Feel The Fire (Arabesque)
Flight 1269 for Los Angeles was delayed. Toni Wright entered through the lobby doors of the cocktail lounge of the airline's Crown Room in desperate need of a drink. Instead her eyes zeroed in on a handsome brother at the bar who looked like he wanted to drown his sorrows in his glass.Fleetingly, she wondered what could be so bad, but the last thing she wanted to do was play Dear Abby to some stranger. At the bar, she ordered a Cosmopolitan. As she waited, her gaze drifted back to the man.He was tall, just like she liked them, and well dressed. In fact, he had a certain aura of power and prestige. That was definitely a plus.Toni wished he would look up so she could see his eyes. She had a feeling they were beautiful."Here you go, ma'am," the bartender said.Toni smiled and laid down a tip. She turned to walk away but then felt compelled to make small talk with the brooding brother. Why not?"A penny for your thoughts," she said, and then cringed at the campy line. When he didn't respond, she felt like an idiot. Never one to shy away from a challenge, Toni settled into the chair next to him.It was a good thing, too; the man's heavenly fragrance was seductive enough to melt off a woman's panties.He reached for his glass and drained the rest of his drink."Buy you another?" she asked.Finally, he glanced her way. Just as she thought, he had beautiful eyes."I always thought that men were supposed to do the asking, not the other way around?"Toni's toes curled at the velvety smoothness of his voice. "I figured we could make an exception, seeing how you look as if you needed it."A corner of his lips curled and an adorable dimple appeared. "That's very kind of you, but—""And if it makes you feel better, you can buy my next one." She winked and flashed him her best smile.He hesitated, looked her over and then nodded. "Deal."While Toni signaled for the bartender, she could feel the man's eyes linger. She hoped he liked what he saw, but there were no guarantees, since she'd dressed down for travel."You're a lawyer," he said flatly.Astonished, she glanced back at him. "How did you know that?"He smiled again. "You have that look about you.""Oh?" She crossed her arms. "And what look is that?""The I-can-eat-anyone-alive-and-still-have-room-for-dessert look."She laughed and managed to maintain eye contact. "Does that look scare you?""Very little scares me." His smile diminished, but he remained polite."Another scotch on the rocks for the gentleman," the bartender announced.For a few minutes after the drink was delivered, Toni found herself at a loss as to how to keep the conversation going. She had already used the penny-for-your-thoughts line, and she just wasn't willing to demean herself by asking for his zodiac sign."Thanks for the drink, but I don't think I'm going to be very good company," he said.She considered him for a moment and warred with herself as to whether to stay or leave. "You know, I've been told I'm a pretty good listener," she said. "And it looks like I have plenty of time to kill.""You don't want to hear my sob story." She smiled. "Maybe I can help.""Trust me. I've heard it all. Trouble don't last always. This, too, shall pass. Or my personal favorite—there are plenty of fish in the sea."Genuine concern crept into her voice. "So someone broke your heart?""That's putting it mildly."Toni drew a deep breath. "Who was she?""Someone…very special," he whispered. "Someone I loved the moment I laid eyes on her."She waited for him to continue, but she saw she had to nudge a little more. "Does this woman have a name?"He nodded. "Yes. Ophelia Missler. I guess you can say that it all started at a wedding…."Toni remained true to her word and listened to the man's heartbreaking story about a love gone awry. There were parts that were funny, sweet and endearing. The only problem was that it was a love story that involved three people—one too many by her count.A couple of hours into the story, Toni thanked the bartender for another round before settling her gaze back on the handsome man beside her."So far this sounds like one hell of a triangle.""Sometimes love gives you more than you bargained for," he said despondently."So I've been told," she whispered, taking a sip of her drink and watching with concern how he downed his own."You've never been in love?" he asked.The question threw her off guard. Toni had dated many men—from all walks of life. Some men had showed her a good time, others had taught her life lessons and the rest she'd rather forget."I'm going to take that as a no." He chuckled."Well, it's not that I don't believe in love or anything," she said, "but I've never experienced a lightning bolt or stared into the depths of a man's eyes and felt beyond a shadow of a doubt that I'd met my soul mate." Toni laughed, but then she was crushed by a wave of disappointment. She had come close once, but close didn't count."Then consider yourself lucky," he mumbled. She didn't feel lucky. While she was out leaping tall buildings in a single bound, most of her friends had settled down and started families. Meanwhile, she couldn't decide whether owning a dog was too much of a commitment.And yet, she was okay with being single. Preferred it, really, when she considered the hell her parents' marriage was."Flight 2193 is now ready for boarding. Flight 2193."Toni sighed. At this rate, she should have taken a taxi to LosAngeles. "So what happened?" she asked, reaching for her glass. "I have to admit I'm intrigued.""And here I thought I was boring you.""Not hardly." She nudged him. "Go on. I'm dying to know how this all played out."He glanced at his watch and gave a half shrug. "All right. Let's see. What happened next?"Toni huddled closer as her handsome stranger continued his story: boy gets girl, boy gives girl an ultimatum to get rid of the other boy, but things start unraveling at the seams."I think you're purposely drawing this story out to keep me on pins and needles," Toni complained after another hour had rolled by. "When are we going to get to the wedding?" She gasped. "Wait. Was there even a wedding?"The bartender approached. "Can I get you two anything else?""I'm good," she said.Her handsome storyteller simply shook his head, and the bartender silently drifted away.Toni glanced back at her companion with a million questions racing through her mind. His story had the makings of a soap opera. Did this Ophelia Missler really love her childhood friend, Solomon, or had Jonas, her current drinking partner, stolen her heart?"You know, I really don't know why I'm running off at the mouth like this. My rehashing this story isn't going to change how things turned out."Fearful she wouldn't hear the rest of the story, Toni carefully placed a hand against his arm. "Maybe not, but talking about things can be therapeutic."His silence seemed to stretch for an eternity before he finally met her gaze. "I guess you want to hear the rest?"Toni nodded and leaned in close. However, the wedding turned out to be a disaster with the bride marching down the aisle; but unable to say "I do," and leaving Jonas at the altar while the bride ran off to Las Vegas to marry Solomon."Flight 1269 to Los Angeles is now ready for boarding.""Oh, that's me." Toni dabbed her eyes and then slid her purse strap over her shoulder before she glanced at Jonas again. She didn't quite know what to say to such a bittersweet love story, especially since he had gotten the short end of the stick. "It looks like I did a lousy job in cheering you up," she admitted.Jonas's adorable dimples flashed. "I don't know about that. It felt good to finally talk about it. It's been a year, and Lord knows, my brothers, though well-intentioned, have been unsuccessful in getting me to open up." He met her gaze. "Looks like you are a good listener.""A year, huh?" Toni's interest perked."Yeah. I heard Ophelia and Solomon had a beautiful girl last month. For the most part, I've been able to move on. I'm a little nostalgic because today would've been our one-year anniversary."Toni nodded as she studied him. "You know, I bet she was right about you," she said. "One day you'll make some woman a wonderful husband."She didn't know what possessed her to say that, but she meant it. Maybe it was something about his eyes. He had kind eyes, though now upon closer inspection and after hearing his sob story, she could see he was still very much a scarred man. Most likely, he had even thrown in the towel when it came to love.Pity.Then again, hadn't she done the same thing? Jonas leaned back and crossed his arms while he studied her. "Is that right?"A delicious warmth swept throughout Toni's body, and if she was standing, she was certain her knees would've buckled."Now boarding Flight 1269 to Los Angeles…" Reluctantly, Toni stood from her bar stool. She reached into her purse and withdrew a business card."If you're ever in Los Angeles, give me a call."Still watching her, Jonas accepted the card. "I just might do that, Ms.…" He glanced at her name and a wide smile eased across his lips. "Ms. Wright.""Until then." She winked, and then made sure she swished her hips in just the right way as she strolled out of the Crown Room.Jonas enjoyed the view as he pocketed the card. "Until then, Ms. Wright."