“I might be. Are you willing to take that chance? I have nothing to lose, but it sure sounds like you do.” Alice tapped her finger on the tiled bar top and prayed that her demand didn’t backfire. If he balked and dug his heels in, their daughter would be the one who suffered
“This is your fault. Your mistake, not mine,” he shouted the words.
Her daughter, the girl – she couldn’t call her daughter--wasn’t a mistake. She’d never told anyone, not even Grace, that part, and she never could. Alice had been stupid, so stupid to think Lance would change his mind about her because she was pregnant. After ten years, the point was moot. What mattered was now.
“I’m not going to argue with you about this. Either you register at the blood donor organization and send me proof, or I go public. Your choice.”
Once again, dead silence reigned until his voice burst over the line. “You’re such a fucking bitch, Alice.”
Alice licked dry lips and resisted the mad compulsion to laugh. She didn’t care what he thought of her as long as she got her way in this. Lance might want nothing to do with the girl – like her own father had with Alice—but unlike her mother, she had the power to force his participation. And she could tell by the near hysteria in his threat that he’d concede to her demands. “Your word, Lance.”
“Fine. I’ll register but the truth better not get out or I will sue you for every damn penny you have.”
“Bye, Lance.” She ended the call and asked the bartender for a glass of red wine. The moment she’d heard Lance’s voice, the years had rolled back. But she was no longer the same frightened girl. She was a woman in control of her life and the destiny of a child, an innocent being who needed help.
“Hey, sorry I’m late but… wow, you look like you’ve seen a ghost.” Grace asked, dropping her purse next to Alice’s.
Alice met her friend’s worried eyes and offered a brief nod. “Lance called me. And before you ask, yes, he’s still the biggest asshole in creation. He’s running for mayor of Provo. For mayor? Can you believe that bullshit?”
The bartender placed the wine glass in front of Alice and looked at Grace. “Can I get you something to drink?”
“Water please and some menus.” Grace slipped into the seat next to Alice, disgust blazing in her fiery eyes. “I hope he loses big time. Too bad he isn’t running for office in Seattle. I’d so love to expose him for the worm he is. Although I do have some contacts in Utah… do you want me to sic them on him?”
“As tempting as that sounds, no.” Alice downed half the glass of wine. The bite of the cabernet burned her tight throat. She clenched the glass, resisting the compulsion to chug the rest, to get drunk and wallow in self-pity. She had to head to CG, to Niko for his one p.m. surprise. “I hate to defend him in any way, but Lance’s been blindsided by this. I have to believe he’ll ultimately do the right thing.”
Unlike ten years ago. People changed. She’d changed. Alice lifted her glass once more and drank deep. Liquid courage to forget her past and get through the near future.
Chapter Nineteen
Niko performed a round kick, his foot slapping into the body-shaped punching dummy, the sound vibrating in the space. He’d finished his list of candies to make for the shop early, but he’d be at work again for an evening bar shift in a few hours. Eat, sleep, work, and repeat. Except the show was scheduled to start filming tomorrow. Niko could hardly wait to get the first round over with. He had faith in his own abilities but the chefs he was up against were the best in their craft.
He punched the bag, left, right, left, right. He’d competed before but MMA was a completely different arena than cooking. While he loved to win, none of those contests meant as much as this one. He didn’t just want to win, he had to win, for Chloe’s sake.
Left, right, round kick, heel slamming into the vinyl. He hopped on one leg, and kicked it again, burning the raw energy that Chloe’s health festered inside of him. Although she’d perked up when he’d visited with her that morning, it was a constant struggle to remain upbeat, even for himself. He hated to work all the time, to miss out on every precious second of her life.
The alarm on his cell phone went off, a harsh reminder that time had run out for his workout session at least. He removed his gloves and headed into the bathroom to shower. Stepping under the chilly water, he tried to erase the negative thoughts that had no place in his head. Niko couldn’t go there any more than Chloe could.
One day at a time, and today was far from over. He’d be meeting with Alice soon. His pulse picked up for an entirely different reason as he dried off before slipping on a pair of jeans and a flannel shirt. Alice was cool and aloof, but he’d seen a softer side of her in the giggling, lighthearted woman on the ferry. Before he’d blundered by reminding her of Richard.
Not his smartest move but there was still time. For what? She was in town for such a short period. If he were smart, he’d leave her alone. But he wasn’t being smart. She’d wormed her way into his mind and he had a hard time forgetting her. Sighing, he finished brushing his teeth and wandered back into the living room. The blue skies outside the windows brightened the apartment, the sun casting a welcoming glow despite the frigid temperatures outside. Whistling under his breath, he ran the towel through his hair and stopped cold.
Alice, her head down, had strolled out of the back room where the staff stored the extra equipment, a clear plastic tub in hand. Her white shirt was pulled tight over her breasts by the weight of the box. She was a sensual woman and the time he’d held her in his arms wasn’t enough to satiate his need to taste her lips. “Hey, Alice.”
She snapped her chin up and raked his torso under the unbuttoned flannel with an appraising gaze. Color bloomed in her cheeks and the smooth cup of her bra showed her tightening nipples. “I’m sorry, I didn’t know you were here, you said you wouldn’t be here until one. And Ronan needed these lenses and it’s not one,” she said, her words rushed, the flush deepening on her neck. “I’ll just leave. Sorry, I’ll just leave.”
Heat sizzled in the air between them and he stepped toward her, drawn to her side by invisible strings. He pointed to the practice dummy, searching his mind for something to say. “No, I just finished working out. Kick boxing, it helps keep my sanity. Let me help you, ah… your arm’s bleeding.”
Her knuckles whitened on the plastic container and she stared down at her shirtsleeve. She dropped the container on the coffee table in front of the couch. “Geez, I shouldn’t have done that.”
“Shouldn’t have done what?” Niko stood mere inches from her. He needed to distance himself and give her space but he remained rooted to the spot.
Alice rolled up her sleeve to expose a yellowing bruise on the inside of her elbow, smeared red with blood. “I, um, donated blood this morning and took off the bandage too soon. Being here with Chloe reminded me that I hadn’t for a while. Donated, that is.”
He clasped her wrist in his palm and used the towel draped across his shoulder to apply pressure to the small wound. “I try to donate blood whenever I can. When you have a sick loved one, you start thinking about the things we take for granted.”
“I agree,” she said.
Niko caught a trace of alcohol on her breath and bit the inside of his mouth to stop from smiling. Yet another side of Alice? “Are you drunk?” He rubbed his thumb along the inner skin of her wrist where the increased beat of her heart matched his own.
