Alex grabbed a stick and tapped it against the toe of his boot. “Heard anything from the fire chief?”
“Not yet. It may be a few more days,” she said, toying with the braid dangling from her ponytail. She tried to remain cool and focused, but the facade did not last.
“Shh ...” Alex whispered, pulling her close when he heard her taking shuddery breaths.
Topaz didn’t want to accept the comfort, but her emotions overruled the anger she felt toward Alex. Her tears flowed freely and almost soaked the front of his sweatshirt.
Alex squeezed his eyes shut tightly and tried to focus on consoling the woman in his arms. Unfortunately, he could feel the rage just beginning to heat someplace deep within him. Just the thought of anyone causing her one moment’s despair was an easy trigger to his anger.
“It’s okay,” he whispered, kissing her face, temple, cheek, and forehead, “it’s okay, shh ...” The sweet kisses slowed, growing softer in their delivery. When his lips touched the corner of her mouth, Topaz turned into them.
The moment was sensual and feverish as their pent-up desires and frustrations boiled over. Alex cupped her face and deepened the kiss. His moans mingled with hers, just as he ordered himself to break away.
Topaz jerked out of his embrace, cursing herself for being a fool for him. She made a move to stand, but he caught her wrist. “Leave me alone.”
“Topaz, wait. Please. I’m sorry,” he whispered, his gaze boring into hers.
“Don’t bother apologizing, Alex. Why don’t you save it for the poor woman you’re betraying?”
“The ... woman I’m betraying?” he asked, his eyes narrowing as a frown formed.
Topaz rolled her eyes. “Do not play me for a fool,” she ordered through clenched teeth
Suddenly, he understood. “You think I’m pushing you away because there’s someone else?”
“Aren’t you?”
“Topaz ...” he groaned, realizing just how hurt she was—how betrayed she felt. “Baby, I’m sorry, so sorry. I never meant for you to think that.”
“You mean, you thought I was too stupid to figure out what was really going on?”
“No, no, that’s not what I meant—”
“Forget it, Alex,” she hissed, jerking out of his loosened hold. “I don’t want to talk about this again. As far as I’m concerned, that night is in the past. I’ll never think about it again and it will never happen again!” she promised, prepared to bolt away.
Alex moved fast. He caught the hem of her sweater. “I need you to listen to me now. What I said ... wanting to end things, it had nothing to do with another woman, because there isn’t one.”
“Then what is it? What’s going on? Why can’t we see each other?” she whispered, knowing from the look on his face that he wasn’t ready to tell her. “I just don’t understand why you’d do this when we—we’ve been so close,” she said, hating herself for begging him to confide in her.
Alex kissed her temple and nuzzled the side of her face. “I know this is confusing ... it’s just—Topaz, for me, this thing is so scary. I can’t even talk about it.”
“Scary?” Topaz whispered, stunned that he would be so affected by anything.
Alex grinned. “Do you have any skeletons in your closet?”
Topaz shrugged. “Some,” she admitted.
“Well, trust me, sweetness, a skeleton in a closet is better than a ghost in your head.”
“I don’t understand.”
“A skeleton is something hidden,” he said softly, staring down at her fingers entwined in his. “You can’t hide from ghosts—they float around your head, drivin’ you crazy, making you do crazy things ...”
Topaz could hear the helplessness in his deep voice and knew he’d been struggling to deal with the mysterious situation. She decided not to pressure him for more clarification. “I pray you’ll come to me,” she whispered, cupping the side of his face. “We started off being pretty decent friends, remember?” she said, nodding when he smiled. “Sounds like the only way to exorcise this ghost is to get it out of your mind. Maybe talking about it, acknowledging it, so you can fight it, is the only way to do that.” She stood on her toes and pressed a kiss to his jaw. “Think about it,” she urged, then left him alone.
Morning began brisk and airy outdoors, warm and cozy indoors. The group gathered in the living room to mingle and enjoy the blazing fire while indulging in coffee, tea, and pastries. Though the affair had been organized so that there was a girl for every boy, Topaz had managed to attract more than her fair share of admirers. Several arrived downstairs to find themselves disappointed by the fact that her attentions were being required by another.
Topaz found Greg Vickers charming in spite of his talkativeness. He was the type of person who knew something about everything—at least he thought he did. He kept her laughing, though, and that, she admitted, was the thing she needed most. Still, when Alex Rice walked into the room, Topaz found that even the extensive charms of her present admirer grew paper thin.
If Topaz drew the attention of every male in the room, the same could be said of Alex with regards to the women. Of course, Topaz couldn’t fault one of them for being drawn to him. After all, who could resist his cool intensity, magnetism, strikingly handsome features, and those eyes ... ?
“Topaz?”
“Hmm?”
“Your stance?”
Topaz was slow to look away, but eventually returned her attention to Greg. She realized that the conversation now focused on golf.
“My stance?” she inquired, pushing her hands into the back pockets of her hip-hugging denims.
Greg nodded. “I think many people are so unsuccessful when it comes to the game because they have a poor stance.”
“I see. You play often?”
“Every few months or so.”
