A Single Question
Something short and romantic for Valentine’s Day. Thanks to Theresa, Liz and Diane. Comments can be sent to veniceplace12@verizon.net. This is a sort of/quasi set-up to a longer story I’m working on called “Ageless.”
It was dark in the restaurant but not uncomfortably so. Alyssa Halston brushed the hair from her eyes and cast another glance at her watch. The low lighting, shed from wall lanterns and table votives, was soft and romantic, perfect for a quiet, intimate dinner. It was the whole reason Lee had chosen the five-star establishment, reserving a secluded corner table to celebrate Valentine’s Day.
Except Lee wasn’t there.
There had been an accident at the Institute with one of the dock workers, and Lee remained behind until he made certain the man was going to be all right. Her captain had called twenty minutes ago. Jerome, the Maitre’d, had brought her a table phone with an apologetic glance as if sensing she was being stood up. At the time she hadn’t known why Lee was already thirty minutes late. She’d shifted between worry and the possibility that something had kept him at N.I.M.R.
She’d felt a flash of guilt, relieved when she’d learned he hadn’t been the one involved in the accident. Afterward, she’d felt badly for the seaman, but Lee assured her he would recover. The man had suffered a broken leg and mild concussion in the accident, but he’d already been transferred to the Institute’s Medical Bay where Alyssa knew he would receive top-notch care under the supervision of Dr. Will Jamieson.
Lee promised her he would be there in another half hour, and she’d assured him she’d wait. She’d heard regret in his voice, knowing he’d wanted the evening to be special. She’d been to Rhode Island with him over Christmas, and they’d spent New Year’s with her family. Afterward, they’d both been running in different directions with conflicting schedules. Valentine’s Day was the first real opportunity they had for some purely indulgent time together.
Lee had planned the evening with a sunset cruise, dancing and hors d’oeuvres on a nightclub party boat called the Miss M. Dinner was several hours later in the Celestial, a glass-enclosed circular restaurant at the top of the Regency hotel. A star-strewn sky gleamed overhead while Santa Barbara was strung below in a jeweled band of glittering lights. Lee had missed the cruise due to a last minute meeting and was now officially 50 minutes late for dinner. She knew it wasn’t his fault, but it felt like just one more strike against them.
Ellen Crane had delivered the first blow, making it perfectly clear how she felt when inviting Alyssa to a “girls’ luncheon” over the Christmas holidays.
“I’d like to be frank, Alyssa. I can understand why Lee would find a woman like you appealing, but when he’s sixty, you’ll be seventy-six, heading toward eighty. That’s hardly fair for a man as active as Lee. I think it’s time you realized you have no future with my son. You’ve had your fun, but I trust you’ll come to your senses, do the responsible thing and end this silly flirtation before Lee gets hurt.”
Flirtation.
She was in love with Lee and his mother termed it something as trifling and mundane as a “silly flirtation.” Alyssa hadn’t told Lee, of course. Hadn’t said a word. It had taken all of her control to be civil for the remainder of their stay, let alone the duration of the lunch.
Ellen had simply changed the subject afterward, talking about the weather, how nice it was to see Lee and how much she was looking forward to a cruise of the Greek Islands in March. For Lee’s sake, Alyssa had been polite, picking at her salad, making small talk, unruffled on the outside but crumbling on the inside.
The visit to Rhode Island had been the first time she’d met Ellen Crane, and she’d been hoping to make a friend. She knew Lee had been anxious they get along. When she and Ellen had returned from lunch, and Lee eagerly asked how everything went, she’d lied and said they’d had a pleasant time. The relieved flash of his smile told her she’d said the right thing even if it wasn’t the truth.
Reaching into her handbag she ran her fingers over the slim rectangular box that held Lee’s Valentine’s Day gift - - a gold Bulgari chronograph watch. She’d had the clerk at the jeweler’s tie it up with a red satin bow. She hoped her enthusiasm would hold when she gave it to him. She desperately loved the man, but every time she grew comfortable enough to appreciate that emotion, someone came along to tell her why their relationship wouldn’t work.
On the flip side, her parents had taken to Lee immediately. Her brother had been friendly and openly intrigued by his career, her sister polite but reserved. Then again, she and Rebecca had never been exceptionally close. She’d worried she might get censure from her mother given Lee’s young age, but Doreen Hagan had surprised her by telling her she’d finally gotten it right.
Except he was thirty-five and she was fifty-one.
With an irritated sigh, Alyssa raised her hand and massaged her temple. Her friend, Nicole Rook, kept telling her she needed to abandon her fixation with their age difference, but how could she when the tabloids were always throwing it in her face and Lee’s own mother had ridiculed her? Maybe she could overlook the gossip columns and shrug aside Ellen’s insensitive remarks, but she loved Lee with all her heart. What if it really were better for him if they stopped seeing each other? Sure they were a glamour couple now - - even the society page loved to snap their photo, gushing how elegant they looked together - - but what about when she was that almost-eighty-year-old Ellen had dredged up and her sexy captain was still trim, handsome and fit at sixty?
She felt a prick of moisture in her eyes and blinked back tears.
He wanted to marry her. She knew that but, thankfully, he hadn’t asked. If he did she would just turn him down, and she knew that would put an additional strain on their relationship. Would he even want her afterward? She half feared he had chosen Valentine’s Day and the intimate dinner to propose. Her stomach had been troubled by butterflies all evening as she contemplated what she would do if he showed up with a ring. It was a romantic holiday, and he was an undeniably romantic man.
It amazed her that their love had grown so intense when initially all she’d had in mind was a simple dinner date followed by a parting of the ways. But within minutes of meeting him, she’d felt an irresistible pull of attraction. Nicole said that happened with people who were meant to be together. She called it an inescapable flash of destiny, a quicksilver moment in time when Love and Fate sealed the bargain. Nicole believed in soul mates.
Alyssa used to think she did too until Fate played such a cruel trick on her. How could she possibly have a soul mate who was so much younger?
She debated about going to the ladies room to freshen her makeup when the waiter came by and asked if she cared for more wine. She’d only had one glass and didn’t want to keep drinking before Lee showed up. She thanked him and ordered a shrimp appetizer, uncomfortable tying up the table when the restaurant clearly had other guests on such a busy night. Earlier, Jerome had assured her the table wasn’t needed, and they would hold Lee’s reservation as long as necessary. Alyssa thanked him graciously, making a mental note to double the size of the tip. Lee would have anyway, but she couldn’t help thinking that sometimes it paid to have a recognizable face.
“Hey. You’ve been here by yourself a long time.”
Alyssa glanced up sharply, surprised to find a man with salt-and-pepper hair hovering by Lee’s empty chair. He was dressed in a suit and tie that had probably started out pressed and impeccable but now looked sadly rumpled. Valentine’s Day evening wasn’t a night for single men. Judging by the haze of alcohol in his eyes, she had a feeling he’d been stood up or dumped and had been nursing a bruised ego in the bar.
“I know you. You’re that model.” The man was holding a highball glass half-filled with amber liquid. He raised it, uncurling his index finger long enough to point in her direction. “Alyssa Hal-Halston.”
At least he didn’t sway when he talked. She smiled politely, wondering if he was going to ask for an autograph, wishing he would go away. He was obviously drunk and unattached and that made her nervous. The table was secluded, partially shielded by palm fronds strung with fairy lights and lacquered three-panel screens decorated with paintings of tropical birds. She could see several other tables further out in the room, but the screening had been placed for privacy and intimate, romantic meals.
“You get stood up too?” the man asked.
“No. I - -”
He pulled out a chair and sat down at the table. “Hey, you wanna drink?”
Alyssa grew abruptly warm, shooting a nervous glance to the side. Where had Jerome and the waiter gone? “Please. I’m waiting for someone.” She kept her voice low, not wanting to make a scene. “I’d appreciate it if you’d leave.”
“Nah, your date dumped you, honey, same as mine. I saw . . . saw when you came in. Whoever you’re waitin’ for ain’t shown yet.” He downed the liquor in his glass with one swallow. “Let’s get some bourbon.”
“Please. I’d really wish you’d leave.”
“Aw, come on now. Don’t be a prima-donna.” He reached across the table to take her hand. “I’m a good catch. You don’t know what you’re missin’.”
Mortified, Alyssa pulled her hand away.
“You’re in my seat,” someone announced in a deadly soft voice.
Alyssa’s heart gave a small tumble when she glanced up into Lee’s face. His expression was hard, his gaze flat and flint-cold as he stared down on the other man. She’d rarely ever seen him look like that, but he was lethal when he did. It was more than just the commander in him. At his coldest, he was the seasoned ONI operative capable of backing a man down with a single glance. Add the khaki uniform with its gold braid and merit bars and he presented a formidable sight. Maybe it was for the best he hadn’t had the opportunity to go home and change into civilian clothing. One look at Lee and her unwanted table companion muttered an apology and slunk from the chair.
“Sorry. Just didn’t think a lady like her should be alone.”
“She’s not alone.”
“Yeah, I see that.” The man sent a longing glance in Alyssa’s direction, then looked back at Lee. “Can I at least get an autograph?” he asked timidly.
Alyssa suppressed a smile, her nervousness draining away. She found a pen in her purse, asked the man’s name and scribbled best wishes on the back of a paper cocktail napkin. He went away happy, sheepishly apologizing for causing her any ‘distress.’
“That was a timely arrival.” Alyssa smiled up at Lee.
He slid into the chair, leaned over and kissed her. “You shouldn’t have been so nice to him,” he chided gently, but he’d clearly already dismissed the man. Cupping his hand behind her neck, he deepened his kiss, shielded by the screen.
“He was just lonely,” she said when she could breathe again. “It’s Valentine’s Day.”
“Someone probably dumped him for a reason.” He rested his arm on the back of her chair. “I’m sorry I’m late. It wasn’t a good day.”
“How’s Seaman Atkinson?” she asked, referring to the injured dockworker.
“He’s going to be fine. He was grumbling at Jamie when I left.”
“Sounds like someone else I know.” Alyssa smiled, sliding her hand onto his thigh. He felt unnaturally tense, but she couldn’t tell if it was from the day he had, running late, or finding another man sizing her up.
Before he could respond, the Maitre’d appeared at their table looking inordinately put out. “I must apologize for what just happened, Commander Crane. I was speaking with the head waiter and didn’t see you enter.” They were known at the restaurant as regulars who tipped well for their privacy. That earned them exceptional service, a secluded booth, and a nearly foolproof shield from curiosity-seekers and the press.
“And I must apologize to Miss Halston too,” Jerome continued. “Obviously, we would never knowingly allow another customer to harass - -”
“It’s all right, Jerome,” Alyssa interrupted, sensing his embarrassment. “I think he was just lonely and feeling sorry for himself.”
“Ah, yes.” Jerome straightened his shoulders, tugging at his jacket in an attempt to recover some dignity. “Definitely not something to trouble either of you.” He motioned over his shoulder and a black-suited waiter arrived pushing a silver serving cart with an ice bucket of champagne, lobster hors d’oeuvres and a bouquet of white roses. “Captain Crane ordered these prior to his arrival, Miss Halston. If that’s all you need for the moment, I’ll have the waiter check back later.” He bowed out giving them privacy.
Alyssa smiled at Lee. “I think you are an incurable romantic, Captain.”
He reached for the champagne. “That comes from being in love.”
Love.
Butterflies fluttered awake in her stomach. She’d heard him profess his love many times, but the inflection struck her as extra special tonight. As if they were reaching a milestone.
He’s going to propose, she thought again. Candlelight, champagne, roses . . . and a single question: Will you marry me?
But the evening wore on without any discussion of marriage. She was surprised when the check came, and he still hadn’t asked the question she’d was certain lingered foremost in his mind. Lately, he’d given every indication, even dropping occasional hints that he wanted them to marry.
Alyssa thought of the Bulgari watch in her purse but the restaurant no longer felt like the right place to give it to him. He was going to ask her at the house . . . get down on one knee and do the whole thing right. Without an audience. Without a long drive between her answer and the heart-to-heart indulgence of making love. Didn’t he realize she had no choice but to say no?
Since they’d driven separately, he followed her back to his home along the coast. Alyssa realized she was nervous - - half fearful, half sick and a little giddy with anticipation.
What was she going to say when he did pop the question?
I can’t marry you, Lee. It would never work. Can’t we just keep going the way we are? Why do we have to get married?
But that wasn’t fair either. Why should he continue to stay with her if they had no future together? She’d been married twice before. Once to Harry Nelson, whom she still loved with a different kind of affection, and once to a man who’d simply been convenient. He’d had two affairs during their marriage, dying of a heart attack before she’d been able to start divorce proceedings. She’d also had several long-term relationships but, after Harry, there’d been no one she wanted to marry. Her marriage to Chad Kenning, a studio tycoon, had been a career move on both their parts.
Initially, she thought she’d loved him but by the time she realized she’d done something stupid and selfish it was too late to back out. She’d overlooked his first affair but the second had been too public. She’d met with a divorce attorney several days before Chad’s heart attack. It was eight years later when she met Lee, the time in between spent mostly on building her modeling agency into a prominent firm. There’d been a few men who’d come and gone during that span, but she’d been pretty much resigned to the fact love had eluded her.
Until she met Captain Lee Crane - - a sinfully handsome and romantic man who was every bit as sensual as he was courtly. And he was like a son to her ex-husband, Harriman Nelson.
Hmm.
Alyssa bit her lip as she turned left along the coast. Lee’s headlights bobbed in her rearview mirror as he made the turn seconds later.
Harry had initially gone ballistic when he’d learned of their romance, but now her ex was one of their staunchest supporters. Then there was the press. Lee hated the press, but they’d gotten over that hurdle too. There was even the time she’d mistakenly thought he was having an affair with a woman who turned out to be Chip Morton’s youngest sister, but they’d weathered the confusion together.
Finally, there was Ginny Rook, a woman Lee had been head-over-heels in love with thirteen years ago who’d vanished out of his life shortly after. Ginny was Dr. Nicole Rook’s younger sister. Alyssa had dreaded meeting Nicole when the marine biologist first started subcontracting work through N.I.M.R. yet now they were best friends. Nic was even romantically involved with Harry.
Which told her things could work out and the impossible did happen.
But all of those changes and adjustments involved emotions and a willingness to accept and adapt. No matter how much she loved Lee she couldn’t change her age.
He’s going to propose, she thought again. And I’m going to tell him ‘no.’
She knew it would hurt them both, but even his mother was against them. It wouldn’t be long before Ellen Crane started harping on Lee about making a spectacle of himself with an older woman.
Alyssa hit the automatic opener and pulled her white Jag into Lee’s garage. She shut off the engine and was in the process of gathering up her purse when the Cobra slid in beside her. They went in the house together, entering through a connecting door just off the powder room and rear hallway. She was feeling fidgety again and moved into the family room to switch on a light. Before she could turn, Lee came up behind her, wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her back against his chest. He dipped his head close, nuzzling her ear.
“Lyss, what’s wrong? You seem distracted.”
She gave a slight laugh, a purely nervous reaction. “No. I’m fine.” Her hands settled on his arms, tight about her waist. “How could anything be wrong when I’m with the man I love on Valentine’s Day?”
He gave a murmur of agreement and turned her around, tipping her chin up for a kiss. “I have something for you.”
Her heartbeat quickened.
“Come here. Sit down.” He pulled her onto the couch beside him. “I was going to give it to you at the restaurant, but I ran so late getting there and you looked tired.”
Was her stress showing? Or merely her age? Alyssa swallowed hard. It was Valentine’s Day and she was in love. Why was she making the night into something nerve-wracking when it could be blissfully romantic? She didn’t need a gift; she didn’t need a ring. All she wanted was her captain. For a few more weeks. A few more months.
Instinctively, her hand went to the antique locket at her throat. He’d given it to her after the Institute’s Midsummer Celebration, a dreadful time when she’d foolishly thought he was having an affair. He’d inscribed the locket with ‘Forever, Lee.’
It was an eternity she now knew would never happen. She couldn’t allow it . . . wouldn’t burden him with that almost-eighty-year-old woman when he would still be young enough to crave physical and sexual intimacy. She had to face the fact that some things like age were, sadly, insurmountable.
Don’t ask me to marry you, Lee. It will only destroy us both.
He pulled a small black velveteen box from his pocket, and she felt her stomach somersault into her throat. But something was wrong. He wasn’t getting down on one knee, the way she’d always imagined a man would . . . the way Harry had. He pressed the box into her hands.
“Happy Valentine’s Day, Alyssa.”
She felt the brush of crushed velvet against her fingertips and raised the lid. A pair of white gold, princess-cut diamond earrings lay nestled in a pillow of satin. She stared speechlessly, unable to find her voice. For a moment the tangle of emotion was crushing - - giddy relief, pleasure, love.
And surprisingly, an unexpected rush of disappointment.
She raised her eyes, not bothering to hide the sparkle of tears. “They’re beautiful, Lee.”
“Like you.”
He didn’t ask me to marry him.
He hooked his arm around her neck, easing her back in the cushioning embrace of the sofa. She felt his fingers slide into her hair, cupping the back of her head. Then his lips were on hers, warm and sensual, his free arm wrapping around her waist to urge her against him. She could feel the heat of his body through his jacket and shirt, sensed that his earlier exhaustion had been replaced by a romantic hunger for intimacy.
Was it possible to love him more each day and know there would come a point when she had to walk away? That marriage was a line she couldn’t cross and happily-ever-afters only happened in fairy tales?
It was easy to forget all of that wrapped in his arms with his mouth warm on hers. She slid her hand up his chest, grazing the buttons of his shirt before toying with the knot of his tie. She felt his body respond in the way it always did when she focused her attention there. She gave a gentle tug, sinuously sliding the knot lower. “I have something for you too,” she murmured against his lips.
He grinned. “Upstairs would be more comfortable.”
“You have a one-track mind, Captain.” She splayed her hand flat on his chest and gave a light shove, pushing upright. She knew he was teasing, but she was too. Reaching into her purse, she located the gold box with the red silk bow and handed it to him. “I hope you like it.”
She knew she’d probably spent too much but she was hardly destitute, and if she was never able to give him a wedding ring she wanted him to have something special to remember her by.
He’d wanted this specific watch for some time. She’d caught him looking at it when they’d stopped in a jeweler’s on Bayview several months ago on a whim, but he’d quickly deemed it an extravagance he couldn’t - - or more correctly - - wouldn’t afford. He’d spend the money on someone else before splurging on himself.
Lee slid the bow from the box and removed the cover. Lifting the watch, he gazed down on the dial. “Alyssa, you shouldn’t have done this.”
Her heart fell. “You don’t like it?”
“It’s isn’t that.” He must have seen the expression in her eyes. In the next second, he drew her close, pressing his lips to her forehead. “I love it because it’s from you. I just meant you shouldn’t have done anything so extravagant.”
She’d never really spent so much money on him before but she could afford to be excessive. She’d had a very lucrative career and her agency was more than mildly profitable. She’d also inherited the bulk of Chad’s wealth and business assets, the latter which she’d sold for a tidy profit. She and Lee had been generous with one another at Christmas, but she suddenly worried he viewed Valentine’s Day differently. She’d bought him something she’d thought would give him pleasure but abruptly feared it made him feel like a kept man.
God, I’m being an idiot!
“Lee?”
He turned the watch over looking at the script she’d had the engraver place on the back: Forever, Lyss. The return of a promise she would keep if only in her heart.
He smiled, slipping off his old watch and clasping the shiny new Bulgari around his wrist. The gold and black looked good on him as she knew it would.
He drew her close again and kissed her. “Thank you,” he whispered.
She tightened her fingers around the velvet box with the earrings, her hands close to her heart. He could have given her a cheap piece of costume jewelry or nothing at all and she wouldn’t have cared. The earrings were beautiful, but she already had what she wanted - - the man she loved.
But he didn’t ask.
Later that evening, curled in bed together, she lay with her head pillowed on his chest, staring up at the night-blackened ceiling. The room was dark, wrapped in whorls of licorice shadow, a fawning of silver moonlight splattered just inside the balcony doors. She felt drowsy and contented from their lovemaking. His scent was trapped in the sheets, mingled with hers, dusky and warm as his skin.
“You’re quiet,” he murmured.
She shifted slightly, cuddling nearer, the sheets rustling with her movement. “I was thinking of that man in the restaurant and how lonely he must be not having anyone special to share Valentine’s Day.”
He tilted his head to gaze down on her, the moonlight flashing silver off his eyes. “So, you’re lying in bed with me and thinking of another man?” he asked incredulously. “That does wonders for my ego, Alyssa.”
She giggled, hearing the teasing note in his voice. “Actually, I was thinking how lucky I am to have you.” She twisted around to look up at him, squiggling nearer. He hadn’t asked her to marry him, but the realization was suddenly like being set free. She felt elated, realizing there would be a tomorrow without having to envision an end. When he did ask the question she knew it would likely be the finish of their relationship.
Maybe he realized that too. Maybe, as much as he wanted a future with her, he wanted the present more.
And that was the perfect Valentine’s Day gift.
*****End*****
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