“They didn’t seem to mind.”
“I wouldn’t have minded either.” Emily smiled. “You have family in town?”
“My brother and his wife live here. Along with their two kids.”
Emily nodded. “Nice. Well, I won’t keep you. Dinner’s already started. I was going to get another bottle of wine. We’re out of red.”
“Katherine didn’t get the wine?”
“She was chatting with Lara and I volunteered.” Emily shrugged.
Alex wondered if it bothered her to be in the serving role. If it did, she hid it well. “Is everything going okay?”
“Everything’s great,” Emily said quickly. “Thanks for asking. How are you?”
“Good. Great.”
Emily nodded, studying Alex closer now. “You sure?”
Alex hesitated. She didn’t want to hold Emily in the foyer if she wanted to get back to the dinner party, but she at least needed to clear the air. “I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about our conversation this morning. All day, actually.”
When Emily only waited for her to go on, Alex said, “It makes sense about you not wanting to jump into another relationship. In fact, if I were you, I’d be having sex with everyone here. Now’s the time to experiment. Find out what you like. Not get caught by the first person who tells you you’re beautiful.”
Emily’s expression was set and hard to read. She nodded slowly and then said, “See you in there?”
“Yeah.” Alex felt her heart drop in her chest as soon as Emily headed to the kitchen. Everything she’d said had been the truth, but she’d hoped Emily would have at least argued that they could experiment together. Or even better, said she didn’t need anyone else.
Alex eyed the door and considered leaving, but she couldn’t make herself give up that easy. If she left now, she doubted she’d see Emily ever again. If she stayed, there was at least a chance they’d have time to talk. But she’d have to watch Emily flirt with everyone—maybe even Lara—knowing she’d encouraged her to do more than flirt.
It wasn’t simply the dress that made Emily seem different tonight. Yesterday Emily had been like a deer in the headlights, but now she was completely at ease. Cool and confident. Meanwhile, Alex was the one reeling. She forced her feet to head to the dining room, bracing for what would come next.
“Fashionably late?” Lara said, raising an eyebrow.
“Time got away from me.” The only seat open was one next to Lara. She sat down, wishing she’d taken longer to get her bearings in the foyer, then wondering what it was exactly that had her feeling so off. Was it only how different Emily seemed tonight?
“Do you have a girlfriend in town that you didn’t tell the rest of us about?” Lara prodded.
Emily walked into the room with two bottles of wine right as Lara asked the question, and Alex felt her cheeks burn. “No girlfriend.”
“Alex with a girlfriend?” Shay chuckled. “That’d be the day.”
“Well, there was that property manager who couldn’t keep her hands off you,” Katherine said, raising an eyebrow. “She grilled me all about you when I was here last month. Apparently, you rocked her little world. I didn’t give her the bad news that you’ve probably had that effect on half a dozen women since then.”
“I stopped by my brother’s house,” Alex said quickly. She didn’t look over at Emily despite how much she wanted to. There was nothing she could say to fix things now.
“How are Rob and Chelsea?” Katherine asked. “Still trying to convince you to get a wife and settle down and be boring like them?”
“Pretty much.”
The others at the table laughed, but when Alex finally braved a look at Emily, her expression was serious. What was she thinking? She’d taken her seat next to TJ and handed one of the new bottles of wine to Madison. When Shay made a joke about Alex having a job with travel so she could leave a woman pining after her in every city, Emily’s eyes lit briefly on Alex but then darted away.
Alex could take all the teasing this group wanted to throw her way—she knew that it was all in fun, with the exception maybe of anything Lara said. But what she didn’t want was for Emily to believe what they were saying. She thought back to the morning and when everything had gone awry. She’d hoped to turn things around tonight and maybe open up the conversation of a possible friendship, but now that seemed unrealistic.
As the conversation around the table turned to terrible vacations—apparently that had been what everyone was talking about earlier—Alex picked up her fork. She thought of the warmth she’d felt when she’d walked in the door at Rob’s. A swell of happiness had filled her when Joey and Lavender had both attacked her with hugs. As soon as they’d let go, Chelsea had given her a kiss on the cheek and then chastised her for staying away too long. Rob had echoed the same words, pulling her into a bear hug that made tears press at her eyes. When she’d left, Rob had given his standard departing message: “Damn, do I love you, but don’t get any taller.” At five eight, Rob was shorter than he wanted to be, but he’d been using the same joke since she’d passed him up at fourteen. She was only an inch taller, but they both found it funny.
“Going for a full roll tonight?”
Emily’s question pulled Alex back to the moment. She looked down at the dinner roll in her hand. “Tasted so good last night I thought why not go all the way.”
Emily held up her own roll. “Great minds think alike.”
Alex handed the butter dish across the table. “Want to go first?”
“This time I do, thanks.” Emily’s wink was subtle. She adeptly sliced her roll and then spread the butter on thick.
Emily was definitely different tonight. “You weren’t kidding about liking butter,” Alex said.
“I don’t lie. Sadly, neither do my hips.”
“I like your honest hips.”
“Well, my hips liked yours,” Emily returned.
Neither had bothered to lower their voice, and it was obvious when more than one head turned to glance between Emily and Alex that the others understood. Emily didn’t seem at all concerned, and even gave Alex a coy smile as if to say that she wanted them to know.
“I think I’ve heard that song,” Lara said. “And who doesn’t appreciate hips that don’t lie?”
“Are you a Shakira fan too?” Emily asked.
“Shakira, Shakira,” Lara sang jokingly. “I love her. But I’m not exclusive.”
As Lara and Emily chatted about favorite musicians and songs, Alex forced her attention to her meal. The soup was some sort of tomato bisque, and delicious, but she suddenly didn’t have much appetite.
Normally she had no problem watching girlfriends flirt with other women, or men, for that matter. She’d had her share of threesomes as well as open relationships. So why was it so hard for her now to watch Emily smiling and laughing at Lara’s jokes? She argued it was only because it was Lara. No matter what happened tonight, she didn’t want Emily to get hurt.
Madison clinked her wineglass against Alex’s as she raised it. “You hitting the slopes with us tomorrow?”
“Maybe. I don’t have any set plans.”
“Then make plans and come skiing with me. I’m dragging Shay, kicking and screaming,” Madison looked over at Shay and winked. “TJ and Nicola are still weighing their options—the other option being staying in bed and having sex all day. Ava’s a yes, but she’s sticking to the bunny slopes.”
Ava, from the other end of the table, said, “Unless I find a sexy ski instructor who wants to push me out of my comfort zone.”
“Alex would be perfect for that,” Katherine said. “She’s an amazing skier.”
“I don’t know about amazing,” Alex said, hoping to evade any direct answer. If Emily wanted to do something together, she wanted to keep her options open.
“Ignore her,” Madison said. “Alex is the only one who can race Katherine in a blizzard.”
“I remember that day,” Katherine said. “And, as I recall
, I won.”
“Yes, you did.” Alex knew by Katherine’s look that, if anyone asked, she’d happily share why. She hoped the conversation wouldn’t go there. Emily may have already formed her opinion of her, but she didn’t need to know more of the dumb things she’d done in her past—including getting sloshed at a nightlong orgy and then agreeing to a race in a blizzard the next morning.
“Katherine’s only skiing for a half day,” Madison said, fortunately redirecting the conversation back to tomorrow’s plans. “Unless you convince her to miss her spa appointment.” She gave Alex a hopeful look. “She’s already said no to me. Lara’s out ’cause she’s a dork and leaving us early. Meanwhile, Emily thinks the snow is going to freeze off her nipples. Apparently you told her to ski in a bikini?”
“I only said people do ski in bikinis,” Alex said. “I didn’t claim it was a good idea.”
Shay shivered. “Kill me now.”
“Right?” Emily continued. “I left Minnesota for a reason. Skiing in a bikini? No way.”
“Alex just wanted to see your boobs,” Shay said.
Lara chuckled. “She’s not the only one.”
“Is it just me, or does anyone else think it would be a total turn-on to have sex in a bikini in the snow?” Madison asked.
A chorus of “brrs” went around the table followed by laughing, but Madison clinked her glass against Emily’s and said, “Here’s to bikinis. And, by the way, I’m drooling over that dress of yours.”
“I’m drooling too,” Lara said. “Probably not for the same reasons.”
“I don’t know about that.” Madison arched an eyebrow. She turned halfway in her seat and faced Emily. “We all know you only had eyes for Alex last night, and I don’t blame you one bit, but who gets you tonight? You joining us in the teachers’ lounge, or are you headed for the massage table?”
“Maybe she wants to try out the private room,” Katherine said.
Alex expected Emily to blush or at least act uncomfortable when everyone turned to look her way, waiting on her answer, but she only looked back at Katherine and said, “I plan on making full use of my voyeur pass tonight.”
“Ooh, I forgot that was your pick. Smart woman.” Madison clinked her glass again. “I might steal that next time.”
“Katherine, we’re still headed back to Nice this summer, right?” Nicola asked. “Have you picked a date?”
Alex reached for her wine. She had already decided against another trip to Nice. This was her last fantasy weekend. But it wasn’t only the weekends that needed to stop—she needed to put an end to all of it. No more meeting up for a weekend in Tahiti. No more spur-of-the-moment dinners in Lisbon. No Venice for twenty-four hours.
The rest of the dinner conversation was hard to keep up with. Alex’s gaze, and her thoughts, kept drifting to Emily—to the delicate way she held her soup spoon, to how she dabbed the corner of her napkin against her lips, and to the smooth movement of her hand when she reached for her wine. Alex wished they were alone, but as soon as the thought crossed her mind, she was annoyed with her heart all over again. Emily was quite reasonably unavailable.
That was the hardest part—she didn’t blame Emily for not wanting to date. In fact, when she thought about it logically, she wanted her to spread her wings and enjoy her freedom. She’d meant what she’d said in the foyer. Now was the time for her to experiment, not get caught in another relationship. Alex had done plenty of experimenting and she wouldn’t dissuade anyone from it. How else could Emily be sure of what she wanted?
Knowing all that, when Lara leaned across the table to whisper something to Emily, Alex swallowed the bitter taste in her mouth. If only Emily could skip experimenting with Lara…
Alex noticed Katherine watching her and returned her cool stare. Katherine was good at reading people. The only thing she was better at, in fact, was reading the mood of the stock market. She probably knew exactly what Alex was thinking even now. No doubt she also had her own opinion of whether Emily would ever be ready to date, and if so, would ever consider Alex.
Katherine folded her napkin and set it on the table. “Anyone opposed to going downstairs for dessert? I had the caterer set up the fondue in the bonus room.”
“Chocolate fondue?” TJ asked.
Katherine nodded, and Madison murmured her approval. “I’m picturing a blindfold, chocolate fondue, and waiting for someone to walk by and lick me.”
“Any part you dip, I’ll lick,” Shay said, standing up.
“Me too,” Lara added.
“Me three,” Ava said, laughing.
Alex wished the playful mood of the others would brush off on her. Or if not playful, at least she wanted to feel some eager anticipation. She watched as everyone else paired off as they headed out of the dining room. She couldn’t avert her eyes when Lara offered her hand to Emily.
“Not happy that someone else claimed your toy?” Katherine said. She’d come to Alex’s side of the table but had waited until the others left before saying anything.
“She’s not my toy.”
As soon as Alex stood, Katherine stopped her with a hand on her chest. She leaned close, but Alex turned. Instead of getting her lips, Katherine kissed her cheek.
“I love it when you’re fired up like this. I should dangle women in front of you more often.” Katherine’s eyes danced up and down Alex. “The problem is, you’re hard to please. It’s not so easy finding someone that makes the animal in you show itself.” She caressed Alex’s cheek with her thumb. “Don’t get too caught up on her, though. She’s not going to fall for you like the others. You know that, right? She’s not even over her ex yet.”
“I think she is, actually, but that’s not the point.” Alex didn’t want to be arguing at all, but Katherine knew all the buttons to press to pull her into a fight.
“No. The point is, even if she was ready to date someone, she wouldn’t be able to handle you. Not when you let loose.”
“Katherine? You coming?”
Katherine stiffened at Madison’s voice. She turned and glanced at the hallway.
“You’re being summoned,” Alex said.
“Our conversation’s not over.”
“Unless we want a fight, I think it is.” Alex held Katherine’s gaze. She knew Katherine hated to back down as much as she hated to lose. But it was also not the time for them to have the fight that was coming. “For the record, Emily can handle me. And if she wanted me, I’d do anything to keep her.”
Chapter Twenty-seven
Keeping her distance from Alex was easy. In fact, Alex seemed to be avoiding her now that dinner was over. But not thinking about Alex was a different matter altogether.
Emily had tried to give herself a mental pep talk about sleeping with someone else, but she didn’t want to force an attraction that wasn’t there. She also couldn’t pretend that she didn’t still want Alex. When they’d bumped into each other in the foyer, she’d had to squelch the crazy desire to take her upstairs to her room. And then Alex had suggested she experiment with others.
How could she possibly kiss anyone else? All she could think about was having Alex’s hands on her again. She didn’t even care what Katherine might do in retaliation. In fact, over the course of the day, she’d gone from pissed about the texts to feeling almost sorry for Katherine. Not quite, but almost.
“I’ve always been a sucker for chocolate strawberries.”
Emily hadn’t noticed Alex come up behind her, but a zing went up her spine at the feel of her standing a foot away.
Alex continued. “But now strawberries seem kind of passé when there’s kumquats and chokecherries to dip. And who came up with the idea of dipping ginger in chocolate?” She reached for a strip of candied ginger and dipped it in the chocolate. “It doesn’t even sound right, but it’s so good. Leave it to Katherine to get me addicted to something I’ll never find anywhere else.”
“Actually, you can thank Emily for that combo.” Katherine was standing on the opposi
te side of the table and had seemed to be engrossed in a conversation with Shay and Madison, but apparently she’d been eavesdropping. She smiled at Emily and added, “But tonight’s fondue isn’t nearly as good as yours. There are very few things in life I like better than your chocolate. Don’t tell anyone, but some nights I dream about the desserts you’ll make me.”
“Thank you. And your secret’s safe.” Emily wasn’t sure what to make of Katherine jumping into the conversation, but the compliment seemed sincere.
“Which secret? The one about her dreaming about you or the one about you being an elite chef?” Lara said, coming up to the dessert table and reaching past for Alex for a strawberry. “Madison told me you can make her orgasm with one bite.”
“Madison, you told me I was the only one who’d made you orgasm with one bite,” Nicola said. “Did you forget Nice?” Her mock indignation made the others laugh.
“What can I say? I like to orgasm. And when I’m surrounded by the best of the best, I can’t help it.” Madison held up her hands. “I should have an inferiority complex being around y’all, but I don’t ’cause I know you like how fast I come.”
“It’s true,” TJ said. “You make the rest of us look good.”
“Remember that orgasm contest last year?” Shay said. “How many did you get, Madison? Was it six?”
“Seven,” Madison said smugly.
“And the last one was thanks to me,” Lara said. “She couldn’t walk after that one.”
“Seven orgasms? I didn’t even know that was possible.” Ava looked stunned. And a little jealous.
“I want to know how she was walking after the fourth,” Nicola said. “And the fifth.”
“Practice.” Madison laughed along with the others.
“Speaking of practice,” TJ started. She raised her eyebrows at Nicola. “I’m thinking I could use some practice giving someone multiple orgasms.”
“Giving?” Nicola sidled up to TJ. “I thought I was giving you a massage tonight.”
“After you’ve had your hands all over me, you’re gonna be all hot and bothered.” TJ closed the distance between her and Nicola. They didn’t kiss, but the air around them zinged with what was coming. “You’ll be ready to let me do whatever I want with you.”
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