Secret Attraction
She was half in the door. “It was great. I had a wonderful time and, of course, the dinner was superb.” She smiled. “I dreamed about you—it all night.” Her face burned. Why did she say that?
“So did I … I mean, I have these crazy dreams sometimes before a big … event.”
She leaned against the door frame. “You don’t strike me as someone who gets … lets things get you all worked up … sleepless.” Oh, God, she was babbling.
Spence gripped the railing behind him to keep from walking right up to her and taking her in his arms the way he’d been dreaming about when he finally did fall asleep. “You’d be surprised.”
“I’m sure I would.”
“You should come more often.”
The air stuck in her chest. She knew good and well what he meant but her libido had taken charge. “Come?”
“To the club.”
She ran her tongue lightly across her lips. “I don’t get out as much as I should.”
“All work?”
“Something like that.” She ran her hand absently along the door frame. “Especially with the elections coming up and all of the local referendums.” She finally felt the floor beneath her feet again, having moved the topic to something that she could manage.
“Yeah, the whole rezoning thing,” he said, nodding his head as he spoke. “I’ve been following you—it, in the papers.”
Her eyes widened ever so slightly in pleasant surprise. “A very hot topic for the community. The rezoning will bring business but at the expense of much needed housing.”
“There has to be a middle ground,” he said, his expression tightening in thought. “I know from experience the good, the bad and the ugly about gentrification.”
“Experience?”
He nodded. “Back in Memphis, where I grew up, the same thing happened. City claimed eminent domain and ran a highway through the neighborhood, pushed people out and built a mall.” He expelled a mirthless laugh.
“I’m sorry, that must have been horrible. How old were you?”
“Hmm, ‘bout fifteen. Old enough to be angry, but not old enough to do much about it.”
“What did your family wind up doing?”
“They gave my mother some money for our place.” He glanced off, back to that unsettling time in his life. “We moved into a walk-up apartment in a three-family house.”
In all the years that she’d known Spence this was all a revelation. She knew he wasn’t born in Louisiana but had no idea that Memphis was home or that he was raised by a single mom. Desiree watched the montage of emotions crease his brow, tighten his casual body language and put a hard edge in his voice. That experience, she sensed, changed him somehow. Forced him to see the injustices of life, perhaps too soon.
Spence blew out a breath and returned from that place he’d put behind him and smiled at Desiree. He opened his mouth to speak just as Dominique appeared behind her sister. Desiree stepped out of the way.
“Good seeing you, Spence. Enjoy the ride!” She gave a short wave and walked away.
Dominique slid her sunglasses on her nose. “Ready?”
“Sure.”
He walked alongside Dominique as they rounded the house from the back to reach his car on the driveway.
“She sure is a beauty.” Dominique ran her hand along the high-glossed side.
Spence glanced at the house and could have sworn he saw someone drop the curtain in the window. “Yeah, she is.”
Desiree turned away from the window, mortified at the thought that she might have been caught staring. She felt as if he’d looked right at her—or through her. Why did she even care? He hadn’t come to see her. He’d come to see her sister. He never even asked if she wanted to come along. Why should he? She would have just been a third wheel.
She pushed out a long breath. Yes, Patrice and Dominique were right. It was time she got a life and put a man in it. She reentered her office and shut the door behind her.
“Where are we headed?” Dominique asked, leaning back against the cool leather as the warm Louisiana wind blew around them. She rested her elbow against the frame of the open window.
He should have asked Desiree to come along. Although he was pretty sure she would have said no. She’d never seemed interested in whatever he and Dominique might be doing together, whether it was a day at the shore, going out for drinks with friends … parties. She always had “other plans,” which was why he was so surprised to see her last night. And seeing her had only stirred up all the desires he’d kept under a lid. She was the real reason he’d come to the Lawson home in the first place.
“Are you listening to me?”
“Huh?” He snatched a glance in Dominique’s direction.
She pursed her lips in feigned annoyance. “I asked you where we were going. If you don’t have any place special in mind, I want to pop by and see Rafe for a minute. Is that okay?”
“Yeah, sure. Not a problem.”
“Is something wrong?”
“No. Why?”
“You seem distracted or out of it.”
He chuckled. “Naw. I’m good.” He turned to her and winked.
She cut him a look from the corner of her eye, studying his stiff profile, which was so out of character. Spence was usually so laid-back and relaxed, always an easy smile on his face. But today his entire body was tight and inflexible. He barely looked at her, and when he did, it was as if he didn’t really see her. And that was something she certainly wasn’t used to. She ran her fingers through her short, spiky hairdo and wondered what was really on Spence’s mind.
“How’s the new program going at the agency?”
Dominique shot him a look. “Oh, you’re talking to me now?”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“I might as well not even be here for all the attention you’ve paid to me since I got in the car.”
“Now you’re being silly.”
Her neck jerked back. “Silly?”
“Yes, silly.”
She folded her arms tightly beneath her breasts and pouted.
Spence inhaled deeply. He and Dominique had been close for years. He’d grown accustomed to her moods and her often irrational feelings of being ignored. It had taken him a long time to understand that it wasn’t him or anything that he was or wasn’t doing; it was pure insecurity on her part. At times it could be endearing, and he’d want to comfort her and make it all go away; other times it was totally frustrating. He knew it was why she was always flamboyant, the party girl, the one who needed to be noticed. And when she wasn’t, she pouted, like now.
“So are you going to tell me how the program is going, or are you going to keep those luscious lips poked out until we get to Rafe’s house? My mama always said, ‘If you do your mouth like that, your lips are gonna stay that way,’” he said in a bad falsetto with a heavy Southern twang.
Dominique turned to look at him and rolled her eyes and tried not to laugh.
“It’s going fine. Thank you very much for asking.”
Dominique was the executive director of First Impressions, a nonprofit agency that provided clothing and training to disadvantaged women and single mothers. She’d recently been approved for a grant to fund a GED program.
“How many students so far?”
“Can you believe we already have a waiting list?” She shook her head in wonder.
“Yeah, actually I can. Lotta people are struggling out there, Dom. All they need is a chance.”
She nodded thoughtfully. “I don’t think I ever realized how much until I started the agency.”
“You do good work.” He turned to her. “I’m proud of you.”
She reached across the gears and squeezed his hand as the car drew to a stoplight. “Thanks. That means a lot coming from you.” Her eyes held his for a moment.
He turned his attention back to the road. “Rafe’s town house is on the next street, right?”
“Yep. Third one from the corner, on the left.”
“Does he know you’re coming?”
“No.”
“Dom, suppose he’s … busy.”
She chuckled. “What else would be new?”
“I’ve been trying to get him to come down to the club and play. He’s always busy,” Spence said, pulling into Rafe’s driveway.
Dominique got out of the car and shut the door. “You should’ve told me. I would have spoken to him for you. Rafe can never tell me no.”
They stood in front of the door. Spence turned to her. “Who can?”
Chapter 5
The house was too quiet. Justin had gone out with friends earlier and Dominique had yet to return. The rooms began to echo in Desiree’s mind, highlighting her growing feeling of loneliness. Today would have been a perfect day to take a spin around the track, work out some of the kinks and get her mind wrapped around something that she could actually control. But Sundays were reserved for competitions only and she was not a competitive driver. At least not yet.
Restless, she went into the kitchen. Next to driving and reading, cooking was her passion. She decided to make jambalaya and went in search of the ingredients. While she gathered her ingredients and seasonings, she turned on the small television to her favorite cable channel—The Food Network.
As she cut and sliced sausage, deveined the shrimp and chopped green and red peppers, a smile came to her lips and she felt a rush of warm memories of the many hours she’d spent at her mother’s side, watching with fascination as she prepared a meal. She could almost see her mother standing next to her, watching in approval.
The ringing phone jarred her away from the warm but melancholy thoughts. She wiped her hands on her apron and picked up the phone from the counter.
“Lawson residence.”
“Hey, sis, I meant to tell you before I darted out that I called Chris and he’s going to stop by later this evening, around six, and he’s bringing his friend Maxwell. I thought we could have a few drinks, something light to eat and chat ….”
“Dom! How could you do something like that without telling me first? Did it occur to you that I might have something to do?”
“Do you?”
“That’s not the point,” Desiree tossed back, her anger boiling over. “This is so typical of you.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“It means that you have tunnel vision. You think the whole world revolves around you and your wants. And it doesn’t!”
“Rafe is coming,” she said in her sweetest voice to try to smooth things over. She knew how close Desiree was to Rafe. She could almost see the tight line between her sister’s eyes begin to ease.
Desiree pushed out a breath. Seeing her brother would do her a world of good, even if she was pissed off with her sister.
“Don’t you dare tell Rafe about this friend of yours, Dominique, or I swear our deal is off and I’ll never speak to you again. Understood?”
“All right, all right. I won’t breathe a word.” She smiled with triumph. “Um, you want me to pick up anything while I’m out?”
Desiree squeezed her eyes shut and shook her head. Her sister was truly a piece of work. “A couple of rolls of French bread. I am making jambalaya. Guess I’ll have to make some extra.”
“Oh, that’s my favorite! I’ll bring some wine, too.”
“Hmm.”
“See you later.”
Before she could ask if Spence was with her, Dominique had disconnected the call.
Dominique returned to the living room, where Spence and Rafe were talking about Rafe coming to play at Bottoms Up. She stood between them. “Hey, just got off the phone with Desi. Guess what? She’s fixing her specialty and wanted to have some folks over.”
“Tonight?” Rafe asked.
“Yeah, around six. Bring a date.” She turned to Spence. “You can come, too. Bring someone. It’ll be fun.”
The two men looked at each other.
“I’m always up for a free meal. Next to you, my sister is a damned good cook,” Rafe said over a light chuckle. “And I’m sure I can find some hungry young lady to be my escort.”
“What about you, Spence?” Dominique asked.
“Hmm, I don’t know. I had plans to make this an early night.”
“It will be. Come on,” she cooed, bending down in front of him. She ran her finger along his jaw.
He hesitated. It would give him a chance to spend some time in Desiree’s company. “Okay. Just for a little while.”
Dominique popped up. “Great.” She looked at her watch. It was almost two. “Can you drop me at the market before you take me back? I promised Desi I’d get some French bread and a couple of bottles of wine.”
Spence pushed up from his seat. “I’m apparently at your disposal.”
Rafe chuckled. “Yes, my darling sister does have a way of manipulating people.”
“That’s a terrible thing to say about your own sister,” replied Dominique.
“What would you call it?” Rafe asked while he walked them to the front door.
“Hmm, the power of positive persuasion,” she said.
“Riiight,” Spence and Rafe chorused.
Dominique tossed her head and sashayed out. “See you tonight, Rafe.” She finger waved.
“Later, man,” Spence said, shaking Rafe’s hand. “I’m gonna hold you to coming down next month.”
Rafe bobbed his head. “We’ll work it out. Take care of my crazy sister.”
“Always.”
“See you in a few.”
Desiree had been trained well by her mother, Louisa, and her sister, Lee Ann, on how to put a dinner party together, from small gatherings to full-out banquets, but it never got easier. Like her mother and sister, Desiree was a perfectionist.
After putting the jambalaya on to simmer, she prepared the ingredients for dirty rice and fixed a huge tossed salad. She chilled the only bottle of wine in the house, and cut up exotic cheeses and mixed a bowl of spinach dip that her brother Rafe loved.
With all the preparations done, she went out back to check on the seating by the pool and to stock the ice chest with water, beer and soda. Since the dinner would be totally buffet style, she set out the dishes, cutlery and glasses on the granite counter in the kitchen. Every man for himself, she thought, taking out the linen napkins and placing them on the counter. She took a quick look around at her handiwork. Satisfied, she lowered the flame on the pot and darted upstairs to find something to wear and take a shower.
She didn’t like this whole blind date thing, she thought as she stood beneath the relaxing spray of water. What if he was a real jerk and she was forced to play nice all evening? She groaned. She should have never let Dominique talk her into this. But a deal was a deal. She would have to make the most of it.
“Need some help?” Dominique asked from the other side of the kitchen door.
Desiree was taking the citronella candles down from the cabinet. “You think you can manage to light these?”
As usual, Dominique had made herself scarce the instant she’d returned home, leaving everything up to Desiree to handle.
“Fine, but you get the door. It’s probably Chris and his friend Max. I can’t be in two places at once.” She took the tray that held the six glass-enclosed candles and went out back.
Desiree forced herself not to scream and went to the front door. She put on her best smile, took a breath and opened the door.
“Spence!” She looked from Spence to Michelle. Her heart thundered.
“You look surprised,” said Spence.
“No … not at all. I. Come in. Michelle, it’s good to see you again.”
“We brought dessert.” Michelle held up a bag that contained a gallon tub of raspberry sorbet.
“I’ll take that. Thanks so much. We’re out back. Spence, you know the way.”
Desiree swallowed over the dry knot in her throat as she watched them walk toward the backyard, still held in place by shock.
“Something sure smells good.”
She turned back toward the opened door and felt a brief moment of calm when she saw her brother Rafe. For an instant she wanted to simply rest her head on his chest. She opened her arms instead. “Hey, sweetie.” She hugged him tight, then stepped back.
“Desiree, this is Crystal. Crystal, my sister Desiree.”
Crystal stuck out her hand, which Desiree shook. “Nice to meet you.”
“You, too. Please come in.” She shut the door and slid her arm around her brother’s waist. “How ya doing?”
“Good. Better,” he said quietly.
Mere weeks before Lee Ann’s wedding to Preston, Rafe had taken a real dive. He’d gone on a drinking binge and got himself pretty banged up riding his motorcycle. They’d all been worried about him. Rafe was always so carefree and invincible, for lack of a better word, and to see him the way he had been gave them all pause. The volatile relationship between Rafe and their father, Branford, had been at the root of it. It had taken a lot of years to get to where it was and it was going to take time to mend it.
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