infatuated with you. God help me, I’d probably have gone through with the wedding if you hadn’t eloped with Leda. But it’s all over, Ralley. You’re beating a dead horse. It’s too late.”
His lower lip protruded. “You’re just upset,” he said soothingly. “But you’ll get over it,” he added smugly, smiling at her before he went back to sit at his desk. “When you’re calmer, we’ll talk some more. You haven’t got over me yet, Nikki. I’ll show you.”
“The only thing I want to see is your back walking away,” she grumbled.
“Don’t pretend you cared about the big man,” he said sarcastically. “Maybe he had a fat wallet, but he was years too old for you. Besides,” he added shrewdly, “what would a man like that want with a small-town girl like you? Maybe you were a novelty for a while, but you wouldn’t fit into his kind of society and you know it.”
She did, and it cut like a double-sharpened knife. She turned around and walked out of the office without bothering to reply. There was nothing she could say, anyway.
For the next week Ralley did everything but sit on her doorstep and play a flute to get her attention. He followed her to the local drugstore at lunch and sat with her until she started going home in desperation. She couldn’t seem to move without bumping into him. When she heard the phone ring at night, she knew before she answered that it was Ralley with another invitation. He’d invited her out every night since Cal left, and she’d turned him down every time. She was too raw inside at what he’d done to want his company again, ever. But Ralley was persistent. It was what made him a good reporter. He never gave up.
“You’re looking pale,” Jenny remarked gently one day over a ham sandwich. She’d served it on the patio with the remark that Nikki needed some fresh air.
“It’s from running,” she replied lightly. “Ralley thinks he can get me back if he’s persistent enough.”
Jenny watched her closely while she bit into her sandwich. “Can he?” she murmured.
Nikki shook her head. She stared into her cup of black coffee, leaving all but one bite of the sandwich on her plate untouched. “I told him it was over, but he wouldn’t believe me.”
“What, exactly, did he tell Mr. Steel?” Jenny asked after a minute. “You haven’t talked about it, and I haven’t asked. But it’s going to explode inside you if you don’t let it out.”
“I don’t know all of it,” she admitted bitterly. “He told him he was too old for me, and that I’d been seeing Ralley while Leda was alive, too, apparently.”
Jenny ruffled indignantly. “Why didn’t you tell Mike? He’d have thrown him out the door!”
“That’s why,” came the dry reply. “Ralley’s a good reporter, Jenny. He only wants me because I’m not available. That was why he chased me the first time, years ago.” She laughed softly. “Funny, I didn’t like him at first. Now I don’t like him at all.” Her face fell. “Cal wouldn’t believe me when I told him Ralley was lying.”
“Then maybe he cared more than you knew,” Jenny murmured. “He’ll be back, honey. Just calm down.”
“He won’t be back.” Nikki got to her feet. “Thanks for the sandwich. I’ve got to cover an emergency services meeting at city hall, then I’ll be at the office.”
Jenny only nodded, watching her niece walk stiffly away.
But being calmer didn’t help to sort anything out. As the days went by, she found herself under siege again by Ralley, who seemed more determined than ever to get her back. She didn’t flatter herself that it was love causing his acquisitive spurts. Ralley simply had a dogged determination to obtain anything that resisted him. It made him a good reporter—but a nagging suitor.
“I’m afraid to sit in the living room,” she wailed to Jenny as they sat by the pool. “I expect to find him leering at me from behind the potted plant!”
“Won’t give up, huh?” her aunt teased.
Nikki leaned forward, propping her chin on her hands. “Never. I’m so tired of dodging him. I seem to have done little else since I came back from Nassau.” She laughed mirthlessly. “Funny, isn’t it? There was a time, when he was sneaking around to see Leda, that I’d have given anything to make him care. And now it doesn’t matter at all.”
“Because now you’re in love with someone else,” came the wise reply.