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It felt so incredibly right, just being here with Lex, while his kiss held a world of meaning—heat, magic…andlove.
But certainty as well. As their kiss transformed from passionate to needy but then turned tender, there was one thing that they could most definitely agree on—they were always meant to be.
Their kiss went on and on, until Lex finally pulled away, looking dazed as he stared into her eyes.
Reaching out, he gently held her face within his hands. “I’m so glad to know that I’m capable of feeling like this, Amy. I know I’ve made incredible progress since I was held captive, but I never really knew for sure until now if it was possible for me to handle a real relationship.”
Amy laid her head against his chest. “Oh, Lex. What you must have been through as a kid had to have been horrendous. I’ll never ask you to tell me what happened, because I’ve never sensed that you’ve ever really wanted to talk to anyone in the family about it, but that doesn’t mean that if you feel like you need to tell me, I won’t listen. I promise that I can handle it.”
“That’s a deal,” he answered gruffly. “We’ve got a lot of talking to do but I don’t think the past is something I need to share with you for you to understand how messed up I really was.” He gave her a rueful grin. “I can go down to breakfast dressed like this, but I have a feeling you need to go get ready since you have class. As soon as I’ve brushed my teeth, I’m going to go downstairs and surprise Mom and the kids. I’ll see you in a little while.”
After giving her a quick kiss on the lips, he scrambled from the bed so he wasn’t tempted to do more.
“Come on, Brownie. You’d better go outside,” he said. “You’ve sure been quiet through all of this.”
Brownie stood quickly, climbing down the staircase from the foot of the bed and following Lex as he opened the door, heading into the hallway.
Lex peeked back inside before closing the door. “I love you, Amy.”
She smiled, stepping out from the bed. “I love you too, Lex.”
He looked her over for a long quiet moment before he groaned. “Go get dressed. You’ve got to be freezing wearing that skimpy little nightgown during the middle of winter.”
Amy started laughing before she tugged on her robe.
By the time she grabbed her backpack with her computer and notes, Lex was already out of sight.
Chapter Thirty
Lex made his way downstairs, creeping up behind Mom where she sat at the table, gently resting his hands over her eyes.
“Guess who?” he asked gruffly.
She held up her hands, covering his, glancing upward as she clasped them instead. “Oh, Lex. You’rehome.”
Tears filled Mom’s eyes as she stood, wrapping her arms around him.
“It’s so good to see you,” Lex muttered, tearing up himself. “And guess what? I’m here through Christmas.”
She squeezed him tighter, before finally pulling away to look him over.
“You looksogood,” she said. “I can’t believe we’re going to actually have you here for a couple weeks.” She glanced at Dad. “You knew about this, and didn’t tell me?”
Dad grimaced. “Lex wanted to surprise you.”
Lex smiled widely, glancing around the table. “Look at the size of you, Ash. You’re probably going to be taller than Dad in a few years. Arielle, geez you’ve grown up. And you’re so pretty too. You look just like Mom.”
“Hi, Lex,” Ash said, looking like he had a million questions while Arielle smiled at him shyly. Lex was like a stranger to the twins, so he was going to have to make sure he did something about that while he was home.
“Where’s Matthew?” Lex asked.
“He just came back from working in one of the greenhouses,” Dad replied. “That’s his favorite place to be. He was going upstairs to shower, so he should be down shortly.”
At that moment, Caleb walked into the solarium from the hallway, apparently distracted. When he looked up, he stilled.
And then he ran into Lex’s arms, hugging him tightly before slapping him hard on the back.
“Look at you,” Lex said, standing back. “You’re so grown up.”
