Daddy 101 (American Romance) (16 page)

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Authors: Jo Leigh

BOOK: Daddy 101 (American Romance)
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Chloe pulled against her. “I don’t want to go yet.”
“We have to leave. Now.”
“Why?”
“I’ll explain later.”
“Oh, Mom.”
Dani had to tug, but she finally got her daughter to follow her. She felt like a salmon swimming upstream as she fought her way through the burgeoning crowd. Everyone was talking about Alex and the beauty queen. No one seemed the least bit surprised to see them kissing in the middle of the street. The excitement was palpable, and it made Dani feel sick.
His words had been so lovely. Why did they all have to be lies? Hadn’t she learned her lesson? Obviously not. No, it took public humiliation to do that.
“Mom, I think Alex was calling you.”
“No, Chloe. I don’t think so.”
“Where are we going?”
“Home.”
“But what about the booths? You promised I could do spin art. And get hot dogs.”
“Maybe later.”
“Mom!”
“What?”
“You’re hurting me!”
Dani stopped. She loosened her grip immediately, ashamed that she hadn’t even realized what she’d been doing. She turned and bent down so she could look Chloe in the eye. “I’m sorry, baby.”
“It’s okay. It wasn’t bad.”
“I’m not feeling too well, honey. That’s why I want to go home.”
“Are you feeling sick because that lady kissed Alex?”
Dani’s heart sank. She must be completely transparent if even Chloe could see. For a moment, she thought about brushing off the comment, but she’d promised herself long ago that she was going to tell her daughter the truth, unless it would hurt her. “Yeah, kiddo. I’m afraid so.”
“You know, he didn’t kiss her back.”
“What do you mean?”
“He didn’t. I promise. I saw.”
My God, how she wanted to believe Chloe’s words. But believing was dangerous. Too dangerous. “How about we go over to that spin art booth?”
Chloe’s face lit up with a smile. “You mean it?”
Dani nodded. “I’ve been needing a new T-shirt.” She leaned forward and kissed her daughter on the forehead, then stood. She tried to figure out a way to get to the spin art booth without walking past Alex, but it would have meant going blocks and blocks out of their way. No. This was reality. This was what she’d suspected all along. It was only her foolish, dreaming heart that had led her astray. Better to face the facts, and get used to the pain in her gut. She had the feeling it was going to be there for a long, long time.
Taking Chloe’s hand once more, gently, she led her daughter back toward the center of town, toward the huge mass of people surrounding Alex and his lady friend. If she couldn’t avoid the scene entirely, at least she could edge her way around the periphery. She just didn’t want to see.
No one noticed her, thank goodness. She hurried as quickly as she could, without pulling Chloe too roughly. But there were so many people in the way. It wasn’t just local folks, either. One thing for sure, Alex was a draw. There’s no way this little town celebration could have brought a crowd like this. Why not? The Sexiest Man in the World and Miss California? Her little neck of the woods hadn’t seen this much excitement, ever.
“Mom, wait.”
Dani stopped. “What’s wrong?”
“Don’t you hear that?”
“What?”
“Listen.”
Dani did. She heard the murmur of the crowd. A siren somewhere off in the distance. Her name.
It was Alex. He was calling her. How did he know where she was? “Come on, Chloe.”
She started walking again, this time tugging her daughter behind her.
“But he’s calling you.”
“I heard him. Thank you.”
“Don’t you want to see why?”
“I’ve already seen enough for one day.”
“But...”
“You’ll understand when you’re older.” Dani heard him call for her again. Then she heard another voice. Karen Stovall’s.
“She’s over here, Alex. By the pie toss booth.”
“I see her!”
Dani didn’t recognize that voice. All she did know was that she had to get out of here, fast. If only Chloe would hurry!
“Mom, they’re all looking for you. Wait.”
“No. Come on.”
Chloe grabbed her with both hands and slammed on the brakes. Dani was jerked back, surprised at her little girl’s strength. She had to stop. If only Chloe could understand how badly she needed to escape.
“Mom, look.”
She followed Chloe’s gaze right into the crowd. Something odd was happening. The people seemed to be part of some master plan, choreographed by an unknown director, for they moved, as one, to create a path right smack-dab in front of her. It was like watching the Red Sea part. At the end of the newly created path stood Alex Bradley.
He walked toward her. Alone.
Chapter Sixteen
D
ani felt frozen to the spot. She couldn’t run, even though everything in her screamed to move, just go! But she was held steady by the gaze of a man twenty feet away.
She was aware of the crowd, even though she couldn’t move her eyes. They stared at her, at him, their faces turning from side to side as if watching a tennis match. The closer Alex got, the quieter everything became.
What she couldn’t figure out was what he wanted. Why make this scene so public? Wasn’t she humiliated enough?
Oh, no. Behind Alex, the woman, Miss California. She was hurrying after him. Dani listened to the
click, click
of her heels on the pavement. Wanting to look at her, Dani tried to shift her gaze, but Alex was only ten feet away, and the connection was too strong. So Carley was left to her peripheral vision, which was enough. Even in her strange “almost there, but not quite” state Dani was overwhelmed with how beautiful, how graceful she was. She belonged with Alex. He deserved someone like her.
Alex drew closer, and somehow Dani managed to take a step back. With that one move, she tried another, but something—no, Chloe’s hands at her back—stopped her. Her own daughter wanted her to make a spectacle of herself in front of every last person she knew on earth. Dani prayed for an earthquake. For Superman to swoop down and take her away. Anything, just so she wouldn’t have to hear Alex tell her goodbye.
It was too late. He stood in front of her, close enough for her to see the light flecks of gold in his dark brown eyes. To see the worry lines on his forehead. To see his beautiful full lips pressed together so tightly they appeared white.
“Why did you run off?” he asked.
She swallowed, trying to get some moisture in her mouth so she could speak. “I didn’t run off,” she said, her voice sounding only a little raspy. And not nearly as shaky as she thought it would.
“I called your name. You kept on going.”
“You were occupied at the time.”
“I didn’t ask her to come here.”
“Okay.”
“I didn’t ask her to kiss me.”
“I see.”
“I don’t love her.”
“Uh-huh.”
His hands moved to her upper arms. He squeezed her firmly enough that she could feel each individual finger. His big hands. The fingers that had crept over her body with infinite tenderness. That had grabbed her own hands and held them firm while he thrust into her until she came in a glorious burst of ecstasy.
“Dani Jacobson,” he said, his voice as commanding as it was intimate. “I love you. I need you.”
“Don’t,” she said. “It can’t work. You and I both know that.”
“Yes, it can. It will. I want you to be my wife.”
She shook her head. “Stop it, Alex. We’ve been over this before. Please let me go.”
“I can’t let you go.”
She caught and held his gaze. She had to let him know she was serious. More serious than she’d ever been before. It was her life at stake here, and his. No more games. No more tricks. Just the truth. “I can’t be the wife you want. And I won’t be your mistress. Not now. Not ever. Now, please, let me go.”
He studied her for a long time. Searching her face for what, she wasn’t sure. Wavering? Indecision? Finally his hands relaxed, then fell to his side.
She’d never felt so alone in her whole life.
Just then, Carley reached his side. She pushed up against him and snaked her arm around his waist. “Is this the famous Dani?”
“Not now, Carley,” Alex said, turning to face her.
Dani heard the threat in his voice, but Carley didn’t, or if she did, she didn’t-care.
“She’s sweet, Alex. I mean it. She’s just darling.”
“Knock it off, Carley. I told you. You shouldn’t have come. I thought I’d made that clear in Los Angeles.”
“Well, we all make mistakes,” she said. Then she laughed, tossing her hair behind her shoulders.
Dani watched her, fascinated. She was extraordinarily pretty, and yet now that she was close, Dani could see that she didn’t really look like a person. She was a living Barbie, with impossibly large breasts on such a small frame, huge eyes and a pouty mouth ripe for a Revlon ad. Each individual part was perfect, yet the whole was somehow artificial.
“Ted is the one who made the mistake,” Alex said. “I’m sorry. He shouldn’t have done this. I never meant us to go any further.”
“Honey, you don’t know what you’re thinking right now. Ted told me you’d been under a lot of strain. It’s only natural. So why don’t we just go back to the limo and work this out. I know I can make you feel all better.”
Alex sighed. He reached for Carley’s arm and stepped away from her embrace. “Look, Carley,” he said, his voice kinder now. And soft, too, so that not everyone straining to hear would be successful. “You’re a great kid. I had a really good time with you. But I told you from the start, it wasn’t going to have this kind of ending. You said that was fine with you, remember? You said you wouldn’t press. That you wanted to stay single. To play the field. Right?”
She frowned. “But things have changed. I thought—”
“I know. I should have broken it off with you right away. It’s my fault. I hope you can forgive me.”
“I don’t want to forgive you. I want you to make it up to me.”
“That’s not going to happen.”
Carley looked at him carefully. “It’s true, isn’t it? Ted wasn’t lying. You really do think you love little Miss Backhoe.”
“Hey—”
“You’ve got to be kidding. She’s going to look just swell sitting with Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy at the Armani shows, huh? And can’t you just picture her at Lincoln Center? For God’s sake, Alex, get real. You’ll get bored with her in two weeks. Just as soon as the novelty wears off.”
Dani couldn’t stand it one more second. She turned, lifted Chloe into her arms and ran. Just ran.
 
ALEX HADN’T KNOWN he could be this angry and not kill someone. He wanted to strangle Carley, and Ted, too. But he didn’t. He had more important things to do. Such as make sure Dani didn’t believe one word of Carley’s bull.
“Go back to L.A., Carley,” he said. “Just get the hell away from me.”
He turned to face Dani, but she wasn’t there. Looking around frantically, all he could see were strangers. Gawking, staring, frozen as if they were glued in place.
“She left,” someone said.
He found the woman who’d spoken. It was Karen somebody. She’d been to Dani’s. “Where?”
“I don’t know.” She pointed east. “She just picked up Chloe and ran.”
Alex took off. Once more, the crowd parted for him, only this time, they did it a whole lot faster. He ran, desperate to find her, to comfort her. To make her believe him.
When he reached the edge of the crowd he saw her. She was standing by the cake booth, and Mimi was next to her. Chloe took Mimi’s hand. He kept running, and Dani spotted him. She turned abruptly and headed toward home.
No way he was going to let her go. No way in hell.
 
DANI TRIED TO RUN, but she was blinded by her tears. She didn’t want to trip or fall. Not now. Not when she so desperately needed to get home. She could lock the doors there and die in private.
“Dani, wait.”
She didn’t listen. She wouldn’t. Carley had done them both a favor. She’d finally told the truth. Someone had to. The awful reality had been sitting between them since they’d met. Alex was so far out of her league she didn’t even have a map to get there. Dani had never minded being a small town girl. She’d always been proud of her community and her upbringing. Now she just felt stupid.
She’d dared to dream once before, with Randy, and she’d been shot down for her pretension. But that had been in private. This time, her arrogance and her stupidity were on display for the whole world to see. She wondered if NBC had caught that little soap opera back there, and if she’d be watching her shining moment, the moment Carley had called a spade a spade, on the evening news.
She ran faster, or at least tried to. Alex caught her arm, though, and that was that. She gave in, stopping at the corner. She’d only needed five more minutes to make it to her house.
“Look at me,” Alex said. His voice was gentle, and that just made her cry harder. “Come on, sweetheart. Look at me.”
She lifted her gaze, sure she looked horrible with red-rimmed, puffy eyes. Oh, well, what did that matter? What did anything matter?
“I hope you didn’t believe anything that idiot had to say. She’s all wet, Dani. She was looking for someone with deep pockets to support her habits. It wasn’t going to be me.”
Dani sniffed. “She wasn’t such an idiot.”
“What are you talking about?”
“She was only telling it like she saw it. You would get bored with me. I wouldn’t fit in with your fancy friends. I’m just a small town girl, Alex. With small town values. I don’t know anything about Armani, or Tiffany’s or the Empire State building.”
“Honey, there aren’t going to be any tests.”
“You’re not looking at this realistically, Alex. We’ve only known each other a few days. You can’t possibly predict a happy ending for us. The odds are a million to one.”
“I’ve made my father’s fortune six times over playing odds just like these. I’ve never lost.”
“I’m not a commodity you can sell when it doesn’t meet your expectations.”
“Sell? I told you before, I won’t let you go: Ever.”
“No. I can’t believe you. I can’t. It’s too hard. There’s too much at stake.”
“All right. Let’s say, just for argument’s sake, that there is a chance it wouldn’t work out. Isn’t that the same risk everyone takes? There aren’t any guarantees in life, Dani.”
“I know. But at least you want to start out with the odds in your favor.”
“They are.” He smiled then, and her heart lifted. She didn’t know why. Nothing had changed. But his face, so hopeful and full of promise, hit a chord deep inside her. Then she got it. It was his expression. The same expression she’d seen on Chloe’s face when she’d discovered something new and totally wonderful. It was a child’s smile. Innocent and pure.
“Dani, I can’t tell you I know everything that will happen in the future. What I can do is tell you what I want and what I promise.”
She winced, reality crashing in on the brief flicker of hope she’d had. “No, don’t.”
“Why? Tell me what it is that scares you so much.”
A great rush of sadness rose inside her. So much she couldn’t bear it. “How can I believe you when no man I’ve loved has ever told me the truth?”
He was quiet while she struggled to keep her tears at bay. One slipped through, and Alex reached over with his thumb and gently, sweetly, took that tear away. Then he leaned closer, and he kissed her tenderly on the lips. It was a kiss she’d remember always, the one she’d think of in her last moments on earth. It held every kindness, every secret, every bit of love she’d ever dared to dream of.
When he let her lips go, he moved his arms around her back and brought her close. Cradled in his embrace, she rested her head on his shoulder and he rocked her back and forth. Then she heard his whisper.
“I won’t make you do anything you don’t feel is right. I won’t ask you again to come live with me in New York. But I will ask you if you’ll give me permission to move here. Not in your house, not if you’re not ready. But close. If it’s time you need, I’ll gladly give it to you.”
She tried to pull back, to object, but his grip grew stronger and he held her steady.
“Wait, please. Until I’m done.”
She settled down again, although the moment he was through she would tell him he couldn’t possibly move to Carlson’s Gap.
“I won’t be here as much as I’d like. It’ll mean a lot of traveling, but that’s okay. We can work that out. I can get the jet down here, so it won’t be so much of a burden. I can set up the computers here, I can do everything I need to. But mostly, I’ll have you. That’s all that really matters to me. And later, if you decide that you feel right about it, we can maybe get married. I mean for real. The whole nine yards. Fifty-fifty.”
“Are you done?” she whispered.
“I think so.”
Now when she pulled back, he let her go. She had to look at him. To see his eyes. To see that he was telling her the truth. When her gaze met his, she knew. Absolutely, unequivocally. Alex Bradley loved her.
And she loved him right back.
All her worries vanished. For once in her life she trusted her instincts completely. No second-guessing, no misgivings, no fear of the risk involved. He loved her enough to move heaven and earth. She loved him enough to leave the safety of Carlson’s Gap behind.
She smiled. “Aren’t you supposed to be signing autographs about now?”
His brows came down and he looked at her as if she was nuts. “What?”

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