“See you tomorrow night!”
Chapter 13
Brie
Say that again.”
“No.”
“Come on. Humor me,” Len begs. “I have no life, romantic or otherwise, so I’m living vicariously through you right now.”
I roll my eyes, but she ignores that and tugs on my arm, which she’s been holding as we walk with the kids through the arena toward the gate where are seats are located. I probably shouldn’t even be here. But he included a ticket for Mackenzie and she wanted to go. One of the kids didn’t want to, so I offered the extra ticket to Len. And then I confessed the details about what happened yesterday in the hallway. I shouldn’t talk about it. I should just ignore it and move on, act like it didn’t happen, but I can’t stop thinking about it. More importantly I can’t stop thinking about how much I felt in those wild few seconds. Passion, lust, need, desire raged inside of me out of nowhere as soon as his arm circled my waist and he tugged me to him possessively.
“Say it!” Len urges in a harsh whisper still tugging on my arm.
I glance at the back of Mackenzie’s head. She’s far enough in front of me that I don’t think she’ll hear. So I indulge Len and I say what I said earlier that’s got her so excited. “I think he was going to kiss me.”
She squeals. I feel heat touch my cheeks and that now familiar shiver of desire dance down my spine like it has every time I’ve thought about that moment since it happened. I’ve never experienced anything like it. In ten seconds flat, as he grabbed me to keep me from falling, all my frustration and reservation about Alex disappeared. It was like they were never real to begin with. Like they were just a curtain veiling my attraction to him. As soon as his strong arm slipped around my waist and my body was pressed to his, the curtain fell and I was left with nothing but deep, burning desire for this man.
“It’s not a big deal,” I tell Len as I shush her and glance ahead to make sure the kids are still wrapped up in their own conversations. “He was just emotional and got caught up in the moment.”
“I don’t know, Brie,” Len says softly, growing serious. “You could be this epic, like book-worthy, opposites-attract love story.”
I roll my eyes again as we enter one of the entrances to the seating. The truth is we’re not opposites at all, but I don’t feel like I should tell Len about his childhood when he clearly didn’t even want me to know. He thinks I’m some pampered princess who has lived this privileged life and I need him to know I’m not. I was just one of the lucky ones.
I don’t remember much of when my luck changed, I was only four. And what I do remember are like flashes from a horror movie filled with screaming and blood and sirens, which took years of therapy to deal with, but that led my parents to me so it was lucky. It hurts my heart to think that he wasn’t as fortunate when he was little.
“If you don’t want to talk about Alex, talk about Victor,” Len urges me, still clinging to my arm. “Since my last boyfriend just disappeared on me like I never existed, I didn’t get a chance to break up with him so I want to hear all the gory details of your breakup.”
I almost laugh at that. “It wasn’t that gory. I mean, yeah, he was angry at first, but I also think he was a little relieved. I think he knew we wanted different things.”
“And you weren’t going to become the person he wanted you to be,” Len adds because I’d already told her that was what I told Victor after the fund-raiser. “Because you are a perfect, smart, sassy, badass woman just as you are and if Vic doesn’t like it, he can’t stick it up his—”
“Whoa!” I warn, but as always the kids are chatting among themselves, oblivious to us. Still, I don’t want her to finish that sentence. “Anyway, he came by to get his stuff from my place yesterday and he met Mac and that seemed to make him understand.”
“Really?” Len looks shocked.
“Yeah. When he realized I was serious about fostering and he’d never turn me into his personal breeding cow, he couldn’t leave fast enough.”
Len’s pretty face contorts with anger. “Vic is a worthless jerk. I am beyond thrilled he is out of your life. On to bigger and better! Possibly with skates and a face like an alley cat.”
“Shut up,” I hiss but I’m smiling at her because her ridiculousness is kind of cute.
“Holy sh—” Mackenzie stops mid-swear and corrects herself under my glare. “Shoot! These seats are insane!”
I realize we’ve stopped at the first row, right behind the team bench. I glance at the number on our tickets. Yeah, this is us. Mackenzie is right, Alex outdid himself. I can tell by the looks on all the kids’ faces that they’ve never experienced a professional sport this up close and personal. Neither have I, honestly. Victor had season tickets to the Knicks but always took one of his friends or a client.
We let the kids scoot into the row first and take the two end seats. As soon as we’re seated Len leans in and whispers. “Now that Vic is out of the picture, you need to live a little! And Alex looks like a guy who knows how to make a girl feel alive.”
I glance down the row to make sure the kids didn’t hear. “Speaking of making women feel alive, did you tell him you canceled that woman’s prize from the auction?” Len asks.
I shake my head. “I’m hoping he just forgets about it and I never have to tell him.”
Len gives me a stern glare. “You’ll have to tell him, and I hope he thinks you canceled because you want him all for yourself. Then maybe that almost kiss will become an actual kiss.”
I glance at the kids again as I hush Len. No one is paying attention at all. Len is staring at me with a pleading look on her face like she’s desperate for me to do something inappropriate with Alex. It’s actually hysterical and I can’t help but laugh. “You are nothing if not a hopeless romantic.”
I give her a quick side hug because I adore that in her. When we first met as kids I was a little bit dark, maybe I still am. And she’s always been nothing but light and sunshine and happily ever after. “He volunteers for me, so although he’s not my employee, it’s still not a great idea to think about dating him. Besides, he’s far from the settling-down type and proud of it.”
