Risky Negotiations (21 page)

The evening seemed to fly by. They were all dancing and laughing. Before Laci knew it, it was already midnight and Sal was guiding her out the door and into the waiting Land Rover. Harry drove them home at a very sedate pace while Laci fell asleep on Sal’s shoulder, despite the long nap she’d had that afternoon.

Saturday dawned with beautiful sunny skies and not a cloud anywhere to be seen. Laci woke up alone in bed, listening to Sal on the phone. His deep voice was asking rapid fire questions to the person at the other end of the line.

He got off the line and saw her, then came over to her smiling. “Ready?” he asked and leaned over her, the heat in his eyes indicating what he was ready for.

Laci pulled the sheet up over her breasts, laughingly wary of the look in his eyes. “I’m not sure,” she replied, giggling when he nipped her shoulder.

“
I left you alone last night because you looked so exhausted. Bu I don’t think I can do that anymore,” he said, his eyes lighting up as he took in her naked state beneath the covers.

“
You left me alone for my sake?” she laughed. “Well, that was not very nice of you,” she said, then sat up, letting the sheet fall down her body as she got up on her knees, moving gracefully to the edge of the bed. “Why don’t you make up for that oversight right now?” she said and met his kiss halfway.

Sal pulled off his jeans then fell into bed with her, laughing as he caught himself before crushing her into the mattress. “I’m always willing to obey a lady,” he joked, reaching for her breast.

An hour later, Laci was making them a breakfast of toasted bagels and salmon while Sal checked some information on the computer. “Everything ok?” she asked, wondering about his intense expression. She handed him a cup of hot, fragrant coffee, taking a sip of her own.

He glanced up and his face instantly cleared. He took the two plates loaded with bagels, cream cheese and smoked salmon she was carrying. “Fine,” he replied. “Are you ok to do more skiing today? Or are you too sore?”

Laci laughed. “Think you can out run me again?”

“
Don’t even try it,” he said and lifted her up against his body for a deep kiss. They were interrupted by the shrill ring of the telephone. Sal glanced down at her. “Don’t go away.”

She laughed quietly as he left to answer the phone. She glanced down at the table and decided to start without him. She was famished. She took a bite of the warm bagel while she watched him on the phone. Laci decided that she wouldn’t want to be the caller if his expression was any indication. Whoever it was, they had made him instantly irritated. She couldn’t hear his conversation, but she knew he was trying to be patient but still end the phone call. He hung up a moment later and came to sit next to her.

“
Problems?” she asked, sipping her coffee.

“
No,” he said. “Just a nuisance.” He took a sip of coffee and changed the subject “I made reservations for us at La Nice tonight. I hope that’s ok.”

“
Since I have no idea what La Nice is, I’m guessing it will be fine,” she said cheekily.

“
It’s a French restaurant with wonderful food. I think you’ll like it.”

She could tell that he was still irritated by the phone call but was trying to put it behind him “How about if we hurry up and get out onto the slopes. Will they be crowded today?”

“
Probably. Think you can handle it?” he challenged.

“
Probably,” she quipped.

They finished their breakfast, bantering back and forth. By the time they reached the top of the mountain, she was betting him drinks that night that she could beat him down the slope.

Chapter 9

That night, she pulled on the strappy sandal and looked over her reflection in the mirror. The dress was clinging to her in all the right places. She felt pretty and sexy, she thought as she adjusted the strap on her shoulder.

Sal came out of the closet tying his tie and stopped to stare at her, his hands frozen at his neck. “You look beautiful,” he said.

She looked him up and down. “So do you,” she said and came over to pull the end of his tie down through the loop, taking over where his hands had stopped.

The night was perfect. They ate dinner overlooking the slopes, the skiers gliding down with lights as if they were winter fireflies flittering through the black night. She ordered a chicken plate that was delicately seasoned but still tangy and spicy with a creamy pasta sauce that perfectly complimented the chicken. Sal had roasted Salmon with rice pilaf and they shared the flavors together. Sal ordered white wine and they sipped it as they watched the skiers and listened to the soft music.

“
What do you want from life?” Sal asked suddenly.

As she looked at him across the table, her first instinct was to say simply, “You.” But she doubted he’d like to hear that. She suspected that comments like that tended to scare away confirmed bachelors like Salvatore Attracelli. Laci wasn’t sure how to answer that. “I don’t know. In what sense?”

“
Do you want kids?”

She shrugged her shoulders and looked away, hoping he didn’t see the hunger in her eyes at the mention of having children. “I suppose every woman wants kids,” she carefully replied. “I love being around Josh and Max. Victoria doesn’t give me enough time alone with them though since she likes being with them herself,” she smiled fondly, thinking of her rambunctious nephews.

She desperately wanted kids but that was a forbidden topic with Sal. Allowing herself to imagine having children naturally led to the father of them. And she wanted nothing more than to give Sal children. But that would be for another woman. Someone more sophisticated and worldly. She knew she was only a fling for him. And her heart ached at the idea.

“
How many would you like to have?”

She looked wistfully out the window. “I don’t know. Probably a houseful,” she laughed. “But since I don’t have any at the moment it is easy to think about the fantasy of kids instead of the reality. If I go that route, probably only one or two.”

Sal chuckled. “I know you’re point. My initial reaction would be to have five or six. But that number goes down when I think about them dating or driving.”

“
That’s a good point. I can’t imagine allowing my daughters to date.”

“
Why just your daughters?”

Laci laughed and glanced at him out of the corner of her eye. “Because I know what men are thinking about. And I don’t want my daughter to have to fight off those thoughts,” she explained.

“
You have a good point,” he said, his smile lecherous. “How old were you when you started dating? And was your father okay with it?”

She thought back to her first boyfriend. “Well, I think I was in seventh grade when I had my first boyfriend. But I’m not sure that really counts since all we did was meet on the play ground after school and talk. My father didn’t know anything about it, thankfully.”

“
Talk?” he smiled knowingly.

“
Yes, Talk!” she declared, knowing that he would have wanted something more than a conversation even at the tender age of ten or eleven. “I’m guessing you’d have wanted to do more, but I was too shy,” she said, laughing at his leering expression. “How old were you?”

“
I think I was about the same age.”

“
What was her name?”

“
Who?”

“
You’re first girlfriend?”

Sal took a sip of his wine and thought for a moment. “I can’t remember her name.”

“
Johnny Wiggins,” she stated.

“
That’s the name of your playground lothario? How in the world can you remember his name?”

Laci nodded. “Of course I remember his name. He was also an inch shorter than me but still the cutest boy in school.”

“
I bet you were the prettiest.”

“
Nope. I wore braces and glasses. And my hair was long and always in a braid. And I was painfully skinny.”

“
I can’t imagine you being…”

“
Salvatore! You’re avoiding me!” a harsh female voice said from behind Laci.

She turned to see who was interrupting their quiet interlude, wishing she could tell them to leave immediately so she could continue her conversation with Sal. Laci almost choked on her wine when the blond woman from Sal’s office glided up to their table, a distinguished older gentleman behind her.

Sal’s mouth thinned at their interruption. “Debra.” He didn’t disguise his irritation at the interruption.

The blond, apparently called Debra, leaned down and gave Sal an air kiss, engulfing their table in heavy perfume. “We saw you all the way across the restaurant and rushed over to say hello. Well,” she turned to glare at her companion behind her, “I rushed over. Manny just kept saying that I was seeing things. I told Manny that it was you but he didn’t believe me.” She turned to bestow a pout in the general direction of the man standing quietly behind her. “See! I told you it was Sal.”

The man didn’t reply, but simply raised one eyebrow as if to question her exclamation if not her comment.

Sal looked around the imposing blond to the man. “How are you Manny?”

The man reached around and shook Sal’s hand. “I’m doing well, how are you?”

“
Fine, thanks.” Sal was cordial, but these were obviously not his favorite people.

Laci didn’t understand the undercurrents between the three people but she wanted to stay out of the way. There was something going on that she was obviously not privy to and she didn’t ask for details. She didn’t want these people to continue to interrupt their evening and she prayed that Sal didn’t invite them to stay as he had the previous two nights with his friends.

Manny came closer to Sal, his gaze speculative. “I’ve heard on the streets that something big is coming down the mill on the union contracts. Is that true?”

Sal’s eyes shuttered. “Anything is possible,” was all he would say.

Manny nodded and smiled slightly, as if he had been given a great piece of knowledge. “I see,” he said.

Laci instantly disliked him. He seemed sleazy in a moneyed sort of way, as if his wealth entitled him to live outside the rules. She really didn’t like the way he leered at her, either. She thought his current date was enough and for the older man. He didn’t need to flirt with Laci as well just to prove he was man enough for the entire female population. Laci pushed her seat back a few inches as inconspicuously as possible, wanting to put as much space between the obnoxious couple and herself.

Debra’s pretty, red mouth pouted at being left out of the conversation. “When are you heading back?” she asked, drawing all eyes back to herself.

“
Tomorrow,” Sal answered. “And you?”

Debra stuck her hand through Manny’s arms before answering, snuggling into his side. “Oh, I don’t know. What do you think Manny? Have we had enough of the cold, mountain air?”

Manny wasn’t in the mood to humor her for some reason because he embarrassed her with his answer. “How would you know? You’ve been in the house the whole time?”

Debra didn’t like that response. “Well, it has been bitterly cold. Sal knows this. When we were here last time, he didn’t complain about me not skiing.” She smiled as if her comment was more than just a simple statement. Her words and manner suggested that there was more to the reason Sal knew about her dislike of the cold weather.

Laci couldn’t keep the shock from her expression at the revelation that Sal and Debra had been here together, probably romantically. In fact, Laci felt an almost overpowering need to slap the woman’s face. She didn’t, of course, but Laci wanted the woman to leave them alone.

“
Debra…” Sal started, his tone warning the woman to stop the direction she was going with her conversation.

But obviously the woman knew how to make a good exit line because she waived her hands and smiled. “I’ve really got to go now. You two have a lovely dinner.” She put her red taloned hand through Manny’s arm again and pulled him away from the table. “Come on Manny, I think I need a drink,” she said as she walked gracefully away from their table.

Laci looked down at her wine glass. She couldn’t look him in the eye after that encounter.

“
It wasn’t what you are thinking,” he said, his deep voice velvety soft.

Laci smiled tightly and took a slow sip of wine, needing the distraction to control her emotions. “I’m not thinking about anything other than the fact that we are leaving tomorrow. It was a nice weekend,” she said stiffly.