Chapter Two - Alyssa
Charles parked in the driveway, and I glanced out of the window to see the classic brick house, spacious and beautiful. I never understood why they had built an eight thousand square foot home when they had just one child, but Mom was still able to make every single room homey and warm. It amazed me. Charles got my door and suitcase, and I looked at his wrinkled face and twinkling blue eyes. I knew he was paid well, but I sometimes felt sorry for him having to always be there at Dad’s every beck and call.
We walked into the house, and while Charles headed to my room with the bags, I walked to the kitchen to greet Sherry, our chef. She took over when Mom passed away. Cooking had been another thing that Mom loved to do. Sherry was sweet enough to use Mom’s recipes often, though I don’t think that Dad had ever noticed it as much as I had.
“Hi, sweetie,” Sherry turned from the stove to greet me with a smile. She was a pretty brunette in her late fifties.
“Hey there. How are things around here?” I asked her.
“Well, I feel like I cook for a ghost most of the time. Your father is always working, as usual. I look forward to your company,” Sherry told me and shook her head. “How long are you home for?”
“Two weeks,” I replied as she nodded and walked over to give me a hug.
“We’ll make it special,” she said. I took a seat at the long breakfast bar that overlooked the kitchen. “I’m making beef stew with barley for dinner tonight since I think your father’s partner is coming over this evening. It’s for business purposes, but the man does need to eat.”
Nathan Moore was Dad’s partner and a handsome man in his late forties. I’d always had a secret crush on him, but he was married for most of the time I’d known him. But even if he hadn’t been married, Nathan was so much older than I was that it was crazy to think of him as a potential lover.
“Yeah, Dad doesn’t eat enough,” I agreed after a moment and smiled. “Beef stew sounds good.”
I helped Sherry with the Christmas tree. Her husband had gotten it set up near the front window and she wanted me to decorate it. We ended up doing it together while I told her the same stories about the ornaments that I had every year since she’d come here. Some of the ornaments Mom had bought during her travels, others she had bought as part of a new theme that she would try every few years. I loved to mix them up and add in the ones that Grandma gave me every year for Christmas before she passed away.
Decorating the tree took all afternoon, and I went up to my room to change into some black slacks and a purple cashmere sweater for dinner. Dad didn’t appreciate yoga pants being worn when company was over. I didn’t either, knowing how much they accented my full figure.
I helped Sherry set the table for dinner and everything was ready when we heard the garage door. I looked up with a smile when Dad led Nathan inside, talking about a court case as could be expected. He saw me and smiled briefly before he went into his office to put his briefcase away. Nathan leaned against the kitchen counter, and I felt his eyes roving over me while I looked at the floor and blushed, plagued by my earlier thoughts. “It looks like California is treating you well, Alyssa.”
I looked at him, appreciating his smooth face and intense blue eyes. My word, Nathan was working out these days. I could see his muscles bulging under his white shirt. His tie was hanging loose. He was more relaxed than Dad in some ways, but I sensed a deep strength inside of him as I smiled. “Yes, it’s a great firm and La Jolla is lovely.”
“Indeed, it is. I have a sister living over there that I visit frequently. Maybe next time we can have dinner together,” Nathan suggested, and I nodded as our eyes locked for a second. I felt heat pass through my veins and licked my lips as I grabbed onto the counter behind me.
“That would be wonderful,” I told him as Dad came back into the kitchen and Sherry started ladling the soup into big bowls for everyone. She’d made a hearty salad to go with it as well as thick, crusty bread. I sat across from Nathan and next to Dad. They talked about a new case that sounded complicated. I felt out of place. I took small bites of the soup and let my gaze rest on Nathan from time to time. His tie was gone now, and he seemed to relax a little while he ate and sipped the wine that was poured for dinner. Dad’s was still on as if he was still at work.
I thought about Mom and how different she was from Dad while my eyes grazed over Nathan. Seeing his left-hand bare made my heart pound in my chest. He was single now? Not that it mattered of course, but when his eyes met mine with intensity for just a second I almost believed that it did. I focused on my food that was delicious, taking faster bites of the soup and tearing the bread apart to dip it into the bowl. There was something in this room now, and I didn’t know what to do with it. I glanced at Dad to see if he was picking up on it, but he was so wrapped up in the conversation that he didn’t even feel my gaze.
Nathan felt it. I saw it in his eyes when he glanced at me before offering a suggestion to Dad, dark with a promise of something similar to the book I was reading on the way here. I felt stunned. I had never felt this way before in my twenty-three years of life, not even with the people I’d nearly slept with before I changed my mind. This wasn’t right. He was older and my father’s business partner, for Christ’s sake.
I excused myself from the table to take my dishes into the kitchen for an escape, and took a few deep breaths. Sherry made an apple cake for dessert, and I walked over to the fridge to pull it out after noisily dropping my dishes into the sink. She’d left for the evening to get home to her husband and I was alone. I set the cake on the counter and turned when someone cleared their throat. “I was going to make some coffee. We have a late night ahead of us.” Nathan stared at me while he spoke and I nodded and walked over to what looked like an even newer Keurig. I got the water in, asking him what he liked without looking at him. “Something strong,” Nathan told me. I pulled out a dark French roast and got it into the machine with shaking hands. “You feel it as well, don’t you?”
“Feel what?” I asked as I set a large mug under the spout and pressed the button to start brewing the drink. I set the blend that Dad liked down on the counter and raised my eyes to his.
“This heat, this attraction,” Nathan replied as he lowered his hand to rest it on my lower back. The heat from his skin seared me and I arched forward and closer to him as he eyed my lips.
“Nathan,” I whispered and looked toward the dining room with wide eyes.
“He’s on the phone in his office,” Nathan assured me and I pressed my lips together. “I am not going to push this with you, Alyssa. I just know that I want you and I can see in those scared brown eyes that you want me as well. I am divorced now and available. Linda left two years ago, looking for something else.”
“I’m sorry,” I told him. He shook his head and looked at my lips again.
“Don’t be. It was time,” Nathan assured me as I glanced over to see his coffee ready. I pulled it out and asked if he wanted cream or sugar, seeing him shake his head. Dad was the same way, and I brewed his dark roast and pulled it out as I looked at Nathan. He leaned down and brushed his lips against mine slowly. I sucked in my breath, pulling away as he took his coffee in his hands. I brought Dad’s to the office, where he finally hugged me and told me that it was good to have me home. I told them to let me know if they wanted more coffee. I left to clean up the table, remembering the cake and brought the dishes in.
My brain felt lost since that brief kiss. It was nothing really, but it felt like my whole life revolved around it. I cut pieces of the dessert and took the plates into the office, tapping on the door before I walked inside. I set the cake down and glanced at Dad and Nathan as his eyes locked on mine for a long moment. I told them to call me if they needed anything before I left again. I took my slice to the bistro table by the window overlooking some of the rare trees in New York, silently thanking my father for choosing a house outside of the city where he worked. We were on Long Island, and while the traffic could be unbearable, Charles dealt with it while Dad worked in the back of the car. Mom and I preferred living here and having the choice of going in when we needed to, something that she was doing when she was killed.
God, I missed her right now.