Read Freefall to Desire Online

Authors: Kayla Perrin

Tags: #Fiction, #Romance, #Contemporary

Freefall to Desire (7 page)

“About a year and a half.”

“Did you paint the walls? Or were they like this when you got here?” Brianne had noticed that all the walls had been painted, some pale yellow, some pale peach and some white.

“It was like this.”

“Hmm.”

“What does that mean? You don’t like it?”

Brianne continued a slow walk down the steps, eyeing every detail as she rounded the corner down the landing. “It’s perfectly fine.”

“But?” Alex asked. “Because I sense one.”

Brianne faced him. “It’s just…a house like this with so much character, and its age…I see it with wallpaper. Nothing overbearing. No flowers or fruits. But something sophisticated, like stripes.” She ran her hand over the wall. “This one here would look fabulous with a blue-and-white-striped wallpaper.” She shrugged. “I don’t know. The walls as they are…well, they’re kinda—”

“Boring?” Alex supplied.

Brianne faced Alex, about to lie, but instead she smiled. “You said it, not me.”

“I like the suggestion. I always felt the place was missing something. I figured a woman would put her special touch on it.”

“A woman?” Brianne asked, her heart speeding up as she did. “You—you’re dating?”

“No.” Alex shook his head. “I meant eventually.”

“Ah.” Brianne nodded, then continued down the stairs
to the main level, in a way running from her own emotion. Why on earth would it bother her if Alex were dating?

Her head down, she examined the hardwood floors. They were dark and shiny, but they didn’t look new. She figured the former owners had refinished them.

“You don’t like the floors?” Alex asked.

“Sorry,” Brianne said, waving off the comment. “I didn’t mean to come in here and scrutinize the place.”

“Which means you don’t like the floors.”

“I love the floors.”

“Phew, I’m relieved. It was a lot of hard work ripping out the carpet and refinishing the original hardwood.”

“You did the work?” Brianne asked.

“Don’t look so surprised.”

“I’m impressed.”

“I did have some help. But I put a lot of sweat equity into this place. I figure if I ever sell it—”

“No, don’t sell it. It’s a perfect house.”

“I’m glad you like it.”

“The wicker furniture is okay,” Brianne said tentatively as she walked into the sitting area near the front door. “But this area would really come alive with some French provincial furniture. And again, I’d add some wallpaper in here. Something delicate. Warm colors.”

“Is my design taste that bad? Or do you give this kind of advice to everyone you visit?”

“I’m sorry,” Brianne said. “I guess I’ve watched one too many home decorating shows.”

“Ah, so you’re into home decorating.”

“I wouldn’t say I’m
into
it,” Brianne clarified. “But when I see a space, I try to imagine how I can improve it.”

“You seem to be good at it. Is it something you’ve considered as a job?”

“No,” she answered quickly. Perhaps too quickly, because Alex eyed her skeptically.

“You sure about that?” he asked.

“It was a thought I had. Once. A crazy dream that maybe I could make a career at interior design. Carter brought me back down to earth.”

“Whoa—are you saying you talked about your dream with Carter and he talked you out of it?”

“He just pointed out that it’s not easy to start a business, and I’d have to spend a lot of time researching and promoting. Not to mention the start-up costs and the endless hours I’d have to put into the job. I think Carter didn’t want me to get caught up in a job that would keep me from being the kind of wife and mother who spends a lot of time at home. He never really said it, but I got the sense that he wasn’t close to his mother because of the fact that she was always traveling for work.” She shrugged. “I don’t know.”

“From what I can tell in the short time since you’ve been here, you have a knack for this. And when people have a knack for something, they should go for it.”

“Really, it’s more of a hobby,” Brianne said. She didn’t hold any illusions that she could make a career out of interior design.

“Some hobbies turn into the best careers, because you’re doing what you love.”

“And some hobbies are meant to be just that.”

“Don’t say that. I loved sports and adventure. It’s why I started Outdoor Gear. Same for Carter. I’m really surprised that he tried to steer you from your dream.”

Brianne had thought the same thing at the time, that if anyone should have understood her passion it was Carter. But she also knew how important it was to Carter to marry
a woman who would stay at home and raise the children, since he would be providing for her.

She didn’t like the memory, so she changed the subject. “I didn’t expect you to live in a place like this.”

“What kind of place did you expect me to live in?”

“I guess I figured you’d live in the typical bachelor pad, not something with character like this. The condo on the water. Black leather sofas. Maybe a pool table in one of the bedrooms. A revolving door to keep the women coming and going.”

“Ouch.”

“Sorry…I shouldn’t have said that.”

“Why did you?” Alex asked, giving her a pointed look.

Brianne withered under Alex’s gaze. She wished now that she had kept her thoughts to herself. Because she could tell that Alex wasn’t going to drop the matter until she answered his question.

“It’s just that…Carter always talked about how you liked to date a lot of women but would never settle down.”


Carter
said that?”

“He said that’s why you liked dating models. Because they were always traveling and wouldn’t be around to suffocate you.”

“Wow.” Alex planted his hands on his hips.

“Come on,” Brianne said, keeping her tone light. “Did you or did you not have a thing for models?”

Alex was inwardly seething, but tried not to show it. “I did date one model,” he admitted. But not for the shallow reason Carter had told Brianne. “Actually, two.”

“See?” Brianne said.

What he saw was that for some reason, Carter had seen fit to bash him to Brianne. Why? Had Carter suspected that Brianne had been attracted to him?

“You realize the place you described seeing me in is the kind of place Carter had.”

Brianne’s eyes flew to his. And Alex instantly realized how his words must have sounded.

“No, I don’t mean that way. Not the revolving door part. But the bachelor pad bit.”

“I know.” Brianne smiled, but it was a sad smile. “Carter always said that I was the one woman who was able to lure him from his bachelor ways.”

Alex turned, neither agreeing nor disagreeing. Carter had lied to Brianne about who he was. He’d had her fooled and enjoyed that he had so easily been able to manipulate her.

Why had Alex never suspected that he had lied to
him?

Alex turned back toward Brianne, saw the expression on her face. Within seconds, it had gone from nostalgia to grim.

“Hey, we’re going to find him,” Alex said, stepping toward her. He placed a hand on her shoulder.

Brianne looked up at him and smiled softly. “Don’t mind me,” she said. “I’m just…it’s tough dealing with this news. Yes, I’m hopeful, but I’m all emotional, too. I never thought I’d ever hear you say that we were going to find Carter. Yet here you are, saying exactly that.”

“I mean it, Brianne. We
will
find him.”

Brianne stepped backward, away from Alex’s touch, even though she knew it had been meant only to comfort. But she was suddenly all too aware of his presence, and the fact that they were alone and the master bedroom was one floor up.

“I’m tired,” she announced. “We should be getting to bed.”

Something passed over Alex’s face, an expression Brianne couldn’t read.

“Yeah, you’re right.” He paused briefly. “I’ll show you to your room. Because in nine hours, we’re going to be on a flight to Florida. One that is hopefully going to change everything.”

Chapter 6

B
rianne had never flown first class before, but she had a feeling she could easily get used to it.

“You mean the drinks are free?” she whispered to Alex once they were airborne.

“I wouldn’t exactly say free, since you certainly pay for them in the price of the ticket. But yes, you can have as many as you want.”

Brianne ordered an orange juice mixed with vodka, just so she could have the experience of a “free” drink on a plane. Besides, a drink might help to calm her nerves. They were frayed, given the uncertainty of what would come next.

The oversize leather seat was a luxury she had never experienced on a plane, and she enjoyed pushing it back as far as it could go, knowing that the person behind her wasn’t going to groan and give her dirty looks.

Brianne was glad that she’d brought a novel with her,
because for the first part of the flight Alex wasn’t talkative. He had drifted in and out of slumber ever since they’d gotten on the plane. Brianne suspected he hadn’t gotten much sleep.

She hadn’t either. She had been far too anxious about this trip to relax and get any rest.

She ordered another drink, read her novel and kept surreptitiously looking at Alex. After about an hour, he suddenly opened his eyes and faced her.

“Hey,” Brianne said.

“Was I sleeping?” Alex asked.

“Uh-huh.”

Alex leaned forward, stretched. Brianne’s eyes followed the movement of the perfectly sculpted muscles of his upper back and arms. He was seriously fine.

She sipped more of her drink.

After a moment she faced Alex again. “Here are your pretzels.” She passed the small packet to him. “The flight attendant came by while you were snoozing. And here’s your water.”

Alex took the water bottle she offered him. “Thanks.”

As Alex began to unscrew the bottle cap, Brianne spoke. “I think I know what may have happened to him.”

He shot her a quizzical look. “Hmm? You mean to Carter?”

She realized that her words had confused him. “Oh, I don’t mean what happened in Florida. I mean what may have happened to him in British Columbia.”

Alex sipped his water, and a bead of the liquid clung to his bottom lip. Brianne watched as his tongue flicked out to capture it.

He had full, sexy lips, something she hadn’t really noticed before. There were other things she was suddenly taking note of about Alex that she never had. Like the way
one cheek dimpled when he smiled. And the small scar beneath his left eye. She wondered if he’d gotten that while doing one sport or other. And then there were his thighs. They were large and strong and looked amazing in a pair of jeans.

Brianne felt a jolt of heat and quickly looked to the left, out the plane window. Why was she suddenly checking Alex out the way she was?

Because she was spending more time with him than she ever had?

“Well, what is it?” Alex asked. “Or are you trying to keep me in suspense?”

Brianne finished the last of her drink before speaking again, wondering why her pulse was beating at a faster pace. She faced Alex again, saying, “I was looking up various causes of amnesia online, and I stumbled upon a story that really hit me. Have you heard of Lyme disease?”

“I’ve heard the name. I don’t really know anything about it.”

“Lyme disease happens when people are bitten by ticks, which usually happens when someone is in the great outdoors. Camping, hiking. The thing is, it’s often misdiagnosed, and I read some really fascinating and bizarre cases online. There was one case about a young woman who was bitten, didn’t know it and suddenly she started to suffer from amnesia. In a really bad way. She would meet a person and a few minutes later forget who they were.”

“Really?”

Brianne nodded, proud of what her research had uncovered, feeling that she could be on to something. She needed to stay focused on the issue at hand, and that issue was finding Carter and getting him the help he needed. Staying focused on Carter would keep her mind from wandering where Alex was concerned.

“Turns out,” Brianne went on, “this woman was bitten by a tick and developed Lyme disease. If treated fairly quickly, antibiotics can correct the condition. But if it isn’t treated, people can suffer severely.”

“You certainly did a lot of research.”

“It’s entirely possible that Carter was bitten by a tick and developed Lyme disease. He wouldn’t have been treated for it—who would even assume he had it?—and hence he started suffering from the various side effects, amnesia being a big one.” Brianne stopped suddenly, realizing that she couldn’t read Alex’s expression. “You don’t think it’s possible?”

“Possible, sure. Likely? I don’t know.”

“But that’s the whole point, isn’t it? That we don’t know. No one wanted to believe me when I said it was possible that Carter was still alive. It was far-fetched, I get it. And yet, here we are. So doesn’t it make sense that if he
is
alive, the explanation has to be one that’s incredible? Something far out of the realm of normal? If he got off the mountain unharmed, he would have come home. End of story. But if he got off the mountain and
didn’t
come home, what could explain that other than something extremely bizarre?”

Alex pressed his lips together, nodded. “I never thought of it that way.”

Brianne sensed he wasn’t entirely convinced of her theory. “But you agree, don’t you? I’ve got to be right about there being an extremely bizarre explanation as to why he wouldn’t have returned home.”

“Yeah. If Carter’s alive, there’s got to be a doozy of an explanation.”

Brianne exhaled loudly, butterflies dancing in her stomach. “I’m so nervous, Alex. In my heart, I always knew this day would come, but now that it’s here, it’s like a dream.”

“You’ve really come around,” Alex said.

“What do you mean?”

“Two days ago, when I left your place, I thought I wasn’t going to hear from you. I was almost certain you wouldn’t want to go with me to Florida. But here you are, all excited.”

“It’s like you said. If Carter is alive, he needs us. I’m excited, but I’m also scared, too. Especially if Carter has Lyme disease, or amnesia, or heck—what if he’s missing a limb? It’s scary not knowing what we’re in for when we find him.”

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