Lexi laughed. “That’s okay,” she said, affectionately kissing the baby’s chubby fist. “I spent the day with Reese and Michael yesterday, so Savvy and I already had our bonding time.”
A flicker of surprise crossed Quentin’s face.
Lexi had asked their friends not to tell him that she was back in town, because she was afraid that he’d skip the party just to avoid seeing her.
“How was Paris?” Georgina asked her.
“Good. But I—”
“Excuse me.” Quentin abruptly departed.
Lexi watched him go, her heart constricting painfully.
Her gaze returned to Georgina, who was regarding her with gentle maternal compassion. “I’m glad you’re back, Alexis,” she said quietly.
“Me too,” Lexi whispered.
Georgina searched her face. “Are you staying?”
Lexi nodded. “Yes.”
“Good.” Georgina smiled down at the adorable, gurgling baby perched on her hip. “I’m ready to be a grandmother. Catch my drift?”
Lexi swallowed. “Yes, ma’am.”
And with that, she went in search of Quentin, hoping and praying that he hadn’t given up on her.
She found him outside in the gazebo that overlooked the huge, beautifully landscaped backyard. He stood at the balustrade staring out at the light drizzle that had kept the party indoors. He looked incredible, Lexi thought with an ache of deep longing. Breathtakingly virile in a black T-shirt and dark jeans that rode low on his hips, he was definitely a sight for sore eyes.
Pausing in the entrance to the gazebo, Lexi shoved her moist palms into the back pockets of her jeans. “Mind if I come in?”
“Free country,” he murmured without turning his head.
She stepped forward, shaking with nerves. She could feel the tension radiating from his body, warning her to keep her distance. Leaning against one of the support columns, she gazed at him.
“I missed you,” she said, husky with emotion.
He didn’t respond.
“Not a day went by that I didn’t think about you, wondering what you were doing, wondering what kind of cases you were working on, wondering what you ate for dinner. I missed cooking for you, I missed talking and laughing with you. Imissedyou.”
He remained silent and impenetrable.
She forged ahead. “I had to leave, Quentin. I know it was hard for you—”
His head whipped around.“Hard?”he growled, his voice vibrating with suppressed fury. “You ripped my heart out of my damn chest and dangled it in front of my face.Hard,” he said mockingly, all but spitting the word at her feet before he turned away again.
She trembled at his harsh outburst, but she didn’t back down. Too much was at stake. “Do you remember when I went to New York to attend culinary school? I was so excited because you’d been accepted into Columbia’s law school, so that meant we’d still be together. But then you decided to go to Emory instead so you could keep an eye on your mother. I was so disappointed, but I understood and supported your decision.”
A muscle clenched in his jaw. “It’s not the same thing, and you know it.”
“That’s not the point I was trying to make.” She took a tentative step toward him. “When I left for Paris, I told myself that we could make it work. I kept reminding myself that our friendship hadn’t suffered while I was in New York and you were here. We were apart for a whole year, but we spoke on the phone every day. Whenever you’d gripe about some class that was kicking your butt, I’d make you laugh with a story about an embarrassing blunder I’d made at cooking school. And whenever I had doubts about whether I had the chops to become a chef, you’d encourage me and remind me what a great cook I was.” She smiled poignantly. “We were always there for each other, so I knew we’d be okay.”
Quentin fell silent again.
“That’s what I counted on when I made the heart-wrenching decision to leave you and go to Paris. And make no mistake about it, Quentin. It was the hardest decision I’veevermade in my life. If you don’t believe that, then maybe you don’t know me as well as I thought you did.”
He shot her a dark glance that warned her not to pursue that line of thinking.
