by Kay Harris
There was so much to unpack in the conversation she’d just had with Trudy and Everett. They’d just given her millions of dollars. Of course, she felt she didn’t deserve it. But that feeling was contradicted by her intense feeling of love and acceptance from these two remarkable people.
What could she give them in return that could ever match this generous gift? Trudy and Everett would say they just wanted her time and her smile. They loved her so much. She didn’t deserve it.
She had no choice but to accept the money because she loved them just as much. She would love them for what they did for her no matter what. But it went so much deeper than that. She loved each of them for exactly who they were as well.
It had all begun with an act of kindness from boss to employee. But Alice’s need for the familial comfort Everett was offering overwhelmed her, and she wiggled her way into a space in his life that had been empty as well. Trudy and Everett had been alone, a tiny family unit who’d experienced deep loss. A series of events—the death of their beloved husband and father, followed by the slow distancing from extended family, and finally, abandonment by Everett’s fiancée and best friend—had left them in as much need as Alice. Now their lives were inextricably woven together.
This line of thought led her to Darius. He, too, was a person whose tie to Alice could be linked back to kindness in a time of need. She could easily chalk up the butterflies rioting in her stomach every time he was near to a lifelong sense of gratitude. But there was more to it than that.
She knew the difference because she loved Kyle out of gratitude, and this was different. She loved Everett and Trudy above and beyond gratitude. But again, with Darius it was different.
Her life had just changed. She’d become a millionaire in an instant. She had enough to adjust to without adding into that her complex feelings about Darius. So, Alice stood, brushed imaginary dirt off her striped leggings and walked back toward the house, determined not let her life be altered too dramatically despite all the recent changes.
MARCH
Chapter 7
“You two are ridiculous.” Darius smiled at the couple across from him. They were doing that thing again where they stared into each other’s eyes.
Ray reluctantly broke his gaze away from his wife. He turned to his old friend with a smirk. “You’re just jealous.”
“I am,” Darius agreed.
Tara reached across the wood table and patted Darius’ hand. “Poor sexy model is lonely.”
He stuck his tongue out at her, not caring that he looked like an immature idiot even as the waitress was approaching their table. The woman, who looked like she was in some serious shock, didn’t comment on his childishness, but stumbled through a greeting and an explanation of the specials. Ray ordered a bottle of wine for the table, and she left to let them peruse the high-priced menu.
Darius raised his eyebrow. “I thought we were going with champagne to celebrate your new contract.”
Ray shrugged his massive shoulders. “I’m in the mood for wine.”
Ray would be starting next season with Darius’ old team. Ray and Darius had been thick as thieves while playing together in college. Ray’s ability to catch a football was a quarterback’s dreams come true. They had been a hell of a pair. But since leaving college and being drafted, they hadn’t gotten to play on the same team together once.
Now Ray was going to play in the Bay, and Darius was out. He rubbed his bum knee and sighed.
“You okay,” Ray asked.
“Fine.” Darius focused on the menu like it was a chemistry test.
He could feel Ray’s gaze piercing into the top of his head. Their friendship was long and close. Ray understood, in a way no one else did, what losing football had meant to Darius.
They talked casually about what they wanted to order. The waitress returned with their wine, a little less star-struck and a little flirtier. Darius indulged in her attention, partly to escape the pity of his friends.
When they’d ordered dinner, and the waitress was gone again, he tried to skip over any subject that touched on him and his pathetic life and focus on Ray and Tara instead. “So tell me about the move. Are you planning to buy a place or rent?”
Life in professional sports meant staying flexible and mobile. Ray and Tara had two adopted kids, which meant they tried to provide as much stability as they could.
“We haven’t decided yet,” Tara said. “Ray’s parents are going to rent an apartment. But I’m thinking, despite how pricey it is here, that we should buy. With the kids, we need the space. And we’re thinking about adopting two more.”
“Twins,” Ray said with a smile.
“No kidding? That’s great.”
Tara smiled at Darius. “Not a surprise, though, right?”
He shook his head. It wasn’t a surprise. Tara and Ray were obsessed with kids.
“I can’t wait to be Uncle Darius to more kids.”
“You love kids. You should have your own.” Tara leaned back and took a long sip of wine.
“Great. I’ll go pick one up tomorrow,” Darius joked.
“You could, you know?” Ray cocked his head. “I mean, not tomorrow. But you could adopt by yourself. I know you want to.”
Darius thought back to the conversation he’d had with Alice about adopting. Ray was the friend he’d referenced in that talk. And Ray’s comment made Darius ache for all the things he wanted all at once.
“I know I could do it alone. But I don’t want to. I want a partner to raise kids with, to do everything with.” He made his confession while looking at the swirly grain on the table.
“Okay. Any prospects?” Ray asked.
Darius snapped his head up and looked into Ray’s dark eyes. “Prospects?”
“Dates, you know?”
“Not really.”
Tara leaned over the table. “Why the hell not? Darius, you are a serious catch. And after that underwear ad…” She fanned herself with her hand.
Darius leaned in as well, so they were reaching toward each other in an arc over the table. “To tell you the truth, the trouble is that I’m hung up on a girl.”
Ray laughed. “Oh, no. Please don’t tell me it’s the same girl?”
Tara swung her head to the side to gape at her husband. Her short hair bounced, hitting her cheek. “What are you talking about?”
Ray pointed at Darius. “Every time he goes through a dating rut he blames it on the same thing. Hung up on some girl he’s had thing for since high school.”
Tara’s head swung again, and she looked at Darius. “The same woman?”
Darius simply nodded, hoping to avoid any real explanation.
Tara curled her fingers. “Come on, spill.”
Darius pursed his lips together and shook his head.
“I’ll tell it,” Ray volunteered. “There’s this girl he’s had a crush on since high school. She dated Derek. They broke up, and it went badly. Very badly. He punched Derek in the face and gave this girl his number. Only she never called him. But he calls and leaves her a message on her birthday every year, which is mildly creepy by the way. How long is it, like six years now?”
Darius felt the need to defend himself, at least a little. “But here’s the thing: she talks to me now.”
“Really?” Ray’s jaw dropped. “How did that happen?”
It was while Darius was filling them in on Christmas and the ad campaign that their food came. As the waitress leaned down to place his plate of lasagna in front of him, Darius peeked over her shoulder. The moment was brief, but what he saw ignited pinpricks of electricity in his gut.
When the waitress left, he leaned over the table and stage whispered to his friends. “She’s here.”
“What? Where?” Like a complete moron, Ray started swiveling his head in a one-eighty to examine every woman in the place.
Darius placed a hand over his eyebrows. “Jesus, dude. Try to be cool, will you?”
Tara’s tinkling laugh was followed
by her instructions to Ray to look straight ahead and she’d figure it out on the sly. Darius explained that Alice was walking, with a tall, thin woman to a table kitty corner from where the three of them sat.
Tara, in a move worthy of the best private dick, swirled around casually until she caught site of her target. “Which one is she?”
“The hotter one.”
“The short Asian then?”
“Yep.”
“I want to see!” Ray was like a little kid now, giddy to be in on the secret. Thankfully, his slick-as-snot wife was able to show Alice to him without him drawing the attention of the entire restaurant.
“She’s freaking hot, man,” Ray said.
“I know.”
“I just pictured her different.”
For a brief moment, Darius contemplated asking Ray what, exactly, he pictured. Instead, he focused on his meal and attempted to divert his friends’ attention away from his lifelong crush.
****
Darius: Are you on a date right now?
The only reason Alice looked down at her phone was because Tammy slipped off to the ladies room. She’d felt it vibrate her purse, which hung on the back of the chair and brushed her upper arm. Curiosity forced her hand as soon as she was left alone.
Her instincts kicked in and her head swiveled around until she spotted the grinning ex-quarterback at a table on the other side of the room. A couple consisting of a massive man and beautiful woman sat across from him. They were staring at her with knowing looks.
Alice felt heat crawl up her neck and face. She waved lamely at the table. All three smiled and waved back.
Alice: I hate you.
Darius: I don’t think that’s true. You look amazing when you blush BTW.
Alice: I am on a date. You’re NOT invited to join us, so don’t even think about it.
Darius: What does she have that I don’t.
Alice: There isn’t time to list it all.
It was a blatant lie. Tammy was nice, but she wasn’t Darius. She talked mostly about herself, and was generally bland and boring. Darius was empathetic, funny, and challenging. But there was no way Alice was going to let him know that.
Tammy returned to the table. Alice shoved her phone back in her purse. “Hey. I think our appetizers are coming out soon.”
Tammy smiled and leaned forward, her pretty blue eyes filled with excitement. “Do you follow football?”
Alice groaned internally. “A bit, yeah.”
“Well, you’ll never guess who’s in this restaurant.”
“I bet I can.”
****
The shoot was fun, new, and exciting. Alice had never been behind the scenes of shooting a television commercial before. And she was thrilled Julia had included her.
It had gone great right up until Darius walked out of the dressing room wearing a pair of workout shorts and a thin white tank top. Bulging muscles, sleek lines, and powerful limbs were all on display. And she was pretty sure there was some oil involved as well. The cameraman’s assistant and makeup artist both walked out of the intimate room behind him looking like they’d just watched a porno.
Alice took a deep breath and tried to find her center. But she couldn’t seem to veer her thoughts away from the incredible body highlighted beneath the hot lights on the set.
“This is what I’m talking about,” Julia said, her voice piercing Alice’s thoughts. “You okay?” Julia turned to the woman beside her.
“Yeah.” Alice turned away from the Adonis under the lights to focus on Julia. “I like this. I think my biggest client, the boutique, would go crazy for this ad.”
Julia turned her appreciative gaze back to Darius. “Who the hell wouldn’t?”
Darius was a natural in front of the camera. He didn’t show a hint of nerves. Maybe it was because the cameras watched his every move for five years when he was the star of an NFL team or all the interviews he gave during that time. The result was that he oozed charisma.
After several takes, they took a break. The cameraman’s assistant, a thin, young, blonde named Nina, approached Darius with a towel. He took it, thanked her, and wiped the sweat off his face and neck while she watched with appreciation.
Alice took a step closer to them so she could hear what they were saying better. Her stomach tightened as Nina also took a step closer to Darius. Fully crowding his space, she cooed, “I was wondering. Are you free tonight? Maybe we could get a bite to eat after we’re done here.”
Darius’ eyes flicked over Nina’s shoulder and landed on Alice for a moment before returning to Nina. A broad smile painted his chiseled face. “Absolutely.”
Alice felt her shoulders fall as Darius accepted the invite. She knew she had no right to want him to say no, but she did.
The flirting session didn’t last long. Darius downed a bottle of water and they were back at it. When the shoot was over, Alice marched over to Darius before he could be accosted by more hot blondes.
“Got plans tonight?”
Darius smirked. “You know I do.” He walked slowly toward his dressing room, hesitating just enough to make sure Alice would walk beside him. She did.
“Wow. I think I’m finally seeing the arrogant football player in you.”
He smiled and ducked his head, but kept his gaze focused forward as he walked toward the small dressing room. “No. You’re seeing a man whose jealousy and frustration has reached an all-time high.”
“And how, exactly, is going out with barely-out-of-school over there going to help with that?”
He shrugged before opening the door to the dressing room and stepping aside to let Alice in. “Makes me feel slightly less pathetic, I guess.”
Alice bounced into the room and whirled around. “Pathetic?”
Darius closed the door behind him and stared down at her. “Yes, Alice. You make me feel pathetic.”
“How’s that?”
Darius walked past her and over to the dressing table. He pulled off the tank top, giving her an incredible view of his broad chest, sprinkled with dark blond curls, and his defined six pack. Alice counted backward in her head until he’d pulled a fresh t-shirt off the table and covered up.
He turned back to her and pointed his finger at her chest. “It doesn’t matter how big I am or how little you are. It doesn’t matter that I’m famous and well off. It doesn’t matter that lots of women ask me out on a regular basis. You, Alice Bando, have me completely tied up in knots. And every time you remind me that I’m not good enough for you, my ego takes a massive hit.”
Alice stepped toward him, led by her heart, not her head. “Really?”
Darius threw his head back and let out a loud sigh. “I don’t know how much more obvious about this I can be.”
Without words, Alice stood in front of him, biting her lip.
Darius looked at her for a moment, then stepped around her. “I’m sorry, Sweetie, but you drive me nuts. I’m headed off to meet Nina and have someone fawn over me for a change.”
****
Alice wasn’t sure if it technically counted as stalking. She figured it didn’t since Darius had made it clear he wanted her attention. So, if she was sitting on his doorstep at nine o-clock at night waiting for him to come home from his date, that wasn’t too weird, was it?
Yeah. It was weird. Alice stood and brushed imaginary dust off her green and yellow striped skirt. She planned to head down the short walk back to where the car Everett helped her pick out with her new inheritance sat waiting for her. But headlights swung across her view, stopping her like a deer in her tracks.
Darius’ oversized vehicle pulled directly behind her new sedan. He jumped out of it so quickly she barely had time to fully appreciate what was happening, let alone plan out an excuse, an escape, or both.
“Alice. Hi.” He walked toward her briskly as if she would disappear if he didn’t reach her in a matter of seconds.
“Hi.”
Darius stopped in front of her and looked down into he
r shy, wavering gaze. “What are you doing here?”
He was definitely amused. One corner of his mouth twitched, and his stupid blue eyes twinkled in the stark porch light.
“You went on that date just to make me…”
“Make you what?” The twitch turned into a full-fledged grin.
Alice sighed. She looked down at their feet. Darius’ running shoes were at least twice the size of Alice’s strappy sandals. “Jealous,” she said to their feet.
“Did it work?”
Alice snapped her head up. “You admit it?”
“Yeah. In fact, I knew how unfair it was to Nina, so I told her before we even went out what my real motivation was. But she didn’t back out. We had a good time. I think I made a new friend.”
“Do you have a lot of friends?”
“Yeah. I guess. Some closer than others. What about you?”
Alice clasped her hands in front of her and twisted her fingers together. “These days. Yeah. I guess I do. And some are closer than others. Some I just hang out with casually, some are family. But it didn’t use to be that way. Once upon a time it was just me and Kyle.”
Darius nodded. “You wanna come in and talk?”
Alice shook her head. “I should go home. I have to get up early tomorrow to meet with Julia and the ad guys. In fact, so do you.”
Darius nodded again, his expression solemn. “Okay.”
Alice took a step to the side so she could walk around Darius to her car. She was barely past him when she heard his voice, so soft it was almost inaudible. “Alice.”
She whirled around, pulled back toward him like a magnet to its opposite pole. “Yeah?”
Darius lifted one hand. It hovered beside Alice’s right cheek. “I’m glad you were jealous.”
Alice tilted her head enough to place her cheek in his palm. “Why?”
“Because it gives me hope.”
Alice took a small step toward him. They were close now. Darius leaned down.
“Hope for what?” she asked.
“That someday you’ll feel about me the way I feel about you.”
“I don’t know what you see in me.” Her breath was shallow.
“Of course not. You’ve never had a high enough opinion of yourself.”