Playing It Safe(70)

His eyebrows knit together as he asks, “Which show?”

“Lost.”

“I never watched it,” he admits.

“Well that’s something we’ll have to remedy if you’re going to be sticking around.”

Alex’s eyes light up, and I’m sure it has nothing to do with the fact he’ll be watching the greatest TV show of all time—which it is, and that is the beginning and end of any debate, thank you very much—but more with the fact that I’ve alluded to him, to us, in the future, kind of.

“You’ve got yourself a deal,” he replies with a sexy grin.

He kisses me one last time before heading into the foyer to pick up his overnight bag. All the while I’m craning my neck and gawking at his muscular back until he catches me and shakes his head in mocking disapproval. Once he’s completely out of sight, I pick up the oven mitts he tossed onto the counter and quickly fan myself. I swear, he’s going to be the death of me.


By the time he comes back into the kitchen fully dressed in jeans and a plain old black T-shirt, I’m already setting the last dish of roasted vegetables on the table. Alex sits down and starts to fill my wineglass from the chilled bottle of pinot grigio I have on the table and then looks up at me as I go to sit across from him.

“This really does smell delicious, Julia. I had no idea you could cook,” he says while now pouring his own glass of wine.

A perfect segue. Really, I couldn’t have planned it better if I tried.

I smile, genuinely happy that I could surprise him, and as I’m serving him his food I reply, “Well, I’m sure there are a lot of things we don’t know about each other yet.” He looks on curiously as I keep on talking. “But to answer your question, I’m not that much of a cook. I know how to make some dishes and can probably cook the shit out of a steak, but that’s about it.”

He takes his first forkful, and I wait to see his reaction. “I beg to differ.” He stops and wipes his mouth with the napkin. “This is absolutely delicious, but I’m going to have to take you up on that steak sometime too.” He sets his fork down to grab his wineglass and takes a sip before talking again. “So what’s this about us not knowing a lot about each other? Are you referring again to outside-of-work Alex?”

“Kind of,” I say matter-of-factly. “I mean, we know each other in the physical sense pretty damn well, but I think it’s time we got to know each other a little more in other ways, don’t you think?”

“I agree,” he answers with a forkful of food perched in front of his mouth. “You can start by telling me why your eyes are so red.”

“Funny you should mention that, because my eyes being so red has to do with you sort of.” Alex’s eyebrows shoot up in response before I tack on the rest of it, leaving out Aiden’s visit. “See, I was in my office massaging my stress ball while looking over the guest list you sent me for Josie’s party.”

“And?”

“Well, I came across one name that kind of surprised me. Marisa.”

“And how does her name have anything to do with your eyes being red?” he asks in a low voice.

“I must have been squeezing the ball too hard when I came across her name, so it exploded all over me and some of the sand got in my eyes.”

“I’m sorry.” His eyes are apologetic and concerned. “I should have told you about it sooner.”

I remember what Lisette told me earlier today—give him a chance to explain and not jump to any conclusions. That is exactly what I intend to do when I say to him, “No better time than the present.”

“It’s complicated.”

Ugh, I don’t like the sound of that, and I’m already wondering if Aiden was right. I half smile, and in between sips of my wine I say, “Just start at the beginning.”

“Our parents have been friends for a long time and are very close. So growing up, Vanessa and I were around Marisa and her big sister quite often.” He smiles then, but it doesn’t reach his eyes. “Marisa is about eight years younger than the rest of us, and as we got older it was Vanessa, myself, and Marisa’s sister, Katerina, who were always together. We were inseparable.”

I’m not sure where this is heading, but I can tell that wherever it ends up I’m not going to like it one way or the other. Regardless of that, I smile and nod to let him know he can keep talking.

“Vanessa eventually went away to college, leaving Katerina and me behind. We became even closer, and things started to change between us.” Alex looks up at me then, his expression hesitant. “By the time we started high school together, we were officially a couple and started to make plans for our future. When we decided to go to different colleges, it was difficult, but we made it work. I would visit her as often as I could and vice versa, but it put a slight strain on our relationship that neither of us really wanted to admit to.”

“You loved her,” I say to him softly.

“I did,” he admits with an exhale of breath. “Looking back on it now, the fact that we had been together so long and shared so much at such a young age bonded us, and we didn’t want to let each other go.”

“You were both afraid to move on. I get it.”

I can tell he’s reliving a terrible memory. All I want is to crawl up in his lap and comfort him. And I can honestly say that I have never felt the need to want to do that with any man before him. It’s a terrifying feeling for me, but instead of acting on it, I sit still and steeple my fingers underneath my chin so that I’m not tempted.