Playing It Safe(61)

Alex smiles faintly and nods again. “From day one.”

“So Vanessa was right about how you spoil her rotten.”

He tilts his head to the side as he goes to grab his glass of champagne. “Maybe just a little.”

“More like a lot, I bet. Case in point, this party you have me planning for her.”

“Well,” he says with a boyish grin.

“Well what?”

“There’s something I should explain about that. It has to do with you.”

What could his niece’s birthday party have to do with me, other than the obvious? My eyebrows knit together in confusion, waiting for him to explain further.

“I may or may not have used my own niece in this little plot to get your attention. I’m not particularly proud of that, but a man’s got to do what a man’s got to do.”

“Is there anything else I should know?”

“That deal we made? You know the one that started all of this party stuff for Josie to begin with?”

I nod.

“I made that deal with you so that you’d owe me at some point. Although I will say that it’s been a pain in the ass trying to figure out a way for you to repay me.”

I take a second to wrap my head around what he’s trying to say. “Hang on a second. I’m the reason you took the deal in the first place?”

“Yes.”

“Is that why you gave me all the business from the gallery for the last year too?” I ask.

“Yes again,” he says.

“But that deal was like a year ago. You waited all this time, and may I remind you that in that time besides Marisa”—I pause while I roll my eyes at the mention of her name, and he chuckles—“I’m sure you weren’t sitting around alone at home pining for me.”

“And?”

“And I’m just wondering why you waited so long.”

“I told you in the car, you weren’t ready,” he says. “So I waited for the right opportunity to present itself.”

I tilt my head to the side and give him a look that suggests I’m not satisfied with his answer this time any more than I was when he told me about it in the car.

“Are you fishing?” he asks with a light chuckle.

“Maybe,” I say with a shrug of my shoulders.

“Do you remember the day that I drove Sabrina home and Tyler was there waiting for her?”

“Of course I do. How can I forget? I wanted to murder him for having the balls to show up unannounced.”

When I don’t say anything for a moment, he goes on to explain. “You were wearing a pair of Cat in the Hat pajama bottoms with a tank top, and your hair was up in the messiest knot I’ve ever seen. You went after him, and you didn’t back down because you were protecting your best friend. You looked gorgeous, and I was so impressed with your attitude and the passion in your eyes while you were arguing with him. You really did a number on me that night, Julia, because that was it for me.”

“I was so close to kicking his ass,” I interrupt, and his mouth twitches to keep himself from laughing.

“I’m sure you were,” he says, still fighting off laughing. “Anyway, if I would have told you that I was interested that night that you looked sexy as hell tearing Tyler a new * in those adorable pajamas, you would have laughed in my face, and more than likely, you would have kicked my ass instead of his.”

I chew on my lip, thinking that he’s totally right. I would have laughed in his face. I don’t think I would have kicked his ass, but given that I was pretty high-strung that night, it’s a strong possibility.

“Ever since that night I knew that I had to try and I would do anything to make this happen between us. Even if it meant waiting a whole year for the perfect chance to present itself. So when the idea of Josie’s party came up, I must confess I was getting a bit desperate.”

My hand covers my mouth from laughing out loud. I can’t help it. It’s so damn adorable.

“Desperate, huh?” I ask while still giggling.

“Desperate times call for desperate measures,” he says with a sexy grin. “And she’s getting a party out of it, so I’d say she’s making out on the deal.”

“And what do I get?”

“We’ll just have to wait and see, won’t we?”

“What if I don’t want to wait?” I shoot back at him.


He puts down his glass of champagne and leans forward. His voice is low and restrained when he says, “Would you like a reminder that it’s worth the wait?”

“It depends. What kind of reminder?”

“The kind that’s going to have to wait until after dessert so I can properly refresh your memory.”

Alex is really surpassing my expectations, and not just in the sex department, because that goes without saying. It’s refreshing since men can’t usually keep up or deal with me. He doesn’t seem put off by my personality. He doesn’t hesitate to go toe-to-toe with me on anything. In fact, he seems to enjoy it immensely, as evident by him revealing that it’s my attitude and personality that attracted him to begin with.

After the “Cotton Candy” dessert a little while later, which is absolute perfection and delicious, he makes quick work of paying the bill and ushering me out of the restaurant. It’s as if he’s in as much of a hurry as I am at this point to get on with refreshing my memory. Tack on to that a few glasses of champagne and this girl is anxious to move on to the next phase of the evening.