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I can take care of myself, and when I forget to, my family is there to do it for me. But having this wonderful man look out for me, even though his schedule is packed? Well, I won’t lie... it touches somewhere deep inside me and tugs at my heartstrings. Tugs at all the strings.
An electrifying energy coils through me while we’re at the spa, and it only grows more intense once I’m at home. Alex calls at eleven on the dot.
“How’s my girl?”
“Thoroughly pampered. To what do I owe that surprise?”
“You sounded down when we talked the other day, and I couldn’t have that, could I? And since I’m not there to work the tension out of your system....”
I giggle into the phone. “Careful, Mr. Alexander Westbrook, or I might want you to stay away just so you can surprise me like this.”
“Choosing spa treatments over me, huh? Ouch.”
I wiggle under my sheets, sighing. “I’ll fess up. Your snuggles are way more relaxing than spa treatments.”
There’s a pause, and then he says, “Snuggles?”
He
says the word slowly, as if checking that he heard correctly.
“Yep.”
“I thought you’d choose a sexier activity.”
“Snuggles are sexy.” Clueless man. “You wrap those muscle-roped arms around me, squeeze me to the muscled chest.”
“Ah, now I get the picture.”
“I can’t wait for you to come back, Alex.”
“I can’t wait to be back, baby.”
Alex is scheduled to fly back on Saturday around lunchtime, which is why I put my sneaking skills to good use and convince his sister, Sophie, to let me in his house early that morning. I met her last Sunday briefly, but I didn’t have her number.
Obtaining it from Alex required utmost sneakiness, but I managed it without him sniffing me out. I’m so proud of myself. So proud.
I want to surprise him, bake him one of my specialties as a coming-home gift. And then there’s me, of course. I can’t wait for him to unwrap me. We don’t have much time before we have to leave for my parents’ house, but I have full confidence in his ability to blow my mind even in speedy mode.
“You’re going to be all right on your own?” Sophie asks as I move around the kitchen. “I’d help you with the baking, but my son has an appointment requiring both parents.”
“I know my way around here, Sophie. Don’t worry,” I assure her.
“My brother hasn’t been so happy in a long while. Just don’t bail on him when the going gets tough. I’ll come after you if you do that.”
I stop in the act of spreading flour on the counter. “I don’t plan to bail on him.”
“No one plans to, but they just do when things become... too much. Even our parents kind of checked out. His life can get overwhelming at times.”
“I noticed. But I know how to handle a lot of this stuff, and what I don’t know, I want to learn.”
Preston’s e-mail with instructions flashes in my mind. Overwhelming doesn’t even begin to cover it. Almost every aspect of our relationship must be preplanned, to avoid being seen.
And this house... though I can hear the wind blowing when I’m outside, the tall tujas are planted so close together that they block the brunt of it. I bet their purpose goes beyond decoration, to ensure no curious eyes can peek inside here. But jeez... what kind of parents check out when the going gets rough?
After Sophie leaves, I throw myself into my baking project. Once it’s in the oven, I clean the kitchen, which looks as if a flour bomb exploded in it. Yikes. I’m so immersed in tidying it, that I barely register the front door opening. But when I do, panic shoots through me.
“Can you turn your back and pretend you haven’t seen this? I need two more minutes to finish cleaning.”
