Chapter 5 #2
“That was the plan.”
“Will there be enough for three extra people?” Walker asked with a smirk.
“No.”
He got to his feet. “No problem. Slater’s flying out to Montana to see about recruiting a former co-worker and asked if I’d drive him to the airport. I’ll take Harlow with me, and we’ll make it a date night.”
When he turned to walk away, Connor stopped him. “That’s it? You’re not going to tell me this is a bad idea or how I need to leave Lexi alone?”
“The way I see it, the two of you have settled into this little domestic setup because of your kids. She’s happy and has shown no signs that she wants anyone to intervene.
You’re both adults, and all I can say is that I hope you take it slow and remember that you will have to work together even if things don’t work out. ”
“O-kay…”
“We’ve come too far in all of this, Con, to let old childhood relationships ruin it. The opening of the resort is right around the corner, and I’d hate for anything to put a damper on it.”
“Understood.”
“Great! Then I’ll see you at lunch.”
He nodded and waited until he heard the door close before letting out a long breath. A quick glance at his watch showed he still had a couple of hours before Lexi would come up for lunch, and he wondered if he should try to talk to her before that.
“All she can do is say no,” he muttered, pulling out his phone.
Connor: Hey! I heard Axel that’s what she kept reminding herself. They were just kids. How many people truly meet their soulmate as a tween and end up marrying them and living happily ever after, anyway?
If she had to take a guess, she’d say the percentage was pretty low.
And if she were being brutally honest, she and Connor were summer lovers, so to speak.
Sure, they talked on the phone a lot or chatted online, but they only saw each other during their summer breaks here at the resort.
So…could she honestly keep holding a grudge because he broke her heart at sixteen?
The hurt was there, that was a given. But…it was ancient history, so the decision to move on from it and just be friends now as adults felt like the right thing to do.
Even though she was still wildly attracted to him.
Ugh…like stupidly attracted to him.
The dark blond hair, the whiskey eyes, the lean, athletic build, and that closely cropped beard…he was practically catnip.
“Or forbidden fruit,” she murmured, looking at her reflection in the mirror to make sure she looked okay.
This was the third outfit she had tried on as she tried to find the balance between comfort and casual while still looking cute, and comfort and casual while looking like she didn’t really care.
Ultimately, she opted for cute with a hint of not caring.
The black yoga pants, plain white t-shirt, and long black cardigan felt like the best compromise. She touched up her makeup—only because she looked tired without it—and kept her long blonde hair loose.
Axel and Maisie had picked up Jonah fifteen minutes ago, and Connor had texted to let her know dinner was at six. That meant she had fifteen minutes to kill before walking over.
So she straightened Jonah’s room and walked around fluffing sofa pillows and wiping down the kitchen counter before she said screw it and decided to just head over. Hopefully he wouldn’t mind if she was a few minutes early.
Stepping outside, there was a slight chill in the air, so she was happy she had opted for the cardigan. It took less than two minutes to walk from her door to his, and as she stood on his front porch, she allowed herself a moment just to breathe.
This is a good thing, and I’ll finally have some clarity. We can be friends and keep things casual. I’m no longer a teenager who is ruled by my hormones.
And with that, she knocked on the door. But as soon as Connor opened it and smiled at her, her hormones seemed to kick into overdrive.
He looked sexy as hell and smelled fantastic.
All she wanted to do was tell him she didn’t care about dinner as she wrapped herself around him and begged to be touched.
Stupid hormones.
“Hey,” he said softly. “Come on in.”
“Thanks.” Lexi went to step around him, but he didn’t exactly try very hard to give her space, and she ended up brushing against him.
And that certainly didn’t help her already overstimulated senses.
“Mmm…something smells amazing,” she said, telling herself she was referring to the meal and not him.
Connor came around her, and his hand gently grazed her lower back as he passed. “I was originally going to make Marry Me Chicken, but I felt like we’ve been eating chicken a lot lately.”
She nearly choked on her own saliva. “I’m sorry, but…Marry Me Chicken?”
He nodded as they walked to the kitchen.
His cabin was twice the size of hers, so they had more room to cover.
“It’s a very popular dish with chicken, sun-dried tomatoes, and an absolutely decadent cream sauce.
But, like I said, I feel like we’ve been on chicken overload.
So I decided on a seafood risotto and a Greek salad.
” Smiling at her over his shoulder, he asked, “I hope that’s okay? ”
“It sounds wonderful.”
“I’m used to getting fresh seafood back home, and I’m not quite loving the fact that everything I order has been frozen, but I’m making the best of it for now. I don’t plan on having a whole lot of seafood on the menu up at the lodge, but every once in a while, it’s a good option.”
Lexi came to stand beside him and accepted the glass of wine he handed to her. “Thank you.”
“Here’s to a few precious child-free hours,” he said, tapping his glass to hers.
“I will drink to that.” After taking a sip, she sat down at the beautifully set table. “So, was Annabeth excited about the movie?”
“Definitely. And she was even more excited when she heard Jonah was going and that they were getting pizza and ice cream.”
Laughing softly, Lexi shook her head. “Yeah, I have a feeling we’re going to regret that.”
“Possibly, but…I’d rather not talk about the kids tonight. We talk about them every day as we coordinate carpool and homework and all that.” He checked the risotto and put the lid back on before joining her at the table. “What I’d really like is a night where we talk about…us.”
She was pretty sure her eyes went comically wide. “Us?”
His eyes never left hers as he nodded. “I think we went from essentially being strangers with a history, to co-workers, to friends. But all the time we’ve spent together has been either about work or with all our co-workers, or with the kids.
I want to know who the girl I used to know grew up to be. ”
Another soft laugh. “That’s easy. She grew up and married the wrong guy who left her for their babysitter, making her a single mom who couldn’t exactly make ends meet.”
“Lexi…”
“There’s not much more to it, and I don’t really like to discuss it. I’ve made some mistakes—obviously—but I can’t keep dwelling on them.”
“Isn’t Jonah’s father in the picture at all?”
“Is Rachel?”
He grinned. “Touché.”
“Sorry,” she murmured. “That was…incredibly bitchy of me. It’s just a sensitive subject.”
“No, I’m the one who’s sorry. You said you didn’t like to discuss it and I pushed.
For what it’s worth, I get the whole marrying the wrong person.
As I’m sure you remember, my parents were adamant about my marrying the ‘right’ kind of girl.
” The look of utter disgust on his face spoke volumes.
“They pushed and pushed and pushed until I caved. The only good thing that came out of a miserable situation is my daughter.”