Open Door Marriage (2 page)

Tori gave his words a moment
’
s consideration. Causing a scene wouldn
’
t stop him from doing what he felt he had to do, so she made a dash for the passenger side.
“
I
’
m coming with you.
”

They caught up with Alicia at the end of Harper Avenue, where she made a left and was now struggling up a shoveled path a block away from the main thoroughfare. She was shaking uncontrollably from the cold and from the sobs that wracked her body.

“
Get in, Alicia,
”
Dallas commanded, trailing the distraught woman as she stumbled along the icy sidewalk in shoes that were three sizes too big.

Alicia covered her mouth as though to keep in the words that threatened to spill out. She continued forward, wavering while trying to balance in the oversized loafers on snow that came up to her calves on unshoveled parts of the sidewalk.

“
Don
’
t make me get out of the car,
”
Dallas said through his teeth.

Alicia ignored the threat, forcing the car to continue following her until she made it to a glass bus shelter on Stony Island Avenue. She swept the snow away from the steel bench, crawled on it, then tucked her legs up under her as though preparing to spend the night.

Dallas was out of the car and by her side in the time it took to blink. He whipped off his leather coat, placed it about Alicia
’
s shoulders, then held out his hand to her.
It took a moment for her to take it, but finally she stood.
Together, they took two steps, then, she crumbled down onto the snow.

“
Ouch!
”
she shrieked.
“
My ankle.
”

It took Dallas only a moment to lift her into his arms, then navigate carefully over the slick pavement.
He placed her gently, almost lovingly, in the back seat of his rented Benz. Using the sleeve of his shirt, he wiped her tears away.

Tori felt like she was having an out-of-body experience. The way Dallas looked at Alicia. The way he held her.
It tore at Tori
’
s gut.
“
Dallas, what is going on?
’
Tori asked once he was back in the driver
’
s seat.
“
How the hell have you connected with her in such a way that you feel obligated to ease her pain and not mine?
”
The anger was still there, but Tori tried to push it aside, because right now, she needed clarity.

Dallas carefully pulled onto the street and aimed the car back in the direction of the place they
’
d just left.
“
We
’
ll talk about this when we get back to the house.
”

“
No!
”
Alicia cried out, gripping the edge of the driver
’
s seat and causing Dallas to punch the brakes.
“
I can
’
t go back there. Not right now.
”

Dallas locked gazes with her in the rear view mirror.
“
Where do you want me to take you?
”

“
I don
’
t know. Anywhere but there,
”
she whispered, slumping back down in the seat.
“
Anywhere but home.
”
Alicia
’
s shoulders shook with an effort to hold herself together, and Dallas
’
expression softened.

The whole scenario made Tori
’
s heart constrict as though someone had put a vise grip on the very thing that kept her alive.

She had only been gone for three hours. What the hell had happened between Dallas and her aunt?

Chapter 2

8:31 p.m.

Tori and the twenty-eight-year old NBA star had been secretly dating for a year after having been friends for twice as long.
It surprised everyone when they became publicly engaged three weeks before Thanksgiving and were on track for a wedding when basketball season ended in April.

Bernice had broken Tori down from her
“
I only want to be friends
”
stance by constantly preaching that a woman can
’
t be
‘
just friends
’
with a man who was at the top of the food chain.

Over and over, Tori had listened to her mother bitterly complain about how she
’
d married a man who didn
’
t have the brains to keep his life in order, not to mention the unhealthy relationship Bernice claimed her husband James had with his sister, Alicia. It was like those two had some kind of superhero twin bond – and they weren
’
t even twins. Now, James and Bernice were older than homemade sin, and they had embarrassingly landed back in Alicia
’
s home.

“
That Dallas of yours has a never ending supply of money. That
’
s the kind of man we want—I mean,
you
want.
”
Bernice was constantly in Tori
’
s ear, reminding her how Dallas had come to their
rescue, bailing out her dad after
“
his worthless hide had lost every damn thing at the casino. That man never met a poker or roulette table he didn
’
t sit down and have a conversation with,
”
Bernice had told her daughter.

Bernice had devised a master plan and she eventually convinced Tori to transition that
“
friend
”
into an actual
“
date
”
and primed him for the ultimate
“
husband.
”
Among other things, it called for Tori to withhold sex from Dallas.
“
Don
’
t trade your virginity for a short-term high of good feelings and wet ass,
”
Bernice had said, while waggling a finger at Tori.
“
Go in for the kill—a permanent relationship. And don
’
t get all touchy-feely with him. Let him crave you. A vagina is standard equipment on every woman. You
’
ll want him to know that yours belongs only to him—for the right price. Marriage.
”

She
’
d closed her sermon with,
“
And defer to him in everything. Let him be in control! Then when you get that ring on your finger, when you finally add his last name to yours,
that
’
s
when you have control.
”

Bernice had coached and manipulated Tori along the way, and finally, Tori had suggested to Dallas that they take their friendship into a more practical area—straight down the aisle and into wedded bliss. Tori had no doubts that Dallas cared for her, but she was still nudging him toward the
‘
in love
’
part. As quiet as it was kept, she had been trying to graduate to the
‘
in love
’
part herself. Tori had told Bernice,
“
Mama, I
’
m not ready to get married. I have my own dreams and goals. I want to be a doctor.
”

Then, Bernice had sobered Tori from that thought with more pearls of wisdom.
“
I never understood why you wanted to be a pediatrician in the first place. One wrong step and you could lose it all—your practice, your license, and then what? You
’
re already swimming in student loans.
”

To this Tori bristled as she snapped
,
“
And why is that?
”

Bernice waved away her concerns.
“
I
’
ve already apologized. That little money would
’
ve never covered everything any old way.
”

“
One hundred thousand would
’
ve given me a great start,
”
Tori retorted, shifting on the sofa.

“
Okay, so I messed up,
”
Bernice huffed.
“
But I
’
m not going to let you mess this up. Now you can afford to do anything we—I mean,
you
want. You can work because you want to, not because you have to.
”
Bernice grabbed Tori
’
s hands and pulled them to her lap.
“
Juanita Jordan walked off with $168 million. Tiger Woods
’
wife—I don
’
t even remember her damn name, but white girl made off with $100 mil. Dallas is smart, invests his money and is worth three times that amount. Do the math girl and—Go. Get. Your. Man!
”

Tori understood her mother
’
s motivation, but wasn
’
t quite sure of her own. Regardless, she had the good fortune of helping Dallas through some of the most difficult times of his life. He constantly stated how much he was indebted to her for saving his mother
’
s life.
Thanks to Bernice
’
s guidance, Tori had outmaneuvered, outdistanced, and outsmarted all of the women who were angling to get Dallas.

And now I have to fend off my aunt, too?
Tori cut her eyes at Dallas Avery, ready to tear him a new asshole.

Dallas pulled over and flipped on the switch to heat the front and rear leather seats. He tapped a few inquiries into the navigation system, and the directions to a hotel in the South Loop came into view. He swerved toward the meridian and spun the car around in the opposite direction, doing Alicia
’
s bidding without even asking if Tori wanted to go with them. Which she did, but that was beside the point. Dallas was only thinking of her aunt. The only thing he
’
d given Tori was a two-line disclaimer.

She couldn
’
t hold her tongue any longer.
“
I don
’
t see why you
’
re—
”

“
Tori, there
’
s a lot on your mind right now,
”
he said in such a clipped tone that it brought her up short.
“
But I can
’
t spend the next,
”
he glanced at the dashboard,
“
twenty minutes arguing while driving in these conditions. We
’
ll talk when we
’
re alone.
”

Tori glared at him, hoping her look conveyed the extent of her feelings. Unfortunately, his attention was on the icy patches of road. His occasional glances at Alicia in the rearview mirror made Tori fume even more.

“
But—
”

“
I
’
ll take Alicia in a cab and you can drive back home,
”
he said.
“
Your call.
”

Tori flinched. It took all she had to harness the words that were doing a tango on the tip of her tongue.

* * *

Twenty minutes later, the Benz pulled into the circular driveway of the Hyatt McCormick Place, a towering glass and white stone building attached to a sprawling multi-level convention center. Dallas slipped out from the driver
’
s seat and helped Alicia up. The shoes slipped from her feet and onto the pavement as he scooped her into his arms.

“
I can walk,
”
she mumbled, struggling to get him to put her down.

Dallas angled to retrieve the loafers and said,
“
Not in these.
”

He said it so softly that Tori paused for a moment as she exited the car. There was a tenderness about him that she had never seen or heard before.
“
Keep the motor running,
”
she told the uniform-clad valet, then hurried to catch up with Dallas, whose long strides were practically eating up the pavement.

As he navigated the revolving glass doors of the front entrance, several people focused in their direction, instantly recognizing Dallas. In his signature panther-like gait—even with the weight of a woman in his arms—he effortlessly maneuvered the green and gold marble floors, right past the gawkers milling about the lobby.

The lattice lighting cast a dim shadow across the polished wood that made up the walls and the registration desk. The trio found themselves in front of a portly, dark-haired man whose silver nametag read Victor.

“
I
’
d like to have your best suite for the night,
”
Dallas said, causing Tori to glower in his direction.

“
The
best
suite? Really?
”
Tori snapped.

Victor
’
s lips set in a thin, disapproving line as he took a sweeping look at the three people in front of him.
“
Sir, is everything all right?
”

“
Just helping out a friend,
”
Dallas answered, as though it were normal for a woman swamped in someone else
’
s coat and shoes, with no hat or scarf, to be out in weather that was cold enough to turn corn flakes into frosted flakes.
“
Now, can you help us?
”

“
Yes, sir,
”
Victor replied, as a spark of recognition lit in his eyes. He tore his gaze away and focused back on the screen.
“
The Presidential Suite is available. How many nights will she be staying?
”

“
Through the weekend.
”

Tori choked, but with a steely gaze from Dallas, she bit back her response.

“
Could you please put me down?
”
Alicia asked in a voice just above a whisper.

Dallas looked down at her tear-stained face.
“
Not until you
’
re in your room.
”
Then he shifted so that Tori, of all people, could retrieve his wallet from the back pocket of his slacks. He nodded when she held up a Black American Express card and his license. She slid both to Victor, who swiped the card, looked at the license, then gave them both back.

“
You
’
re on the top floor,
”
Victor said, presenting a slip for Tori to sign, along with the keys for the suite.

Dallas asked him,
“
Can you have a meal sent up?
”

“
I swear you act like you were lovers long before tonight,
”
Tori said through her teeth.

Alicia and Dallas shared a speaking glance between them.

Tori
’
s heart slammed in her chest as reality clicked a few wheels in her mind.
“
You
were
lovers?
”

Victor
’
s pale skin flushed bright red, and he quickly returned his eyes to the screen, trying to act as if he hadn
’
t heard a word.

Tori shook her head in disbelief.

Dallas instructed Victor,
“
Have them send up something with a Thanksgiving feel.
”

“
I
’
m not hungry,
”
Alicia said softly.

“
And send up the basics for everything else,
”
Dallas told Victor, ignoring Alicia
’
s statement.

Tori couldn
’
t help the angry glare she gave Dallas and the woman still bundled in his arms.

“
You
’
ve get some serious explaining to do,
”
Tori growled.

With a quick glance, Dallas silenced Alicia when she parted her lips to speak.
“
Since you want to believe your mother,
”
he began,
“
the only person you need to be angry with is me. I
’
m the one who
’
s in a relationship with you.
”

“
You know what?
”
Tori shot back, but stopped to regain what little hold she had on her sanity. She was livid, bristling at how calm and commanding Dallas was in a situation where he should have been groveling and begging for forgiveness. But Dallas was not one for drama, and if she let loose he would shut down completely. She took a calming breath, then turned to Victor.
“
Me and him,
”
she pointed a finger at herself, then to Dallas.
“
We need our own damn room.
”

Victor looked at Dallas, who simply nodded.

“
Would you like the one right across from the suite she
’
s in?
”
Victor ventured, with a sheepish look at Dallas, then Tori as his pudgy fingers hovered above the keyboard.

“
Hell no!
”
Tori slid the card back toward him.
“
Put us as far away from her as possible!
”

Victor flinched at the venom spewing from Tori. She signed another slip before focusing on the clerk
’
s beet red face once again.
“
Forgive me,
”
she said in a softer tone.
“
It
’
s been a long day. And can you ask the valet to park our car.
”
She glared at Dallas.
“
Since it looks like we
’
ll be staying.
”