"What should I do?"
"You do what any man does when he wants a woman—you must sweep Lisa off her feet. And you'd better use a very big broom. That girl is as stubborn as they come."
6
Grinning at her roommate, Lisa paused in the salad she was preparing for dinner, happy to have something other than Alex to occupy her mind.
She'd thought of little else since her husband's impromptu visit that morning, especially how yummy he'd looked, which wasn't at all fair to a woman who was finding celibacy a rather irksome state of affairs.
"So tell me everything. Are you going out with Peter again? Or is it someone new?" Leo's dance card was always full, making Lisa feel even more like a wallflower.
"His name is Bruce, and he's too adorable for words. I think I'm in love."
She rolled her eyes. "You think you're in love every week, Leo. I think you're confusing it with lust."
Shrugging, he picked out sliced cucumber from the greens and stuffed it into his mouth. "Bruce is an auto mechanic, very rugged and virile." He fanned himself dramatically and started singing Macho Man.
"He's not your type at all, Leo. I take it you met him when you took your car in to be serviced yesterday. Not exactly the kind of servicing you expected, huh?"
Leo grinned. "Oooh, naughty girl! I'm expanding my horizons, so to speak. I mean there's nothing wrong with dating a man in the trades, now is there? I just hope his fingernails are clean. I have a real problem with dirty nails." He shuddered, and Lisa almost laughed.
"I've never met an auto mechanic with clean nails, so your love affair may be short-lived. Of course, you can always insist that Bruce wear gloves. That should go over really well."
"Speaking of love affairs, Francie tells me that Alex put in an unexpected appearance this morning. I'm sure that was difficult for you to handle. Do you want to talk about it?"
Lisa sighed. "Not really. It's over between me and Alex, so what's the point?"
"The sadness in your voice tells me differently, sweetie. And if he's still in love with you, and you're still in love with him, then why don't you give your marriage another try? You owe it to yourselves and that grand institution."
Suddenly Single Page 6