Diamonds and Dreams (9 page)

“Hogwash!
 
Are you so naïve that you can’t tell when a guy tries to move in on
another man’s girlfriend?”

“You’re
acting childishly.
 
You’re jealous!”
 
She felt annoyed, not at all flattered, by
his behavior.

“Me jealous of
Rafe
?
 
He reminds me of the guy that usually doesn’t
arrive at a party until it’s over.
 
You
think I envy that loser?”
 
He laughed
cynically, causing Lindsay to become even more frustrated with him.

Stepping
outside into the warm air, they started toward the large parking lot.
 
For a few seconds an icy silence froze their
conversation.

“I
thought you’d be more understanding, Brant.
 
There’s nothing wrong with me feeling compassion for
Rafe
.”

“That
man wants more than compassion from you.
 
Wise up, sweetheart.”

She
spoke sharply.
 
“I wish you’d quit
talking to me like I’m blind to the ways of the world.”

“I
wish you’d stop acting like a gullible schoolgirl when you’re old enough that
you should know when a man attempts to use you.”

“
Rafe’s
done nothing to try to take advantage of me.
 
Until he does, I trust him.”
 
Was Brant the one who used her?
 
She didn’t think so before when he shared his
inner feelings with her.
 
But how respectfully is he treating me today
?
 
Seeing a large bus pull up to the curb, she
turned away from him and started walking toward it.

“Where
are you going?”

“To
ride the bus home,” she replied without a backward glance.

“Ah,
Lindsay, let me drive you home.
 
I didn’t
mean to make you angry.
 
Now I wish I’d
never said anything at all about
Rafe
.”

“So
do
I
.
 
But it’s
not what you think of
Rafe
that bothers me.
 
It’s your insinuation that I’m of a lower
intelligence level than you that I don’t like.”

“I
didn’t intend for you to take my remarks so personally.
 
Maybe we spent too much time together and now
we need to be apart for
awhile
to sort our
feelings.
 
This awful contest, like
Rafe
Wagner, hasn’t helped to strengthen our relationship.”

Seeing
the last person at the bus stop climb aboard the long vehicle, she muttered, “I
don’t want to miss the bus.
 
See you
tomorrow at work.”

Brant
watched her hurry toward the sidewalk,
then
he sighed
and got into his car.
 
He flipped on the
air conditioning until cool air flowed freely through the vents.
 
Everything had gone smoothly between him and
Lindsay until today.
 
There was no doubt
in his mind that
Rafe
Wagner posed a threat to their
happiness.
 
Why couldn’t she see that?

Lindsay
knew she was in for a long night the next time she saw Brant, missing a script,
in the control booth at WBKB.
 
Reaching
for a set of headphones, she murmured a quick greeting,
then
complained, “You know how I hate to work without a script.
 
It makes me feel unprepared.”

“Relax.
 
The job is less boring if we don’t know what
will happen next.”

“I
dislike working without a script,” she repeated, but adjusted the headphones
over her ears.

“You
look cute, like Minnie Mouse, wearing your headset.”

Playfully
she stuck out her tongue.
 
“You really
know how to flatter a gal.”

“You’re
even pretty when you make faces at me, but you look tense.
 
Loosen up.
 
You’re probably still fuming over our last argument, but we can’t let
listeners detect that anything’s wrong between us.”

When
Danielle finished giving the weather report, the newscaster turned off his
light as a cue that it was time for Lindsay and Brant to turn on their
microphones and take over the audience.

“Hi, folks.
 
Ready to roll out the hits?
 
We are!” Lindsay began.
 
“But
first, let me remind you that on Wednesday, Independence Day, there will be an
exciting Red, White and Boom party along with a dazzling display of fireworks
at the Columbus Amphitheater, beginning at eight p.m.”

“Don’t
miss the fun along the riverfront.
 
It’s
sure to be a real blast,” Brant bantered.

Lindsay
continued with the “Music News” report and then asked the daily trivia
question.
 
If only this evening would end quickly,
she wished.
 
She didn’t enjoy the competition that sizzled
between her and Brant as they both were forced to wonder which of them would
keep the job at WBKB and who would soon seek new employment.

CHAPTER
SEVEN

“Why
are you still at home?” Brant’s voice came over the phone when he called
Lindsay on Monday.
 
“I assumed I’d see
you at the awards dinner tonight.
 
Aren’t
you coming?”

“I
wasn’t planning on it.”
 
She was hardly
dressed to go to the banquet since she wore faded jeans and a tie-dyed blue
T-shirt.
 
Her hair, freshly washed, was
dripping wet.

“Don’t
you want to be present to hear them announce the winners?” Brant asked.

“Not
especially.
 
I plan to catch up on
housework tonight.
 
WBKB might win for
this city’s best radio station, but I’ll bet we’ll get passed over when they
announce the winner for Columbus’ favorite radio personality.
 
Mike MacDonald from WQXL won that coveted
honor for the past three years in a row.”

“Maybe
this year you’ll be surprised.”

“It’s
possible, but not likely.
 
Desi
told me recently that he thinks I’m Mike’s strongest
competition.
 
The winners are usually
notified before the banquet.
 
No one
called me, so I assume Mike won again this year.”

Brant
remained quiet for a few seconds before he suggested, “Even if you’re not
interested in the awards ceremony, won’t you come and keep me company?”

“Well—okay.
 
It’ll take me about thirty minutes to get
there.”

“Fine.
 
See you soon.”

True
to her word, Lindsay, wearing a rose pink sheath dress and looking elegant as
if she’d spent all day at the beauty parlor, arrived at the restaurant where
the banquet was held half an hour after she spoke with Brant.
 
People gathered in small groups, drinking
punch or eating hors d’oeuvres while others danced to loud music.
 
She spotted Brant sitting by a large window
beside a stone fireplace.

“You
look gorgeous,” he complimented her, “and you arrived just in time.”

“For
what?” she asked curiously.

“Look
outside.
 
You just missed getting
drenched.”

Glancing
out the window, she saw that rain poured down from the dark sky.
 
The wind whipped back the branches of trees
and she heard it howling even above the sound of the music.
 
The weather turned violent, but Lindsay felt
a wonderful calmness as she noticed the way that Brant’s eyes raked over every
inch of her body.

“Let’s
dance,” he invited.
 
“It’ll give me an
excuse to hold you in my arms.”

Leading
her onto the dance floor, he held her snugly and she thought how wonderful her
face felt against his warm neck.
 
Ripples
of excitement shot through her as his hard form brushed against her, but too
soon she heard him say, “They’re getting ready to announce the winners.
 
Let’s sit down.”

Lindsay
sipped tea slowly and paid little attention until the announcer declared the
winner in the favorite deejay category.
 
“Congratulations to Brant Diamond!”

Her
eyes darted accusatively toward Brant.
 
He rose and didn’t look at her as he accepted his award and delivered a
brief “thank you” speech.
 
Her first
reaction after she recovered from the initial shock was that she felt depressed
by her own failure.
 
Why did the judges
not consider her for the honor?
 
Was it
because she’d been afraid to take chances the way Brant did?

Returning
to the table, Brant leaned forward to gauge Lindsay’s reaction.
 
“Congratulations,” she said icily.

He
wondered if she meant it or if she was too proud to let any resentment she
might feel toward him show.
 
After the
banquet Brant walked with Lindsay to the parking lot that was spotted with
messy mud puddles.
 
“Before tonight, you didn’t
think I had a chance of winning, did you?” he asked bluntly.

“Not
really,” she replied, “especially since you haven’t worked very long in this
city.”

“Then
you don’t feel angry or threatened because I won?”

“No.
 
You inspire me.”

“Inspire?”
 
He didn’t follow her line of thinking.

“After
I examined the reasons behind your success, I understood what changes I need to
make so that my own career blossoms.
 
I
think of failure as a teacher, not an enemy.”

“You
didn’t fail at anything, Lindsay.”

As
she started to get into her car, he said, “Thanks for coming tonight.
 
I wanted you to be here when I accepted my
award.
 
I’m glad you’re not bitter.
 
I want us to work things out.”

“Don’t
worry.
 
I’m happy for you.”

“I’m
glad. Goodnight, Lindsay.”

Sliding
into the driver’s seat of her BMW, Lindsay struggled to start the engine, but
nothing happened.
 
Brant opened the trunk
of his car and took out some jumper cables which he hooked up to hers, but he
had no luck in starting it, either.

“You
need to call a tow truck and have them take it to the nearest garage,” he
said.
 
“I’ll drive you home.”

“Thanks.”
 
Lindsay looked back at her car and frowned,
then
she walked across the lot with Brant.

“I’m
glad the rain finally stopped,” he commented as he drove.
 
“Like most people, I feel better when the
sun’s out rather than when it’s cloudy.”

“Columbus
usually doesn’t get as much rainfall as we’ve had so far this summer.”

“Uh, oh.
 
Speaking of rain, look what’s ahead.”

Flashing
yellow signs warned that flooding washed out the bridge they needed to
cross.
 
“There’s probably an alternate
route we can use,” she said.
 
Yet when
Brant tried to take it, he found that the flooding also occurred there.

“The
way traffic is tied up, we’ll be here all evening,” he pointed out.
 
“There’s a hotel close-by.
 
We’d be wise to park the car while there’s
still space in the lots and try to check into a room before the other motorists
beat us to it.”

“You’re
probably right.”
 
First, her car didn’t
start; now they were stranded.
 
What else
could go wrong?

Brant
stopped the car at the side of the street and called the hotel to inquire if
they had any vacancies.
 
“Don’t forget to
make my reservation, too,” Lindsay reminded from her open car window.
 

“I
took care of everything,” he said when he returned.

He
drove to a 21-story hotel and she waited as he picked up the keys at the front
desk.
 
When they reached the ninth floor,
he used the key to unlock the door of room 909, and motioned for Lindsay to
enter.
 
She stepped inside the room
adorned with gold and white striped wallpaper and asked, “Is this my room?”

“It’s
our
room.”

Fear
knotted inside her stomach.
 
“But I never
agreed to share a room with you!”

“If
you want shelter for the night, you have no choice.
 
This is the only room left and there’s not
another hotel for miles.”