Open Door Marriage (16 page)

Chapter 18

6:16 p.m.

Plano, Texas

Hours later, Alicia stood in the marbled foyer of Dallas and Tori
’
s spacious condo. Once again she was amazed and overwhelmed at the massive open living and dining space with a ceiling that had to be at least eleven feet. The redbrick fireplace was positioned so the flames could easily reflect off the cathedral windows. The place was a perfect blend of rich earth tones and leather furniture. Even now, it felt more like home than anyplace she had been since.

With a sweeping gesture, Tori said to Alicia,
“
Definitely
nothing
like Harper Avenue.
”

Alicia took in the familiar abstract artwork along the living room wall, then gave Tori a patient smile.
“
Indeed. I should know. I picked out everything I can see from here.
”

Tori
’
s jaw went slack and her hand fell to her side. But before she could say anything, Dallas took Alicia
’
s hand and moved her further into the space.
“
I took your suggestions and combined some rooms since you were last here.
”
He gestured toward the back area of the condo.
“
Now there
’
s three bedrooms, three full bathrooms, a chef
’
s kitchen
—
though nobody ever uses it,
”
he added on a sour note, then pointed toward a set of spiral stairs.
“
A loft upstairs and a den with a library right next to it.
”

Alicia
’
s gaze took it all in.
“
It
’
s still absolutely beautiful.
”

“
Thank you,
”
he replied.

Alicia could tell he wanted to say more. She was glad he didn
’
t.

“
I
’
ll put you in the guest bedroom,
”
Tori said motioning upstairs.

“
No, she
’
ll take my bedroom,
”
Dallas corrected, aiming toward the foyer to get the suitcase.
“
It
’
s much bigger. Women need space.
”

“
You sleep in separate bedrooms?
”
Alicia asked, unable to keep the shock from her voice as she looked from one to the other.

“
It was my idea,
”
Tori said.
“
Sleeping together would provide way too much temptation.
”
Tori took a seat on the leather chase and crossed one slack-covered leg over the other.

Dallas gave Tori a long look before he turned to Alicia.
“
I
’
ll move into the guest bedroom,
”
he said, then started to wheel Alicia
’
s suitcase toward the back of the condo. He turned back to the two women staring after him and said,
“
And I
’
m starving. Are we eating out or in?
”

“
In,
”
Alicia answered at the same time Tori said,
“
Out.
”

“
Looks like I
’
m the tie-breaker,
”
Dallas said thoughtfully.
“
I
’
m all for a home-cooked meal over restaurant food any day.
”
He nodded toward Alicia and said,
“
I called the housekeeper from the airport and had her stock up. If you
’
re up for it, would you mind
—
”

Alicia quickly maneuvered around a shocked Tori who remained in the center of the living room long after the other two had left.

* * *

An hour later, Alicia put the last of the platters on the kitchen table as Dallas took a seat at the head of the table.

“
Shouldn
’
t we eat in the dining room,
”
Tori said, frowning at the spread on the table.

“
I thought we could be a little informal this time,
”
Alicia responded softly.

Tori gripped the back of the chair as she said,
“
So now you
’
re dictating how this house runs?
”

“
Tori, sit down and eat or don
’
t eat at all,
”
Dallas said.
“
My stomach is not going to make time for drama.
”

She plopped into the chair to his left.
Alicia settled gracefully in the one on his right.

They bowed their heads as Dallas said grace, ending with,
“
And bless the hands that prepared it—
”

“
And the stomachs that have to tolerate it,
”
Tori added dryly.

Both Alicia and Dallas opened their eyes and stared at her.

She shrugged.
“
I
’
m just saying.
”

“
And we ask for your
patience
and
guidance
in all things,
”
Dallas finished with a pointed look at Tori.
“
Amen.
”

“
Amen,
”
Alicia added with a wary glance at her niece.

“
You both did a great job,
”
Dallas said, grinning as he scanned the spread before him.

“
I didn
’
t help with this. I had some studying to do,
”
Tori said, eyeing Alicia with undisguised hatred.
“
Some of us actually want to work for a living.
”

Dallas and Alicia ignored that barb as he began to pile up on the Romano crusted chicken, rice pilaf, and steamed green beans and garlic bread.

“
Dallas…
”
Alicia began, eyes widening as she saw her meal disappearing from the platters as though being sucked into a vortex.

“
Yep,
”
he said, sliding the salad bowl his way.

“
Where are you going to put all of that?
”

Tori laughed, lightening up the moment.
“
Finally, someone agrees that he eats entirely too much.
”

Dallas wrinkled his nose at her.
“
I have the metabolism to support it.
”

“
You ain
’
t never lied,
”
Alicia mumbled.

His fork paused midway as he looked at her and smiled.
“
What?
”

Alicia shook her head and he took that moment to slide a little extra food on her plate as she said,
“
You
’
ve lost some weight, so I thought that you had cut back on the amount that you
’
re taking in.
”

“
Nope, I just work out a little more,
”
he admitted.
“
Balance. Balance works for me.
”

“
And speaking of balance,
”
Tori said, pouring herself a full glass of white wine.
“
How exactly do we pull this off?
”

Dallas took a few bites and glanced at Alicia.
When she shrugged, he turned to Tori.
“
You
’
re the one who suggested it,
”
Dallas said.
“
How do you see this working?
”

Tori froze and for a second it seemed as if she wouldn
’
t answer.
“
Well, I
—
I hadn
’
t really thought about it beyond coming here.
”

Alicia blinked.
“
Oh, my god.
You didn
’
t think this would actually happen.
”

“
No. No, it was nothing like …
”
Tori withered under Dallas
’
hard glare, and quickly amended.
“
Okay, I thought that once you saw our home, what we
’
ve built together, you would feel out of place here.
”
She scanned the area and added,
“
I didn
’
t realize that I
’
d been living in your shrine.
”

Dallas
’
gaze shifted from Tori to Alicia.
“
Are you still packed?
”

She nodded and he stood.

“
Wait,
”
Tori said, gripping his wrist to keep him in place.
“
I don
’
t mean for you to take her somewhere
—
”

“
Tori,
”
Dallas sighed,
“
either we
’
re going to do this or not. But we
’
re not
going to fight about this every night.
”

Tori
’
s fork clattered to the plate. Her chest heaved in an effort to rein in her emotions.

“
So how is this supposed to work,
”
Alicia asked gently.
“
We
’
ve all walked into this blindly, so let
’
s establish the boundaries, how our days will pan out …
”

Dallas pointed to an oversized calendar hanging next to the stainless steel fridge.
“
Well, until the end of April, I go to training every morning, practice in the afternoons, games most nights. Away games are all put on there and then I
’
m gone for a few days here and there.
”

“
Okay, that
’
s your schedule,
”
Alicia said.
“
Let
’
s start with something like cooking,
”
she said to her niece.

But Dallas interjected.
“
I would love to have home cooked meals for a change. At least some of the time.
”

Tori opened her mouth to protest, but Dallas said,
“
This right here,
”
he gestured to his nearly empty plate,
“
is like solid gold. I
’
d prefer my meals were prepared by a woman who cares what
’
s being put into me.
”

Tori smacked her lips.
“
But we love fine restaurants—
”

“
We
do it because you don
’
t cook
—
even when you have time. And I can
’
t cook—
”

“
But you can learn,
”
Alicia jumped in.
“
Last time I checked, your hands, eyes, and brains all worked just fine.
”

“
If you ever saw me in the kitchen, you
’
d say something totally different.
”
He gave her a toothy grin.
“
But I make a mean peanut butter and jelly sandwich,
”
he added with a mischievous lift of her left eyebrow, causing Alicia to laugh.

“
Give me a break,
”
Tori muttered and stabbed her baked chicken breast with her fork.

“
All right, I can manage to cook breakfast and dinner
some
of the time,
”
Alicia conceded.

“
Sleeping arrangements?
”
Tori said, softly.

Alicia looked at Dallas, but his focus shifted to Tori. He was silent for a few moments, then said,
“
We
’
ve slept in separate beds for a year, Tori. That
’
s not going to change.
”

“
So you
’
ll sleep in
her
bed every night,
”
she asked in a tone that sounded like she was trying to keep the tears from her eyes.

He nodded and the tears that she was fighting back sprang to her eyes.

“
I
’
m sorry, Tori.
”
He released a heavy sigh as he massaged his temple.
“
I tried to tell you.
This isn
’
t going to be easy for any of us.
”

Tori took a deep breath and said,
“
I think that you should—
”

The cordless phone rang and Dallas gestured for Alicia to answer since it was closer to her.

She answered with,
“
Avery residence.
”

“
May I
...
speak
...
with
...
Dallas?
”
The female on the other end spoke slowly as if she were trying to figure out who
’
d answered the phone.

Alicia smiled.
Katie, Dallas
’
agent probably recognized her voice, but wasn
’
t sure.
After all, it had been a few years.

“
Katie?
”
Alicia asked just to be sure.

“
Alicia?
”

“
Yes.
How
’
s it going?
”

“
When did you … what are you … when did you get back?
”

Her gaze shifted to Dallas.
“
I
’
m just here for a little visit.
”

That statement caused Dallas to put his fork down.

“
Well, welcome back,
”
Katie crowed.
“
Is Dallas around?
”

“
Yes, he
’
s right here.
”
She handed the phone to Dallas who covered the mouthpiece as he looked at her.
“
A
little visit
?
”

“
I didn
’
t know what else to say,
”
she said with a mild shrug.

Dinner was cut short when Dallas trotted up the stairs to the loft to take the call.
The two women stayed silent for a long while before Tori pushed her plate toward the center. The chair scraped hard against the natural wood floor as she backed away from the table.

“
I have a splitting headache,
”
she said through her teeth and for a moment sadness settled in Alicia
’
s heart.

Tori stood, then looked at the spot where Dallas had sat.
“
I realize that you might think this—
”
she circled a finger to mean the kitchen and dining area,
“
is familiar territory.
But please keep in mind that this is
my
house. I
’
ve been here a lot longer than you ever have. I
’
ve been in his
life
a lot longer than you have.
”

“
I
’
m sure you won
’
t let me forget,
”
Alicia countered before she took a sip of wine and focused on polishing off her meal.