Читать книгу Switched At The Altar - Metsy Hingle - Страница 9

Two

For a moment Alex couldn’t speak. He nearly choked on the fury rising inside him. “There isn’t going to be a wedding,” he finally managed to say.

Desiree arched her brow. “No? I wouldn’t be so sure of that.”

“I am sure of it. Kevin is not going to marry you.”

“I believe that’s another one of those decisions that’s not yours to make.”

“Trust me, Ms. Mason. You are not going to marry my brother.” Even if he was wrong and she wasn’t a gold-digging actress with her eye on Kevin’s trust fund as he suspected, he couldn’t tolerate the thought of her being married to his brother. Not when he could all too easily imagine her with him, in his bed, with her body naked beneath his. Just the thought of being with her had him growing hard with desire—and sent guilt stabbing through him like a knife. He shoved a hand through his hair. She was involved with his brother, for pity’s sake. Yet, not even that knowledge could ease the hungry, restless ache inside him that he experienced by just looking at her.

“Like I said, that’s Kevin’s decision. And mine,” she amended a moment later, as though adding herself to the equation was an afterthought. “Now, you really will have to excuse me while I see if I can find out what happened to the actor Bernie was supposed to send over.”

She smiled at him, and Alex’s brain turned to mush. He stared at her mouth, mesmerized by the bow shape of those rose-colored lips, remembering how warm and soft they’d felt against his own.

“I believe you can find your way out.”

He watched in silence as she scooped up the train of her wedding gown and walked down the hall. For a second he tracked the enticing sway of her hips as she moved down the corridor before she disappeared into one of the rooms.

At the click of the door closing, Alex blinked. He shook his head to clear it. Muttering an oath, he started off after her. “The woman must be some kind of witch,” Alex grumbled, remembering the tales of voodoo and black magic that was supposedly still practiced in the New Orleans area. For a moment he’d been so mesmerized by her that he’d almost forgotten his reason for being here in the first place. Alex frowned at that realization. Try as he might to stop it, he couldn’t help thinking of his father.

Eddie Stone had been a dashing, debonair ladies’ man with a hearty laugh, a lust for partying and the deep pockets to pay for it. He’d also been as irresponsible as hell. He’d been about to marry wife number five when he’d been killed in a skiing accident. Otherwise, Alex might have added a few more stepmothers to his family tree. While his memories of time spent with his father were good ones, they were far too few—primarily because of his string of ex-wives, three of whom had been ladies from the South.

And now Kevin thought he was in love with Desiree Mason, another Southern belle. He conjured up an image of the green-eyed beauty in his mind and frowned. Maybe it was something in the water that drew men to women like her. Alex hesitated in front of the room he’d seen Desiree go into. Or maybe it was a weak gene in the Stone men that made them susceptible to a woman with a honeyed voice and magnolia-soft skin.

Whatever the reason, Alex decided, he had no intention of allowing himself to fall under Desiree Mason’s or any woman’s spell. With that thought in mind, he rapped his knuckles on the door.

“It’s open,” she called out in a distant, somewhat muf fled voice.

Alex pushed the door open and stepped inside only to discover the room was empty. “Ms. Mason?”

“Be right with you,” Desiree called out from an adjoining room.

As he waited, Alex took the opportunity to study the room. Just like the rest of the house, this room boasted high ceilings that were accented by crown molding. Ivory silk wall coverings flecked with gold ran from ceiling to floor. What he suspected was either a genuine Aubusson rug or a good imitation covered the center of a wooden floor that was in dire need of polishing. A lovely watercolor of Magnolia House and the grounds, painted during earlier and obviously more prosperous times, hung crookedly on one wall alongside several framed theater posters of plays that he’d never heard of, let alone seen.

On another wall damask drapes, in a faded shade of what once had probably been mint, were swept back from a massive window that served as a home to a half dozen flowering plants.

Alex fingered a purple bloom on one of the plants and caught the fragrant scent. Wisteria. It brought back vague memories of a house with a yard and a huge tree with a swing. He could remember sitting in that swing as a little boy, urging his mother to push him higher. He’d wanted to reach the tree’s limbs and capture one of the purple flowers from the vine tangled in its branches. It had been the first and only time he’d lived with his parents—before they’d divorced, before they’d left him with his grand-father and gone on to their new lives—lives without him.

Pushing the melancholy thought aside, Alex prowled the room while he waited for Desiree. The place was a mess, Alex decided as he looked at the beautiful Queen Anne desk covered with stacks of papers, magazines and bound copies of what were evidently plays. A battered-looking computer sat haphazardly on a desk blotter. Framed photographs took up what little space was left. Alex picked up one of the snapshots of a much-younger Desiree flanked by a timid-looking blonde and a serious-eyed brunette—all dressed in toy soldier costumes and tap shoes. He grinned at the way Desiree mugged for the camera despite two missing front teeth.

“That was one of my first starring roles,” Desiree told him from the doorway. “You’re looking at the Mason Sisters Trio. Tap dance recital for four- to six-year-olds,” she explained.

She was still wearing the wedding dress, but the veil and flowers were gone. Most of her hair had escaped from its combs, leaving long strands of red shot with gold trailing along her neck and cheeks. “Must have been quite a performance,” Alex replied.

“Oh, believe me, it was.”

She walked toward him, the sound of her skirt swishing as she moved, and his eyes immediately zeroed in on those sashaying hips.

“My sister Lorelei—she’s the blonde—lost her dinner in front of the entire audience before we even got to the first ‘ball-change’ in the dance routine. Stage fright,” she said as though that explained everything.

“And my sister Clea—” she pointed to the brunette “—she’s the perfectionist. She was so miffed at Lorelei for ruining our act, she walked off the stage in the middle of our number and hung up her tap shoes for good. I’m afraid it ruined any hopes my parents might have been harboring that we’d be a dancing version of the Lennon Sisters.”

“What about you? What did you do when your sisters dropped out of the show?”

“The Mason Sisters Trio quickly became a group of one. They had to yank me off the stage because I insisted on completing the number by doing everyone’s part.”

Alex heard the smile in her voice even before she looked up from the photograph he was holding and he saw it on her lips. “And you’ve been dancing ever since.”

“And acting.” She took the picture from his hands, stroked the edges of the frame lovingly before returning it to her desk. She glanced up at him. “But I’m sure you didn’t really follow me in here to hear about my sisters and our failed attempt at show business, now, did you?”

“No.” He hadn’t, and Alex tamped down the urge to ask her to tell him more about herself and her family. Once more the lady had distracted him from his purpose. “I’m here because we didn’t finish our conversation about you and Kevin.”

“We did as far as I’m concerned. There’s nothing further to discuss.” Desiree turned around, offering him her back. “Do me a favor, will you? Unhook the back of this thing so I can get out of this dress.”

Alex stared at her bare shoulders and tried to ignore the faint hint of flowers that seemed to emanate from her skin. His gaze strayed to a heart-shaped mole just above her left shoulder. He had an incredible urge to run his fingertip across it.

“I had Mindy—she was one of the bridesmaids—help me get into this getup, but she’s already gone, and now I can’t get the thing off by myself. I can’t imagine why a designer would make a dress with all those tiny buttons down the back. How do they expect you to get the thing off?”

“Since it’s a wedding dress, I suspect the designer assumed the bride’s husband would be helping her to take it off.”

Desiree stilled a moment, and then he heard her laughter. “Kevin said you tended to take things literally. He was right.” She looked at him over her shoulder again. Her green eyes sparkled, a mischievous grin curved her mouth. “Well, since my groom isn’t here at the moment, maybe you could do the honors for him. Or is that a problem?”

Alex caught the note of challenge in her voice, saw the dare in her eyes. “No problem at all.” He’d show the little tease. Did she think she could unnerve him by asking him to help her undress? He reached for the first button. His fingers brushed against her skin, and it was just as soft as it looked. And warm. Despite his efforts not to respond to her and all that soft, bare skin, the blood heated in his veins as, one by one, he released the tiny buttons from their silken loops. “There. It’s unbuttoned,” he told her and stepped back.

Clutching the front of her gown with one hand, she reached behind her to the bow at her waist. She fumbled with the fastening. She turned slightly and lifted her gaze to his. The challenge was still there in her eyes, but there was also an awareness now that hadn’t been there a moment ago. “Looks like I need you to unhook the train for me, too,” she told him in that honey and whiskey voice before giving him her back again. “There’s a row of hooks beneath the bow.”

Alex felt the punch of desire hit him as he forced his gaze down the length of her bare spine where the dress gaped, to the curve of her waist, to the jutting of her hips.

“Can you see the hooks?”

“I see them,” he said, irritated by his body’s response to her. Swallowing, Alex hesitated a moment before stepping closer. He lifted the bow that draped over her shapely bottom and, gritting his teeth, he fought back the urge to cup her in his hands. Instead, he caught her at the waist with his right hand and used the fingers of his left hand to work at the tiny hooks attached to the bow. All the while he was conscious of the slope of her hips, the warmth of the satin-covered skin beneath his fingers.

Finally the bow and train fell free from the gown. After placing them on the desk, he started to attack the row of buttons that ran from her waist to the top of her bottom. He’d barely finished opening the first button when Desiree reached behind her and grabbed his hand.

“Stop!”

Alex looked up, surprised at the unsteady sound of her voice. She whipped around. Still holding the front of her dress, she snatched up the train and bow with one hand and took a few steps away from him. When she looked at him, heat licked at him again as he recognized the flame of desire in her eyes. He slid his gaze down the length of her and back up again, noting her flushed cheeks, her quickened breathing, the rise and fall of her breasts. Alex itched to reach out, pull her fingers away from where they clutched the front of the dress to her. He wanted to peel the lace edges away from her breasts and touch them. He took a step toward her.

Desiree moved a step back. “Th-thanks. But I think I can manage the rest of the buttons myself,” she told him, then began to inch her way backward across the room until she reached the door she’d emerged from earlier. She fumbled with the doorknob, pushed the door open with the heel of her foot. “Goodbye, Alex. I’ll tell Kevin you were looking for him,” she said before disappearing behind the door.

Alex took a deep breath. He scrubbed a hand across his face. Muttering an oath, he jammed his hands into his pockets. No wonder Kevin was in trouble! Hell, he had been in trouble there for a minute. The woman had him feeling like a damn teenager who’d just discovered the opposite sex. Another five minutes of touching her soft flesh, smelling that flower-scented skin and he would have been hard-pressed not to beg her to let him make love to her.

Kevin was definitely in over his head where Desiree Mason was concerned. His brother wouldn’t have a prayer at resisting the woman if she’d set her sights on marrying him. His only hope, Alex decided, was to find Kevin fast and get his brother back to Boston and as far away from Desiree Mason as he possibly could. It also wouldn’t be a bad idea to get himself out of range as well.

Desiree leaned against the door of her bedroom. Closing her eyes, she took a deep breath. Whew! Talk about playing with fire. Alexander Stone ranked right up there with a four-alarm blaze. She must have been out of her mind to bait him the way she had. Pushing away from the door, she finished unbuttoning the wedding dress and shivered as she remembered the feel of his fingers brushing against her skin. Her stomach fluttered as she recalled glancing up and seeing the heat of desire in his dark eyes.

Thank heavens she’d had enough sense to call a halt to things when she had. Otherwise, who knows what would have happened. Desiree frowned. From everything Kevin had told her about his older brother and his aversion to romantic involvements, she didn’t doubt for a moment that she’d have been the one who would have ended up getting burned.

She arranged the gown on its padded hanger and did up some of the buttons to keep it in place. As she fingered the satin-covered buttons, she thought of Alex’s comment about the dress being designed for a man to take it off. A tremor of excitement danced along her spine as she wondered what it would have been like to have Alex undress her for real.

Dangerous, she told herself at the crazy thought. Give it up, girl. The man is definitely not the “marriage and happily ever after” type. And since she wasn’t interested in an affair, there was no point in even thinking about it. She reached for a pair of white cotton shorts and the tropical-print blouse that she’d laid out on the bed earlier. She should be thanking her lucky stars she’d gotten rid of the man, she chided. But instead of relief, she felt an odd sense of disappointment.

Desiree laughed aloud at herself. Evidently catching the bouquet at her sister Lorelei’s wedding and then taking on the role of a bride in this play had fried her brain. Why else would she be the least bit disappointed to see the last of Alexander Stone? The guy might be gorgeous and maybe he could make her blood spin with just a look, but she’d have to be nuts to even consider getting involved with him. Not that there was much likelihood of that happening, since he believed she was engaged to his brother.

She felt a prick of conscience at that thought. She probably shouldn’t have let him think that she and Kevin were engaged. But even if she’d come clean and told him the truth—that she and Kevin were nothing more than friends—he probably wouldn’t have believed her, anyway. He’d made up his mind, before he’d known who she was, that she was after Kevin for his money. Well, Alex Stone would have to just stew over her pretend engagement to his brother until Kevin returned, and then he could set the man straight. In the meantime she was short one actor and had yet to speak to Bernie.

After knotting the blouse at her waist, she slipped on her sandals and headed out the door. She stepped into the sitting room that she’d converted into her office and headed straight for her desk to find Bernie’s number. She came to a halt mid-step at the sight of Alex standing at the window, staring out at the oak trees. Her chest tightened at the sad, lonely expression on his face.

As though sensing her presence he turned around to face her. The vulnerability that had been there a moment ago disappeared. His eyes darkened. He slid his gaze over her like a caress, and Desiree’s disobedient pulse immediately picked up speed. With far more calm than she was feeling, she walked over to her desk. Retrieving the stack of business cards she’d bundled together with a rubber band weeks ago and had yet to organize, she began to shuffle through them in search of Bernie’s phone number. “I didn’t realize you were still here,” she told him, praying he wouldn’t notice how unsteady her fingers were.

“Contrary to what you might prefer, I have no intention of leaving until I speak with my brother.”

“But I told you, Kevin isn’t here.”

“I know what you said. But I don’t believe you. I wouldn’t put it past Kevin to hide out just to avoid facing me. He knew I’d be furious with him for dropping out of law school, and he knows I’d be even angrier at the prospect of him getting married.”

“Fine, don’t believe me then,” she said, slapping down the cards. Lord, but the man was stubborn. “Since you’re so convinced I’m lying, why don’t you search the house and grounds.”

“I intend to.”

She shrugged. “Suit yourself. It’s your time. If you want to waste it, go right ahead. But you aren’t going to find Kevin hidden under a bed or a closet somewhere because I told you the truth. Your brother isn’t here.”

Alex rubbed his jaw and continued to study her with those midnight eyes of his. “If he’s not here, then where is he?”

“Out of town.”

“Out of town?”

“That’s what I said. He left more than a week ago.”

“Where did he go?”

“I...I don’t know,” Desiree replied and crossed her fingers behind her back at the semi-white lie. Well, it was true, she reasoned. She didn’t know exactly where Kevin was, only that he was somewhere in the Chicago area. He’d gone to visit his girlfriend—a dancer working in a musical.

“When is he due back?”

“I’m not exactly sure.”

Alex narrowed his eyes. “You expect me to believe that my brother drops out of law school, closes up his apartment and leaves town without telling his fiancée where he’s going or when he’ll be back?”

“Yes! No!”

“Well, which one is it?” Alex demanded.

“Both.” She took a steadying breath and wished she’d never let herself get into this mess. “Listen, I’m telling you the truth. I don’t know where Kevin is or when he’ll be back because... well, because I sort of misled you a little earlier,” she admitted, embarrassed now by how she’d let her temper get the better of her.

“Misled me?”

Desiree could feel the flush crawl up her neck and cheeks. “About... about the nature of my relationship with Kevin,” she finally managed to get out. Feeling defensive, she tried to explain. “You were acting so darn huffy when you came in here looking like you’d just stepped out of an advertisement in GQ with your custommade suit and Italian loafers and you were so darned indignant at the mere idea that Kevin might actually consider marrying me that I...that I—” she hiked up her chin “—I decided to teach you a lesson.”

“A lesson,” he repeated.

“Yes, about that snooty attitude of yours.”

“Snooty?”

“Yes, snooty.”

Alex’s frown deepened. “Go on. We’ll debate your assessment of my attitude another time. Right now why don’t you explain just how you misled me.”

“I let you think that Kevin and I are engaged, when we’re not. The truth is, he and I are just good friends.”

Alex clapped his hands in mock approval. “Very good, Ms. Mason. That was a nice little performance and delivered with such sincerity. The wringing of your hands and halted speech was especially convincing. I can see why you chose acting as a profession. You’re quite good at it. Unfortunately for you, I happen to know you’re lying through your pretty, white teeth.”

“What?” Desiree shrieked, shocked that despite her confession the man still didn’t believe her.

“You heard me. I don’t believe a word of that garbage you just gave me.”

“But it’s the truth!”

Alex made a snorting sound and began to pace in front of her desk. “Sure it is. That’s why every time I’ve spoken to Kevin in the past few months, your name has been the one that keeps coming up.” He stopped directly in front of her and glared. “Hell, he as much as told me two weeks ago that he was going to propose marriage to you.”

Stunned, Desiree sank to her chair. “Kevin told you he was going to ask me to marry him?”

“No, not in those words precisely. But I realized once I got here and took stock of the situation that that’s what he’d been trying to tell me.”

“Why? What did he say?”

“It’s not so much any one thing that he said, but several things he said. Add to that the reflective mood he was in and how his thoughts seemed to wander. Now I can see where he was heading with all that talk he was spouting about the importance of following one’s dreams, of setting goals for the future and seeing them through.”

Which explained why Kevin had upped and dashed off to Chicago the way he had, leaving her short one actor for her play and a weak promise to return in time for the opening. Kevin had gone in pursuit of his dreams—a deeper relationship with his girlfriend and a career on the stage.

Alex jammed his fingers through his hair, mussing the model-perfect cut and making him somehow more handsome because of it. “Fool that I am, at the time I thought he was talking about joining me at the firm.”

Poor Alex. She could have told him that Kevin didn’t have the least bit of interest in becoming an attorney or in joining the family-owned firm to run their megabusinesses.

“Of course, now I realize he was talking about you and his intention to marry you.”

“What!” Desiree did a double take.

“Come off it, Ms. Mason. It all makes perfect sense now. Kevin was trying to tell me he wanted to marry you.”

“And I’m beginning to think you’re one beignet short of a dozen. Either that, or that Boston brain of yours can’t handle the sky-high humidity down here. How on earth did you arrive at that ridiculous conclusion?”

“Quite easily, when you consider all the facts. First there’s—”

“Stop!” Desiree raised her hand. “I don’t even want to hear it. Kevin was not talking about marrying me. The dream he was referring to is his acting. He wants to be an actor, not an attorney.” For now, she decided, it might be best to leave out the little detail of his dancer girlfriend.

“Don’t be absurd. Kevin’s not interested in acting. He’s always wanted to be a lawyer.”

“Then how do you explain the fact that he has a role in my play and that I met him while we were both working at another dinner theater?”

“If Kevin’s shown any interest in acting recently, I’d say it’s because of his involvement with you.” Alex began to pace. “You’re the one who’s responsible for his quitting school.”

“Now, wait a minute—”

“Damn.” Alex slapped his palm with his fist. “I should have realized something was wrong when he came home a few weeks ago. He was quiet to the point of being somber. And Kevin is never somber.”

No, he wasn’t, Desiree admitted. Kevin was as happy-go-lucky as his brother was obviously serious.

“I should have known there was something behind all those crazy questions he was asking me.”

“What crazy questions?”

Alex pinned her with his dark gaze. “Ridiculous questions like whether or not I’d ever been in love or if I’d ever thought about getting married.”

Before she could check her reaction, Desiree asked, “What did you tell him?”

“No.”

Of course, his answer would be no, Desiree decided. She didn’t doubt for a minute that while Alexander Stone would probably be a generous lover, he would never give any woman his heart. For some reason she found that thought oddly depressing. “Well, I still don’t see how Kevin’s reflective mood and questions about your love life made you come to the conclusion that he was talking about marrying me.”

Alex planted his hands on her desk and leaned forward, bringing his face eye level with hers. “It was simple. Because when I told Kevin that if he had any crazy ideas in his head about getting married he should forget them, he gave me that choirboy grin of his and told me not to worry. He said he’d already proposed to you and you had turned him down, claimed you were too old for him.” Alex sneered. “But I guess once you found out about his trust fund, a few years difference in age wasn’t such a big problem anymore.”

Desiree lost it. She pushed to her feet and smacked her hands down on the desk. She leaned in, brought her face close to his, employing the same intimidation tactic he’d tried to use on her. Glaring at him, she said, “You fool, I didn’t even know Kevin had a trust fund. But if I did, it wouldn’t have mattered a lick to me if I’d wanted to marry him. But I didn’t. And I still don’t. Kevin and I are friends. That’s it. Just friends.”

“Then you don’t deny that Kevin asked you to marry him?”

“No.” Why should she? Kevin was a born flirt. He’d proposed to her and half of the females in the cast on a regular basis. No one took him seriously. No on except Alex, evidently.

The look Alex shot her could have withered a rock. “Tell me, Ms. Mason, do all of your ‘friends’ go around asking you to marry them?”

She straightened her spine, tipped up her chin and did her best to look down her nose at him. “No, not all of them,” she replied sweetly, marveling at how she managed to sound so calm when inside she was spitting mad. She took pleasure in seeing the wariness creep into his eyes. “Usually the only ones who propose marriage are the men.”