Page 22 of Convincing Alex (Stanislaskis #4)

“Let’s sit down.” Bess curled a comforting arm around Lori’s shoulder. “You might not want to hear this, but I think he means

it.”

“He doesn’t even know what it means.” Furious, Lori dashed one rogue tear away. “I’m not going to let him do this to me again.

Get me believing, get me all churned up, just so he can back off when things get serious. Let him have the fantasy life. I’ve

got reality.”

Because she’d been waiting for an opening just like this, Bess crouched down in front of her. “Which is?”

“A job, paying your bills—”

“Boring,” Bess finished, and Lori’s brimming eyes flashed.

“Then I’m boring.”

“No, you’re not.” Sighing, Bess set her coffee aside and took one of Lori’s hands. “Maybe you’re afraid to take risks, but

that doesn’t make you boring. And I know you want more out of life than a job and a good credit rating.”

“What’s wrong with those things?”

“Nothing, as long as that’s not all you have. Lori, I know you’re still in love with him.”

“That’s my problem.”

“His, too. He’s miserable without you.”

Suddenly weary, Lori rubbed her fingers between her brows. “He’s the one who broke things off. He said he didn’t want complications,

a long-term commitment.”

“He was wrong. I’d bet the bank that he knows he’s wrong. Why don’t you just talk to him?”

“I don’t know if I can.” She squeezed her eyes tight. “It hurts.”

An odd light flickered in Bess’s eyes. “Is that how you know it’s real? When it hurts?”

“It’s one of the top symptoms.” She opened her eyes again. This time, there was a trace of hope mixed with the tears. “Do

you really think he’s unhappy?”

“I know he is. Just talk, Lori. Hear each other out.”

“Maybe.” She gave Bess’s hand a quick squeeze, then reached for her coffee again. “I wasn’t going to dump this on you first

thing.”

“What are pals for?”

“Well, pal, we’d better get to work, or a lot of people will be out of a job.”

“Great. I’ve been playing with the dialogue in that scene between Storm and Jade. We want to bump up the sexual tension.”

Lori was already nodding and booting up the computer. “You’re the dialogue champ,” she began, then glanced up. “So why were

you late?”

“It’s not important. We’ve got them running into each other at the station house. The long look first, then—”

“Bess, you’re only making me more curious. Get it out of the way, or I won’t be able to work.”

“Okay.” She was all but bursting to tell, in any case. “I was with Alexi.”

“I thought that was yesterday.”

“It was.” Bess’s smile spread. “And last night. And this morning. Oh, Lori, it’s incredible. I’ve never felt this way about

anyone.”

“Right.” She started to pick up her reading glasses, then looked up again. For a moment, she did nothing but study Bess’s

face. “Say that again.”

“I’ve never felt this way about anyone.”

“Good grief.” On a quick huff of breath, Lori sat back. “I think you mean it.”

“It’s different.” With a half laugh, Bess pressed a hand to her cheek. “It’s scary, and it hurts, and sometimes I look at

him and I can’t even breathe. I’m so afraid he might take a good look at me and realize his mistake.” She let her hand drop

away. “It’s supposed to be easy.”

“No.” Slowly Lori shook her head. “That was always your mistake. It’s supposed to be hard, and scary and real.”

“There’s this clutching around my heart.”

“Yeah.”

“And... and...” Frustrated, Bess turned, scooting around a chair so that she could pace the length of the table. “And

my stomach’s all tied up in knots one minute. The next I feel so happy I can hardly bear it. When we were together last night...”

No way to describe it, she thought. No possible way. “Lori, I swear, no one’s ever made me feel like that. And this morning,

when I woke up beside him, I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.”

Lori rose, held out a hand. “Congratulations, McNee. You’ve finally made it.”

“Looks that way.” With a laugh, she threw her arms around Lori and squeezed. “Why didn’t you ever tell me how it feels?”

“It’s something you have to experience firsthand. How about him?”

“He loves me.” She felt foolish and weepy. Digging through her bag she found a tattered tissue. “He told me. He looked at

me, and he told me. But—”

“Oh-oh.”

“He doesn’t want me to tell him how I feel.” Hissing a breath through her teeth, she pressed a hand to her stomach. “Oh, God,

it hurts. It hurts everywhere when I realize he doesn’t trust me enough. He thinks it’s like all the other times. Why shouldn’t

he? But I want him to know it’s not—and I don’t know how.”

“He only has to look at you.”

“It’s not enough.” Calmer now, Bess blew her nose. “Everything’s different this time. I guess I have to prove myself. I do

love him, Lori.”

“I can see that. I wasn’t sure I ever would.” Touched, she lifted a hand to Bess’s hair. “You could take your own advice,

and talk to him.”

“We have talked. But he doesn’t want to hear this, at least not yet. He wants things to stay as they are.”

Lori lifted her brows. “What do you want?”

“For him to be happy.” She chuckled and stuffed the mangled tissue back in her purse. “That makes me sound like a wimp. You

know I’m not.”

“Who knows you better? It only makes you sound like a woman in the first dizzy stages of love.”

Bess gave her a watery smile. “Does it get worse or better?”

“Both.”

“That’s good news. Well, while it’s getting worse and better, I’ll have time to show him how I feel.” She picked up her coffee,

then set it aside again. “Lori, there’s one more thing.”

“What could be bigger?” Lori demanded.

“Alexi wants me to have dinner with his family on Sunday.”

After a quick gurgle of laughter, Lori’s eyes widened. “He’s taking you home to Mother?”

“And Father,” Bess put in. “And brothers and sisters and nieces and nephews. A couple times a month they have a big family

dinner on Sunday.”

“Obviously the man is crazy about you.”

“He is. I know he is.” Then she shut her eyes and dropped into a chair. “His family is enormously important to him. You can

hear it every time he mentions one of them.” She grabbed another tissue and began to tear it to shreds. “I want to meet them.

Really. But what if they don’t like me?”

“You have got it bad. Take it from me, you just be the Bess McNee we all know and love, and they’ll be crazy about you, too.”

“But what if—”

“What if you pull yourself together?” This time Lori picked up her glasses, perched them on her nose. “Put some of this angst

into Storm and Jade’s heartbreak. Millions of viewers will thank you.”

After a deep breath, Bess nodded. “Okay, okay. That might work. And if we don’t get the morning session out of the way, we

won’t be ready when Rosalie comes in at noon for a consulting session.”

“Your deal, sister.” Frowning, Lori gestured with a pencil. “That particular lady makes me nervous.”

“Don’t worry about Rosalie. I know what I’m doing.”

“How many times have I heard that?”

But Bess only smiled and let her mind drift. “Okay. Storm and Jade.” She closed her eyes, envisioned the scene. “So, they

run into each other at the station...”