“What’s wrong?” she asked, her mother’s worry spiking across her consciousness. “Is Patrick okay?”
“He’s fine,” Ian assured her, pulling back the covers gently and planting a kiss on her shoulder. Even that was enough to have her stirring.
“Oh, no,” he chuckled at her sensual moan. “Not this morning.”
No sex? Then what was the point of getting up this early? Lexi grabbed the bedding and pulled it right back up to her chin, burrowing into her pillow with a little growl. “I don’t get up till seven,” she informed him, her voice muffled by the down.
“Not today you don’t,” he said, yanking the covers down again. “Coffee, a light breakfast, then you’re due at the fitness center by five.”
“I don’t belong to a fitness center,” she grumbled. “But please, feel free to go on without me. Wake me up when you get back.”
“Doesn’t work that way, baby,” he said, the smile evident in his voice. He slipped his arms beneath her body and lifted her like a doll. She curled into his chest, burrowing her face into his neck. The next thing she knew a blast of cool water was streaming down over her.
“Ian!” she shrieked, clinging to his body for warmth against the sudden shock of cold.
“Sshhh,” he warned. “Everyone else is sleeping.”
“Of course they’re sleeping,” she said through gritted teeth. “It’s still the middle of the night.”
The corners of Ian’s mouth quirked as he slipped out of her grasp. “You’ve got ten minutes,” he told her, holding her under the water. Then he was gone, leaving Lexi to wonder how difficult it would be to shove a bar of soap up that arrogant yet delectable ass of his.
She was still grumbling when she appeared in the little kitchenette a little while later wearing the loose Capri sweats and T he’d set in the bathroom for her.
“You know,” he said, his eyes amused as he looked her up and down, “I don’t recall you being this grumpy in the morning.”
“That’s because waking up for early morning sex is infinitely preferable to being tossed in a cold shower.”
His lips quirked. “You’re not strong enough for early morning sex yet.” His eyes began to glow. “Once a day, baby, till we get you healthy again. Follow the program, keep up with your treatments and we’ll take it from there.”
Once a day? Was he insane? And what the hell was this program he was talking about? She looked at the food he’d laid out on the counter – coffee, soy milk, a banana, and a whole grain muffin with peanut butter. She narrowed her eyes.
“So what are you telling me – if I’m a good girl and do as I’m told you’ll reward me with sex?” she asked facetiously.
“Exactly.” Ian’s eyes glittered.
Lexi had to make a conscious effort to keep her jaw from hitting the floor. “You must be joking.”
“Not even close,” he told her, sliding a paper in front of her. “This is your schedule for today.”
Lexi glanced down, not believing what she saw. Every hour of her day was planned out, including meals, workouts, rest periods, with a few hours allotted for working. “You’re insane,” she said, pushing the paper away. “I’m not doing this.”
“Yes, Lexi, you are.” Ian didn’t raise his voice, but his tone took on an authoritative quality that breached no argument. He pushed the paper back toward her. “And I’ll tell you why you are going to do it.”
Lexi watched, her eyes widening as Ian reached down into his sweats, his arousal obvious as he stroked himself. It was so incredibly erotic she had to tighten her thighs. “Because I need you, Lexi. And I think you need me, too. You’re not the only one who misses early morning sex.”
She swallowed hard, licking her lips. He had no idea just how much she needed him. Or did he? It was both a relief and a disappointment when he tucked himself away and leaned back against the counter.
“What are these numbers?” she asked, noticing the values etched next to the various items on the schedule.
“Weighted point values,” he said, grinning. “Points earn you rewards.”
“Rewards?”
He nodded. “Rewards. Positive reinforcement for good behavior. Be a good girl, Lex, and you will be rewarded, baby.”
“And what exactly are these rewards?”
He shrugged. “Whatever you want. Rides on the Harley. Midnight picnics. Sexual favors.” At the mention of the last, she inhaled sharply, making him laugh, though his eyes reflected the same hunger she was sure was in hers.
A soft knock at the door had her reining in her wild thoughts.
“Now who is that at this ungodly hour?” Lexi asked, but Ian didn’t seem surprised in the least. She understood why a few moments later when Shane appeared, looking wide awake in light sweats and a muscle shirt under a black jacket. Without apology, he grabbed her coffee mug and downed the rest of the contents in a single swig.
“Let’s go, Lex.”
Lexi looked questioningly at Ian, expecting him to say something. He didn’t. She started getting a bad feeling in her stomach. “Go where?”
“To the gym.”
Ian grinned. “Meet your new personal trainer, baby.”
“Oh no. Oh hell no.”
“Oh hell yes,” Shane said, his eyes sparkling.
“Ian, do something!” she said helplessly.
Ian ignored her pleas and regarded Shane. “Have her back by eight-thirty. Aidan’s expecting her at nine o’clock.”
“Ian!” she shrieked as Shane grabbed her hand and tugged her toward the door. Ian, however, made no move to come to her aid. He leaned against the counter, one leg crossed casually over the other at the ankle, feet bare, coffee in hand. “You’re not coming?”
“Fuck no,” he said cheerily. “Too goddamned early. I’m going back to bed.”
* * *
The gym time (an hour of swimming, followed by an introductory yoga class) was followed up by meeting with Aidan over breakfast, then working for a few hours. Ian’s schedule allotted four hours a day to start, which allowed Lexi to make progress on planning the menu, lining up suppliers, and so forth. It was much less than the ten hours a day she had been putting in, but Aidan was just as immovable as Ian when she tried to discuss it with him.
“So, you were in on this, too, I take it.” Lexi sipped her tea – apparently she was only permitted one cup of coffee per day – as Aidan pulled out yet another folder of natural food suppliers in the Mediterranean. It wasn’t as much of a question as an accusation, but it was spoken without any sharpness.
“How long have we known each other, Lex?” He left the file unopened and sat back in his chair. For the first time, Lexi noticed how tired he looked.
“A long time.”
Aidan smiled. “Yeah, a long time. And I have never been as worried about you as I have been these last few months. All the times you were in the hospital, all the times you needed a transfusion, I didn’t worry so much, because I always knew that you’d come through it okay. You had so much life in you, Lex. So much inner strength. I never doubted you, not once.”
“But then... I don’t know. You gave up, Lex. And I, like everyone else who cares about you, had to sit back and watch you destroy yourself, a little more each day. So when Ian called me and told me about what he and Michael had cooked up, hell, yes I jumped on board. And I’ll not apologize for it.”
He smiled wryly. “I’ll admit it’s a shot to my ego, though. I kind of liked playing hero all by myself.”
Lexi laughed softly. “You are my hero, Aidan. You think I was the strong one, but you were the one holding me up all these years. I never could have made it this far without you. I am so sorry I made you worry so much.”
“Just promise me you’ll work with us on this, okay?” he said, his eyes shining.
“I promise.”
The meals and the workout kept Lexi focused, and by the end of the four hours, she was amazed at what she had been able to accomplish. Ian arrived to pick her up wit
h Patrick in tow. He was taking her to the nearby town of Birch Falls for a lunch appointment with Johnny to discuss renovations on the house. Lexi was forbidden from doing any of the work herself, but Johnny assured her she would be pleased with the results.
The best part of all was having Ian by her side, smiling at her, talking with her, touching her and sneaking kisses whenever he could.
After meeting with Johnny, Lexi was required to “rest”. Ian told her that could include anything not too physically demanding. Fortunately, he was flexible enough to allow for some “rewards” and “incentives for good behavior” while Patrick took his nap.
Dinner was prepared in the Pub kitchen. By popular demand, Lexi was allowed to oversee and assist in the meal preparation. Jack Callaghan joked that it was the first time so many of his boys ate a meal together in years, and hoped that it would become a regular event.
Lexi was not allowed to clean up the kitchen afterwards. She didn’t protest that one too much.
After dinner, Lexi retired upstairs with Patrick. Together they watched movies, played games, read books, often with Taryn and Riley. When the kids went down for the night, Lexi had time to herself. Sometimes she and Taryn would curl up with a movie and popcorn; sometimes they’d go their separate ways, each comfortable in the knowledge that the other was only a soft knock away.
The support she received was overwhelming, and Lexi felt blessed.
Chapter Thirty-One
Lexi nuzzled Patrick on his belly, making him laugh like crazy. It was a beautiful fall day, the region in the midst of an Indian summer. The unseasonably warm temperature and clear skies were perfect for spending an hour or two by the nearby lake.
“So. You doing okay?” Ian asked, leaning back on his elbows, watching them play together.
Lexi turned to smile at him, and felt her heart skip a beat. Somehow, she knew it always would when he smiled at her like that.
“I have to admit, it’s going pretty well.” And it was. Each day was better than the last as she grew accustomed to the new routine. She felt better than she had in a long time, and this afternoon’s check up with Michael had been encouraging.
“You say that like you’re surprised. Does my woman doubt me?”
His woman. Is that what she was? Her mind answered with a resounding Yes! She always had been, and she was beginning to realize that she always would be. She laughed softly, shaking her head. “It’s too early to tell, but... I think this could actually work.”
Ian rose a little higher. “Yeah?”
“Yeah.”
Patrick crawled up his daddy’s leg and stood on his lap, gripping his shirt with two beefy little hands. Looking at the two of them, Lexi couldn’t have been happier. Right here, right now, was exactly where she wanted to be.
Could it have been only a week ago her life seemed so bleak? She had sat in Michael’s office, knowing the results of her tests before he opened his mouth. And she hadn’t really cared. The only thing keeping her going at all had been her son, and even that was barely enough some days. On those days, she saw how happy Patrick was with Ian and Taryn and all of his doting uncles and grandfather, and wondered if he wouldn’t be better off without her. More than once, she felt guilty for taking him away from all that.
A tear slipped down her cheek.
“Hey,” Ian said softly. “Are those tears?”
She nodded, too afraid to trust her voice.
“Are they good tears?”
She nodded again, and Ian pulled her against him. Patrick relinquished his hold on Ian with one hand, grabbing for Lexi so that he held both of them. In a move so tender, so sweet, Patrick studied Lexi’s face and touched his hand to her tears and then looked straight into his father’s eyes questioningly.
“It’s okay, bud,” Ian told him. “Mommy’s happy ‘cause she loves us so much.”
Patrick grinned, showing all four of his teeth.
Three Months Later - January
“So?”
Ian sat hand in hand with Lexi, neither of them touching the back of their seats. Lexi’s leg bobbed in anxious anticipation, but Ian was unnaturally still. Michael’s face gave absolutely nothing away. He looked down once again at the papers in his hand.
“Jesus Christ, Mick. You must have read that thing ten times already. What does it say?”
Michael looked at his brother, his blue eyes as intense as Lexi had ever seen them. He put down Lexi’s latest test results and pinched the bridge of his nose between his thumb and forefinger, sighing. Lexi felt her heart drop clear out of her chest, landing somewhere around her feet. Her bottom lip began to tremble.
She had done everything right. She had kept to her diet, exercised every day, took her treatments diligently and without complaint. She forced herself to rest, to pace herself – something that was increasingly difficult once the new restaurant got closer to opening its doors.
Of course, everything was much easier once she opened her heart and accepted the love and support of her new family. Whenever it started getting too hard, they would keep her going. Whenever she was tempted to overextend herself, someone was always there to rein her in.
By far the biggest motivation was the wedding, slated for the end of February. Lexi wanted everything to be perfect when she and Ian started their life together “officially”, not the least of which was the desire to fulfill Ian’s wish for more children.
Worst of all was the feeling that she had let everyone down, especially Ian. He would be devastated, and no doubt find some way to blame himself. If he pulled away again, she simply wouldn’t survive it.
Slowly she turned to face him. She would be strong for him; she would show him that she wasn’t ready to give up. This was a minor setback, that’s all.
But when her eyes met his, she did not see the disappointment she’d expected. Nor was there any trace of anger, frustration, or sadness. His clear blue eyes were dancing, one side of his mouth curving into that sexy half-smile that made her catch her breath. What the hell?
Apparently Ian had seen something that Lexi had not in Michael’s dramatic pause, and she had the distinct impression she was missing something. She cast a glance toward Michael, who, despite his best efforts, found his mouth curling into a smile as well.
Before she realized what was happening, Ian leaned over and captured her mouth with his. There was no gentleness in the gesture, just a flood of emotion as he cupped the back of her neck and deepened the kiss. Michael cleared his throat a few times before Ian released her.
Light-headed from Ian’s sudden and unexpected possession, she looked dazedly at Michael. “Why do I feel like I am missing something? The results were bad, weren’t they?”
“No,” Michael said, smiling. “They are good. Very, very good. So good in fact that it’s going to be a nightmare.”
She blinked, more confused than ever. “And this is bad why?”
“Because,” he said, with a long-suffering sigh. “You’ve just made medical history, Lex. You have just proven that this treatment can work. They’ll be coming out of the woodwork trying to get to you.” Lexi paled visibly at the thought.
“Did I tell you my brother was a biochemical genius or what?” Ian said proudly. “We have to keep them at bay, though, Mick. I don’t want Lexi showcased as a lab rat or anything.”
Michael nodded. “Agreed. I’ll call Dr. McKenzie this afternoon and take care of things on this end. We’ll work something out. The best thing would be to keep Lexi’s name out of it entirely, but it might take a little effort on your part. There will be lots of records to be adjusted.”
“Not a problem,” Ian assured him.
Trying to follow a conversation between these two was like being carried downriver on a swift current, only catching glimpses of what was speeding by, but she was starting to get the gist. “You mean,” she said slowly, looking at Michael, “you aren’t going to take any credit for this? Why?”
He smiled enigmatically, his face as calm and sere
ne as ever. Michael had been the one to find the right combination of organic compounds. He’d been the one to take Dr. McKenzie’s raw ideas and turn them into something viable, practical, and apparently, effective. Yet he was going to remain quietly in the shadows and let someone else take the credit?
“Seeing you healthy is all that matters to me, Lex. The fact that I won’t have to watch my brother destroy himself is a bonus.” He winked. “Though admittedly, I do have five others, and he is arguably the most irritating.”
Lexi was speechless. “I – I don’t know what to say.”
Ian squeezed her hand. “Make his day and tell him he doesn’t have to wear a tux at the wedding.”
* * *
The celebration that ensued was a memorable one. Though not yet officially open to the public, with quite a few well-placed phone calls and a natural deviance Lexi had been fostering for years, she reserved a special room at the new restaurant and managed to prepare a surprise feast in appreciation of her new family.
They all, of course, worried that she had done too much. And as they arrived, one by one, they proceeded to gang up on her. Lexi didn’t mind. By that point everything had been prepared and she could allow herself to sit and enjoy it with them.
The food was excellent. The atmosphere divine. But as Lexi looked around, there was nothing quite as wonderful as the family and friends with which she was now surrounded.
“You have outdone yourself, Lex,” said Aidan quietly afterward, sneaking up behind Lexi as she personally thanked each of the staff for helping her with her special surprise. Keeping the celebration from him had been one of the most difficult challenges, but she had managed. “However, if there are any more surprises, I think I might just have to fire you.”
She laughed. “Only one more, and I think it’s on its way out now.”
Aidan raised an eyebrow, just as he heard roaring laughter and cheers coming from the private room. Together they peeked through the window, and Aidan couldn’t help but laugh when he spotted the biggest plate of chocolate chip cookies he had ever seen being delivered to the table.
First and Only: Callaghan Brothers, Book 2 Page 26
