'Good answer.'
Two and a half hours later Alex walked her to her car. She knew he would and she knew what would happen when they got there. It was like being in high school again, and dating a guy she had a serious crush on. The evening was just a prelude to what they both wanted… the kissing.
Now that she was an adult, there were other, more interesting pleasures, pleasures she wasn't ready to think about yet. Not with Alex. But kissing seemed safe.
Although dinner had been good. Lots of getting-to-know-you conversation that had her liking Alex more than she should.
He pulled her into his arms. She went willingly, pressing her body against his, enjoying the hard planes of his chest and the way they fit together. Despite her brief affair with Ryan, she was still getting used to kissing a man while they were both standing. She liked it.
He brushed his mouth against hers, using just enough pressure to let her know he was serious, but not so much that she wanted to step back.
His urgency aroused her. She wrapped her arms around his neck, angled her head and parted her lips.
He swept inside, teasing her tongue with his. They circled and danced; he moved his hands up and down her back. She moved closer, wishing for more contact from him. But he didn't oblige. It was too soon and they were in public. They were taking enough of a risk, making out like this.
As he nipped her lower lip, she found she didn't really care if anyone was watching. Not when desire swept through her, making her lean in closer. He cupped her butt, causing her to surge against him. Her belly nestled his erection.
He was hard, she thought, delighted it had been so simple to arouse him. She liked that in a man.
She must have laughed, because he pulled back slightly and stared into her eyes.
'Want to share the joke?'
'I just… You're, um…' She glanced down then back at him. Thank God it was dark. Otherwise he would see her blushing.
'Dani?'
She dropped her hand to his crotch and lightly touched him.
'Are you offended?'
She grinned. 'No. I'm impressed. There was one other guy after Hugh. A disaster. One before him, a million years ago. But mostly I've been dealing with a paraplegic. Our sex life was different. A lot of work for me. I didn't mind, at least not while things were good between us. We were in love and I wanted us both to be happy.'
'But it wasn't easy?'
'No.'
'I can be easy.'
She laughed again, then kissed him. 'And here I thought you'd be a stuffy lawyer.'
'Me? Never.'
CHAPTER SEVEN
Dani drove out of the Bella Roma parking lot and realized she didn't want to go home. The thought of the press lurking around her small house gave her the creeps. She pulled to the side, of the road to figure out where she should go instead.
All of her brothers would welcome her, but she wasn't comfortable barging in. Her list of girlfriends was pitifully small. Between working and taking care of Hugh, she hadn't had time for much of a social life. Which left only one person.
She punched in the numbers on her cell. The call was answered on the first ring.
'Hi. Did you see the paper?'
'Of course. It could be worse. When Reid was in the paper, they said he was bad in bed.'
'Okay, that helps with my perspective. I don't want to go home. There are reporters everywhere.'
'Then come here. I have a perfectly good gate I'm willing to use on your behalf.'
'Are you sure?'
'Where else would you go?'
Dani climbed to the first floor. 'I really appreciate this,' she said. Or at least that's what she meant to say. Instead she burst into tears.
Gloria pulled her close and hugged her. 'I know it's not all right at this minute, but we'll make it all right. I promise.'
Katherine poked her fork into the small scoop of pasta salad on her dinner tray, but she didn't bother to eat any. She couldn't. Her stomach had been a mess all day. She knew the cause was an unfortunate combination of stress and pain, but knowing the reason didn't make it any better.
She felt as if she'd been run over and left for dead on the side of the road. Every part of her ached. Getting through the day, smiling at her children, pretending everything was fine had taken all she'd had and then some.
The newspapers lay where she'd left them, the headlines clearly visible on the leather ottoman. She'd known the news would come out-it always did. But so soon? And like this?
A few friends had called to check on her. They'd been kind. She'd heard the questions in their voices but no one had come right out and asked if she was the reason she and Mark had adopted. Perhaps they hadn't needed to ask. Perhaps they already knew.
It shouldn't matter, she told herself. Being unable to have children was no big deal. It happened to thousands of women. They went on to lead fulfilling lives. She had, as well. She loved her family. She wouldn't change anything about it… except possibly to have given Mark what that other woman had been able to provide.
She heard his footsteps on the hardwood, floor. He came into her study and sank down at the end of the sofa.
'What a day,' he began, after kissing her on the mouth and touching her cheek. 'Talk about hell. We're caught up in damage control. The way the press got the story makes it more difficult to spin, but we're working on it. We haven't run any poll numbers, but the consensus is this won't hurt us too much. With the right slant, it could really work in our favor.'
'That's something,' she said calmly, when what she really wanted to do was scream at him. Couldn't he tell this was hurting her? Didn't he know that she was devastated?
If she had to guess, she would say he hadn't had time to think of it yet. He was too caught up in his campaign.
'Have you talked to Alex?' Mark asked. 'He hit that damned reporter. He's going to be charged. There's a problem I don't want to deal with.'
'He was defending Bailey. I'm sorry there are going to be consequences for him, but I can't regret what he did. It was the right thing.'
Mark stared at her. 'You're right. We can leak that to the press. No one likes anyone taking advantage of a child.' He smiled. 'You're brilliant. You should be on my payroll.'
It was a familiar comment. She was supposed to follow it up by saying she would rather be in his bed. Tonight, she couldn't.
'People have been calling ' she said. 'Friends, acquaintances.'
'You'll handle it,' he said with a yawn. 'You always do.'
Unexpected anger boiled up inside of her. 'What if I don't want to handle it? I didn't ask for any of this,
