Come Fly With Me (72 page)

He
looked
up
as
the
server
set
his
steak
down
in
front
of
him.
Allison
had
ordered
salmon
in
dill
sauce
and
tentatively
picked
up
her
fork
to
test
it.
The
sauce
was
a
little
too
green
looking
for
her,
or
maybe
she
was
just
feeling
queasy
about
this
whole
evening.
She
looked
up
at
Alex,
belatedly
aware
that
he
had
yet
to
make
his
point,
but
very
aware
that
she
would
be
the
punch
line
of
the
story.

Alex
smiled,
"I
think
that
when
we're
born
our
personality
is
hard-wired
into
our
brains.
Then,
at
some
point,
the
outside
influences,
our
parents,
even
the
order
of
our
birth..."

"You
being
an
only
son..."
she
contributed
in
a
feeble
attempt
to
get
the
subject
off
of
herself
and
onto
Alex.

"Exactly.
All
these
things
determine
who
we
become.
But,
once
in
a
while,
despite
all
the
admonitions,
we
venture
out
and
push
ourselves
past
our
comfort
zones."

"Alex,
please,
I
know
where
you're
headed
with
all
this."

"If
you
could
indulge
me
and
let
me
finish."

She
nodded.

"No
one
is
shouting
at
you
from
the
beach,
Ally,
the
noise
is
all
in
your
head."

"Well
now,
you're
just
making
me
sound
crazy."

"I'm
sorry.
That's
not
my
point
at
all.
I'm
bungling
this,
big
time.
I
only
want
to
say
that
you're
terrific
and
everyone
thinks
you're
terrific,
the
only
thing
holding
you
back
is
you."

"That's
an
obnoxious
thing
to
say—holding
me
back
from
what?
I
have
a
great
gallery,
I
have
friends...I
have
things!"
She
could
not
believe
he
had
her
raising
her
voice
in
the
restaurant.

"You're
right;
I
apologize
if
I
made
you
uncomfortable.
Let's
try
to
remember
why
we
came."

"Why
was
that?"
she
snapped.

"Because
you
asked
me
out
and
we
are
trying
to
get
to
know
one
another
on
a
deeper
level.
Since
that
didn't
work
out
as
I'd
hoped,
at
least
let's
have
some
dessert."

She
was
not
in
the
mood
for
dessert,
or
anything
else.
"Let's
just
leave;
that's
the
only
thing
that
could
salvage
tonight,"
she
said.
As
Alex
paid
the
bill,
she
eyed
the
couple
in
the
booth
next
to
theirs.
They
were
enjoying
dinner
and
each
other's
company.
She
bet
they
would
head
straight
to
bed
and
have
a
round
of
rip-roaring
sex.
She
stood
up
and
flung
one
last
longing
look
over
her
shoulder
at
them
as
they
left.
As
Alex
walked
her
back
to
her
place,
she
huddled
in
her
coat,
feeling
miserable
and
disappointed
over
the
disastrous
dinner.
She
was
surprised
when
Alex
put
his
arm
around
her
shoulder.
Her
first
thought
was
to
shrug
it
off,
but
he'd
assigned
himself
as
protector,
and
as
much
as
it
irked
her,
he
was
gorgeous
and
she
was
extremely
attracted
to
him.
Maybe
the
gesture
was
a
ray
of
hope
that
the
evening
could
be
salvaged.

"You're
shivering,"
he
said.

They
entered
the
small
lobby.
As
she
took
a
step
onto
the
wide,
oak
staircase,
she
realized
he'd
stayed
back.
"Don't
you
want
to
come
up
for
some
coffee?"

"Is
that
really
an
offer
for
coffee,
or
is
it
a
euphemism
for
sex?"

His
stance
was
all
male
swagger
and
he
was
damned
fine-looking.
Taking
a
chance,
she
stepped
back
down
and
walked
over
to
him.
Desperate
to
regain
the
upper
hand,
she
reached
into
the
warmth
of
his
open
coat
and
leaned
in
for
a
kiss.
He
responded
immediately,
kissing
her
senseless
until
she
didn't
care
about
anything
except
this
moment
and
this
need.
She
felt
him
ease
her
off
him
and
looked
at
him
puzzled.

"As
much
as
I'd
love
to,
I
can't.
I
like
you
too
much
to
let
it
only
become
something
physical.
I
need
you
to
learn
how
to
dip
your
toe
in
the
water
and
not
run
away,"
he
said.

"How
dare
you
lecture
me
on
what
you
need
me
to
do!"
she
snapped,
her
desire
turning
to
outrage
in
a
flash.

"That's
what
people
in
relationships
do.
They
help
each
other,
they
support
each
other,
and
they
give
of
themselves
as
individuals
so
they
can
develop
together
as
a
couple.
But
I
can't
help
you
if
you
don't
want
my
help.
All
I
can
see
now
are
the
walls
that
you've
put
up
between
us
and
everyone
else
in
your
life.
You
fix
those
things,
and
then
come
to
me,
that's
if
you're
still
interested."