“Wow, the invitations will be simply beautiful,” Lindsey Hopkins said. The twenty-something stay-at-home mom assisted Alpha on a part-time basis. As she looked at the computer screen over Alpha’s shoulder, she had a huge grin on her face. “And you’re the one designing them?”
Alpha smiled, too, pleased that Lindsey liked them. “Yes, after coming up with what I thought would work for our theme, One Winter’s Night, I thought the idea of a country house in a light snowstorm would be perfect.”
And she knew just the house she would use as a model. Riley’s home. It would be picture-perfect. She had mentioned using a picture of his home on the invitation when he brought her home the other night. He said he had no problem with it and had given her the green light to do it.
“Do you know whose house you’re going to use?” Lindsey asked her.
She turned her chair around and met Lindsey’s inquiring gaze. “Yes, it belongs to one of the Westmorelands. Riley Westmoreland.”
Lindsey’s face lit up. “He’s one of Bane’s older brothers. I met him once, and I bet the house is as gorgeous as he is.”
Alpha threw her head back and laughed. “Well, yes, I guess you could say that.”
“Trust me, I do. Every woman in town knows how good-looking those Westmoreland men are. Some of us are married, but we aren’t blind. Any woman can appreciate a good-looking man.”
Alpha grinned. “True.” She turned back to the computer. “So you think Riley’s house might work as a backdrop?”
“I’ve never seen it, but I don’t see why not. I’ve been to Westmoreland Country once or twice, years ago with my father when he did the landscaping for the main house. He took me and my brothers along to help. You know, free labor,” she said, laughing. “The main house was huge and majestic. I heard all the siblings have built their own homes now.”
Alpha switched her computer to another screen, one that showed an example of some of the decorations she contemplated using. “Yes, that’s what I heard.” None of Riley’s rules had governed publicizing their affair, but she didn’t feel comfortable broadcasting it to anyone.
An hour or so later, Lindsey had left to pick up her baby from her mom and Alpha was on her way to the kitchen to fix a sandwich—her favorite, peanut butter and jelly—when the doorbell rang. Wondering who could be calling on her, she crossed the living room to the door. A quick glance out of the peephole indicated a florist deliveryman.
Pursing her lips thoughtfully, she opened the door. Who would send her flowers? Perhaps the man was at the wrong house. “May I help you?”
The older man smiled. “Alpha Blake?”
“Yes.”
“These are for you,” he said, handing her the huge, beautiful ceramic vase of pink roses. A dozen of them.
“Thanks,” she said, accepting the flowers.
“And the tip has been taken care of.”
“Oh, thanks,” she said, stepping back and using her toe to close the door. The roses filled her house with a sweet-smelling scent. As soon as she set the vase down on the table, she pulled off the card, eager to see who’d sent them.
Two days left. Riley
She threw her head back and laughed. She had thought about everything he had suggested for Saturday night, especially the Pleasure Game, and felt she was ready. There was no need to put off the inevitable. Besides, she’d never played games with a man in the bedroom. Eddie hadn’t had an imaginative bone in his body. LeBron had been full of ideas but only with the pretense that his bed partner was Omega. Alpha shook her head at how he actually hadn’t seen anything wrong with wanting to make love to her while pretending she was her sister.
Moments later, Alpha was still standing in front of the table and gazing at the roses when her cell phone rang. She pulled it out of her pocket and saw it was her father. She and her parents talked at least once a week, but usually at night. She was surprised he was calling her in the middle of the day.
“Dad?”
“Yes, Al, how’s my girl?”
She couldn’t help but smile. “I’m fine. What about you?”
“Great. Look, I just had to call you and tell you I saw Eddie today when he brought Cleo into the office.”
She frowned. “Is Cleo okay?” she asked, inquiring about the beautiful Labrador retriever that Eddie owned. She had fallen in love with the dog and had begun considering Cleo as hers, too.
“Yes, Cleo’s fine. He brought her in for her annual visit.”
“Oh. You didn’t have to call to tell me that, Dad.”
“I know, but I figured you’d want to know that he asked about you.”
Like she cared. “Did he?”
“Yes. He even asked if you’ve mentioned anything about moving back home.” There was a pause. Alpha knew she wouldn’t like what was coming next but decided to let her father have his say since he would do so anyway.
“Look, baby, I know Eddie was the one to call off the wedding and all, but understand it from a man’s point of view. He didn’t want your reputation tarnished.”
Alpha gritted her teeth. “He wanted me to disown Omega.”
“But your sister chose the life she wanted. None of us were happy with it. Even your mom and I haven’t been able to forgive her for embarrassing us that way.”
And to this day Alpha felt her parents were wrong. She’d told them so more times than she could count. Regardless, Omega was their child and her sister, and nothing should have slid a wedge between those relationships. But her parents had succumbed to their friends’ gossip and whispers. “I know, Dad, and you know how I felt about that. No matter what, she’s still your daughter and my sister.”
“Well, one day you’re going to face up to what she did to us, what she did to you. You had men looking at you funny, thinking you were her.”
“It was only one man, Dad.” She had heard all this before and wasn’t in the mood to rehash this with her father. “Besides, that was three years ago. Omega is now a happily married woman.”
“With a past.”
She rolled her eyes. “We all have one. Some a little naughtier than others.”
“Naughtier? What your sister did was a disgrace.”
“What Omega did has nothing to do with Eddie.”
“Had you and Eddie married, the two of you would have been one, so it did have something to do with him. And as far as I’m concerned, he’s a good man. All he wanted was to protect you.”
“No. He was trying to control me.”
There was a pause on the other end. “So you’re saying the chances of the two of you getting back together are slim to none?”
“I’m leaning heavily on none.”
There was another pause. “I hope you’re not making a mistake. What about the next man you meet who might find out what your sister used to do for a living?”
“Any man I become seriously involved with, Dad, is going to have to accept me as I am. Omega has nothing to do with it.”
“You’re wrong, Al. She’s a part of your past that you can’t get rid of.”
“No, Dad. She’s a part of my present, and I can’t imagine it being any other way.”
When he heard the brisk knock on his office door, Riley knew who it was without looking up. “Come in, Canyon.”
His brother entered, letting off steam. “Keisha Ashford is not the same woman I was involved with three years ago. Do you hear me, Ry? She is not the same woman.”
Riley leaned back in his chair. “Yes, I hear you. In fact, I’m sure everyone on this floor heard you. I take it the meeting didn’t go well?”
“Go well? That woman deliberately tried to make me look as if I didn’t know what the hell I was doing.”
A smile touched the corners of Riley’s lips. He seldom saw his brother hot under the collar and just to know a woman was responsible was somewhat amusing. Especially since the Canyon he knew would never let a woman get under his skin. “And did you?” he asked, watching his brother angrily pace back and forth in front of his desk.
Canyon stopped and glared. “Did I what?”
“Know what the hell you were doing?”
At first Canyon appeared to have been taken aback by the question. But then he lifted his shoulders in a defensive stance. “Hell, yes, I knew what I was doing, but she deliberately tried to make me look bad.”
Riley forced the smile off his face. “And why would she do something like that? Was it because she found out you were seeing another woman behind her back, when the two of you were supposed to be dating exclusively? Hmm?”
Canyon glared. “I was not seeing that other woman and you know it. Bonita Simpkins set me up, and Keisha fell for it.”
Riley opened his mouth to say something but the receptionist’s voice on the intercom stopped him. “Mr. Westmoreland, Ms. Alpha Blake is on line two for you.”
“Thanks.” He then glanced over at his brother. “I need to take this call.”
His brother shrugged. “Go ahead.”
When Canyon just stood there, apparently still fuming over his encounter with Keisha, Riley cleared his throat and said, “It’s a private call.”
Canyon lifted a brow. “With the company’s event planner? What could be so private about that?”
When Riley didn’t respond but continued to sit and stare at his brother, waiting for him to leave, something flickered in the dark depths of Canyon’s eyes. “Please don’t tell me you’ve got the hots for the event planner.”
“Okay, I won’t tell you. Close the door behind you on the way out.”
Canyon stood there and gaped at him. “I don’t believe it.”
Riley rolled his eyes. “What don’t you believe?”
“What happened to your policy about never mixing business with pleasure?”
“It’s still in place. I’m not mixing them. When we conduct business, we conduct business. And when we want pleasure, we’ll have pleasure. Solely separate entities that aren’t being mixed.”
Canyon threw his head back and laughed. “You sound like a damn politician who’s breaking the rule and then trying to find a way to make the situation work for you.”
“Goodbye, Canyon. If I were you, I would focus on a way to make peace with Keisha Ashford.”
The amusement on Canyon’s face immediately vanished to be replaced with a glare. “You take care of your business, and I’ll take care of mine.”
It was on the tip of Riley’s tongue to tell his brother that he was the one who sought him out and not the other way around. “Whatever.”
It was only after Canyon had left and closed the door behind him that Riley clicked on the second line. “Alpha? Sorry for the wait.”
“No problem. I’m just calling to thank you for the flowers. They are beautiful.”
So are you. “I’m glad you like them.”
“I do. I truly do.”
He leaned back in his chair and did something he hadn’t done in a long time—propped his feet up on his desk. “So, what have you been doing with yourself since I last saw you?” Which was only two days ago.
“Designing the invitations, picking up items for decorating and finalizing the menu with the chef. However, I did take time out for my dance classes.”
He lifted a brow. “You’re taking dance classes?”
She chuckled. “Yes, twice a week at the high school at night.”
Why didn’t he know that? And just as quickly as he thought it, he was reminded that their connection was about sex without commitment. There was no need for him to know what she did every hour of the day. “Sounds like fun.”
“It is. Well, I don’t want to hold you up. I just wanted to call and thank you for the flowers and to let you know how beautiful they are.”
“You’re welcome and have a good night.” He paused a moment and then said in a low tone, “Think about me tonight.”
“I will. We have two more days.”
He drew in a long and deep breath, already feeling frustration settle within his bones. Two days was too long in his book. “Yes, we have two days.”
It was hard not to suggest they shorten that time. He could drop by later. But he would hold fast and not give in to temptation. He had offered this time before their date on Saturday because he wanted it to be special for her. However, he decided to say, “I can’t wait to see you again. I’ve thought of you often.”
“And I’ve thought of you often, as well.”
That was good to hear, but he doubted she had thought of him as much as he’d thought of her. It had been hard to concentrate on all the reports that had come across his desk and not on the memories of her and that night they’d dined together at his place. Whether it was the dinner they’d shared, the conversation between them or the horseback ride they’d taken, he had enjoyed his time with her, and there hadn’t been anything sexual about it. Just sitting across from her, admiring the soft and smooth skin of her face, the stunning bone structure that made her such a gorgeous woman, the pair of lips he could get addicted to if not careful…
“Goodbye, Riley.”
“Goodbye.”
He eased his legs off his desk to stand and walk over to the window. He and Canyon had tossed for this office, mainly because of the view. There was snow on the top of the mountains and already he felt the urge to go skiing. He had a trip planned to Aspen in January and wondered if Alpha could ski.
He shook his head, chuckling at the foolish thought. She couldn’t stand cold weather so chances were she would never venture anyplace where snow was waist-deep and you could feel the cold all the way to the bones.
But the most important thing he had to remember was that his affair with Alpha would be over by then.
For some reason that thought bothered him.