Avoiding Responsibility (Avoiding #2)(37)

"Hey," she acknowledged him nodding slightly. He scooped her up into a sudden embrace lifting her effortlessly off her feet. She giggled and wrapped her arms around his neck.

"It's great to see you. How was the drive in?" he asked setting her back on her feet and gesturing for her to proceed him.

She teetered briefly on the tiny heels attached to her boots before walking up to the ticket booth all the while explaining her brief encounter with traffic. Ramsey purchased the tickets and followed Lexi into the main entrance. "Well at least it wasn't that bad. I would have picked you up you know?" he said smiling down at her.

"You told me," she reminded him. "But I just borrowed one of my sister's cars. No biggy."

Lexi desperately wanted to ask him more about the conversation she had eavesdropped on. Of course, she didn't really want to talk about the wedding. She was bound and determined not ever hear about it, but she couldn't help but be curious. Ramsey had to attend that much was clear. Bekah was his sister. The thought made her cringe, but it wasn't something she couldn't change. He shared blood with that despicable woman.

But his necessary appearance at the wedding wasn't what had aroused her interest. What she really wanted to know was who the woman was his father had suggested to him. Lexi could hear Bekah's words about Ramsey being a player echo in the back of her mind. And though she knew Bekah was a compulsive liar, she couldn't shake the feeling that some of the things she had said were true. It wasn't like Bekah was the only one who had warned her off Ramsey.

She shook her head slightly trying to shake off the feeling of discomfort that was creeping across her temples. Sure she didn't know Ramsey all that well, but so far he had been nothing but cordial. In fact, he had been a perfect gentleman. They had gone on at least a dozen dates since she had invited him to the engagement party and thus far, all they had done was kiss. She welcomed the change though. After practically throwing herself at him that night, she had vowed to give herself the time she needed to heal. Immediately jumping into bed with another man, Ramsey or anyone, was the worst idea she could fathom. So they were taking it slow, sometimes painfully slow.

In either case, it just showed that they weren't really together. Not that she was in any way in the same position she had been with Jack. This was of her own volition and for her own good. Dating was perfectly acceptable. Though it did make her wonder sometimes if he was dating other people though. She had never had it in her to ask if he was seeing other people. She couldn't imagine that he would only be dating her. They saw each other so infrequently and, sex…well it was something she willing to work towards, but that didn't mean she was going to jump his bones in the museum.

She gulped hard at the thought of him with someone and tried to hide her discomfort. The last thing she wanted to think about was Ramsey with someone else. She knew that she had no claim to him, but they were just at the beginning of a relationship and the idea made her nervous. He had made it clear that he wasn't bringing a girl that his father had suggested to the wedding, but that didn't really mean anything. He didn't exactly have the best relationship with his father. It didn't seem likely that he would want to bring a girl that his father would suggest anyway, but it still made her curious.

"So what does your family do for Thanksgiving?" Ramsey questioned her breaking her out of the trance he had noticed she had fallen into. He wasn't even sure she had looked at the last three exhibits. Something was on her mind, but he wasn't going to pry. She would tell him in her own time.

"Oh nothing fancy," she said shoving a loose strand of hair behind her ear. "Usually it's just the five of us. My mom cooks and we all snuggle up in front of the fireplace to watch the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. But this year for some reason," Lexi rolled her eyes, "my mom decided to invite everyone to our house for Thanksgiving. So both sets of grandparents are flying in tomorrow. All of my aunt's and uncles and their kids are here. It's a mad house."

"Sounds nice," he said dreamily.

"Psh, nice," she muttered sarcastically. "What do you do? It has to be much better."

"When I wake up, I put on a suit to go have a formal breakfast with my father's most prestigious business associates. They talk business," he stated dryly. "I'm expected to contribute now that I am older. From there every minute of the day is mapped out with things we're supposed to be doing to help the business. The business this and the business that," he quoted sardonically. "My grandparents are shoved in their somewhere briefly, before we finish with a more formal dinner at the Club."

"Let me guess, they discuss business?" Lexi asked only half joking.

"Ding ding ding," he said raising his hand in the air.

A wave of compassion flowed through Lexi's body. She knew that Ramsey wasn't exactly fond of his father or Bridges Enterprise which he and his grandfather had built from the ground up, but she had never envisioned why. She had always assumed that he had everything, but she was starting to realize that like Chyna, there was much more to Ramsey than she had originally anticipated. "Ramsey I'm sor…"

But she was cut off. "Please, you're the last person I want sympathy from," he said gently. "I shouldn't have even mentioned it."

"No it's alright," Lexi said averting her eyes and staring into a large mural of the ocean.