He tossed his camera bag onto the couch, rotated his stiff neck, and went to the kitchen for a bottle of water. He chugged it down as he went over in his head what he was going to tell Stephanie. They were supposed to be getting together tonight, but he knew he wasn’t up for it.
He pulled his cell phone from the clip on his belt and hit speed-dial. Stephanie answered on the second ring.
“There you are,” she said, her voice full of cheer. “I left you a couple of messages earlier. You must have been really busy.”
“Yeah, I was. I’m sorry.”
“So how did your meeting go?” She bent down and peered into the recesses of her refrigerator.
“Uh, it went fine. I’ll know for sure in a few days.”
“I’m sure you knocked ’em dead. Who was it anyway?”
“Oh, another corporate client. Needs a company brochure done. Wants shots of the interiors, staff, stuff like that.”
“Well, I don’t see how they wouldn’t hire you on the spot. You’re the best photographer this side of the Mississippi!” She giggled.
“You’re biased.”
“Could be.” She got an apple from the veggie tray and took a bite. “I’m starved. Are we going out or do you want me to fix us something?”
“That’s the other reason for my call. I know this is late notice, but I was hoping maybe we could make it tomorrow night. I’m really beat.”
Stephanie frowned. “Oh. Okay. Sure.” She waited a beat. “I guess that means you’re not coming by tonight either.”
“If you really want me to I can, but I wouldn’t be much good.” He feigned a yawn.
“You sound tired. Listen, it’s no big deal. Get some rest and we can get together tomorrow.”
“I’ll make it up to you, I swear.”
“I’m going to hold you to that.”
“I know you will. I’ll give you a call tomorrow. Are you going to be around?”
“I do have an appointment in the morning. After that I’ll be at the spa.”
“I’ll call you after lunch and we can decide what we want to do then.”
“Sounds good.”
He yawned again.
“I’m hanging up before you fall asleep on me.”
“I’m sorry. We’ll talk tomorrow.”
“Rest well.”
“Thanks.” He disconnected the call.
Tony stood there with the phone in his hand. He was going to have to tell her sooner or later about Joy. But when he did, he knew it would mean becoming something that he couldn’t—a father. He hadn’t accepted his role in five years and he didn’t think he would anytime soon.
Stephanie meandered into her bedroom, plopped down on her bed, and aimed the remote at the television. A stream of images flashed in front of her as she aimlessly surfed. She finally settled on a Lifetime episode, Presumed Innocent.
It was probably best that Tony hadn’t come by, she thought. She didn’t want to have to tell him about Marilyn’s phone call because without a doubt Tony would be a man and feel that he must fix it. And fix it would be calling the police.
It was Tony who’d finally convinced her to take out the restraining order in the first place. He’d even driven her to the courthouse.
The more she thought about it, the more she realized what a good guyTony Dixon was. He was caring, sexy as all hell, talented, funny, could outcook her with his eyes closed, and most of all he was honest. That’s what she appreciated the most.
She’d lived a life of deceit for two years with Conrad. She lied to herself, lied to her friends. No more. As a matter of fact, first thing tomorrow she was going to tell Tony what happened.
The scene on the television caught her attention.
It was Bonnie Bedilia facing her on-screen husband, Harrison Ford, as she calmly, dispassionately explained to him why she had no choice but to murder his mistress. She never thought that he would get blamed for it.
Stephanie felt a jolt and aimed the remote, finally landing on Home Shopping Network. She shook her head. She was being silly, totally overreacting. She glanced at the phone next to the bed, reached for it, and took it off the hook.
When her doorbell suddenly rang a half hour later, her already stiff spine nearly snapped in half. She scrambled from the bed and darted up front to the intercom. Her mind raced through a montage of scenarios—all of which ended with a showdown between her and Marilyn and her winding up on the eleven o’clock news.
Stephanie pressed Talk. “Who?”
“Why you not answering ya damned phone?”
She released a sigh of relief. She buzzed the lobby door. Moments later Ann Marie was standing at her front door with a bottle tucked under her arm.
“How do you know I’m not busy?” Stephanie challenged as Ann Marie, barely reaching Stephanie’s shoulder, brushed by her.
“If you were, you wouldn’t have answered your door either.” She winked at Stephanie, took off her coat, and muttered something about the growing cold outside, then proceeded to make herself comfortable on the couch. “So…did you tell him?”
Stephanie averted her gaze. “No. I would have…maybe…but he was too tired to come over tonight. I figured it could wait.”
“Hmm,” Ann Marie murmured. “No more calls?”
“No.”
“Good. I know you may not like this, but I spoke to Sterling about it.”
Sterling Chambers was the man who finally captured the tough heart of Ann Marie Dennis and forever wrenched her away from the memory of her ex-husband, Terrance Bishop.
Stephanie rolled her eyes and shook her head. “Don’t you keep anything secret from that man?”
Ann Marie grinned. “Only where I learned some of my bedroom tricks.” She winked.
“You are terrible.” She sat down. “Well, since you spilled the beans, what did your live-in attorney say?”
“’Im say a restraining order is only a piece of paper and if someone really wants to get to a person a piece of paper won’t stop them.”
Stephanie’s brows rose and fell. “Gee, that’s comforting,” she said, full of sarcasm.
“That’s why me stop by, won’ make sure you’re okay.”
“Thanks, I appreciate it.”
“’Im also say, when a piece of paper fail, boyfriends, big brothers, and fathers can make a difference.”
“That lets me out on all counts…except for the boyfriend part. But I don’t want Tony going around threatening anyone.”
“No brothers?”
“No. Just me and Samantha.”
“What about your dad? I never hear you talk about ’im.”
Stephanie drew herself up. “Nothing to talk about, really. He’s been gone so long that if he ran me over with a truck I wouldn’t know who he was.”
“Oh, I’m sorry.”
“It’s okay. It’s been a long time. He was never