Secret Attraction

Chapter 3

When Desiree and Dominique arrived at Bottoms Up, the line to get in wrapped around the block. Dominique pulled up to the valet.

“Evening, Ms. Lawson.”

“Hi, Eddie. Big crowd tonight,” she said, grabbing her purse. She exited the car and Eddie got in behind the wheel as Desiree got out.

“Just go right up front, Ms. Lawson,” Eddie said before shutting the door.

“Thanks.”

Desiree followed Dominique up to the front of the line, bypassing the waiting throng held at bay by a red velvet rope.

“Hey, Charles,” Dominique greeted the bouncer.

Charles looked like a bear but was as gentle as a kitten. He was truly a testament to looks being deceiving. He smiled when he saw her. “Good to have you with us tonight. And, Ms. Desiree, it’s been a while.”

“Good to see you, Charles.”

“Come on in, ladies.” His burly body made a path for them and they stepped inside, ignoring the grumbling at their backs.

Bottoms Up might have been billed as a supper club, but it certainly had an upscale nightclub feel. Two circular levels with multi-rows of tables allowed the seated guests to see the stage from any vantage point.

The decor was chic and avant-garde with smoked glass tables and chairs, muted recessed lighting, gleaming silver railings, mirrored walls, three bars and several private booths for larger groups. Between the dining tables were couches and lounge chairs and, of course, the menu was to die for.

The sisters stepped into the dim interior and were immediately met by the hostess, who took them to Dominique’s reserved table.

Michelle was crossing the room and spotted them the moment they were seated. Her body tensed. Not one, but two of them, she thought to herself. Desiree, the other sister, wasn’t really on her radar. She had always seemed nice whenever they had the chance to meet, and she was cordial, if not almost aloof, when she saw Spence. It was Dominique that was the fly in her ointment. She put on her happy face and walked over to their table.

“Good evening, ladies. Nice to see you both.”

“Michelle, how are you?” Desiree offered a big smile.

Dominique glanced up. “Michelle.” Her gaze did a sixty-second inventory. “You put on a little weight. It looks good.”

Michelle’s jaw clenched. “I love the shoes. They add about what? Three inches to your height?” she said, taking her dig at Dominique’s diminutive stature.

“So, great crowd tonight,” Desiree said, jumping in before she became a casualty in the verbal catfight. “Harry can definitely draw the crowd.”

Michelle drew in a breath and forced a smile. She turned to Desiree. “Yes, he can. We’ve reached capacity and it’s still early. Well, you ladies have a great evening. Good seeing you.”

“Oh, could you let Spence know we’re here?” Dominique smiled sweetly.

Michelle turned away before she lost her manners and smacked the lip gloss right off of Dominique Lawson’s mouth.

“What is wrong with you?” Desiree said from between clenched teeth. “You act like you’re twelve every time you’re around that woman.”

Dominique rolled her eyes. “She irks my last nerve.”

“I’m sure the feeling is mutual. But the both of you need to get over it. Whatever it is.”

“She’s jealous because of my relationship with Spence. She always has been and she wishes it was her.”

So do I. Desiree sighed inwardly and turned her attention to the crowd.

Michelle wound her way around the tables and bodies until she reached the kitchen, where she was sure she would find Spence overseeing each and every dish. He had little tolerance for any slipups or shoddy service or improperly prepared meals. His cooks and servers were thoroughly screened and trained and he paid well for their time and talents. But he had no qualms about letting anyone go that could not live up to the standards that he’d set. He was a hard taskmaster, but his staff knew that above all else he was fair. Michelle admired him for that and everything else that made up Spence Hampton.

“Full house.” Michelle eased up alongside him as he tasted the lobster bisque.

Spence took the wooden spoon and dropped it in the sink. He wiped his hands on his apron. “How are we doing outside?”

“Charles has started turning people away. We probably should have had two shows.”

Spence shook his head. “One show, one night. It gives it that much more cachet to have been here.” He winked at her, then crossed the wide, bustling kitchen, peeking over shoulders as he went. Michelle was close behind.

“The Lawson sisters are here.”

Spence’s step stuttered for a moment and Michelle bumped into his back.

“Oh, sorry.”

“Did they get seated?” He continued walking.

“Yes. Dominique got her table.”

He gave a short nod of his head. He checked his apron. “I’ll go out and say hello.”

Before Michelle could say another word, Spence had pushed through the swinging kitchen doors and stepped out into the main lounge. As she stood there, she wondered for the countless time what Dominique Lawson had that she didn’t. In her heart she knew the answer but refused to accept it. One day she would have him back, once and for all, and she’d never have to think about Dominique Lawson with Spence ever again.

Michelle was right, Spence thought as he took in the capacity crowd. Every table was taken, the couches were full, the bar was lined from end to end and the waiters and waitresses were doing double time to keep up.

After a bit of maneuvering, he eased around the mezzanine floor and worked his way toward Dominique’s table.

Desiree had her back to him, but he’d know that slender neck, the curve of her bare shoulders and those wild spiral cotton candy curls anywhere. Dominique, as usual, was busy charming the waiter, encased in a body hugging minidress that looked as if it was painted on. Spence smiled to himself as he approached.

“Ladies, ladies.” He looked from one to the other.

Dominique beamed. Spence slipped his arm around her waist and she did the same as she kissed his rugged cheek.

Desiree watched the exchange, thankful for the muted light that hid the longing in her eyes. Looking at the two of them together, one could easily conclude from their body language that they were lovers. Her stomach tensed. She glanced away and concentrated on her apple martini while her sister teased and cooed with Spence. He towered over her sister. His slender but hard body slid along the lines of her sister’s and she wished it was her. The deep chocolate of his smooth skin always made her hungry for what she knew would be sweetness, if she only got a chance to taste it.

“Desiree.” The deep ripple of his voice vibrated down to her pedicured toes.

She casually glanced up and tumbled into the depths of his onyx eyes. “How are you, Spence?” The lighting played with the deep, dark waves of his closely cut hair.

“I can’t complain. And to what do I owe the pleasure of your visit tonight?”

Desiree felt all fluttery inside. “You have Dominique to thank. She convinced me to come out tonight. And when she said Harry would be here …” She lifted one shoulder and smiled. Her deep dimples flashed.

“Whatever the reason, I’m glad you’re here.”

She refused to read more into what he said. “I’m looking forward to the show.”

Spence took a step back. He was thankful that his face was hidden in the shadows that played around the room. It was silly of him to think that Desiree might have wanted to see him. In all the years that he’d known the sisters, Desiree had not once given him reason to think that they were anything more than acquaintances.

“Well, you ladies enjoy your evening. Whatever you need is yours.”

“Thanks, sweetie,” Dominique said. “If I don’t see you later tonight, I’ll give you a call during the week.”

He nodded and walked off.

Dominique turned to her sister. “Are you okay? You seem distracted.”

Desiree blinked and brought the room and her attention back into focus. “Yeah, just taking it all in.”

“Spence has done an incredible job with this place, hasn’t he?” She reached for her drink.

“Wonderful,” Desiree said absently and wondered if she would see Spence again before the night was over. But what was the point, anyway? He had no interest in her, and for her to continue to daydream about the two of them together was a waste of valuable brain cells. Spence Hampton was off-limits and that was the end of it. She only wished that her heart was as reasonable as her head.

Spence continued to keep his focus on the menu and ensuring that his guests were all taken care of. Although that part of running Bottoms Up was Michelle’s job, he always wanted to keep his hand in. He didn’t want to be one of those owners that had no idea of what went on in their establishment.

Once Harry took the stage and the majority of the dinner guests had been served, he took a moment to relax. The tough part of the evening was over. He made his rounds of the tables and checked on his guests, seeing many familiar faces and plenty of new ones.

When he opened Bottoms Up, he had no idea that it would take off the way that it did, but his business was one of the premier locations in Baton Rogue and all the surrounding areas. He had much to be proud of.

The enthusiastic crowd kept Harry and his band onstage long after his set was supposed to be finished. But being the consummate entertainer, he had no intention of disappointing his fans, who clamored for “more, more.”

By 2:00 a.m., the crowd was down to a few die-hard stragglers who were finishing up drinks or collecting numbers for potential rendezvous.

Spence took a look around, hoping to get a last glimpse of Desiree. Their table was empty.

“Thanks for coming, sis.” Dominique yawned as she unlocked the door to their home.

“I’m glad I did. I had a great time.” She pulled off her shoes and walked barefoot up the stairs.

“It’s so different without Lee Ann around. Just a few months ago she would have been sitting in the living room, pretending to be reading but really waiting up for one of us to come home.”

Desiree laughed. Their older sister, Lee Ann, was definitely the nurturing one of the family. She’d taken over the care of the family and the running of the household after their mother passed. But now that she was married to Preston, she finally had a life of her own. She was sorely missed.

“I’m actually tired,” Dominique said, opening the door to her bedroom. “I must be getting old.”

“You! I doubt that.”

Dominique turned beneath the threshold of her door. She wagged a finger at her sister. “We still have a deal, right?”

Desiree drew in a breath and sighed. “Yes, we still have a deal.”

“Great. Tomorrow is going to be the first day of your brand-new life. Just leave it to me.”

“Night.”

Dominique blew a kiss and closed her door.

Desiree continued down the hallway to her bedroom. Slowly getting undressed, she thought about her evening and how she had felt when she saw Spence. She’d made it a point to steer clear of him as much as possible. There was no point in window-shopping—seeing what you want in the window and knowing that you can’t have it. Yet every time she saw him, the desire that she felt never lessened. If anything, her longing for him had only increased over the years. But truth be told, she didn’t want to be one of many. Spence Hampton had a line of women whom he’d either dated or who were waiting in line to do so. As far as she knew, there had never been anyone serious in his life and not even Dominique had managed to slow him down.

She didn’t fully understand their relationship, she mused as she slipped under the sheets and turned off the bedside lamp. There was no doubt in her mind that there was an intimacy between them. But she dared not ask. She didn’t think she could stand to hear what she already knew.

Desiree lay on her back. Her eyes slowly adjusted to the dark. Tomorrow is the first day of your brand-new life. She flipped onto her side and shut her eyes.

It was nearly 4:00 a.m. and Spence still couldn’t sleep, so he found himself in his garage with the overhead lights glaring and the shining insides of a 1978 Ford Mustang open for view. Had his passion for cooking not been stronger than his love of working on and restoring cars, he would have been in a completely different business.

His father was a mechanic, and when he was a kid growing up in Memphis, Spence spent many afternoons after school and during the summer watching his father work on cars in his small automotive shop. “If you have a trade, you’ll never be without food on the table,” his father used to always say. And growing up, he always assumed that he would be a mechanic like his father.

He’d been working on the Mustang for about two months. Every night, after closing the restaurant, he would come out to his garage and work on it. It was bright red, with a white leather interior. The body was fully restored and the engine purred like a satisfied kitten. But the soft sounds of the engine belied its truth. The Mustang could reach 120 miles per hour without a shudder.

The restored beauty would fetch a pretty penny if he ever decided to put it on the market, something that his best friend and film producer Dexter Beaumont tried to convince him to do.

Working on a car, to Spence, was akin to unlocking the mysteries of women, their fine lines, sleek and smooth bodies and the power that they possessed beneath their exterior.

He turned off the overhead lights. There wasn’t anything else that he could do with her besides taking her out for a spin and opening her up. It was late, his mind said, but his body needed to release some of his pent up energy. He closed the hood and opened the driver’s side door, got in behind the wheel and inserted the key. A touch of a button and the roof eased back; the engine purred softly beneath him. He put the car in gear and eased out of his garage and into the early morning.

The streets of Baton Rouge were still. A light breeze blew in the spring air. Lamplight joined with the starlight and the half-moon, giving the slow drive an almost surreal feel.

He knew these streets and back routes like he knew his own name. Although he wasn’t a native of Louisiana, he had spent the better part of his life here and wouldn’t trade it for anything.

Above the crest of the trees and homes the first pink rays of daylight began to spread across the inky sky, as if being slowly painted with the stroke of an artist’s hand. He headed for the highway and once there he shifted gears, pressed on the accelerator and soon the city was no more than a tiny image in his rearview mirror.

He drove for more than an hour, relishing in the feel and power of the car. Driving usually relaxed him, took his mind off things he didn’t want to think about. But not tonight. As much as he tried, he couldn’t shake images of Desiree out of his head. On more than one occasion he’d started to talk to Dominique about her sister, but good sense had prevailed. For reasons that he couldn’t put his finger on, he didn’t think that it would sit very well with Dominique. She had her own impressions of him and teased him constantly about his parade of women. What she didn’t know was that the parade was only a replacement for who he really wanted—Desiree Lawson.

He turned onto his street and pulled into his garage. Maybe it was time to do something about his unrequited feelings once and for all.

Chapter 4

Desiree had always known that her twin was determined and single-minded. However, she’d never been on the receiving end of all that focus, and in the first twenty-four hours of their pact, she was already regretting it.

“First I thought we could do some double-dating. Chris, a guy I met a few weeks ago on the tennis court, has some really great-looking friends,” Dominique was saying while she sipped her orange juice.

Desiree groaned. “Dom, you make me sound like some kind of castoff.” She pushed back from the kitchen island counter and walked to the sink.

“Okay, how about this? What if I just invite Chris and one of his friends over here? That way, no pressure, only a friendly gathering at the pool.”

Inwardly, Desiree cringed. She must have been out of her mind or truly desperate to have agreed to this. “Fine,” she said on a breath of frustration.

Dominique clapped and hopped up from her stool. “I’ll give Chris a call.” She pranced out of the kitchen.

“Hey, sis, why the long face?”

Desiree glanced up to see her brother Justin en route to his favorite spot in the house—the refrigerator. Every time she looked at her handsome younger brother, she was reminded of their mom: they both shared the same open and welcoming countenance.

“Oh, just thinking about some issues at work. How is school going?”

He shrugged. “Easy semester. Just looking forward to graduation.”

“It will be here before you know it. Do you think you’re going to take the consulting job or the congressional aide position?”

“I’m still deciding. Both opportunities are great. I want to make the right decision.” He took a carton of eggs and a package of bacon out of the fridge.

“You will.” She smiled. “I have all the confidence in the world in you.”

“Thanks. Man, I sure miss having Lee Ann around.” He took the eggs and bacon to the stove and took down the frying pan from the hanging rack overhead. “She always had breakfast ready on Sunday morning.”

“Yep, Lee Ann always had everything under control. We were spoiled.”

“When is Grace coming back?”

“Hopefully soon, sweetie, and then things can get back to normal,” she teased.

Grace Howard was their longtime housekeeper, who’d gone to her native home of Grenada for more than two months, leaving shortly after Lee Ann’s wedding to take care of her ailing mother.

“She said her mother is much better and getting up and around.”

“That’s good. I mean, I wouldn’t want her to leave her mother but she sure is missed around here.” He lined up the bacon and the pan sizzled.

“Well, I will leave you to your cooking. See you later.” She patted him on his broad shoulders and walked off.

Located on the ground floor of the sprawling mansion were two home offices, one that Desiree used and one that her father used when he was in town. Even though it was Sunday and she could have been lounging on the pool deck, there was paperwork that she wanted to go through to prepare for a community forum later in the week. Rezoning was a major issue in the parish and the residents wanted to have their say.

Just as she was settling down to work, the opening and closing of doors and the sound of voices drifted to her from the front of the house. Her heart tumbled. Pushing back from the desk, she crossed the room to the partially opened door.

Dominique’s laughter floated to her, followed by the rugged baritone of Spence. A slow heat moved through her, even though all she could make out was the impression and resonance of his voice, not the words.

She held the frame of the door to keep her feet from moving by the magnetic pull of him. He’d obviously come to see Dominique and placing herself in front of him for some trumped-up reason would only make her look ridiculous.

Drawing in a long breath of resolve, she shut the door and returned to her computer. She was determined to focus on the work at hand even as images of her and Spence together, with her body wrapped around his, continued to battle for control of her senses.

As Spence followed Dominique through the house, he took surreptitious looks around in the hopes of spotting Desiree. The house was relatively quiet aside from the faint sounds of music coming from one of the upstairs rooms, which he assumed was Justin.

“So to what do I owe this surprise?” Dominique asked, leading the way to the back patio.

“I decided to take the Mustang for a ride and wanted who else but my best girl in the passenger seat.”

“You’re just the sweetest,” she cooed, turning to him and lifting up on her toes to plant a kiss on his cheek. Her warm brandy-toned eyes moved slowly over his face. She used her thumb to gently wipe the lipstick from his cheek.

Why couldn’t this be Desiree? he thought, taking her hand and kissing the inside of her palm. “Are you game?”

“When have I ever not been game?” She flashed him a wicked smile. “Let me run up and change. Make yourself at home. You know where everything is.” She darted off and left Spence on the patio.

He walked over to the railing and looked out onto the expansive lawn. The Lawsons lived well, he mused. They were part of the elite of Louisiana. Yet, each member of the Lawson clan was as ordinary as the next person. None of them were known for lauding their family name and using their clout to get what they wanted. They worked hard in their chosen fields and didn’t look for a free ride, although their name provided entrée into any door that they wanted opened.

The sound of the sliding door opening behind him turned him in that direction. His nostrils flared as he drew in a short breath.

“Hey,” said Desiree.

“Hey, yourself. I didn’t know you were here,” he answered.