Hollywood Flirt - Alexa Aston Page 0,52

back her plate. “That was outstanding. You really can cook, Dash.”

“Tim made the spaghetti,” Herc reminded her.

“Oh, yes. Thank you, Tim,” she told the caregiver.

“Dessert, anyone?” Dash asked.

“Me!” cried Herc.

Sydney and Tim shook their heads no so Dash went and pulled a chocolate chip cookie from the cookie jar. “One? Or two?”

“One. Please,” said Herc.

Dash gave his brother the cookie. Herc ate it while they cleared the table. Tim excused himself, saying he wanted to catch up on his emails so that left the three of them to play the board game. Herc retrieved it and set it up. He had everyone choose a playing piece.

After one game, Herc begged to play again, but Dash said, “Time to get ready for bed. And I have to take Sydney home.”

“Are you coming back?” Herc asked.

“If you want me to,” she said.

“You’re Dash’s girlfriend. You should come back.” He paused and then smiled. “You could move in with us, Sydney. That would be great.”

Dash watched her hide a smile. “Thank you for your offer, Herc, but I’ve just moved back to California from a far off place called Boston. I’d like to stay with my dad for now. Is that okay?”

“Sure. Want to watch me brush my teeth? And scrape my tongue?”

“I’d love to.”

Dash watched Herc take Sydney’s hand and lead her to his bedroom. He followed and took pleasure as Herc told her all about his Mickey Mouse T-shirt collection. Sydney praised him for his excellent teeth brushing and tongue scraping skills. Then Herc put on his pajamas and climbed into bed.

“Tuck me in.”

Dash went and pulled the covers up. “Goodnight. Sleep tight. In the morning, you’ll be all right. Love you, buddy.”

“Love you, Dash.” Herc looked at Sydney with sweet innocence. “Love you, Sydney.”

“Love you, Herc,” she said softly.

Dash clicked on the night light that Herc insisted on having lit every night. He switched off the lamp on the nightstand. Herc closed his eyes. Within seconds, his brother fell asleep.

Dash motioned for Sydney to leave. She stepped into the hall as he closed Herc’s door. He looked at her and saw everything he could possibly want. He had no reason to hide his feelings. It didn’t matter that others might think it too soon. He had to speak what was in his heart.

Dash said, “Love you, Sydney. For real.”

CHAPTER 16

Wake Marshall entered the coffee shop and glanced around. No Marker in sight. He ordered a black coffee and sat at a table in the corner so he could see the door. He wondered what news Marker had about Sydney.

Wake didn’t understand why he couldn’t let his ex-wife go. Maybe it was because divorce felt like losing and he’d always been a competitor who won. After his dad lost all their money in a Ponzi scheme and killed himself to keep from going to prison, Wake had to fight to earn everything. He’d been humiliated having to leave his private prep school for a public high school. His strong grades won him an academic scholarship to Princeton. He’d combined loans and grants to get through Yale Law. He landed his dream job with a New York law firm.

Then Sydney walked out on him. It ate him alive. He’d been jealous of her that first day he’d laid eyes on her in Civil Procedure class. She knew the answer to every question a professor asked, even the curveballs meant to trip her up. He wanted to edge her out on every test. He offered to be her study partner, wanting to see what made her tick. Despite her stellar track record, Wake could see Sydney Brown had zero confidence.

The funny thing was, he found her really sweet. Likeable. Little by little, he’d fallen in love with her. It still irked him when he fell short by a few hundredths of a point in GPA and she took the top slot at graduation. But by then, they were engaged and a team.

She proved very tentative in the bedroom. She wasn’t a virgin but Wake didn’t think she’d had much experience with men. Because of that, he treated her very gently. Nothing rough. Always soft words and loving hands. She had a firm body with curves in all the right places and tried her best to please him. When he pulled off the huge glasses and pushed away the hair that always hid half her face, she was a very attractive woman. It was his little secret that she was beautiful. The rest of