by Lexy Timms
“It’s true that I don’t have to deal with quite as many kitchen emergencies,” Mark said, turning just enough to look at her. “Thank bloody goodness for the new manager. I’m not sure I could have kept running this place without some help. I’m no fry-guy. I like to eat food, not figure out how to cook it.”
“It’s good that you realized that early on.” Erica pressed a little closer against his side. “A lot of people keep trying to do it on their own until they break down under the strain.”
“Alex never did,” Mark pointed out. “He just keeps going and going and going. No matter how much gets piled on top of him. Jamie is the same way. We had to practically drag her out of the office after the twins were born.” He shrugged. “I guess that’s why I was trying to do it all on my own here. I wanted to measure up to my brother.”
Erica turned, and one of her hands lifted to settle against his cheek, turning him so that he met her eyes. “You don’t have to be Alex to measure up,” she said. “You’re great just being you. And this place that you run is doing pretty well under the Mark Reid style of ownership.”
It was. After all these weeks, things were finally settling into place. The restaurant was running smoothly, and the supplies for the kitchen were coming in on time. Nothing had gone horribly wrong lately. Mark took it as a positive sign. Despite all the early struggles with it, this country club was what he was meant to be doing. And he was meant to be doing it with Erica by his side.
She was looking down at the golf course, the sunlight catching in her hair and gilding the lines of her face, and Mark was sure that he’d never seen anything more beautiful than she was in that moment. He hadn’t told anyone yet, but he was thinking about looking at rings. Maybe not right away; he didn’t want to rush into anything, especially not after his ex-wife and the arguments they’d had over the last few weeks, but he would bring the subject up to Alex and see what his brother thought. He already knew Jamie would be on board. Jamie had been trying to set him up with a nice girl for ages.
And speaking of Jamie, Mark reluctantly pulled himself away from the view and took a step toward the parking lot where the car was waiting.
“Ready to go?” he asked Erica.
“Ready,” she said.
Halfway to the parking lot, Mark stopped, patting down his pockets.
“Shoot. I think I left the car keys in the building.”
Erica raised an eyebrow at him, mouth curving into a smile. “You left your car keys? Really, Mark?”
“Yes, really. I’ll go get them. It’ll just take a sec.” He jogged off before she could answer, although he was sure that she would have plenty of time in the car on the way to Alex and Jamie’s to mock him. He was sure the keys were still sitting on the dresser. As he reached the building he slowed to a brisk walk, nodding to some patrons as he moved past them toward the kitchen and the stairs that led up to his rooms.
Christine was sitting on the stairs. She looked up with wide eyes at the sound of his footsteps, and he noticed with a rush of concern that there were tear tracks on her face. He slowed his pace and then stopped altogether, settling down next to her.
“Hey,” he said. “What’s wrong?”
She shook her head, like she wasn’t going to answer.
“I’m your brother. Well, brother-in-law. Brother for all intents and purposes. You know that you can tell me things,” Mark smiled at her. “I promise not to divulge them to another living soul.”
Christine managed a watery smile. “It’s really stupid.”
“I doubt that. Just tell me.”
Her shoulders slumped, and she sighed. “You probably don't know, because I haven't really talked about it to anyone except Jamie, but I met a guy here. Michael. He was really nice. And I went on a date with him that went really well. I thought that we might actually have a chance together.” She shook her head. “I had another date with him last night, and when we were getting ready to leave his wife called.”
Mark's eyebrows lifted. “He told you that it was his wife on the phone?”
“No.” Christine laughed a little, still teary. “He didn't have to tell me. He had the phone turned up loud enough that I could sort of hear what was being said, and it was obvious from the way that he talked to her. After he hung up, I made him tell me.”
Carefully, moving slowly enough that Christine could pull away if she wanted to, Mark wrapped an arm around her shoulders. She stiffened, like she was surprised by the contact, and then she relaxed into it, laying her head against him.
“That's awful, Christine, I'm sorry.”
“You know what's funny?” She didn't turn to look at him as she spoke, and her voice was soft. “The old me—the one that was so terrible to Jamie—would have just gone with it. I wouldn't have cared that he was married, because my mother taught me that no one else's happiness matters as much as my own. I was thinking about that when I left. Thinking about how at one point I might have been happy with him. Or happy until he told me that he wasn't going to leave his wife, because they never do, and I wondered what it says about me that I even considered that.”
“It says that you're a good person,” Mark answered. “The fact that you thought about what you might have done a long time ago, and acknowledged that maybe there was a part of you that wished you could still act like that, doesn't mean that you're still that person. You walked out when you found out that he was married. That's what matters.”
“I just thought that we were such a good match.”
Mark's arm tightened a little around his sister-in-law's slender shoulders. “No one who would cheat on their wife is a good match for someone like you, Christine. Whatever you might have been like in the past, you're the kind of person now who deserves a lot better than that.”
She looked up at him, finally, and this time the smile that she gave him was genuine. “That's really nice of you to say.”
“It's just the truth.”
They sat for another minute in silence, but Mark knew that if he didn't head outside soon Erica was going to come in looking for him, and he should probably get up. He let his arm slip from Christine's shoulders so that he could stand, and then held his hand out to her.
She took it, getting to her feet.
“You going to Jamie's for dinner tonight?” he asked her.
“I'm supposed to be.”
“Well, then, you shouldn't miss it.” Mark started up the stairs, motioning for Christine to follow him so that he could grab the car keys off the dresser. “You can ride with Erica and me if you want to. We'll drop you off at home on our way back, and you can take the day off tomorrow. We'll figure out a way to get your car back to you.”
“That's really sweet, but I think that I'd rather not take the day off if you don't mind. More time to think about it isn't really what I want.”
Mark picked up the keys that were exactly where he'd thought they would be, and turned to look at Christine. “You don't have to if you don't want to, of course. I understand the value of working through your frustrations. But please don't hesitate to come to me if you ever do need anything.” He moved toward the door again, pausing to smile at her over his shoulder. “You're family, Christine. I'm always going to be here for you.”
“I don't need a ride,” Christine said, “but I might take you up on that offer sometime. Thank you. And, you know, I consider you family, too, so if you need anything the offer goes the other way.”
“You got it,” Mark said, shooting her a grin. “I'll be sure to think of things that I can waste your time with.”
That got a laugh out of her, and Mark felt accomplished.
“I'll see you at Alex and Jamie's, right?” he asked as they parted at the bottom of the stairs.
Christine nodded, and smiled. “I'll see you there.”
Chapter 16
Jamie swung the door open at the first knock and smiled when she saw Erica and Mark standing on the other side. “Hi! Come in. My dad's already here, so feel free to j
ust join him in the living room with the twins if you want. Alex is finishing up a phone call, and then he'll be down.”
“Sounds good,” Mark said, already steering past her, Erica following.
She watched them go with a smile. Erica really was good for Mark. He looked happier with her. Brighter. And she looked like she enjoyed being around him. Jamie hadn't had much chance to actually talk to her, but she was going to make sure she got it soon. She wanted to know more about the woman that her brother-in-law was so obviously smitten with.
A moment later another knock announced the arrival of Christine, who looked a little worn, but smiled when Jamie ushered her in.
“You okay?” Jamie asked.
“Yeah,” Christine said. Jamie wasn’t entirely sure that she believed her, but Christine nodded. “I mean, I will be.”
There was a story there, and Jamie wanted to know it, but if her sister didn’t want to bring it up tonight she could let it go for a while. This was meant to be a happy occasion for all of them, celebrating the fact that Reid Enterprises was out of danger, and that Little Lake Country Club was going strong. And, more privately, it was a celebration of the fact that Alex was going to start giving more of his work over to Zander so that he could start spending more time at home with her and Lilli and Benton. It was a good night.
When Jamie and Christine walked into the living room, Mark was on the floor with the twins, making laser noises with, of all things, a toy dog. The twins were thoroughly delighted by his antics, and Jamie just shook her head, leaning against the door frame to watch while he flew the dog around them in circles. Erica, perched on the edge of the couch, had an expression on her face that Jamie was pretty sure meant she was thinking about how good a father Mark would be, and Jamie didn’t bother trying to hide her smile at the idea. They would have the cutest children.
Footsteps behind her alerted Jamie to the presence of Alex, who wrapped an arm around her waist and leaned his chin against the top of her head, watching his brother play with Lilli and Benton. She felt him smile.
“Guess he should be having some kids of his own soon, huh?” he whispered, just loud enough for Jamie to hear.
“He might be,” Jamie said, glancing again at Erica, who was still watching Mark with a love-struck kind of look on her face that Jamie was sure Alex had seen.
Christine, who looked a little happier than she had when she came in the door, decided to join Mark on the floor, then, and he handed her a block, which she promptly sent after his dog ship, both of them laughing. Benton and Lilli squealed and tried to reach for the toys. Jamie, laughing, looked up and found Erica’s expression had soured, her lips pressed tight and her jaw clenched.
“Or maybe not,” she said, “if he doesn’t let her know that there’s nothing going on between him and my sister.”
Alex chuckled. “He’d better get on that pretty soon, by the looks of it.
From the kitchen behind them, the oven timer dinged, and Jamie clapped her hands to get the attention of the various people gathered in the room. “That’s dinner,” she said, smiling when they all looked up at her, and Alex stepped back to let them make their way into the kitchen while Jamie pulled the roast out of the oven and set it in the center of the table where there were already steaming dishes of mashed potatoes and corn. When she turned, Mark had Benton in his arms, and Benton was giggling while his uncle tickled him under his chin. Christine was holding Lilli, murmuring to her in a voice too low for Jamie to hear.
Her dad had already sat down at the table, and Jamie dropped a hand on his shoulder as she passed by. He looked up and smiled. This, Jamie thought as Alex set the last of the water glasses in front of people and Mark and Christine got Lilli and Benton situated in their high chairs, is exactly what family should be. All of them together, laughing and smiling, and Alex home. It didn’t get more perfect than this.
She took a seat at the table and looked over the little gathering with a warm glow in her chest. “Thank you, guys, for coming tonight,” she said when the noise had settled enough that she could speak over it. “I know that I talked about a tradition of Sunday dinners before and that kind of fell apart, but I’d really like to start doing it again.”
“You all are welcome to come out to the country club some Sundays, too,” Mark said. “If you don’t feel like cooking.” His grin was shameless. He knew that Jamie hadn’t cooked.
She glared at him. “That’s so sweet, Mark.”
“Just doing my brotherly duty.”
“You going to cook when it’s your week?”
He stuck his tongue out at her.
“We could rotate,” Jamie’s father suggested. “Have one at my house sometimes, too.”
“That’d be great, Dad.”
“Now that that’s decided,” Alex said, “I’d like to actually eat.”
Jamie laughed at Mark’s eager nod of agreement, shaking her head. “All right. I won’t take up any more of your precious eating time. Dig in.”
They did, passing dishes back and forth and filling their plates. Before too long the sound of laughter was drifting up toward the ceiling, Mark apparently doing his best to make Christine smile, and looking smug every time he amused her with something ridiculous. He really was going to have to talk to Erica, Jamie thought, watching the other woman’s face every time Mark’s attention moved away from her, but she was glad to see her sister and her brother-in-law getting along. Before the twins were born, she hadn’t thought that she’d even be able to introduce Christine to Mark, let alone have them sitting together at the same table eating dinner without any fights erupting.
But here they were. All of them. Well, not quite. Jamie spared a moment’s thought for her mother, hoping that wherever she’d gone off to this time she was at least safe, but glad that they didn’t have to share the dinner with her. She’d done her best, and there just wasn’t any getting through to the older woman.
Alex’s hand bumped against hers, and Jamie looked up to find him watching her with concern, realizing that she’d gotten a little lost in her thoughts. She shook herself out of them.
“I’m just fine, baby. I was just thinking.”
He fed a bite of mashed potato to Benton and looked back at her. “What about?”
Down the table, Mark had gotten Erica to tell a story about some guy she’d apparently been instructing who had hit on her, and Christine was shaking her head, Jamie’s dad laughing. Jamie looked back at her husband and smiled a slow, wicked smile.
“Wouldn’t you like to know, Mr. Reid.”
His eyes darkened, and she felt a little shiver of pleasant heat. Suddenly, she hoped the dinner would go just a teeny bit faster.
***
By the time everyone left, Jamie was more than ready for it to be just the two of them. She waved as the door shut behind Mark and Erica, and then turned to lean against Alex’s chest. The twins had been put to bed an hour before with Christine’s help, and the house was quiet. Alex reached out, his fingertips brushing a stray lock of hair away from Jamie’s cheek and then trailing a soft line down her face.
“What do you think about heading upstairs?” he asked, like he didn’t already know the answer.
“Mmm.” Jamie closed her eyes, leaning her cheek into his warm palm. “That’s good by me.”
It amazed Jamie how little Alex needed to do to make her whole body just come alive. He had only touched her cheek, and already little shivers ran down her spine, already she imagined his hands on her neck and her back and her shoulders. Warmth was pooling under her skin. She wanted him already. But that was nothing new; she always wanted him.
“Jamie,” he said, voice low and a little rough, trailing his thumb across her mouth.
She flicked her tongue out to brush against it, then kissed the pad of it, feeling Alex shudder under the touch and smiling a little smugly at how easily she could affect him in return.
He stroked her face, moved in close enough that their noses were touching. With just a
bit of effort, their lips could be touching at any moment. Jamie almost leaned up to make it happen. Alex’s fingers trailed through her hair and then over the back of her neck, and Jamie sighed, shivering a little herself with the pleasure of it.
It was kind of ridiculous how much she wanted him. How easily and naturally her body responded to him, even to such little, simple things like the touch of his fingertips against her face and her neck. Weren’t married couples supposed to want less sex as time went on? It seemed like she was always wanting more, and Alex definitely hadn’t been complaining. He slid his palm along her spine.
“I like your hands,” Jamie said, opening her eyes to look up at him. “I don’t know if I’ve ever told you that before, but they’re good hands.”
Alex laughed, stroking her cheek again with the hand that wasn’t resting at the small of her back. “I’m not sure if that’s sweet, or just kind of weird.”
“It’s completely normal,” Jamie protested. “They’re very good hands, actually. You can do a lot of things with them.” She gave him a long look from under her eyelashes. “To me.”
His beautiful smile widened into a grin. “Now we’re getting somewhere.”
“We’re getting somewhere,” she agreed, bringing his hand to her mouth so she could kiss each fingertip in turn, then kissing the back of his hand and looking up at him again. “Where would you like to go?”
“I think I told you that already,” Alex said, his voice a little rougher. “To the bedroom. Where I can do things to you.”
It was Jamie’s turn to laugh, and she pulled back quickly enough that he couldn’t catch her, tugging her with him by the hand that she still held. “To the bedroom, then,” she said, and he followed.
They dropped onto the bed together, Alex leaning over her, both of them breathing a little faster.
“Is this where you want to be?” Jamie teased.
“Well...” Alex’s smile took on a sly edge, “I can think of a few other places I might like to go.”
