Open Door Marriage (26 page)

Chapter 27

Alicia paced the length of her bedroom, fuming after a call from Tori. The girl had sunk to a whole new level of low. And Alicia should have seen it coming.

For the last few days, she
’
d thought that the three of them had hit a mellow stride that was almost symbiotic. Alicia took care of everything related to the house
—
preparing and cooking meals, maintaining the budget, their schedules, making sure everything was organized and trying like hell to keep Tori within Dallas
’
wedding budget. While all Tori had to do was focus on her studies. Dallas kept his concentration on his career
—
and the few hours a week he spent on managing his money. He started bringing her in on that, teaching her what he knew about the stock game. She was a fast learner. Soon she was giving him advice on things.

She also learned that preparing for a game took sometimes seven hours a day
—
practicing, lifting weights, doing sprints, watching team tapes, all to be ready for a mere forty-eight minutes of play. Alicia focused on nutrition and foods that would help boost his energy and performance, without filling him up with empty calories as he had been doing all along.
He still had a healthy appetite, but he wasn
’
t eating as much and as often.

Things had smoothed out to the point that even Alicia had thought an open marriage could actually work. Well, Tori had just poured salt and vinegar in the tank.

Alicia plopped down on the sofa, trying to put her focus on the Bears Game. She didn
’
t fume as long as she thought she would because fifteen minutes later that familiar
“
click
”
of the door made her whirl around toward the entrance.

“
Why didn
’
t you tell me, Dallas?
”

He froze, frowning at her thunderous expression.
“
Tell you what?

“
James. Bernice. They
’
re together again. In my house. She pulled him out of a gambler
’
s addiction treatment center to put him in
marriage
counseling.
”

Dallas sighed, and the sound sucked more of the good vibrations out of the room.
“
I didn
’
t tell you, because I didn
’
t want to ruin our holiday.

She stopped pacing long enough to glower at him.
“
The woman accused him of incest
—
not once, not twice
—
but every time she wants to piss him off. Then waltzes back into his life as if no damage was done. Unthinkable!
”

“
Let
’
s not worry about what
’
s going on with them,
”
he said, lifting the plates in one hand and the pie in the other.
“
I brought dinner.
”

She frowned and turned her back to him.
“
I
’
m not hungry.
”

Dallas slid everything onto the dining room table and hurried over to her, curling her into his arms.
“
Baby, don
’
t let them destroy our evening. It
’
s Christmas.
”

“
You should
’
ve told me instead of letting Tori do it,
”
she said.
“
Trust me, she has an ulterior motive.
”

Dallas threw up his hands and walked away.
“
Come on, baby. Stop it with the conspiracy theories,
”
he warned.
“
She just wants her parents to get back together. That
’
s natural.
”

“
I was the one who encouraged James to go to rehab and I paid good money for that,
”
she said.
“
And anytime Tori spends time with her mother, it
’
s not because she
’
s been lovey dovey. She
’
s trying to come up with a better game plan to get what she wants. Trust me.
”

Dallas didn
’
t look at her for several spells. A roar went up on the television as the Bears pulled an upset at the last minute.

“
It
’
s about time,
”
they said at the same time. Then they looked at each other and smiled.

Alicia picked up the remote, switched off the set, crossed the distance between them and led him to the sofa.
“
Let me tell you who you
’
re dealing with.
”
When they were seated next to each other, she took his hands in hers.
“
Tori was a little on the plump side when she was in grammar school, and these girls wouldn
’
t let her on the cheerleading team. She worked out, changed her diet, lost the weight and got a member of the squad to help her learn the routines.
”

“
Nothing so sinister about that,
”
Dallas said with a shrug.
“
That
’
s determination.
”

Alicia pressed her hand to his chest.
“
No, listen. She used all of her allowance to hire a well-known professional cheerleader and made sure that the team saw the woman working with her. When they approached the lady, she said she wouldn
’
t help them unless Tori was on the team.
”

Dallas shook his head.
“
That
’
s being resourceful. Hell, I would
’
ve done something like that.
”

Alicia nodded and gave him a smile that unsettled him.
“
Tori made sure the woman studied the captains to find their physical weaknesses, then added parts to the routine that they couldn
’
t perform. The rest of the girls put Tori on as co-captain. One by one, Tori picked off everyone at the top and had them kicked off the team, because now they were the ones who couldn
’
t keep up.
”

She squeezed the bridge of her nose then looked deeply into Dallas
’
eyes.
“
It took a year for her to have her revenge, but she got it in spades. Tori became the only captain, and the other girls never made it on the cheerleading team again. And that
’
s just one instance. That girl can be cold, calculating.
”

Alicia wrapped her arms about his neck.
“
Having me here had nothing to do with what the press might do. She was tallying up my strengths and weaknesses, so she could disqualify me when the time came. Smart move on her part, and I played right into her hands.
”

Dallas looked down at her, as his shoulders slumped.

“
At some point, Dallas,
”
she said, stroking a hand over his chest.
“
You
’
re going to have to stop straddling the fence and actually pick a lawn. Any lawn. Whether it
’
s green or has a few weeds in it.
”

He was silent for a long while.

“
Dallas, you asked me what I wanted for Christmas,
”
she said softly, her gaze focusing on him.
“
All I want is you. Just you.
”
Alicia lowered her arms about his waist and laid her head against his chest.
“
You
’
re seeing my refusal to marry you as some sort of slight. You shouldn
’
t.
”
She looked up at him.
“
I want to be with a man who
’
s in my life because he
wants
to be, not because
has
to be.
”

Dallas took a breath, but she held up her hand to stop him.

“
But this thing with Tori, and us
...
it
’
s not going to work. I understand all the reasons why you want it to work, but there
’
s one thing you need to know. You don
’
t have to have everything to be happy.
”
She let the statement swirl around for a moment.
“
I don
’
t have a family
—
not really. I stayed in a loveless marriage out of misguided loyalty and fear.
”
She cupped his face in her hands, gently stroking a thumb across his cheek.
“
But right now, I
’
m the happiest I
’
ve ever been in my life; not because I
’
ve traveled to every place that I
’
ve ever wanted to, well except India,
”
she added dryly, then smiled.
“
It
’
s because I have you. A man who loves me, with all of my flaws, with all of my imperfections.
”
She closed her eyes for a moment and when she opened them she said,
“
Loving you, has only taught me that I should love myself more. And that
’
s been the hard part all these years
—
loving me.
And, it
’
s because I
’
ve learned to love myself that I know I can
’
t do this anymore.
”

He pulled her against him.
“
I hear you, baby. I hear you.
”
When they separated he said,
“
Can we make a deal?
”

She gave him a long side-eye glance.
“
What?
”

“
Can you just give me
‘
til May?
”

“
May?
I can
’
t wait that long.
”

“
I know it
’
s a long time, baby, but here
’
s the thing.
I really think Tori will get over this by then, and if she doesn
’
t then, I
’
ll break it off.
But by then, she
’
ll be through her last semester, and she
’
ll really be able to start a new life.
”

Alicia shook her head.
“
I can
’
t live here with her
...”

“
And you won
’
t have to.
I
’
m still working on that house.
”

The way he grinned made Alicia suspicious.
“
Have you found something?
”

He shook his head.
“
But let
’
s just say that I know you
’
ll be smiling soon.
So, is it a deal?
Till
May?
”

“
And I won
’
t have to live here?
”

“
Not that much longer.
”
He shook his head.

Alicia nodded.
“
All right. But right after ...
”

Dallas released a visible sigh of relief.

“
Four plates,
”
she said, wanting to change the subject.
She smiled at the four plates stacked one on top of the other.
“
Two for me and two for you.
”

“
No, no, no.
”
He pulled himself away from her.
“
You
’
ve got it all wrong, baby. Three for me, and one for you.
”

She put her hands on her hips.
“
What?
”