'That was Ryan. Gary is fairly jerk-free. I liked him but there wasn't any chemistry. I thought that might be a good thing, what with chemistry getting me in trouble with Ryan. For a while I thought he was gay.'
Alex chuckled. 'Not exactly what a guy likes to hear.'
'Tell me about it. Still, he handled it all with grace and style and when he asked me out, I said yes.' She paused, not sure if she should have started down this particular conversational path. It was one thing to have secrets, it was another to spill the details.
'What happened?'
She drew in a deep breath. 'We went to a lovely little neighborhood restaurant he knew about and before we were even seated, this woman walked by and called him Father.'
Alex looked confused. 'You got mad because he had kids you didn't know about?'
'No, I got upset because he used to be a priest'
Alex started laughing. Dani narrowed her gaze.
'It's not funny,' she told him.
'It is. Come on. A priest? Were you his first date?'
'No, he'd been out before, but I'm not sure he'd… you know. I couldn't deal with it. I'm sure it shows a lack of moral fiber or character on my part. But the second I figured it out, I knew God was giving me a message from the great beyond. I was not supposed to be with Gary, so I left. Ran, actually. Like the wind.'
He laughed again and this time she joined in.
'I almost feel sorry for the poor guy,' he admitted.
'Almost?'
'I wouldn't want you with him.'
Right, she thought, her mind going fuzzy with possibilities. Because then she couldn't be here…with him. That's what he was talking about, right?.
'So that's my sorry love life, the recent years, anyway,' she said. “Tragic and funny and nothing I ever expected.'
'It's been interesting,' he said, reaching for his wine. 'Better than boring.'
'Oh, I don't know. Boring sounds good. Now you know all my secrets. What about yours?'
His eyes darkened slightly. 'No one since the divorce. A few dates that didn't go anywhere.'
Did he count seeing Fiona as dating? Was he seeing his ex-wife? 'What ended the marriage?' she asked, knowing it was an intensely personal question but figuring he'd seen hers, so he could show his.
'She cheated,' he said flatly. 'I walked in on her screwing some guy.' He frowned. 'I don't even know who he is. I never bothered to find out.'
Dani stared at him. She couldn't believe she and Alex had cheating in common. 'I'm sorry. I know how that feels. I walked in on Hugh. It's how I found out.'
'They were doing it on the dining room table,' he said.
'Hugh and his groupie were in his office. Equally tacky.' She shook her head. 'I hated the betrayal of it. If we hadn't already started divorce proceedings, I would have left him then.'
'That's what I did. Once Fiona broke my trust, it was finished. She wanted to talk things over, to give the relationship a second chance. Like your Ryan, I suspect she was only sorry she'd been caught.'
Dani drew in a breath. 'So you're not seeing her?'
'Hell no. Why would I?'
'I ran into her recently and she implied you were getting back together, or at least talking about it.' As had Katherine, although Dani didn't want to go there.
'She's one of those people I told you about,' he said. 'The kind who want to be close to the seat of power. She's interested now that my father is running for president.'
'Okay. Good. Thanks for telling me.'
There were only a few lights on the covered patio. In the dimness, Dani's eyes looked more brown than hazel. Still, Alex could read a lot of emotions flashing across them, the last one being relief.
Had she been worried about Fiona? God knows what the bitch had said. Fiona would do just about anything to get what she wanted. At one time he'd admired her single-minded determination. These days-not so much.
Dani was different. There was an honesty about her that he appreciated. She seemed to lead with her heart, which could get her into trouble if she wasn't careful. Not with him-he had no plans to hurt her, although he wouldn't mind getting to know her better. Especially if that involved them being naked.
His body tightened as the image filled his mind. There had been a couple of casual sexual relationships after he and Fiona had split up, but they'd been little more than a way to scratch an itch. He hadn't thought he was looking for anything more, but maybe he'd been wrong.
'What are you thinking?' she asked. 'You have the strangest expression on your face.'
'That you've changed everything in a very short period of time.'
She sighed. 'That's not a good thing, is it?'
'Why not? Maybe we needed a change.'
'What your mother needs is a vacation,' Dani said. 'I hate that this has upset her. Dealing with the reality of me can't be easy for her. She's so fabulous. I want to be her when I grow up.'
'You're grown-up now.'
'Don't say that. Then I can't have her as a goal.'
He liked that Dani respected Katherine and that she was sensitive to what his mother was going through.
But talking about his mother wasn't how he wanted to spend his evening.
'Are you hungry?' he asked. 'Want me to start dinner?'
She stood. 'You mean heat dinner?”
'Whatever works.'
'Sure.'
She led the way back into the kitchen. As she put her glass of wine on the counter, she turned and they bumped.
He held out his arm to keep his wine from spilling. She reached for it at the same time, but instead of grabbing the glass, her hand ended up on his chest.
Desire hit him with the subtlety of a bomb blast. Need consumed him, made him hard and threatened any self- control he’d learned in the past thirty-plus years. Her eyes widened, her breath caught and he would swear she was just as interested as he.
'I know what you're thinking,' he said as he put his glass next to hers and then grabbed the hand touching him. 'That I lured you to my cabin in the woods so that I could have my way with you. Just so you know… there really is a dinner.'
One they could easily eat later rather than sooner.
'Yes, well, food is good,' Dani mumbled. 'It's not that I'm not interested. You're very appealing and nice and I like you.'
Appealing and nice? Nice? He dropped her hand. Great. So he'd imagined her reaction to him. She probably thought of him as a brother.
But what about their kisses? She'd been aroused. He'd felt her interest. He refused to believe their chemistry was all one-sided.
'It's not that I don't want you to have your way with me,' she continued. 'I'm tempted. But we have family issues. The potential for scandal. Not to mention my past. I've learned to be very cautious. Relationships are bad, at least for me.'
'You're comparing me to two assholes and a priest?'
'Ex-priest and I'm not exactly comparing you. It's just I don't want to make another mistake. I know it's unfair that you're stuck paying for my mistakes, but there we are. I'm starting to think the only way I'll ever be comfortable getting naked with a guy again is to be totally in charge. I'd probably have to tie him up first.'
Alex leaned against the counter and nodded slowly. 'I've never done that, but I'm open to the possibility.'
Dinner was delicious. A spicy chicken dish with mashed potatoes and vegetables. Dani didn't know where Alex
