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I twist my head toward Alex, shoving all thoughts of this foolhardy attraction into a box in the deep recesses of my mind.
“What kind of game, pretty boy?”
He presses his lips together, clearly subduing a smile. “I think that with Henry and Liv being here tomorrow, it would be beneficial to know more about one another. I propose we do our own version of twenty questions, but not limited to just twenty. You ask one, I answer honestly, no matter what, and then vice versa.”
I shrug, then take another sip of my wine. “I’m game. Do you want to go first, or—”
“I’m the epitome of a gentleman, I’ll have you know.” His eyes twinkle with sheer mischief as one side of his mouth tugs up in a devilish smirk. “Ladiesalwayscome first, Sunshine.”
My snort of laughter only sees his smirk grow even broader. “Incorrigible!”
He tugs the shorter hairs at the nape of my neck playfully. “You know you love it.”
Then he allows the threatening smile to bloom on his face, making his eyes shine with unconstrained pleasure. I feel my chest expand in delight, wholly sure that this is a side of Alex that not many people get to see.
And I bask in the sheer privilege.
“So, shoot. Hit me with your questions.” He holds his hands up. “I’m an open book.”
I chew my lip in thought for a hot minute, realizing I should probably start with the basics. “When’s your birthday?”
“July twenty-fourth. When’s yours?”
“December twenty-fifth.”
He winces, and I laugh easily, savoring this organic connection between us. “Siblings?”
Alex’s face transforms, his smile genuine as his eyes glow with sincerity.
“My younger half-sister, Mila, is the one you can thank for that Penne alla vodka recipe. She lives back in the UK, for the most part, with her husband and my nephew, Nathan. She’s a pain in my ass.”
He shoots me a wry grin. “I think you’ll like her.”
I playfully slap his knee as he chuckles low in his chest.
“Then there’s Henry. He’s my older half-brother. He’s the dour one who’s married to my best friend, Liv. Stick up his ass a mile long, but he’s…”
He trails off, suddenly growing serious, his forehead crinkling. “He’s the one who keeps us in line. Who deals with the shit so that we don’t have to.”
His eyes return to mine, breath-taking in their intensity. “He’s the best man I know.”
Silence echoes between us until the corners of his mouth curl upward. “And the reason we’re both here right now.”
I crack a grin at that.
“What about you? Any siblings? Family?”
“Just Lita.” I shoot up a quick prayer, hoping he won’t ask me to elaborate, but it falls on deaf ears.
“She raised you, right?”
I nod, chewing on my lip in silence.
“Your parents?”
I close my eyes tight, and his hand brushes off my shoulder. The simple touch is enough to bolster my confidence, and I inhale deeply before opening my eyes once more, finding his concerned gaze fixed upon my face.
“My mother disappeared when I was a week old. She left me at the local church with a dirty blanket and a short note. It said she wasn’t fit to be a parent.”
