“And you’re the one who said you wanted Dallas to have the most epic Halloween ever. I’m merely doing everything I can to make that happen.”
Of the many occasions in which Alec had tried to use something Brooklyn had said against her, this was the one time she thought it was cute. But she still had to protest a little. “What if this screws everything up?”
“If a photograph in the tabloids is the reason they want me for news, then I don’t want the job.” Alec stopped at the corner, looking in both directions. “Which way?”
“Right. Halfway down the block on the left.”
Alec and Dallas marched ahead with Brooklyn trailing behind. And she took a deep breath, decided to stop worrying, and admitted to herself that these two guys, Superman and Edward Scissorhands, were quite literally the most adorable pair she’d ever seen.
Luckily, Kayla’s mom had plenty of full-sized candy bars when they arrived, including a Snickers for Alec, which was his favorite. More than an hour later, they were headed back to Virginia’s, Dallas’s candy bucket overflowing and the streets thinning out as folks, one by one, turned off their porch lights and closed up for business.
Inside, Brooklyn found Virginia splayed out on the couch, feet on the coffee table and watching TV with a sleeping Paris in her arms. “Hey, buddy,” she whispered to Dallas, slowly getting up. “Did you have fun?”
“I got the most candy. And Alec helped me. Can he stay over?”
Virginia smiled wide and looked at Brooklyn for one of their patented silent sister chats. Alecwasamazing. “Maybe not tonight. I’m going to go put Paris in her bed, then I’ll come down to get you cleaned up.” She disappeared into the other room.
Alec chuckled quietly and kneeled next to Dallas as Virginia tiptoed out of the room with the baby. “Next time, okay?”
“Okay.” A combination of disappointment and exhaustion weighed down Dallas’s voice.
Virginia returned. “Say goodbye to Aunt Brooklyn and Alec,” she said to Dallas.
“Bye.” Dallas wrapped his arms around Brooklyn’s legs, then moved on to Alec. “Bye, Alec.” He squeezed extra hard, scrunching up his little face.
“Thanks to you both,” Virginia said, walking them to the front door. “I couldn’t have done it without you.”
“No problem. Any time.” Brooklyn embraced her sister. “You and I need to have a chat about Mom and Aurora.”
“Yeah. Just give me a call this weekend.” Virginia said her goodbyes and closed the door behind them.
Down on the street, the scene was quiet and calm compared to earlier. Brooklyn and Alec started their walk to the car, hand-in-hand because it felt right, not because she cared about how it looked.
“Are you worried about missing the photographer?” she asked.
“No. There’s a chance that someone took our photo and we didn’t know about it. Plus, that thing your mom said in the kitchen really got to me.”
“See? I told you she was like that.”
They reached Alec’s car and stopped at her door. “I don’t want anyone we know to say this is fake. I don’t want to put on a show. I know there are a lot of uncertainties between us, but I fake it all day long at work. I can’t do that with you.”
Her heart began beating wildly. She felt the same way. “Can we make a deal?”
“Sure. I’m so tired right now I’d probably agree to anything.” He reached for her hand and tugged her closer, leaning back against his car, which was a pretty big deal—Alec was very protective of the finish on the Aston Martin. “What do you want?”
“For you to do your interview. For us to let it air. Then we see what the network’s response is and then we wrestle serious issues.” Brooklyn leaned into him. She wanted him so bad. It had been building for hours. Days. Weeks. “For tonight, let’s have some fun.”
“I feel like I’m getting the best of everything in that scenario.” He threaded a hand through her hair, his breath warm against her lips.
“We’re giving ourselves some room to breathe. I think that’s what we deserve.”
His aim was dead-on when his mouth landed on hers, soft and sexy as sin. Brooklyn’s eyes drifted shut and she pressed harder against him, hoping her little push could convey what she was desperate to have.
“I want you, Brooklyn.” His lips were a whisper from hers. Which was definitely too far.
“Good. Because I want you, too.”
Chapter Eighteen
