Something to Talk About (5 page)

“Get this, no sooner did I finish explaining to her that the window idea was totally impractical than she comes up with another request. She wants the laundry room on the second floor instead
of in the basement where it already is. That’s only going to involve moving a load-bearing wall and ripping out work that’s already been completed,” he said angrily. “That woman is a menace.”

“Well now, I can’t say I blame her about the laundry. That’s really the best place to have it since that’s where most of the dirty clothes accumulate. Too bad she didn’t mention this bright idea a few months ago.”

Adam snorted. “Yeah, well, from now on you can deal with her. She asked where you were, anyway. Maybe you’ll get along with her better than I do. She just irritates me,” he confessed.

Before Alicia’s dismay at having to deal with Darcy could register on her face, Adam smiled the lazy, sexy smile that never failed to jump-start her heart “Let’s go get something to eat." He looked down at her with his piercing dark eyes and the long straight eyelashes that made most women swoon and Alicia almost forgot that she already had dinner plans.

“Oh, Adam, I just told Bryant I’d have dinner with him. I’m sure he won’t mind if you come, too. We’re just going to Fishbone’s,” she said eagerly.

The warmth went out of his eyes so quickly it was as though she’d imagined it there.

“That’s okay, I don’t want to intrude. You have a good time,” he said offhandedly.

“I will. I mean
we
will. Bryant’s always
a lot of fun,” she said hesitantl
y.

S
he looked bemused as Adam abruptl
y stood up and offered her a hand. “Well, let’s not make you late for your date,” he said. “Let’s get out of here.”

In near silence they rode the elevator down to the parking garage and headed for their vehicles. After saying their good-byes, Alicia wondered about Adam’s
rapid
change in mood as she maneuvered her way to Greektown. As she found a parking space near the restaurant her slight anxiety left her. She looked out the window and saw Adam nod as he prepared to go on his way; as usual, he’d followed her to her destination to make sure she was safe. She sat there smiling to herself until she could no longer see the Range Rover. At least some of her affection was returned; there was no doubt that Adam cared about her. Was it wrong to want more from someone who was already her best friend? She sighed deeply and went in to meet Bryant
.

***

Bryant could sense that Alicia’s mind was somewhere else. She was trying her best to be good company, but the lulls in their conversation weren’t filled with comfortable silence. When he wasn’t talking direc
tl
y to her, she was distracted and clearly thinking thoughts that had nothing whatsoever to do with their date. He watched her carefully as she drifted away once more. Her pretty face with its arresting features was still, but he could practically hear the wheels turning in her head. Oddly enough, he had a feeling that he knew what she was thinking about

“Alicia, I’m going to ask you something that’s none of my concern, okay?”

Star
tl
ed, Alicia met his gaze and nodded without speaking.

“Now, I want you to know that I’m not just trying to get in your business and I’m not just dipping.” He smiled and held up both hands to indicate innocence of any chicanery. “1 just
want
to know how long you’ve been in love with Cochran and what you intend to do about it
.
”

Alicia turned bright red, dropped her head into her hand, and emitted a squeaking sound like a wounded mouse.

“Aw, I embarrassed you,” Bryant said
softly. “I didn’t mean to
but I tend to be a little bit more perceptive than most people when it comes to these things. I notice things that other people don’t
.
”

His tone was so soothing and kind, Alicia’s discomfort eased at once. “Bryant, I don’t know what to say. I just started admitting to myself that I feel more for Adam than I should. You don’t think he’s noticed, do you? I don’t think I’m ready to deal with that yet,” she said ruefully.

Bryant reached across the table and took her hand. “C’mon now, it’s not like you’re throwing yourself at him or anything. I just happen to be more insightful than your average salivating horny male. I pay attention to small details, that’s all. And who says you shouldn’t have feelings for Adam? You two are friends, aren’t you? So you already care about each other, right?”

Alicia sighed deeply before answering, “That’s the problem, Bryant. Adam and I are best friends and have been for years. We have the perfect friendship and a great partnership. I don’t want to ruin everything we have now, and if we get involved romantically, that’s just what could happen. And besides, Adam thinks of me as a sister, a pal, a buddy. I don’t want to make him uncomfortable by letting him know that I think of him as more than that,” she admitted. To her utter surprise, Bryant laughed. She turned big puzzled eyes on him and he explained his laughter at once.

“I’m not laughing at you, Alicia, I’d never do that. You may not know this, but I’m a good friend of Clay Deveraux. A very good friend,” he emphasized.

Alicia nodded. She naturally knew Clay, who was married to Adam’s only sister, Benita. Encouraged by her nod, Bryant elaborated.

“When Clay met Bennie, he went off the deep end. I mean he went totally nuts for her and she felt the same way. But he was hesitant about getting involved with her because he thought they were too much alike and they’d end up hurting each other or some junk like that
.
And you see how that turned out," he reminded her.

“Yes, they got married and lived happily ever after with five beautiful children. But the two situations are hardly the same, Bryant,” she said with a little
frown
.

Bryant squeezed the hand he was still holding, and then gave it a
comforting
pat as he removed his large, warm hand from hers. “They’re very much the same, my dear. You have two people who are
ideally
suited for one another and
they’re
scared to make a move for fear of messing everything up. The only way you can mess this up is to do nothing, Alicia. Trust me. And this is coming from a man who had every intention of hitting on you, so if I’m willing to step aside, you’d better be willing to take action.”

Alicia was so enthralled by his words that at first she didn’t realize the implication of what he’d said. Slowly it dawned on her and she blushed again. “Bryant, that’s the sweetest thing anyone’s ever said to me.”

Bryant looked at the sincere pleasure on her face and it was his turn to sigh. “Story of my life, all the good ones
are
taken,” he said playfully. “I had to do a little playacting with Benita to make Clay realize he was in love. Am I going to have to do the same thing with you and Cochran?”

“No! Absolutely not, Bryant;
thanks but no thanks,” she said hurriedly. Despite his words of encouragement, she wasn’t ready to do anything about her feelings except feel them. Bryant must have sensed this, because he couldn’t resist giving her more advice.

“Look, Alicia, love is too rare to pass up and life is too short to be worried about making a fool of
yourself
over love. What’s that thing that people are always e-mailing to each other? ‘Work like you don’t need the money, dance like nobody’s watching, and love like you’re not going to get hurt’ That’s pretty wise for pop philosophy.”

“Okay, Bryant, once again, why aren’t you taken? I can’t believe that someone as wonderful and sensitive as you is still walking around unattached.”

Bryant made a comical face and clutched at his heart. “Not the S word, please don’t label me sensitive, that’s like the k
iss of death. I’m not sensitive;
I’m a big macho doofus. Being called sensitive is worse than being called a nice guy,” he said with a shudder. “And everybody knows nice guys finish last.”

Alicia laughed delightedly. “Sorry, Mr. Macho, you really are a sweet and sensitive guy. But I’ll keep your secret if you insist. I won’t let anyone know that you’re a wonderful man.”

Bryant returned her smile with one of his own, although a tiny, tiny part of him wished that for once he’d been wrong about the attraction between a man and a woman.

“You’re a wonderful woman, Alicia. And if Cochran isn’t smart enough to realize it, just look me up any time. Any time at all.”

Chapter Four

A few hours later, Alicia was sitting in the middle of her big bed thinking about her evening. Her sister Marielle was downstairs finishing some paperwork as usual, and the children were fast asleep. Taking her clothes off to prepare for her evening ritual of brushing her hair and showering, Alicia reflected on her conversation with Bryant. Even though their date took on a dimension she wasn’t expecting, Alicia had a good feeling after her dinner with Bryant. She certainly hadn’t anticipated revealing her deep dark secrets, but somehow she felt better afterward. She laughed softly, thinking about her Catholic school education. The sisters were right; confession was good for the soul.

She
put on a light cotton robe and sat down at the small Chippendale secretary that served as a desk and dressing table. Although her mind was not on her task, she automatically undid the long, long braid to prepare her hair for its nightly brushing. The act of brushing and arranging her hair made her smile, because it made her think of a moment when she was totally aware of Adam as a man and nothing more. Not as her best buddy, her partner, or anything but what he was, a totally desirable man.
 
One of the many things she and Adam shared was long hair. Adam simply refused to cut his anymore when he turned ten or so, and the result was a long ponytail that he often wore braided. It made him look like the
avante-garde
creative genius that he was, not to mention the fact that most women found the thick, glossy hair devastatingly attractive. Alicia, on the other hand, had been born as
bald
as the proverbial billiard ball.

Her mother and her aunts found her infant alopecia somewhat alarming since every other Fuentes child came into the world with a full head of hair. The hairless state remained until she was about three years old, so when her hair started coming in it was a huge relief to everyone. So much so that Alicia was forbidden to even think about cutting her hair. Even though her mother and her sister Marielle wore their hair in fashionable styles, Alicia’s by now very long hair was most often worn in a braid. There was so much hair on her head that the idea of wearing it unfettered was just not practical.
  Other than keeping it clean and conditioned
, 
Alicia
didn’t give her tr
esses a lot of thought until Ang
elique asked her to pose with Adam. She was a professional photographer about to do a shoot for a hair-care company and she needed some models with beautiful hair.

“And who has prettier hair than you two? C’mon, guys, even if the company doesn’t go for the idea, these will be some stunning shots,” she persuaded.

And that’s how she and Adam ended up spending the afternoon half
-
clad with their hands all over each other. Angelique had taken shots of them with their braids over each other’s shoulders and with the hair from their respective heads joined in one massive braid. The best ones had their
hair loose and wild with their hands tangled in each other’s manes. Adam had been wearing worn old jeans and no shirt, while she’d been wearing his old, soft chambray shirt with nothing else on but her best underwear. They’d each had a glass of wine and with the aid of Angelique’s enthusiastic instructions and the wonderful Latin music that flooded the
studio,
they’d had a wonderful time posing.

Alicia’s hands stopped while she recalled the intensity of her desire that afternoon. Whether they’d been sitting back to back, or had their arms around each other in a passionate embrace, or had been dancing to the salsa music with abandon, she’d been so on fire for Adam that day that just thinking about it brought back the heat She could still see the smooth, hard planes of his muscular chest and arms, could still feel the warmth of his body and smell the unique combination of fragrance and pure Adam that ignited her senses like nothing else. The photographs that resulted from that afternoon were so blatan
tl
y sexy that she kept her copies locked away in a drawer, but out of sight was not out of mind; all she had to do was think about that afternoon and she was back in Adam’s arms. . . . She stopped brushing her hair and caught it up in a hasty knot so she could jump in a cooling shower right then and there.
 
After she dried off and got into her usual sleep gear of men’s boxer shorts and an old, oversized T-shirt, she tackled the hair again. While she was braiding it up, she heard a light tap on the door.

“Come on in, sweets, I’m not asleep,” Alicia said.

“You should be,” Marielle said sleepily. “And so should I. Got an early day tomorrow, and it’s going to be long, too.” She sat down on the edge of the bed and yawned widely.