His Lover to Protect - Katee Robert Page 0,17

she should feel lucky to be alive, but on the dark days, when her grandfather was telling her what a failure of a woman she was, she had a hell of a time appreciating that fact. All she could see was the stark reality of what she’d lost.

Maybe if Mom were still alive, she would see things differently. Her mother had died when she was sixteen, but she’d been bright and full of life right up to the very end, even when the end itself was unavoidable. Alexis hadn’t managed that. The cancer was gone, but she couldn’t shake the feeling that she’d lost something irreplaceable along the way.

She sat up. God, she shouldn’t be dwelling on any of these things. She was in Ireland—a land of magic and possibilities, where being in the right place at the right time was enough to shove a person into a whole different world. And hadn’t she stumbled onto both with this rough-and-tumble man who made her forget her own name? The past shouldn’t be able to shoulder its way into the now and leech any happiness she had as a result of him…but it did.

Time to go.

She dressed as quietly as possible and paused by the dresser mirror that he’d pleasured her in front of last night. Her body heated from the memory, and she managed to dredge up a smile. Her time in Cork had been positive, even if her emotional baggage hadn’t magically disappeared as a result. She’d found someone who actually saw her as a woman—a sexy woman. That was a gift she’d never forget.

This is only the first step. I’m moving in the right direction, and that’s all that matters. Luke was part of that, and I’ll always cherish this memory.

She scrawled a quick note onto the hotel stationery before she walked out the door.

A few blocks down from the hotel, she found a pay phone that would serve her purpose. After jumping through the necessary hoops for an international call, she held her breath while it rang. Maybe Avery wouldn’t pick up. That would be easier. She’d drop a “Hey, I’m still alive” voicemail and go catch a plane.

Of course, the universe wasn’t feeling so accommodating.

“Hello?”

She closed her eyes, a wave of homesickness rolling over her that was so intense it almost brought her to her knees. Through all her hills and valleys and life repeatedly kicking her in the teeth, her sister had been one of the constants. She’d never left Alexis’s side, never hesitated in her belief that her older sister would get through the treatments and come out victorious. Alexis swallowed hard. “Hey.”

“Alexis? Oh my God, where are you? We’ve been so worried! You disappeared and all you left was a text saying not to worry about you. What the hell is with that?” There was a smacking noise. “Yes, Drew, it’s Alexis. No, I don’t know where she is. If you’ll just shut up for half a second, I’ll get some answers.” Avery cleared her throat. “Where are you?”

Now was not the time to falter. Even if her issues had popped up to punch her in the face this morning, her overall experience in Cork had been enough to prove she was right to take this trip in the first place. “Europe. I have some things I need to do, but I’ll be home…when I’m home. Before the baby.” That, at least, she could promise. She wouldn’t let her personal crap get in the way of being there when her niece or nephew came into the world.

“Wow, that’s some serious detail you’re giving me. How about you try again?”

It wouldn’t hurt to give her a little information. It wasn’t like there was a whole lot Avery could do with it, being pregnant and all. No way would Drew let her catch a flight here—and he wouldn’t leave her, either. Not to mention, it was selfish to leave them completely hanging. She took a deep breath. “Remember that cliff that’s been my screen saver for the last six months?”

“The one in Norway that scares you shitless even looking at it?”

“That’s the one.” Another breath. “I’m going to hike up there and see it.”

“Why? You’re terrified of skyscrapers, and that’s a whole lot higher. What are you trying to prove, Alexis?”

There it was, the thing her sister didn’t understand. Avery had been scared enough of losing her ability to have biological children that she took matters into her own hands and made life mold to