“Okay, Mom, I’ll stop by. But I won’t be able to stay long.”
“No, you’re right, sweetie. I don’t want you traveling home this late. I’ll just see you when you get back from Arkansas.”
She’d told her mom the entire story and the way Micah conned her into going to Arkansas with him. To her dismay, her mom thought the entire situation was hilarious.
“Excuse me, Lex,” she heard Micah say behind her.
“Hold on, Mom,” she said before placing her hand over the phone and turning her attention to Micah.
“Yes.”
“The waiter brought the check so I went ahead and paid and grabbed your coat and purse since this place is getting pretty packed with the late dinner crowd. Would you like to go across the street for coffee so we can talk about the Arkansas trip?”
More time with you would be too tempting, she thought. And though they still had more to discuss, she now had other plans.
“Sorry,” she said to him. “I have other plans tonight.” She saw the hint of disappointment in his eyes and tried not to enjoy it too much. For the past ten minutes she’d been acting pretty firm toward him and although she knew he didn’t understand her change in demeanor, she couldn’t help it.
“Okay, do you have any time tomorrow?”
She tilted her head and looked into his eyes. She didn’t have any plans tomorrow except a bit of winter cleaning, but he didn’t have to know that. I wonder if I should make him think I have a hot date? She was normally honest with men, not caring one way or another if they knew the truth. But Micah rattled her nerves too much and she was slowly realizing she enjoyed toying with him when she could.
Don’t do it Lex, her inner voice warned. “Sorry, but my plans tonight may be exhausting,” she said, ignoring the warning and emphasizing the word exhausting. “My companion may keep me up too late.” As she watched the displeasure spread across his face, she secretly relished in the fact that he wasn’t ready for their night to end.
He didn’t say anything. Instead he just stood there watching her closely. When she felt her nerves roll into a ball at the pit of her stomach, she pushed the feeling away. She felt liberated...in control. Powerful. Feminine. Strong.
“We’ll just catch up when our schedules match, Micah,” she continued.
“Baby, you better stop lying to that man.” Her mother’s voice filled the front of the restaurant. The high-pitched voice caught her off guard and caused her to almost drop her phone. She glanced down and realized she’d accidentally hit the speakerphone key. Stupid touch phone. She tried to click the speakerphone off, but it wasn’t working.
“That man just asked you a simple question and you are making up excuses not to spend time with him. If he’s as sexy as you say he is, then you should take him up on his offer for coffee.”
“Mom, you’re on speaker,” Lex yelled into the phone. “I’m trying to get you off, but I can’t,” she said nervously, tapping the phone.
“Am I still on speaker?” her mom asked.
“Yes,” Lex answered, not daring to look up at Micah.
“Oh, good. Put the phone near Micah.”
“He can still hear you mom.”
“Micah?” her mom called out.
“Yes, Mrs. Turner?” Lex finally glanced at him, mortified to see him grinning from ear to ear.
“Is there any chance you can drive my daughter to my house right now? Her father and I have something important to give her.”
You have got to be kidding me. “Mom, he can’t do that.”
“Of course I can, Mrs. Turner. We’re leaving the restaurant now.”
“Micah, this isn’t necessary.”
“Oh, yes it is,” her mom responded. “Lex, let Micah bring you over here. And your father and I want to meet him.”
“Mom, we’ll be there,” Lex said, accepting defeat. “See you soon,” she continued, prompting her mom to disconnect the call.
As soon as her mom hung up, her phone conveniently unfroze. All she could do was shake her head and look down at the floor. Without looking into his face, she grabbed her coat and put it on before taking her purse. So humiliating. Stuff like this would only happen to her.
Chapter 7
Once they were outside, she looked up at him again, happy to see that he was no longer smiling. The sunlight was gone, but the streetlights and snow on the ground still illuminated the area. Micah pointed his hand to the left for her to walk in that direction.
“How far down did you park?” she asked.
“Three blocks,” he answered, falling into step with her. When they had walked two blocks, she couldn’t take the silence anymore.
“Don’t you have anything to say?” she asked him.
“Nope, nothing,” he stated frankly. Oh, I get it. He’s paying me back for lying to him about having a date.
Why did men make things so complicated? Micah always threw her off, yet she says one little white lie and he gets all bent out of shape.
She looked at him again. His face hadn’t changed. “Okay, fine,” she said tossing her hands in the air. “I’m sorry for lying to you.”
“I can’t believe you lied,” he said as he turned to her with a solemn look on his face. “My ex used to lie to me all the time.”
He placed his head down and grew silent again. Just great, Lex. Lie to the guy who has a history of women lying to him.
“Well I truly am sorry, Micah. I was just trying to get you back for all those times you made me feel uncomfortable.”
“Because you think I’m such a bad person.” His voice was desolate, and Lex felt even worse. She reached out to touch his hunched-over shoulders. When she did, he caught her wrist and brought her to him. She gasped out of surprise.
“What are you doing?” she asked Micah, attempting to push against his chest but instead, she rested her hands there. He flashed her a mischievous smile.
“You’re not upset at all, are you?” she asked him, finally catching on.
He laughed before he responded. “What type of sensitive men have you dated in the past that would cause you to believe I was upset about something so small.”
Evan would have been furious. “I thought I’d hurt you’re feelings,” she said, feeling gullible that she’d fallen for his antics once again.
“Hurt my feelings?” he said, looking into her eyes. “Words don’t break me. Besides...you think I’m sexy.”
“My mom said that, not me.”
“I’ve never met your mom, so I can only assume that she was quoting what you’ve told her.”
He was leaning in closer to her and she knew what he was about to do, yet she wasn’t trying to stop him. In fact, she wanted it just as much as he did. When he was close enough to almost touch her lips, an ambulance flew by, disrupting the moment. It was the chance Lex needed to push away from him.
“Are we near your car?” she asked, walking ahead of him.
“It’s a couple cars down,” he said, following behind her. When they reached his car, he opened the passenger door so that she could slide in.
When he was walking around to the driver’s side, she let out the breath she’d been holding. Her night wasn’t really going the way she’d planned.
“Just so you know,” she said, turning to Micah when he got in the car, “I meant what I said earlier. No more kissing.”
He shook his head and laughed as he started up the engine.
“I mean it,” she said, trying to sound forceful.
“I heard you when you said it in the restaurant,” he said, turning his attention to the road. When they stopped at a light, he looked over to her, determined and resolute. “But if you think I’m forgetting about those explosive kisses we shared, then think again. You’ll see.”
See? What would she see? She wasn’t sure she could handle seeing anything more Micah had to offer, which she was sure was a helleva lot.
“What’s the address?” he asked, breaking her thoughts. She rattled off the address so he could plug it into the GPS system in his car.
“Let’s go meet moms and pops,” he said with a slick smile. She didn’t dare respond to his comment. Words had gotten her in enough trouble tonight. Instead, she turned to look out her window and prayed that news of her introducing Micah to her parents wouldn’t spread in her family like wildfire. Having one set of parents believe they were a couple was enough drama for one holiday season.
After a thirty-minute drive, they arrived at her parents’ house. She had no idea what her parents wanted to give her, but she knew it had to be important if they wanted her to come visit them this late. When they pulled into the driveway, her parents were already opening the front door.
“Hey, baby,” her dad said, embracing her as she stepped inside the house. She hugged her mom and her dad before introducing them to Micah.
“Mom, dad, this is Micah Madden. Micah, these are my parents, Linda and Ethan Turner.”
“Nice to meet you both,” Micah said, hugging Mrs. Turner and shaking hands with Mr. Turner. Lex smiled as her dad sized up Micah. Since she was an only child, her dad was extremely protective, especially after her relationship with Evan.
“Why don’t we go sit in the family room,” her mom stated after they removed their coats and shoes. When they sat down, she observed each parent, wondering why they seemed so anxious.
“Would you like me to wait in another room?” Micah asked, clearly sensing their apprehension, as well.
“No, that’s not necessary,” Mrs. Turner stated.
“What’s going on?” Lex asked.
‘Well, sweetie,” Linda said, slightly glancing from her to her dad, “your father and I were able to locate something and were so excited to give it to you that it couldn’t wait until Christmas.” Her mom pulled out a white box with a blue bow tied around it that had been sitting on the table near the large sofa.
“Open it,” her mom said, handing her the box. She looked at her parents inquisitively before untying the ribbon and opening the box.
When she removed the tissue paper, her heart skipped a beat. She let out a soft gasp as she clenched her chest, overwhelmed by what she saw. It can’t be... She picked up the delicate gold brooch and ran her hands across the gems and diamonds. She hadn’t seen the brooch in years and thought she’d never see it again.
“How did you find it?” she asked her parents.
“Your father was with some friends in Michigan and he ran across the brooch in an upscale pawnshop.”
“What,” Lex exclaimed. “Michigan! He sold my brooches to a pawnshop in Michigan!”
“Sweetie, that doesn’t matter,” her mom responded. “What matters is that your father was able to find it or better yet, the brooch was able to find him.”
Lex knew her father often checked pawnshops to see what hidden treasures were waiting to be found. It was truly a miracle that he had found this one. “This must have cost you a fortune,” she said to her dad.
“Nothing’s too expensive for my baby,” her dad said as he gave her a wink. Lex walked over to where her parents were sitting and gave them each a huge hug as she thanked them while rubbing away a couple tears that had fallen.
“Did you find the others?” she asked, although she already knew the answer. If they had, they would have given them to her.
“No, I didn’t,” her dad responded, sounding crushed.
“Well then, I’ll make sure I cherish this one.” When she returned to her seat, she met Micah’s curious glance before dropping her eyes back to the brooch. She heard her mom tell her father to join her in the kitchen before they vacated the room.
Once she was alone with Micah, she figured now was a good time to mention a part of her past that she often tried to forget.
“This brooch is one of three,” she said, turning her head to face him. “When I went off to college, my grandmother Faith Gamine Burrstone, my mom’s mother, had given me one of three brooches that were given to her by a dear friend. She knew I always loved them, and when I was little I used to sneak into her room, put on her lipstick and fancy wigs and stick one of her brooches on my shirt as I pretended to be her. I couldn’t get enough of playing dress up with Gamine’s stuff,” Lex said with a slight laugh.
“Every time she caught me, she just smiled, gave me a kiss on the cheek and told me that one day, she would give me a brooch when I was old enough to hear the story behind them. I was surprised and honored when at eighteen, she had decided to give me a brooch from her collection...but there hadn’t been a story to go along with it. She said that there would be a story she’d tell me later when I was ready to hear it.”
Lex momentarily glanced back at the brooch as emotion clogged her throat. “When she passed away six years ago, she left me the other two brooches in her will along with the story that I’d waited most of my life to hear. It changed me at the time of her death, and it was exactly what I needed to hear in my life at that moment.”
She glanced back at Micah, a little surprised at herself for what she was about to share with him. It was a topic, she rarely spoke about...mainly because she had a hard time admitting to herself that the woman too cautious for her own good had been reckless in her past decisions.
“The day I received the story and the other brooches was the day I decided to divorce my ex-husband, Evan Gilmore.” She stared into his eyes, waiting for the look of shock or surprise to cross his face, but it didn’t.
“Did someone tell you I was divorced before?”
“Not at all,” he said as he took her hands in his. “And I’m sure divorcing your ex wasn’t easy.”
“It wasn’t,” she responded, glancing at their intertwined hands before looking up to his face. “On top of being the worst husband in the world, he also robbed me of my youth, among other things. A week before I was moving out of our home, we were robbed and the thieves managed to take everything I cherished in life...including all three of my grandmother’s brooches. I always suspected Evan was behind the robbery, and so did my family. My suspicions were confirmed a year after our divorce when one of Evan’s old coworkers told me that he had overheard Evan at the gym the day before the robbery gloating to a couple other men that if I got half of what he had earned, then it was only fair that he take the things I loved, as well. So my dad finding this brooch is priceless...”
“I’m sorry to hear that,” Micah said with concern written across his face. “What did he do that made him the worst husband?”
She opened her mouth to say more, but then closed it quickly. How can I possibly explain the depth of the hurt he caused?
“You can tell me when you’re ready,” he said, sensing her hesitation. “But I do have one thing to say.”
I don’t want your pity, she thought. He reached up to touch her cheek. “The hardships and pain that we must go through sometimes may feel unbearable. But it’s those situations and circumstances that make us stronger and wiser. It may not feel like it sometimes, but your relationship with your ex made you stronger...not weaker.”
His words melted her heart in a way that no one else had. So many of her friends and family knew about her relationship with her ex, yet Micah had managed to listen to part of her story without judgment or pity. The man looking at her with his rich brown eyes was not flirting or joking like he normally did. He was compassionate, and although she knew she shouldn’t kiss him, that was all his words made her want to do.
She leaned closer to him, enjoying the glint in his eyes when he, too, realized that she was going to kiss him. She never took the initiative to kiss a man, especially a man like Micah. Her lips softly brushed his at the same ti
me that her hands clasped the back of his neck. He quickly took over, dipping his tongue into her mouth. She sighed from the sweetness of his lips. The kiss wasn’t too hard or too soft... It was perfect with just the right amount of pressure. She could go on kissing him forever, which was exactly why she needed to end it before they lost control.
When their lips broke apart, she didn’t feel the same anxiety she felt around Micah the last time they’d kissed. This time, she felt comforted, calm, and...protected. Those were feelings she hadn’t felt from a man in a very long time.
Chapter 8
Micah stood in the kitchen listening to Mr. Turner explain the best way to smoke a turkey. It was the fourth dish that he’d pulled out of the refrigerator since he and Lex had arrived. When Lex had told her father that Micah enjoyed cooking, it hadn’t taken him long to have him taste a range of dishes he’d previously made.
“Now taste this macaroni and tell me if you can pinpoint my secret ingredient,” Mr. Turner said, handing Micah a small plate. Micah tasted a bite of the macaroni and turned toward the kitchen entrance, wondering where Lex and her mom had run off to.
“So...what do you think?” Mr. Turner prompted. Micah turned his head back to Mr. Turner at the sound of his voice.
“Hmm...did you add a little cayenne pepper?” he asked.
“Exactly,” Mr. Turner said, snapping his fingers. “Plus a special cheese that you can only import from Italy.” Lex wasn’t lying about her father’s love for cooking, Micah thought as he laughed to himself. He’d learned more cooking secrets from Mr. Turner in the past hour than he had on several Food Network shows.
Mr. Turner’s checkered glasses and animated expressions reminded Micah of his uncle Barry, who used to wear unique glasses and spoke with such emotion when he was passionate about something. They would have gotten along wonderfully and since they were both talkers, he couldn’t imagine them running out of things to say. Too bad his uncle Barry was no longer here and his own uptight father wasn’t blessed with the gift of gab.
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