Chapter 21 #2
Jenny couldn’t believe what Maddie, Grace, Stephanie, Abby, Laura and Sydney had accomplished at the lighthouse in only an hour.
The lawn was littered with chairs, a fire pit, lanterns and long tables covered with tablecloths that were anchored by white rocks they’d gathered from the beach below.
The girls had their guys working just as hard, hauling coolers and ice and taking orders like the well-trained husbands, fiancés and boyfriends that they were.
“You guys are amazing,” Jenny said. They’d told her she’d done her part by donating the place, but she’d also made two huge salads and one of her favorite desserts to lend to the cause.
It was just as well that she didn’t have to do a lot of heavy lifting, because her arms and legs were dead from surfing—if you could call what she’d done “surfing.” It was more like falling with style, as Buzz Lightyear would say.
Alex had been a patient teacher, and she’d more or less gotten the hang of it.
He told her it would take a lot more practice before she mastered it, and he promised to give her another lesson soon.
He’d gone home to check on his mom before the party, and she expected him back any time.
She had butterflies in her belly when she thought about taking their relationship fully public with her friends, but she knew they’d be thrilled for her.
She was pretty thrilled for herself, she thought as she cuddled with Thomas, Hailey, Ashleigh and Holden on a blanket spread over the grass.
Jenny had volunteered to keep an eye on the kids during the setup.
Hailey had crawled into Jenny’s lap, and Ashleigh had her head on Jenny’s leg as she took a look at Thomas’s new board book.
Jenny was so absorbed in the kids and their chatter that she didn’t notice Alex approaching her until he was right on top of them. “Oh, hey,” she said, her body tingling in delight at the very sight of him. “I didn’t see you coming.”
He raised a brow in that naughty, sexy way of his and made her laugh.
“Not in front of the children.”
“You’re a natural,” he said, squatting next to the blanket.
“I don’t know about that, but I do enjoy them as well as my own nieces and nephews.”
“Do you want your own?”
Jenny stared at him, the question arcing between them like a live wire. “I used to. I figured I’d be staring down the teenage years by now.” She shrugged off the stab of pain that came with remembering old dreams. “But I’m probably past all that.”
“Because you’re such an old hag.”
“Hey!”
“Come on, Jenny. You’re only what? Thirty-six?”
“Seven. And a half.”
“Jeez, I had no idea you were so much older than me.”
“How much older?” She couldn’t believe it hadn’t occurred to her to ask him how old he was.
“You’ve got three and a half years on me.”
“Oh my God! I’m a cradle robber.”
“What’s a cradle robber, Jenny?” Thomas asked.
Jenny bit her lip to keep from laughing. “It’s when an old lady like me goes out with a young guy like Alex.”
“You’re not old, Jenny,” Ashleigh said with an annoyed glance at Alex.
“You’re my new best friend, Ash,” Jenny said.
The dark-haired little girl, who was the spitting image of her gorgeous mother, smiled up at Jenny. “BFFs.”
“Forever,” Jenny said. “Do you think Mommy will be surprised to find out the party is for her?”
“Yep. Auntie Maddie told her it was a cookout. She lied, but it was a good lie.”
“That’s right. She lied so she could surprise Mommy, but Auntie Maddie wouldn’t lie to your mommy about something important.”
“I know. Can we go play with the horseshoes?”
“As long as you stay right there where I can see you, and don’t throw the horseshoes at each other.”
Holding hands, Thomas and Ashleigh scampered off, leaving Jenny and Alex with Hailey and Holden, who sat in a bouncy chair.
“Don’t tell me you’ve given up on the idea of having kids of your own,” Alex said as he took a seat on the blanket.
“Not entirely, but I’ve tried to be realistic about it. I’m getting older every day, and it’s not something I’d do by myself. I’d be a terrible single mom.”
“No, you wouldn’t.” Alex held out a finger to Holden, who curled his pudgy fist around it. “I want kids. I want a family of my own.”
As she listened to him and watched his interaction with Holden, Jenny held her breath, waiting to hear what else he would say.
“I bet we’d make really cute babies together.”
Okay, that was unexpected. She swallowed hard. “You do?”
Nodding, he reached across the blanket for her hand. “You don’t think so?”
“I haven’t really thought about it, but now that you mention it, they probably would be pretty cute.” Her eyes filled, and she looked away, desperately trying to rein in her emotions.
“What?”
She shook her head.
“Tell me.”
“You make me want things I long ago gave up on hoping for.”
“You make me want things, too. The same things, I suspect.”
“We shouldn’t even be talking about this,” she said with a nervous laugh. “It’s far too soon.”
“No, it isn’t. We aren’t kids. We’ve both been around long enough to know when something special comes along. Who says we have to spend two years together before it’s acceptable to have this conversation?”
“I never said anything about two years, but two months might be practical.”
“Screw practical.”
“Don’t swear in front of the babies.”
“Don’t dodge the issue.”
“Maybe we could continue this conversation later?”
“Yes, I believe we will continue this later.”