Something to Talk About (41 page)

“He didn’t ask for this, but for God’s sake, he’s your brother,” she cried.

“You’re right,” Adam said slowly. “He is my brother.”

***

Alicia and Roxy moved boxes and tried to get some semblance of order going in the condo. The conversation they had while doing it helped Alicia; it kept her mind from straying to the huge question that loomed before her, that of how to address the issue with Adam. The doorbell rang and she answered it for Roxy. There stood Bryant Porter dressed in jeans and a beat-up Alpha T-shirt, ready for some hard labor. He was also carrying a big bag from Potbelly, a curiously named deli that boasted the best sandwiches in the world. He’d come bearing
extraordinary Italian subs, bottl
es of soda, and a huge decadent chocolate malt to share for dessert.

“Hal I see you two came to an understanding last night,” Alicia said with a smile.

Roxy tried unsuccessfully to look indifferent, but she didn’t do a very good job. “He’s on probation. He’s trying to convince me that his heart is pure and his intentions are good and I’m going to let him,” she said airily, but the smile in her eyes as she looked at Bryant was a dead giveaway. “Come on in, Bryant, and let me give you the grand tour,” she said, taking the bags from his hands and putting them on the counter that
separated the dining room from the kitchen. She took his hand and proceeded to lead him around the spacious condo, pointing out various amenities in every room.

While they were looking around the place Alicia picked up her cell phone and hit the speed-dial for a familiar number. When her mother’s voice came on the line Alicia told her she needed to talk right away.

“Are you busy,
Mami
?
Can I stop over?”

“Of course, baby. I’ll be waiting for you.”

When Roxy and Bryant returned to the living room, Alicia picked up her purse and explained that she was going to her mother’s house. Roxy walked her to the door of the condo and
she
and Bryant watched her until she got to her car and got in. Bryant looked down at Roxy from his towering height and asked where she’d like to begin.

“Honey, as hard as I’m going to work you tonight, we’d better start with food. Let’s eat,” she said cheerfully.

***

Alicia finally made her way to the loft. She’d stayed away as long as she could, but she had to face the inevitable. She gave the two sharp knocks that were her signal, and then used her key to open the door. She was surprised to find the entire interior lit with scented candles and s
eductive
music playing. “Adam?” she called softly.

“In here, baby. Come on back,” he invited.

With a bemused expression she walked slowly through the loft until she came to the bathroom where Adam was filling the tub with her favorite scented bath gel and the whirlpool jets were making a huge froth for her to bathe in.

“Adam, what are you doing?” she asked inanely.

“I’m making a bath for you because you’ve had a hard day. And because we have something important to talk about and I want you nice and relaxed when we discuss it. Nina came to see me tonight
.
” He said it as it if were of
no consequence
, but Alicia knew better.

“I can’t believe she did that!
She has some kind of nerve confronting you like that,” Alicia sputtered.

Adam walked ov
er to her and embraced her tightl
y. “Don’t talk right now, baby. Take off your clothes, get in this nice bath, and I’m going to make you a Bellini so fabulous you’re going to fall in love with me all over again. Trust me, baby.”

And she did, enough to do exactl
y as he asked.

Chapter Twenty-six

True to his word, Adam made her a wonderful Bellini. The cocktail of fresh peach juice and champagne was just what she needed; she could feel the tension slipping away from her body as she lolled in the tub. She tried to get Adam to join her in the tub, but he demurred.

“This time it’s all about you, my love. How’s your drink?”

“Lovely. It tastes like more, actually,” she said with a tiny hiccup as she passed him her flute.

“Be right back,” he said as he rose from the floor next to the tub to refill her glass.

Alicia almost dozed off while he was gone, but her eyes opened and she smiled sleepily when Adam’s lips touched her forehead.

“Are you ready to emerge from your bath, darling?”

“In a few minutes, Adam.
This feels so wonderful.” She sighed
deeply before sipping
the heavenly concoction and looked at Adam with troubled eyes. “Nina told you, didn’t she?”

Adam nodded. “Yes,
chica,
she did. She told me all about John’s condition.”

Alicia took another sip of her drink and refused to meet Adam’s eyes for a moment,
then
she turned the full force of her big, long-lashed eyes on him. “She got a
slight bit
ticked with me today,” she said dryly.

Adam
nodded. “She said she was a littl
e harsh. She apologized.”

“A
little harsh
?
That cow went ziggety-boom on me,
Adam. She called me a selfish high-yellow heifer with
a stank
attitude and said I was useless. I think that’s more than harsh,” Alicia said, pouting. “And I am
not
high
yellow,
I’m darker than she is.”

Trying hard not to laugh, Adam said solemnly, “I think she got caught up in the moment. I’m sure you were your usual calm and reasonable self, though, right?”

Alicia had the grace to look slightly abashed. “I so wish I could claim that, but I went right back at her, although I was doing it in Spanish. I know lots of really base things to say in
Spanish,” she said with another tiny hiccup. “I should have been more understanding. After all, if you had a terminal condition, who knows what I’d be doing? I’d save your life at any cost, Adam, there’s no way I could sit by and let you die. I’d cut out my own heart and any other body part you happened to need,” she
admitted
.

Adam leaned over and gave her a sweet kiss. “It’s time to get out of that tub, baby. You’re getting all
pruny
.” He stood up and held out a huge heated bath sheet for her, which she stepped into with enjoyment, sighing as he picked her up and carried her into the bedroom.

While he patted her dry and applied body butter to every part of her warm, moist skin, she didn’t say anything outside of the occasional purr. Finally she spoke. “You’re going to do it, aren’t you, Adam?”

“If I can.
I have to talk to him first and find out if it’s feasible, if I can be a donor. But if I can, I will. I can’t let him die, Alicia, knowing that I could have done something to save him.”

A lone tear trickled down her cheek as she made a graceful movement to sit up and seek the comfort of his arms. “I know, Adam.”

***

The next day, John was hard at work in his new office when he got a phone call.

“John,
it’s
Adam. I was wondering if you have some
dme
to talk today.
”

John’s face reflected his surprise. Of all his new brothers, Adam seemed the most distant, but he wasn’t about to question the reason for the call.

“Sure, why not? You want to meet in Detroit somewhere?” he asked.

“Actually, I’m here in Ann Arbor, why don’t I stop by your office?”

“Okay, what time?”

“Open your door,” Adam said.

Adam had decided to use Nina’s method of gaining entry. It had worked for her; he saw no reason why it wouldn’t work for him. Besides, he liked the element of surprise. He didn’t want to have to think up a dumb reason for a visit and he also wanted to catch John off-guard. He gave John a half smile as he entered his office, looking around curiously at the decor. Nina had done a wonderful job of organizing and decorating the space for John; it was an efficient but warm and pleasant place in which to work. Adam was amazed to see the lacrosse sticks on the wall; he turned to John with a huge smile.

“Don’t tell me you play the Little Brother of War,” Adam said incredulously.

John’s eyes lit up on hearing Adam use the Native American name for the game. “Since I was ten,” he admitted.
“You too?”

Adam took the seat John indicated and they spent a while talking about the game and their love of it. Adam felt bad about having to change the subject, but it had to be said. After the lacrosse talk gradually ended, Adam looked at John with the utmost gravity.

“John, Nina came to see me yesterday. Without going into a lot of details about how she found out, let me just say she knows a
bout your condition, which means
I know about it now. And I think I can help you with it. What do I have to do to be tested as a donor?”

John’s too-thin face paled at Adam’s words. “How the hell did she find out?” he murmured to himself. He went into a stunned silence for a moment, finally reacting to Adam’s words.

“I appreciate the gesture, Adam, but I can’t accept. I don’t know you well enough to expect you to do something like that, it’s too much to ask,” he began.

Adam cut him off before he could continue in this vein. “Look, John, obviously we don’t know each other, but what better way to start a relationship than by sharing internal organs?” He gave a short laugh at the utter incongruity of the statement. “Besides, you saved my sister’s life a long time ago. This is the least I can do for someone who saved the most important person in my life. I’d never have made it to adulthood without Benita. She was more than my sister; she was my friend, my mother, my teacher, she was
my
everything
and she still is. My sister means so much to me I can’t even begin to tell you about it. If I can do this for you, I’m going to do it, so let’s get started on whatever we have to do to make this happen. And let’s hurry because I have a woman who wants to get married really bad and I can’t put her off much longer,” he said drolly.

John’s emotions clouded his face for a few minutes and he was finally able to speak. “I don’t know what to say, Adam. How can I possibly thank you for this?”

“First we find out if it’s possible, then we worry about the thanking. I’m thinking one of those antique sticks might be a start, though,” Adam said while giving the stick in question a covetous stare.

John’s answering laughter sounded a little strained, even to his own ears. He quickly picked up his phone and dialed Abe Gold’s private number.
“Abe?
I’ve got news, good news, I think.”

* * *

Alicia was dreading the night that stretched before her. It was the last night before Adam and John were to check into University of Michigan Medical Center for the procedure and she didn’t want to think about it
any more
than she had to. In a lot of ways she was resigned to what was going to happen, but on a base, primitive level the thought of her man undergoing this drastic surgery still made her ill. Thanks to a long talk with her parents and a lot of prayer she was ready to put it all in the Lord’s hands. She fel
t like a terrible hypocrite at ti
mes because she knew in her heart that if Adam had been suffering from the same ailment she’d have moved heaven and earth
to help him. She was also very moved by his generous spirit and proud that he was so caring. But the part of her that loved him beyond reason couldn’t stand the thought of him being cut open and part of him being taken away, regardless of the fact it was saving his half brother’s life.

She had no logical reason to be in the office anymore. Everyone else had left and she needed to leave, too. It wasn’t like she was working anymore. For the past hour all she’d done was stare into space. She wasn’t even trying to pretend she had work to do, she was just brooding. She finally stood up and took a deep, shuddering breath. Gathering her things together, she quickly left the office suite and took the elevator down to the parking garage. She balanced her briefcase on top of the Mini Cooper and made a soft sound of surprise when she found a gardenia on her front seat. The sweet, heavy fragrance filled the car and made her smile.
Adam.
He knew how torn up she was about all this and he wanted to make her feel better. There was a note with the flower in Adam’s precise penmanship. It read
Meet me at the loft.

It took only minutes for her to get to the big converted apartment building in
Harbortown
and she made the drive with a smile on her face. To her utter delight there was a note on the outside door with her name on it. She opened it and smiled again as she read
I’ve been waiting for you.
Hurry.
She entered the elevator and when she exited, she was touched to her heart to see a trail of petals leading to the loft door. Another note awaited her.
Don
’t bother to knock, come in and follow the signs.