Alonso nodded. “Thanks, man. That means a lot.” He eyed his brainchild again. “Out of every project I’ve done, this is the one that means the most.”
“Any luck with the house you need to acquire to seal the deal?”
Alonso sighed heavily. “I’m in trouble, man.” He dropped into one of the two coffee-colored leather chairs.
“What do you need?”
This was one of the things Alonso respected most about Roth. He was a helluva friend. It was never What did you do? or What did you get yourself into? or any bullshit like that. It was always an instant How can I help? response.
Alonso leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. “I’ve finally met her.”
“Met who?”
“The woman who’s going to be my ultimate demise.”
“Damn.” Roth took a seat adjacent Alonso. “This I’ve got to hear.”
Alonso spent the next hour telling Roth all about Vivian. From his horrible first impression at the hospital, to his scaring her off at the restaurant, and ending with his overwhelming attraction to her.
“Damn. That’s wild. The nurse turns out to be the same woman who owns the house.”
“I know, right? Sounds like something you’d see on a damn soap opera.”
“Sounds like destiny to me. Like it’s been determined for you two to connect with each other.”
“You sound like Ham. He all but told the woman I wanted her.” Alonso ran a hand over his head. “The strange part about it, I can’t stop thinking about her. I even dreamed about her last night.” He’d awakened harder than a piece of steel.
“Oh, yeah, she’s under your skin. You gonna pursue it?”
Alonso shrugged. “Nah. You know I never mix business with pleasure. But there’s something about this one I’m having a hard time ignoring. And damn, I’ve tried.”
Roth grinned. “Maybe she’s the one.”
Alonso laughed. “I don’t know about all of that. And I’m damn sure not looking for a relationship. I’ve traveled that dark road before. But I won’t lie, I did enjoy spending time with Vivian.” Despite how brief it may have been.
“Inez was a long time ago, Lo,” Roth said, using the nickname he’d called Alonso since they were tykes. “You can’t run from love—or destiny—” he smirked “—forever.”
“Says the man who dodges relationships like bullets.”
“I’m not dodging. I’m just waiting on the right one. She’s out there. But this ain’t about me. You gotta stop living in the past. Yeah, it was low-down what Inez did to you, but let it go. You’re a good brother, one of the best brothers I know. You deserve a happily-ever-after.”
“You sound like a greeting card.”
Alonso pushed to his feet and stood in front of the window again. Inez. Damn, some women knew how to really break a man. “I trusted that woman. Trusting a woman. My first mistake.”
“You didn’t make the mistake. She did. You should have been able to trust her. She was your lady.” Roth came to stand by Alonso. “You can’t condemn every woman because of the actions of one.”
Alonso didn’t argue because Roth was right. However, Alonso would have never pegged his ex as someone who’d poke holes in his condoms in hopes of securing a wedding proposal—or a payday. He still wasn’t truly sure which one she’d been after. She got neither, a wedding nor a baby.
Dammit, he did get to condemn, even if inside he knew he was wrong for doing so. All women weren’t the same. He knew that. But remembering what Inez had done to him made that hard to remember.
“I have to stay away from this woman. I fade when I’m near her and become this sensitive, all-in-my-feelings brother. I don’t know what she does to me, but I don’t like it.”
“Sounds to me like she’s tapping into the true you. The one you try so desperately to hide from the world.”
Roth knew him better than anyone, so there was no use in trying to dispute the claim. He did hide himself. And for good reason. The only side people needed to see of him was his fearless businessman persona. Revealing any other side made him vulnerable. Not even his ex had seen the true depths of him. Why would he allow Vivian to? “I would never give a woman that kind of power over me.”
Roth laughed. “Never say never, man.”
“In this case, never is a damn good bet. Besides, Vivian Moore seems utterly unimpressed with either face of Alonso Wright.”
“Are you sure about that? The way you said she ran from the restaurant when you touched her makes me believe she’s not as unimpressed as you think.”
Yeah, his touch had seemed to stir something inside her. But was it interest or disgust? “There’s no interest there. Trust me. I’ve called her several times and she hasn’t returned even one of my messages.”
“Invite her to dinner?”
Had Roth not just heard a word he’d said? “Invite her to dinner?”
“Yes. If you want to gauge her interest, invite her to dinner. If she’s not interested, as you suggest, she’ll flat out turn you down. If she is interested, she’ll pretend not to be but will ultimately say yes.” Roth pressed his hand into his chest. “I personally think she’s very interested. And to downplay her interest, she’ll probably toss out something along the lines of, ‘Well, a girl has gotta eat’ or ‘My mother taught me to never turn down a free meal.’”
Alonso laughed at Roth’s animated delivery. “You’re a fool, you know that?”
“I’ve been called worse.”
Alonso released a heavy breath. This sounded an awful lot like chasing. Him chasing a woman... Not gonna happen. Hell, women chased him, not the other way around. And even if he bumped his head and decided to take Roth’s advice, there was still one small problem: the woman was ignoring him, which for some reason annoyed the shit out of him.
Why was he letting Vivian get to him? Any other woman would have long lost his attention. Why not her? What is so different about this one? Questions plagued him. He wouldn’t go as far as to say his interest in Vivian scared him, but it damn sure rattled him a bit. The notion made him laugh at himself. Alonso Wright, rattled by a female. This shit was a first, and wrong on so many levels.
He needed to reclaim his manhood. “Nah, dinner’s not an option. I have to think with the right head on this one. Keep the bigger picture in sight. I need her property. That’s the goal. The only one that matters. Strictly business.” Though it was truly less about business than it was about his own need. Possibly a selfish one. He didn’t have to glance in Roth’s direction to know he was flashing a disapproving look. “Go ’head and say it.” And as expected, Roth didn’t hesitate.
“Forget about business when it comes to happiness.”
“Shit. Happiness is business, because business equals money. And money makes everybody happy.”
Both men turned to see Garth Garrison entering the office. Garth was the builder Alonso typically contracted. They’d started out in the industry roughly around the same time and had tossed each other plenty of business along the way. He stood well over six feet with a commanding presence that always seemed to work in his favor when it came to getting dealings handled.
Garth eyed the 3-D model. “And this piece of business is going to make us a shitload of cold, hard cash.”
“Garrison,”