Always been You Read online

  Alisha looked up as her friend padded into the kitchen and smiled. "Morning, Fabs."

  Maggie took stock of her kitchen turned bakery and then glanced at the clock. "Good Lord, Betty Crocker, how long have you been at this?"

  "Not long," Alisha shrugged, "a couple hours maybe."

  "And why exactly are you baking dozens upon dozens of cookies?" Maggie inquired, pouring herself a cup of coffee.

  "I'm making them as a thank you for the firemen that responded the other night. They risk their lives on a daily basis and I think that they might appreciate a little gratitude in the form of baked goods."

  Maggie smirked over the top of the mug in her hands. "Got any in there with an I'm Sorry iced on them for the one that had to rescue your dumb ass?"

  Alisha frowned, but a chuckle was quick to follow. "Oh, my God! One time, Maggie. I made "I'm Sorry" cookies one time and that was a decade ago. Let it go!" She stuck her tongue out at her blonde friend and popped the cookie sheet into the oven.

  "Lisha, you poured sugar into Seth Waterman's gas tank and completely screwed up his engine."

  "Well, I thought he was the one that defaced Russell's locker. Hence the cookies for when I found out I was wrong."

  Maggie laughed, "The look on his face when you gave him the cookies—as if that made up for ruining his car."

  "Not my finest moment, I'll admit. Moving on," Alisha waved off with a giggle. "But if you must know, I do owe that fireman an apology, so yes, some of these cookies are for him. Icing free."

  "Any chance that some of those cookies have my name on them?" she asked, reaching for a chocolate chip cookie to dunk in her coffee.

  "There might be some peanut butter ones coming up next," Alisha offered.

  "Well, carry on then. I've got to get ready for the day. Russell and I have a meeting later with Bergdorf's about possibly carrying our new line."

  "Really?" Alisha asked in awe. "Maggie, that's fantastic!"

  Maggie held up a hand. "I don't want to get my hopes up just yet, but we're hearing good things."

  "Good luck!" she beamed. "I've got my fingers crossed for you."

  "Thanks, Lisha," Maggie smiled. "Have fun with the firemen. Feel free to give any cute ones my number." With a wave of her fingers, she sauntered out of the room.

  Alisha handed a few bills to the driver and stepped out of the cab in front of Ladder 34. She gathered her large shopping bag filled with the containers of cookies and headed in through the open door. "Hello," she greeted brightly to the man with a friendly, mustachioed face. She could feel several pairs of eyes on her, but she brushed that aside, figuring they were probably not used to women marching into the station.

  "Can I help you?" he asked.

  She flashed him a toothy grin, "You already did, actually. Your unit responded to a fire in my building the other night, and I thought that all of you might enjoy these as a thank you." Alisha reached into the bag and pulled out the container on top and handed the bag with the remaining containers to the gentleman. "There's chocolate chip, oatmeal raisin and peanut butter."

  "Hey guys," he called to the others, "this pretty lady here baked us some cookies." The other firemen hooped and hollered their appreciation, making Alisha's face flush. "Thanks, doll," he replied, smiling at her.

  "No, thank you. If it weren't for the fast response and hard work, I might have lost everything. It was the very least I could do."

  "All part of the job, but we will enjoy these," he told her with a grin.

  "I hope that you do," Alisha smiled again, then shifted in place, knowing she needed to go ahead and rip off the proverbial band aid. "Could, um, you also tell me if there's someone that goes by Big working today?"

  The fireman chuckled. "Yeah, Biggerman's around here somewhere. Let me see if I can find him."

  She realized she was a little disappointed to learn that he was there. A part of her had been hoping he wouldn't be and that she could just leave the cookies with a note. It was cowardly, sure, but it was honest. She wasn't looking forward to encountering the rude man again, even if she did owe him an apology. "Great. Thank you so much," she told him. He nodded at her and walked away, handing the other men in the station the bag of cookies.

  "What kinds of cookies are in here?", another fireman called. Alisha pasted on her best smile and went over to chat with the group of men while she waited.

  Big dribbled the ball, smirking deeply when Tony started talking smack in an attempt to distract him. He saw James get open and passed him the ball, turning quickly away from Tony to run towards the hoop. James passed the ball back and Big put the ball in for an easy layup.

  "That's game, assholes," Big grinned, high-fiving James. "Tony, you might want to work on your smack talk since you clearly suck at hoops."

  "Eat a dick, Big," Tony retorted with a laugh, flipping him off.

  Big wiped the beads of sweat off his brow with the back of his hand and looked over when the door opened. "Hey, Jerry! You come out here to get your ass beat in hoops, too?"

  "I'd school your ass, Biggerman," Jerry said. "Someone's here to see you."

  "Oh, yeah?" Big asked curiously. "And who might that be?"

  "Dunno what her name is. Pretty though. Not sure what the hell she wants with you," he joked.

  "Maybe she's come to tell him about a kid he knows nothing about," Tony said.

  Big went momentarily ashen. "Fuck off, dude. That's not even in the vicinity of funny. I handle my business, thanks."

  James and the other guys laughed. "I wish you could see your face right now."

  He flipped them the bird and grabbed his discarded t-shirt. "You all suck," he bit out, and walked inside.

  "Cookies inside, gentlemen," Jerry told them, and was nearly bowled over as the other three ran for the door.

  When Big walked back into the station, he saw the rest of the crew gathered around a woman with long, dark hair. "No way! I do not believe you!" She threw her head back and laughed. It was a rich, hearty laugh that had his lips twitching upward. He didn't recognize her, but hey, if a hot woman was looking for him, who was he to complain?

  "You shouldn't. About ninety percent of what comes out of his mouth is pure bullshit," Big said, making the woman turn around. To say he was surprised to see the woman from the fire would be an understatement. She was also about a hundred times better looking than he remembered. Fuck. "You," he said, almost like an accusation.

  Alisha was rendered speechless at the sweaty and shirtless man before her. She most certainly hadn't noticed the chiseled jaw or the hazel eyes the other night. Damn the fire and his prickly attitude for blinding her and leaving her at a total disadvantage. She heard him clear his throat and she lifted her eyes up to his; found him smirking deeply at her. She had been openly ogling him and he'd caught her. Life was so not golden at the moment. "Me," Alisha concurred, rising to her feet.

  Amused by her staring and curious as to why she was there, he folded his arms across his chest and arched a dark eyebrow at her. "What are you doing here?"

  She grabbed the tin of cookies and held it out for him. "I made these for you—as a thank you." Swallowing the lump that had mysteriously formed in her throat, she added, "And I'm sorry."

  Big stared at her for a beat, then took the proffered tin, his fingers quickly brushing against hers. He ignored the little jolt of electricity he felt in his fingertips. "Sorry, huh?" He looked pointedly at her. "For what?"

  Alisha fought the urge to narrow her eyes. You were the idiot, Alisha. Suck it up. "I'm sorry for the unwise decision of running into a burning building for my neighbor's cat. I know that I held you up from doing your job…so, I apologize."

  "Unwise? I'd call it pretty damn stupid, personally," he shot back.

  Her eyes did narrow this time and she pressed her lips together tightly. He may be good looking, but he was still a jerk. "Yes, you charmingly said as much the other night. I won't take up any more of your time—enjoy the cookies." She turned to stalk away
.

  "Wait—um," he trailed off.

  "Alisha," she told him.

  Big nodded and opened up the tin. He pulled out an oatmeal raisin cookie and took a big bite. It was heavenly—the perfect blend of sweet with a hint of spice and it was even better than the ones his grandma used to make. "Not bad," he said, swallowing.

  She frowned. Everyone had always raved about her cookies before.

  "Don't be such a jerk, Big," James said approaching. "I just had a few and they're really good." He smiled at her. "Thanks for bringing these by. We appreciate it."

  Alisha smiled at the tall man with the boyishly handsome face and the kind manners. "You're welcome." There was something so familiar about him, but she couldn't quite pinpoint it. She angled her head and studied him curiously. "I know you from somewhere," she told him finally.

  Big frowned and looked at his best friend as he looked back at Alisha with his trademark goofy grin.

  "You do?"

  "Yes," Alisha nodded. "I never forget a face, but I cannot place where I've seen you before."

  James shrugged, feeling a little put on the spot by her intense gaze and reached for a cookie from Big's tin.

  "Get your own, James," Big snapped, slapping his hand away.

  Alisha snapped her fingers. "James Keller!" she blurted excitedly. "Right?" Both men looked at her with raised brows.

  "Y-yes," he stammered.

  "You played football for Vista Verde High in Staten Island."

  Big exchanged a quick glance with James. He was half worried that in addition to rushing into burning buildings that this chick had a special pot for boiling bunnies at home.

  "Yes," he drawled out.

  "Oh, my God, this is hilarious," Alisha said laughing.

  "Mind clueing the rest of us in on the joke?" Big asked shortly. He didn't know why he was annoyed that she'd come to see him and now was making cow eyes at James.

  "Sorry, of course. You probably think I'm completely crazy." Alisha beamed a huge smile at both men. "I'm from Findlay. I went to Findlay Prep and my best friends had such a crush on you."

  James smiled then while Big rolled his eyes. "Friends, huh?" he asked.

  "Yes. My friends, Maggie and Russell."

  Big snorted out a laugh.

  "Russell?" James asked, his flaming red.

  Alisha giggled, "It was mostly my friend, Maggie. She met you at a party once when you came with a girl from our school."

  "Rosalind Chambers," the boys said in unison.

  She rolled her eyes and laughed. All men had the same reaction to the redhead. "That's the one. Did you go to Vista Verde, too?" she asked, turning her eyes to Big.

  "Yup."

  "Small world," she smiled.

  He shrugged in response, shoving another cookie into his mouth.

  "I didn't catch your name," James said, trying to deflect his friend's rude behavior.

  "Oh, sorry. I'm Alisha. Alisha Larrington."

  "It's always nice to meet someone from New York. Right, Big?"

  "Sure," he grinned wickedly.

  "So, what do you do, Alisha?" James asked.

  "Well, currently I'm in Chicago on Broadway," she smiled softly. Even though she'd been in the production for a year, she still got a thrill from realizing what she'd accomplished.

  "Are you like a chorus girl or something?" Big asked, making her turn disdainful eyes toward him.

  "Something like that," she said tartly.

  "That's really cool," James smiled.

  "Yes, well, I've taken up enough of your time. James, it was so nice meeting you. I can't wait to tell Maggie about running into you. She'll laugh her ass off." She cast her eyes to the man with the dangerous good looks and sullen attitude. "Sorry—again. I hope you enjoy the cookies."

  "They were really good," James said. "Don't mind him—he's kind of an asshole," he staged whispered.

  Big scoffed. Some best friend he had.

  "I could kind of see that," Alisha said with a smirk, pleased at the look of shock on his face. She lifted a hand and headed for the door.

  Big punched James hard on the shoulder and handed him the tin of cookies. "Hey, Alisha," he called, striding after her.

  She halted her steps and rolled her eyes. Was he going to be rude some more, because she'd just about had her fill for the day. Turning, she nearly bumped into him he was so close. "Yes?" she asked, taking a large step back to distance herself from him.

  "So, the cookies are good."

  "Thanks."

  "I was thinking there was something else you could do for me though—to fully apologize." He grinned like the Cheshire cat.

  Her mouth fell open. "That's offensive," she said haughtily.

  Big realized what she meant and grinned impishly. "Relax, princess, that's not what I meant. But if it was, you would be anything but offended."

  "Ugh, I take it back. You're not kind of an asshole, you are an asshole."

  "I know. Look, about the show that you're in—"

  "Yes?" she asked, crossing her arms over her chest, feeling uncomfortable under his intense gaze.

  "It's not really my thing, but our moms are coming to town," he gestured towards James, "and they always want to go see a show."

  She arched a perfectly manicured brow, "And?"

  "Thing is, I told them I'd take care of the tickets and—"

  "You forgot?" she guessed.

  "Yeah. And if my mom doesn't get to see a show, she'll heap the world's biggest guilt trip on me, and she's already been on my case this week. I'd just as soon avoid another round of that. She's got the market cornered on Jewish guilt trips."

  Alisha sighed. When he flashed a crooked grin at her she rolled her eyes but laughed softly. "You had to go and play the Jewish mother card, didn't you?"

  His brows raised in surprise. "You, too?"

  "My bubbie—she's famous for her guilt trips. 'Li-Sha, when are you gonna find a nice Jewish boy? Why don't you go to Temple more often? Li-Sha, there are tons of nice Jewish boys in New Yawk. When are you gonna have babies, Li-Sha.' I get it," she grinned.

  Big genuinely laughed then. Maybe he'd misjudged her. "So, think you could help me avoid all that by hooking me up with some tickets?" He flashed his crooked half smile that had always served him well with the opposite sex.

  "I'll see what I can do—just being a chorus girl and all," she drawled sarcastically. The sarcasm was clearly lost on him when he only smiled. "What day?" she asked with a sigh.

  "How's Thursday?" he grinned.

  "Four tickets?" she asked, and he nodded in affirmation. "Fine. The Ambassador Theater on west 49th. The tickets will be at will-call. Show's at 8:00."

  "Thanks—you just saved my ass."

  "Then I guess that makes us even." She headed for the door and was nearly in the clear when he called out again.

  "Can't wait to see the show."

  She turned, regarded the roguish smile on his face and felt something flutter in her stomach. "Yes, well, hopefully you can pick me out in the background," she snapped and flounced off.

  Her cell phone rang, and she saw Maggie's name on the caller ID. "Hey—how'd it go?"

  "WE GOT IT! WE GOT IT! WE GOT IT! Our clothes are actually going to be in Bergdorf’s!"

  Alisha squealed and started jumping up and down on the sidewalk, not caring what she looked like to passersby. "Maggie! I'm so proud of you two. We have to celebrate."

  "Definitely! How about tonight after your show?"

  "Perfect. Oh, and Maggie, you'll never guess who I ran into today…"

  Chapter 3

  Rosemary Biggerman and Annie Keller giggled like school girls as they strode down the New York City sidewalk towards the Ambassador Theater with their sons in tow. The foursome had gone to dinner and now they were on their way to see Chicago thanks to the free tickets he'd finagled from the hot and crazy Alisha Larrington. Big experienced a moment of panic as they neared the theater when he wondered if she'd forgotten to leave the
tickets or maybe she'd just been jerking his chain about them in the first place. He might be an asshole, but he really didn't want to disappoint his mother, or James's. His nerves were calmed when he gave his name at the will-call window and the girl smiled at him and slid an envelope with Biggerman written neatly on the outside. He pulled the tickets out of the envelope and read the note she'd enclosed.

  Hopefully these will spare you a guilt trip of Jewish proportions.

  Enjoy the show!

  -Alisha

  Big grinned smugly and handed everyone a ticket. He held the door open for his mother and Annie (hey, he wasn't a total heathen) and the four headed to find their seats. He was pleasantly surprised to see that she'd given them seats on the lower level, twelfth row center. And when his mother beamed happily at him while raving about what a good son he was for buying these tickets, he didn't bother correcting her. He just shrugged and flipped through the Playbill in his hand, wondering if chorus girls earned a mention.

  Russell fussed with Maggie's hair as they walked into the theater and she shooed his hand away. "Russell!" she snapped. "Stop it."

  "Well, excuse me, Miss Thang," he said huffily, "but we're about to be reunited with the James Keller, and I would think you'd want to look your best."

  Maggie halted and whirled to face him. "Okay, one, my hair is fine, and two, this isn't high school, Russell. The only reason I'm here is because Alisha shanghaied us."

  Russell fixed her with a prissy smirk. "Denial, thy name is Maggie. I saw the giddy look on your face when she told you he'd be here, and you changed your outfit three times."