Alex studied her face while she was unable to read his expression beyond a hint of surprise. Was it disappointment she read in his eyes? Or was that wishful thinking on her part?
When he turned and started walking again without saying anything, she had her answer. So, this would be nothing serious. Just friends having a little extra fun together. Well, she’d take whatever she could get with Alex, broken heart be damned when it was over.
As they approached the secluded spot by the river she had in mind, he broke their silence again.
“You didn’t take their last name.”
“What?”
“George and Cynthia. When they adopted you, you didn’t take their last name.”
“Oh! No. They never formally adopted me. I’m not an orphan and I wasn’t a ward of the state. I didn’t want to have any contact with my bio parents, which would have happened if George and Cynthia tried to adopt me. They would have adopted me though, if the state tried to move me to a different foster home before I aged out, but that didn’t happen, thank goodness. A piece of paper saying I’m legally their daughter doesn’t make a bit of difference to us. They’re my parents. I’m their daughter. End of story.”
He made an approving sound, which she’d come to think of as his ‘happy growl.’ Her stomach flipped like she was in middle school with a crush.Stop it.
“It’s a good story,” Alex said.
“It is.”
The secluded spot was just a few yards up ahead, down a grassy embankment and out of sight. Laughing voices behind them told her that traffic was picking up on the trail. She needed to decide now if she wanted to get him alone, or if she was just asking for more heartbreak later on.
No, she’d already made her decision—a resounding yes. Alex was worth it. She was only looking for the courage to follow through.
“Let’s turn off the path here and head down to the river. If you don’t mind a bit of privacy?”
“Let’s do it.” Oh, that sexy, deep growl. If she wasn’t careful, her knees would betray her before she even started down the hill.
Fingers crossed that someone else hasn’t found it first.
Sylvie’s luck held; the edge of the river was deserted and covered in a luscious bed of grass under sheltering trees. She took out a folded blanket and Alex helped her lay it out. The dogs took advantage of the shallow water to get their feet wet, and Sylvie and Alex had to shoo the beasts and their muddy paws away from the blanket. A few snacks and a couple of rawhides to chew up, and the dogs were content to lie in the shady grass until they fell asleep. She set out a simple lunch primarily made of snacks and sandwiches, and they kicked off their shoes and ate while admiring the river.
But Sylvie’s curiosity soon reared its head again. While she put away the empty containers and plates she asked, “What made you ask about my last name?” The red she saw creeping up Alex’s neck and into his face surprised her.
“Since your last name is different from George and Cynthia’s, I thought maybe you’d been married at some point and kept the last name after the divorce. But, you also said earlier you’ve never had a serious relationship, so I was confused.”
“Oh, yeah, never married,” she laughed. “Like I said, no big relationships for me.”There. That would keep him from spooking, let him know she wasn’t out to get him to put a ring on it. He’d had a serious relationship go bad enough that it still hurt him so much he didn’t want to discuss the details. So, Sylvie figured if she wanted to keep seeing him, she’d need to downplay her feelings. Maybe without the pressure of thinking she wanted a commitment, he would put off telling her today that this wouldn’t lead anywhere, and not to get her hopes up.
Too late for that—her hopes were way up—but he didn’t have to know it.
Alex looked away at the water for a moment, then his gaze came back to hers. “Is that by choice?” he asked quietly.
Surprised, she opened her mouth to answer.What does he want me to say?She swallowed, even more surprised by that thought. She wasn’t a people-pleaser, someone who used flattery or told people what they wanted to hear to get ahead. But this was different, wasn’t it? She wasn’t trying to manipulate or mislead him. She just didn’t want to lose out on a chance with him before they’d even started.
“I can see it is,” he said when she didn’t answer. And dear God, he did look disappointed as he looked down.
“No.”
His head snapped back up. “No?”
“No. I wouldn’t say it’s by choice. It’s… The circumstances were never right. Neither were the guys.”
Then she was witness to something beautiful—Alex Hoff’s face filling with hope.
While looking right at her.
“So. You’re saying that could change?” His smile was tentative but no less sexy.
“I think it might be changing already.” She bit the insides of her cheeks.Is this happening?“Does it seem too soon? For us?”
