In The Cards

by Cynthia Selwyn

  “She agreed! She said my looks alone would sell books.”

  “She agreed with me because it’s true, Mr. O’Connor. Then she went on to tell me that you’re anything but a boy toy. In fact, based on our conversation on the ride back—which you weren’t able to eavesdrop on—she told me in no uncertain terms that she loves you and would be devastated if she wasn’t able to tell you that before you walked out on her. Which—apparently—is not necessarily what you’re planning to do, considering you’re sitting here in the bar drinking beer.”

  “What do you mean she told you she loves me?” And why didn’t she tell me she loved me? She had a whole night to do it.

  “I don’t know, Mr. O’Connor. Why don’t you go to her yourself and find out? She’s on a deadline, you know. She needs to get that outline to me by the end of the day tomorrow. Meanwhile, I think I’m going to work some magic on my Martini Man, here. You’re very attractive, but…you’re really not my type.”

  What? Zach turned to stare at her. “I’m sorry?”

  Carla laughed. “Oh, you don’t want to be called Boy Toy, but you’re not comfortable being ignored, either. Are you?” She rolled her eyes. “You’re such a man. But you heard me. You’re not my type. You’re too dark. I like blonds. Like him.” She gestured down the bar with her chin. “Mm-mmm. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got some seducing to do...” She got up and moved down to the other side of the bar, where the bartender stood shining the brass fixtures with a cloth.

  Zach didn’t know whether he should laugh or be insulted. Laugh, he thought. Carla’s not your type either. He grinned and got up to leave.

  “You really know how to buff that brass, don’t you, handsome? Must be those muscles of yours…” Carla turned her head to look at Zach. “Are you still here? Go, Boy Toy. You’re cramping my style. Go tell Alex you forgive her for placating her materialistic and shallow editor.” She waved her fingers at him.

  He shook his head. Scary lady. And, possibly, a good friend.

  He hurried out, nearly breaking into a run as he neared the elevators. They’d be full of romance writers on their way to workshops, and it would be slow going.

  He didn’t want to delay any longer. He’d already spent too much time sulking like a dickhead when he should have been talking to Alex. He’d take the stairs that hugged one wall of the lobby, run to their room—praying she was there—and he’d put his arms around her. He’d tell her he was sorry. And he’d fall to one knee to tell her how much he loved her.

  Zach rounded the corner of the hall leading to the lobby, making his way to the stairs. It was crowded, of course. He had to slow down and make his way around conference-goers clustered in their little groups, looking at maps, materials and manuscripts, chatting and networking.

  It was as he made his way around the conversation area and the stairs that he saw Alex seated in the overstuffed chair, almost hidden by a potted palm. Her hands were pressed to her cheeks, her mouth was a perfect “o,” and her eyes were glistening with tears. She looked…surprised, as she stared down at the floor near her feet; he couldn’t see what she was looking at because of the couch on one side of the conversation area.

  Was she okay? What was going on? He moved closer to see what she was looking at. There, behind the furniture blocking his view, was The Asshole. He was holding out a box with a ring nestled inside; it had a rock the size of Stars on it.

  Holy shit.

  Zach stopped short, his heart in his throat. His knees were weak. No! He tried to shout, but nothing would come out. It was like being in a nightmare, the kind where you tried to escape but couldn’t move or talk. All he could do was lurch—as if he were trapped in Jell-O—toward Alex, before she took the ring and bound herself to Tim.

  ***

  Alex stared down at the ring in Tim’s hand. It was gorgeous. Even in the dim light of the lobby, it sparkled as if the light of the sun were captured in its facets.

  She’d dreamed of this moment for so long. Tim on one knee, asking her to be his wife.

  He’d said he was sorry. He’d driven six hours to get to her. And he had this ring. This beautiful, huge ring.

  “I picked it out with you in mind,” he murmured, holding it out. She reached for it, then hesitated. Wait a minute…

  “What do you mean, ‘with me in mind’? Who else might you have in mind?”

  Tim frowned, looking confused. “I meant, thinking of how nice it would look on your finger. On your hand.”

  “I would hope my finger would be on my hand,” Alex blurted. What a stupid thing for him to say.

  “Can I get up now? Geez, Alex, just take it.” He pushed himself to his feet and pushed the box into her hand. “Put it on so I can see if it fits. It might need to be sized up.”

  “Sized…up?” She frowned. Damn it. This was so not the way she’d pictured this. Any of it. Tim was supposed to slide the ring onto her finger. He was supposed to get her a ring that fit, not one that needed to be sized up, like she was some kind of freakish mini-giant.

  Zach would know how to do this. He’d know my ring size. And he wouldn’t whine about getting up—he’d just lean over and kiss me. And tell me he loves me. And I’d be happy…

  “Zach,” she whispered.

  “What?” Tim said.

  “No!” Zach yelled, tumbling over the back of the sofa and knocking Tim down.

  The ring box flew up into the air, landing in one of the potted palms. Alex leapt out of the chair, her heart pounding. “Zach!” She reached for him, tears blurring her eyes. She’d been so sure she’d never see him again. Thank God he was here. She blinked. Yeah, here, now, lying on top of Tim on the lobby floor. “What the hell do you think you’re doing?”

  He climbed to his feet, straddling Tim, who lay sprawled on the imitation Persian rug. “Don’t, Al. Don’t do it. If you marry him, you’ll be miserable.”

  “You asshole!” Tim rolled himself from under Zach and stood up. “This is none of your business, so fuck off.” He rustled through the plant for the ring.

  “Oh yeah?” Zach turned to face him. “Alex is my business. You had your chance and you blew it. And incidentally, you’re The Asshole.”

  Tim stood with clenched fists. Zach squared up. Alex rolled her eyes and stepped between them. “I do not believe this. Tim, if you want me to be your wife, you’d better get over the fact that my best friend is the sexiest man on the face of the earth and that every woman wants him.” Including me. The realization that if she married Tim she’d never make love to Zach again hit her like a brick.

  “Whatever.” Another confused look crossed his face, which finally settled into a scowl. “What do you mean, be his wife? You’re not going to marry him, are you?” But then again

  She poked him in the chest with her index finger. “Why don’t you just shut up?”

  “Yeah,” Tim said. “My future wife said to shut up.” He held out the box. “Here. Put it on.”

  “I can’t. It doesn’t fit. And you shut up, too.” She poked Tim with her other index finger. “I didn’t say I’d be your wife. I just said if you wanted me to be your wife.”

  “But—”

  “Shut. Up.” Poke. Poke! She used her finger for emphasis.

  “Carla told me what you said to her. I wanted to apologize,” Zach said.

  “Too bad. You’re not off the hook, either. You should have trusted me to begin with.” Poke. “And besides, you’re full of shit and you know it.” Alex sat down in the chair and put her hand over her eyes. She didn’t want to look at either one of them, standing there looking full of testosterone and bravado. Idiots. The pair of them.

  A cluster of writers moved past, staring at Zach. Despite the jungle of palms, they weren’t really alone. This wasn’t a scene she wanted to share with her colleagues. She stood up. “Follow me. We’re going to my room.”

  “Both of us?” Tim asked.

  “Yes.” She didn’t look back.

  They fell into step, one on eith
er side of her. Of course, neither one of them would fall back, but instead felt the need to stay next to her. She reminded herself to make notes of their behavior for a future book. Alpha males.

  Idiots.

  Who knew?

  She sighed and pushed the elevator button. Tim went in first. Zach stepped back for her to enter first, along with a gaggle of writers coming back from a workshop. He ended up standing in the front, near the buttons. He pressed the seventh-floor button—the executive level—and all the writers got out before they reached their floor, leaving them alone in the elevator. It hummed as it ascended.

  “You did room together,” Tim said, his eyes narrowed.

  “We did more than that,” Zach muttered.

  Alex kicked his shin and hissed.

  He frowned down at her, his blue eyes blazing. Alex’s stomach did a slow backwards flip. Alpha males might be idiots, but sometimes, they were magnificent.

  Enough to make a girl horny.

  In an elevator.

  With her ring-bearing almost-fiancé standing nearby.

  Damn it.

  “You won’t say a word. Not one. It’s my place to tell him, and I’m not going to do it on the elevator.”

  “Tell me what?” Tim asked.

  She rolled her eyes. “Nothing.”

  “Nothing? You think it was nothing? It was a hell of a lot more than nothing, Alexandrea Alise Taylor, and you know it,” Zach growled.

  “Don’t you even use my middle name, Zachary Michael O’Connor.”

  “Your middle name is Alise? I thought it was Alice,” Tim said.

  “Asshole,” Zach muttered.

  Had Tim always been like this? Alex put her hands over her face, trying to get the image of her boyfriend enjoying the special attentions of his assistant out of her mind, and leaned against the wall. “Shut. Up. Both of you.”

  The elevator bumped to a stop, and the door opened; Zach led the way out into the hall and down to their room, pulling his magnetic key card out of his rear jeans pocket as he walked.

  “I don’t know what women see in him,” Tim muttered beside her. “He doesn’t even know how to dress. Look at that hole in his jeans.”

  “Yeah. Look at it.” Alex tried hard not to remember the sensuous thoughts she’d had about that very hole, earlier in the day. Before everything fell apart.

  Dear God. If she and Zach hadn’t had their argument, Tim would have shown up and they would have been in bed together. Might have made this a lot easier, she realized. At least for Tim.

  ***

  They followed Zach into the room. He tossed the key on the desk, dropped his hat on top of it, and then flopped onto the bed. Mine. Get it, Tim?

  Tim’s eyes narrowed. He turned to Alex. “You slept together!”

  “Comes the dawn,” Zach muttered. Then he stood up. “And you fucked your assistant in the bed you shared with Alex. So what’s the problem?”

  “That’s between me and Alex,” Tim answered, his voice full of fury and contempt. “You’ve got nothing to do with us. Get out of here and let us talk.”

  Zach pushed down his own feelings of anger. To lose control now was to lose the woman he loved. “I may not have anything to do with you, but Alex is everything to me. You’ve always treated her like garbage. She told me she loved you, and even though I think you’re little better than shit on my boot, I never tried to get between you two. But now, you’ve screwed up. Take it like a man. Eff off and get out. She doesn’t love you anymore.”

  Alex hissed in a breath. “Don’t you speak for me. You don’t even trust me.” Her topaz eyes glittered with yellow fire. “You weren’t speaking to me the last time I saw you. Now you’re saying I’m everything to you?”

  “I never said you weren’t everything to me. I just needed to calm down after hearing you tell your editor I was your boy toy.”

  “I told her you weren’t my boy toy! And how did you hear that?”

  “Your mike was on. But it doesn’t matter. Carla told me you told her I wasn’t anyone’s toy, least of all yours. You stuck up for me, Alex.”

  “You should have realized you’re more than just a pretty face to me. Like right now, when you’re mostly a stupid jerk.”

  Zach bit his lip to keep from smiling. “You’re right. I am a stupid jerk. One who loves you, Alex Taylor. That’s why I’m here right now.”

  Chapter Fifteen

  Alex bit back the scream that hovered behind her lips and thought about banging her head against the wall instead. She rubbed her palm over her forehead. “I can’t believe this is happening,” she muttered, then lifted her head to glare at the two men standing in spread-legged, arms-over-chest, macho postures. They reminded her of roosters.

  Without the feathers.

  “I love you more,” Tim said, holding up the jewel’s box. “I’ve got the ring to prove it.”

  “Ring, schming. You’re also sleeping with your assistant.” Zach rounded on him. “You think a shiny piece of bling is going to buy you forgiveness? That’s your problem, Tim. You’re all about cash and splash, but you’ve got no substance.”

  “At least I’ve got the cash. What have you got? Good looks and nothing else.” Tim made a face that resembled a snarl.

  Alex put her hands on her hips. “All right, boys. That’s enough.”

  Zach turned back to her. “Look, Al. I admit it. I fucked up. But I’m here, and right now the only thing that matters to me is stopping you from making a huge mistake. Whether or not it’s me you’re with isn’t the point. What is the point is that you do what’s right for you. That’s what I want for you.” He closed his eyes and scrubbed his hand over his eyes. Then he exhaled, pushed his hat back, and gave her a sexy half smirk. “Remember what I said, Miz Scarlett. You need to be with someone who appreciates you for who you are, not for who they think you should be.” He reached out, cupped her chin in his palm, and brushed his thumb over her cheek. “And for the record, you are not boring. You do not suck in bed. You are amazing. Don’t ever forget that.”

  Tears filled Alex’s eyes and spilled down her cheeks; he swiped them away. “You would call me, Alex, and tell me how unhappy you were. All the time he spent out with his friends and traveling for work. How you wished you could leave him but couldn’t afford to… And do you really believe that this was the first time he’d slept with his assistant? It was just the first time you caught them.”

  “That’s not true!” Tim said, pushing his hand through his hair. “Tiffany and I never went to bed together before. And it sounds like you slept together just like I expected, so we’re even now.”

  Even? As if sleeping with someone else was like playing a game of tennis? The ball’s in your bed! Alex choked on a laugh; it sounded like a sob.

  Zach gently turned her face toward his again. “You write that book, Alex. The one we worked on together. You’ll be able to follow your dreams. Whether we’re together or not doesn’t matter. What matters is that you are happy. You’re not going to be happy with him. You know that. Please. Take care of yourself. You deserve that. Be happy, in your little yellow farmhouse.”

  “What farmhouse?” Tim interrupted.

  “My farmhouse. The one I’m going to buy with my advance,” Alex murmured, her eyes still locked on Zach’s.

  He smiled. “The one you wouldn’t stop talking about. With the big porch and the windows overlooking the White Mountains and that field with the red barn. And the apple orchard we couldn’t see because of the snow.”

  “The White Mountains? That’s in New Hampshire. I can’t live in New Hampshire. I work in Rhode Island.” Tim frowned. “What about a nice beach house, Al? We like the beach.”

  “He doesn’t even know. See, Al? You told me you’d told him all about it—he doesn’t even remember. And he doesn’t care. You’re nothing but a convenience for him, just as much as he makes things easy for you. You do laundry. You cook. You clean. That’s not love. That’s a habit. Do you want to spend the rest of your life b
eing someone’s habit?”

  She shook her head. He was right. Tim took her for granted and made her feel like a servant half the time.

  “And the thing is, you don’t ask questions about why he’s ignoring you or what he’s doing or who he’s with, because you’re in your own writing world and don’t pay attention, sometimes. He knows that. He takes advantage of that. But he never joins you. He never enters your world with you…” Zach’s calm voice washed over her. She looked at him. “But I do. Miz Scarlett.”

  “Who the hell is Miz Scarlett? Look, Al, I drove all the way down here. It took me six hours. I don’t need this crap. Tell him to leave.” He took the box out of his pocket again and opened it, waving it in her face. “I bought you a ring. That’s what you wanted, isn’t it?”

  “Yeah. And I have…this.” Zach reached into his back pocket and held up a card; a nude couple stood entwined on its face. Zach turned it around in his fingers. She tried to read the words printed on it, but he hid them with his thumb. “It’s the one I said you weren’t ready for.”

  “A playing card.” Tim made a disgusted noise. “I bought a one-and-a-half-carat diamond. In a platinum setting.”

  Zach turned the card over so she could see the words on it; he read them aloud, too. “Tell your partner exactly how you feel about him or her.” He got down on one knee and took her hand in his. It felt good and right.

  She swallowed back the tears of joy that rose in her throat and made everything sparkle. “Zach…” she whispered.

  “Wait a minute…” Tim said. “What are you doing?”

  “Miz Scarlett, come away with me. We’ll live on your plantation in New Hampshire.”

  “There aren’t any plantations in New Hampshire!” Tim protested.

  “We’ll be happy. You’ll write your books, I’ll teach my kids and rescue my horses, and we’ll make love every night in my Olympic-sized tub…say yes, Miz Scarlett. Let me take you away from this life of sadness. Be the woman you’re meant to be. My woman. My heart.”