Songbird (21 page)

“
That’s something we’ll have to figure out. Would you consider moving to Seattle?”

Disappointment coursed through her. She could hardly believe he was asking her this. All the times they’d discussed this dreaded subject, hadn’t he been listening? She rolled out from under him and sat up with a sigh. “Kyle, we’ve talked about this. You know how important my career is to me. I—”

“
I know,” he cut in, “and—”

“
Wait, let me finish. Let me explain. I’ve wanted to be a deejay ever since my seventh birthday, when my grandpa gave me my first transistor radio. I used to lie awake at night, dreaming up the things I’d say and do on the air. My voice is my biggest asset. The personality I’ve created on radio is an important part of me. Radio is my
life.
I couldn’t give it up.”

Kyle sat up and grasped both her hands earnestly in his. “Desiree, I respect your talent. I admire you. Don’t you realize that? Your career means as much to me as it does to you. I’d
never
want you to give it up. Never.”

“
But I’d have to if I married you.”

“
Why? That’s ridiculous. Why can’t you have both marriage and a career? I know this is a lot to ask, since you’re doing so well here. You have fans...boy do you have fans!” He grinned, and she knew he was thinking of the scene earlier in McDonald’s. “But a talent like yours would be welcome anywhere. I’m sure you could find a job in Seattle. Any decent station would snap you up, especially after the rave reviews you’ve gotten lately in the newspaper.”

“
It’s not that easy. Good jobs like mine are hard to find, especially for women. And I have definite goals for myself. Some day I’d like to do animation, voice-overs, commercials. Southern California’s the best market for that.”

He frowned. “Seattle might be a smaller market, but I’m sure you could find opportunities there, too. And in five years, maybe ten, who knows? You might even find yourself managing a station.”

“
That’d be great,” she admitted. “I’d love to have that kind of control. But the basic problem
now
still remains: as a radio jock, no matter I’m working, there’s no guarantee how long it will last. Even if we start out in the same city, at some point I’d have to move away.”

“
That’s a bridge we’ll cross if we come to it. It’s no reason not to get married.”

She chewed her lower lip pensively. Was he right? Had she been clinging to that same, old excuse far too long? Was it time to move forward, to take a risk, to believe in the possibility of a future together? Suddenly, she remembered what Dave had told her at the station earlier that day. “Kyle: I forgot to tell you. My station might be up for sale.”

“
Really? Why?”

“
The owner, Adam Westler, bought the place as sort of a hobby a few years back. He made his money years ago in something else. Oil, I think. If he sells, there’s no telling what will happen to me or anyone else at KICK. The new owner might not be so keen on female deejays. I could be out of a job in two seconds.”

A grin spread across Kyle’s face. “That’s great! Then you’d have no reason to stay down here.”

Desiree batted his arm playfully. “Hey, I’m talking about being fired. Whose side are you on?”

“
Our side. I just want us to be together. I say, look for another job fast, before the station changes hands. You’ll get a far better offer from another station if you have a good job behind you.”

“
I doubt it’ll make any difference. Wages are tops here. There’s no way any station in Seattle could come close to matching my salary.”

“
Who gives a damn about salary? I make more money than we will ever need. I’m talking about the
job
, the drive-time shift you want so badly.”

“
It’d be nothing short of a miracle if I was offered a drive-time shift in Seattle. I’ve never been there. I don’t know anyone in the business.”

“
But I do.”

“
You do?”

He nodded. “I’ve done some heavy radio advertising for Sparkle Light in the past year.” He laid her hand across his thigh and stroked it with gentle fingers. “I’ve been thinking about this for the past few weeks—I hope you don’t mind. I know you would have done it on your own, but I took the liberty of making a few phone calls. I thought if I set something up, it would move things along that much faster.”

Her eyebrows shot up. “And?”

“
Ed Alder, the program director at KXTR in Seattle, is on the lookout for some new talent. He’d like to meet you. Do you have an audition tape?”

“
Yes. It’s about a year old, but still pretty good.”

“
Would you like me to deliver it to him? Do you want to fly up for an interview?”

Her heart beat faster. “I suppose I could—”

“
Fantastic!” He drew her to her feet, squeezed her hands excitedly. “I’ll give you the grand tour of Seattle. I’ll even set up a dinner at my parents’ house. You can meet my family. I’ve told them all about you. They’re dying to meet you.”

“
Your family? Oh, no!” she laughed. “This is sounding more and more official by the minute.”

“
It
is
official.” His arms encircled her waist and he kissed her soundly. “How soon can you get away? Can you fly back with me tomorrow?”

“
Tomorrow?” She laughed, caught up in his enthusiasm. Even if she did find a job in Seattle now, how long would it be before she would have to move on?
Don’t think about it,
she told herself.
Catch your moments of happiness while you can.
She coiled her arms around his neck, her heart turning over with love for him. “I have to work tomorrow. But I’m free for the weekend. I could take the evening flight. Can you set up an interview for Sunday?”

He hugged her fiercely. “You bet I can.”

***

“
Two dozen?” Desiree cried with delight as Kyle placed the enormous bouquet of red roses in her arms. The modem Seattle airport terminal still bustled with activity as she stepped off the plane at ten-thirty Friday evening.

“
You shouldn’t spoil me like this,” she added. “A dozen roses the day after we met. Now two dozen at the airport. What’s it going to be next time?
Three
dozen?”

“
Definitely.” His arms closed around her, sandwiching the flowers between them. “Every bride should carry three dozen red roses in her bridal bouquet.”

She smiled against his lips. “Don’t go jumping to conclusions, Mr. Harrison. I agreed to meet you for the weekend, but I
didn’t
say I’d marry you.”

“
You will, my beautiful lady.” His lips meshed with hers in a loving kiss. “You will.”

Through the wide, plate-glass windows in the terminal, Desiree caught a glimpse of tall, dark pine trees silhouetted against the black sky. It was a refreshing change to see a city airport surrounded by pines instead of palms.

“
I see you have a thing about Maseratis,” she said a short time later, after Kyle had loaded her small bag in the trunk of his silver sports car and spun out onto the highway.

He nodded as he shifted the Maserati into high gear and zoomed around slower traffic. “The only way to drive. I’ve managed to get ahold of one of these beauties every time I’ve flown into L.A., but I’m not always so lucky. You should have seen the crate I got stuck with all week in Tulsa.”

When he described the many problems he’d encountered with his rented sedan, from a door that wouldn’t open, to windshield wipers that wouldn’t shut off, he was so comical in his delivery and so good-natured about it all that Desiree’s shoulders shook and her eyes watered with helpless laughter.

A short drive took them to an elegant condominium complex in a lovely, wooded area on the outskirts of town. The Tudor-style brick-and-stucco buildings, enhanced with dark wood trim, seemed to sprout up from the depths of a dense pine forest.

“
How beautiful,” Desiree said as she stepped out of his garage and breathed in the heady scent of the surrounding pines. “You’d never know we’re so close to the city.”

“
A few more minutes down the freeway, and you’re really in the countryside. You’d love it in winter. You can reach deep snow in practically no time.” He unlocked the heavy, oak front door and led her inside, flipping on light switches ahead of them.

Desiree took a step down into the spacious sunken living room. Her shoes sank into the luxurious, champagne-colored carpet as she looked around her with awe. Books of every size and description and a myriad of art objects filled floor-to-ceiling teak shelves on two sides of the room, along with an elaborate stereo system, speakers, and a large television. Colorful modem prints hung over the long, blue-grey sofa and Danish teak end tables. Track lighting illuminated the room from beams in the vaulted ceiling. There was a brick fireplace, a built-in wet bar, and a long, dark-blue tile counter that passed through into an immaculate, modem kitchen with gleaming wood cabinets.

“
It’s wonderful, Kyle.”

He dropped her suitcase by the door, then caught her hand in his. “It is now that you’re here. Come on. Let me show you the rest.” In addition to the living room and kitchen, the condo boasted a study, a cheerfully decorated guest bedroom and bathroom, a large master suite, a laundry room, garage, and a small fenced yard.

“
I love it,” Desiree exclaimed as Kyle rested her suitcase on a low table in a corner of the master bedroom. “But I have a confession to make. When you mentioned your house in Seattle, I never imagined a condominium. Somehow I expected to find an enormous mansion on five acres, complete with a circular driveway and an army of servants.”

“
A man on his own doesn’t need a big, fancy house to rattle around in. This complex was a far better investment.”

“
You own the whole complex?” she asked in surprise, and then laughed. “I should have guessed.”

“
After we’re married, it’ll be different. We’ll build the biggest, most elaborate house that money can buy.”

“
We will?”

“
Yes.” He pulled her into his arms. His mouth traveled up her neck to nibble at the soft skin behind her ear. “We’ll get an architect to design the place to complement all your beautiful old furniture.” His breath was a warm, moist vapor against her ear as his fingers brushed the sides of her breasts, then slipped around to the buttons on the front of her blouse. “We’ll get rid of my modern stuff if you want. Build a huge, formal dining room for your new table.” He opened first one button, then another, punctuating the action with each word he spoke: “We’ll have a music room. Game room. Two offices. Country kitchen. A giant master suite complete with sauna and Jacuzzi bathtub, built around an indoor garden.” He pulled apart the soft fabric and reached around to unsnap her bra. Then, with one hand splayed across the small of her back, he reached around with the other to cup her breast in his hand. “And five additional bedrooms. No, six.”

“
Six?”

“
One guest room, and one room for each kid.”

She gasped, as much from the effect of his nimble fingers as from his startling declaration. “Five children?”

“
Well, that’s negotiable.” He laughed, slid his arms around her bare midriff and hugged her tightly against him. “I enjoyed growing up in a big family, and always wanted one myself.”

Suddenly he drew back slightly, his voice deeply serious. “You do want children, don’t you?”

“
Very much. I don’t know about five, but two or three at least.”

He smiled. “As many as you want. And we’ll hire a nanny and a cook to help take care of them while we’re working.”

“
Sounds perfect. Almost too perfect. I think I’d be afraid of a life filled with so much...perfection.”

“
We can do it, Desiree,” he said softly. “Together, we can do anything.”

They gazed into each other’s eyes for a time, and she felt as if time had crystallized around them, sealing them in a sweet, safe vault, where happiness was guaranteed to those who loved and hoped and worked hard and dreamed the same dreams.

“
I always wished I had a twin sister,” she said at last. “My mother used to console me by saying I’d grow up and have twins of my own one day.”

“
In that case you’re in luck. Twins run in my family.” His eyes danced mischievously. “And I can’t think of anything I’d enjoy more than making children with you.”

***

“
Oh, no. It’s raining.” Desiree looked out the bedroom window the next morning to find a light drizzle falling from a gloomy grey sky.

“
A little rain won’t stop us from sightseeing.” Kyle opened his closet and pulled out a pair of jeans. “I’ve got plenty of umbrellas. And I’ll make you a dollar bet it stops by noon.”

She tossed a pair of shorts and a few summer blouses onto a nearby chair as she rummaged through her suitcase for something warmer. Thank goodness she’d decided to pack jeans and a long-sleeved shirt after all. She hadn’t even thought of bringing a raincoat—it was still summer.

“
You’re willing to risk a whole
dollar
?” she said teasingly. “What faith.”

“
It’s my father’s favorite saying. Every time he makes a dollar bet on something, he wins.”