Freefall to Desire (8 page)

“One day at a time,” Alex said softly. “That’s all we can do.”

“You’re right,” Brianne agreed. “We can only cross a bridge when we get to it.”

When they landed at the Daytona airport, Alex led the way to the car rental area as if he’d done it a million times. He didn’t stop at the desk, just went straight to a black Lincoln Navigator.

“Don’t you have to…to sign for it?” Brianne asked.

“I set it all up ahead of time,” Alex explained. “They have the car waiting because of the express service I use, which allows me to avoid the hassles of waiting.”

“Nice,” Brianne said.

Alex retrieved the keys from the visor of the Navigator, then remotely opened the trunk. He loaded the suitcases while Brianne went around to the passenger’s seat.

Again, Brianne noted that Alex exited the airport parking lot and seemed to know exactly where he was going, not even consulting the map of Daytona that had been left on the seat.

Brianne took in the scenery as Alex drove. The palm trees. The bright sunshine as opposed to gray skies she
had left back in Buffalo. When they passed the Daytona International Speedway, she looked long and hard at the structure, her heart rate increasing. Had Carter truly been there just last month? And if so, how had he arrived in Daytona? How had he gone from lost in the Canadian Rockies to a life in Florida?

Brianne noticed that her hands were shaking and told herself to calm down. So much was riding on this trip, and yet nothing was a given. As hopeful as she was, there was still a part of her that wasn’t sure she could truly trust what Alex had said. She had to accept the fact that he could be mistaken about seeing Carter. There were look-alikes all over the world. Maybe Alex had simply seen a dead ringer for Carter.

God, let us find him. Even if the person only turns out to be Carter’s look-alike.

The last thing Brianne wanted was to return home with no answers.

If they learned that Alex had actually seen Carter’s look-alike, it would be horribly disappointing, but at least they would have an answer. And once and for all, Brianne could accept the fact that Carter was never coming home.

Lost in her thoughts, Brianne was no longer seeing the beautiful Florida scenery. But when she felt the vehicle turn left, she focused on her surroundings again.

They were now in a more populated area. There were a number of hotels and restaurants lining both the left and right sides of the street. As Alex drove past a sprawling Hilton hotel, Brianne glimpsed the stretch of sand and blue water on the right.

“The beach,” she said, somewhat excited. “Look at those colors. Beautiful.”

“Yeah, this is a really nice spot. Have you ever been to Florida before?”

“Once. To Orlando when I was twelve. The closest beach was an hour away in Tampa, but my family was so busy at Disney and the other theme parks that we never got there.”

“You like the beach?”

“What’s not to like?”

“Then you’d love Miami. It’s far enough south that it’s subtropical, so much warmer in the winter even than Daytona. You’ve got vegetation there that you find in the Caribbean. And the Florida Keys? Now that’s a beautiful spot.”

“Sounds like you do a lot of traveling.”

“A fair bit.”

“All for work—or for pleasure?”

“Bit of both.”

Alex drove past the last of the hotels—at least the ones that were on the main strip with the others. And when he drove into an area that was clearly residential, Brianne turned to him and narrowed her eyes. “Are you sure we’re going the right way? It seems like all the hotels are behind us.”

“We’re not going to a hotel.”

Brianne was sure she must have heard incorrectly. “Pardon me?”

“We’re not going to a hotel.”

“I don’t understand.”

Alex glanced at her and said, “I’ve got a place down here.”

“A place…you mean a place you own?”

Alex chuckled softly. “Yeah. A house. It’s an investment property.”

“Aren’t you full of surprises?”

“Does it bother you that we’ll be staying at my place?”

Brianne looked to the right, taking in the scenic view of the ocean. She had already stayed at Alex’s house in North Buffalo. “No,” she replied. “I just didn’t expect it.”

“Because if you’d feel more comfortable at a hotel…”

“We’re going to be joined at the hip, anyway,” Brianne said, then faced him and smiled, wondering why her heart thundered at her words. “Like I said, I just figured we were going to a hotel. I’m surprised you have a place down here. Is this where you stay in the winter? Or do you have a host of houses all over the world?”

“I have a number of investment properties, and yes, they’re in different places around the world.”

Brianne had been kidding. “Oh. What kind of places?”

“A villa in Cyprus. Also a place on the outskirts of Rome. A place in Aruba—gorgeous island, if you’ve never been.”

“I haven’t,” Brianne said softly. “I’ve always wanted to get to Italy, to see all that wonderful old architecture, the palaces. I’ve seen them on television and on the internet, but I know that to see it in person would be far more spectacular.”

“It is,” Alex agreed. “The first time I went to Rome, it took me days to tour the city, and it still didn’t feel like I had enough time.”

“I’m jealous,” Brianne said good-naturedly.

“Don’t be. You’ll get there one day. Maybe you’ll go there for inspiration for one of your wealthy clients.”

Brianne narrowed her eyes at him. “What clients?”

“The clients you’ll have,” Alex said.

Brianne was still confused.

“For your design business.”

“Oh,”
Brianne said, then chuckled. But the chuckle died when she saw that Alex was looking at her with a serious expression.

“Don’t laugh, Brianne. I know it’s going to happen for you.”

There was no question in his statement. He spoke the words as if they were fact. And Brianne couldn’t help smiling softly. She appreciated his confidence in her. Confidence she herself lacked.

“That’s a nice dream,” she said.

“Every successful business starts as a dream. Dreams become reality, Brianne. You just have to believe that’s possible.”

Who was this man? Certainly not the Alex Thorpe who had been aloof when she’d been dating Carter.

She had always seen him as distant, and sometimes even a little cold. But in two days, she had gotten to know him on a deeper level and realized that much of what she’d believed about him before simply wasn’t true. He wasn’t cold and impersonal. He was warm, caring and driven.

He had been Carter’s best friend, and he and Brianne had had a cordial relationship, but nothing truly deep. Brianne had always gotten the impression that Alex didn’t care much for her, perhaps because she hadn’t been the rail-thin model type that men with money tended to date. But he was certainly giving her the moral support she needed to pursue her passion, something Carter had never done.

She was definitely liking the person she was now getting to know.

Brianne eyed the area they were now in. The houses had gone from being average-size to massive. Neatly trimmed hedges bordered large front lawns. The driveways were long, and some were lined with palm trees. It was the kind of picturesque area Brianne was used to seeing in brochures.

When Alex turned into the circular driveway of a beige-
colored house that had to be at least three times the size of her parents’, she actually gasped.

This
was Alex’s house? His
vacation
house?

The place was like a mini-palace. Unlike his turn-of-the-century Victorian home in Buffalo, this sprawling property looked new, with large bay windows at the front and archways every three feet or so. A myriad of colorful flowers were in the circular base of a palm tree in the middle of the lawn. The lawn’s pristine nature told Brianne that someone took care of the property on a regular basis.

“This is your house?” she asked, unable to hide the awe from her voice.

“Yep. My home away from home.”

Home away from which home?
she wanted to ask, but didn’t. Based on the list he had recited to her, he had homes in many places. If he got bored of one place, he could easily pack his things and head to another spot in the world.

“I’ve never seen anything so big,” she said. “And it’s right on the beach. This is amazing.”

“I like it.”

“You said this was an investment property. You rent it out?”

“Yes, a lot of the time I do. I prefer executive rentals, for businessmen who are accustomed to a certain standard of living while away from home. I get some long-term rentals that way.”

“But no one’s here now,” Brianne said, knowing there couldn’t be, but wanting to be sure. Not that there wasn’t enough room for fifty people in this house…

“Not right now. I was planning to come here over the winter, so I didn’t rent it out.”

“Escape the gray skies and snowstorms in Buffalo. Nice.”

“Mmm hmm.”

Alex opened his car door first, then Brianne did the same, stepping out onto the interlock stone driveway. Carter hadn’t had anything this lavish when he and Brianne had been together. He’d had a magnificent townhouse on the water and a condo in the city, but nothing like this.

Alex got the suitcases from the trunk of the Navigator. Brianne offered to carry one, but he told her he was fine. So she opened the back door of the car and removed her carry-on and purse.

She suddenly wanted to call her sister, tell her where she was. Shayna would no doubt be surprised. Brianne had never left home for a trip on her own.

No, she wasn’t alone.

She was with Alex.

Carter’s best friend.

Brianne felt a niggle of something. But what? That this was wrong? That she shouldn’t be alone in a house with another man?

This isn’t a romantic trip,
she told herself.
You’re here with Alex because you’re trying to find Carter. No other reason.

Maybe what she felt was a tinge of regret. She had always wanted to travel the world, but after Carter had disappeared she hadn’t done any traveling. She had let Carter’s disappearance hold her back on so many levels. She should have gotten on a plane and gone somewhere—anywhere—but didn’t possess the courage to do so alone. She was envious of her sister’s ability to do just that earlier this year. Shayna had gone on a solo honeymoon after her marriage to Vince didn’t happen. Brianne had been worried about her traveling to Jamaica alone, but in the end, it had been the best trip for Shayna. She’d met Donovan, the man she had just married.

Brianne followed Alex under the archway that led to the front door. She took in her surroundings—the large, neatly trimmed hedge, the thick blades of grass she wasn’t used to in Buffalo. All the vibrant colors of the flowers.

The porch was massive, the kind that would be nice to sit on in the morning and drink a cup of tea. She especially liked the porch swing, which gave the place a homey touch.

Then Alex opened the door—and Brianne’s mouth fell open.

Chapter 7

G
ood Lord in heaven. This was Alex’s home?

The entranceway alone was stunning. Beige-colored marble floors sparkled. A winding staircase led to the second level and a large hallway above. The immediate foyer went from the ground level all the way to the second level. Above them hung a dazzling chandelier, which looked like it was made from hundreds of beads of crystal.

Brianne hadn’t known what to expect when Alex had said he was taking her to his vacation home, but she hadn’t expected anything like this.

That’s not true. She had expected a modest home, close to the beach. The kind that would suffice for a week or two or even a month. But this…this was beyond incredible.

She couldn’t help wondering what his other properties were like.

Alex led the way upstairs. “There are five bedrooms,” he announced. “Four up here, and one downstairs. Other
than the master bedroom, which I always use, you can pick any one you want.”

“Which one is the master?”

“The one on the right with the double doors.” Alex gestured in the direction.

Brianne nodded. She strolled toward the door to her immediate left, certain that the room would be sufficient. She didn’t need to examine the other three bedrooms on this floor to determine which would suit her needs for a few days.

She opened the door to the bedroom. She should have been past being surprised at this point, but clearly she wasn’t. This bedroom was absolutely huge, with a gorgeous canopy bed in its center. After taking in the impressive bed, her eyes immediately went to the fireplace on the right wall.

And was that…?

Brianne couldn’t help feeling giddy as she rushed into the room. Yes, they were doors that led to a terrace. Even before she reached for the door handle, she could see the stretch of beach.

“Are you serious? A view of the beach?”

She tried to open the door but found it locked. She took a few moments to unlock the door and then rushed onto the balcony.

She gasped again. The view of the ocean and stretch of beach was to die for.

So was the view of the kidney-shaped pool below.

Heaven. That’s what this place was. She almost wanted to let out a little scream.

Somehow, she kept her emotions in check. And a moment later, she was remembering the reason she was here in this gorgeous place. It was simply the base camp from which they would mount their operation to find Carter.

Brianne turned and faced Alex. She must have been smiling like a fool, because he said, “You like it?”

“Gosh, Alex—what’s not to like? I can’t…I can’t believe you have a house like this.”

“You could have it, too,” he said.

Was Brianne imagining it, or did something just flicker in Alex’s eyes? Something she couldn’t read. Something that made her skin flush.

“If you pursue your dream,” Alex quickly said, as if he realized how his words might have been construed. “When you work for yourself, the sky’s the limit.”

“I can see that,” Brianne said, and once again faced the stunning view of the water.