“And how long is she staying?”
“Haven’t decided,” I explain. “It’s up to the judge. I’m holding the spot in Daphne’s for her as soon as they say she can live there.”
“Hmm…” my dad says and it sounds like he’s got an opinion he doesn’t want to share.
“What?” I say as I gently close my door and drop down on my own bed.
“Nothing,” he says, even though I know it’s something. “Anyway let me poke your mom’s memory and get back to you Sunday at Mac’s little shindig. Why don’t you send Mac on by for dinner tomorrow night. We only got to meet her briefly last week and we’d like to get to know her better.”
“You’ve got a deal, but I’m warning you, she has trouble getting a handle on her potty mouth,” I smile. “Night, Dad.”
“Night, princess.”
I dream that night of things that haven’t haunted my brain in decades. A cold hand around my arm. A deep, cooing yet menacing voice. Sickly sweet breath. A child screaming and the sound of cracking glass.
Chapter 19
Brie
Almost twenty-four hours later I’m staring at Alex and it’s impossible not to laugh. He looks so damn confused and out of place and maybe even truly terrified that I am completely and profoundly amused. With each store we go into, his anxiety and confusion seems to deepen. I thought it was bad in Sephora, but now that we’re in Forever 21 he’s basically apoplectic. I really shouldn’t laugh, but as he picks up an off-the-shoulder shirt that clearly wouldn’t reach the belly button of anyone over the age of five, his eyes bug out of his head and his brow furrows and his nose crinkles. I can’t help it. I burst out laughing.
He turns to me, butt hurt. “I’m glad you find my confusion and fear so delightful.”
I cover my mouth with my hands hoping to keep the giggles from escaping. “I’m sorry. I am. It’s just you look so damn cute.”
He startles at that. “I do?”
“Like a puppy seeing his reflection in a mirror for the first time,” I reply and he frowns. “Eager and confused and scared all at once.”
He puts the shirt back on the rack and turns to me, his face serious. “No man wants to be compared to a puppy. ‘Cute’ is not a compliment.”
“I wasn’t trying to compliment you,” I reply softly as he takes a step toward me. I love that he asked me to help him find a birthday gift for Mackenzie. Still for the first hour we’ve been shopping he’s been a little distant. I’m hoping joking with him will loosen him up.
“I was just stating facts,” I continue. “And you know what? It’s kind of nice to see you vulnerable. You’re always so cocky with the right comebacks, or pickup lines, for everything.”
He smiles so deep it makes a dimple appear on his cheek that I’d never noticed before. It’s tiny, just below the scar on his cheek, but it’s damn sexy. He reaches out and takes my hand in his. It’s a subtle thing, his fingertips just lightly clinging to mine, but it changes the energy between us—makes it electric. “I’m not good at being vulnerable. I don’t like it. Cocky is better. It’s easy. It gets me what I want.”
“And what is it you want?” I ask, my voice taut with need. His smile deepens and darkens in the same instant.
“Other than to find a gift Mac won’t laugh at?” he says with a chuckle and steps closer again so now we’re standing almost on top of each other in between racks of discount clothes. “I want to take you home and do exactly what we did the other night, only better.”
I smile. “Better? I don’t know how you improve on perfection.”
He grins again and his hand leaved mine and circles my waist pulling me to him. Our bodies connect and he feels warm and hard—especially the part pushing into my hip. Honest to God, my knees get weak. His hand slides to my ass as his head dips to my ear. “So stop poking fun at me and help me find the perfect gift, so I can get you home and give you the perfect orgasm.”
“She likes music,” I sputter suddenly. Apparently the promise of the perfect orgasm has given me inspiration. “She sings a lot and she mentioned she used to want to learn an instrument. She didn’t say which one.”
He grazes his lips across my cheek, like a kiss but with much more friction thanks to his perfectly unshaven face. I feel that friction through my entire body. His hand on my ass squeezes and then it’s gone and he’s grabbing my hand again. “Viens. We need to find a music store.”
Alex buys her a guitar at a store near my place and a lesson package too.
“Mackenzie’s at my parents’ place for dinner, so she won’t see us with it and we can hide it under my bed,” I explain.
“So we’ll be alone, in your place, in close proximity to your bed,” he says and winks at me. “I love it when a plan comes together.”
As we exit the store, his phone starts ringing. He glances at the screen and scowls before hitting the ignore button.
“Everything okay?”
