“Wait, who are we talking about?” Ethan asked.
Rolling his eyes, Alex gave a condensed version of the conversation he’d had with Zach earlier in the week.
“Okay, then I’m confused too,” Ethan commented. “Did you call her?”
With a sigh, Alex walked into the kitchen and grabbed a bottle of water before returning to them. “I sort of…” He paused. If he said he ran into her, it would seem suspicious that he had said this girl lived on the other side of the country and suddenly she was here. The comparison to Megan would be beyond obvious, and there was no way he was going to out their weekend to Zach without talking to her about it first.
“I started to, but then I decided against it,” he said instead.
Zach snorted with disgust as he stood. “C’mon. Let’s get back to it. I’d like to have all the painting done before Gabriella gets home.”
That was it? Neither of them was going to say anything else?
Alex supposed he should be thankful, and yet…he almost felt a little let down. If only they knew how much he envied them—their lives, their commitment to their wives, their growing families—it was everything he wanted! And he had a feeling if she let him in even a little, Megan would see that he could be the man for her.
Walking into the guest room, he sighed. Focusing on the task at hand, he finished painting the last wall. When it was done, he washed out his roller and brush and then helped Ethan finish putting the bathroom back together. By that time, Zach was almost done in the nursery, and they talked about moving the guest room furniture back into place first.
“What about the hallway?” Alex asked. “I thought we were painting that too.”
Zach raked a hand through his hair. It was late in the afternoon already, and no doubt Gabriella would be coming home soon. For the life of him, Alex couldn’t imagine what kind of shopping took all day, but maybe they were making it last that long so they were out of the way.
“No, we need to move all the furniture back before we do the hallway,” Ethan said, interrupting Alex’s thoughts. “This way if we bang into the walls or anything, we’re not messing up the new paint job.”
“Good plan,” Zach said. “If the three of us get the furniture moved and all work on the hallway, we should be able to knock it out pretty fast.”
They immediately started, and the only conversation was about furniture placement and putting switch plate covers back into place or moving drop cloths. It wasn’t until they were each rolling paint on the hallway walls that Zach changed the subject.
“So what do you think of Megan?” he asked, and Alex nearly fell off the ladder he was on.
“Um…what? Why?”
Zach chuckled. “Nothing. Relax. Geez, you’re jumpy today,” he said and then focused on rolling for a minute. “It just occurred to me that with Megan being here now, you’ll be hanging out with her too. It would be great if the two of you got along and all.”
“Dude, are you trying to fix me up with your cousin?” Alex asked and secretly prayed it was the case because it would make things so much easier to have Zach on his side as he tried to convince Megan to go out with him.
“Hell no!” Zach cried, but with a smile. “I don’t believe it’s ever a good thing for a friend to date a family member, you know?”
Ethan looked at Alex. “True story. Zach was the biggest pain in the ass when Summer and I first got together.”
“That’s because you kept it a secret,” Zach snapped. “You went behind my back and hooked up with her. It was kind of a betrayal. You don’t do that to a friend.”
Suddenly Alex felt a little uneasy with the whole situation. Granted, he and Zach weren’t as close as Zach was with Ethan, and Megan was Zach’s cousin rather than his sister, but…still. Judging from the arguing that was going on—and this being more than three years since it happened—Alex knew there was no way he was going to risk being on the receiving end of Zach’s ire.
At least not until he knew where he stood with Megan.
Alex let out a loud whistle to be heard over the yelling, and both Zach and Ethan stilled at the sound. They looked up at him with annoyance.
“I think it’s safe to say that things worked out,” he said diplomatically. “Your sister and Ethan are happily married and have a beautiful daughter, and it shouldn’t matter how or when they started dating…”
“I still say it was a crappy thing to do,” Zach murmured.
“But,” Alex went on, ignoring Zach’s comment, “the important thing to remember is that Summer is a very happy woman. And really, isn’t that what you want for your sister more than anything, Zach? For her to be happy and have a man who loves her and takes care of her?”
Zach mumbled something incoherent, and when Ethan was about to argue with him, Alex cut him off.
“Personally, I could only wish my sister would find someone who treated her as well as Ethan treats Summer.”
“How would you feel if it was your best friend?” Zach grumbled.
“Considering my best friend is happily married with two kids and another on the way, I’d probably be a little upset. But before he was married, I don’t think I would have had an issue with it.”
“Trust me,” Zach said, “you would have.”
“Maybe. But I guess we’ll never know,” Alex said as he began to roll out more paint.
They finished painting in relative silence, and what he took away from the whole conversation was the fact that Zach Montgomery obviously held grudges.
* * *
“I don’t think I can move.”
“It’s okay. You don’t have to.”
Summer shook her head lazily. “No, no, no…I really do. I have to pick up Amber before we head over to…to…wait, where do I have to go?”
“Gabriella’s,” Megan said sleepily. “But don’t do it. Have the nanny bring Amber here. We’ll start her young.”
“I knew we’d win you over,” Gabriella said.
“Had I known something like this was an option, I would have asked for this instead of the shopping.”
They were each sitting in a massage chair of a nail salon after having manicures and pedicures. Megan had never understood the appeal of it.
Until now.
“How have I lived for so long without this in my life?”
“I blame myself,” Summer said. “We didn’t spend enough time together. I promise to make it up to you. Let’s do this weekly.”
“You’re on,” Megan murmured and moaned with delight when her technician began massaging her scalp. “Oh my God…”
“Our work here is done, Gabs,” Summer said, and Gabriella readily agreed. Her phone beeped, and she let out a small whine. “That sounds like reality calling.”
“Can’t you tell it to go away for a little longer?” Gabriella asked.
“I wish,” Summer replied as she looked at her phone. “Change of plans. The painting took a bit longer than the guys thought, so we’re going to do dinner at our place so the fumes won’t be as bad for you when you get home.”
Gabriella hummed her approval.
“We’re supposed to pick up some Chinese food and the guys will meet us at the house in about an hour,” Summer added.
Both Megan and Gabriella straightened slightly in their seats. “So how do we need to do this?” Megan asked.
“Summer, why don’t you head home and take care of Amber and do whatever you need to do before we all get there. Megan and I will pick up the food and then head over. Sound good?”
Nodding, Summer stood, carefully slid on her shoes, and picked up her purse. “Actually, it sounds perfect. Get me some crab rangoon, please,” she said as she waved and made her way to the door.
Fifteen minutes later, Megan felt like a wet noodle as she slid into Gabriella’s car. They’d already called in the mas
sive dinner order, and really, all Megan needed to do was hold the box in her lap until they got to Summer’s. There were worse ways to spend her time.
Once they arrived, Megan was surprised to see that the guys were there already. Zach came out to greet Gabriella, and Alex came out to take the food. When Megan didn’t immediately move to get out of the car, Alex looked at her curiously.
“You okay?” he asked. “Shopping wear you out?”
She laughed softly. “You have no idea. Those two are lethal.”
Zach and Gabriella had already walked into the house when Ethan came out. “Everything okay?”
Alex handed him the box of food with a laugh of his own. “It seems like shopping took a little more out of her than she expected.”
For a minute Megan considered arguing that he didn’t need to talk about her as if she weren’t there, but she was too tired to.
“I can believe it,” Ethan said. “Next time, pace yourself. Summer and Gabriella are like Olympic medalists where shopping and girls’ days are concerned.” With a smile and a quick wave, he was gone.
Alex crouched next to the open car door. “You gonna make it?” he teased.
With her eyes closed, Megan couldn’t help but smile. “Go. Eat Chinese food. Save yourself. Just leave me here to sleep for a day or two.”
“No can do,” he said softly. “If you don’t join everyone inside for dinner, I’ll have to carry you in.”
Turning her head to the side, she opened her eyes and looked at him.
Damn, why did he have to be so attractive? Here he was after moving furniture and painting all day, and he looked too good for words. She struggled to keep from leaning forward and tasting him. Her mind had to be playing tricks on her because Megan was fairly certain her memory of how Alex tasted and kissed was being overexaggerated.
He leaned in closer—or maybe she was the one who moved. Either way, they were a heck of a lot closer than they had been a minute ago.
Maybe it was the fact that she was feeling extremely mellow or maybe it was the fact that he was too damn tempting to resist. All Megan wanted was to know whether her mind had been playing tricks on her.
Alex whispered her name as he gently pressed his lips to hers.
Oh…
One of Alex’s hands came up and cupped her cheek, and his touch was both arousing and familiar. Megan mimicked his move and marveled in the scratchiness of his jaw, the warmth of his skin. She sighed and moved a little closer, and the kiss went from chaste to inquisitive to a full onslaught in the blink of an eye. She wanted to pull him into the car or have him pull her out onto the driveway so she could feel more of him, but for now, this would have to do—the taste of him and being consumed by him.
No, her mind hadn’t been playing games with her.
There had been no exaggeration.
Alex Rebat was sexy and sensual and completely lethal.
She pulled back because she couldn’t breathe, but Alex’s hand stayed where it was, gently caressing her skin. Megan leaned into it as she tried to catch her breath.
“It’s still there,” he whispered.
Her eyes drifted closed even as she nodded in agreement because she knew exactly what he was talking about.
“I know now isn’t the time, but—”
“Did she fall asleep out there?” Gabriella called out from the doorway with a small laugh. “Come on, Megan! The food’s getting cold!”
Alex stood and held out a hand to Megan. She accepted it and had to bite her tongue to keep from groaning at how good it felt to touch him. He gently tugged her to her feet, and for a brief moment, she was pressed up against him. Slowly she looked up at him and saw the same emotion on his face she knew was on hers.
Desire.
Plain and simple.
It would be so easy right now to reach up, wrap her arms around him, and pull him in for another kiss. As if reading her mind, Alex released her hand and said, “C’mon. Let’s go have some dinner.”
Mutely, she nodded, and they walked side by side into the house.
When they arrived in the kitchen, Zach and Ethan were arguing over some game that was going to be on later, and Alex immediately walked over to join them. Megan went to work helping set the table and putting the food out, and within minutes, they were all seated.
Dinner was loud and boisterous and filled Megan with joy—because not only was she surrounded by family, but the sound of laughter and being around other people were things she had seriously been missing out on for far too long. Back in Albany, whenever she did go out after work with coworkers, they tended to talk about work stuff. Here literally no one mentioned anything work-related. Part of Megan wondered if it was on purpose since most of them worked together or if it was because they were able to separate their jobs from their personal and social lives.
Actually, it was fascinating to observe.
“So did we redeem ourselves after the shopping disaster?” Summer asked after the guys went to the den to watch the game.
“I don’t think you needed to redeem yourselves,” Megan replied. “I wasn’t prepared for that level of shopping. I feel like maybe I should have eased into it.”
“That reminds me,” Gabriella said as she put containers of food away, “all of your bags are still in the car. We’ll need to bring those in.”
Megan rose and stretched. “Ugh…any chance I can just will them to the guesthouse?”
“Do you need some help?” Summer asked.
But Megan waved her off. “It may take a trip or two…or five,” she joked. “But I’ve got it. You relax.”
“No arguments there. All the shopping and pampering was a treat compared to getting an infant to calm down when she’s hungry,” Summer said as she relaxed a bit in her seat.
Laughing softly, Megan made her way out to the car and opened the trunk. “Yikes,” she murmured. How had she not noticed how much stuff she had purchased? Granted, some of the bags were Gabriella’s, but the majority of them were hers.
Fifteen bags, she thought with disbelief. The last time she had purchased that many bags of anything, it had been groceries.
Grabbing the first batch, she walked around the house and made her way to the guesthouse. The space was fantastic and more than she needed, and she was beyond grateful for it. Placing the bags on the sofa, she stopped, looked around, and realized she had left her breakfast dishes in the sink and her coffee cup and a glass on the counter. The rest of the place looked pristine, and she needed to remember this wasn’t her place and she should probably put a little more effort into keeping it clean.
“Note to self, be a better houseguest,” she murmured on her way back to the car. She found Alex staring into the trunk. “Um…what are you doing?”
“Gabriella asked me to give you a hand. Is this everyone’s stuff? Do we need to bring some of this inside to Summer?”
“Unfortunately, no,” she said quietly.
Alex leaned in a bit. “What was that?”
She looked at him. “These are all mine. Well…those three are Gabriella’s.”
His eyes went a little wide with amusement. “Really? No wonder you were worn out.”
Megan nodded. “Tell me about it. And I’ve already taken some into the house. I don’t think I’ve ever shopped like this. I made one comment about wanting some new things, and—”
“How come?”
“How come what?” she asked.
“How come you wanted some new things? Did you leave a lot of stuff behind when you moved?”
Great. How was she supposed to explain how she was tired of being plain old Megan? How this move was about making changes that had nothing to do with her job?
“New job, new city…you know. I thought maybe some new clothes could go along with that.”
He didn’t comment. Instead he grabbed
the rest of the shopping bags. Megan shut the trunk before following him to the guesthouse. Her heart was hammering in her chest at the thought of being alone with him with no prying eyes.
Would anyone notice if I shut the door and kissed him for a little while longer? she questioned herself.
The answer was most definitely a yes, so she quickly pushed the thought aside. Alex put the bags on the sofa next to the ones she had already placed there. “Thanks,” she murmured. With nothing left to bring in, she suddenly felt awkward and unsure of what she was supposed to do or say. It wasn’t an issue when they were sitting with everyone else, but when they were alone, it felt…strange.
Alex looked toward the door and then at her before he stepped in a little closer. “So…I was thinking. Maybe I could take you out to dinner one night this week. You know…we can talk and catch up.”
Now it was Megan’s turn to look over her shoulder and make sure no one was coming to see what was taking them so long. “Um…”
His expression—which had been mildly hopeful—fell. “What’s going on, Megan?”
“I have so much going on right now, Alex,” she said honestly. “I’m trying to settle in at work, and I need to take care of some other things before I start…you know…going out.”
“You still have to eat, right?” he teased.
That made her relax a little, but she jumped when he took one of her hands in his. “I need to get a car and an apartment. I need to not be living here for too long because I don’t like disrupting Summer and Ethan’s lives.” She paused and looked from their joined hands to his face. “I just need a little…time,” she said carefully. “I don’t think I could handle answering questions about us dating on top of everything else. This week at work is going to be crazy enough with new software coming, and I’m going to be training people, and…I need to be focused.”
He nodded. “I understand. But you need to also take some time for you. I’m not saying it has to be with me,” he added with a soft laugh, “although that would be my preference, but don’t get into the same patterns you had in New York.”
Part of her wanted to be annoyed at what he was implying. Unfortunately, he was spot-on. And she knew that he—more than anyone else here—had felt the effects of her work pattern.
Until There Was Us Page 7
