Chapter Twelve
"We have to do something about them!" Kat's voice rang out over the din.The meeting had been Kevin's idea. He'd had enough of seeing Alex and Lissa so miserable. Neither one would talk about why things seemed to be over between them. Alex kept losing himself in sex, one meaningless affair after another. Lissa was holed up in her house, emailing her articles in every week.
"What can we do?" Nick asked, "We can't seem to get them both in the same room!"
Michelle patted his thigh. "That's why we're all here, Nicky. To figure out something."
"Does he even want her back?" Howie asked, then ducked when Kat took a swing at him. "What? It's a fair question after how she treated him."
"Treated him? Treated him?!?!" Kat asked, incensed. "He got her pregnant, got pissed when she told him about it, then ran her down to make her get rid of it."
"Actually," Kevin interrupted, "I was the one driving that night."
Kat swallowed the remainder of her heated words. Everyone knew how guilty Kevin still felt. "Do you have any suggestions?" she asked instead.
He smiled. "Actually, I do."
Alex lay in bed, one arm thrown over his eyes. The phone rang, but he ignored it. It wasn't Lissa, so it didn't matter.
He missed her, God, how he missed her. No matter how hard he tried to drive her out of his mind, he couldn't stop seeing her face. The stream of women he'd used to chase her away only served to drive her memory deeper. He kept remembering her smile, her laugh. The funny way her lips were always slightly curved, as if she was always laughing at some hidden joke.
He remembered walking with her on the beach, playing with her in the waves.
He remembered having her on his arm as they walked into the Grammy's, when the group won their first award.
He sat up, and ran a hand through his hair. Dark strands came away on his fingers. Lissa had always liked him blond.
He'd had two months without her. Two months to realize that he didn't just want her in his life. He needed her. Two months to realize that...
"I love her," he whispered.
The phone rang again, but he still ignored it. He flipped on the lamp, blinking until his eyes became adjusted to the light. He opened the drawer of the bedside table, scrambling until he came up with a pen and paper. Leaning back against the pillows, Alex started to write.
"He's not answering his phone," Howie said, hanging up after his second try. "And I know he's there. He said he wasn't going anywhere tonight."
"Probably busy with another bimbo du jour," Kat muttered sourly.
Howie stuck his tongue out at her.
Kat shook her head. "Promises, promises."
"We still need to talk to him," Kevin interrupted. "Try him again, Howie."
Lissa sat on the deck. Waves crashed against the shore, spraying white foam. Stars sparkled in the sky like glittering gems.
She remembered the necklace he had bought her for the Grammy's, how the diamond heart had sparkled.
She remembered running her fingers through his blond hair, teasing him about going bald before he was thirty if he didn't stop the dye jobs.
She remembered staring up into his dark eyes when he made love to her.
Lissa wiped away the tears. Damn, but she missed him. For the thousandth time, she wondered if she'd done the right thing in sending him away. If Nicky could be believed - and according to Kat, he could - Alex had a different woman in his bed every time he turned around. The thought of him with anyone else hurt like hell. She knew she should have gone out with someone new...like anyone of the dozen of someones that Kat had been trying to fix her up with. She was glad Kat had finally given up. Lissa didn't want anyone in her life right now.
She laughed, but it rang hollowly. Who did she think she was kidding? She did want someone in her life, but not just any someone.
Lissa wanted Alex.
But did Alex still want her?
Lissa stared up at the black velvet sky. Starlight glittered off her tears. "Oh, Alex," she whispered, "I still love you."