Chapter 12 #2
For weeks, she had not made the mistake again of sending him home.
For one, they were his children, and two, they really had settled into a comfortable space as a couple.
If they didn’t join the crew for billiards, they went for long walks on the beach.
She loved climbing on his back on the way down, before walking or being chased in the sand as the moon lit up the night, and then, always, lying between his legs once they’d come back to look at the stars.
They danced, too, everywhere, and sometimes they’d end up sitting on the floor in front of the picture windows at his house overlooking the sea.
Something about those moments in particular filled her with an immense feeling of joy—so much that she’d recently asked him if they used to sit like that before.
He’d responded as he always did: “Every chance we had, sweetheart.”
And kissing? There wasn’t a wall he hadn’t pressed her against. An angle he hadn’t held her head at. A brush, pull, or stroke of his lips on hers that she hadn’t experienced. It seemed he had a thing for walls. And she couldn’t say that she minded, because she had a thing for him.
At Evan’s advice, she’d started keeping a journal of her déjà vu moments. As of late that’s really all she had been experiencing, and Amanda had a sneaking suspicion the kissing was at the center of that.
She watched now from the sideview mirror as Alex got out of his mobile command center, her heart skipping a beat as he stretched to his full height.
The man was dressed to the nines today. When he opened her door and smiled, saying “Morning, beautiful,” he laid his large hand across her thigh—the heat of it going right to her bones—then looked at Callie.
“Morning, angel,” he said. “Mama and I are going to talk for a minute.”
Suddenly, Amanda’s stomach dropped as she wondered if something was wrong. The smile on her face started to feel plastered instead of natural. She let him help her out of the truck, but when she started to lean back against it, preparing for their normal passionate greeting, he shook his head.
“No, sweetheart,” he said before he moved her about a foot over, probably out of Callie’s line of vision, and grinned a smile so broad and so natural that Amanda felt herself relax. Nothing was wrong, he’d just wanted a moment of privacy.
Alex brushed her hair off her shoulders before those large hands swooped up and cupped the back of her head. “Bloody hell, I missed you.” Callie yelled for the swear jar from inside the truck and they both chuckled.
“You should really work on that,” she told him, rolling her eyes.
“I plan to.” Then he leaned down and kissed her.
Another earth-shattering assault that awakened every nerve ending in her body.
Seriously, this man could kiss; his lips, mouth, and tongue had her head spinning.
And when he pulled away, she just stared for the longest time, not even sure where she was.
Alex grinned, no doubt pleased with himself.
“I asked you a question,” he said, reminding her of the message he’d passed through Stephen.
Amanda grabbed his lapels. “Bloody hell, Montgomery,” she told him breathlessly. “I can’t remember the year before Zander was born, so if you think I can remember what you asked me five minutes ago…before, you…you—”
“Use your words, sweetheart,” he teased with a grin.
She crinkled her nose at him, cocked her chin, and told him, “Use your mou—mmmp.” Jeez, for a second, she went boneless and felt him lean in, like with his entire body, which felt amazing, to keep her upright. Yep, rag doll.
She did, however, hear Callie making “mwah, mwah” sounds from inside the truck, which meant they were being loud.
Every time they kissed it was like the Bluetooth was connected and broadcasting it through the speakers.
He gave her one last nibble, then whispered, “Bloody hell, Amanda,” before finally breaking their kiss.
“You missed breakfast this morning,” she said, still reeling from the kiss and unable to think of anything more creative.
“I know. We only just landed, I’m sorry.”
“Rosa made you eggs. Just the way you like them.”
“Fried? In butter?”
“Yes. And yes.”
“You really want me to have that coronary, don’t you?”
While she knew he was teasing, her hand went over his heart. “Please, God, no,” she said, a now almost old joke between them.
The first time, Alex had gotten in her face, which he had a penchant for doing, and told her emphatically that he’d had almost a dozen since he’d met her, so what was one more?
And now he continued to tease her, muttering under his breath that she was going to be the death of him.
Amanda laughed, knowing it was a joke, but then she caught a glimpse of him flexing his hand, as if working out a kink.
He’d been doing that a lot lately; unconsciously, it seemed.
And it worried her. Maybe he wasn’t teasing after all.
He took her hand then and kissed her open palm, his gorgeous eyes gleaming. “Dinner tonight, then dancing with my girl?”
She nodded. “Uh-huh.”
He grinned, still staring, waiting, for what she didn’t know. “Callie’s going to be late for school,” he said finally.
Well, that got her attention. She hit his chest with a “shut the front door,” and laughed out loud. “Jeez, Montgomery,” she whispered, her cheeks feeling like they were on fire. “I forgot!”
He laughed, gave her a quick kiss, and put her back in the truck. Then he went to the other side, opened the door, and gave Callie a hug and a kiss before telling her to have a good day at school.
“Dance practice?” he confirmed before shutting the door for good.
Amanda smiled and nodded. “And after, Sam and I are going to pick out dresses for the Night of the Stars gala.”
That made him beam. “Outstanding, sweetheart.”
Yes, Amanda Abigail Marceau had taken her place in the real world once again, and it wasn’t so frightening after all. Who knew? But then maybe having her superhero around had something to do with it.
It was seven thirty by the time Alexander made it to Amanda’s. Business was picking up, and not just because he’d been out of town, or for that matter, because he’d been getting acclimated to running his businesses.
Calder Defense was being retained by a slew of new clients. Now that Amanda was back on the scene and in public, their services had been made known, and suddenly they were on the “it” list.
Hell, just today they’d picked up two new clients from Amanda and Sam’s shopping excursion. Add to that the Night of the Stars charity event coming up and time was in short supply. He’d called earlier to let Amanda know he and the crew were running late and to start dinner without them.
Walking in through the front door, Alex was greeted by Callie running down the hall in her pajamas with wet hair.
She was hollering, “Mama, the admiral’s here, we can eat!
” as she jumped into his arms. Her words sunk in as Amanda and Sam came out from the living room laughing at something, and his shock must have shown, because a moment later, Amanda was at his side, reaching out and rubbing his arm.
“You okay?” she asked. She was holding the baby, who by this time was sound asleep and should have been safely tucked into his crib for the night.
“You waited?” It wasn’t often he was stunned anymore, but his heart clenched, and not in the painful way. He was overcome with emotion.
“Of course we waited,” she told him a second before passing Zander over to a waiting Helen. “Give him a kiss and Helen can put him to bed.”
She’d kept him with her so he could see him. She must have read his mind, as she said, “I tried to keep him up, but he’s been out for the past thirty minutes.”
He pressed his lips to Zander’s crown, thanking Helen when she held him out again so he could touch him one more time. “Come on,” Amanda said. “I’ll get you a drink, then we can head out to the terrace.”
“Where’s Stephen?” he asked. The boys were already halfway down the hall with Sam.
Before Amanda could answer, Sam called out, “In the kitchen with Stan.” She turned then, adding, “I think Evan’s still here too.”
Alex nodded. Good. Everyone accounted for.
“Sorry I missed your dance practice today, angel,” he said, squeezing Callie a little tighter.
She rubbed his cheeks and said, “That’s okay, Papa. Mama said you’ve been really busy.” She shrugged and giggled. “And besides, we can take care of ourselfs.” Callie started squirming then, so he set her down and watched as she skipped down the hallway after the others.
Amanda grabbed his arm, stumbling into him.
“Amanda?” he asked, steadying her, concerned.
She shook off whatever it was with a “Déjà vu,” and pulled him into the living room to pour a scotch.
“Wait,” he said. The everyday care of it, it was too much. He needed a moment. She’d stilled midpour—funny girl.
He took a breath, then covered her hand to help her finish before pulling her back against him and closing his eyes.
He felt like he was in a dream tonight. Not that they hadn’t had plenty of dinners together.
Or nights for that matter. It was just the level of comfort they’d reached.
Now. Again. No matter how different the surroundings were.
Her warm welcome, keeping the baby close, Callie skipping down the hall, the rocks glass of scotch.
In all honesty, he was a bit speechless—overwhelmed. His heart was beating so fast, he made a concerted effort to slow his breath and concentrate on the fact that Amanda was whole and in his arms. They were together, and they were all safe.
She turned then, rubbed her face against his shirt, and burrowed right in the crook of his neck.
He loved when she did that. Music played softly on the overhead speakers and he slowly rocked them back and forth.
When he heard Callie coming back down the hall, he whispered, “Company,” and kissed the top of her head.