by J. H. Croix
I silently swore. Now, she was probably going to worry about it all day.
“Do you mind? Because we can change plans. I just figured we might as well because you’re here. Holly and Nate will be there.”
Delilah’s eyes searched my face, but she stayed quiet, finally offering, “That’s okay. I figured I would meet them. This way I’ll only obsess all day today.”
“I swear they don’t bite.”
She was quiet for a few minutes, and the sound of people talking in the background filled the next few moments as we ate. I thought she was going to drop it, but she blurted out, “I’ve never met anyone’s parents.”
Looking across at her, I said the only thing that came to mind. “I’ve never brought anyone home to meet my parents.”
Chapter Twenty-Five
Delilah
“So, what do you do?” Alex’s mother, Leslie, asked.
This was, of course, a perfectly reasonable, polite, and expected question. It’s just it didn’t feel great to tell his mother I was a bartender.
But I prided myself on being honest. “I bartend. I’m also in nursing school,” I added, hoping whatever I did with my face resembled a smile.
I was way too tense about meeting Alex’s parents.
Leslie smiled. “Oh, I bartended for a few years when I was in college. It’s a great way to make money and have a flexible schedule. Holly mentioned you were in nursing school. How’s it going?”
“Okay, I guess. I’m doing classes while I work, so it’s mostly online. Next spring, I’ll need to line up my internship.”
His mother nodded again. “I’ll be honest, I enjoyed being a nurse, but I did not miss school. It was a ton of work. I can’t believe you’re doing it while you’re also working full-time.”
I shrugged. “It’s the only way to afford it. After my internship next year, I’ll be done.”
Just then, Alex and his father returned from the garage where Alex had been looking at something on his father’s car. “When’s dinner going to be ready?” his father, Russell, asked.
Alex’s mother cast me an apologetic smile. “He’s always starving. I’ve never figured out how to manage that, despite over thirty-five years of marriage.”
Russell cast me an unabashed grin. “It’s just because she’s such a good cook.”
Leslie stood from where we were seated in a pair of chairs, crossing over to him. He leaned over and dusted a kiss across her lips. “Such a charmer. About fifteen minutes, let me go check the oven,” she replied. “Do you know when Holly and Nate will be here?”
Alex had crossed the room to stand beside me where I was sitting in a comfortable chair. He looked at his watch. “She said fifteen minutes ago, but obviously, they’re late.” He glanced down at me. “Would you like something to drink?”
I started to shake my head, but then Leslie spoke. “Oh, my goodness! I didn’t offer you something to drink yet. Alex, fix that now.”
I felt his hand come to rest on my shoulder, and that subtle touch somehow eased the anxiety starting to spin in my chest. “They have plenty of options. Wine, beer, water, soda, juice, and I don’t know, probably something else,” Alex offered with a grin.
“What are you having?”
“I’m going to grab a beer.”
“I’ll take whatever you’re having.”
His eyes searched mine briefly. “You don’t have to. If you prefer something else, all you have to do is say so.”
“I like beer. I promise I’m not having it just because you are,” I offered with a smile.
Alex departed the living room, stepping through the archway into a kitchen. A moment later, he returned with two bottles of beer in his hands. He sat down in a chair beside me. His parents’ house was comfortable. The ceilings were tall with light coming in through the windows that looked out over a field. There was a big sectional sofa and two comfy chairs angled toward each other with a small table between them.
I wanted to relax. I wasn’t normally all that shy. I couldn’t be when I worked at a bar all the time. But this first—meeting a man’s parents, a man who was coming to mean so very much to me—had me feeling tongue-tied and twisted up inside with nervousness.
Alex caught my eyes. “You don’t need to worry. They already love you,” he said in a low voice.
I bit my lip before I took a swallow of my beer. “This is a nice place,” I offered, not really wanting to dwell on how I was feeling.
“It is.”
Glancing out the window, I asked, “Is there anywhere that doesn’t have a pretty view in Alaska?”
He chuckled. “Probably not. I could say the same about the mountains in North Carolina.”
“True, but everything here is so much bigger.”
Alex was nodding when the front door opened, and Holly and Nate entered. Holly crossed the room to me immediately. Setting my beer on the table beside my chair, I stood to greet her and was surprised when Holly pulled me into a big hug.
“Oh, my gosh!” she said when she stepped back. “It’s so great that you’re here. What do you think of Willow Brook so far?”
“It’s beautiful,” I began, not able to get anything else out.
Nate was saying something to Alex, and then Alex’s parents were back in the room with everyone greeting each other. I felt like an interloper. I didn’t have experience with a family like this—one where everyone was nice and clearly held an easy, genuine affection for each other.
My manners got me through it, and it wasn’t long before we were sitting at the dinner table. We’d never even had a dining room table in the various homes I shared with my parents growing up. I imagined Holly and Alex probably sat down for dinner with their parents every night when they were kids.
“Let’s say grace,” his mother said.
Everyone bowed their heads. “Amen,” his father finished after rattling off the fastest prayer I’d ever heard.
I had to bite my lip to keep from giggling when Holly caught my eyes from across the table, hers dancing with mirth. “Laugh away. We used to have prayer races when we were growing up.”
I laughed. “I don’t even know what that means.”
“We were always starving, so we would see whoever could say grace the fastest,” Alex explained from my side.
Dinner was delicious. His mother had made salmon seasoned with lemon and other spices and a rice pilaf with asparagus on the side. I’d just finished when Holly asked, “Did Alex tell you about the option to do your internship at the hospital here in Willow Brook? You should do it. It would be awesome to have you here.”
When I looked across the table, she looked so friendly and helpful, I wanted to tell her I’d plan on it. But that was crazy. I didn’t live here, and I felt like Alex and I weren’t even real. I’d wake up one day, alone in my apartment and remember it was all just a dream.
“He mentioned it,” I hedged, pausing to sip my water and carefully put my silverware on my plate.
“Most of those online programs let people do internships all over the place. The hospital here is accredited with all the major nursing associations that approve the programs. If you’re worried I would be your boss, I wouldn’t. While I am one of the ER supervisors, one of our admin nurses handles the intern supervision. You’d be able to work with me, and it’s a fun group. I hope you’ll seriously think about it.”
Chapter Twenty-Six
Alex
Delilah was nervous. Dinner with my family had gone as well as it could, or so I thought. Except for the fact Delilah had been tense the whole time.
Now, it was a few days later, and we were on the way to have dinner with Remy and Rachel. She seemed nervous again. We were meeting at Wildlands because Delilah said she wanted to see the place since I mentioned it was where I most often went out to meet friends.
I cut the engine on my truck. As quiet surrounded us in my truck cab, the call of an eagle screeched outside.
“What’s that?” She glanced towa
rd me.
“An eagle. They often perch in the trees along the lake.”
We got out, and I beckoned for her to follow me to the edge of the parking lot behind Wildlands. The lake spread out before us, glimmering with streaks of tangerine, red, and gold reflected from the sky as the sun began to set.
“It’s so beautiful here,” Delilah breathed at my side.
“It is.” Reaching over, I caught her hand, my heart giving a little kick when she easily laced her fingers into mine.
I wanted her to stop worrying, but then I didn’t know how to make sense of any of this either. Because no matter how I sliced it, one of us would have to make a big change for us to be together. I shied away from thinking about that because I wasn’t ready to decide. I wanted it to be easier, and that made me feel like a coward.
When another eagle called, I scanned the shoreline, my eyes finally landing on an eagle perched in a spruce tree. “Hang on.” I released her hand and jogged the short distance back to my truck. Returning a moment later, I handed her a small pair of binoculars I kept in my glove compartment. The eagle called again, and I pointed in its direction to one side.
Delilah lifted the binoculars, scanning until she stilled. “Oh, wow. I’ve never actually seen one in the wild.”
“If you want to see a lot of eagles, I’ll take you to the town’s transfer station,” I commented.
Delilah watched as the eagle took flight, its silhouette dark against the backdrop of the dusky sky. After it disappeared from sight, she lowered the binoculars and looked toward me. “The transfer station? Not exactly romantic, Alex,” she teased.
I chuckled as she handed the binoculars back to me. “I didn’t say it was romantic, but you’re guaranteed to see a lot of eagles there. Come on.” I reached for her hand again. “Remy and Rachel are probably already here. Have you met Rachel before?”
We paused by the truck, and I returned the binoculars to the glove compartment. When we were walking again, Delilah replied, “Just once. Remy brought her to the bar one time when they were visiting.”
More and more, I was getting a sense of just how thoroughly Delilah guarded herself. She didn’t spend much time with someone she even considered a friend. I supposed I should feel lucky she was letting me in at all.
A few minutes later, Remy was asking, “How long are you here?”
“Just in town through the end of this week. I have to be back in Stolen Hearts Valley for work and school,” Delilah replied.
“You could do school anywhere,” I commented, surprising myself.
I felt Delilah’s sharp gaze on mine for a moment, but I didn’t look away. For some reason, I wanted to push her a little bit. More and more, I was beginning to understand that I was going to have to pull off a freaking magic trick to win her trust. I couldn’t go too fast, but if I never pushed, she’d never let me in.
When she finally looked away, Rachel commented, “So true. I hear from Holly she’s trying to persuade you to do your internship at the hospital here. It’s a good place. You could also do it where I work.”
Delilah looked puzzled, but a waitress paused by our table. While Remy started ordering, Rachel clarified, “I’m a medical assistant. I work at a family practice office here in Willow Brook. We have two doctors, one full-time and one part-time, but we also have nurses on staff. If you did it there, my boss, Charlie, would be your supervisor. She’s awesome.”
Remy interjected, “I ordered us a pitcher of beer and a couple of appetizers. I hope that’s okay.” He rested his arm over Rachel’s shoulders, the comfort between them evident. “What’s this about Charlie?” he asked.
“I was telling Delilah she could consider doing her internship at my office. Charlie’s a great boss,” Rachel explained.
“She’s not my boss,” Remy said with a slow smile. “But she’s great.”
“I’m not sure what I’m going to do,” Delilah said. “I mean, I live in North Carolina right now.”
Remy grinned and waggled his eyebrows. “You should move here. I did, and I fucking love it. I miss Shay and my friends there, but Willow Brook is a great place to live.”
I made a mental note to thank Remy the next time I saw him. Delilah was noncommittal, and simply said, “I’ll just have to see where things are at next fall. That’s when I finish my last semester before it’s time for me to do my internship in the spring.”
Our beer and food arrived. Remy asked Delilah about Stolen Hearts Valley. Rachel was my personal cheerleader for Willow Brook throughout dinner.
At one point, Remy asked, “How are your parents?”
Delilah’s lips pressed into a line. “They’re okay,” she replied, offering no additional information.
I didn’t know why, but sadness sliced through me at that. Not with Delilah specifically but with how much her default was to keep everything shut down and protected. Her father was dying, and she wasn’t even talking about it.
We left a little while later, and on the drive home, I couldn’t help asking, “Tell me something, do you have any close friends?”
I could feel her eyes practically burning into me. “Yes. Why do you ask?”
“Because even with the people you call friends, you don’t talk about your dad being sick.”
I could practically feel a flash of fire in the air. “I depend on myself, and that’s it. I’m the only person I’ve ever been able to depend on,” she said stiffly.
When I glanced to the side, she had crossed her arms and was staring out the window. “Delilah, I didn’t mean—”
She glanced over, meeting my eyes briefly. “Don’t judge my life. I’m not complaining about my life, so don’t go thinking that. I didn’t have the kind of family you did, so it’s different for me.”
“Delilah, I’m not judging you. I just wish you’d let yourself count on someone.”
“I count on myself.”
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Delilah
I was fuming inside, flushed with defensiveness and anger. Obviously, Alex thought everyone should have the kind of life he did with tons of close friends and everybody knowing everything about him.
I swallowed my anger and stayed quiet, watching the mountains as we drove. I loved his parents and his sister, and I loved this cute little town. I could see why Remy fell in love with it when he got a job out here. The word beautiful didn’t do it justice. It was breathtaking and stunning, and everybody was freaking nice. Maybe it was because I was with Alex, and it was clear his family was beloved in this town.
People here were genuinely down to earth. That said, if one more person suggested I consider doing my internship here, I was going to scream.
I didn’t know why I felt tethered to Stolen Hearts Valley. It wasn’t as if I had the kind of network of support Alex did here. I knew I could make any decision right now. I could decide to move to Willow Brook, but that meant handing my heart to Alex. And I still wasn’t sure if he felt this thing between us to his bones the way I did.
When we got back to his place and walked inside, I still felt unsettled. Following Alex’s lead, I hung my jacket on the coatrack by the door. Alex had started to walk through the living room, but he turned and abruptly stopped beside the back of the sofa.
His eyes searched mine. “I didn’t mean to upset you.”
I opened my mouth to lie and tell him he didn’t upset me, but that was not what came out. “I know you didn’t mean to. I’m just used to taking care of myself. That’s all.”
I wondered if my sullen mood had ruined the night, but it didn’t matter. The one thing that was magic with Alex and me was our chemistry that just wouldn’t quit. There was a lamp on in the corner. As I held his dark eyes, my pulse began to thrum, and the unsettled feeling spun into the heat instantly dancing through my veins.
If one thing was guaranteed to make me forget, it was losing myself in him and letting the flames eclipse all thought. Crossing to him, I placed my palm flat on his chest. I felt his heart leap
in reaction.
“Do we have to talk?” I asked, letting my hands slide over his chest and down across his muscled abs to cup his cock through his jeans, which was already swollen under my touch.
“Delilah,” he began, almost as if he was going to try to keep on talking about this.
“That wasn’t really a question, Alex,” I murmured as I leaned up and pressed an open-mouthed kiss on the side of his neck.
Alex’s eyes darkened further, and I heard the sharp intake of his breath when I stroked boldly over his arousal.
“What are you doing?” he rasped, his voice low and taut.
“I’m definitely not in the mood to keep talking. We only have two more nights before I have to go back home.”
Although desire was driving me, a fierce, emotional need lay claim to me again and again and again with Alex. My heart gave a sharp twist in my chest when I voiced the obvious. Yet again, my time with Alex was only temporary, just a mirage.
I felt almost frantic. I didn’t want to contemplate the fact I was leaving. I stroked up and down his hard length again. On the heels of a ragged breath, his hand was lacing in my hair, and his mouth was on mine. In a burning hot second, our kiss was devouring—a messy tangle of lips and tongue.
With need driving me, I tore at the buttons of his fly, letting out a loud moan in his mouth when I slid my hand into his boxers and curled my palm around his velvety arousal.
Alex tore his lips from mine and lifted his head. “Fuck, Delilah.”
With the couch right behind him, I gave him a little push, and his hips bumped into it. When I stroked again, he muttered something unintelligible before his hips settled on the back edge of the couch.
I shoved his jeans and boxers down a little to gain access. Letting my eyes fall, I slid my thumb over the drop of pre-cum rolling out of the tip. Leaning down, I swirled my tongue around the thick crown.
