If The Shoe Fits (15 page)

She smiled warmly at the many stories of
their late night poker games in the guard room downstairs.

“All right to leave this man with you, miss?”
She detected the hint of protectiveness.

“Did you pat him down? Maybe he’s packing
heat,” she teased.

“Oh, I was gonna leave that up to you, Miss
Charlie.”

She laughed. “I can handle that.”

A slight awkwardness descended as Bruno
strolled away, whistling.

For the first time, she looked directly at
her husband. A questioning look shadowed his features.

“Alex.”

“Charlie.”

Tucking the blanket around her, she settled
in again. She moved her papers and sketch pad from the seat and
plopped them on the floor beside her. “Would you like to join
me?”

The formality didn’t seem lost on him. “Thank
you.”

He made his way around her desk and came
closer. She stole glimpses of him. Tall and breathtaking as always,
she mused. Her heart skipped a beat as the scent of him tickled her
senses. Still in his business attire, she wondered if he’d come
straight from a meeting.

“Oh, I think we have Dolly to thank for
this.” When he sat beside her, she helped him pull out the food
containers. She snatched up a spoon. Taking the lid off, she dipped
into the steaming liquid, and then tasted a bite. She moaned.
“Delish!”

He joined her, echoing her sentiments.

“But I thought she had a date.”

Shrugging, he said, “Change of plans. The
rain. Me coming home a day early.”

Curiosity won out. “Why?”

“Why not? I wrapped up the first phase of
business late today.”

“First phase?” She didn’t like the sound of
this.

“I go back Monday.” She noted the tiredness
in his tone.

Disappointed, she said, “Oh, that’s right,
the party.”

He murmured his agreement. She felt an icy
stab of pain somewhere in her chest.

“Do you mind?”

Lost in thought, she jerked her head up.
“Huh?”

Tugging at his tie, he asked, “This?”

She swallowed hard, thinking he didn’t have
to stop with just that piece of clothing. He handed her his
container of soup.

Gingerly, she took it from him. He shucked
off his suit jacket. “And this?”

An ache, deep and low, shot through her. She
broke the stare.

Gazing out at the rain slicked window, she
focused on the yellowy lights coming from the streetlight below.
She heard metal clink together and realized he’d just removed his
cuff links. The whisper of fabric clued her into his rolling up his
sleeves.

For a brief moment, she closed her eyes and
remembered his naked chest beneath her fingers. She groaned
inwardly.

“Better.”

Coming back to the moment, she glanced his
way as she smiled tightly.
Wrong move
. His hot, dark stare
burned into her. The searing imprint shook her to her core. She
wanted him. Wanted what they’d had, even if only for a few stolen
minutes.

His hand brushed against hers as he relieved
her of the container. Once free of the soup, she curled her fingers
into her palm, hoping to capture the feel of his skin. She shook
her head at what she longed for but may never have again. Where had
her Alex gone?

Having lost her appetite, she offered him her
soup.

“Not hungry? Dolly said you haven’t been
eating lately.”

Why would her friend tell him that? Not on
purpose, she reasoned. This time, she shrugged, as she tugged at
the fringe on the blanket. “Business. Too busy. Too distracted.”
She didn’t dare tell him the complete truth. Because she missed him
terribly.

“Dexter?”

He almost sounded jealous. She shook it off.
“Thankfully, he’s been working around the clock to finish the
perfume. I’m grateful for all his help. You know, he’s a
genius—”

“So I’ve heard.”

“When it comes to formulas and potions,” she
added, frowning at the dark look chasing across his features. “I
wish he’d stay. I think he really cares about this place succeeding
almost as much as I do.”

“Tell me something I don’t know.”

Charlie refused to be drawn into a debate
over Dexter’s merits. Instead, she gave into Alex’s wishes. “Well,
I don’t think you know I was born here.”

“Dallas? But I thought…” He seemed
puzzled.

“No, here. In this office.” She waited for
his response.

He didn’t make her wait long. “Here
here?”

At his utter look of astonishment, she
chuckled. She pointed at him. “You should see the look on your
face.”

He joined her in laughter.

The tension eased. She breathed a sigh of
relief. Visions of the Alex she’d come to know and love peeked out
behind the business mask.

“Don’t keep me hanging, tell me,” he
pleaded.

“If you insist.” She seemed to tumble back in
time as she glanced around the office space. “This was my father’s
office. It looked different then. Well, not the desk, that’s the
same. I saved it,” she said wistfully, biting her lip. She tossed
off a wave of melancholy, and then continued. “Dusty, cluttered,
you name it, Dolly described it.”

“She’s been with your family that long?”

“We met the day I was born.” She heard the
warmth in her own voice. “Let me start at the beginning. My dad was
working, as usual, and my mom was big and round with me. She had
her arms loaded with shopping bags when the first contraction came.
No one would stop to help her as she made her way here, trying to
get to my dad. Don’t you know, while Dolly waited to catch the bus
back to her boss, she saw my mom. Dolly knew if she didn’t get back
in time to serve lunch she’d be fired, but she couldn’t just leave
my mom.”

“She stopped to help,” he said, nodding in
understanding.

Charlie giggled, knowing she was talking way
too fast, but continued. “As the story goes, my mother, and her
packages, weighed a ton. Dolly tried to keep the dry cleaning bag
from dragging and the clothes in it from getting wrinkled. In her
other arm, she clutched the sack of vegetables as she tried to half
carry my mother here while my mom hung on for dear life to her own
shopping bags. Baby things, can you believe it?”

He smiled widely and shook his head.

“Dolly soon gave up on the dry cleaning and
the veggies.”

“But not your mom.”

“Nope, thankfully. Long story short, from the
moment she hit King’s door, she shouted, ‘Mr. K., Mr. K., I got
your wife and she’s about to have your baby.’ Well, word spread
like lightning and Daddy came rushing downstairs. Then he and Dolly
had a heated debate over whether or not my mother could make it to
the hospital in time.”

“Let me guess. Dolly won.”

“Bingo.” She clapped her hands. “To top it
off, Dolly pointed out if he didn’t want the whole store to see,
they better get my mom some privacy and pronto.” She waved a hand
over the room. “And presto, less than fifteen minutes later I was
born on the floor just over there.”

He stared at the spot she indicated, blinking
several times. “Right there?”

“Yep. So when I say King’s is home to me, I
truly mean it.”

She swore he paled.

“Alex, you okay?”

Glancing down at the food container, he said
quietly, “I think I just lost my appetite, too.”

Somehow she didn’t think it had anything to
do with a queasy stomach at the vision of her birth. A shiver of
disquiet slithered down her spine. Why would he get upset after she
said she truly meant King’s was her home? Unless…

Alex paced the ballroom. People stared. He
didn’t really care.

Several women had already come up to
converse. A few even touched his arm briefly. The bold ones tried
to slip him their card. He’d strongly, yet politely, declined.

“Where is she?” he wondered aloud.

“Son, what did you do, go and lose your bride
already?” His grandfather patted him on the shoulder.

Smiling weakly, he said, “It appears that
way.”

His grandmother, in a shimmering blue gown
and her white hair perfectly styled, joined them. “Don’t be silly,
she’s just a little late. Why, Alex, didn’t you tell me she was
working late?”

“Yes, a new ad campaign,” he answered,
distracted. “Some makeovers or something next week.”

“Makeovers? Really?” His grandmother’s
interest piqued.

He glanced at his watch. Quarter to nine.
“Where could she be?”

The starch in his collar seemed to strangle
him. The longer he waited, the more it tightened around his neck,
along with the bow tie to his tux. He hated parties. He thought
he’d put an end to the stiff, boring awkward chitchat of these
get-togethers once he married. Apparently, he was wrong.

Gasps rent the air. Alex turned quickly.
Through the crowd, he spotted her immediately. She took his breath
away. A well of love crashed down on him, shaking him. He’d never
thought he could feel this way about a woman.

The marriage should have been conducted in a
business-like manner. Cool, calm, and beneficial to both of them.
An arrangement. That had been his intention all along.

He failed miserably.

The guests near the doorway parted politely
as Charlie walked into the room. The men couldn’t keep their eyes
off of her. He sensed some of the women eyeing her coldly. Jealous,
he thought.

She glanced around and then halted when she
spotted him. To the others, she must have seemed at ease for all
the grace she possessed. But, he noted the wooden smile and the
slight tremor in her cheek.

A well of empathy rose in him. Alex
shouldered his way to Charlie. Getting closer, he heard the
surprise in people’s voices. Once the older couple in front of him
stood back, he had little wonder as to what the shock was all
about.

In the back of his mind, he heard the whirl
of cameras.

There, walking toward him, Charlie, with her
hair pulled back, wore the most revealing dress he’d ever seen at
one of these formal affairs.

He gulped hard.

The rich maroon, velvety two-piece outfit fit
her like a second skin. The top came to her neck, almost like a
turtleneck and had long sleeves. But it ended just below her
breasts, making them stand out even more. From the bottom, dangling
beads grazed her bare middle. He groaned as he dropped his eyes to
her silky flesh, past her delicate navel and skimmed over her hips.
The skirt began there, low and snug, with matching beads attached,
and there was a deep slit up the side, baring her long, gorgeous
legs.

Heat coiled in his middle. “Sweet Jesus,” he
muttered.

“Amen,” a male voice said off to his
right.

Getting near, he reached out to her. She
placed her hand in his as he captured her stare. He caught the
smile lingering there and something more. Heat rose. “Charlie.”

“Alex.” He detected the hint of relief.

He tugged gently and she came all the way
into his arms.

He brushed his fingers along her waist. He
felt her shiver in his arms. His body ached. Tentatively, she
closed her eyes. Alex gathered her closer still. At the touch of
her hands circling his shoulders, desire licked at his blood. He
gave in to the demanding need to kiss her. Her lips parted on a
small gasp. He groaned, and then deepened the kiss.

If anyone asked, he would have no idea just
how long he held her. He lost all track of time and place. It had
been far too long since he’d done this. He never wanted it to end.
If he wasn’t mistaken, she didn’t either.

“Alex, Alex!” Slowly he became aware of his
grandmother’s cries.

Reluctantly, he ended the embrace, taking his
time to pull back from his wife. Her eyes, dark and luminous,
haunted him. She wanted him as much as he wanted her. There was no
doubt about it.

“Please, Alex,” his grandmother pleaded, her
voice full of embarrassment.

Some woman said, “I knew it was real.”

“No, you didn’t,” another woman’s voice
chastised her. “Everyone, including you, thought it was a
set-up.”

A gruff male voice joined in, “Well, now we
know differently, don’t we?”

“There’s no faking that,” a younger woman
said with a hint of envy.

Suddenly, Alex came back to reality with a
hard thud. Never in his life had he lost complete and utter control
of his senses. He’d been schooled from a youngster to behave,
especially in public, and most especially in front of the
press.

He wanted nothing more than to lift his wife
in his arms and carry her off to bed. Damn this shindig and damn
appearances, he cursed silently.

Gazing at her now, warmth spread. But there
was a fusion of shock that rushed through him, also. He hadn’t
bargained on this. He hadn’t anticipated the deep, constant ache
for her. Not just making love to her, but being with her.

He’d had a safe, boring life before Charlie.
His heart had been intact, and, he thought, would remain so even
after marriage. It was just a simple arrangement. They’d marry and
have at least one child. Oh, and he had to court her. What was so
difficult about that?

But she’d turned his world upside down.

As his grandfather had asked him on the phone
this week, what in the blue blazes had Charlie done to him?

***

Charlie wondered how she’d made it this long
through the reception. His grandparents were lovely, and shocked by
her outfit, of course.

But, they’d instantly embraced and welcomed
her to their family. The photo opportunities had ensued. Her face
had hurt. Her eyes had stung. Still, she’d posed with Alex and his
family.

Now, she flexed her sore jaw as she dropped
down onto the vanity seat in the empty ladies’ room, thinking the
attendant had taken a break. She sighed as she gazed at the tired
look under her eyes.