Chapter Twenty-Six

 

Bishop glanced at Dakota’s long, slender leg protruding from the high slit of her silky gown. The bright red color against her buttery complexion looked amazing. Her hair was pulled high on her head and diamond studs glistened from her ears. “You look gorgeous tonight. You should be on the Christmas cards.”

She tried to cover her upper thigh. “You look quite magical yourself. But you always do.”

At the Hotel DuPont, he pulled into the valet slot and waited while the attendant opened the car doors. This was his third Harper Christmas party, but it felt like the first. Tonight he wanted to make sure she had a good time. “Thank you for being my date tonight.”

She slipped her arms though his. “How could I say no?”

From the lobby, they could hear the band playing. The holiday decorations amped up the celebratory feel for the night.

An attendant stepped up to them. “The coat check is to your right. Also, there is a picture booth to the right of the ballroom. Won’t you please step that way to get your picture taken?”

“That’s a nice surprise.” Dakota clasped her hands together. “But who gets to keep the picture?”

“We’ll share. You can have the photo for a month, then I have a turn for a mouth.” He kissed her hand.

On the stairs leading to the Gold Ballroom, Bishop stood beside her. He wrapped his hand around her waist. Was there any doubt in her head that he wanted to be with her? Saying he loved her was difficult. Contee men didn’t use those words. He chewed the inside of his cheek. If she needed to hear those words to know he wasn’t just trying to charm her, then he would.

After the picture was taken, they were escorted to their reserved table. Several heads turned in their direction. Bishop pushed his head up and tightened his hand on her waist. Simeon and Asa were already seated.

“I knew that was the dress for you.” Asa stood and hugged her sister.

“You look almost as good as my wife,” Simeon said.

“Okay, you two. That’s enough. This isn’t the first time I’ve worn a dress.”

“She looks stunning, doesn’t she?” Bishop held her chair.

While they waited for dinner, Bishop caressed her knee under the table. He couldn’t keep his hands off her. Life only seemed good when he was next to her. He had to find a way to make their relationship permanent.

His heart double-clutched as he stared at her. With his elbows on the table, he listened to Asa and Dakota talk about Mia. Dakota’s face lit up when she learned her niece had taken her first step. The pure delight in her eyes was a look he wanted to see every day for the rest of his life.

He dropped his gaze down to her ring finger.

“Oh my,” Asa uttered as she stared at the door.

Simeon turned around. “What is it?”

“It’s Brian.” Asa exhaled the words like she didn’t like the taste of them.

Bishop felt Dakota’s body stiffen as she turned to the door too.

It didn’t take him more than a second to identify the long lost brother. He looked like an older version of Simeon, with a few more wrinkles and a lot less muscle. His graying hairline made him look older than he probably was, but several women turned to eye him.

Simeon rushed across the room and clutched his brother in a hug. “I can’t believe this. What are you doing here?” Simeon sounded astonished.

“Surprise.” Brian’s extended his arms wide before his eyes landed on Dakota. He hugged Asa while staring at Dakota. “How are you, Dakota?”

Her eye twitched as she scratched the linen tablecloth. She looked at Bishop before responding. “Fine.”

A stony silence fell over the table. Dakota dropped her eyes without acknowledging Bishop’s hand on hers.

“Let me get another chair.” Simeon pulled one from the adjacent table and put it between him and Bishop.

Dakota picked up her purse. “I’ll be right back.” The straight line of her lips coupled with her empty eyes told him more than he wanted to know.

Bishop pushed away from the table. A weight the size of a mountain sat on his chest. This wasn’t the evening he’d planned and Brian’s presence had all the makings to tear his dream away from his grasp.

§§§

Dakota rushed past the women touching up their make-up along the mirrored wall in the ladies room and closed the stall door behind her. She pressed against the metal door without turning the lock

How the hell did Brian dare stroll into the party like a returning hero? Her brain didn’t register his face right away. It took several seconds before she realized the man crossing the large room wasn’t an illusion, but her old lover. Her head whirled with questions. She choked out a hello, but nothing more. Yelling at him in front of the Harper employees wouldn’t get her an invitation to another party. Her heart rate finally slowed. She stood straighter and shook the tension from her fingers.

Going back to the table or trying to enjoy the party was impossible. Sitting that close to Brian without reaching across the table and grabbing his neck wasn’t going to happen. He owed her some answers, but she wasn’t so sure she was prepared to get them tonight.

She opened the door to the small stall. The line of women had been replaced with a bunch of new recruits, but she found an empty space near the corner. After replacing her lip gloss, she pushed her shoulders back and marched out of the small restroom.

The activity in the ballroom hummed along as if nothing at all had happened. Didn’t these people know a ghost was sitting in their mist?

“Dakota?”

She spun around to see Bishop. The dark glint in his eyes didn’t make her want to run into his arms for consoling.

“What are you doing here?”

“I followed you, of course. Why did you run off like that? You looked like you were going to be sick.” He reached out and touched her bare arm.

“I can’t believe he could show up out of the blue like that. I just can’t—”

“Why do you care where he goes?” His grip tightened on her arm.

She pushed a small tendril of hair away from her ear. Maybe she didn’t hear Bishop correctly. “What? You think…”

“I think you shouldn’t care about what he does or who he does it with. You said you were over him.” His eyes accused her of something that violated her sense of fairness. She had every right to be upset. Not because she cared about him, but there were so many things she wanted answers to. How could Bishop not understand that? She’d have to be made of stone to pretend otherwise.

“Are you asking me to explain myself?” She leaned closer to him. “Because if you don’t understand, then you don’t know me as well as you think you do.”

“What does that mean? This has nothing to do with me. What’s happening here is about you and Brian. You have unfinished business with him.”

She fought back the emotions building like a pressurized fire hose in her chest. She shouldn’t direct her anger at Bishop, but she couldn’t control the surge of emotion pulsing through her. The need to lash out pounded against her ribs and he was the nearest person.

“Don’t you dare tell me what I should or should not feel! Nobody can do that. If you don’t like my mood, then take me home.” She paused for a moment. “No. In fact, take me home right now. I don’t want to be around you, and I definitely don’t want to be near Brian.” She shoved her clutch under her arm and stormed toward the coat check.

Anger seeped from her pores like a fine mist. Her stilettos smacked against the tiled lobby accentuating her irritation. As soon as she had her coat, she didn’t wait for the attendant to open the door, instead she snatched the handle.

Bishop came up behind her and handed the valet the ticket for the car. He crossed his thick arms over his chest. “Dakota, are you sure you want to go home? Your sister will be disappointed. If you have something to say to Brian, maybe now is the time to get everything off your chest.”

She faced him. Everything he said was true, but she couldn’t listen to his reasoning. Her head had disconnected from reality and was in a fog of emotion. She gulped in a deep breath of cold air. For once, she wasn’t freezing. Her arms were hot.

“I just want to go home. Please, just take me home now.”

Bishop’s Lexus was brought up to the curb, the valet held the door open for her. She slid into the cold leather seat and buckled her seatbelt.

They drove across town in total silence. Even though they sat inches apart, the distance between them could have been the Grand Canyon.

When he pulled to a stop in front of the house, she didn’t wait for him to open her car door.

“Good night, Dakota.” He remained at the foot of the stairs.

At her front door, she turned to face him. Her anger subsided just enough to eliminate the red haze surrounding her. Tonight she could have used the comfort of his arms, but in all the drama of the evening, he’d been caught on the wrong side of the wall— siding against her. In just a few minutes, Brian had shaken her life up again.

“Bishop.” She nodded her head, before opening the door and stepping inside. She watched Bishop hop in his car. She half wished he would pound on her door and say he understood her feelings, that no matter what, he’d always be there for her. Instead, he pulled away without a backwards glance.

Her phone started ringing the moment she stepped into the house. She checked the caller ID before picking up. “Asa?”

“Why did you run off? You didn’t even say goodnight.” Asa’s voice registered alarm.

“Did you know he was coming?” Dakota demanded, her tone was short.

“If I did, I would have told you. I was as shocked as you.”

Dakota sat on her bed. “Did Simeon know?”

“I’m sure he didn’t. Brian thought his appearance would be a nice surprise. I think the surprise was you running out on him.”

“Serves him right.” She kicked off her shoes and stretched out on the bed. “If I said all the things I wanted to say to him, the image wouldn’t have been a pretty picture. Harper employees deserve better than that. How long is he going to be here?”

“I have no idea. He didn’t stay long after he realized you weren’t coming back.”

“What could he possibly want to say to me?” She rubbed her temples, hoping to push back the mounting pressure.

“I’m sure he’ll let you know.”

“Bishop thinks I left because I’m still interested in Brian. I think we’re done.”

“Done how? What do you mean?”

“He’s left in a huff and good riddance to him.”

“You don’t mean that. I can tell you really like him.”

“Give me a few months. I’ll learn to mean every word. I’ll be Mia’s spinster aunt. The one who comes to live with her when I’m old and senile.”

“Oh, boy. This sounds like a situation for a lot of chocolate. I’ll be there tomorrow morning by noon. I’ll bring the Godiva and the chocolate covered nuts,” Asa said.

“I’ll get up early and bake the brownies.” Dakota sighed before she rested the receiver back in the cradle.

The phone rang again before she could slip the last shoulder strap down her arm. Without checking she picked up again. “What is it, Asa?”

He cleared his throat. Making the same sound from the beginning of the tape’d he sent to her. “Dakota, it’s me, Brian.”

She froze.

“Are you there?”

“I am.” She sat on the edge of the bed, halfway out of the beautiful dress. The silky material covered one breast, the other was exposed.

“I was hoping to talk with you tonight. To explain—”

“Brian, I think you told me everything on your tape. I can’t imagine you have anything else to say that I want to hear.”

“I didn’t want to break up with you. But I couldn’t ask you to wait any longer. I could tell you were pulling away. I could hear the signs in your voice.”

She crossed her arms over her chest, holding back the venom gathering in her chest. “Oh, you did that for me?”

“Can I come by? I’d like to talk with you in person.”

“No, Brian. Everything you said was probably right. I was angry for a long time, but I buried my feelings. We don’t need to rehash what could have been. You were probably much more honest on the tape than you could have ever been in person.”

A long silence stretched between them. She could hear him breathing.

“Do you think we can be friends?” he asked. The tone of his voice changed. The tension gone.

“I do. We probably will make much better friends than we ever did lovers. Remember the first time we tried to make love and you—”

“I do and don’t remind me. I was so embarrassed. I’d never had that problem before.” His false chuckle hinted that the conversation was difficult for him too. “You might be right.”

“Are you home for good?” she asked.

“No. I’m only here long enough to check on the mission, catch up with some of the men staying there, and then I’m leaving again.”

“I should have known.” He came home for the men at the mission, but not her. He should try the priesthood.

“Dakota, one thing I’ve found out about myself on this journey is that I’m never going to settle down. I’m terrified of being stationary. I believe if I stop or slow down, I’ll turn into the kind of man no one likes. But I need your friendship. I always will.” There was sincerity in his voice.

She hesitated a moment. “We’ve been friends since high school. We’ll be friends forever. That’s a promise.”

“Have lunch with me tomorrow. Please.”

This time she was quiet for a moment. How could all that anger disappear so quickly? She had wanted to scratch his eyes out and pound her fist in his chest. Where had all that rage gone?

“Let me think about it. I’ve got a date with a chocolate bar tomorrow.” With that said, she hung up and pulled as the dress straps down her arm.

Dakota prepared for bed, the last vestiges of fury vanished. Her life was a revolving door. Brian walked out, Bishop stepped in. Bishop ran out, Brian strolled back in. And at the end of the night, she crawled into bed alone. She pulled the sheet and blanket over her head. All the stuff she thought she wanted to spew at Brian seemed unimportant now.

As much as she wanted to blame Brian for breaking up her and Bishop, she couldn’t. The two of them were probably no better a match than she and Brian. What they had was fun for a while, but couldn’t last a lifetime. Bishop wasn’t that kind of man.

She turned off the light.

The phone rang again as darkness claimed the room. Cozy under the thick blanket, Dakota refused to lift the covers and allow the cool air to touch her skin.

The only people bold enough to call this late were her sisters or Bishop. Emotionally drained, she couldn’t talk to another soul. Whatever physical fortitude she had left was reserved for sleep.