The goofy grins that neither of them tried to hide gave away what theyhopedmy response would be. They’d grown quite fond of Alex since he’d arrived, Melanie especially, and often tried to herd us together throughout the day.
“Not this time.” I thought I saw Melanie frown, but she turned away too quickly for me to be sure.
I considered telling them about my plans but decided to keep it to myself. I didn’t want them trying to make a bigger deal of what I was about to do and end up making him even more uncomfortable. I hadn’t been able to stop thinking about him all day after spying a rip in the sleeve of his jacket. It hadn’t been there when he’d come down from the loft this morning, which meant it had just happened. With the temperatures dropping more and more each day, I didn’t like knowing he could be freezing his ass off while working outside.
Not bothering to head home, I drove straight for the mall, parking directly in front of the discount clothing store. I would have preferred to go to one of the larger department stores where I knew my way around, but I knew Alex was going to have a hard enough time accepting a new coat and gloves from me, and I didn’t want a larger price tag to be the reason he rejected it.
Scouring the racks, I settled on a thick blue coat with fleece lining that would look great with his blue eyes. It was too big for me, which hopefully meant it would fit him and his slightly larger frame comfortably. I found a pair of warm leather gloves, that felt sturdy enough to hold up to the amount of work he was doing outside, and there was even a beanie that matched the coat.
I tried not to worry about what Alex would say when I gave these to him, because it was clear that he didn’t like handouts. These last few weeks, I could practically see him adding up the cost of all the food I’d been giving him and Roxy. I knew that if Roxy hadn’t been injured at the time we met, he would never have accepted my offer in the first place.
Or would he?
The quality of Alex’s work, along with his unwavering dedication to complete things in a timely manner, showed just how much he valued having a job, so why didn’t he? What had made him choose to live on the streets instead of fulfilling that purpose? Once again, my mind immediately went to all the horrible possibilities, and all I could do was pray that I was wrong. Then pray for patience. Despite my relentless desire to know about his past, I also didn’t want to push too much and risk driving him away.
We’d been growing closer, though, and Alex had continued to let some of his walls down around me, so I had to trust he would tell me when he was ready. All weekend we spent time together, going for walks or watching movies, and Alex hadn’t shied away from my touch. In fact, he’d been the one to reach out to me on more than on occasion, and I took that as a good sign.
Darkness had already fallen by the time I climbed back into my truck. Just another sign winter was well on its way. The days were getting shorter, the nights colder, and I was really starting to worry about Alex and Roxy sleeping in the loft. The temperature up there usually stayed pretty close to the rest of the building, but there were times when the heat didn’t quite make it to that tiny room. One of the things Ididknow about Alex was that he wouldn’t say anything if he got too cold.
Which was how I knew he’d never ask for a new jacket.
I was lost in thought when I turned onto the last street before my house. I noticed some lights up ahead that hadn’t been there before and eased my foot off the gas in case it was someone on the side of the road. As I got closer, though, I gasped.
Four floodlights had been positioned around the large wooden sign at the end of my driveway with my clinic’s name on it, making it next to impossible to miss in the dark.
Pulling over to the side of the road, I set the truck in park and stared at the display in complete shock. One of the lights jiggled, drawing my attention to the corner, where someone was kneeling and adjusting one of the beams to the best angle.
“Alex,” I breathed in disbelief. I simply couldn’t believe he’d done this for me.
I climbed out of the truck and crossed the road in a rush. “What do you think you’re doing?” I asked.
Alex nearly jumped out of his skin at my booming voice and looked over his shoulder at me before continuing to tweak the light. “What does it look like I’m doing? Installing those lights you had in the shed.”
“I didn’t have any lights.”
He laughed. “Yeah, you did. They were in a bag from the hardware store inside one of those half-empty boxes on the shelf. Along with a receipt from two years ago, I might add.”
I shoved my hands in my pockets. “Oh, yeah, those,” I deadpanned. “How did you know they were for the sign?”
Alex made one final adjustment before standing and brushing the dirt off his knees. “Well, the clinic has motion-activated lights, and so does your house. So I figured this was the only place that made sense. Besides”—he looked at the sign and smiled as he admired his work—"if they weren’t, they should’ve been because now people can actually find you in the dark.”
“In case of emergency,” I whispered, more to myself than Alex.
I wasn’t used to people doing things like this for me, and it left me just as speechless as it had when he’d given me the lure. I climbed over the small post fence and went to him, sliding my arms around his waist in a tight hug. I expected him to flinch or pull away the moment I touched him, like all the times he had before, but he didn’t. Instead, he wrapped his long arms around me and held me back. It was the most he’d given me since that day in the park, and I was reeling with the joy of it.
We stayed like that for a long moment and when I finally pulled back, Alex was smiling that heart-stopping grin just for me. Then he did the one thing I’d been dying to do for a couple weeks now: he kissed me. It was brief and sweet and absolutely perfect. Especially with the chilly contrast of his icy lips against my warmer ones that sent a shiver down my spine.
“That was the whole reason I did it,” he said softly.
“So you could kiss me? I told you the other day—”
“No,” he said with a chuckle. “I meant so people can find you. I heard William say business was slow last winter, so I thought maybe this would help.”
My entire body warmed at his thoughtful admission. Alex had done this because hecared.
I kissed him again, letting our lips linger a bit longer this time. “Thank you. That really means a lot to me.”
He placed a chilled hand against my cheek. “So does everything you’re doing for me. I hope you know that.”
