by Laura Moore
“Murphy’s multitalented,” Alex replied easily. “Let’s get these bags inside so you can dig out your swimsuits. Maybe if we ask Gen nicely, she’ll let us take him down to the beach with us.”
“I’m sure there’s nothing Murphy would like better.” She smiled.
Her answer was greeted with shrieks of excitement from Jamie and Sophie and served to mobilize the group. As Alex and Caleb turned to deal with the luggage, Gen leaned over and patted Murphy on the head. “Thanks, pal, you did great. Just remember to be on your best behavior,” she whispered. Straightening, she encountered Cassie’s bright blue gaze. The smile that tipped the corners of her mouth told Gen that despite her whisper, Cassie had heard every word she said. For a second she and Cassie locked gazes, each taking the other’s measure. Then as if reaching some private decision, Cassie’s smile grew warm.
“Sorry to eavesdrop. It’s fascinating listening to people talk to their pets. You should hear me with Orion, one of our stallions, before we enter a jumping class. I have a whole list of do’s and don’ts for him. But I always have the feeling that his list for me would be twice as long, starting with, ‘Just sit back and let me handle this,’ and ending with, ‘You got to work on this carrot thing. The supply’s been real stingy lately,’ ” she finished wryly.
Gen grinned. “Yeah, it would be great to hear what they have to say. On the other hand, Murphy’s pretty adept at getting his message across.”
“According to Caleb, that means he has you well trained. Speaking of which—” Cassie’s attention abruptly shifted. Reaching out, she tagged Sophie and Jamie, who were scampering about. “Not so fast, you two,” she said. “I see two backpacks lying on the ground with your names on them. Time you showed Aunt Grace how strong you’ve gotten this year.”
While Cassie expertly herded the twins toward their bags, Gen, feeling as if she’d just passed a major test, let out a breath that until then she hadn’t been aware she was holding.
Thinking that Mrs. Miller and Alex would enjoy some time alone with Cassie and her family, Gen declined their invitation to join them on the beach outing, saying that she wanted to get a second coat of gesso onto the canvas and give it a chance to dry overnight.
The radio was tuned to an East Hampton station she’d found that played progressive rock. So while the Counting Crows sang about Picasso and Bob Dylan, Gen’s brush danced in sync to the music’s driving beat, covering the canvas’s surface section by section with crosshatched strokes. When at last her laden brush had traveled over the entire canvas, leaving a uniform layer of the gesso in its wake, Gen let the brush fall into the half-empty tub and stretched.
A good day’s work, she decided. And with the humidity as low as it was, there was a strong likelihood that by tomorrow morning the gesso would be completely dry. Then she could start roughing in the underdrawing for the painting, a process far more challenging than the merely mechanical application of gesso.
Gathering up the brush and gesso, Gen went to the sink and washed up, leaving her brush to dry on an old ragged towel. Next she put away her tools, and then set about tidying the rest of the studio.
She stepped outside and stood for a moment, drinking in the beauty of the late afternoon. The shadows had lengthened and deepened into wide swatches of lavender that lay against the emerald-green grass. The sky, tinged an orange-pink, was streaked with whisper-thin cirrus clouds. From off in the distance came the muted crash of the sea, and then closer, the sound of children’s high-speed chatter mixed with the slower rhythm of adult voices.
She turned toward the source. And there strode Alex, carrying Sophie perched on his shoulders. Next to him was Jamie, who had the honor of holding Murphy’s leash. The others followed but Gen only had eyes for Alex.
In that moment she saw Alex differently . . . for the first time completely. She saw the joy in his face as, laughing, he answered Sophie, saw the care with which he watched Jamie lead her enormous dog. She saw the boundless love he had for these two children.
She looked and her heart nearly burst with everything she felt for him.
From across the lawn Alex spotted Gen standing in the doorway of her studio. She looked so incredibly right, standing there in her jeans and T-shirt, the weathered wood of the studio behind her. It made him want a lifetime of images of her smiling that special smile. His heart thudding strangely, he halted in his tracks and looked down at his nephew. “You’ll need to let go of the leash now, Jamie.”
“Can I race him?” Jamie asked.
“Yeah, but he’ll be tough to beat. He really loves Gen.”
“I want to run, too,” Sophie said from somewhere above his head.
“Okay,” he agreed and helped Sophie off his shoulders, setting her down next to her brother.
Jamie’s fingers opened. For a second Murphy stood placidly, seemingly content to nuzzle Sophie, who’d dropped back down to earth. Then Gen, who’d guessed what Alex was about, stuck two fingers into her mouth and gave a sharp, piercing whistle.
Like a gray bullet, Murphy shot off with the twins tearing after him as fast as their small legs could carry them. The dog, of course, beat them by several body lengths. But then Jamie and Sophie were crowding around her, breathless from their race but still able to talk a blue streak. Gen was laughing and nodding as wet, wriggling dog and sandy kids vied for her attention.
Cassie, Caleb, and Aunt Grace stood next to Alex observing the scene. “I think I like this Gen Monaghan,” Cassie said, rising up on her tiptoes to kiss his cheek.
Alex slipped an arm about her waist and squeezed it.
“Yes, Gen’s a lovely girl,” Aunt Grace chimed in.
Caleb nodded. “I agree with both Aunt Grace and Cass,” he said. “So that leaves only one question, Alex.”
Alex cocked his head. “Yeah? What’s that?”
Caleb grinned and a devilish light sparked in his dark eyes. “How’d you get such a terrific girl to look twice at you?”
While Alex and the others showered and changed back into their clothes, Gen fed Murphy and then set about preparing their own dinner. She’d opted for a casual, kid-friendly menu: hamburgers, a potato salad as well as a green salad, brownies and ice cream.
The meal ended up being noisy, chaotic, and absolutely wonderful, the seven of them crammed around the porch’s round table, rubbing elbows, talking, and devouring food. Agreement was unanimous that these were the best burgers ever, Gen’s salads receiving an equally enthusiastic reception. When they moved on to dessert and coffee, the pace slowed, as if all of a sudden everyone became aware of how much they’d already consumed. Caleb and Cassie agreed to share a brownie, Caleb feeding her a bite at a time. Gen, who’d learned that they’d been married for almost ten months, found her eyes drawn to them, noting how their expressions softened whenever their eyes met. The love between them was palpable.
She felt Alex, who was seated next to her, stir. His body shifted, brushing her side, making her heart leap and her breath quicken—the same uncontrollable reactions she’d had each time he’d casually touched her during dinner. The man was fiendish—he knew exactly what he was doing, expertly orchestrating the tension between them, letting it build and build. Determined to show that she was no pushover, she retaliated, nudging him hard on the side of his calf with her foot.
He didn’t even flinch, merely lifted up his arm and draped it along the back of her chair so his hand fell on her shoulder. As if unconsciously, he began caressing it in slow, lazy circles. She felt everything inside her go warm and fluid.
Across the table, Gen caught Caleb’s knowing glance. With that teasing grin she was coming to recognize, he leaned back in his chair and looped an arm about Cassie and said to Gen, “That was a delicious meal, Gen. Thank you.” Nodding to Alex he continued, “You’re going to have a hard time beating a dinner as good as this one—no matter how fancy the restaurant is that’s throwing your shindig tomorrow night.”
Alex inclined his head. “True, but then t
hink how many burgers you and I would have to flip.”
Cassie looked across the table at her brother. “How many are coming?” she asked.
“Counting us, forty.”
“Whew, that’s a lot of CEOs under one roof,” Caleb remarked.
Alex smiled. “They won’t all be CEOs, or even CFOs. I mixed in some presidents and vice presidents too.”
“Like Sam Brody,” Mrs. Miller said with a girlish smile. “He’s president of Securetech.”
“Actually, Sam is Securetech’s president and CEO. He’ll be there. He’s looking forward to seeing you all.”
“Sam’s great, Gen,” Cassie said. “A very cool guy. He bought a filly of ours last year. He owns this security company.” She looked across the table at Alex. “And before that wasn’t he a bodyguard and a police detective?”
“Yes,” said Alex, coughing into his fist. “I, uh, also made sure to invite Ty and Steve Sheppard.”
“Yeah, Ty e-mailed me about it.” Cassie nodded. “They’re horse people,” she explained to Gen. “Steve and Ty own a farm in Bridgehampton. They’ve bought a couple of our horses. And Steve trains Cassis, the filly Sam Brody bought. We’re getting a ride up to Pound Ridge with them for a weeklong horse show. Caleb’s partner, Hank, is meeting us there with the van.”
“I never realized the horse world was such a tight-knit community,” Gen said.
“Especially on the show circuit. Anyone else, Alex?” she asked.
He thought for a second. “Sam’s bringing Lizzie Osborne as his date.”
“Wait.” Caleb grinned. “I think I remember her from the Garden. Is she the knockout? I only saw her from a distance, but man—oof!” he exclaimed as Cassie elbowed him sharply in the ribs.
“Yes, that most definitely describes Ms. Osborne,” Alex said, the same male appreciation filling his voice. “From what I gather, though, Sam’s holding his own in the ring.”
“I didn’t really get a chance to speak to her, but she’s got to have a lot more going for her than great looks if Sam’s bringing her. Unlike some men I know, he’s not shallow,” Cassie said pointedly.
Neither Caleb nor Alex appeared particularly contrite.
“Doesn’t she own a stable in Bedford?”
“Yeah,” Alex replied.
“I wonder whether she’s in the market for a horse,” Cassie mused.
With a chuckle, Caleb kissed her cheek. “My partner, Hank, hired Cassie because she’s one of the best riders in the country. We had no idea that she can trade and deal with the best of ’em, too.”
“Alex didn’t get all the financial smarts.” She smiled. “Well, this party will be fun. And with you there, Gen, we should strike a nice balance with the Wall Street types.”
Gen mustered an answering smile of enthusiasm. She knew as little about horses as she did about corporate America. “Yes, I’m sure it will be loads of fun.”
“Just make sure you check the seating arrangement,” Mrs. Miller advised. “Sydney Raines might have inadvertently stuck you next to the only bore at the party.”
“I’ll make sure Sydney moves Gen to my table,” Alex said.
Alex’s words hardly registered. Gen had ceased following the conversation the second Mrs. Miller mentioned Sydney’s name.
Oh, God, she thought in dismay, the food inside her stomach turning into a cold, leaden lump of dread. Of course Sydney would be there tomorrow night. Organizing the party for Alex and making sure it went off without a hitch was her job. Gen cringed at the thought of how awkward this was going to be, coming face-to-face with Alex’s ex-girlfriend at the party. Party? This wasn’t going to be a party, she decided, not when it had all the makings of a nightmare.
TWENTY-ONE
Gen’s solution to handling the anxiety of the up-coming party was to block it from her mind. It was only a party, she reasoned, nothing more. With all those people about, she might not even have to speak to Sydney. And who was to say that Sydney wouldn’t be just as eager to avoid her?
Despite her private pep talk and the effort Gen made to act her usual self, smiling and exchanging lighthearted jokes as the four of them, Cassie, Caleb, Alex, and she, washed the dishes and set the kitchen to rights, Alex must have sensed her underlying tension, the weight of his penetrating gaze landing on her frequently.
As soon as everything was put away in the kitchen, Caleb gave a yawn louder than the rumble of the dishwasher and announced that he was more than ready for an early night. From the gleam in his eye when he looked at Cassie, it wasn’t terribly surprising when she blushed then murmured something about needing her beauty sleep for the party. While Alex ran upstairs to give Sophie and Jamie, who were reading a story with Mrs. Miller, a good-night kiss, Gen waited idly in the kitchen, absently straightening dishcloths that already hung neatly over the oven door rack.
When he reentered the kitchen, she was grateful for the energetic swishing of the dishwasher. It muffled the sound of her heart beating. Silently, he held out his hand and together they walked out of the house into a night whose sky glittered with a million diamond-bright stars. The majesty of the sky filled her with awe and a strange melancholy. An involuntary sigh escaped her lips.
“It’s beautiful, isn’t it?” Alex said and his hand tightened fractionally about hers. “You don’t get stars like this in Manhattan.”
“Not in Somerville, either,” Gen replied wistfully. With a last glance at the celestial splendor, she pushed open the studio door and stepped inside, Alex following her.
She’d left a lamp on in the studio and its solitary light cast a honeyed glow over the space she’d come to love so much. Murphy, exhausted from his beach romp with the twins, was sprawled on his bed. He opened his eyes long enough to blink at them and thump his tail heavily before dropping his head back down with a sleepy snuffle.
Alex came up beside her and cupped his hand under her chin, slowly lifting it until her eyes met his. “Hey,” he said quietly, “there’s something the matter, isn’t there? What’s got you down, Gen? Is it the party?”
“Yeah, I guess.” She tried for an unconcerned shrug. “Big social events aren’t really my thing,” she said. She fell silent, determined not to bring up Sydney. Not when they were here in the studio, near the bed where they’d made love, where they would soon be making love again.
“I understand how it might be nerve-racking, but a good number of the people at this party aren’t just business associates. They’ve become my friends.” He paused and his thumb arced over her lower lip in a slow, sensual caress. “I want to introduce them to you, Gen,” he continued softly. “I think you might like some of them. And I admit that there’s another reason I’d like you to come. It’s a really primitive, Neanderthal impulse. I want to show you off, Gen, because you’re witty, gifted, incredibly beautiful—and you’re mine. Please come with me, Gen,” he urged huskily.
How was he able to do this to her? What power did he possess that his words could move her so? Things were moving so dizzyingly fast in their relationship. Gen wasn’t sure that she was at all ready for this next step, which would take her into Alex’s super-rich, super-fancy life, but once more she was undone by his words: And you’re mine.
The enormity of those three words simultaneously thrilled and terrified her. Emotions clogged her throat, making speech impossible. Desperate to show him how she felt, she swayed closer, her lips seeking his.
Their mouths mated, fused in passion. Alex’s clever hands undressed her, peeling layers of clothes off her trembling body, feverishly dispensing with his own, letting the lot fall to the concrete floor in a ragged line as they made their way toward the futon. As one, they tumbled onto it and rolled, clasping each other as their tongues dueled and their hearts slammed. Landing on top, Alex sat up and opened his strong thighs, straddling her.
In the soft glow of the lamp, Alex drank in the sight of Gen’s heaving breasts, her nipples tight points of arousal, her parted lips, moist and trembling, as she struggled f
or breath, and her eyes, those enormous blue-green pools, which minutes ago had been shadowed with worry, now glowing with desire. . . . With desire and something more brilliant, something utterly captivating. Alex’s heart thudded loudly in his chest.
Beneath him, Gen moved restlessly, sensuously. “Come inside me, Alex.”
Ignoring the need that roared through him at her whispered entreaty, he spread his fingers over the flat of her belly so that they spanned her slender waist. “I will, sweetheart. But tonight is for you. I want to take you places you’ve never been.”
Slowly his hands began to glide over her silken skin. With a soft moan, she shivered, arching against his touch. Her eyes, weighted with passion, drifted shut.
Wanting to see that special light shining in her eyes, Alex commanded softly, “Look at me, Gen. I want to be in your eyes as I’m loving you.”
Gen lifted the arm Alex had curled about her waist with care as she slid out from under its weight and eased off the bed. Rising to her feet, she turned to check that she hadn’t disturbed him and then lingered, ever hungry for the sight of him, committing yet another image to her memory, to her heart. She took in the clean lines of his profile, the gentle curl of his thick lashes, the firm shape of his lips, somewhat softened by sleep. The lines on his tanned skin were relaxed, with only the faintest hint of the one that ran like a bracket near his mouth and the fan at the corner of his eye. His cheeks were shadowed now with dark blond stubble. Quickly she stepped away from the edge of the bed before she gave into temptation and stroked the beard-roughened plane.
As soon as she glanced in his direction, Murphy rose from his bed, tail wagging. Instinctively she put a finger to her lips before motioning him to follow her. By some miracle, Murphy obeyed her instead of going over and washing Alex’s face for him. Silently she crossed the studio to the small bathroom closet where she kept her clothes. She pulled on some underwear and then slipped on a simple sundress, its pale rose color an almost exact match for the sky outside the studio’s windows. Brushing her hair, she found it took more strokes than usual to untangle the knots—and caught herself blushing in the mirror as she thought of how and why her hair had come to be so very snarled.
