Funny how much he was looking forward to a day strolling in the park, he thought as he walked up the stairs to his room. It had been a long time since he’d done anything but jog or cycle around the park paths, and now he was anxiously grabbing sneakers and getting ready to spend the day simply strolling and playing park guide.
Well, knowing that Megan was going to be with him had a little something to do with it…or everything, whatever. Alex loved to be outside and to be active, but once in a while a quiet day at home was appealing. He always found it curious that people—like Megan—didn’t go out more, and he was hoping to help her change that part of herself.
Granted, she might hate it. She might be the type of person who wasn’t outdoorsy. And he could accept that. Sort of. But if she enjoyed their trip today, he’d suggest maybe going to the Japanese garden next weekend.
His mind was instantly swirling with places they could go together: not only the touristy sites the city was known for, but some spots the locals enjoyed—bars, restaurants, music festivals. He knew if she gave him a chance, he could have their weekends booked for the next six months easily.
“Don’t get too ahead of yourself,” he murmured. “She’s clearly still testing the waters here where we’re concerned. One thing at a time.”
And that still didn’t make much sense to him, but for now he was willing to accept it and do his best to prove to her he wasn’t going to push or rush her to go on a date with him.
Even though technically that’s what they could call what they were doing today.
And he was smart enough to know not to mention that to her.
Especially if he wanted to spend the day with her again.
With some sense of direction, Alex walked to the kitchen, and…Megan wasn’t there. He called her name, and she answered from his living room. It was one of his favorite rooms in the house. There was a massive stone fireplace with built-in bookcases on either side, and the room boasted a twenty-foot ceiling with exposed beams. It was a little rustic, but it was the kind of space he absolutely loved.
He found her looking at his collection of books. Walking over to her, he waited to hear what she thought.
“This is the most eclectic library I’ve ever seen,” she said, placing a book on drum making back on the shelf.
“Aren’t all libraries eclectic?” he asked. “I mean, they have to have a book on pretty much everything.”
Megan looked at him with amusement. “Okay, Mr. Technicality, let me rephrase that. This is the most eclectic personal library I’ve ever seen.”
“Ah…much better,” he teased. “And thank you.”
“Seriously, how many of these have you read?”
“I’m not big on watching TV, but I love to read.”
“Clearly.” She laughed, motioning to the filled shelves. “You seem to have pretty much covered all the bases—you’ve got biographies, mysteries, how-to books…” She scanned the shelves again. “So many classics here. I remember reading most of these when I was in school—primarily as part of the curriculum—but there are some I reread later on for my own enjoyment.”
“Like I said, I enjoy reading. But if I had to choose my favorite genre, I’d have to say science fiction. I have to read a lot for work—I like to stay up-to-date on new therapies being used and review case studies. I find that kind of thing fascinating.”
“I get that,” she agreed. “I read a lot of tech magazines and follow along with any new systems coming out. It’s dry reading, but it keeps me thinking of ways I can enhance the systems I’m working with or help the company I’m working for.”
“What about fun? What’s your go-to genre when you want to relax?”
“Hmm…” While she looked like she was considering the question, Alex noticed the slight flush to her cheeks.
“And not what you think you should say, but what you really read,” he clarified.
She glared at him before looking at the shelves. “Fine, but…no judging.”
Alex made a motion across his chest. “Cross my heart. Now come on. What’s your go-to?”
Megan huffed loudly. “Romance.” She paused. “Go ahead. Make fun.”
He frowned at her. “Why would I make fun?”
Now she fully turned to face him. “Why? Because everyone does,” she reasoned. “Especially people who own the classics. I’ve heard everything from ‘it’s nonsense’ to ‘they’re not real books’ to—”
“Okay, okay, okay,” he interrupted before she got herself too worked up. “And for the record, I don’t think those things, but I’ve heard people say them, so…I get it. Personally, I don’t see anything wrong with romance novels. I’ve read a few myself, and I’ll admit I enjoy a lot of the fiction stuff I read when there’s a romantic element.”
“Really?”
He nodded. “Really.”
She smiled at him and then moved over to another set of shelves displaying some framed photos. Part of him liked how she was taking an interest in him, but he was also feeling anxious about getting her to the park before she found an excuse to not go.
Picking up one of the pictures, she turned toward him. “You were so young here!”
The immediate pang of guilt he always felt when he looked at that particular picture hit, and then he pushed it aside. Walking over to her, Alex gently took the picture from her hands. “It was from the summer after I graduated high school. A bunch of us went camping for the first time without any parents or chaperones. We thought we were pretty cool.” He forced himself to smile and think of the fun he was having when that picture was taken.
“And who’s that with you?”
“That’s Danny,” he replied. “We grew up together, lived next door to one another pretty much our whole lives.”
She was still smiling. “That’s nice. Do you still keep in touch?”
“I see him once a week. Every Friday. Without fail.”
“Every week? Wow! That’s a committed friendship!”
“Actually, he is…he’s one of my clients. We have a standing appointment every Friday,” he said a little stiltedly.
Megan looked at him oddly, and he knew she would ask more questions—questions he wasn’t willing to deal with right now. This was going to be a good day. He wanted to make it a good day for her, and talking about the darkest point in his life wasn’t going to make that happen.
“I’ve never been camping,” she said, surprising him. “It’s totally not my thing.”
“How do you know if you’ve never gone?” he teased.
“Let’s just say I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t enjoy it.”
“But what about—?”
“How about we tackle walking in the park before we continue this?” she said, laughing. “For all you know, you’ll figure out by the end of the day that I’m not the outdoorsy type.”
And before they lost this bonding they were clearly doing, he nodded toward the kitchen. “Come on. Let’s grab some drinks and snacks and head to the park. There are more than fifteen miles of trails and—”
“Alex, I have no intention of walking fifteen miles today,” she argued lightly.
He laughed as they worked together in the kitchen getting supplies. “I know, and I wouldn’t ask it of you. There are more than four hundred acres to the park, so it is not a see-it-all-in-one-day type of place. Today I thought we’d walk around a little and see where the mood took us. There’s a Japanese garden I’d like to take you to maybe next weekend. What do you think?”
“That sounds like it would be lovely,” she said with a smile.
He bit his tongue before he blurted out, It’s a date.
* * *
“You’re in an awfully good mood today,” Summer said on Monday while she and Megan were heading to lunch. “You never told me what you ended up doing this weekend. I hope Maylene didn
’t give you any trouble.”
“Well…she did give me a scare on Saturday,” Megan began hesitantly. At her cousin’s wide-eyed look, she relayed the story of how the little pug had gotten out and where she eventually found her. Much to Megan’s relief, Summer laughed. “Sure, it’s funny now, but at the time, I was freaking out.”
“I guess I should have warned you about that. She does get out of the yard from time to time, but she never goes far, and she always comes back. For some reason she is obsessed with sitting in Ethan’s hammock.”
“Um, yeah. It would have been helpful information to have at the time,” Megan deadpanned. “Thanks.”
They walked into the café and were seated almost immediately. “So Alex came over and helped you look for her, huh?”
Megan nodded.
“That was nice of him,” Summer said casually as she glanced at the menu. “And did you happen to…oh, I don’t know…invite him to stay over?”
“What?” Megan cried. “Why would you even ask?”
Gently placing her menu down and taking a sip of her water, Summer gave her a look that could only be described as an evil smile.
“I have waited two years for you to come clean, Megs. I saw you and Alex at Zach’s wedding. I saw you dancing and flirting, and then I saw you leave together. Twice,” she added with an ever-growing grin. “And you were noticeably absent for the remainder of the weekend. And so was Alex. Now, is there something you’d like to tell me?”
With an exaggerated eye roll, Megan grabbed her glass of water and took a sip—figuring she could let Summer stew for a moment.
“You know, you could have asked before now,” Megan began.
“And you would have told me?”
“You? Of course. Anyone else in the family? Probably not.”
Summer laughed. “That I can totally understand. They all mean well, but sometimes they manage to make everything worse.”
“Well, I’ve never had to deal with that—not like you have. My brothers never seemed to take much notice of who I was dating.”
Summer gave her a bland look. “That’s because you didn’t date much.”
“I was studious. That’s not a crime.”
Reaching across the table, Summer grabbed Megan’s hand. “You’re right. There’s nothing wrong with it, but I have to ask…why?”
“Why what?”
“Why was it so important to you? The grades, the studying? I mean, we all knew you were smart, Megan. I don’t think you needed to spend so much time proving it.”
“Easy for you to say. You were good at everything you did, and you weren’t interested in being part of the Montgomery corporate machine.”
“And yet here I am,” Summer said with a small smile. “And you felt like you had to…what…prove you were capable of being a part of it?”
Megan nodded.
“Oh, sweetie. Why? I mean, I can’t imagine anyone ever saying you couldn’t work for the company. That’s crazy!”
“My father wanted me to be groomed to be a corporate wife. That wasn’t what I wanted. It was important for him to see me for who I was—am!—and respect that.”
Summer studied her for a long moment.
And then kept studying her.
“What?” Megan finally asked. “What’s so wrong with that?”
“Do you realize how many…let’s say…problems working for this company has caused?”
“What are you talking about? You’re here, and you obviously love it, so—”
Summer shook her head. “We are a family that is notorious for being workaholics to the point of not having lives! My brother James moved out when he was sixteen because he didn’t want to be a part of the business. And you have a brother who fought long and hard to make a name for himself outside of Montgomerys, and you know how much stress that put on everyone.”
“Okay, I get that,” Megan countered, “which is why I’m trying to fit in. I want to be a part of it! James and Carter had fights because they wanted out. I want in!”
“But at what cost?”
Megan looked at her quizzically.
“If you truly love what you do, then I’ll never bring this up again, and we’ll go back to what I wanted to talk about—which is you and Alex. However, did you choose to go into IT because it’s what you’re passionate about, or was it to prove yourself?”
“I…I…”
Summer held up a hand to stop her. “Just…think about it, okay?”
Honestly, Megan couldn’t have answered at that moment even if she had to. It wasn’t the first time this topic had come up, and she had a feeling it wouldn’t be the last. But it was something she was going to have to think about because now that she was starting to incorporate some changes in her life, would they still work now that she had finally gained the position she had fought so hard for?
Their waitress came to take their orders, and it wasn’t until she walked away that Summer finally leaned back in her seat with another huge grin. “So…you and Alex at the wedding! I’m going to need some details!”
Rolling her eyes, Megan couldn’t help but laugh. “Really?”
“Hell yes! I may be a happily married woman, but Alex is a very sexy man, and I have waited way too long to hear about this!”
Megan could feel herself blushing from head to toe, but she was excited to finally talk to someone about this.
“Ooh…I can tell it was hot by the way you’re blushing!” Summer said excitedly. “Come on, you have to tell me! Did you sneak off and fool around in one of the supply closets?”
“What? Oh my gosh, no!” Megan’s hands flew to her face to cover her embarrassment. When she lowered them, she told Summer about their walk in the garden, their first kiss, and how they made their quick exit from the reception and up to her room.
And that’s where she stopped.
Sort of.
Well, her cousin didn’t need to know everything, did she?
Summer fanned herself with her napkin. “I’m telling you, I was watching the two of you, but I didn’t say a word to anyone because I didn’t want to draw attention to you and have someone ruin whatever was happening.”
“And I appreciate it.”
“So? What happened next? Have you two been in touch all this time?”
Unfortunately, Megan had to tell her about the romantic weekend that never was and watch the disappointment on her face.
“How could you just not show up? I don’t get it!”
Megan shrugged. “I don’t either. I flaked. I was so engrossed in a problem at work that I was working fifteen-hour days and lost track of everything. Next thing I know I’m on the phone with Alex and trying to apologize, and…it was awful, Summer. I felt so incredibly stupid, and Alex was so mad, and—”
“Can you blame him?”
She shook her head. “No.”
“How was he when you saw him again? Did you guys reschedule the trip?”
Megan shook her head again. “The next time I saw him was the night at Zach and Gabriella’s when the guys were getting ready to paint.”
“No!”
Now she nodded. “Yup.”
“Wow.”
“Tell me about it.”
“So…wow…um…was it really awkward?”
Megan let out a weary sigh. “More than you can even imagine. I mean, I knew I was going to see him. I think he was actually a large part of the reason I was so willing to take the job here and move.”
“But?”
Megan shrugged again. “But I hadn’t planned on it being so soon or so—”
“In front of everyone?” Summer supplied.
“Exactly! Then it felt even more awkward because we never told anyone about us, and now I don’t know how to do it, and—”
“It isn’t anyone’s
business,” Summer said firmly. “I’m sure Zach will get all defensive because…well…he’ll be offended that no one told him, like he was when it was me and Ethan.”
“But you’re his sister. It’s different.”
“I’m telling you, on principle, he’s going to be offended. Just…prepare yourself. And Alex.”
“Well, I don’t think it’s going to be an issue because we’ve talked about it, and we sort of hashed things out, and we’re friends.”
Summer smirked and delicately took another sip of her water. “Really?”
Megan smiled. “Really.”
“So there are no lingering sparks? No chance of the two of you picking up where you left off?”
“Right now, I’m not interested in dating anyone. Not even Alex.”
“Because you’re dead inside?” Summer teased and then started to laugh. “Megan, come on! That man is like the perfect male specimen! How could you not want to get involved with him? And on top of that, he’s one of the nicest people on the planet! Seriously, he helps everyone with everything! Look at what he does for a living—he heals people!”
“Okay, dramatic much?” Megan teased.
Crossing her arms over her chest, Summer grinned. “You can pretend all you want, but you’re not fooling anyone. You can say all you want how the two of you are friends, but the only one you’re lying to is yourself. And you know what? The only one missing out on something great is you.”
“You really should have stayed with the theater work,” Megan said dryly. “Or maybe it was the psychology—”
“Make fun all you want, but I’m telling you, Alex would be perfect for you. What are you afraid of?”
That was a good question, and luckily Megan was saved from answering by the arrival of their food. Quickly taking a bite, she hoped to buy herself a little more time. But as usual, Summer wasn’t fooled.
“I’m going to let this go for now,” she said simply. “But you really should work on some of these issues of yours.”
Rather than say anything, Megan simply nodded.
“Okay, new topic,” Summer said cheerily. “Gabriella’s baby shower! Any chance you can buy another baby blanket like you bought for Amber? Gabs has been admiring it and the sweater set.”
Until There Was Us Page 12
