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Chapter Seven
Lexi
After I’d left the conference room, I’d had a hell of a time concentrating on anything. Alex hadn’t looked very happy about my meeting with Ralph tonight, but he had no right to be upset. I’d never given him any indication that I was interested in anything with him.
In fact, even while my body had screamed for his last night, my pickled mind had held fast, and I’d told him no. I never had been one to jump into a one-night stand, and I was pretty sure that’s what Alex would be. So as much as my body might desire his, there was no way I was going to take that step.
Instead, I would have a drink with Ralph. If I was enjoying myself, maybe that would continue to dinner. Perhaps one dinner would become two, and we could build a relationship. He was an intelligent and handsome man, and I did enjoy conversing with him. From the time that I took this job four years ago, we had been friendly. It was only recently that I realized he was trying to get my attention on a different level, and maybe it was time for me to get back out there.
I had taken this job after Will and my brother, Chad, was killed, having moved away from our hometown. I couldn’t stand the memories or the constant attention from people who wanted to tell me how sorry they were and how they had died heroes.
When I came here, I sure wasn’t in the right headspace to date anyone, and at that time, Ralph had been married. Friendship was all either of us were interested in, but now Ralph had been divorced for over a year, and well, I’d been alone for too long. I was ready to get back out there.
As I touched up my makeup, I thought briefly of Alex. He was an attractive man, and probably very intelligent also, but he had military written all over him. I wasn’t sure I could be around that, or if I even wanted to be. God knew I’d never date a man who was still active duty, no way in hell.
I pushed the thoughts of Alex out of my head and went to meet Ralph. It took about fifteen minutes for the awkwardness to vanish, and the two of us laughed and talked about a lot of things. From growing up, to work, to his kids, we talked about it.
“Are you interested in having more kids?” I asked him after he shared a story about his youngest, who was about to turn thirteen.
He shook his head. “No, three was enough for me. I’m not sure I have enough energy to deal with that baby and toddler stage again. Not with how busy the company is. I’m going to be doing some traveling over the next few years to get these projects off the ground, and that’s not going to lend very well to family time. Besides, I’m already forty-four, I’d be sixty-something by the time another child would be an adult.”
I smiled at him, but deep inside, I sighed a long sad sigh. “I didn’t realize you were forty-four. I would have thought you were closer to thirty-eight or nine.”
He chuckled. “No, and you are what, thirty-seven, thirty-eight yourself?”
Wow, did he really think I looked almost forty? “I’m about to turn thirty-three,” I told him with a forced smile.
He leaned back. “I always thought you were older.” He paused and seemed to contemplate his next question. “Does that bother you that I’m eleven years older?”
“No.” The age difference didn’t bother me, but the fact that he’d said he didn’t want more kids, well, that kind of did. “Age is just a number.”
He chuckled softly, and then we went back to discussing safer subjects. Because we’d taken our drinks on to dinner, it was getting late, and the temperatures were dropping quickly. His offer to take me home was welcomed so that I didn’t have to find an uber or walk the five blocks in the cold.
I hadn’t expected him to get out and walk me to the door, and I never expected him to kiss me good night. Okay, maybe I wondered if he would, but I hadn’t really expected it.
The kiss was gentle, tentative as if he were testing the waters. It was a sweet kiss, but not anything that got my blood boiling. Could he cause my blood to boil? Maybe, but the circumstances would have to be just right.
The minute I walked in the door, thoughts of Ralph were gone, and Alex invaded them again. What was it about him that appealed to me so much? What would kissing him be like?
I barely had my door open, when I felt someone behind me, and I turned in fear to find Alex closing in on me. The minute his lips hit mine, I opened to him. My hand brushed the back of his head, enjoying the feel of his hair feathering over my fingers. The locks were damp as if he’d been working out, and as I clung to him, his body heat raged toward me.
Just as quickly as he appeared, he left. The door closed, and for a long moment I stared at it, waiting for it to open again. I touched my swollen lips and sagged against the wall. Now that kiss had made my blood boil, no doubt about it.
Alex wanted me to think about the difference between kisses, and holy crap was there one! It was like comparing a single Pluma tomato with a whole pot of home-cooked sauce! Ralph’s kiss had been refreshing, a bit sweet, but it was also kind of bland. The one Alex had laid on me was a mixture of spices and sauce, boiled to perfection, and heaped onto my favorite pasta.
I shook my head and pushed off the wall; I had Italian on the brain. I bolted the door and headed into my bedroom. I had a lot to get done at work tomorrow, and it was time to get ready for bed.
* * *
The next morning,I was neck-deep in financials, and luckily, I’d been able to put thoughts of Alex out of my head after I’d gotten to work.
When I’d left the building this morning, I’d wondered if I would see Alex running again. If I did, I was determined not to hide from him. Last night, I’d lain in bed for a long time thinking over his kiss. It had consumed my body, almost reaching right into my soul. I had little doubt that if it had continued, he would have achieved even that.
The problem was that I wasn’t sure that was what I wanted. I mean, I did want a man that I was attracted to, one that could make my heart beat a little faster with only a look, but was Alex the one? By the time I’d gotten to the office, I still didn’t have an answer, and I’d forced all thoughts of men out of my head.
It was almost lunch when Ralph knocked on my doorjamb, and I asked, “Hi, how did your meeting this morning go?” For a moment I felt a little embarrassed that I hadn’t thought much about him since he left me on the doorstep with a sweet and tender kiss.
He came in and sat down in the chair in front of me. “It went well. Things are really taking off on this new venture. I think that once we have everything in place overseas, I’ll be able to really get our name out there. I see big things happening for us.”
