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“Yeah. Incredible stories. She’s talented, and I’m not just saying that because I have a hard-on for her. She has a gift, and he never encouraged it. He made her give it up, manipulated her into thinking everything was her fault or her responsibility. All that the bastard wanted was a meal ticket to get him through school. I’m pretty sure he actually had no intention of going through with the wedding at all. He just played on all of Ally’s weaknesses to get her to support him.” Travis clenched his fists on top of the desk, wishing he had his hands around Ally’s ex’s neck. “She’s so damn smart and beautiful. I don’t know how he managed to convince her otherwise. But he did. Bastard!”
“Sometimes we don’t always see ourselves the way others do, Trav. If someone beats you down long enough, you start to believe it,” Kade replied sadly. “Ally obviously doesn’t see her own worth anymore except for her work. She may be confident in her job, but not in her value as a person. Look at what happened with Asha.”
Travis knew what Kade was saying was true, knew what it was like to be beaten down until you couldn’t see reality. He, Kade, and Mia had experienced that during their childhood and adolescence. Luckily, they’d all had one another. Travis had a hard time comparing Ally to Asha, their personalities on the surface so different. Asha was quieter, shyer. “Asha’s getting better.”
Kade nodded. “She is. But you and I both know that it takes time to undo years of conditioning. Asha and Ally have very different personalities, but I think the reason they became friends is because they understand each other in the ways that really matter.”
“How can I fix her?” Travis asked huskily.
Kade laughed. “She’s not a car, Travis. She’s a woman. They’re much more complicated.”
“No shit. And you aren’t much help.” Travis glared at his twin.
“I think you’ll figure it out. If you really care about her, that’s all that really matters. It’s a hell of a lot more than she’s had in the past.” Kade rose and strolled to the door. He turned around as he opened the door, looking first at Travis and then at his desk, and then smirked. “I think I figured out why you have a love/hate relationship with that desk.”
Travis watched as his brother left the office, letting the door close quietly behind him, still trying to figure out exactly what Kade meant by that comment. Certainly, Kade couldn’t know…
Shaking his head, Travis glanced at the clock, convinced that Kade could never guess why he was really having a “desk frustration” problem. It was three o’clock. Damn! Most days he didn’t give a shit what time it was for any reason other than appointments. Now, he willed the damn clock to move faster.
Irritated, he pulled his cell phone out of his pocket and sent a text to Ally.
Six o’clock instead of seven.
There. That was one less hour he’d have to wait. At least he’d get to see her sooner. If Ally wasn’t ready or she didn’t get his message, then he’d just wait…or think of something else to fill the time…
He put his phone back in his pocket and turned back to his computer, wondering if he’d completely lost his mind, and thinking he was the most desperate, pathetic guy on the face of the earth. What the hell difference did an hour make?
His phone pinged that he had a text, and he dug it out again eagerly. It was from Ally, and there were no words, just a picture. He touched the image and it came up full screen, a photo of the delicate red lingerie with barely there red panties and a red garter belt.
Travis almost dropped the damn phone.
He groaned quietly and decided that an hour was going to make a hell of a lot of difference.
Ally studied herself in the full-length mirror in her bedroom. It was only five thirty, but she was as ready as she was going to be. The red dress was simple, the neckline plunging a little more than she usually liked, and it clung to her hips in ways she wasn’t exactly certain were good for her figure. But she thought she looked passable. She’d taken time with her hair and makeup, leaving her blonde locks down to caress her back and shoulders. The hem of the dress came almost to her knees, and the three-quarter length sleeves hid her healing road rash. The three-inch stilettos made walking a little precarious, but if she stepped carefully she’d be okay.
Ally wished, not for the first time, that she was thin and pretty. She sighed as she turned away from the mirror, chastising herself for caring. She was just going out to dinner with the boss. Travis looked at her with hunger in his eyes, but she still had a very hard time believing that a man like him actually wanted her, or why he actually did. Maybe he was as lonely as she was sometimes. Even when she’d been engaged to Rick, she’d felt alone. She just hadn’t really had time to think about it then.
Fingering the chain around her neck as she walked carefully down the stairs, her heart lightened as she thought about Travis and the faith he’d had in her when he’d given her the unicorn. She wouldn’t—she couldn’t—make too much out of the attention Travis was giving her. While it might be good for her ego, there couldn’t possibly be anything more to his behavior than to lighten her spirits, and maybe a misplaced sense of responsibility for their accident in the parking lot. Men like Travis Harrison weren’t interested in women like her. Yeah. Maybe he would screw her if he was in-between women, but having a brief affair with him wouldn’t be good for her. It would leave her feeling even more empty when it was over. She needed to remember that.
The doorbell rang and her eyes flew to the clock. He was twenty-five minutes early. Her pulse accelerated as she walked to the door and grasped the handle, wondering if she really should have sent that picture of the red lingerie she was wearing. It had been an impulse, a rare mischievous moment for her. Now, she wondered what he’d say.
The face that greeted her was not the one she’d been expecting, and the slight smile on her lips turned to a frown as she saw her ex-fiancé standing on her doorstep in a pair of jeans and a t-shirt, looking more disheveled than she’d ever seen him. Ally took in his light brown hair and even features, waiting for the emotions she should be feeling to register. But she felt…nothing.
“What do you want?” she asked him calmly, wanting nothing more than for him to leave.
“I want to come back, Ally.” Rick sent her a tormented look.
“No,” she answered simply. Did he seriously think she’d even consider it? She might be codependent, but she wasn’tthatdamn pathetic.
He walked around her and into the foyer. “You got me fired. I think you at least owe me a place to stay.”
Ally closed the door and faced him. “I didn’t get you fired. And you should be in jail for the money you charged to me after you screwed someone else in this house and we broke up.”
“Bullshit. My boss knew exactly what happened. How would he know that? He didn’t think it was appropriate behavior for a new professional in the practice. They’re all family men. How would he have found out, if not for you? You, me, and Amber were the only ones who knew,” Rick said bitterly.
Ally gritted her teeth. “Get out. Go stay with your new girlfriend. You’re not staying here.”
“Amber doesn’t want me to stay with her. She said she’s reconsidered our relationship and she broke up with me.” His tone got whiney and less angry.