“Let’s load up, and I’ll explain everything to you. I promise.”
We grab cupcakes, cookies, macaroons, little tres leches cups, mini pies, and cream horns. The plate is almost not big enough, but everything looks amazing, and we both want to try it all. I carry it with both hands, while Alex grabs us some waters. She opens the door and we walk inside.
“Wow. It’s pretty cool in here.”
“Yeah. Chloe just re-decorated it recently.”
It’s a little awkward now. I grab a lemon cupcake and hold it out to her. She takes it with a smile. I take a cream horn and pop it into my mouth. I need some courage, but if it’s not going to come in liquid form, why not sugar? Time to man up.
“I fell in love with you that last summer we spent together in Florida.”
“You did?”
“Yes. I know we’d been spending summers together since we were little because our moms and grandmas were friends, but that year was different. You were so fucking beautiful, it took my breath away.”
“You didn’t act any different towards me.”
I give her a rueful smile. “I couldn’t. You were thirteen, Xandy. Still a little girl. I shouldn’t have been feeling the way I felt towards you. It was wrong.”
“Wrong? You weren’t some forty year old man lusting after me.”
“No. I was an eighteen year old man lusting after you. I was an adult.”
“Oh my God. You idiot. Chloe was in middle school when she started dating Ryan.”
“Yes, but they’re closer in age and lived on the same property. I couldn’t ask your parents to trust me. Especially after the things my dad said to me in front of everyone.”
“Your dad was a mean bastard. We all knew you weren’t the bad guy in that situation. My parents even told me that they hoped I’d end up with someone like you one day.”
“They did?” Her parents were such good people. I still can’t believe they were murdered a few years ago.
“Yes. They knew your dad was too hard on you. I think they knew he hit you, although I never told them. I promise.”
“I know you kept my secret. I wanted to reach out to you when they died, but I still thought it would be wrong.”
“You really, truly, thought that and stayed away all these years because of it?”
“Yes.”
“And you slept with all those women because you thought you couldn’t have me?”
“Yes.”
“You can have me now. I mean, if you still want me.”
“I can’t imagine ever not wanting you, but I don’t deserve you.”
“Why? Because you slept with a bunch of women?” I can’t speak, so I nod. “I’m the one who should be worried. I mean, I know I can’t compare to them. I’ve seen them. Hell, I work with some of them. I’m no sexy supermodel type.”
“They can’t compare to you. I mean it. You are the sexiest woman I’ve ever met. Not because you dress to get attention, or show off your goods. You don’t. You’re just naturally sexy. To me at least.”
“I’m also not very experienced…in…you know, the bedroom. I mean, I guess you do know that.” I see tears start to form in her eyes as she looks down at the half-eaten cupcake in her hand.
She thinks she’s not enough for me? Is she insane? She’s everything. Every damn thing.
“Look at me.” She shakes her head, so I slide off the couch to kneel before her. “Maybe you didn’t hear me clearly enough before, but I love you, Alexandra Marie Roberts. I. Love. You. More than my next breath, in fact. So please don’t ever be embarrassed around me. Anyone else, fine. But not me. Because no matter what you do or don’t do, I will never stop loving you. I swear it.”
“Even if I don’t want to be too adventurous? I mean, you’ve probably done everything there is to do.”
“I’ve done quite a bit, I’m not going to deny it. But not everything. I have my own lines that I won’t cross. Anything that causes serious pain to me, or my partner, is one of them. It’s not my thing and I won’t do it. And I don’t need you to be adventurous. I have no doubt that being with you will be better than everyone else combined. You’re it for me.”
“I love you, too. I just realized that I haven’t told you, but I do.”
“Thank God. I was starting to think I was going to have to kiss you again before you’d say it.”
“I kissed you out there, jerk.”
“Yes, you did. It was the best thing that’s ever happened to me.”
“You’re easily pleased, then. Good to know.”
I pull her forward on the couch and spread her legs. “Are you easily pleased?” I ask as I trace circles on her upper thighs with my thumbs.
“N-no. I never, umm, you know. With Nick.”
“Did he put his mouth on you?”
“Not there, no. Actually he only kissed my mouth.”
I don’t try to stop her when she closes her legs. I won’t force her to do anything, or to let me do anything. If she doesn’t want it, then I don’t either. I rock back on my heels and put my hands in the air.
“One day, I want to lay you down on a bed and taste every inch of you. But only when you’re ready, my beautiful Xandy.”
She bites her lip and looks nervous for a moment. Then she smiles. “Thank you for that. Can I kiss you again?”
“You don’t have to ask. You own me. Every inch of me is yours. Whenever you want it.”
She leans close until her mouth is inches from mine. “Anytime? Really? Even in the employee cafeteria, in front of all those women who want you?”
“You feeling the need to claim me, baby?”
“A little.” She starts to pull away, but I grab the back of her head and hold her in place.
“I’m going to come get you from your desk for lunch on Monday. Then, I’m going to hold your hand the whole way there—I never hold a woman’s hand, just so you know. Once we’re inside, I’m going to get you that salad you eat every day and sit you on my lap while I feed you bites in between the kisses you’ll be giving me. You see, I need to claim you, too. Because every man in that cafeteria has been checking you out since you started, and it’s taken a strength I didn’t know I had not to fight them all.”
“You know what I eat for lunch?”
“I know everything about you at work. If I tell you the rest, though, you may run out of here thinking I’m a crazy stalker.”
“Tell me,” she says before leaning forward and brushing her lips over mine.
“Do I get a kiss for every secret I reveal?”
“Mm-hm.”
“I have access to the security cameras. Sometimes I bring up the foundation lobby and watch you work. You have no idea what it does to me when you chew on your pen when you’re thinking. Or twirl your hair around your finger when you talk on the phone. My favorite is when you’re talking with the other girls. Your smile is so beautiful. I love seeing you happy.”
“That isn’t stalkerish.”
“It isn’t?”
“No.”
That’s all the warning I get as she takes my mouth. I let her control the kiss, because I know she needs to feel in control. And because it’s hot. Like five alarm fire hot.
She pulls me to the couch and then slides onto my lap. Our hands are moving over the top of each other’s clothes, but it’s not enough. I’m just unzipping her zipper when the doorbell rings. What the fuck?
“It’s my family.”
“Shit.”
She gets up off me, taking a moment to straighten her hair a little before she goes to the door. I button my suit jacket back up. The last thing I need is for her uncles to see my hard-on. I may be stupid, but I want to live.
“Hi guys, what’s up?”
“What’s up is that you’re in here alone with him.” Shit. Owen’s pissed. Never good.
“And?”
“He’s…well, you know.”
“My boyfriend? Are those the words you were looking for?”
Whoa
. That’s hotter than the kiss. Having her call me her boyfriend. Fuck yeah, I am.
“Boyfriend?”
“Yes, I’m her boyfriend. Do you have a problem with that Owen? Because if you do, we should talk about it now. I’m not going anywhere.”
I walk up and put my arm around her, kissing her cheek. Maybe I do have a death wish, but she’s worth it. Owen opens his mouth to speak, but his wife, Candi, smacks his arm before he can say anything.
“Let’s all go inside. Because we are going to talk about this,” Ryan says as he pushes past us, nearly knocking me over in the process. Yeah, this should be fun.
* * *
Alex
I’m angry. Like, really angry. Who do they think they are? And if my Uncle Ryan thinks he can get away with slamming into Miles, he has another thing coming. I wait until everyone is seated before speaking.
“Apologize to Miles, Uncle Ryan.”
“What am I apologizing for?”
“You purposely pushed into him when you walked in.”
“Its fine, Xandy. He doesn’t need to apologize.”
“Yes, he does. I don’t want them giving you a hard time and scaring you away.”
“They can’t scare me away. Now that I finally have you, nothing could scare me away. Not even your uncles.”
“Maybe you two should sit down and explain this all to us. I, for one, am a little lost,” Yasmin tells us.
“Fine. But someone has to move. I see that you haven’t left two seats next to each other. I’m sitting with Miles. I’ll always be sitting with Miles, so you should get used to it.”
They look like they want to argue, but I stand my ground. Everyone shifts so that one of the loveseats is now available for Miles and me. I know he’s trying hard not to laugh as I lead him to our seat and sit so I’m practically on top of him. It’s time for me to stand up for myself, and for him.
“Okay. I need to get this out of the way. You all know how close Alex and I were when she was younger. So I know more about Miles and her than the rest of you. While I’m trying to be cautious, because I’ve heard of his behavior the last few years, I also want to jump up and down for Alex.”
“Thanks, Chlo, I want to jump up and down, too.”
Miles kisses my temple and squeezes my hand. “Do you want me to tell them our story?”
“Yes. I’ll jump in when I need to, but I’d like to hear you talk about me again.”
“Okay. Most of you know that Alex’s mom, Erin, was good friends with my mom. From the time I was sixteen and Alex was eleven, we spent every summer together in Florida. Our dads would come down when they could, but it was usually just the four of us. I used to babysit Alex—God, that’s weird to think about. Anyway, I was in charge of taking her to Disney World, Universal Studios, or anywhere else we wanted to go. Don’t get me wrong, our moms hung out with us, too, but they needed some alone time a couple days a week.
“I didn’t mind hanging out with Alex. My dad made me go to military school, which was pretty rough for me. So, it was nice to have fun for a change. She was fun and didn’t ask me to do anything too bad. Actually, I take that back. I remember going to some Princess Breakfast thing where I had to wear a tiara.”
“I still have that picture.”
“Of course you do,” he says with a laugh. “Like I was saying, it was fun for those first couple of years. We saw each other over the summer and sent each other cards and little gifts. For holidays and birthdays mostly, but other times, too. We were good friends. Things changed the year she turned thirteen. When she walked into our vacation home, I almost forgot how to breathe. She was so beautiful and grown-up, though not really. Immediately, I knew things wouldn’t be the same for me anymore. I tried to hide my feelings and act like I always did with her.”
“You did a good job. I thought I was the only one feeling things that summer.”
“Good. That’s what I wanted,” he tells me softly before turning back to my family. “It wasn’t right. I knew it wasn’t right. Falling in love with a thirteen year old is not what an eighteen year old man should be doing.”
“Stop saying it wasn’t right. It’s not like you were trying anything with me.”
“No. But I wanted to. And it was wrong. Anyway, by the end of the summer, I was hopelessly in love with Alex. She was everything a guy could ever want in a girl. Smart, kind, funny, talented, and so beautiful it made you hurt to look at her.” I stop to turn to her. “You’re still all those things, you know.”
“Thanks.”
“That’s why you broke off all contact with her that summer. It killed her, you know.”
“It killed me too, Chloe. I knew there would never be another woman who I loved the way I love her. I also knew that by breaking off all contact, I’d lose any chance with her when we got older. I accepted what I had to do and, well, slept with any woman who’d have me. I thought that if I couldn’t be with the woman I loved, I’d just have fun.”
“Wow. You slept around because you couldn’t have Alex and didn’t want anyone else? That’s really romantic,” Olivia says.
“Seriously, Ollie? He’s a man whore.”
“Pot meet kettle, Luke You were just as bad when we met,” she tells him.
“You weren’t thirteen.”
“Neither am I, Uncle Scott. Did you not hear him say he left me because I was too young then? I thought I’d never have him, either, and that’s why I settled for a jerk like Nick. I’m a woman now, and I want my man.”
“You’ve got me. If I have to fight each of the guys in this room, I’ll do it. I’ll do anything to prove that I’m serious about us.”
“Guys? Who says you’re not going to have to fight us, too?”
“I don’t hit women, Candi. So if you attack me, I’m just going to have to stand there and take it.”
“Good answer. I like you, Miles.”
“Enough with the love fest. I have something to say.”
“Uncle Ryan,” I warn.
“Simmer down, baby girl. I wanted to tell Miles that I think it’s beyond awesome that he kicked Nick’s ass. You fucked him up pretty bad, man. I wish I’d gotten my hands on him now that I know what he did. If he’s smart, he’ll be in hiding.”
“Oh. Yeah. I forgot you knew about that now.”
I’m mortified and put my face down. Miles reaches down and lifts my head back up. He looks me in the eye with a serious expression on his face.
“You have nothing to be ashamed of. Nothing. That bastard made you do a couple of things that were outside your comfort zone. I’m sure there’s not one person in this room who hasn’t done something we’d like to hide. Sex is nothing to be ashamed of.”
“He’s right, Alex. We all know Yasmin got tied up with game controllers by Scott, and you don’t want to know what Candi and I do.” Candi smacks Owen upside the head, hard, as we all laugh. “I’m just trying to make her feel better.”
“Yeah, well, stop using me and my wife as your example. It’s been years, man. You need new material. As for you and that asswipe, Miles is right. There’s nothing for you to be ashamed of.”
“I think we all agree on that.” Everyone nods at my Uncle Ryan. “Now I hate to break this all up, but we have a plane to catch.”
Oh yeah. I was so happy to be with Miles that I forgot about my birthday weekend. I want to spend it with him, too. Is it too soon to ask him? Oh, who the hell cares?
“Do you want to go to Disneyland with us for my birthday, Miles?”
“Really?”
“No. Not really. There’s no room,” Ryan says.
“There are more than twelve seats on our jet.”
“We don’t have an extra room for him at the hotel.”
“We don’t need an extra room. He can stay with me.”
“Yeah, no.”
I start to open my mouth to respond, but Miles beats me to it. “I’d love to spend the weekend with you, Xandy. Especially at Disneyland. I’ve never been there, but I�
�m guessing they have “It’s a Small World” just like at Disney World. Who else will go on it with you ten times, if I don’t come? Plus, I have birthday presents for you.” He turns to everyone else. “I have my own jet, and I can pay for my own ticket and hotel room. So if you’d feel more comfortable, I can just meet you all at the parks each day.”
“No. I’m nineteen years old, and I want to be with my boyfriend. If that upsets any of you, then tough. You all seem to forget who helped every single one of you with your relationships. Me. Obviously, I’m at least as mature as you.”
“You’re right. I’m sorry, Miles. It’s hard for me not to think of her as a little girl. I can tell you love her, and you’re welcome with us on the jet and her room. Just please limit the PDA a little. It’s going to freak us all out, but we’ll deal. Can you meet us at McCarran in like an hour?”
“I can just drive with you from here, if you have the space.”
“Don’t you need clothes?”
“I have a bag in my car with a couple pairs of jeans and t-shirts.”
“Oh yeah. Of course.” It’s out of my mouth before I even realize that I said it.
“Not for that. I never once stayed the night with a woman. I just sometimes have to leave on a trip with no notice. I also have a garment bag with suits in my trunk.”
I lean over and whisper in his ear. “You’re okay with staying with me? I should’ve asked.”
“There’s no place I’d rather be. I promise you that.”
Chapter 5
Miles
The flight to John Wayne airport in Orange County was short. Too short. I’m super nervous about sharing a room with Alex. I want to be respectful of her, but at the same time, I want to make her scream my name. All night. I don’t know what to do. I guess I’ll just follow her lead.
We pull up to the Grand California hotel at Disneyland, and it’s really cool. I’m just a little confused, and Alex can see it. “It’s different, right? The first time I came here and we drove right up to the park, I was freaked out, too.”
“Yeah. It’s weird, but I guess pretty cool if you live here.”
Everyone gets checked in and then we head to the elevators. We’ll have to take two since there’s so many of us. While we wait, Zane and Quinn’s son, Landon, comes up to Alex and I.
Working On Love (The Griffin Brothers Book 6) Page 4
