September Storm (17 page)

Dani wasn't sure what woke her. Perhaps, it was the niggling suspicion that something wasn't right.  Quickly, she opened her eyes, and realized she'd spent the entire night with Adrian. But he wasn't in the bed beside her.

Something rattled in the bathroom, and she let her breath out. Just for a minute, she'd thought he was gone. She wrapped the sheet around herself, and slid from the bed. Adrian came out just as she reached the bathroom.

"You look just like the first time I met you," he teased.

"But you're all dressed." Dani couldn't stop the surprise in her voice.

"I have an early flight this morning, and you were sleeping so peacefully I hated to wake you."

"Well I would have been disappointed if you hadn't," she said as she went into the bathroom. "Excuse me."

After using the bathroom and rinsing her mouth, she went back into the bedroom in time to see Adrian replacing the receiver.  "I've got to go, Dani. I just called a cab."

"If you'll wait a minute, I'll get dressed and go to the airport with you."

"No," he said much too quickly, and Dani eyes widened at the abrupt answer.
What was wrong with him? They had shared something special last night.

Dani stood, frozen, as he moved toward her, then wrapped his arms around her. She stiffened.

"Listen, Dani. Last night was special to me, but I can't stand saying goodbye to you twice in one week. It will be better this way."

"But--"

He placed a finger over her mouth. "Don't. I've got to get back to New York, but I'll call you soon."

Everything was happening much too fast. Adrian pressed a kiss on her lips, turned, and walked out of her life for the second time, and she didn’t utter one word.  She was too stunned. She would hope, but she knew Adrian wasn't going to call.

Hot tears filled Dani’s eyes then trickled down her face. She gave in to the sobs washing away all traces of Adrian Massimino.

Chapter Ten

T
hree months later

Where had the last three months gone?  Dani wondered while she rode the bus home. During the first few weeks, she'd hovered by the phone waiting for Adrian to call. When he hadn't, she invented all kinds of excuses as to why the call never came: he was very busy, he was sick, he'd lost her unlisted phone number.

Somewhere around the third week, Dani woke up and realized she was acting just like she had with Steven. And she didn't want to be like that anymore. After much agonizing, Dani decided she'd forget that Adrian Massimino had ever existed
.

The bus jerked as it wound its way through the traffic. Dani remembered the shocked look on Mr. Coffee's face when she'd quit. He had been so unbearable since she'd broken up with Steven, complaining about everything she'd done with her accounts. Finally when she couldn’t take it any longer, she quit.

With the decision finally made, a huge burden had been lifted off her shoulders. Steven Coffee was out of her life. And so was Coffee Advertising. She had set up her own advertising agency just as she'd always dreamed of doing. Now she was in direct competition with Coffee Advertising who would stop at nothing to run her into the ground.

She'd worked like a dog these last couple of months and landed two new accounts for Kapur and Associates, of course, she was the only associate. She was also running short of funds. Her aunt had left her a huge trust fund, but Dani could only access the money if she married and stayed married for a year. Her aunt certainly had a warped since of humor.

Dani stared out the bus window, seeing nothing. Now this had to happen! She frowned, recalling how she'd spent the last hour.

The bus halted at her stop, jarring her out of her daydreams. She just didn't know what she was going to do. Of all the things to happen to her--she'd never expected
this.

Wearily, she climbed the steps to her apartment, fumbling for the house key in her slacks pocket. Before she could put the key in the lock, the door flew open and Susan asked, "So what did the doctor say? Did he confirm--?"

Dani nodded before she moved past Susan and sank down to the couch, throwing her purse on the cushions next to her.

"What are you going to do?"

"Buy a crib."

Susan chuckled.
"Only you would joke at a time like this." She closed the door "But you’re going to be a single mother, and that in itself will make it hard. And your job!"

"Susan, you're giving me a
king-sized
headache!"

"With a headache you can take Excedrin. But a baby, Dani. Why in the world didn’t you practice safe sex?"

Dani gave her friend a long thoughtful stare. “That would have been the smart thing to do. But the first time it happened, I don’t even remember because I was too drunk and the next time I figured we were going to die in a hurricane. So you can call me stupid, but I just didn’t think.”

Susan laughed. “If it makes you feel any better, I’d have probably done the same thing.”

"I guess I'm going to have to learn to do things differently," Dani said as she rubbed her temples.

"I'll say."

Dani frowned. "You could be a little more positive here."

"All right. I know a great Lamaze teacher."

"I don't need that." Dani eyes widened. "When the time comes, I want a shot.  I'm not much into pain."

"Even if you don't have natural child birth, Lamaze will help." Susan laughed. "It’ll teach you how to breathe."

"Panting like a puppy doesn't sound appealing to me, and I don’t’ see how that will help. Besides I know how to breathe."

Sus
an reached over and patted Dani on the knee.  "Not like this you don't.  Believe me, it will help."

Dani sighed and slumped further down in the couch.  "A Mother, Susan.  I'm going to be an unwed Mother.  This isn't the way I had it planned.  I was going to have a big wedding . . . lots of bridesmaids, and Prince Charming smiling as he took my hand.  And then we'd have children on down the line.  But this. . ." She waved her hand helplessly through the air. "This is all backwards."

"Well, you could still get married. You have plenty of time." Susan's eyes warmed with sympathy. "The only thing is--you need a willing bridegroom."

"Willing!" Dani's eyes blazed. "He hasn't even called. What makes you think he'd be willing?"

"Maybe there's a good reason why he hasn't phoned. You've got to tell him."

"Says who?" Dani came to her feet, feeling a surge of energy.  "I don't have to do anything. Besides, he should call me--not the other way around."

"You're living in the dark ages, Danielle Kapur. Men expect women to call. Maybe he's thinking you want no part of him because you haven’t called. Just like you’re thinking right now."

A glimmer of hope flashed though Dani as she looked at her friend.  "You really think so."

"I liked Adrian when I met him.  He didn't strike me as a no account. He was nice."  Susan stood.  "And good-looking too.  You'll have a beautiful baby."

Dani smiled for the first time today. "Yes, I will."

The phone rang. Dani reached over to answer it while Susan announced she had to go get the kids.

"Bye," Dani said before picking up the receiver.

"What do you want for Christmas?" Her mother asked cheerfully on the other end.

How about a husband
?  Dani thought wryly. Her mother would have a cow when she found out about the baby. As a matter of fact her entire family were old-fashioned. "It's still three weeks away. I haven't given it much thought.  I could use a wind suit." 
In super XL
, she carefully didn't add.

"Really.  I saw a white one that would be beautiful with your hair. You are coming home for Christmas?"

"Yes, Mom.  I'll be there."

"Good.  Well, better run.  My bridge club is coming over."

Dani sighed as she laid the phone down. Twenty years down the road she’d be asking her child the same thing.

The tears she’d been fighting
back wouldn't wait any longer. "You'll be grown and gone." She patted her stomach. "And I'll be an old maid."  Dani could see her whole life passing before her, and she couldn't control it.

She began to pace. "Think, Dani.  Where's that positive attitude?"

"It went out the door when my life started falling apart."  Damn, she was even answering her own questions. She was worse off than she thought.

She moved over to the calendar so she could mark her next doctor's visit. A little saying printed across the top jumped out at her.  "When God shuts one door, he opens another."

Looking up at the ceiling she said, "God, you need to help me out of this one--I don't see the other door."

The phone rang again.  Dani smiled still looking at the ceiling. "Thank you."

A lady's voice came through, "Is this Danielle Kapur?"

"Yes, it is."

"I'm calling for the Mass Corporation."

"Really."  Dani couldn't believe her luck.

"We're interested in seeing your proposal, and would like to meet with you next week if that's convenient."

"Let me check my calendar," Dani said, thumbing through several empty pages of a magazine for effect. "I'm free Tuesday."

"Good.  If you'll call with your arrival time, I'll arrange for a limo to pick you up from the airport."

Dani smiled as she hung up.  She could do it. She knew she could.  But first she needed to finalize her presentation so she could knock them dead at the meeting.

Going into the spare bedroom, she went to her sketching table and started to work, but her mind keep wandering to a different subject.

Adrian lived in New York. Was there any change she might run into him? She tried to picture him at a
variety of jobs, but couldn't. Cut off jeans and a blue shirt would always be the way she pictured Adrian. The man didn't need a suit to make him distinguished. He had such a dynamic presence he'd stand out in any crowd.

Should she call him to tell him she’d be in town?

Should she tell him about the baby?

She didn't have the answers, but she would, at least, call him once she was in New York.

Marty Townsend walked into Adrian's office grinning like he was getting ready to make Adrian's life miserable.

Sitting down in one of the burgundy winged-back chairs that faced the desk, Marty folded his hands behind his head, leaned back and announced, "It's all set."

Adrian put his pen down and sat back. "Which deal are you referring too?"

"Why, the amphitheater, of course. Remember the one that I thought would be a great deal, and you wanted to know why we would want something like that." Marty crossed his leg over his knee, laying a hand on his ankle. "Ah, I see a gleam in your eye.  You do remember.
“And do you recall that you were singing a different tune after you took that little side trip to San Antonio?"

"You know damn well, I have a
great
memory, so you can quit rubbing salt into the wound."

"It's not often I have the upper hand." Marty chuckled. "Anyway she's coming. She'll be here next week."

"How about the other ad agencies?"

"We have three making presentations this week and two next week.  But I don't see why we're bothering.  I think I know where
your
interest lies."

"You should know better," Adrian reminded him. "I'm a businessman first.  My personal feelings will be set aside.  If Danielle Kapur makes the best presentation, she gets the job. It's that simple. Remember, I've not spoken to the woman in three months."

"I can't wait to meet the lovely creature. Anyone that has managed to make you see women in a different light must be something."

Adrian didn't bother to smile as Marty left his office. It was probably better not to encourage him.  Adrian had already taken a bunch of ribbing from Marty and his other cronies about Dani.
They had wanted all the details of his brush with death and the mysterious woman.  Adrian had hit the highlights of this adventure, but he’d refused to tell them the intimate details of his weekend with Danielle Kapur, and he’d thought that would have been the end of it.

Then, one night when he had a little too much to drink, he’d told Marty about the feisty woman he'd met. Big mistake! Now Marty had a good idea what Dani meant to him.

Easing back in his wine-colored, leather chair, he swiveled toward the window and looked out across the Manhattan skyline. He couldn't truthfully say that Dani was easy to forget. At least, he hadn’t been able to.

Oh, maybe the first week or so he hadn't thought about her, but only because work had been backed up and it had taken awhile before his schedule eased off into the normal ten hour work days.

Unfortunately the blond-haired beauty had tumbled back into his thoughts with full force. When he should have been reviewing contracts, he’d found himself daydreaming about their days on the island. He had even started to call her on several occasions, but he'd always stopped himself.