“No. It’s strictly a respect for his work,” my dad tells her. She still doesn’t get it—judging by the way her eyebrows and nose are all scrunched up and her head is tilted—but she shrugs and walks out of the room. My dad turns his attention back to me. “Is Alex the reason you were asking me about your case files a couple weeks ago?”
I nod and sit up, worried about the pain that’s creasing my mother’s porcelain skin. It’s like talking about what I went through physically hurts her. “Did you know him back them, Gabrielle?”
“I don’t know. I was so little, but…I think I might have.”
My mother seems to grow even paler, and she closes the dishwasher and walks over to me. I move over so she can sit beside me. “There were four other kids, three boys and a girl, in that first, horrible place you were in and then, the place they moved you before we took you had one other child, a girl.”
“Do you remember their names?” I ask.
She shakes her head. “No, but I know they were all older than you. The first place had an eight-year-old, two ten-year-olds and a twelve-year-old. The second place had a fourteen-year-old.”
“Alex is four years older than me, so he would have been eight when I was in the first home,” I tell them quietly and gently lay my hand over my mom’s, which are curled together on top of the table. “And he has scars on his back that he doesn’t tell the truth about. He says they’re from hockey, but they can’t be.”
My dad frowns. “You think he’s the child who went through the window?”
I look up at him. “I don’t know. Maybe.”
“Oh my God, Brie, honey, the odds of that are virtually impossible…” My mom’s voice trails off and she swallows as her eyes grow misty.
“I know, but…what if?”
She lets out a shuddering sigh and leans in to hug me. “Well if it’s true then I’m just happy he seems to be doing well now. And he’s managed to keep his heart open.”
Has he? As I hug her back my dad leans over us and ruffles our hair. “Come on. It’s movie time,” Dad says. “‘My name is Joel Goodson. I deal in human fulfillment. I grossed over eight thousand dollars in one night. Time of your life, huh, kid?’”
I groan. “We are not watchingRisky Businesswith Mackenzie, Dad. I’d rather watchTop Gunfor the billionth time.”
He chuckles as he leads the way into the living room.
Later that night, I’m lying in my childhood bed in the middle of sending Len a text when my phone rings and it’s her. I pick it up smiling. “Hey are your ears burning? I was just texting you.”
“Nope. And if you’re texting me that means you’re not in postcoital cuddle sesh, which means Alex didn’t spend the night,” Len replies. “Brie, this is weird.”
“Mackenzie and I stayed at my parents’ tonight,” I reply. “Our first sleepover is not going to be in my parents’ house. And I told you, he’s got claustrophobia issues.”
“Can’t he take a Xanax or something?” Len asks and I can’t help but laugh because she seems to be more frustrated by this than I am. “I’m living vicariously through you, remember. I can’t find my own happy ending so I’m stalking yours. And happy endings include sleepovers and cuddle sessions, Brie.”
“Well thanks to my parents watching Mackenzie for the rest of the weekend and Rose and Luc’s wedding in Maine I’ll be able to get in the first sleepover,” I remind her. “Although I don’t know how much sleeping will happen.”
She laughs. “Even an athlete built for sex needs a catnap.”
“Probably,” I reply, although with Alex, I’m not convinced. “I’m glad Rose invited you too.”
“So am I,” Len tells me. “I love her. She’s fantastic and a weekend away at a wedding full of hockey-playing guests, maybe I’ll find my own Alex, minus the claustrophobia issues.”
“It’s really not that big a deal,” I tell her even though I know it will be if we don’t get through it.
“See you tomorrow at the airport,” Len replies. “My first private plane experience. So exciting!”
I say good night and then put my phone down, turn off the light and snuggle deeper under the covers. I’m excited about tomorrow too.
I don’t sleep very well for some reason—it’s either nerves or excitement. In the morning I have breakfast with my family, leaving Mackenzie there, and then head back to my place to get ready. Alex shows up an hour early and I’m in a towel, fresh out of the shower. When I swing open the front door I can see his eyes darken with lust. Twenty minutes later the towel is on the floor in the front hall, his pants are at his ankles and I’m bent over the couch falling into a blissful orgasm.
He keeps trying to fool around as I pack and get ready, even after the mind-blowing living room sex, so we end up getting to the airport with barely any time to spare. I’ve never been wanted the way Alex wants me. It’s so visceral, like he’s just instinctually attracted to me. It’s not a choice, it’s a requirement, like air and water and food. I feel the same way about him, which is why it’s so scary. I don’t have control over it.
Len and everyone else taking the private plane to Maine are already there. They all greet us with warm smiles. Jessie is looking pregnant now, with a little yet distinct bump. I hug her and tell her she looks fantastic. “We had to alter the bridesmaid dress last second. I just picked it up at the tailor on our way here and haven’t even had a chance to try it on. I hope it fits. I feel like this kid is growing by a foot every day.”
“Meanwhile over here I just look like I ate too many burritos,” Callie says and pulls her shirt tight against her own stomach. She’s right. She kind of just looks bloated.
