Avoiding Temptation (Avoiding #3)(15)

“Of course.”

“Great. I’ll let them know we’ll be there.” He walked toward the bedroom door.

“I’m still meeting up with Jack tonight,” she told him.

“Oh, right. I forgot about that.” Ramsey stopped in the doorway and turned to face her.

She saw that he had a question at the tip of his tongue. She could generally read him pretty easily. Whatever his question was though, she wasn’t sure she was ready to hear it.

“I was just waiting to leave until after you got home.” Lexi grabbed her jacket.

It was only October, and it was already too brisk to go without.

“You’re leaving now? Should I make us dinner?”

“Oh, I don’t know how long I’ll be. Do you want me to just text you?” she asked.

“Sure, Lexi.”

Ramsey opened his mouth like he was going to ask a question, but she averted her gaze and slid into her jacket.

“Have you seen my purple scarf?” She couldn’t help but change the subject.

“Hey, you,” Ramsey said, drawing her attention. “Come here.” He pointed to the ground in front of him.

Lexi shuffled forward and stood before him.

He wrapped his arms around her waist. “Are you okay with all of this?”

“With all of what?” she asked like she had no clue what he was talking about.

“The engagement, Lexi—telling everyone, getting married, being mine forever,” he said before dropping a kiss on her forehead. “I know how you feel about marriage, and we can wait, if that’s what you want. I just thought you were ready.”

“Ramsey Bridges, are you trying to talk me out of it?” Lexi asked.

“I’m not joking with you. I’m not trying to talk you into or out of anything. I just want you to be mine.”

Lexi opened her mouth to tell him that she already was, but he kept speaking before she could say anything.

“I want you to be mine, Lexi. Mine. I want you to take my name. When people call you Mrs. Bridges, I don’t want you to have to correct them. That’s what I want. But mostly, I just want you to be happy. Are you happy?”

“Of course, I’m happy.”

“Good.” Ramsey’s smile returned with her answer, and he drew her into him. “So, you’re going to be okay with telling people…everyone?”

“Yeah,” she said softly. With her hands wound around his neck, she couldn’t think of how she couldn’t be.

Are we still meeting? Are you hungry?

The message from Jack came as soon as she got into her car. She had thought that she was meeting Jack at the office, but it seemed like he had something else on his mind.

Yeah. Did you want to get dinner?

Well, there went her plans to be back to have dinner with Ramsey. She would have to text him and let him know that wasn’t going to happen. Whatever was going on in Jack’s head was a mystery to her. Though…hadn’t it always been?

Thai 5.

Huh. Fast-food Thai wouldn’t have been her first choice for dinner, but it did kind of sound good.

Lexi maneuvered her car out onto the interstate toward the Thai restaurant. She had been there only a couple of times. Once, she had gone with her friend Brandon for sushi, but they had found another place they liked, so they had stopped going to Thai 5. It was pretty close to her office, but lately, she was so often in court that she would eat around there or at the Bridges offices.

Fifteen minutes later, she pulled up in front of the restaurant. Jack was idling in his car, but he hopped out as soon as he saw her car park. He had been working really late days recently, so Lexi had thought that he would be coming straight from the office, but he wasn’t wearing a suit. Instead, he had on a pair of dark jeans and a half-zipped, long-sleeved, dark blue pullover. She smiled when she saw the Chuck Taylors on his feet. So Jack.

“Hey, Lex,” he said with a bright smile as he jogged up to meet her.

“Hey.”

She watched him as he approached, knowing that something was wrong. Dark circles were beginning to appear under his captivating blue eyes, and his hair was rumpled. Though it still looked good. Plus, the Chucks were a dead giveaway. They were like a security blanket.

“You look nice.”

“Really?” she asked, considering her outfit.

She was wearing a loose, cream button-up tucked into a flowing coral skirt with her black jacket. She still hadn’t been able to find her scarf. At least, it wasn’t cool enough yet for it to be necessary, but she had thought it would go well together. Nothing fancy though.

“Really.” Jack nodded and pushed her toward the entrance to the restaurant.

He grabbed the door handle before she could reach for it, and then he opened the door for her.

“Thanks,” she murmured, walking through the door.

“Anytime.”

The pair got into line behind another couple, and they waited to order. Lexi already knew what she wanted, but she was really more concerned with what was going on with Jack.

“So, what did you want to talk about?” she prodded.

Jack chuckled. “Not here, Lex.”

His blue eyes seemed to stare straight through her, and she looked away quickly. She knew those eyes still had power. They were friends, but it wasn’t always an easy gaze to hold.