Momentous Kisses: Love in Sandy Beach (5 page)

A stone the size of an airplane fell from Allison’s heart when Russell agreed to her suggestion. She’d been paralyzed by fear he was going to send her away. When he’d first opened the door, the sight of him had sent her body into overdrive and short-circuited her brain. She had barely recovered, when he returned with the glass of water and sat in the chair next to the couch. The smell of his aftershave wafting in the air fired up a chain of memories in her body.

How would she be able to live with Russell day in and day out, if she lost it every time he entered the room? One thing was for certain, she needed to get a handle on her attraction to him or he’d think she was a tongue-tied idiot.

Russell gave her a brief tour of his spacious three-bedroom apartment. It was very modern, but the décor was cold and didn’t show personality. The grays, blacks, and whites were almost sterile. There were no pictures on the walls to brighten the mood, and if she hadn’t known he lived there, she might have mistaken the apartment for a showpiece where no one actually resided. It wasn’t what she would call a home, but merely a place to sleep.

Allison loved decorating her house and taken great care in making sure it felt lived-in and homey. Her own place, though small, was full of decorations and paintings. Russell’s was empty. Apart from the modern furniture, there was nothing else. No décor stuff, no candles, no knickknacks.

“You need some pictures on the walls,” she commented as she followed him.

Russell grinned at her. “I don’t have time for stuff like that. I work too much.”

“You should make time.”

“Maybe.”

He stopped at the smallest room, clearly furnished as a guest room, and made an inviting gesture. Another stone fell from her heart. In her hurry to leave Sandy Beach and set her plan into action, she’d forgotten to think about sleeping arrangements. She could feel her cheeks redden and turned her face away. So he didn’t expect her to share his bed, which she was grateful for. And a tiny bit disappointed.

“Look, why don’t you unpack? I was headed out for a run when you arrived.”

Allison waved him off, “Don’t stay here on my account. I’ll be fine.”

Russell looked at her once more and then nodded. “I’ll be back in an hour.”

She watched him leave with a queasy feeling in her stomach and then set to work unpacking her suitcase. When she unpacked her running shoes, she put them neatly besides the guest couch.
We already have something in common. Perhaps we can run together.

But for now, she was grateful for some time alone. The reunion with Russell had her head spinning, and emotions flooded every inch of her body.

She stowed her suitcase in the closet and decided to check out the kitchen. While she was waiting for him, she could cook. Wasn’t good food the secret to a man’s heart? She might as well use it in her favor.

But when she opened the fridge, an unpleasant surprise waited for her: it was empty. A lonesome package sat on the shelf, a package of hard bread.
Who stores hard bread in their fridge?
She put it back and noticed the only other item in the fridge was a jar of mustard.

She closed the fridge and opened the freezer, spotting a few frozen pizzas in there, and she suddenly had a very good idea of Russell’s daily diet.

Worst bachelor apartment I’ve ever seen.
It was even worse than those of her brothers Ethan or Chase. They didn’t care about putting food in the refrigerator either, but hard bread and mustard? 

With a quick glance to her watch she noticed Russell wasn’t due to return for another forty-five minutes, and decided she had enough time to get some groceries. On her way in, she’d spied a convenience store around the corner from his apartment. It was open twenty-four hours a day, and she was pleasantly surprised at how well stocked it was.
I’ll have to ask Russell about the closest supermarket when he comes home.

She returned to his apartment twenty minutes later with two steaks and salad fixings. There was no way she was going to live on pizza for the next week, and since she loved cooking, there was no reason he should either.

Back in the kitchen, she switched on the radio and turned it on to her favorite station – Radio Windy City. Trevor Armstrong’s girlfriend Nicole worked there, and Allison listened every chance she got.

While she put the steaks on to brown, she started cutting and slicing up vegetables for the salad. She was humming along, finally feeling at ease again. In her mind she already added a few homey touches to his apartment, before she caught herself.
Remember you’re only a guest here. You might not even come back after this week is over. Don’t go overboard.

A popular tune came on the radio, and she was so busy singing along she didn’t hear Russell had returned. She spun around to check on the steaks and was startled so badly, it was a blessing her hands had been empty. With one hand placed on her chest she said, “I didn’t hear you come back.”

Russell looked from her to his kitchen and asked, “What are you doing?”

She looked at him and then wished she hadn’t. He was sex personified in his running shorts and dripping wet tank top, and with that sexy smile on his face. It was obvious he’d enjoyed his run, and Allison imagined how much she’d enjoy him doing all sorts of dirty things to her right now and here. It took everything in her not to jump him and forget about dinner.

She tried a smile. “Cooking dinner. I hope you like steak.”

“I love steak, but…there was nothing in the fridge.”

“I noticed. That little store on the corner had what I needed, although I should probably visit a real supermarket tomorrow.”

Russell shifted from one foot to the other. “I hate cooking. I eat most of my meals out or at the clinic.”

Allison opened her mouth to tell him how pathetic that sounded, but he suddenly got agitated and fled the kitchen as if a black panther was chasing him.

Before he disappeared down the hallway, she shouted after him, “Russell?”

“Shower.”

She tried not to let his abrupt departure bother her and shouted back, “Okay. Dinner will be ready in ten minutes.”

He didn’t reply, and she went back to finishing dinner. She wasn’t sure what had just gone through his mind, but she wasn’t going to let it bother her. She was here to test out whether or not they could have a relationship, and she’d better find out before the week was over.

Russell escaped down the hallway into the bathroom and he immediately started the shower. On cold. Ice cold, to be exact.

He’d hated to leave her without a word of explanation, but seeing her all domestic in his kitchen had fired up his body and he’d only had a few seconds to escape before his obvious hard-on would have been pushing against the thin fabric of his running shorts.

He stood under the shower in a fog of confusion.
How can she have such an effect on me? She was fully dressed, for God’s sake.

The icy water did its task in calming down his body. Shivering, he turned the water off and grabbed a towel, his mind going in a hundred different directions.

She cooked for me. And didn’t even mention my pathetic kitchen.
For that, he was grateful. Sweet Allison would never point out the obvious or intentionally make someone feel badly.

He grabbed fresh clothes, and walked into the dining room, only to be surprised again. With the limited means in his apartment, she had somehow managed to make the set dining room table look fabulous.

She’d even found the only candleholder he possessed and organized flowers, albeit in a glass instead of a vase. The decorations had changed his utilitarian ebony wood table into an inviting and enjoyable place to sit down and have a pleasant meal. With her. The most wonderful women of all.

“This looks great,” he said, but what he really meant was,
You look great.

“Thanks,” she told him with a blush. He thought it was cute how she turned her head away while pulling out her chair. A strong urge to walk over and wrap his arms around her took hold of him. How long had it been since a woman had cooked for him? Apart from the breakfast at her place…He licked his lips.

The steak and salad in front of him smelled wonderful and he tried to get a grip on his insane attraction to her. “I don’t know if anything this tasty has ever been made in that kitchen before.”

She didn’t answer him, just watched intently as he took his first bite. The steak was perfectly cooked and done just this side of rare –his favorite way to eat red meat.

“Mmmmm. That’s awesome. Allison, you are a genius.”

She relaxed and took the first bite herself.

After a few moments of silence, he said, “So, I did some more thinking about your little test while I was out for my run…”

Allison almost shrieked and looked at him with big scared eyes. “You already agreed. You can’t back out now.”

“I really think…”

“Besides, it’s already late, and you wouldn’t want me driving back to Sandy Beach at this time of night. Would you?”

Russell felt like a cad and shook his head. “No, of course not. I just thought…”

“Please don’t. It won’t be so bad. Just one week,” she cajoled him.

Russell nodded his head and continued eating. She sure was persistent. He actually liked that, just not right now.

“So, what time do you need to get up in the morning?” Allison asked.

“Why?”

She beamed at him. “So that I know what time to get up and fix breakfast.”

“Allison, you don’t need to take care of me,” he growled at her. “I don’t eat breakfast anyways.”

Allison shrugged. “Hmm, not what I remember.”

He glared at her, but the memory of her heavenly delicious crêpes softened his growl and all he could do was nod. The thought of the last time made his mouth water. He’d love to have breakfast, he just hated to cook it and eat all by himself.

She continued, “It’s really no bother. I love breakfast and I’m going to be cooking for myself anyways. I might as well make enough for two.”

Russell wanted to be mad at her, but her sweet, innocent smile wouldn’t let him. Instead, he felt his body responding and was tempted to take her into his arms and kiss her senseless.
No way are you going there. No getting attached to the crazy lady who invited herself to stay for the week.

Allison was everything he’s been subconsciously looking for in a woman. A woman he could trust, a woman he wanted to wake up with every morning. A woman he could love with all his heart. If only he accepted that he still had a heart full of emotions.

While his body had long given up resisting Allison’s attractions, his head still thought he wasn’t cut out for a relationship and she’d be better off with another man.

I’ve been perfectly fine on my own for the last twelve years. Why should I change that?

But a little nagging voice in the back of his head told him it would be nice to have a girlfriend to share his daily life with.  Think how much he enjoyed having his sister Toni back in his life, and not only her, but also the huge family of her fiancé Douglas Armstrong.

Russell had enough and told that little voice to shut up. Anyone he’d ever loved had left him. His parents died and left him. His sister had left him.
But only after you kicked her out.
His ex-girlfriend Sandrine…he slammed a stop on those memories. They were too painful.

Russell inwardly sighed. He’d had no choice but to kick Toni out a decade ago. She’d been stuck after their parents’ death, and totally dependent upon Russell for everything. She’d needed a good kick in the seat of the pants to force her to get a grip on her life again. And it had worked. 

But what about you? Did you get on with your life?
His subconscious was on a roll, asking all the difficult questions he’d been avoiding for years.

Of course he had. He was a highly successful, considerably rich and famous plastic surgeon. He had lots of clients, a fantastic business partner, and friends. Correct that. Not friends. Acquaintances. Colleagues.

Russell was okay with not having friends. Friends expected emotions back and love, even if only on a platonic level.
Who needs love? Not me. Love only hurts.

During his inner dialogue, Allison had become very quiet and watched him with big eyes. When he became aware of her piercing stare, he felt vulnerable and naked. Exposed.

What if she could see right through his masque and into his soul? Her compassionate expression raised the irrational fear in him that she’d been able to listen to his thoughts and find out about the dark emotions he’d kept carefully hidden for so many years.

He shrugged off this thought. It was outright silly. Even sillier than her idea of a relationship test. He focused on the present, starting with her plans for tomorrows.

“I thought I could put my time in Chicago to good use and visit some galleries. You said there might be some interest for my paintings here…”

“Did you bring some of your paintings with you?” he asked.

Allison nodded. “I unloaded them while you were out running.”

“May I see them?”

“Sure.” Allison led him towards the guest room and showed him the stack of paintings leaning against the far wall.

Russell entered the room and had to look twice to make sure he was still in his apartment. Somehow, Allison had turned the functional bedroom into a colorful, lighthearted, happy place.

Happy.
That word had been excised from his vocabulary years ago. Every time he’d been truly happy in his life, something horrible had happened. Tired of dealing with crisis and heartbreak, he’d simply stopped allowing himself to be happy anymore. It was much easier that way.

Even though his sister Toni had reappeared in his life a year ago, he still felt uncomfortable with his emotions for her. He was afraid that if he let her crawl too deep into his heart, she’d be taken away. Like his parents.  Like Sandrine.

Allison in contrast exuded happiness wherever she went. He had never seen her other than laughing, smiling, or singing. Just the way she had done when he’d entered his kitchen before dinner.

It struck him in this moment she was the epitome of happiness. But that only made a relationship between them even more impossible, because she probably wouldn’t want to be tied down to a grumpy old man like himself. And deep down in his heart, Russell didn’t believe he had a right to be happy.

He looked at her and watched as she nervously showed him a few of the paintings she had brought with her. By the anxious expression on her face, he knew she waiting for him to express his opinion.

Russell took his time leafing through every single one of them. “These are fantastic. I love them all.”

The smile on her face brightened the room, as if the sun were shining.

“Yes. And you know what? They’d be the perfect wall decoration in my clinic.”

“Really?” she asked.

“Yes. The images you’ve depicted are so natural and genuine. They convey a warm and happy feeling.”

Her smile reached from ear to ear and she let out a sexy shriek of happiness. Good lord, that woman was sexy. He had to fold his hands to resist the urge to sweep her into his arms and throw her onto the bed besides them.

He thought about how joyless most of his clients were. These women were rich, had everything money could buy, gorgeous bodies, and what most would deem the perfect life. And yet, they were horribly unhappy. Always finding some imperfection and allowing it to make them miserable.
Just like myself.

But Allison was completely different. She didn’t let the mishaps of live take away her high spirits. 

He spent a few minutes giving her directions to some of the galleries nearby, telling her to not be shy and just ask for what she wanted. When she looked up at him with her sweet smile of thanks, he knew he had to get out of her room. Now.

“Goodnight,” he told her, leaving abruptly.