Always in Albuquerque Read online

  When Dr. Lachele finally turned into the parking lot of the Marriott, Alexis slumped back in her seat. “I’ll go check in.”

  “I’ll just sit here and fiddle with the radio,” Dr. Lachele replied.

  Alexis was so happy to be alive and at their destination, she just couldn’t express it. She had been certain Dr. Lachele would kill her at least six different times. The woman was a menace and didn’t belong behind a steering wheel. Ever.

  She quickly checked in, they parked, and found their room. “The others should be here by now. We’re supposed to do supper together. Are you hungry?” Alexis asked, better able to speak now that she was no longer in a moving vehicle with a crazy woman behind the wheel.

  “Starving!”

  As soon as they were settled, Alexis called Sydney. “Are you here yet?”

  “We’re all sitting here together waiting for you and the good doctor. We’re right outside the restaurant. Do you want me to get a table here? Or should we go somewhere?”

  “Here. We’re both starving half to death. Get a table and we’ll be there in five.” Alexis felt her heart beat a little faster. The ball was in motion, and her life was about to change. For the better.

  “Sounds good. See you in a few!”

  “We’re going to eat in the restaurant here,” Alexis told Lachele. “The others are getting a table now.”

  “Good. We’ll eat faster that way!”

  Two

  The weekend went beautifully. All four girls took their turns talking to Dr. Lachele, and they all made their needs known about what they were looking for in a husband. When it was time to return the older woman to the airport, Alexis had a tear in her eye, and it wasn’t because Dr. Lachele had almost killed them eight times in the airport parking lot.

  As Alexis left her there, she couldn’t stop thinking about how much her life was about to change. She prayed Dr. Lachele would find someone for her soon. She was tired of being alone.

  It was late February when Dr. Lachele got back in touch with Alexis. “I’ve set the wedding for the first Saturday in April. Do you have a church? Or should I just pick a place?”

  “I have a church if it’s open on that short of notice.” Alexis gave Dr. Lachele the details. “Will you be coming for the wedding?”

  “You know I wouldn’t miss it for all the cocoa in Russell Stovers!”

  “All right, give me the details, and I will be there. I’ll be the girl in white!”

  As soon as she’d hung up, Alexis felt a moment of panic that she immediately squashed. Dr. Lachele was a professional, and she knew what she was doing. Alexis was going to marry that man that she’d always dreamed about. She just knew it.

  Within moments, she was on the phone with her three closest friends. They had all picked out matching bridesmaid dresses—but in different colors—and their own style of wedding dresses. There wasn’t much to do but pick a cake and show up. And Alexis had already chosen the cake.

  On the day of her wedding, Alexis arrived to the church early as was her habit. Her three friends all drifted in one at a time during the next hour. They spent time getting ready together, and Joanna did Alexis’s for her. Joanna had grown up on the streets of the Bronx, and she was the biggest tomboy of the bunch. She decided to work on Alexis’s hair because, “It takes a miracle worker to make me look like a girl, so give me a beautiful canvas like Alexis, and I can make the angels sing.”

  Alexis had laughed but agreed to let her do it. She was usually the one who would help the others with their hair and makeup, and she remembered teaching Joanna how to do more than just stick her hair into a ponytail: “Ponytails are fine for basketball courts, but not so much for hitting on guys.”

  As they got ready, the four of them reminisced over their years of friendship. They’d all been together for eight years, and had lived in close quarters for four of them.

  When Joanna finished her makeup, Alexis took a deep breath and looked into the mirror. She was going to be married in just an hour. Was she ready for that big of a life change? “Someone needs to go and see if they can sneak a peek at the groom.”

  “Are you kidding?” Sydney asked. “We’re not supposed to see our grooms until we’re walking down the aisle.”

  “Get a picture if you can!” Alexis told Tess as her friend snuck out of the room.

  Tess just grinned as she closed the door behind her.

  She hadn’t been gone for two minutes when Dr. Lachele came back into the room, her arm around Tess’s shoulders. “Really, Alexis? You send this one to sneak and get pictures of your groom and think I won’t notice?”

  “You know you’d do the same thing in my shoes,” Alexis said, not even a little ashamed.

  Dr. Lachele laughed softly. “Maybe I would. But I wouldn’t be nearly so obvious about it.” She walked over and sat down next to Alexis. “You know my rules for these things. You’re going to see him as you’re walking down the aisle toward him, and everything in your life is going to fall into place. You’re going to love him. I promise.”

  “But will I love him right away?”

  “That may take a little while.” Dr. Lachele got back to her feet. “Now let me go talk to the groom. I sure hope he’s not working while he waits for the ceremony to start.”

  “He wouldn’t, would he?” Alexis asked as Dr. Lachele left the room. She really hoped her old boss was joking.

  Dirk paced back and forth in the room he’d been told to wait in until the wedding started. What had he been thinking to let a crazy woman with purple hair choose the woman he should marry? And why was he standing there waiting for the wedding to start instead of running in the other direction?

  The door opened and Dr. Lachele slipped in. “There’s no reason to panic, Dr. Blanton. I wish I could show you all the research that went into your match, but it’s confidential.”

  “Of course it is.” He shook his head. “I can’t believe how nervous I am. I’m about to marry a total stranger.” He must have absolutely lost his mind. What if she had green hair and was covered in piercings and tattoos?

  “Yes, you are, but she’s a stranger who has gone through the same extensive testing you went through. She’s the perfect wife for you. I promise.”

  “I hope so. I really do.” Looks didn’t matter to him so much as strength of character. He was on a fast track at the university, and he didn’t want some crazy wife running around like a mad woman and ruining his reputation.

  Dr. Lachele patted his hand. “You’ll see that I did the right thing for you soon enough. I’m not sure if you’re planning a honeymoon, since we planned the wedding for spring break week, but your bride has taken the week off work.”

  “That will be good. I’m not planning anything big, but it will be good to settle into a home we share.”

  “Are you planning on keeping your place?” Dr. Lachele asked. She hadn’t seen his home, but she could only assume it wouldn’t be big enough for two.

  “I am. I bought a home here as soon as I got my position on the faculty at the university. I thought it would be a good starter home for my wife and me when I finally married.”

  “I should have known you’d be thinking ahead and planning for your future. All right. It’s about time for you to head to the front of the church. I’ll go nudge your bride along.”

  Dirk took a deep breath and nodded. This was it. He was about to be married.

  Alexis watched as her three closest friends walked to the front of the church, all in matching dresses of different colors. Her own dress was mint green, and matched the others, but she wouldn’t wear her dress that matched theirs until their wedding days. They’d thought it most prudent to just buy four matching dresses in different colors and wear them as each of their wedding days came.

  The wedding dress she wore was pure white and sleeveless. She felt very pretty in it, and she only hoped that her new husband would think she was pretty as well. As her maid of honor, Sydney was the last person to walk down the ais
le before her. Her parents hadn’t been able to make it to the wedding on such short notice, and she wished they were there.

  When Dr. Lachele’s husband, Sam, tapped her on the shoulder, she grinned at him. “I hope you’re offering to walk me down the aisle, Sam, because I don’t think I could get to the front of the church on my own two feet.”

  Sam nodded, offering her his arm. “I haven’t seen a more beautiful bride since the day I married Lachele.”

  Knowing he only meant it as a compliment, Alexis smiled. “Thank you.”

  Then Lachele was there, waving them forward, and Alexis took a deep breath, walking along to the beat of the music. As soon as they were inside the church, her eyes went to her groom, standing straight and alone at the front of the church. Their wedding party was definitely lopsided, she thought.

  The man standing there at the altar had dark hair and eyes. His nose was perfectly straight. In fact, everything about him seemed to be perfect. Could she live up to such perfection? Hopefully his personality didn’t match his looks, because if it did, she’d be way out of her league.

  For a moment she considered turning tail and running, but she didn’t. Instead she continued walking, and when she got to the front of the church, she took the man’s hand.

  Standing together, they faced the pastor, but she couldn’t help sneaking more than a few peeks at him. He stood looking straight forward, and his face had a look of gravity. She couldn’t help but wonder if the man ever laughed, but maybe that’s why she’d been chosen for him. She found humor in the smallest things, and she could help him be just a bit less rigid.

  After their vows, the pastor said, “You may now kiss your bride.”

  She turned completely to him and stepped closer, wrapping her arms around his neck. She pressed her lips to his ear and whispered, “Give me all you’ve got, Cowboy!” She hoped it would remove the stick from his…spine, and get him to laugh.

  He looked at her with surprise in his eyes. “I’m a professor, not a cowboy.”

  She sighed, pulling his head down for their kiss. As soon as his lips touched hers, her heart sped up. For all his seemingly boring attitude, the man could kiss. She pulled away and looked at him with astonishment for a moment, and then she pulled his head back down for another kiss.

  She could hear the laughter of her friends behind her, and she just didn’t care. Alexis was going to spend the rest of her life with this man, and she was going to enjoy their first kiss together—whether they were alone or in front of an entire congregation of people.

  When he lifted his head, his eyes looked glazed to her and she smiled. She’d done her job well.

  As they turned to face the congregation, she linked her arm through his and smiled. They walked back down the aisle to the back of the church, and she didn’t let him quit walking until they were in the bride’s room, where she shut the door. “I’m Alexis.”

  He was still too overwhelmed by her boldness to be able to think coherently. “Dirk.”

  “It’s nice to meet you, Dirk. It was nice kissing you too. We’re going to have to try that again. Soon.” She winked at him. “What do you do?”

  “I already told you. I’m a college professor.”

  “Oh? You weren’t kidding about that?” Alexis studied him. “You seem too young to be a professor.”

  “Well, I’m not. What do you do?” She seemed a little too bold to him, and he wondered if she acted this way with everyone. Did the woman have no modesty?

  “I’m a life coach. I have a masters in counseling.”

  He nodded. “I have a doctorate in marketing.”

  “You can get a doctorate in marketing?” She blinked at him. She’d never even heard of such a thing.

  “Apparently you can, because I have one.”

  “Do you work at the university here in town?” She’d specified with Dr. Lachele that she wanted a man who could either relocate or already worked in Albuquerque.

  “I do. And you work here in town?”

  She nodded. “I do. I have an office in Eubank Medical Plaza.”

  “And do you have a house here?” He hoped not, because he’d chosen his house to be a good one for a professor who was up and coming. Hopefully if she did own a house, she’d happily leave it to move in with him.

  “I have an apartment.”

  “Well, I guess you’re moving in with me then, because I have a house. In Vineyard Estates.”

  Alexis recognized the name of the neighborhood as one of the swankiest in Albuquerque. “I guess I’ll move then. Are you planning a honeymoon? I took the week off.”

  “Not a honeymoon. It didn’t seem practical right now. We’ll have a week to get you moved into my house, though.”

  She tilted her head to one side and studied him. “Do you ever do anything that’s impractical?” Most people she wouldn’t dare ask that. She was all about teaching people to be practical. But with him? Someone might need to teach him to be impractical.

  Dirk shook his head. “Of course not. What would be the logic in that?”

  “For fun?”

  “I have enough fun. I’m conducting a research project that’s just fascinating. I’ll have to tell you about it later.”

  “I can’t wait!” She hoped he wouldn’t recognize her words for the sarcasm they were, but he didn’t seem to. “What do you like to do other than work?”

  He shrugged. “I like to work. I’m fascinated by my studies. I’d rather not have to do the teaching part of my job, but I make that work too.”

  “Do you like to play games?”

  “Like board games? Or roleplaying games?”

  “Any games. Anything for fun. Do you like to sing karaoke?”

  Dirk made a face. “Not usually. I remember playing a lot of games as a child, but I’m an adult now.”

  Alexis shrugged. “There are a ton of adult games.” As sexy and nice as she found the man, having a conversation with him was almost painful. There had to be a way to connect, though. They were married, and she didn’t believe in divorce. She took a step closer to him and was surprised at the look he gave her. He seemed almost wary. Wrapping her arms around him, she kissed him again, hoping that she’d not remembered his kisses wrong. Kissing was something they would be doing a lot of together, and she wanted to like it as much as she had liked it before.

  As soon as their lips touched, she knew she hadn’t remembered incorrectly. His kisses set her entire world on fire. He was something else. What, she wasn’t sure yet, but definitely something else.

  When they rejoined the reception a short while later, her hair was a bit mussed, and she definitely looked as if she’d been kissed.

  After the reception, he followed her to her apartment, and she hurried and changed into regular clothes while he sat in her living room, and she felt as if he was judging every aspect of her being from her taste in books to her taste in furnishings.

  She’d packed her bedroom and kitchen, knowing she could work in the rest of the small apartment when she had time around work. She would get it done this week, she hoped. The back of her Jeep was even piled high with boxes, ready to move to wherever she was headed.

  When she joined him in the living room, she was wearing jeans and a sweatshirt, emblazoned with the local university’s motto. “Did you go to school here?”

  “Just for grad school. I did my undergrad in New York.”

  “Really? Where in New York? I did my undergrad in New York as well.”

  Maybe they finally had something in common. “Binghamton.”

  “Me too!” He smiled at her, and it was the first genuine emotion she’d seen on his face, other than confusion, which seemed to be constant around her. “I loved the nature preserve. I’d study there whenever the weather was good.”

  “Which wasn’t often! The flooding there was really scary.”

  “It was.” She shook her head. “I had just started school there during the really big flood in 2011.”

  “I graduated
the year before that. So it doesn’t look like we crossed paths at school at all.”

  “Where did you do your graduate and doctoral work?” He seemed to like talking schools, and she could do that. They had to find common ground somewhere other than kissing.

  “Graduate was University of Texas. Doctoral was UCLA.”

  “So, you’ve been all over. Did you grow up in New York?”

  He nodded. “I grew up in Vestal, which is why I ended up going to Binghamton.”

  “I grew up in Manhattan. I interned for Dr. Lachele while I was in college.”

  “Really? I cannot imagine having to work for her. Exactly how long has her hair been purple? And does she really have a doctorate in psychology?” It was hard to believe an educated woman would choose such an odd color for her hair.

  Alexis laughed. “Her hair has been purple for years. And yes, she really does. I saw the diploma on her wall.”

  “Interesting. Do you know if her success rate on these marriages is really as good as she claims?”

  “It is. When I worked for her, she hadn’t had a single couple—out of about fifteen at that time—that hadn’t worked out. From what I hear, she’s still got that same rate of success.”

  Dirk shrugged. “I have to admit I’m surprised, but pleased. You wouldn’t have been someone I would have immediately been attracted to, but I’m enjoying getting to know you.”

  “Really?” she asked. She had always been referred to as pretty, and though he had a sexy nerd vibe going, she wouldn’t have thought he had women pounding his door down.

  “You’re much too…well, vibrant is the word that comes to mind. You seem like you are interested in taking the world by storm.”

  “Aren’t we all? I keep telling people that I’m going to rule the world someday.”

  He smiled slightly. “Unless you have the makings of the next Microsoft, I wouldn’t count on that.”

  “Not yet. I’ll come up with something, though.” She winked at him, grabbing her overnight bag. “I have a car full of boxes already. Why don’t we head to your place? We can do more moving tomorrow or Monday, but I shouldn’t have to move too much on my wedding day.”