“I agree,” Tyrese said.
She rose to her feet and walked over to the window. Zaire stared out at the ocean. “It’s so pretty out here at night.”
Tyrese moved to stand beside her. “You miss it, don’t you? Being out there, savoring the feel of the night air on your face.”
“I miss the way that I used to be. On a night like this, I would be right out there on the patio. I am tired of living this way, Tyrese. I feel trapped.”
He leaned over and whispered, “One day soon, this will be a distant memory.” Tyrese wrapped his arm around her waist.
She glanced up at him. “I hope that you’re right, Tyrese.”
Zaire felt the heat of desire wash over her like waves.
Turning her around so that she faced him, Tyrese leaned over and kissed her softly on the lips. “I’ve wanted to do that all night.”
In response, Zaire pulled his head down to hers. Their lips met, and she felt buffeted by the winds of a savage harmony. Her senses reeled as if they’d short-circuited, and it made her knees tremble.
Breaking their kiss, Zaire buried her face against his throat; her trembling limbs clung to him helplessly. She was extremely conscious of where Tyrese’s warm flesh touched hers.
“You’ve saved my life in so many ways,” she told him. “I will always be grateful for that.”
“You’ve saved my life, too,” Tyrese told her. “You and your family have shown me that there are still some really good people in the world. It’s not about power and control with you all.”
“One of the things my father made clear when he found out about his inheritance was that we were not going to let money change us in any way. He views his wealth as a means to help others less fortunate.”
“This is as it should be,” Tyrese responded.
His cell phone rang.
He glanced at it and turned it off.
“You don’t need to do that,” Zaire said with a smile. “If you need some privacy, feel free to use my father’s office.”
Tyrese shook his head. “That’s not a call I need to return.”
Zaire studied his expression. She thought she detected a flash of anger.
“Are you okay?” she asked.
He pasted on a smile. “I’m fine.”
Picking up the remote, Tyrese inquired, “Have you decided on what you want to watch? Ladies’ choice.”
Zaire laughed. “You may come to regret that decision.”
* * *
Zaire agreed to meet with a therapist a couple of days later. She was willing to try anything that would help her resume her normal life. Her parents located one willing to travel to Pacific Palisades. She was downstairs in the foyer when the woman arrived.
They settled in her father’s office to talk.
“The goal of treatment is to help you free yourself from fear and return to a functional lifestyle,” her therapist stated.
“I’d like that,” Zaire said. “I just don’t want to take medication.”
“You can be treated without meds, but I have to warn you, Zaire, that it will be much more difficult.”
“If I find that I need the medication, then I’ll take it.”
Her therapist nodded in approval.
“There are a variety of treatments available for agoraphobia, including psychotherapy.”
“How does that work?” Zaire inquired.
“Cognitive behavioral therapy focuses on decreasing anxiety-provoking thoughts and behaviors. This form of psychotherapy has shown to be highly effective in treating agoraphobia.”
“This is what I’d like to try.”
“Cognitive behavioral therapy involves anywhere from ten to twenty sessions over a number of weeks. I will help you gain understanding and control of the stressful events or situations in your life. You will learn stress management and relaxation techniques. Finally, we will work from the least fearful to the most fearful, which is leaving this house.”
Zaire met her gaze. “When can we get started? Living in fear is a horrible way to live.”
When her session ended, she walked to the kitchen, where Barbara was preparing dinner.
“Where’s Daddy?”
“He’s in one of the guesthouses with Franklin,” Barbara replied. “They are going over something with the hotel in Phoenix. There have been a couple of robberies.”
“That’s awful. I don’t know why some people feel they have the right to steal what others have worked for,” Zaire huffed.
“Franklin’s flying there later tonight. He believes that it may have been an inside job. Your father may go with him.”
“I hope that Daddy will press charges if it is one of the employees. They deserve to go to jail.”
“How did things go with Dr. Graham?” Barbara asked.
“I like her,” Zaire answered. “I made it clear that I did not want to be on meds.”
Barbara pulled a pan of chicken from the oven. “I hope you’re hungry. I made your favorite.”
“Garlic roasted chicken,” Zaire said with a smile. “I’m starved.”
She helped her mother finish cooking.
Zaire was looking forward to her treatment for agoraphobia. She had always been one to come and go as she pleased. Being a prisoner in her parents’ home brought on bouts of depression.
Then there was Tyrese, as well. They were becoming closer and closer, but Zaire was pretty sure he would grow bored of coming to the house all the time. They were never truly alone because her parents were always somewhere in the house.
Zaire was not going to stay a victim. She was determined to get her life back.
Chapter 12
As soon as her therapy session ended, Zaire went to her room and picked up her iPad. She opened up FaceTime and clicked on Max’s name.
“I just emailed you a list of local-area fitness trainers for Bill Daniels’s retreat,” he told her.
Zaire grinned. “Thanks! I don’t know what I’d do without you.”
“Hopefully, you never have to find out.”
She laughed. “I’m expecting some contracts to arrive today. Can you please give them to Tyrese to bring to me?”
“Sure.”
“Has Bill sent us his list of workshops?”
Max shook his head. “I can shoot him a quick email to remind him.”
“Oh, make sure the trainers submit proposals that provide at least twenty hours of cardiovascular, flexibility and circuit training. They should also note if they are willing to provide personalized instruction for all levels to the attendees.”
“There should be a daily therapeutic massage,” Max suggested. “I’d certainly be ready for one after a day of fun and fitness training.”
“See what packages they offer at the ranch. Maybe we can get an all-inclusive package for Daniels Auto.”
Zaire ended her conversation with Max a few minutes later. She then focused her attention on an upcoming event for the Springhill Wine Company. The owner was a die-hard blues and rock and roll fan, so she negotiated for the Blues Brothers to perform at the launch party.
She did not leave her bedroom until well after six o’clock in the evening. Zaire went downstairs to start dinner. Her mother wasn’t feeling well and had spent most of her day in her bedroom.
Zaire made a dinner salad.
She heard the front door open and went to see who it was. Zaire released the breath she was holding when she saw Ryan, her brother-in-law.
“Sage told me that your mother isn’t feeling well. I made her some of my homemade chicken soup.”
She smiled. “You have great timing, Ryan. I just made a salad and I was about to open up a can of soup, but this is so much better. Thanks a lot.”
“Whe
n will your dad be back in town?” he asked.
“He and Franklin will be back on Friday,” Zaire responded. “The investigation is taking longer than he originally thought.”
Ryan met her gaze. “How are you doing?”
“Much better,” she responded. “I’ve just started therapy.”
“Good for you.”
They talked for a few minutes before Ryan said, “Well, I’d better head back home. Sage wants to do a few laps in the pool. I don’t want her in there unless I’m home with her.”
“That’s really sweet. I love how you are so protective of my sister.”
“Sage is my life.”
Zaire’s deepest wish was to hear those words come out of Tyrese’s mouth one day. She had fallen deeply in love with him. There was no other man for her.
* * *
“Max gave me this stuff to give to you,” Tyrese announced upon his arrival. “I assume you were expecting it.”
Zaire glanced up at him and smiled. “I was. I asked him to give it to you.”
“I’m really glad to see you working like this. You seem like your old self.”
“I’m not quite there yet,” Zaire stated as she took the packet out of Tyrese’s hands. “But I am working hard to get back to being me. I especially want to be able to leave this house. I can’t just do all of my presentations via Skype, FaceTime or webinars.”
He laughed. “From what I’m hearing, you are doing a great job and the presentations have been on point.”
“Do you feel up to bowling?” Zaire asked.
Her parents loved bowling and they’d had a miniature bowling alley built when they had renovated the house.
“You bowl?” Tyrese asked.
“Why do you sound so surprised?” she asked, her hands on her hips.
He shrugged. “It just didn’t seem like it would be your thing.”
“We used to go bowling with my parents all of the time.”
Tyrese broke into a grin. “So is that your way of telling me that you have skills?”
“I’ll let my game do the talking.”
They took the steps down to the basement.
Zaire let Tyrese choose his ball first, and then she chose hers.
She turned and looked up at him. “I want you to know that I play to win.”
* * *
Tyrese watched Zaire as she pushed the ball straight out until her arms were fully extended. Her right hand supported the ball underneath. She looked as if she knew what she was doing, he decided.
His eyes traveled from the back of her head downward to the curve of her hips. Tyrese forced his eyes back to the game.
Zaire released the ball, rolling a perfect strike. “Yessss.”
It was his turn.
When Tyrese saw the two pins left standing, he groaned.
“It’s okay, baby,” Zaire murmured. “You can knock them down.”
“I appreciate the faith you have in me.”
She kissed him on the cheek. “I have a lot of faith in you.”
Tyrese met her gaze.
He placed the bowling ball on the rack before drawing Zaire into an embrace.
Tyrese pressed his lips against hers and then gently covered her mouth.
Zaire drank in the sweetness of his kisses.
He kissed the top of her nose, then her eyes and, finally, he returned his attention to her mouth. Zaire’s lips were warm and sweet.
“I can’t fight what I feel for you,” he whispered. “I can’t...”
Zaire took a step backward. “What exactly are you saying?” She looked as if she was trying to read his expression.
“Honey, I’m crazy about you. The night they called me about the attack...I felt as if a part of my heart...” Tyrese shook his head. “I was afraid that I would lose you. I don’t think I’ve ever been so scared.”
“I’m in love with you, Tyrese.”
He met her gaze. “And I’m in love with you.”
“So what do we do about it?” she asked.
“I wish I knew,” Tyrese responded. “Zaire, there is a lot to consider here.”
“What happened before?” Zaire questioned. “Did you get involved with someone from work in the past? It must have turned out badly for you to be so torn about this.”
“She didn’t work with me,” Tyrese answered. “We dated for almost a year, and I was on the verge of asking her to marry me. The day that I was going to pick up her engagement ring, my boss called me into his office. He showed me photos of myself and his fiancée.”
Zaire gasped in surprise. “She was engaged to your boss?”
Tyrese nodded. “I had no idea. She was a flight attendant and I figured when she wasn’t with me, she was working. I really thought that what we had was something special.”
“Is that why you left Chicago?”
“I had no other choice. She accused me of forcing my attentions on her, and my boss apparently believed her. I was fired. My old employer was very rich, and, because of his connections, I was blackballed and could not get a job anywhere in Illinois. Pilar invited me to come to Los Angeles and stay with her until I could get some things figured out. M.G. was birthed in her kitchen one night during dinner. I maxed out my credit cards and wiped out my savings to start the company. Thankfully, it paid off.”
“I’m sorry you had to go through something like that.”
“It was an important lesson learned.”
“Do you still have feelings for this woman?” Zaire wanted to know.
Tyrese shook his head. “At one point, I despised her for the way she ruined my life, but not anymore. I don’t feel anything for her, good or bad. There’s nothing left.”
“You don’t want to get involved with me because you’re afraid that I might use this as a way to ruin you, especially because my parents are rich.”
“Yes,” Tyrese admitted.
“We love each other, but we can’t be together,” Zaire uttered. “This just doesn’t make sense to me.”
“Zaire, we can sort this out later. Right now, you should be focusing on getting stronger.”
She nodded. “You’re right. I need to find a way to get better. I want so much to feel normal.”
Tyrese embraced her. “I’m not going anywhere. I want you to know that.”
“Please don’t say things like that,” she whispered. “It only makes me love you that much more.”
* * *
Two days later, a dozen platinum-dipped roses arrived for Zaire.
“Looks like you and Tyrese are becoming very close,” Malcolm stated. “Is there something I should know?”
“They are just flowers, Daddy,” she said with a grin. “He knows that I love roses.”
“Those are not just flowers,” Malcolm countered. “These flowers cost at least a thousand dollars.”
Zaire read the card that came with them.
Zaire, I chose to give you roses because I know how much you love them and because they represent my feelings for you. Both the roses and my love for you will last a lifetime.
Tyrese
She glanced over at Malcolm and tried to read his expression. “Daddy...”
“You’re in love with this man.”
“I am,” Zaire confessed. “I know he’s my partner and that it’s not wise to mix business and pleasure, but, Daddy, I never expected this to happen. I love him so much.”
Malcolm folded his arms across his chest. “Apparently he feels the same way about you.”
She nodded. “Yes, but we haven’t really acted on our feelings.”
“What do you plan to do?”
“I don’t know, Daddy. Tyrese doesn’t want to ruin our partnership by getting involved wi
th me and then it doesn’t work out.”
“I think it’s a wise decision.”
“Daddy, I love him and he loves me. I can’t explain it, but I know that he is the man for me. We belong together like Mickey Mouse and Minnie, Scarlett O’Hara and Rhett Butler...you and Mama.”
Malcolm smiled. “A man that sends you roses dipped in platinum is not ready to walk away, sweetie.”
Zaire smiled. “Do we have your blessing?”
“He seems like a nice young man, and it’s obvious that he cares deeply for you. You have my blessing.”
She embraced her father. “Thank you, Daddy.”
Chapter 13
Tyrese was becoming a regular visitor at the Alexander estate. Zaire looked forward to his visits with the anticipation of a child waiting for Santa Claus.
This was the first time he would be there for one of the Alexander cookouts. It had rained early, but did not last long.
“I’m so glad it stopped raining,” Barbara said.
Zaire had secretly hoped that it would continue to rain, forcing everyone to stay inside the house. She walked over to the French doors leading to the patio and stared out. The outdoor kitchen, complete with grill, pizza oven, ice maker and refrigerator, was designed to match the Mediterranean style of the rest of the house.
Her father was getting the grill ready.
Before the attack, Zaire had spent a lot of time on the patio. She would sometimes get up early and work out or go swimming. Afterward, she and her mother would have breakfast together near the Olympic-size pool.
She glanced over her shoulder. Her mother was busy preparing the fish and chicken for cooking on the grill.
Zaire gave the patio one last glance and then joined Barbara in the kitchen. She retrieved the bowl containing the ground beef from the fridge and placed it on the counter. “I’ll make the burgers.”
“Thanks, sweetie,” her mother responded.
“I told Tyrese he may want to bring some balling clothes,” Zaire said, trying to make conversation as she manipulated the meat into patties. “I’m sure Ari and Blaze are going to try and engage him into a game.”
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