The Honeymoon That Wasn't Page 15

  Ironic really. She’d thought Tony would be a problem, but the problem turned out to be her. Right now, she didn’t like herself very much.

  14

  TONY STOOD BACK and admired the new floor he’d just put in the guest bathroom. He’d gotten a good deal on some discontinued tile and was able to use a higher quality than he’d anticipated. His supplier was looking into another possible discontinued batch for the master bath. A few breaks like that would up his selling price.

  He heard a knock at the door and pulled off his work gloves. His mother and sister had been the only visitors he’d had other than Dakota. Against all odds, he hoped like hell it was her. But it was the middle of the day and she didn’t even know how to knock off work at a decent time, so he wasn’t holding his breath.

  Besides, two days since he’d seen her at Sargenttis, and she still hadn’t called. She was busy—he got that. But one lousy phone call?

  Glancing through the peephole, he saw that it was his Realtor wrapped in that mink coat she started wearing the second the temperature dipped below sixty-five, and he reluctantly opened the door.

  “Finished yet?” she asked, and walked past him, heading straight for the kitchen.

  “Hi, Sylvia, nice to see you, too.” He shook his head and closed the door. The woman could sometimes be too pushy for his taste, but she got results and had made him a lot of money.

  “Oh, my God, Tony. This granite is to die for. Where did you find it? I know you didn’t get it from that skunk on Fourth.” She waved a dismissive hand. “He wouldn’t know quality if it bit him in the face.”

  “As a matter of fact, I did get it from Manny. Gave me a good deal, too.”

  She narrowed her gaze, her eyes so heavily made up it made her look ten years older. “I very nicely asked him to look into some discount floor covering for me to put in one of my rentals and that worm told me…” She pulled herself up straight, lifting her chin. “I’m a lady so I won’t repeat what he told me.”

  Tony grinned. “What can I do for you, Sylvia?”

  “You can finish this job. I have a buyer.”

  “You what?”

  “Don’t worry. He’s not in a rush.”

  Tony glanced around the room. “I didn’t even decide to sell this one yet.”

  Her dark brows drew together in outraged disbelief. “What else would you do with it?”

  “I don’t know.” He shrugged. “Keep it maybe.”

  “Tony, don’t be foolish.”

  “Owning a piece of real estate in Manhattan is foolish?”

  “You know what I mean. The market is hot right now. You’ve made an awful lot of money, and there’s a lot more to be made.”

  “Sylvia, the market’s always hot in Manhattan. Besides, it’s not all about money.”

  She frowned, studying him closely. “Of course it is.”

  He scoffed. “Says you.”

  “Remember when you first came to me and asked for comps on listings and you said—”

  “Okay, okay, but my only goal was to eventually quit construction and support myself this way.” Hell, he didn’t have to explain anything to her. She made her commission. A damn good one.

  “And you’re doing a great job. By the way, you look tired. Aren’t you sleeping?”

  He checked his watch. “I really have to get back to work.”

  “Can you spare some time for lunch? I’m buying.”

  “Already ate. But thanks.” He started toward the door. She got the hint and followed, and he said, “Look, I don’t know what I’m going to do yet. I’ll probably sell, but if I don’t, I’ll find another one to turn over.”

  “All right.” She sighed, then her expression suddenly brightened. “My niece is coming to town this weekend, a real pretty girl, and—”

  He opened the door. “Goodbye, Sylvia.”

  She drew the front of her mink coat together at the throat. “Call me,” she said, before hurrying out to a waiting cab.

  Tony closed the door. He really hadn’t eaten and since he was at a stop he went to the kitchen to make himself a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. His cell rang twice before he was done. Both calls were from guys where he used to work wanting to go for a beer at four. He left it open, telling them that he’d probably make it, but not to send a search party out if he didn’t.

  He still had the old-fashioned claw-foot tub and ancient commode to move out of the master bath. Later, a couple of buddies he’d hired for extra muscle were coming to help. They always showed up when he called, but never at the requested time. Otherwise, it would be nice to see his old coworkers. It had been a while.

  Not since before Dallas’s wedding. Since before Dakota had started making him nuts. Shaking his head, he carried his sandwich and a bottle of water to the table. When she’d asked him to meet her at Sargenttis, he’d been pretty surprised. He knew it was a lawyer hangout. Twice he’d had lunch there with his own attorney.

  Foolishly he’d hoped the ice was finally broken. That she’d acknowledge they had a developing relationship. But she hadn’t been comfortable being there with him. Too subdued, and the constant wary looks around the room she tried to disguise had been disappointing. Maybe it had nothing to do with him. Or maybe the way he’d been dressed embarrassed her.

  He’d thought about putting on dress slacks and a nice sweater. God knew he had enough of them, mostly Christmas presents from his mom and sister. But he’d resisted. That wasn’t him. He liked the comfort of T-shirts and jeans and he wasn’t about to change. Not for anyone. This was him. Take it or leave it. No matter what, she got major points for inviting him in the first place.

  Half his sandwich was gone and he didn’t remember tasting a single bite. He was tired of peanut butter and jelly anyway. Tonight he’d order in Chinese. Maybe Dakota would miraculously call or show up.

  Damn, he shouldn’t have made that crack about her and Greta bringing up which law firm they worked for. It was weird though. Kind of like their jobs were their identities. He didn’t get it. But it was none of his business and he should’ve kept his mouth shut.

  What if Dakota had overheard Sylvia today? Her claim wasn’t true. He loved what he did. No way was it about the money. But man, Dakota could’ve had a lot of questions, a lot of cracks to make herself. Being able to afford whatever he wanted was nice. Damn nice. But that hadn’t been his goal. He just wanted to be his own boss and still make a living.

  Simple.

  He looked at the beautiful new hardwood floor beneath his boots, and experienced a rush of satisfaction for a job well done. One of the things he liked best about his work was the immediate gratification. With his hands, he created something beautiful out of nothing. That’s what life was all about. Personal satisfaction.

  Money was the gravy. He inhaled deeply. Easy to say, however, because what he liked to do paid well. Would he still love it without the money?

  “I’LL NEED THIS by three-thirty.” Dakota handed Sara a thick folder of papers she needed copied.

  “They’ll be ready. I have something for you to sign, too.” Sara gave her a bright smile that was quickly transferred to something behind Dakota.

  She turned around. Cody was headed toward them.

  She quickly signed the request she’d made for an additional temp. “Thanks. I ordered a sandwich to be delivered. This should be enough including tip.” She hastily set down some money on Sara’s desk, hoping to head Cody off.

  He was really bugging her lately, always stopping by her office over the most minute thing, as if he were checking up on her. That really ticked her off.

  He was already behind her. “Got a minute, Dakota?” he asked, his gaze straying to Sara.

  “Only one.”

  Cody didn’t seem to notice Dakota’s abrupt tone. His gaze stayed on Sara. “I didn’t get a hold of those tickets.” he stated.

  Sara sighed and shook her dark head. “Maybe next time.”

  “If I hear anything, I’ll let you know.�
� Cody continued to focus on the secretary.

  Although he sounded slightly gruff, Dakota knew her brother better than that. She stared at him for a moment, bewildered by the way he seemed in no hurry to get down to business, instead lingering near Sara’s desk. Maybe his constant dropping by had nothing to do with Dakota. Maybe he just wanted to see Sara.

  Dakota silently laughed at herself. She seriously needed more sleep if she thought for one moment…Maybe when hell froze over.

  She led the way into her office, but apparently he was in no hurry to follow her. He showed up a minute later.

  “What was that about?” Dakota asked.

  He sat across the desk from her. “What? Oh, nothing. Your temp—”

  “Sara.”

  “Yeah, Sara. She wanted tickets for a sold-out show. I thought I knew someone who didn’t want theirs.”

  “Ah.” Interesting that they’d talked long enough to get on the subject in the first place.

  Her amusement must have shown because he was suddenly all business and cranky, at that. “Dakota, frankly, I’m concerned about you,” he said lowering his voice, unsettling her.

  She leaned back in her chair. “Why?”

  His eyebrows rose. “You’re distracted. You’re barely meeting deadlines.”

  “Barely being the operative word.” Okay, this conversation was going to be bad. Her temper sparked and her defenses shot up as high as they could go.

  “It’s not like you. Usually you’re more focused.”

  “I am focused.”

  He smiled. “You know better.”

  “Don’t give me the big-brother you-can’t-fool-me look. It’ll only make me angry.”

  “I’m also your boss, and I need to know that you’re committed to working the Draper case.”

  She shook her head in utter disbelief. “You’re questioning my commitment.”

  “This case isn’t just important to this firm, it’s a major stepping stone in your career.”

  “I’ll worry about my own career, thank you.” She fell silent, trying to rein in her anger and battling the acceptance that he was partially right. She wasn’t as focused as she should be.

  He let her have her quiet for a while and then sighing heavily said, “I hear you’ve been seeing Tony. Could that be the reason for your distraction?”

  “Who told you that?”

  “Someone mentioned you met a guy at Sargenttis. From his description, that guy Tony is the only person like that we know.”

  Blood surged to Dakota’s face.

  When she thought she could speak without biting his head off, she said, “Explain what you meant by ‘only guy like that we know.’”

  He briefly closed his eyes, shaking his head. “You know what I meant.”

  “I sincerely hope it’s not what I think. I’d hate to find out you’re truly that big an ignorant snob.”

  “You’re overreacting.”

  “Funny, I was thinking the same about you.”

  “Okay, I see this is going nowhere.” He got to his feet while straightening his obscenely expensive Prada tie. “We’ll talk later.”

  “Not about this subject. As my boss, my private life is none of your business. As my brother, I love you, but it’s still none of your business.” She paused to take a deep shuddering breath. “And don’t ever question my commitment to this case or this firm again.”

  He said nothing, just walked to the door. Before he left, he turned around and asked, “Have you heard from Dallas?”

  Taken aback by the innocuous question, she could only stare while gathering her thoughts. “Yes, this morning. They got in late last night so we only talked for a minute.”

  He nodded absently, and then disappeared from her doorway.

  Probably went to sweet-talk Sara, the hypocrite. Well, he had at least one redeeming quality. He cared enough to ask about Dallas.

  Why was Dakota angry or even surprised? Hadn’t she expected fallout from meeting Tony at Sargenttis? Maybe she had some crazy desire to be outed and that’s why she’d chosen that bar?

  Outed? The unexpected thought sickened her. Tony wasn’t a dirty secret. He was her friend. God, she was as bad as Cody. Must be a faulty Shea gene.

  She rubbed her throbbing temple. The truly horrible reality was her brother being right about the distraction part. It wasn’t as if she hadn’t given the case adequate attention. It simply had taken twice as long to do it. Cody was also right about this particular case. Winning could do more for her career than having been in the top five of her graduating class in law school.

  The painful truth was, she didn’t have time for Tony right now. Even more painful, she didn’t know that she ever would.

  “DALLAS?”

  “Tony!”

  “Is this a bad time?”

  “No. I’m glad you called.”

  He hadn’t expected to catch her and put down his chopsticks. Dinner could be zapped in the microwave later. “How was the honeymoon?”

  “You have to go sometime. It was an amazing experience. No unpacking or cooking or making my bed for two whole weeks.”

  He chuckled. “Didn’t care for the scenery, huh?”

  “That was a whole other amazing. I swear at every turn in the Rhine there was another castle. We have tons of pictures. I can’t wait to bore you. You and Dakota will have to come over for drinks soon.”

  That stopped him. Had she talked to Dakota? “Sure, count me in.”

  “Well, so how was your vacation?”

  “Have you talked to Dakota?”

  “This morning.”

  “How did she say it went?”

  Dallas laughed. “I only talked to her for a few minutes. I was wiped out from traveling and she was at work, sounded busy.”

  That made him feel better. Dakota really was busy and not just chumping him. Then again maybe Dallas was backpedaling and didn’t want to hurt his feelings by having to repeat her conversation with her sister. Not that he’d ask her to.

  “So, I take it you stayed the weekend?”

  “Yeah, we stayed.”

  “Good.” Obviously Dallas wanted to ask more questions. Which made him think she really hadn’t talked to Dakota after all. But to her credit, all she asked was, “Anything else going on?”

  He smiled at her subtlety. “Nothing I can think of. Just wanted to make sure you were back safely.”

  “Safe and happy.” She sighed a contented sigh. “Can you believe I’m married?”

  “Yep. You guys are a good team.”

  She paused. “You and Dakota getting along okay?”

  “We got along great,” he said, deliberately using the past tense. He wasn’t going to say any more. Anything more she’d have to get from Dakota.

  “Call her, Tony. Trust me on this, okay?”

  He didn’t want to go there. “I ordered Chinese and it’s getting cold.” So was his bed.

  “All right, you coward. Go eat.”

  “See ya, Dallas.”

  She tsk-tsked. “See ya.”

  He hung up, set aside the phone and stared at his cold chow mein and kung pao chicken. It wouldn’t hurt to call her. The worst that could happen is that she’d tell him to go to hell.

  The switchboard was probably closed, he realized when the fifth ring went unanswered. She still hadn’t given him her private line and he was about to hang up when surprisingly Dakota answered.

  “Hey, you playing operator?”

  “She goes home at six.”

  “Smart lady.”

  “Yeah, except anyone working late ends up having to answer.”

  “Which is pretty much always you.”

  “There’s still a lot of us here. Even two of the partners are working late.”

  “Shining examples.”

  She sighed. “Did you call to harass me?”

  “Oh, baby, that is so not what I had in mind to do to you.”

  She laughed. “Hold on. Let me get back to my office.”

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nbsp; He heard a click and then a few seconds later she was on the line again.

  “I was passing my assistant’s desk when the main line rang so I grabbed it out there,” she said. “We kind of take turns but it’s usually pretty quiet after six-thirty.”

  “I would have called your private line but I don’t have the number.”

  “Oh, damn. It’s the main line. Hold on again.” Another click.

  While he waited he wondered about the timing of that maneuver. If she didn’t want him to call, all she had to do was say so.

  “Still there?”

  “Hanging on your every word.”

  “I’ll give you a word.”

  He smiled. “I see you’re in a good mood.”

  “Yeah, terrific.” She yawned into the phone, and then murmured, “Sorry.”

  “Are you wearing that big ugly white bra?”

  “What?”

  “You know, the one you wore the other night. I miss it. I think it’s my new fetish.”

  “You’re a lunatic, you know that?” Sounded like she stifled another yawn. “So what’s your other fetish?”

  “Come over tonight and I’ll show you.”

  Her silence gave him his answer.

  “I talked to Dallas today,” he said to ease the awkwardness.

  “Me, too, but only briefly. I had to go to a meeting. Sounded like she’s sold on cruising.”

  “Yeah, she’s gonna be the next poster girl.”

  Another yawn.

  “You sound exhausted. Can’t you duck out early tonight? I still have some Chinese takeout here. That’s it. Dinner and some quiet time. No ulterior motive. I promise.”

  “Tony, you can’t keep tempting me like this.”

  He hesitated, not wanting to interfere. That hadn’t been his intention. “You’re right. Hey, I don’t even like calling at work but it’s the only number I have.”

  She snorted. “That’s the only place you’d ever reach me.”

  He hadn’t thought of that. It did make him feel marginally better. “Go ahead, get back to work. Sorry I interrupted.”

  “You didn’t interrupt. I’m glad you called.”