“He snuck in to see you?” Sydney asked, pretending to be surprised about Casey’s appearance when he was more surprised at the easy way Alexa was talking to the man.
And Sydney was very curious about the flush on Alexa’s face and the twinkle in her eye.
“I’ll have to be more careful about the length of my bathroom breaks in the future,” Sydney said dryly.
“It’s okay,” Alexa said, smiling. “I’d have tossed him out myself if needed. We had some things to discuss. We’re going out to eat now. Can you attend the marketing meeting for me?”
“Sure. Going out to eat?” Sydney asked, eyebrows lifting as he looked at Casey, who was trying hard not to grin. Casey just shook his head from side-to-side a little, the universal sign for don’t-ask-anymore-questions.
“I lost a bet,” Alexa told Sydney. “So I have to go eat hot wings. See you tomorrow.”
“Sure,” Sydney said, as they turned their backs and headed toward the door. “Uh, Casey? You might want to tuck your shirt into the back of your pants before you leave.”
Casey’s hand flew to the back of his jeans, but he felt nothing out of place. He had been ninety percent sure he’d tucked everything back in earlier. It was the ten percent of unsure layered with make-out guilt that had his gaze swinging to Sydney, who just laughed.
“Yeah. Well, good thing I didn’t put any money against you, Carter. I hate to lose a bet myself,” Sydney said, turning back to his work as if he had better things to do with his time.
Casey made a mental note never to try to get one over on Sydney Banes. The man was sharp enough to work for any intelligence agency.
He was chastised a little as he stood by Alexa in the hallway waiting for the elevator.
“Was I just grilled about what happened between us? And did I fail when I actually checked my pants?” Casey asked when they were in the elevator alone.
Alexa sighed and smiled at Casey, thinking he was more charming when he was nervous than in caveman mode.
“Sydney’s a little protective of me. Don’t be surprised if you’re investigated in the next week. He investigates his own clients before he lets them buy clothes at his shop. I can’t convince him to take anyone at face value,” Alexa said.
“My clearance is good. He won’t find anything on me the Naval Investigative Service didn’t find. I’m more worried what he would do if he knew for sure I made a pass at you,” Casey said, making her laugh.
“Let’s not worry about that yet,” Alexa said in reply, not wanting Casey to know that Sydney would be thrilled. “I’m the one in trouble, not you. I’m going to get cross-examined tomorrow morning.”
Casey leaned on his cane and studied the elevator ceiling, then swung his gaze to Alexa, looking as serious as he could manage. “I know at least eleven ways to kill a man, Alexa. Some even look like accidents. How much do you like Sydney?”
Alexa crossed her arms and raised one eyebrow, pretending to consider the offer. “Wow. You’d do that for me? I’m flattered.”
She uncrossed one arm, and pretended to study her manicure as she sighed. “Unfortunately, I invested in Sydney’s business. So he owes me money and I’d like to see him live long enough to pay me back—with interest.”
Casey shrugged as if he was more than a little disappointed with the information. “If you change your mind tomorrow, just give me a call. I have the afternoon free.”
Alexa giggled and Casey grinned. He started to move toward her, intending to kiss the smile off her face, but the elevator stopped in the basement garage.
“I guess I should have asked if you brought a car here,” Alexa said. Casey scrambled her circuits, and she wasn’t thinking clearly enough to be polite.
“Took a taxi,” Casey told her.
Alexa looked at him, her gaze heading south to his legs and the cane. “Can you climb a little without hurting?”
Casey tilted his head and studied her, wondering what Alexa was getting at with the line of questioning. She held out an arm, pressing a button on the key fob in her hand. A giant green pick-up truck on the first row of the garage blinked its lights.
“You drive a pick-up truck?” Casey asked, his shocked gazed traveling back and forth between the woman and the vehicle.
Alexa drew her lips together in a pout. “Well, today I am. I have other vehicles, but I—I like the truck sometimes. Getting blackmailed and having to chauffeur a date weren’t in my plans for the day.”
“The truck is great. I love Fords. I guess I expected—“
“—a girlie car?” Alexa suggested.
“How bad is it going to count against me if I say yes?” Casey asked, trying not to laugh.
Alexa shook her head in sad disbelief. Despite his age, Casey Carter was as stereotypical in his views of women and vehicles as every other man she’d ever known.
“Men,” Alexa said with a growl, striding purposely to the truck and leaving Casey to follow slowly behind her.
After Casey climbed into the cab with her, Alexa turned to him with eyes bluer than he’d ever dreamed of seeing. Sometimes her beauty was mesmerizing. He could have just looked at her all night.
“So here’s the deal, I don’t drive as well as Regina does, but I’m proficient and I love cars. When you see my garage, you’ll understand.” Alexa fastened her seatbelt and tucked her purse between the seats.
Casey continued to look around the truck, surprise still in his expression when his gaze landed on Alexa again, who was watching him closely.
“I guess if you can wait, then I can wait too,” she said finally, turning the key in the ignition.
“Wait for what?” Casey asked, wondering why he wasn’t tracking what she said with more sense. It was the truck and her, okay, and her driving a truck as if she’d been driving one forever. It didn’t compute with what he knew of her.
“I guess if you can wait for me to like you back, I can wait for you to see the real me. Men look at my face and think they know all there is to know about me. We’ll see if you still like me as much when you know what kind of woman I really am,” Alexa warned him, seriousness coating every word.
“Sounds like a threat,” Casey replied, studying her as she pulled the truck out into traffic.
“Maybe it is,” Alexa offered. “I usually feel the urge to protect myself. With you, I want to rub your nose into the secrets of my life and let you get a good smell. I don’t know why. You seem to bring out the worst in me.”
Casey laughed, pleased to hear her admit he affected her, even if she did view it as a negative.
“Sounds like fun,” Casey said, his brown eyes dancing with humor.
Alexa thought about the two cars and two SUVs still tucked nicely in their garages back home. Casey didn’t know her, not really, hadn’t even scratched the outer layer of the woman she’d made of herself. He had no idea. But he would, she decided, before they hit the sheets. She would see to it.
Then they both would see if that cocky walk funny for a week threat held anything solid. Men more macho than Casey had gone limp with her when they realized she was more successful then they could ever dream about being.
When Alexa left her thoughts and glanced at Casey, he was on his cell sending a text.
“Don’t tell Seth about our—date,” she pleaded, stumbling over the term. “Let’s wait a little bit before we make this public. You may find you don’t like me after all and we’d have stirred everyone up for nothing.”
“Seth already knows I’m interested in you,” Casey said. “But I’ll be discreet if you want. I’ll tell him I’m doing some errands and will be home late. He’s usually too busy to miss me, but I check in with him anyway. It just seems like the polite thing to do.”
“You’re a good man, Casey Carter,” Alexa said, sighing. “It’s a shame you don’t know anything about good hot wings. Since I’m driving, I’m picking the restaurant tonight. If you don’t like the wings there, I’ll even pick up the tab for dinner.”
�
��I won’t lie to spare your feelings, Alexa. I decided that when I was hiding in the restroom this afternoon. I want you to trust what I say. So if the wings stink, I’m going to tell you,” Casey warned.
Alexa snorted and drove them to where she knew the best hot wings in town waited.
What she omitted saying was the restaurant belonged to her, or at least mostly belonged to her. Thanks to Paul, she had investments in many businesses in Falls Church.
She decided to save that little tidbit of information for dessert.
Chapter 7
Even though Alexa, Regina and Lauren had been having dinner on Thursdays at Lucinda’s for at least six years, Alexa still let the hostess walk her to their usual table. It was just proper Virginia etiquette, even if you were part owner of the restaurant.
Regina was already waiting, but Alexa knew the always-punctual Lauren wasn’t far behind them.
“Better order two drinks at once,” Alexa said to Regina, who was talking intimately with the waiter. “I’ve got a long story to tell.”
“Will I need a drink, too?” demanded Lauren.
She had walked to the table from the direction of the restroom, sporting crisp denim jeans, a teal tank top, and carrying her gym bag. Alexa smiled at Lauren’s casual attire, which she saved for wearing around them. Formal and proper at all times was her family’s mantra about appearance which Alexa had learned meant drab and ugly clothes for Lauren.
Today Lauren looked relaxed and more attractive than usual. Alexa thought it was a shame she still hung out the “not interested” sign. It had been many years since her divorce.
“I’ll have a mineral water and glass of white wine,” Lauren told the waiter. His eyes moved from Regina’s face only to become glued to the impressive cleavage peeking from Lauren’s top.
Alexa couldn’t stifle her laugh. The waiter never even looked at Lauren’s face. It took a while, but he did finally pull his eyes away from Lauren’s cleavage to Alexa.
“A glass of the house red and ice water,” Alexa told him, gracing him with a dazzling smile that momentarily froze his pen. Lauren wasn’t the only one oozing sex appeal today. Hot wings and good male company after a long dry spell were working some magic on her.
The make-out session against her office wall hadn’t hurt either, Alexa thought.
Regina laughed and shook her head sadly when the waiter finally walked away. “I guess he doesn’t like redheads,” she said sadly.
Then Regina looked at both Lauren and Alexa with equal parts fire and amusement.
“You’d think by now I should know not to flirt with the two of you around.”
“For pity’s sake Regina, he’s a child,” Lauren protested. Regina’s candid comments still embarrassed her, no matter how much she tried not to let them.
“For your information, Ron is twenty-five and an Economics major at Stratford. He is also practice, my dear Saint McCarthy,” Regina said with a grin. “And the subconscious reason you’re wearing a top advertising your womanly wares.”
Alexa watched her friends engaging in the typical debate over what Regina considered friendly flirting and Lauren considered lewdness. Today their sparring didn’t amuse her as much as usual. Instead, she found herself wondering where her opinions lay in the matter.
She was still obsessing about what Casey could do to her in bed that would make her walk funny afterwards, which was definitely a worry Lauren would have. But since so many wonderful, wicked things came immediately to mind, and Alexa had already begun putting her own spin on them the more she fantasized, she guessed she was more like Regina.
Pulling her wandering mind away from her thoughts of Casey, Alexa realized both her friends were looking at her in stunned silence.
“That must have been some good daydream,” Lauren said to Alexa, sighing with envy. “Your face flushed and your eyes dilated. Are you feeling okay?”
Regina laughed huskily, saying nothing, eyes lit with wicked humor. Alexa wasn’t surprised when Regina’s sexy laugh finally snagged all of Ron’s attention as he set drinks in front of them. He smiled and winked at Regina before he left the table, barely nodding to her and Lauren.
And wicked Regina gave him another sexy laugh in return.
“Score one for the redhead after all,” Alexa conceded, lifting her wine to salute Regina. “Zero for the flashy brunette and the silver blond with the perky boobs.”
Alexa’s teasing had Lauren flushing scarlet but laughing right along with them because it was funny—and true.
“Hey,” Lauren complained, “I work hard to keep the girls perky.”
Regina reached over and patted Lauren’s hand. “And it works, darling. My girls haven’t been perky in years. Now Alexa could give you some competition if she still strutted her stuff like she used to.”
Lauren, realizing a segue when she heard one, leaned her head on her hand to study Alexa’s smile with new interest. She waited for Regina to start harassing Alexa. It was her favorite sporting event.
“So tell us, Alexa,” Regina began, searching carefully for words that wouldn’t send Lauren running to the restroom, “have you been seeing your boy-toy lately?”
“Actually, Casey came to see me at the office twice this week,” Alexa said, looking away from their interested gazes.
“And . . .?” Lauren prompted, when Alexa drifted off looking lost in memories again.
With thoughts of Casey short-circuiting her brain, Alexa had to work hard to focus on the conversation.
“The first time he visited we talked about Jenna and Seth breaking up, but then he ended up asking me to dinner—or rather tricking me into it. I actually had a good time talking to him, but then I made the mistake of kissing him goodbye. Well, it wasn’t a real kiss, just a lip brush, and I only did it because he made me feel sorry for him. I told him I was too old for him. Casey said he was—that he hadn’t—that I—.”
Alexa stopped trying to talk and simply swore. Not being able to put it in words even for her dearest friends was not a good sign. Seeing Regina and Lauren hanging on her every word, their drinks forgotten, Alexa sighed.
“Anyway, Casey came back to my office again the next day, and somehow snuck by Sydney, insisting he and I—that we kiss each other just to see what would happen. So. . .”
“Wait! Please. I need an intermission before you get to the good part,” interrupted Regina desperately. “I need food. Between the alcohol and the titillation, my head is spinning.”
Alexa laughed at the strain on Regina’s face.
Lauren sighed in disappointment at having to wait to hear the good part, but knew she might as well study the menu. Both Alexa and Regina took their food very seriously.
“Well, it’s been a while since one of us had this much to share,” Regina explained. “I don’t want to miss anything.”
After ordering dinner, Alexa ate more than half of hers before she resumed her story.
“So back to my story—when Casey came back the second day, he said we should kiss to find out if there was—well, anything worth pursuing. I guess he sort of blackmailed me into it or dared me. I still can’t figure out why I agreed. I started out not really participating, but eventually he—well, he noticed I wasn’t really doing much. I—“ Alexa paused, trying to think of how to describe the moment she kissed him back and lost her grip on reality.
“The next thing I know I was ripping off his clothes and we were heading to the floor. At least we were until Casey changed his mind and stopped.”
“Changed his mind?” Regina and Lauren asked in unison, forks pausing mid-air.
“He wants to be friends first,” Alexa stated flatly, frowning at her plate.
Regina and Lauren looked at each other. Lauren recovered first.
“Well, that’s nice isn’t it?” Lauren asked Alexa, who gave her an ‘Are you kidding?’ look in return.
Regina watched Alexa frown at her half-eaten dinner.
“Why do you suppose he wants to be friends fi
rst, Alexa?” Regina asked. She had her educated suspicions, but Alexa was in no place to hear Casey was already starting to fall in love with her.
Alexa shrugged in reply. “Casey said he didn’t want to be just a one-night stand—relatively speaking. He kept telling me over and over that he liked me, which is a joke because he doesn’t even know me.”
When Regina said nothing, Alexa told them the rest. “I took him to Jean’s place for hot wings last night. I was going to tell him over dessert about owning the place, just to see how he reacted to the news, but in the end I couldn’t do it. It felt too mean to flaunt my wealth trying to scare him away.”
“Are you planning on telling him how successful you are before or after you sleep with him?” Regina asked.
“Who says I’m going to sleep with him?” Alexa protested.
Lauren let out a laugh but winced when Alexa frowned at her. “Sorry. I thought you were making a joke.”
And that made Regina laugh because Alexa was fooling herself if she thought she wasn’t going to end up in bed with Casey Carter. Even Lauren could tell. Casey was pursuing Alexa despite the family complications of Jenna and Seth, and had somehow charmed Sydney in the process of trying to woo her.
The fact that he wanted their sex life to be on his terms was intriguing, but it didn’t worry Regina. She knew Alexa would change the situation as soon as she stopped fighting her feelings for the man.
“Alexa, I bet you didn’t even sleep last night for thinking about being with Casey,” Regina said kindly, sympathetic to anyone who struggled with desire.
Alexa didn’t answer. She picked up the wine and drank.
“I’ve wanted other men I didn’t end up sleeping with,” she said quietly.
Regina and Lauren exchanged a look.
“I think you should go for it,” Lauren said, waving her hand to emphasize. “It’s been a long time since you had a man in your life, Alexa.”
“This from a woman who hasn’t had a sexual relationship—with a man—in what? Six or seven years?” Alexa asked, incredulous it was Lauren encouraging her to indulge.
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