The Summer of Sunshine and Margot(86)

He was an honorable man and when she was with him, she felt as if she belonged. She had no idea where their relationship was going, but if she had her way, the feelings between them would only grow and expand until all the empty places they’d both carried around were happily filled.

He looked up, saw her and smiled. “Good morning. Did you sleep well?”

She grinned. “I was awake around three, but otherwise, I did sleep well.”

“Yes, I should probably apologize for that.”

“Do you really think so?” she asked, remembering how he awakened her by kissing her all over, arousing her until she was frantic with need, before bringing her to an earth-shattering orgasm.

“No, I don’t, but it seemed the polite thing to say.”

She laughed. “Thank you for the effort.”

She picked up a plate and served herself breakfast. After setting the plate across from his, she picked up his coffee cup and filled it, then filled another for herself and took her seat.

“How is the world?” she asked, motioning to the paper.

“About where it was yesterday. The bigger issue is my mother thinks you’re still angry with her.”

Margot dug her fork into the fluffy scrambled eggs. “And she’s coming to you about it? That’s unusual. She doesn’t seem to have a problem being direct with me. I wonder what that’s about.”

“She wants to see if I’ll side with her,” he said.

“Oh, that makes sense. Do you love her more than you—” Margot stumbled to a verbal stop. “What I meant was...”

Alec smiled. “I know what you meant and yes, I suspect that’s what she’s worried about.”

“I am the new shiny thing in your world.”

“While she’s allowed to have new, shiny things all the time, I am not.” He shrugged. “Those have always been the rules. It’s how she is.”

“Did you reassure her?”

“I told her if she had a problem with you to talk to you directly.”

“You’re such a guy,” she teased. “How did she take it?”

“She pouted.”

“Thanks for the warning. I’ll be prepared.”

Conversation shifted to the movie they’d watched the previous evening and plans they had for the weekend after she finished helping her sister with a birthday party for Sunshine’s charge. Margot wished it could be like this always but there were going to be changes. Her contract with Bianca was nearly finished. She’d already broached the subject of ending their lessons, but Bianca had refused to discuss it. In a few more weeks, Margot was going to have to insist.

And then what? Would Alec still want to see her or was this simply a relationship of convenience? Assuming he wanted things to continue, how would living in separate houses affect things, and at what point did she start admitting to herself that this was way more than casual, at least for her?

Before she could decide any of that, Alec stunned her by asking, “Is everything all right sexually?”

She put down the piece of toast she’d been holding and stared at him. “I don’t understand the question.”

“I want to make sure you’re, ah, satisfied. If there was something else you’d like us to try or be doing or...” He gestured vaguely with his hand.

The question was confusing enough, but so was the timing. It was barely seven in the morning. They’d just spent the night together and had made love at three in the morning. She’d needed to use a pillow to muffle her cries of delight.

“I still don’t understand the question.”

He looked away, then back at her. His eyes and pretty much every other part of him was unreadable.

“One of the complaints my ex-fiancée had was about our sex life,” he admitted, his voice flat. “She said sex with me was boring.”

Margot tried to absorb the statement. Boring? Boring? They had sex in his office, the kitchen, the shower, and, sure, in their respective beds. They did it standing, sitting, sideways, in positions she wasn’t sure had names but had been immortalized in his erotic netsuke. They played, they talked, they touched and they teased. They were masters at the three-minute encounter with a minimum of fuss and often spent hours enjoying each other, slowly, sensually until they were both shaking with exhaustion.

She opened her mouth to tell him all that and more only to burst out laughing. Once she started, she couldn’t stop. She laughed until tears filled her eyes, then she laughed a little more. When she caught her breath enough to speak, she managed a gasping, “No. No, you’re not boring.” Then the laughter claimed her again.

Alec waited patiently, his expression slightly pained. When she finally got control of herself, she sighed. “Alec, you have many flaws, we all do, but boring in bed isn’t one of them. You’re not even close. Seriously, the woman was an idiot. You should let that go.”

One corner of his mouth turned up. “Thank you. I wanted to be sure you were satisfied.”

“I am. Completely. Totally. In every way possible.”

His gaze locked with hers. “I am, as well.”

“That is very good to know.”

  Sunshine tried to think of a polite way to say no.

“Come on,” Phoebe cajoled over the phone. “It’ll be fun. We’ll get dressed up and then go have drinks. A girls’ night out. Say yes.”