Convincing Alex (7 page)

There was a touch of regret in Bess's smile. “Do I ever?”

 

Alex liked the way she looked. It took a certain panache, he supposed, to be able to wear the jade-toned blouse with bright blue slacks, particularly if you were going to add hot-pink high-tops. But Bess pulled it off. Everything about her was vivid. He supposed that was why he'd gone into her office to apologize and ended up asking her out.

It was probably why he hadn't been able to get her, or the idea of taking her to bed, out of his mind since he'd met her.

For herself, Bess took one look at Zackary Muldoon's bar, Lower the Boom, and knew she had a relaxed, enjoyable evening in store.
There was music from the juke box, a babble of voices, a medley of good, rich scents. The tangle of pear-shaped gemstones at her ears swung as she turned to Alex. “This is great. Is the food as good as it smells?”

“Better.” He gave a wave in the general direction of the bar as he found them a table.

As usual, the bar was cluttered with people and thick with noise. Since his sister had married Zack, Alex had made a habit of dropping in once a week or so, and he knew most of the regulars by name. He grinned at the waitress who stopped at their table. “Hey, Lola. How's it going?”

“It'll do, cutie.” Resting her tray on her hip, Lola gave Bess the once-over. Though less than ten years Alex's senior, Lola had taken a maternal interest in him. It wasn't often Alex brought a date into the bar, and Lola made it her business to check out his current lady. “So, what can I get you?”

“Tequila.” Bess dropped her bag in the empty chair beside her with a thunk. “Straight up.”

Alex only lifted a brow at Bess's choice. “Give me a beer, Lola. Rachel around?”

“Upstairs. And she better have her feet up.” She gave the ceiling a scowl. “She'll probably sneak down here before the night's over. Can't keep her away from the boss.”

“What's Rio's special tonight?”

“Paella.” Her eyes lit with appreciation. She'd sampled some herself. “He's been driving Nick crazy, making him shell shrimp.”

“You game for that?” Alex asked Bess.

“You bet.” As Lola wandered off, Bess propped her chin on her hands. “So, who's the boss, who's Rio, and who's Nick?”

“Zack's the boss.” He gestured toward the tall, broad-shouldered man working the bar. “Rio's the cook, this Jamaican giant who'll fix you the best meal this side of heaven. Nick's Zack's brother.”

Bess nodded. She liked to know the players. “And Rachel's married to Zack.” After a long study of the man behind the bar, she smiled. “Impressive. How'd she meet him?”

“She was Nick's PD after I busted him for attempted burglary.”

Bess didn't blink or look shocked, she simply leaned a little closer. “What was he stealing?”

Alex was vaguely disappointed that he hadn't gotten a reaction. “Electronics—and doing a poor job of it. He was tangled up with a gang at the time. This was about a year and a half ago.” Absently he toyed with the square-cut aquamarine on her finger, watching it catch the light. “Nick had some problems. Actually, he's Zack's step-brother. Nick was still a kid when Zack went off and joined the navy and his mother died. Anyhow, when Zack came back a few years ago, his father was dying, and the kid was chin-deep in trouble.”

“This is great.” Bess beamed up at Lola as their drinks were served. “Thanks.”

The smile did it. Lola sent Alex a look of approval before she swung by the bar to report to Zack.

“Don't stop now.”

Alex lifted his mug of beer. He knew very well that Lola was giving Zack a sotto voce rundown of her impressions and opinions of his choice of companion. “You want to hear the whole thing?”

“Of course I do.” Bess sprinkled salt on her wrist, licked it, then tossed back the tequila with all the flair of a Mexican bandit. While she sucked on the lime wedge Lola had brought with the drink, she grinned at Zack. “I like the zing.”

“How many times can you do that and live?”

“I haven't tested it that far.” The liquor left a nice trail of heat down her throat and into her stomach. “I did ten once, but I was younger then, and stupid. So keep going.” She leaned forward again. “Zack came back after sailing the seven seas and found his brother in trouble.”

“Well, Nick was tangled up with the Cobras…” Alex began. By the time their paella was served, he was enjoying himself. It always polished a man's ego to have a woman's complete and fascinated attention. “So that's how I ended up on the point of having an Irish-Ukrainian niece or nephew.”

“Terrific. You've got a flair for storytelling, Alexi. Must be some Gypsy blood in there.”

“Naturally.”

She smiled at him. All he needed was a hoop of gold in one ear and a violin, she thought—but she was sure he wouldn't want to hear it. “It doesn't hurt that you have this wisp of an accent that peeks out now and then. Of course, your material's first-rate, too. I'm a sucker for happy endings. I can't have many of them in my field. Once we tie things up, we have to unravel them again, or we lose the audience.”

“Why? I thought most people went for the happy ending.”

“They do. But in soaps, a character loses the edge if he or she isn't dealing with some crisis or tragedy.” She sampled the paella and sighed her satisfaction. “That's why Elana's been married twice, had amnesia, was sexually assaulted, had two miscarriages and a nervous breakdown, went temporarily blind, shot a former lover in self-defense, overcame a gambling addiction, had twins who were kidnapped by a psychotic nurse—and recovered them only after a long, heartrending and perilous search through the South American
jungles.” She took another glorious bite. “Not necessarily in that order.”

Before Alex could ask who Elana was, Lola was setting down fresh drinks. “You watch ‘Secret Sins'?” she asked Bess.

“Religiously. You?”

“Well, yeah.” She shrugged, knowing there were several patrons in the bar who'd rag her about it. “I got hooked when I was in the hospital having my youngest. He's ten now. That was back when Elana was a first-year resident at Millbrook Memorial and in love with Jack Banner. He was a great character.”

“One of the best,” Bess agreed. “Brooding and self-destructive.”

“I was really sorry when he died in that warehouse fire. I didn't think Elana would ever get over it.”

“She's a tough lady,” Bess commented.

“Had to be.” When someone called her, Lola waved to them to wait. “If it hadn't been for her, Storm would never have gotten himself together and become the man he is today.”

“You like Storm?”

“Oh, man, who wouldn't?” With a chuckle, Lola rolled her eyes. “The guy's every woman's fantasy, you know? I'm really pulling for him and Jade. They deserve some happiness, after everything they've been through. Jeez, all right, Harry, I'm on my way. Enjoy your dinner,” she said to Bess, and hurried off.

Bess turned to Alex with a smile. “You look confused.”

He only shook his head. “You two were talking about those characters as though they were real people.”

“But they are,” Bess told him, and scooped up some shrimp. “For an hour a day, five days a week. Didn't you ever believe in Batman, or Sam Spade? Scarlett O'Hara, Indiana Jones?”

“It's fiction.”

“Good fiction creates its own reality. That's entertainment.” Picking up the saltshaker, she grinned. “Come on, Alexi, even a cop needs to fantasize now and then.”

He looked at her long enough to make her pulse dance. “I do my share.”

Bess swallowed the tequila, but its zing paled beside the one that Alex's quiet statement had streaking through her. “You'll have to tell me about that sometime.” She glanced around at the sound of piano music.

Against the far wall was a huge upright. A slimly built, sandy-haired young man was caressing blues out of the keys.

“That's Nick,” Alex told her.

“Really?” Bess angled her chair around for a better look. “He's very good.”

“Yeah. He talked Zack into putting a piano in the bar about a year ago. Rachel and Muldoon tried to get him to go back to school, get more training, but no dice.”

“Some things can't be taught,” Bess murmured.

“Looks like. Anyway, he still works in the kitchen with Rio, and comes out and plays when the mood strikes.”

“And has every female in the joint mooning over him.”

“He's just a kid,” Alex said quickly—too quickly.

With her tongue in her cheek, Bess turned back. “Younger men have their own appeal to the experienced woman. In fact, right now Jessica is embroiled in a passionate affair with Tod—who's ten years her junior. The mail is running five to one in favor.”

“We were talking about you.”

She only smiled. “Were we?”

Zack walked over to slap Alex on the back. “How's the meal?”

“It's terrific.” Bess held out a hand. “You're Zack? I'm Bess.”

“Nice to see you.” Zack kept a hand on Alex's shoulder after giving Bess's a quick squeeze. “You must be the Bess Rachel ran into down at the station.”

“I must be. You have a great place here. Now that I've found it, I'll be back.”

“That's what we like to hear.” His blue eyes sparkled with friendly curiosity. “Alex doesn't bring his ladies around very often. He likes to keep us guessing.”

She couldn't help but respond to the humor in Zack's eyes. “Is that so?”

“Ease off, Muldoon,” Alex muttered.

“He's still sore at me for stealing his baby sister.”

Alex sent him an arched look. “I just figured she had better taste.” He lifted his beer. “Speaking of which.” He gestured with the mug.

Bess saw Zack's eyes change and, recognizing love, her heart sighed. It didn't surprise her when Rachel came to the table.

“What's this?” Rachel demanded. “A party, and nobody invited me?”

“Sit,” Zack and Alex said in unison.

“I'm tired of sitting.” Ignoring them both, she turned to Bess. “Nice to see you again.” She took a deep, appreciative sniff. “Rio's paella. Incredible, isn't it?”

“Yes, it is. Alex was just telling me how the two of you met.”

“Oh?” Rachel's brow lifted.

“Why don't you join us and give me your side of it?”

Twenty minutes later, Alex was forced to admit that Bess's casual
friendliness had gotten Rachel to sit down and relax in a way neither he nor Zack would have been able to with their demanding concern.

For a woman who was so full of energy and verve, she had a knack for putting people at ease, he noted.

A gift for listening to details and asking just the right question. And for entertaining, he mused—effortlessly.

It didn't surprise him that she was able to talk music with Nick when he was called over to join them, or food with Rio when she asked to go back into the kitchen to compliment him on the meal. He wasn't surprised when she and Rachel made a date to meet for lunch the following week.

“I like your family,” Bess stated as they settled into a cab.

“You've only met a fraction of it.”

“Well, I like the ones I've met. How much more do you have?”

“My parents. Another sister, her husband, their three kids. A brother, his wife, and their kid. What about you?”

“Hmm?”

“Family.”

“Oh. I was an only child. Do they all live in New York?”

“All but Natasha.” He toyed with the curls at the nape of her neck. “You don't talk about yourself.”

“Are you kidding?” She laughed, though she wanted to curl like a cat into the fingers brushing her skin. “I never stop talking.”

“You ask questions. You talk about things, other people, your characters. But you don't talk about Bess.”

She should have known a cop would notice what most people didn't. “We haven't had that many conversations,” she pointed out. When she turned her head, her mouth was close to his. She wanted to kiss him, Bess thought. It wasn't merely to distract him. After all,
she had nothing to hide. But she didn't speak, only moved her lips to his.

The fingers at the back of her neck tensed as he changed the angle of the kiss and the mood of it. It was light and friendly only for an instant. Then it darkened, deepened, lengthened. Mixed with the taste, the texture, were hints of what was to come.

There's a storm brewing, Bess thought dizzily. And, oh, she'd never been able to resist a storm.

Her heart was knocking by the time his lips moved to her temple. “You know how to change the subject, McNee.”

“What subject?”

His hand slid to her throat, cupped there. He felt the pigeon beat of her rapid pulse. The rhythm of it was as seductive as jungle drums. “You. Now I'm only more curious.”

“There's not that much to tell.” Uneasy and confused by the sensation, she drew back as the cab pulled to the curb. “Looks like we're here.” She slid across the seat while Alex paid the driver. Her knees were a little weak, she realized. Another first. Alexi Stanislaski was going to require some thought. “You don't have to walk me up,” she said, surprised that it unnerved her to see the cab pull away and leave the two of them alone on the shadowy sidewalk.

“Which means you're not going to ask me in.”

“No.” She smiled a little, running her fingers up and down the strap of her bag. But she wanted to. It was amazing to her just how much she wanted to. “I think it would be smarter if I didn't.”

He accepted that, because the choice had to be hers. And the prospect of changing her mind along the way was tremendously appealing. “We'll do this again.”

“Yes.”

He closed a hand over her restless one, brought it to his lips. “Soon.”