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“Lex? What’s wrong?” I ask, unable to mask my own concern.
I know each of my sisters well. She tries to hide it. She tries to push the weight of her problems to the back so that I’m unable to see it. But it’s there, buried deep. “Nothing,” she replies with a forced smile.
“I don’t buy it,” I tell her, stepping forward until I’m directly in front of her. Reaching forward, I extend my hand and wait until she places hers against my palm.
Lexi sighs, resigned to spill whatever is causing the light in her eyes to dull just a bit. “I’m…well, I’m worried.”
“Worried about what?” Payton chimes in, coming over and standing next to me.
“Why can’t I have a baby?” she whispers so quietly that I almost can’t make out the words.
“A baby?” I ask, my heart rate kicking up a few hundred beats per second.
“Yeah,” she confirms. “Chris and I have been trying to have a baby for almost two years. I’ve been thinking about going to see someone. You know, to figure out why.”
The dejection I see in her eyes all but knocks the wind out of me. It’s a sadness I see so clearly and know all too much about. It’s devastating when your dream is there, so close, and yet still so far out of reach. Like a butterfly, beautiful and alive, fluttering high in the sky, just out of your grasp.
“You think there might be a problem? With you?” Payton asks, her face pail with worry.
“I don’t know. Maybe me. Maybe Chris. There has to be something, right? Some reason why we’ve been trying for twenty-two months and still haven’t gotten pregnant.”
“I’m sure it’ll be okay, Lex. Call Doc Simpson and see what he says,” I add.
“Uh, Jaime, Doc Simpson retired three years ago,” Payton replies with a snicker. “Apparently you haven’t needed a reason to see Doc since you returned.” Again, my sisters laugh at my expense.
“No, I haven’t needed a reason to see Doc, but that’s beside the point. Call whoever took Doc’s place and make an appointment. I’m sure everything is fine, but you should still get both of you checked out,” I instruct to my youngest sister.
Her eyes seem to lighten right before mine. As if speaking to us, saying the words out loud has somehow helped lift the little weights settled on her shoulders. The Summer sisters grew up in a large family, overflowing with tons of laughter and plenty of love. It’s no wonder that many of us have kids at the heart of our own dreams. Lexi is no exception. Even at only twenty-four years of age, I can see that Lexi was destined to be a mother.
“I will,” she replies. The smile she gives is small but real. “Thank you.”
I step around the counter, Payton hot on my heels, and engulf Lexi in a hug. It’s warm and familiar and floods my body with love. My sisters and I have always been on the touchy feely side, and I don’t see that stopping anytime soon.
“Keep us posted,” I whisper as the bell above the door chimes, announcing the arrival of a customer.
Stepping back, I turn and offer a bright smile to the newest arrival. My smile falters on my lips as my eyes clash with warm, dark brown ones. The smile that spreads across Ryan’s full lips is sinful. Flashbacks of our kiss Saturday night flood my mind, while warmth floods another part of my body.
Ryan must be able to sense my body’s response to his sudden appearance. Wearing his standard work boots, a pair of worn jeans and a dark gray tee that accentuates a pair of well defined, toned arms, Ryan saunters towards me like a wolf stalking its prey, that breathtaking smile spread widely across his wicked lips. Lips that I’d love to feel explore my oversensitive body.
“Good afternoon,” he says towards my sisters, yet keeps his focus entirely on me.
Unable to find words, I just grin back at him, pulled into an alternate universe created by his rich, chocolate brown eyes. A world where only he and I exist.
“Hi,” I squeak in an unnaturally high pitch. The kind of pitch that only dogs respond to.
I’m rewarded with yet another delicious arc of his uber-sexy lips. Caution is millimeters away from being thrown to the wind. Suddenly, all I can think about is whether or not Payton’s work counter is strong enough to withstand the weight of my rear perched upon it, Ryan’s tall, thick body positioned between my legs.
“See? What did I tell you? They’re going to set off my sprinklers.” I hear Payton’s words permeate the lust-induced fog that only Ryan evokes.
Startled, I take a step back and walk into the counter behind me. Ryan winks at me, but still doesn’t focus on anything other than me.
“So what brings you to Blossoms and Blooms today, Ryan? Here to pick out flowers?” Payton asks. Without needing to see her smile, I can feel it in the way she asks the question.
“Not today, ladies. I was hoping to speak with Jaime for a moment.”
The smile he turns towards them is pure panty-wetting wickedness. I feel the impact of it all the way over here, and it’s not even aimed at me. And my sisters are helpless to combat the potency of that beautiful smile. Of course, he knows that too. He knows exactly how much charm he’s inflicting on my poor, defenseless sisters. It’s the same charm and charisma he wields at me every chance he gets. This man is devilish.
“Oh? What about?” Lexi chimes in, leaning closer so that she doesn’t miss a single word.
