But he didn’t have to like it.
“I heard that.” Alice glanced up at him, lips tilting. “I’m working, unlike one of you.”
“Who are you talking about? Me or Brooke?”
“You work more than I do,” Alice said, tapping on the screen.
“Guess that’s makes me guilty by default,” Brooke said, sticking her tongue out at Alice. “Nice to meet you. Apparently, I have work to do.”
“Hold on, please. Niko, is there any additional storage space in the building? Moving the tubs and boxes back down to the truck is time consuming and it’ll be easier on the crew to not have to haul them back and forth.”
“Yes, there’s room upstairs. I can show you, I have to run up there and get my keys.” Once he had her alone, he’d address the elephant in the room. They were two adults that had to work together and he didn’t want there to be any awkwardness.
“Please show it to Brooke. I have a call in five minutes.” She walked into the darkness beyond the lights without waiting for his response. So much for talking. He loosened his clenched jaw and motioned for Brooke to follow.
“Do you live up here?” she asked, trailing him upstairs.
Niko pressed in the key code and opened the door. Motioning for her to precede him. “Yes, I do. There is a room through that door you guys can use.”
“This is a nice place. Big.”
“I like it.” He grabbed up his motorcycle key and jacket. “I won’t be home until the a.m. I have a banquet tonight. Just be sure to have the crew lock up. Alice can call me if she has questions. She has my number.”
She strolled over to the window and inspected the view. Her face reflected in the glass gave him a sense of déjà vu and he shook his head at the unusual sensation. Neither Alice nor Brooke had been in his apartment, standing in that spot, yet it felt familiar. Odd.
“Do you like my sister?” Brooke asked, meeting his gaze in the reflection.
He stopped in mid-reach of his backpack, uncertain how to answer. She was intriguing, yet sensual, and mysterious in many ways. Everything about him and Alice was complicated and he had no clear response to her question. “She’s intense.”
Brooke spun around and folded her arms over her chest. “She is that. You know she broke up with boring Richard.”
“Boring Richard? Yes, she told me. Well, she didn’t exactly confess. I overheard her talking about it. She seemed pretty upset.” And he’d been close to kissing her when she was vulnerable. Not his finest moment but in his defense, he had stopped shy of completing the act.
Niko walked to the door and Brooke followed him to the landing.
“The thing you should know about Alice is she hates to admit defeat. I don’t think she loved him. He was what she aspired to, if that makes any sense. She’d kill me for saying this but we were poor. Really poor as kids, like white bread, peanut butter and jelly sandwich, poor. When she was old enough, she’d babysit our neighbor’s kid and me while our mom was at work. She used the money to feed me. When you claw your way out of the gutter, you do whatever it takes not to fall back in. If you like her, make sure she knows it. She’s clueless when it comes to men.”
They reached the second floor and she disappeared into the busy set. Niko watched her retreating form. Brooke had given him a peek into Alice’s life and what made her tick. No wonder Alice understood him so well. She’d lived his desperation but in a different way. He was trying to save his niece’s life, she was trying to cement her own.
Chapter Sixteen
Alice reclined in the chair at the blood bank and waited for her equilibrium to return. She’d drunk the juice and eaten the cookie the attendant had given her and was waiting for the dizziness to go away. With her first filming of the show looming, taking this time out would cost her. The purpose of coming to Seattle had been two-fold. She was here to help either her daughter or a stranger, and in a way, they were both the same. Her mother had proven that giving birth to a child didn’t make you a mother. She’d tried to make up for it but old resentments died hard.
Her cell phone buzzed and she looked down at the face. Niko. The dizziness increased but not from giving blood. She read the text. Are you busy this afternoon?
How to answer? With the truth or some form of the truth? Giving blood was normal but when you were in your hometown, not when you’re in a strange town. Why would it matter? He’d never guess the truth in a million years. Would he? You’re overthinking this, just answer the damn text.
Yes. I’m giving blood.
No. she erased it and began again.
I am at the doctor. It’s nothing serious.
No, TMI. The words doctor, blood, and donor where all off the table. She was being paranoid, pure and simple. Even if she admitted the truth, most people in their right mind wouldn’t put the pieces together. Being Chloe’s mother was as far-fetched as the plot to one of those sappy Christmas movies her mother loved to watch. Yet it might very well be the case. The phrase truth is stranger than fiction couldn’t be more relevant at this juncture.
Yes, I am. She hit send. There, short and noncommittal. What she did on her own time was her own business. She’d had a consultation with the doctor from the donor organization earlier that morning and had ducked across the hall to donate blood at the blood bank. After Brooke’s accident, she felt it imperative to donate whenever possible.
Good, I have something to show you. I should be off around one. Come to CG.
