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Hours later, after spending far too much time trying to decide what to wear, I arrived at Killarny Estate, and my SUV ambled down the road to Alex’s house. I had stopped to ask for directions to the place as the property was massive and I had never been to Alex’s house. The place had been built after I was gone and I was surprised to find myself very anxious and curious to see what kind of place he had built for himself.
It did not disappoint. As I rounded a bend in the road and drove down into a low place that was surrounded by tall, ancient pecan trees, I saw the beautiful little farmhouse peeking out of the timber.
It was white, and the porch was wide, wrapping around the front side of the house. It was the most picture perfect little thing I had ever seen, from the porch swing up to the gabled roof on the second story. It was exactly the sort of thing I would have drawn up as my dream house.
I pulled to a stop in front of the house and hopped out carrying a bottle of wine. It struck me at the last minute that I should be hospitable and bring something. The bakery was already closed by the time I headed out, so I grabbed a bottle of red that had been gathering dust for a while. It was a good vintage, and I hoped Alex would have some appreciation for it, although I remembered him preferring brown liquor for the most part.
He greeted me at the porch, opening the screen door, a sly little grin on his face. The one I had come to know very well over the years.
“Welcome to my home,” he said as he held the door open for me to enter.
“Thank you,” I said as I took a look around. It was pretty sparsely decorated, but nice for a place that a bachelor called home. “You’ve got a nice place here.”
“It took some work to get it exactly the way I wanted it, but I was pretty happy with the finished product.”
“Did you design it yourself?” I had a flicker of a memory of a conversation we had when we were kids, about the kind of house we wanted to live in when we got married.
He nodded. “We’ve all got houses on the property, and when it came time for me to have one built, I brought in a guy and drew up the plans with him. Got exactly what I wanted.”
“Well, you had a lovely vision, and it seems to have come to life.”
I watched him as he moved toward the kitchen and I followed him into the room where steam was rising from a pot.
“Now, you don’t try to do anything. I’m cooking for you. Just have a seat there at the bar. I’ve already got some wine chilled. Pour yourself a glass, and you can just watch.”
And watch I did. As I sipped the cold wine, I watched him stirring and adding things, but my attention was more focused on his body and the way he moved than anything he was doing. His body was broader now than it had been when he was in high school and playing baseball. Back then he had been muscular but trim. Now, I would guess thanks to all the work around the ranch; he was a bigger man. I could see he had a strong back and shoulders and I wondered how it would feel to wrap my arms around him, pressing my palms into the muscles of his back. I shivered as I let my gaze travel down the length of his back to his firm buttocks.
He turned and caught me staring, and I took a sip of wine, trying to act as normal and unaffected as possible.
“Ready to eat?”
Dinner was lovely, and he had gone to a lot of trouble to make it perfect. Apparently, over the years, he had really worked up a love and a talent for cooking, something I could appreciate now more than I would have as a teenager when we were dating. But something was still tickling the back of my mind. I didn’t know why he had asked me here. Of course, he had said it was a thank you, and I wanted to take it for what it was—a kind gesture for an old friend. But were we only that?
I sat my fork aside and folded my hands under my chin.
“What’s this all about, Alex?”
He shrugged nonchalantly, plainly trying to play it off like him putting together an really nice meal, picking out a good bottle of wine, and serving it all up for me in his home was some kind of regular occurrence. Of course, I had been out of his life for so long that maybe it was normal for him. I had no way of knowing without polling all the women he had slept with in the past ten years, and I honestly didn’t have the time for that.
“What do you mean? I wanted to serve you a nice dinner, that’s all. It’s thanks for your advice about the filly. I know that having a young one like that is a risk and I appreciate that you are so willing to help us out and be there when we need you.”
I picked up my wine glass and took a sip. “Well, you pay me. It’s my job. I’m not doing it as some kind of favor. You will be getting a bill.”
Alex laughed at that, and it was good to hear. Something I had missed.
He nodded. “Fine, fine. Bill me, I’m expecting it. You’re great at what you do, and you deserve to be told that.”
I looked at him cautiously, not quite sure of what I wanted to say next, but I felt like after the conversation I had stumbled into in Claire’s diner earlier in the day I needed to confront the situation head on instead of waiting for it to boil over into something bigger.
“So this isn’t about trying to get back together with me? Because you know that’s not on the table.” I didn’t want to seem presumptuous. Maybe Alex was just kind to me, but as Lorna had said—everything about this smelled like a date, and I needed to know for certain the kind of expectations Alex had if he had any at all.
“It isn’t?” He said with a raised brow.
I shook my head. “It definitely isn’t. Things between us now are business and friendship as far as I’m concerned. I’m not interested in anything else.”
I wondered if he could see right through the lie I was spinning. At one time he had known me very well and could have determined when I was fibbing, especially about something like that. My raised pulse and the flush I felt growing across my neck was going to be a sure giveaway, and I silently cursed that it wasn’t December and thus unseasonable for a turtleneck to hide the feelings that were starting to grow inside of me.
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