Just One Week

by Alice Gaines

“Not if the wine’s this good,” someone shouted from the back, and the crowd laughed.

  “So instead of toasting us, which’ll happen often enough in the next few days, Emma and I would like to offer a toast to all of you,” Jim said.

  “My cue to get more wine.” Kyle got up from where he sat at another table and disappeared.

  Even from a distance, it was clear Emma still glowed every time Jim touched her, and her smile beamed with love as she stared up at him now. The sting of disappointment and even jealousy settled in Michelle’s chest. Emma would probably have been around Michelle’s age when she’d met and fell in love with the man who’d give her such a blessed life.

  “And because this is our special time and we have permission to bore you all to tears, we’d like to get our kids up here so they can share in this moment,” Jim said.

  Alex and Chase joined their parents. Each also held his wine glass up in a toast.

  “Alex here is All-Pro,” Jim said. “Some of you may have seen him on television.”

  “Dad…” Alex’s cheeks colored as cheers went up.

  Why did he always seem so embarrassed by his abilities?

  “And I haven’t made a formal announcement, but Chase will be taking over for me at Stafford Publishing when I step down,” Jim said.

  More cheers. Chase didn’t blush, but he did grin. “Dad keeps saying that but he never says when.”

  The crowd laughed again, but Jim silenced them with a hand gesture. “We have two more kids here. Kyle and Michelle, come on up.”

  Michelle joined the group, passing Alex’s grandmother along the way. Vivian nodded at her, the movement so tiny Michelle might have imagined it. By the time she reached the Stafford family, Kyle had his drink and joined them. Though she’d chosen a place on the opposite side from Alex, she nevertheless could feel his closeness. After the way their bodies had seemed to fit together perfectly an hour or so before, she could hardly get this near to him without some reaction.

  “Kyle and Michelle are like our own,” Jim said. “And we like to take credit for everything they’ve achieved.”

  Emma put an arm around Michelle and squeezed.

  “Michelle got herself a PhD and is doing research in brain chemistry,” Jim said. “And Kyle makes the best damned wine in all of northern California.”

  “Not the best,” Kyle said.

  “I’m the guest of honor. Don’t correct me.” Jim hoisted his glass high. “So here’s to our kids and to all of you.”

  Glasses clinked, and people drank.

  Michelle gazed around her at all the happy faces. Multiple generations of family and friends, and Jim had brought her to the center of it. No matter what, she’d always have a home and a family here, even after her little honeymoon with Alex had ended. Eventually, he’d have a family of his own. And who knew? Maybe someday she’d find someone who could fit into an academic’s crazy life. She might pair up with another professor or researcher—a person who understood the demands of the job. Most of her colleagues had already done that.

  If all that happened—and it could after she got herself established—she could bring her own husband and children here to incorporate them into the cocoon of love Jim and Emma had created. Then her fling with Alex would become part of the past, the same way her presence as his lover would disappear from his life when they left this time.

  That was her plan.

  …

  Alex had to admit that for an intellectual bigwig, his little brother could roll up his sleeves and get dirty with the best of them. Stringing lights for an outdoor party wasn’t exactly messy work, but it did involve climbing ladders and doing some wiring. Working together, the two of them made an efficient team.

  He handed the slip-lock pliers up to Chase so Chase could secure another string of lights to the top of the pole. “Do you think we have enough?”

  “They’re for dancing, not playing a pro football game.”

  “I could go into town and get more,” Alex said.

  “We rented every light in Wheeler’s Mill,” Chase said. “These’ll be enough.”

  Chase was probably right. The dim illumination would make the dancing more romantic. They were celebrating his parents’ thirty-fifth wedding anniversary, after all. Maybe he could share a slow dance with Michelle. You didn’t have to know fancy steps to do that. You just put your arms around your partner and moved to the music.

  Problem was, he’d already started a slow dance with her, and not the kind you did in public in front of your parents. He’d started things with the kiss in the cottage. She’d acted so damned nonchalant, as if seeing him again had meant nothing to her. He could take her anger. Hell, he’d welcome it if it would help them work through their estrangement. But pretending she didn’t care one way or another? No, that wouldn’t fly.

  “You look pretty pensive,” Chase said. At some point, Chase had climbed down from the ladder and now stood beside him.

  “Just…thinking…”

  “Thinking makes me thirsty.” Chase tapped Alex on the shoulder and gestured with his head toward the cooler their mother had put on the deck. “Come on.”

  They took the few stairs to the deck, and Chase opened the cooler. After pulling out two bottles of water, he handed one to Alex and took a long drink from his own. “So, what’s going on?”

  “It’s complicated.”

  Chase wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. “I can see that. Tell Dr. Chase. Maybe I can fix it for you.”

  “Probably not fix it, but maybe you can give me some insights into the female mind.”

  Chase laughed. “No man can do that.”

  “Even one who’s dated as many women as you?” Alex’s track record didn’t come close to Chase’s.

  “Why don’t you stop beating around the bush and tell me what’s eating you?”

  Alex went to one of the deck chairs and sat. As Chase took the seat next to his, Alex fought for words to describe the new twist in his friendship with Michelle. No good ones came to mind.

  “Michelle’s trying to seduce me,” he blurted finally.

  “No shit?” Chase said. “You’re sure?”

  In answer, Alex glared at his brother.

  “Yeah, I guess you’d know if she was,” Chase said.

  “Thing is, I don’t know if she’s being entirely honest,” Alex said.

  “How so?”

  “She keeps acting as if it’s no big deal. As if she sleeps with her former childhood friends every day.”

  “That doesn’t sound like Michelle,” Chase said. “She was always pretty intense about things.”

  Alex rested his elbows on his knees, cradling his bottle of water between his palms. “I can’t believe she only wants a casual roll in the hay, but that’s how she’s acting.”

  “Could there be some other reason for her to try to get you into bed?”

  Revenge? Could she be trying to get back at him for the way he’d humiliated her eight years ago? That thought had finally occurred to him after another restless night in his old room. Getting him to care for her and then rejecting him would make for some lethal poetic justice. It hurt to think she still hated him enough to do that, but anyone with a brain would have to consider the possibility.

  “Payback,” he said finally. “Right before she went to college we had a huge fight, and I said some really awful things to her.”

  “And she’s harbored a grudge for eight years?”

  “She stayed away, didn’t she?” Which brought him to another problem. “Then, there’s always Kyle.”

  “Ah, yes. The protective big brother.” Chase stretched his legs out in front of him and crossed one foot over the other. “He won’t approve.”

  “And I’d agree with him if I were the one making the moves.” Okay, he had kissed her first, but she was the one who’d pushed for more. And she was the one who kept pretending them having an affair was no big deal. “I’m afraid I’m going to get my best friend really mad at me.�
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  “Want me to fight him for you?”

  Alex kicked Chase’s foot. “Very funny.”

  “Yeah, Mom wouldn’t like it if I gave Kyle a black eye right before her party.”

  “Could you get serious for once?” Alex said. “What am I going to do about Kyle?”

  Chase shrugged. “I guess be honest with him. Michelle isn’t a kid any longer. She can make her own decisions.”

  “What a freaking mess.” And yet, the possibility of making her his, even for only a few days, held so much appeal. They’d always cared about each other. Such a rare privilege that she’d trust him with her body. And he’d cherish her for as long as he could have her.

  Ultimately anything short of that would amount to rejection. He’d done that once, and the memories still haunted him. He wouldn’t make that mistake again.

  “Look, big guy, relationships are tricky,” Chase said. “But if you don’t try, you’ll never get anywhere.”

  “It’s not going to be a relationship with a capital R. More like a temporary thing.”

  Chase straightened in his seat. “Why the hell would you say that?”

  “She’s dedicated to her work. She wouldn’t have time for me.”

  Chase stared at Alex as if he’d grown another head.

  “Besides, she’s smart,” Alex said.

  “So are you,” Chase said.

  “Not like her. She does amazing things I can’t begin to understand,” Alex said.

  “No lay person can comprehend that stuff.”

  “Which is why they marry each other.” Alex threw his hands in the air out of frustration. “Brilliant people who can carry on conversations about their work.”

  “If you can’t read about her research, she can explain it to you.”

  “What about her colleagues’ work or what some guy is doing overseas? She can’t explain her entire field to me.”

  “She wouldn’t need to.”

  Damn, why wouldn’t these insecurities go away? He knew damned well they were stupid. “Can you imagine me at a party with her colleagues, all of them talking a language I don’t understand?”

  “This might surprise you, but scientists like football,” Chase said. “They’d probably find everything you had to say fascinating.”

  Alex blew out a breath. “Yeah, maybe.”

  “You don’t always have to be in control of every situation,” Chase said. “If someone says something at a party you don’t understand, ask for an explanation.”

  “Great. And make myself look like the dumb jock.”

  Chase whistled softly. “Sarah really did a number on you, huh?”

  “Sarah and the whole rest of the world.”

  “So you’re not going to tell Michelle about the dyslexia?” Chase said.

  “Nope.” She’d pity him…or worse. Not worth the risk.

  “Instead, you’re going to go through life with a series of friends with benefits,” Chase said.

  Alex finished his water and set the bottle on the deck beside his chair. “I don’t see you doing anything different.”

  “We were talking about you, not me.”

  “Come on, Chase. Let’s deal with reality.”

  “Okay. The way I see it, you have three choices.” Chase held up one finger. “You can avoid Michelle for the rest of the time you’re here.”

  “That’s not going to work.”

  “Very astute.” Chase held up another finger. “You can tell Michelle you can’t mess with her because her brother is your best friend.”

  Would she understand? Most likely, she’d only see that as a rejection. Back to Square One—he couldn’t hurt her again.

  “Or.” Chase’s middle finger joined the other two. “You can make love to her and see where things go.”

  “Yup, that’s what I have to do.”

  “Only don’t hold back,” Chase said. “If you two have a future together, go for it.”

  “Thanks, little brother. Do you mind if I borrow the BMW again?”

  “Sure thing.” Chase reached into his back pocket and produced his keys, which he handed to Alex.

  Alex rose. “I’ll come back later to help you finish.”

  “No need. Almost done.”

  “Thanks.” With that, Alex left with his mind at ease, more or less, and a bit of spring in his step. After all, he was going into town to buy condoms.

  Chapter Six

  Later that night, Alex found the opening he’d been looking for ever since deciding he’d surrender to the inevitable and make love to Michelle. He’d sat in his bedroom after everyone had gone to bed, digging up enough courage to go out and knock on the cottage door. Instead, he watched as she emerged into the moonlight and walked slowly toward the pasture.

  An invitation? She couldn’t be sure he hadn’t gone to sleep. On the other hand, she would know that she’d be visible from his window. She could have simply taken a chance he’d realize she was out there. She’d won.

  He stuck his feet into his slippers and put on his robe. Before he left the room, he grabbed the condoms and put them in his pocket. He’d need at least one tonight. Then he left his room and went downstairs as quietly as he could manage.

  No sound came to indicate he’d awakened anyone. The house was silent except for the hum of the refrigerator as he let himself out the back door. A little mental geography told him the direction to go in, and before long, he spotted Michelle where she stood with her face lifted toward the moon.

  She wore something of a filmy, white material that glowed in the soft light. A breeze ruffled the material around her legs. With her graceful limbs and her hair falling down her back, she resembled a character from mythology—a creature you could only find in the moonlight and could never truly call your own. Someone who’d evaporate like mist in the heat of day and only return in your dreams.

  Poetic and probably silly, but real in his heart.

  He stepped on something that made a snapping sound. Most likely a twig. She turned and spotted him, and a smile tugged at her lips.

  “Following me?” she said.

  “Did you come out here to invite me to join you?”

  She shrugged. “I thought you’d gone to bed.”

  Yeah, sure. Everything about her smile said she’d planned this encounter to invite him into her web. But then, he’d come of his own will, needing nothing more than an opportunity.

  He’d make love to Michelle Dennis tonight. As surely as the moon spilled silver light over both of them, they’d be joined before the morning came.

  “Lovely, isn’t it?” she said. “I’ve missed this.”

  “You must have full moons in Massachusetts.”

  “I don’t mean the moon,” she said. “I mean being with you.”

  Of course, their togetherness could be nothing like their earlier, innocent friendship. She’d never come to him wearing a negligee, and he’d never had condoms in his pocket.

  She shivered a bit, and he got up close behind her. When he opened his robe and wrapped it around her, she fit against him like pieces in a puzzle. When he bent to place the side of his face against her, the perfume of her hair surrounded him. He almost groaned out of pure pleasure.

  “What am I going to do with you, Dr. Dennis?”

  She gave him a wicked laugh. “I can think of three or four things off the top of my head.”

  “Evil woman.”

  “You have no idea how evil.” She turned in his arms, and now her softness pressed against him everywhere. He wouldn’t be able to hold her this way for long before he became completely aroused. The stirrings had begun when he’d first spotted her out here and the reality about what he was going to do registered.

  She became even bolder, lifting her face to nuzzle the tip of her nose against his jaw. She followed that with a kiss to the underside of his chin.

  “You know what’s going to happen if you keep doing that, don’t you?” he said.

  “I do.”

  “
And you’re giving me permission?”

  “Complete and total.”

  “We’d better go inside,” he said. “I don’t want to give anyone a show.”

  “Come on.” She eased out of his embrace and took his hand as they walked back to the cottage. The place where he’d hurt her so badly years before. He’d make up for that now. He’d give her the sort of experience she’d been searching for with the wrong guy. This affair might not last for more than a few days, but he’d be the right lover for her…after all this time.

  At the cottage door, she put her hand over his on the knob and gazed up at him. “Is there anything you want to tell me, Alex?”

  Tell her? About the fact they were about to make love? “I have protection.”

  “Thoughtful.” Her face fell briefly. He’d clearly gotten the answer wrong.

  “I’m sorry,” he said. “I don’t know what you want to hear.”

  She waved a hand. “Doesn’t matter.”

  As so many things she said and did, it wasn’t completely convincing. Maybe he’d learn more about what she wanted from him by making love. Maybe then she’d finally open up to him.

  He opened the door. “I feel as if I should carry you over the threshold.”

  “Not necessary,” she said as she entered ahead of him.

  Once inside, he locked the cottage door and made a circuit of the room checking that curtains were drawn. Then he hit the light switch, filling the space with darkness. In a second, the bedside lamp came to life. Michelle had turned it on and sat on the bed, waiting for him. What an invitation. He took it, of course, joining her and pulling her into his arms again.

  Their hands tangled as they tried to undress each other. Neither his pajama top nor her gown would budge without a little coordination. She smiled at him and giggled, and the sight and sounds told his heart he’d made the right decision. He let her go first, baring his chest and tossing his robe and top aside.

  “Nice,” she said, as she spread her hands over his pecs. “I often wondered how you’d look under the uniform.”

  “I guess you’ll find out.” He took her wrists and kissed her palms. “My turn.”

  She allowed him to strip her of her gown, holding her arms up so he could pull it off. It landed somewhere near his clothes, and then he could touch her breasts. Though he’d felt one the other day, he could only have guessed at their perfect, small size or the rosy nipples.