think you’re anything close to being like my mom.”
Her soft lips curved up in a smile and this time her eyes lit up, too. She cupped his cheek in her palm. “Thanks.”
“I mean it, Alex. You’re gorgeous, and intelligent, and…brave. Your courage has always amazed me.”
Her brows rose. “I meant thanks for not deflecting and keeping it real about your mom.”
“Oh.” Why was that so important to her? She’d made a big deal of it at her painting party, too. Maybe he could talk to Alex about his past, up to a point. He trusted her more than anyone else he knew. And just now, instead of judging his mom, she’d seemed worried he would judge her.
Oh, well, he wasn’t going to look a gift horse in the mouth. Returning her smile, he lowered his head and kissed her. “Maybe you should demonstrate your gratitude so I’ll be encouraged to reveal more.”
Her eyes widened. “Well, if I’d known that’s all it took…” She cupped him over his zipper.
He lifted her to the counter. “Let me see that bra again.”
Washing the dishes got put off and so did the bathroom pipe repair. They moved to the bedroom and Mitch made sure Alex forgot everything except coming apart in his arms again and again.
Having taught her class last night and gotten up early to cook him dinner, she soon fell asleep on his shoulder as he lay there recovering from the huge orgasm that rocked him. Listening to her soft little snore, feelings came creeping over him, tender, mushy, urgent. He recognized it for what it was. Everything he’d thought he felt for Luanne. But deeper. Stronger. More real. More…terrifying.
13
ONCE AGAIN, SHE, Alexandria Annalise Hughes, had chickened out.
Last night she’d come so close to telling him that she loved him. She’d never thought of herself as a coward. And she knew eventually she’d have to get off the fence and, like her grandfather advised, go after that runaway calf. There was no way she would settle for half a relationship. But if she told Mitch she loved him, most likely his response would be that he loved having sex with her, and he really liked her a lot.
Besides the humiliation factor, there was the inevitable breakup. Once they split up, it wasn’t that she would lose the man she loved. How could she lose something she’d never really had? No, the most painful thing would be losing her best friend. The one person who knew her, understood her and accepted her for who she was.
By eight the next morning she’d slipped out of Mitch’s arms, made coffee and driven to Jackson and Jordan’s apartment.
Jordan put her to work wrapping items from the kitchen cabinets in newspaper and putting them in a box marked Kitchen. With Jordan in and out of the place supervising Jackson, who was disassembling the bed, Alex had too much time to think.
It hurt at first that Mitch wanted to keep their affair a secret. Was Mitch ashamed of their new relationship? Embarrassed to admit to his other buddies that they were sleeping together? But she could also see the wisdom of hiding their liaison. Fraternization between squadrons wasn’t encouraged.
“Amazing how much stuff one accumulates after one gets married,” Jordan said, wrapping a crystal compote. “We should’ve moved before the wedding.”
“Jackson’s family is nice, though,” Alex responded. “Throwing you the shower and sending you guys on your honeymoon.”
Jordan smiled, her eyes staring into the past. “They’re wonderful. Growing up an only child, I always wanted siblings. And now I’ve instantly gained four of each. And his mom and dad, they’re the best.”
Alex thought about her folks and decided she’d try to get home for Thanksgiving. Considering she’d been trying to avoid spending time with her family most of her life, Jordan’s situation made her realize how important her mom and dad, and even her brothers were to her. In their own way, they loved her. She knew that.
“Hey, babe, do you really want to keep this?” Jackson held up a faded Little Mermaid bedspread.
Jordan’s cheeks pinkened. “That’s my blankie. I really don’t want to get rid of it.” She turned to Alex. “My mom bought me the entire bed set for my fifth birthday. I realized years later she couldn’t really afford it, but she’d worked a second job over Christmas to buy it.”
“No worries, sweetheart. We’ll save it for our kids, okay?” Jackson folded the spread and packed it in a box, all the while holding Jordan’s gaze