“At least an hour.” He took the half empty bottle of water from her and handed over her crutches. “Seriously though, Lexi. Good job. I have faith that you will be walking on your own in no time.”
She thrilled under his praise and even though she was hurting badly, she grinned up at him. “Thanks, Dragon Man.”
His eyes brightened at her name for him and he burst out laughing. “I guess that suits me. It isn’t the worst I’ve ever been called. Certainly one of my new favorites. See you tomorrow.”
Alexis nodded and headed for the double doors. As she neared them, one opened and there he was. She sucked in a deep breath at the sight of Jared once more in casual clothes. He wore jeans that must have been custom made for him because they hugged his hips just right. The charcoal gray shirt he wore stretched across his chest and shoulders in a way that made her envy the material as it caressed him.
His dark molasses eyes lightened when he saw her. “Lexis, dolcezza. Am I late?” His hand reached for her and grasped her upper arms. Before she could answer, or protest his touching her, his head lowered and he brushed his lips tenderly across her own.
Her heart stopped at the first contact, but then it was as if she had been struck by an electrical current. Her lips felt as if he had burnt her, but she only wanted to continue to kiss him, deepen it and taste him. Instead she stepped back, scared by how much she wanted this man who was a stranger to her.
“Are you ready, cara?” he murmured.
“Yes,” she mumbled, and he held the door open for her to pass. “Thank you.”
“Lexi?” She turned when she heard Dragon Man call her name. He jogged over and completely ignored Jared as he handed her a piece of paper. “Here are a few stretches that you can do at home to help ease some of your spasms. Try a few before bed tonight and when you get up in the morning.”
She took the paper, folded it and then put it in her purse that was hanging diagonal from her left shoulder to her right side. “Thanks.” She offered him a small smile. “See you tomorrow, Dragon.”
“Remember, at least an hour.” When she nodded he turned and left to get ready for his next patient.
Beside of her Jared was glowering after the physical therapist. “Dragon?” he muttered when he turned back to her, a deep frown on his face. “Your therapist’s name is Dragon?”
Despite her emotional impasse that she was having with herself over this man, his comment made her snicker. “His name is Chad, actually,” she told him as she continued down the hall toward the elevator. “But I call him Dragon Man. He can be kind of a hard ass. But apparently that’s what I need.”
“Apparently,” he grumbled half under his breath as he followed her and pressed the button to call the elevator. “Feeling up to some lunch?”
She bit her lip. She couldn’t trust herself to be alone with him, and the longer she spent in his company the more of a conflict within herself she struggled with. Alexis knew that she should turn him down, ask him to take her home and perhaps even tell him she didn’t want to see him again. But just the thought of never seeing him again hurt. Badly.
“Something light?” she murmured, still at war with herself. All she knew was that she wasn’t ready to push him completely away. Not yet.
Oh, Gabs! I really need you!
twelve
“Your sister is lovely.”
Jared’s head snapped around at her softly spoken words. He was busy driving through LA traffic and his full attention had been on the road ahead of him. But the silence had been just tense and she had needed to break it or scream. So she had said the first thing that had popped into her head.
“I’m sorry I didn’t introduce the two of you last night. Zaria was more than a little peeved that I hadn’t. I wasn’t exactly thinking straight when I first approached you and your brother. I had no idea that he was the infamous Vince that you had told me all about. Although, if I hadn’t been so eaten up with jealousy at seeing you with some guy, I would have taken a moment to think.” He turned his gaze back to the road and moved forward when the light changed to green.
That he had been jealous before he had realized she had been with Vince had been evident, but that he was admitting it to her sent a little thrill through her. But she attempted to keep that hidden. “I told you about Vince?”
“Yes.” He shot her a mock scowl as he maneuvered through the lunchtime traffic. “Actually I think you have told me everything about the man to the point that I feel as if I grew up with him as well. My favorite story you told me about him is the time that he beat the living hell out of some boy for making you cry when you were a little girl. And that is quickly followed by my second favorite story in which he broke his arm getting you out of tree that you climbed at some park.”
Well hell.
To her, Vince was her idea of the greatest guy in the world. She was sure that when she was younger that she had compared all guys that she might have been interested in to her brother. He was her hero and she adored him, faults and all. Vince was her best friend, second only to Gabriella. That she had told Jared all about him told her more than anything else he might have said to her right then. She would never have spoken of her brother to anyone who she felt was undeserving in knowing her beloved brother.
“My brother is an incredibly special person in my life,” she murmured.
“I know that, baby.” He reached out and clasped her hand, linking their fingers. “I have a somewhat similar relationship and sister. But, my relationship with my brother isn’t where I would like it to be. Ricco a pain in the ass most days, but I love him just as much as Zaria.” His jaw clenched and he turned left at the next light. He didn’t speak for a long moment, and she saw that his hands gripped the steering wheel so tightly that his knuckles were white.
Alexis turned her gaze out the window. Ricco, his brother that had recently gotten married to the woman that Jared himself had been engaged to just as recently. She didn’t want to ask about it, even if she was dying for answers. She wasn’t sure that he would give her the truth.
“So, Zaria. Are you older than her, or younger? I couldn’t really discern an age from where I was seated last night,” she asked after a long moment in which the tension became unbearable.
“Zaria is younger by three years. She’s twenty-three.” He sighed, sounding a little tired. “Actually we share a birthday, February twenty-first.”
“That’s pretty cool.” She noticed that they had reached a block with several restaurants on it. When he pulled to a stop right in front of her favorite place to get a salad she turned to him in surprise. “How…?”
His smile was a little sad. “You. You told me,” he murmured and got out.
She had told him about this little place… and he had remembered? Then and there, as she tried to catch her breath over something so small bringing her so close to tears, she decided that until she talked to Gabriella, she would give him the benefit of the doubt. She wanted—desperately needed—to know more about this man. Her heart skipped a beat as he assisted her out of his car and walked with his hand on the small of her back as they entered the vegan restaurant.
She wasn’t a vegan by a long shot, but she was in love with this place and every time she was on the West Coast she stopped in at least once to have a salad there. They were quickly seated and when the waitress offered her a menu she shook her head and told her exactly what she wanted. Jared shrugged and told the girl that he would have the same.
“Thank you for bringing me here,” she murmured, reaching for her water glass.
“I realize that you don’t remember me or our time together, Lexis. But I have always strived to give you what you want.”
She was starting to believe that, if nothing else.
***
He was pulling into her father’s driveway in Malibu when she finally asked the question that had been bothering her for a while. “Am I taking you away from work? This is the second day that you have missed because of me.”
She didn’t know how to respond to that. Did that mean that he had been planning on going to Connecticut for her? Why hadn’t he gone sooner? Where had he been for the last six months while she had been fighting to walk again? To come to terms with the fact that she...
No! She wasn’t going to go down that road right now. She had decided to wait for answers. Maybe he would tell her the truth without her having to ask. Without having to grill Gabriella for all the answers to the puzzle that had been her life all those months ago.
“Little did I know that what I needed so desperately was about to fall back into my life.” He leaned forward, using his hold on her hands to gently pull her toward him. The heat of his breath on her lips made her ache. She found herself leaning into him without his having to coax her. The first brush of his lips against her own made her moan.
Jared devoured her mouth and she let him, meeting him with her own desperation as she sucked his bottom lip into her mouth and tasted him fully. His fingers where in her hair, combing through her short locks and holding her tightly at the angle that he wanted. His free hand skimmed down her neck, causing her to whimper in pleasure.
All too soon he was pulling away and pressed his forehead to hers, his breathing ragged. “Have dinner with me tonight?”
“That would be great.” She leaned into him for a moment. “But nowhere to busy. I’m kind of tired.” Not a lie, but the real reason was that she didn’t want to have to keep seeing the looks people sent her as she walked with her crutches. It made her feel like everyone was looking at her, finding her lacking because of the crutches, and wondering what someone like her was doing with the Adonis that was Jared Giordano.
“I could pick up some takeout and we could just relax at my house,” he suggested, dropping a series of kisses along her jaw. “I loved seeing you in my house the other day. It was something I’ve been dreaming about for months.”
Alone with him at his beautiful house? Could she? Should she? “Okay.” She met his lips once more, loving his taste on her tongue. “Pick me up at seven?”
“Or you could just come with me now.”
It sounded like the best idea that she had ever heard, but she had to be smarter about this. Spending that much time with him could prove to be addictive, just as his kisses were becoming. Plus, she had to take her medications. She didn’t want to spend the evening in pain. “I have to take care of a few things,” she told him, not wanting to tell him about the pain that she was already experiencing. “But seven, okay?”
“Seven,” he agreed before he kissed her again.
thirteen
By a little after six, Alexis had already showered and changed into a pair of jeans that were now size two too big on her. She had lost a considerable amount of weight since her accident. She had loved the curves that had gone along with her size eight and now she felt as if she were nothing but skin and bones.
Grimacing, she finished putting on her makeup, something that she hadn’t been bothering much with lately. Once she was done, she made her way downstairs slowly. Melissa had assured her at breakfast that her room downstairs would be finished soon, and she couldn’t say that she wasn’t looking forward to not having to climb all those stairs.
“Lex, dinner will be ready in about half an hour.” Melissa told her as she entered the kitchen were her stepmother was putting together a salad to go along with the spaghetti she was making for dinner. Alexis inhaled the heavenly aromas and her mouth started to water.
“Actually, I won’t be here for dinner,” she told Melissa, hating to miss out on one of her favorite dishes.
Melissa turned from stirring the sauce with her brows raised. “Why not? I thought you loved my spaghetti.”
Alexis bit her lip, reluctant to tell her stepmother or anyone else about her dinner date with Jared Giordano. “Jared is taking me out,” she murmured.
The older woman’s eyes grew wide with surprise and then a smile curved her lips. “Wow, he is smitten, huh? I suspected something last week when he offered to bring you home from therapy.”
Alexis shrugged, not wanting to talk about Jared. She wanted to stay in a bubble where he was concerned. “I like him,” she told her stepmother.
“Who wouldn’t?” Melissa’s eyes took on a dreamy glaze. “If I wasn’t madly in love with your father, and I was a decade younger, I would so go after that one myself.” She fanned herself with her free hand, grinning. “Can we say sexy?”
“Oh, we can. And we will,” Alexis said with a laugh as she took a seat at the kitchen table. “Is Daddy working late?”
“No, he should be home soon.” Melissa gave the sauce one more stir and then dropped down beside of Alexis at the table, reaching for her glass of wine. “I’m glad you’re getting out. Jared could be good for you.”
Or he could be my downfall…
But she kept those thoughts to herself as she told Melissa about her physical therapy session. Vince came home while they were talking but went upstairs for a shower after stopping to grab an apple from the fruit bowl. Max walked into the kitchen just a few minutes until seven.
“I could have sworn I saw Jared Giordano sitting in his car out front,” Max commented as he dropped his briefcase on the kitchen island. “I wonder if I should go out and see if he needs to speak with me. Although I would have thought he would just call rather than stop by.”
Alexis got slowly to her feet, securing her braces on her forearms as she took a step toward her father. “He’s picking me up, actually.” When Max just blinked at her as if he hadn’t understood what she was saying, she grimaced. “Jared is taking me to dinner, Daddy.”
His dazed expression turned stony. “Are you sure about this, Lex? Jared … He isn’t the type of guy that could be good for you right now.”
She froze. “What do you mean?”
“Yes, Max. What do you mean?” Melissa put her hands on her hips as she turned a frown on her husband. “Is there something we should know about this guy?”
“Giordano just got out of a serious relationship. Hell, the guy nearly got married not long ago. Any woman he sees now is going to just be a rebound.” Max shook his handsome head. “Lex doesn’t need that kind of drama right now.”
Alexis gave her father an award winning, fake smile. In the last six months she had gotten enough practice to have perfected it. “Relax Daddy. I don’t plan on getting serious about Giordano, or anyone else. I think that he has more to worry about with my drama than me with his.” She kissed her father’s cheek and Max seemed to relax somewhat.
“I just don’t want to see you get hurt more than you already have been, Lex,” Max murmured as he pulled her close for a hug. “Be careful.”
“I will be. Promise.” His arms tightened for a moment then he stepped back, releasing her.
She called goodbye to them over her shoulder as she made her way through the house. It was just turning seven when she reached the door. She grabbed her keys and opened the door to find Jared walking up the path, a dark expression on his face.
“Hey.” She smiled up at him, pushing her father’s words to the back of her mind so that the bubble she was building around her emotions for this man would remain safe.
The fierce expression eased and he dropped a quick kiss on her lips. “Ready, dolcezza?”
The drive back to his house was relaxed as they listened to a classical channel on the satellite radio. One of Gabriella’s earlier violin solos came on and it made her smile. Gabriella had only been fourteen when she had recorded her first collection of classical works.
Jared
picked up Chinese on their way to his house and they sat in front of his television watching one of her favorite black and white movies on Blu-ray and eating Lo Mein chicken and beef broccoli with chopsticks. When the movie was over they simply sat and talked for hours. She was getting to know him and liked what she was finding out
When midnight came she didn’t want to go home and Jared seemed more than a little reluctant to take her. “I have a big bed upstairs calling our name, Lexis,” he murmured, kissing her neck and making her shiver deliciously. “Stay and let me hold you all night. I swear I won’t seduce you. Just let me hold you, love.”
She was tempted. So very, very tempted. But she knew that her father would freak out, plus she had to take her pain meds. If it weren’t for the pain in her back screaming at her, she might have followed him upstairs and been the one seducing him. “I have to get home, Jared.” She arched her neck to give him better access to the sensitive spot where neck met shoulder. “I … Please don’t make this harder than it already is.”
“It doesn’t get harder than I already am,” he whispered wickedly at her ear.
She wanted to explore and see for herself just how hard he was. “Jared,” she moaned when her questing hand came into contact with the steel like erection pressing against his jeans. He let her stroke him for a minute before capturing her hand and pulling her away.
“That is incredibly dangerous, love.” He stood, breathing hard. “Do you really want to go home, Lexis?”
Alexis sighed. “I don’t know what I want right now,” she admitted. “My mind is clouded from wanting you so badly. But I know that I should go home. I just met you.” She held up her hand when he started to protest. “I don’t remember you, Jared. So to me you’re still a stranger. Even if my heart and body recognize you, my head is still confused by it all.”
Jared helped her to her feet and then pulled her close. His lips trailing down her jaw to her shoulder, leaving a path so hot she thought her skin was sizzling. “I hate being away from you, dolcezza. My heart aches.” His words were causing her heart to ache too. She felt as if she couldn’t breathe because of the emotions swelling inside of her chest. “I have already wasted too much time.”
Our Broken Love Page 36