“You tell me.” He dropped his grip on Alanna, then folded his arms over his chest. “Why did you tell Alanna to practice in the ballroom when she told you I needed quiet for a conference call?”
Patricia pushed a lock of hair from her moist face. “Why, I never told her any such thing. I told her not to practice up there, whatever she did. That the noise would travel right to you.”
The glib lie snatched away the protest in Alanna’s gaping mouth. Patricia’s expression was so disbelieving of her son’s accusation that for a minute Alanna wondered if she’d misheard her mother-in-law. Then she remembered the dumbwaiter. “That’s not true, Patricia. You even showed me where to find the dumbwaiter so I could get the instruments up to the third floor. I couldn’t be knowing where it was otherwise.”
“Of course you did,” Patricia said. “I found you exploring it this morning. I warned you to be quiet up there.”
Alanna’s jaw sagged. She’d never met anyone who could lie so convincingly. And she had no way to prove Patricia had set her up.
Barry stared at his mother. “You’re lying.”
“Of course you’d believe that little tart,” his mother spat.
“I’ll not be listening to this.” Alanna started for the stairs. She blinked at the moisture in her eyes. Why was everyone so hostile?
She marched up the steps to her bedroom. Nothing could convince her to remain in this house any longer. It would take only a minute to grab her few belongings and leave with her friends. She jerked her big suitcase out from under the bed, then went to the dresser and lifted an armful of clothing from the drawer. Her attempt to hold the tears at bay failed, and big drops slipped down her cheeks.
“What are you doing?”
She turned to see Barry in the doorway with his brows knit together. “I’m leaving right now,” she said, turning back to her packing. She heard his footsteps start toward her but continued to the closet to grab her hanging clothes. When she turned, she plowed into him.
His arms closed around her, and he buried his face in her hair. “Don’t leave,” he whispered. “I need you.”
Alanna struggled to maintain her anger. “You thought I’d lie to you.”
“Of course I didn’t. I wanted her to admit she lied. I never doubted you.”
She pulled away from him so she could see his face. “Why would your mother be such a blackguard?”
His hand smoothed her curls. “There are always bumps in the road when you try to find your place in a new family.”
His hand on her hair soothed her, and she kept her head on his chest. “She hates me, Barry. We’ll never get along.”
“Give it time,” he whispered against her ear. “You’re mistress of this house now. She’ll just have to get used to it.”
His warm lips brushed across her neck, and she shivered, then turned her head to meet his kiss. Physical attraction wasn’t enough to base a marriage on, but it was enough to keep her head spinning. Still, what was physical attraction without the real intimacy she craved?
The kiss deepened, and she let go of the morning’s pain. Snuggled against his broad chest, she could almost forget his mother’s lies and the recent argument. She could push away the memory of the alligator and the kitten. The time was coming when he wouldn’t be content to keep the bedroom door between them closed, and Alanna realized she was almost ready to let him past the guard she’d kept up.
Without bothering to hide her reluctance, she pulled away. “I’d better check on my mates,” she whispered.
“How about I use my cell phone to finish my conference call?” he asked with a teasing light in his eyes. He still hadn’t taken his hands from her waist. “I’ll go sit out in the car.”
“It’s too hot,” she protested. The temperature was close to thirty degrees Celsius.
“I can turn on the air occasionally. I’m used to this weather.” He brushed his lips across hers in a final, lingering caress, then turned toward the door. “I should be done in another couple of hours. It’s all for you, you know. I’m working on getting some new venues set up for the band.”
Warmth spread up her neck. “Thanks, Barry.” She watched him close the door behind him.
As she threw her things back into the chest, she noticed a small recorder. She grabbed it up, then went down the hall to find the room with the music box. She figured out the maze of halls and rooms and stepped inside the room. Maybe her mates would recognize the tune. It was a good place to start. She lifted the lid of the box and pressed the record button on the mini tape recorder. When the song had played long enough, she closed the lid and went to find the rest of the band.
Her mates sat on boxes by the open windows. Even with a cross breeze, the ballroom was stuffy. From this vantage point, she could see clear out into the Atlantic, past the waving sea grass and the cypress trees.
Ciara got up to meet Alanna when she stepped into the large room. “That man is insufferable! I don’t know how you’ll be putting up with him.”