I leaned in to whisper back to him. "How could I when no one compares?"
I wasn't trying to be romantic. It was a true, logical question on my end because no one else could possibly compare to him. If he wanted me, I was his. My face was gently touching his when I said it. I had been speaking softly near his ear. There was just no way we could be in this proximity, in this situation, and not have it lead to kissing.
I wasn't even sure who started it, who kissed who first. We had just said we didn't want anyone else, and then we started kissing. It was gentle, at first. I don't know for how long it was gentle. I don't even know how long we were there. Alex kissed me deeply in that wagon, though. He kissed me so hard and so good that at one point, I paused and broke away, catching my breath and smiling at him. He apologized, and I told him not to. And then we werekissing again. My body was buzzing. It was on fire and full of electricity, and I was a big buzzing ball of putty in his hands. Alex controlled the kiss, and he was good at it. I felt him in new ways. He was possessive, and he wanted me physically, but he was a gentleman, and he kept his desire harnessed. That only fed my desire. I was thankful that I could trust him to kiss me to the brink of losing my mind and also know when to stop. I was thankful he had the skills and self-control to make me feel like that. I let out a little whimper when he pulled away, and that caused him to groan and turn to the side as if to tear himself away.
"We'd better go," he said reluctantly. "I'm about to get us both in trouble in here."
"I know, me too," I said.
I stood, stepping out of the way. Alex stepped around me and rolled up the canvas like it was something he had done before.
I was staring at the empty field behind the wagon, and suddenly I saw my sister. She turned, looking into the wagon, and then jumped back, making a surprised expression.
"Oh, cool," she said, peering inside. "I didn't know which one you were in. Hey, Cameron came back for one last pick-up. I wanted to let you know. The rest of us are about to ride back. I know you said you were walking, but it's been a while, so I thought—"
"We'll take a ride if she has room," Alex said.
"I'm sure we'll make room for the director," my sister said in an impressed tone. She was impressed because he was impressive. He had a certain charm that made people want to follow him.
"Yeah, it's late. We're coming," he said.
He turned off the light, and then we both climbed out of the wagon.
"Thank you for telling us," he said to my sister as we started to head toward the campfire.
"Thanks for having us," Audrey said.
"Everybody's excited about breakfast."
"I know, they were talking about it. I'm glad about making connections out here because all this makes me want to be an actress, too. I think I could do it."
"You should," Alex said to her. "A lot of the actors we have out here are part of a theater group in Missoula."
"Yeah, I was already talking to James and Nick. I've never even thought about theater, but we'll see."
"I'll have one more scene in Darby that I'll need you guys for," Alex said. "That'll happen in a few weeks."
"I'd love to," Audrey said. She was excited to the point of being star-struck.
I smiled at him after my sister agreed so quickly, and he grabbed my hand and held onto it. We were holding hands as we approached the golf cart. People saw us, and they noticed, and Alex was just so natural and confident that it wasn't even a thing.
He got in before me and pulled me halfway onto his lap when I sat down. There were seven of us riding, so it was cramped, and it looked normal for us to be so close. All I could say about that was thank goodness. Being next to Alex was, quite honestly, the best place in the whole world.
Chapter 20
Two months later
I had been all over the restaurant that morning. It was my sister's day off, so I was scheduled to be poaching eggs all morning. But Carly had called in sick, so I had been picking up her slack in the front while Cal and Mark did the kitchen work.
It was 11am, and we were finally slowing down when Alex came in. I spotted him while he was on the sidewalk, and then I watched him walk in the door. We had been seeing each other any chance we got for the last two months, but I had no idea he was coming to town today.
"Hey, what are you doing here?" I asked from behind the counter.
He was grinning at me, and he was the most handsome thing I had ever seen. His jawline and broad smile were devastating and making my heart flutter.
"We had to come to the grocery store for some supplies—impromptu party," he said, propping himself against the counter. "I can't stay. Cameron and Judd are shopping, and I have to go pick them up in a few."
"What's the party about?"
