Thank you to the reviewers out there I seriously was not lying when I say they help.
Onto Alice's third moment with the gorgeous Luck Gandor!
Constantly choosing the lesser of two evils is still choosing evil. - Jerry Garcia
Three weeks had gone by without any incident that would have caused her to meet Luck again. Every time she caught herself thinking about him she almost gagged. Since when had she ever gotten all goo-goo eyed over a man? It was beneath her.
Still, she found herself walking down the streets of the city and unconsciously checking beneath low-brimmed hats to see if Luck was hiding under the shadow of one. He never was.
It got to the point where she actually considered walking out into the night and calling out for someone to come and attack her. That seemed to be the only time she ever saw him.
After a while even Daisy began to notice this destructive behavior.
"Alice, why don't you go out tonight?" She suggested clearing the table of the dishes, " You know put on some make-up, slip into that little black dress you have in the back of your closet and just let your hair hang loose."
Alice looked up from the piano where she had been concentrating on working out the tune to her latest number. She shook her head distracted by the notes that refused to fit with her words, "I can't Daisy. I need to finish this song. Mr. Landers says he needs it by Wednesday."
"And it's Friday," Daisy groaned dropping the dishes unceremoniously into the sink, "honestly, how do you expect me to enjoy my date with Henry tonight when you are stuck inside the house all by yourself."
"You'll manage," she said absently, returning her fingers to the ivory keys.
"Alice I swear if I come home tonight and see you here I will show the world every word you have ever written in that little journal of yours. And trust I know there are some things in there you don't want people seeing." The uncharacteristic dark tone of Daisy's voice showed that she was not joking.
"Fine. You win," she muttered her legs protesting as she stood up. Alice turned to the old grandfather clock by the door it read 6 o'clock. Had she really been sitting at the piano for three hours?
She made her way to the closet searching for the black dress Daisy had mentioned. Finally, she found it in the back, tags still neatly tied on it.
She truly was pathetic.
Alice tossed it onto the bed and proceeded to apply make-up meticulously onto her eyes and cheeks. She took Daisy's advice and let her hair loose. She ran her fingers a few times through the brown strands unused to the new style. Finally, she slipped on the dress and without even bothering to look in the mirror walked straight out the door.
Leaning over the edge of her apartment's sidewalk she hailed a cab. As she sat down in the dirtied seat she noticed the driver look at her expectantly through the rearview.
Where exactly was she going?
Without thinking she blurted the first name that skipped into her head, "Caraggioso, please."
The cab driver nodded, "nice choice lady."
Caraggioso? Where had that come from? All of a sudden her darkened eyes widened, the memory coming back to her. That was where Luck said to find him.
If the cab driver had not been there she probably would have started banging her head against the glass. Her subconscious was working against her.
"So how is it a pretty thing like you don't have a man escorting her," the cab driver asked his eyebrows raised somewhat suggestively.
Without thinking she said, "I am meeting him at the bar. He had some business to attend to beforehand."
Immediately, the driver's face fell and his attention turned back to the road. Where had that come from? She never lied that easily. People read her like an open book!
Slowly, the cab pulled up in front of the bar and she handed him a wad of cash without looking at him. Her attention was fixated on the brick building in front of her. Somehow it looked familiar. She stood there a few moments looking over its quiet exterior. Suddenly, she noticed the attention she was attracting from people walking down the street. Blushing, she walked into the club keeping her head down.
The interior was nothing like the faded brick of the building. Inside there was life. People were dancing to tunes energetically played by a band tucked in the corner. People were happily chatting at the bar, quietly sipping their drinks. She did not expect to feel so comfortable here.
Alice did a quick check of the room searching for any figure that was even similar to Luck. No one managed to even come close to his unique stature. Slowly, her muscles relaxed and she slipped over to the bar and ordered a dry martini. Mine as well kill time.
She sat on the cushy barstool for a few moments tapping her foot to the beat of the band when suddenly another woman rushed to her.
"I am sorry to be so forward like this," she pushed wringing around her wedding band, "but are you Alice Roberts?"
Alice gently set her cup down in surprise, "Yes I am. Have we met before."
"Oh goodness no," she laughed, "but I have just recently discovered your songs and I must say I can't get them out of my head."
"Really," Alice moved forward in her chair, "you like them?"
"Well of course. I am a pianist," she explained, "I absolutely love to play your songs."
Alice could not help but warm to this woman. They were of similar age and any fellow pianist was welcomed by her.
"Would you care to sit down and have a drink with me," she asked eager to interrogate this woman about her thoughts.
"Oh why thank you Miss. Roberts," she said taking the stool next to her."
"Please call me Alice," she smiled warmly.
"Oh, well then you must call me Kate," she said before ordering herself a martini.
It had been a while since Alice was able to talk to another woman besides her sister like this. It felt good. Kate was a very open and happy person.
"So I have a question," she said leaning her elbow on the bar, "what inspired you to write My Guardian Angel?"
Alice took a sip of her martini before answering, "Well I suppose—"
A familiar looking man came up behind Kate and pecked her on the cheek. Kate turned to look at him, "hello Keith I was just talking to Alice here. You know the Alice Roberts!" She made sure to put an emphasis on the. Keith turned his eyes on her and if he recognized her he did not show it.
"Alice this is my husband Keith. He and his brothers own the club," Kate said oblivious to Alice's suddenly clenched knuckles.
"Keith where is—oh—there you are Luck let me introduce you to Alice," Kate called to the man walking towards them. Luck stopped in front of them and turned toward Alice.
"Well hello there Alice," he greeted with a smug smile, "I certainly did not expect you back here so quickly."
"Oh Luck do you know Alice," Kate said surprised looking at Luck than at her. Suddenly, a light bulb clicked in the woman's head and Cheshire smile brighten her face. As smooth as she could she turned to her husband, "Keith I think I see Sid over there why don't we go and say hello." Wordlessly the two left.
Leaving her alone with Luck.
He slid into the seat Kate had occupied only moments before and the bartender slipped him a scotch. Alice could not help but smile. It was almost cliché to see the suave man sipping on the gentlemanly liquor.
"So what made you come to my bar of all places," he asked without looking at her.
Alice took a sip of her martini hoping it would help get her through the conversation. Maybe she should have chosen something stronger.
"It sort of just popped in to my head," she answered honestly. Luck turned to her and she could feel his amber eyes calculating her over.
"You certainly look pretty tonight, Alice," he finally complimented.
"Only pretty," she quipped. There was no way of knowing how she actually looked as she had blatantly refused to even go near a mirror.
Luck smiled taking a sip from his glass, "We seem to be running into each other a lot lately. Some might call it fate."
"I think I would consider it more of back luck," she sighed, "being harassed and then kidnapped is not the most romantic of meetings."
They sat in silence for a few seconds letting the band fill in the empty space. Luck must have noticed her foot tapping to the song the band started play as he stood up and held out a hand to her.
"Care to dance with me?"
She nodded placing her hand onto his expectant palm. Smoothly, he led her onto the dance floor. Twisting and twirling her until she could not contain the almost child-like glee she was experiencing.
"You should smile like that more often," he remarked as he spun her into his waiting arms.
"So should you," she retorted pacing her feet to match the slowing tempo, "I think you are a little young to have such a cynical smile."
He looked at her seriously for a moment, "Well maybe if you have seen what I have seen you would be cynical about the good intentions of the world too."
She didn't know how to respond to that.
"So I never got around to thanking you for saving me that night," she said looking up at him.
He stared at her frowning, "I didn't rescue you though Alice. I put you in danger. That was one of my men that kidnapped you on my order."
Alice shook her head at him, "But you did. If you had not been there I would have probably been killed or maybe even worse."
"I try not to think about it Alice," he said with a grimace as if imagining what could have happened.
She could not keep the warm sensation from filling her stomach. Was it even possible that this man cared about her safety? Did he actually worry about what might have happened to Alice Roberts?
Eventually, the song came to an end and they reluctantly pulled apart, clapping politely to the band.
Without saying a word he took her hand lead her off of the floor towards a door near the back. Alice followed confused but she could not fight the feeling of anticipation.
She found herself in the familiar room where she had last seen Danny. But Luck did not stop there, he guided her to the room where she had sat in fear for her life. Looking around it now it did not fill her with the same horror she had felt that night. Somehow, being here with Luck made her feel safe.
She looked around the room a moment before her eyes met Luck's.
"What, she smiled as he continued to stare at her with arms folded neatly.
"I lied to you tonight when I said you looked pretty," he finally said.
"What?"
"You are probably the most gorgeous thing I have ever seen," he admitted, the words seeming unusual coming from him.
Alice could not help but blush, relishing the dark lighting. She had certainly not expected flattery from such a cool, focused man.
She felt herself move closer to him until suddenly his strong arms reached out grabbing her closer. It took only seconds for Alice to feel perfect happiness as his lips touched hers. Slowly, their tongues came out meet and she felt herself striving to get even closer to his hard body.
Gently, he lifted her onto the desk his hands reaching for the zipper of her dress. Feverishly, she pulled off his jacket and then moved in to undo his now muddled tie.
She returned home late that night, surprising her sister as she walked in with a million dollar grin.
"You look happy," Daisy questioned suspiciously helping her slip out of her jacket, "did you meet someone?"
"As a matter of fact I did," she smiled devilishly.
Daisy looked up at her eagerly.
"A woman named Kate was there. Apparently, she was a big fan of my work."
A feather could have knocked her sister over but Alice resisted the urge to tease her further. Instead, she moved to her piano and began forming the lyrics in her head.
Well I looked into his eyes and I felt a funny feeling
I knew from that moment it's his kisses I'd be stealing
We don't always get to choose who we love.
-Scott Westerfeld
