Gwen took a big swig of her milk and stuffed a piece of cantaloupe in her mouth as a distraction. She didn’t dare look up at him again.
But she did catch Adrienne watching her curiously. Her green eyes narrowed at Gwen for a moment before she turned and spoke to Alex.
“How long are you going to be back in New York this time, Alex?”
He shrugged, chugging half the bottle of water. “The project in New Orleans is under way, so I really don’t need to go back down there for a while. My project manager, Tabitha, has it well under control. I was thinking of doing a little traveling this summer, though. Maybe scoping out a couple potential sites for my next project. Why do you ask?”
Yes, Gwen thought curiously. Why did Adrienne ask? And did she really want to know the answer? Probably not.
“Well,” Adrienne began, “I’m worried about Gwen and that apartment of hers. It’s just too many stairs, and she’s all alone without air-conditioning.”
“I have a window unit,” Gwen grumbled.
“Like that is going to make an ounce of difference in the end of August when you’re pushing eight months.”
Gwen shrugged. She’d made it through the last five summers without AC. If she had to, she’d spend all her free time loitering at the ice cream place up the block from her building.
“I want her to come stay with us until the baby is born, but she’s being stubborn about it.”
“Are you trying to rally a gang to bully me into it?” Gwen asked, hearing the edge of her accent creeping into her voice. After five years in New York, it had mostly faded, but when she got agitated or tired, it came out in full force.
“No, actually, I had another idea. Alex’s place is huge, and he’s almost never there.”
Gwen nearly choked on the piece of bacon she was attempting to swallow. Certainly Adrienne couldn’t be suggesting that Gwen stay with Alex? As far as Adrienne knew, the two of them were casual acquaintances at best. If she knew the truth, she’d certainly keep her mouth shut on that topic.
“I know you pay some woman to water plants and collect your mail while you’re away. Why couldn’t Gwen stay there instead? You have that huge guest suite that no one ever uses.”
Gwen’s eyes widened in panic. She would not go stay with Alex whether he was there or not. It would just be weird. She turned to Alex, expecting to see him appearing equally horrified. Instead, he was just sipping his water and looking as though he were actually considering the idea. Surely a man who couldn’t commit past two weeks wouldn’t dream of letting a woman move in with him, even temporarily.
“I think it’s a little presumptuous to invite someone to move into Alex’s place without talking to him first,” Will said.
Finally someone was speaking sensibly. “Especially since it’s completely unnecessary.” Too annoyed to continue eating, Gwen slid off her stool and planted her hands on her hips. “I am a grown woman. Y’all aren’t going to railroad me into moving in with anybody. So stop wasting yer breath talkin’ ’bout it.”
She winced at the sound of her Tennessee roots slipping into her angry words. Before anyone could respond, she ended the conversation by spinning on her heel and dashing out of the kitchen and into her room.
* * *
Alex watched the players move back and forth across the field, but he wasn’t really paying attention to the game. Normally, he liked polo. He had played for years in college, and the group they’d assembled for the charity match was like the dream team of players. But he just couldn’t focus on the game. Not when thoughts of Gwen kept creeping into his mind.
He glanced to his left and saw where she was sitting with Adrienne in the VIP tent. Her bright teal dress and wide-brimmed white hat made her easy to spot in the crowd. He was glad to see she was staying out of the sun and resting for a while. The heat had been brutal today, and even though it was late afternoon, it was too hot for him, much less a woman in her condition.
And truth be told, he was going mad watching the beads of sweat roll into the forbidden depths of her cleavage. The plunging neckline of her dress had put her full breasts on display. She was wearing a gold-and-turquoise beaded necklace that accented the pale breadth of her skin, but it had a large teardrop medallion that rested just at the valley between the creamy orbs. He had a hard time tearing his eyes away, and eventually, someone was going to catch him.
Having her a hundred yards away and shaded from the sun removed the temptation. It also helped that Gwen had continued to keep her distance today.
After last night and the way she’d bolted after their kiss by the water, he shouldn’t have been surprised. He was hoping a little time alone thinking about him would soften her resolve, but if it had, he couldn’t tell. Perhaps he’d moved too fast. She hadn’t minded the first time they were together, but she seemed as though she was in a different place now, mentally and emotionally. Maybe the baby had planted seeds in her mind about a family of her own. Or maybe she really was serious about this man-break thing. He could see the confusion in her eyes when he got too close. It was cloaked beneath a layer of desire, but she was obviously conflicted about getting involved with him again.
Maybe there was a reason he never returned to the same fishing hole, so to speak. Since he’d hit puberty, he hadn’t spent more than a few weeks with any one woman, and not once had he seen the same woman a second time after they parted ways. Alex had convinced himself that since there were over three billion women in the world—four million of them in New York City—there was absolutely no reason for him to taste the same fruit twice.
But maybe the truth of the matter was that he knew the second bite might be sour. He knew how women thought. Even though they smiled and told you they were okay, they were lying. And when they said they weren’t looking for anything serious, that just meant that you could wait a year or two before proposing. His mother had told his father something like that, then had immediately gotten pregnant so he would marry her. As far as Alex knew, they’d been miserable nearly every day since.
That would never be Alex. Unfortunately, women always wanted more than he could give, so he drew his line in the sand. One time around the block and on to the next woman before things got hairy. His methods had served him well over the years. Every romantic entanglement had an escape hatch large enough to drive his Corvette through it.
But Gwen was different.
Alex had had that thought a hundred times since he had first seen her at the welcome breakfast, and it was always about a different facet of her. She aroused him. Surprised him. Irritated him. Stirred a ridiculously protective instinct in him. And worst of all, Gwen had kept his interest. Months had gone by without him seeing her, yet she regularly plagued his dreams. The temptation of her had him breaking his own rule and rearranging his Fourth of July plans to see her again. That had never happened before.
And it was only so she could end up rejecting him. That was a new thing, too. He wasn’t so pleased with how things had gone so far, but it wasn’t over. He had no doubt he’d be victorious and get Gwen back into his bed.
The sound of a whistle caught his attention. The first half of the match was over. A man announced over the loudspeakers that it was time for the divot stomp and invited everyone out onto the field.
Alex watched as Gwen and Adrienne joined the others on the lawn. They laughed at each other, flipping over stray tufts of grass and looking fairly ridiculous. Gwen seemed to be having a lot of fun. He had the urge to go to her and wrap his arm around her waist to keep her steady as she hopped across the field. He wanted to hear her laughter up close. But she didn’t want him there, so he held his spot, leaning against an ancient oak tree with his hands in white-knuckled fists at his sides.
Things between them had ended okay before, he thought. She hadn’t asked him for more from their relationship. At the same time, she hadn’t jumped at the opportunity to be with him again. Gwen was a contradiction. He didn’t know where he stood with her. That alone was enough t
o make him want to push her and find out. That and his own burning need to possess her like the latest and greatest Apple gadget.
Alex still hadn’t gotten to the bottom of what drew him to Gwen. Whatever it happened to be was as strong as ever. Strong enough to urge him to break down her walls, even though she claimed to be happy in her isolation. But what was the point, really? If he pushed her the way he wanted to, what could he give her in return? He’d tried to buy her jewelry all those months ago. He thought he’d been successful at the time, only to find out she’d relented because she’d found the perfect symbol of abstinence. That wasn’t exactly what he’d had in mind.
Gwen had pushed away his physical advances. All Alex had in his arsenal was sex and money. If she wasn’t interested in either, he was out of luck unless he could find another way to get her attention.
If she was after some kind of domestic existence like the one he’d very nearly dodged the day before, he couldn’t help her there. But he wasn’t sure she even knew what she was after. The way she’d blown hot and cold last night, he didn’t know if the promise of something different between them would win her favor or send her running in the opposite direction. She’d said that she wasn’t in the right place for something serious. Moments later, she wasn’t receptive to something casual.
Certainly there had to be a middle ground where he could have Gwen back in his bed without grand, sweeping, romantic promises he couldn’t keep. Being up-front and honest about that seemed kinder than promising what he couldn’t deliver. If laughter and passion and excitement weren’t enough for Gwen, then this whole week would be a waste of his time.
“Why aren’t you out there stomping?” Will asked, coming up from behind him with a glass of chardonnay in each hand. He held one out and Alex gratefully accepted.
He swallowed a large gulp and let the dry bite of the wine chase away his unwelcome thoughts. “I just had these shoes polished,” he said, knowing it was a lame excuse.
“Does Adrienne know you and Gwen slept together?”
Will’s blunt question nearly sent a burning stream of wine up through Alex’s nostrils. Instead, he fought to choke it down, swallowing and taking a painful, deep breath before he spoke. “No, she doesn’t,” he sputtered, and coughed into his fist. There was no sense in playing dumb. Will knew him too well and had watched him move through a line of women over the years. “Gwen doesn’t want her to know.”
Will nodded as he lifted his wineglass to drink. “She’d get overly romantic ideas about the two of you.”
“Probably.” Alex knew Will’s bride was the best thing to ever happen to his friend, but she was softhearted and idealistic to a fault. “How did you know?”
Will glanced across the field, and Alex followed the direction of his gaze to the two women. The stomping was nearly over, and they were making their way off the field as best they could in a giggling fit. “The tension between you two is palpable. I’ve seen you watching her when you think no one is paying attention. When did it happen? It had to be right after the wedding.”
“Yes. While you and Adrienne were on your honeymoon in Bali.”
“It’s been a long time since you’ve seen her, then.”
“Yeah. You know I’ve been in New Orleans for months. Hell, I hadn’t even spoken to her since November.”
“That’s certainly interesting.”
Alex tried not to frown. He didn’t like the implication of his friend’s tone. “What do you mean by that?”
“You’re still into her after all this time.”
He certainly was. But he knew what Will was inferring—that perhaps he had real feelings for Gwen. He liked Gwen. He enjoyed her company. But feelings? Alex didn’t have feelings about women. Not even for her.
“Why not?” he asked, dismissively. “I’d be stupid to pass up the opportunity to be with her again. She’s a beautiful, uncomplicated woman who happens to be an exceptional lover. There’s nothing else to it.”
Will chuckled and slapped Alex on the back. “You just keep telling yourself that and maybe it will become the truth.”
Alex’s brow furrowed. “It is the truth. And besides that, she’s turned me down, so there’s even less than nothing to it.”
Will tried to smother a smile, but failed. “Gwen turned you down? Is that an Alex Stanton first?”
He shrugged. “Maybe. But it’s not over yet, so don’t count me out. There’s four days left to this trip. Eventually I’ll convince her that I’m worth abandoning her vows of celibacy while she’s here. Then she can go back to living like a nun, I’ll be back on my game and Gwen will be in my past, just like all the others.”
Adrienne waved at them and Will raised a hand to her. “Whatever you say, man. But if you want to keep whatever it is you two are or aren’t having a secret, you’d better be more careful. I’ve never seen you look at a woman the way you look at Gwen. Adrienne will pick up on it in an instant.” He started off across the lawn to join his wife.
“And how is that, exactly?” Alex called out to him.
Will stopped and turned, his face drawn and serious. “Almost like you wish that baby was yours.”
Five
It was an exhausting day. Too much sun and noise and walking around. Too much energy spent dodging Alex’s watchful gaze and Adrienne’s continued arguments about her unfit living situation. By the time their parade of cars pulled into the circular driveway, Gwen was ready to sleep until her third trimester. Some of the group was talking about watching a movie, but she wasn’t interested in anything but getting up close and personal with her pillow. She ignored both Adrienne and Alex’s pointed looks as she excused herself and went to bed.
She resisted the urge to sleep in her clothes and managed to stay awake long enough to take off her jewelry and slip into her oversized University of Tennessee T-shirt. After that, she fell into a restless sleep pretty quickly.
Sometime after midnight, she woke up with a miserably aching lower back. She propped a pillow between her knees and curled onto her side, but after another twenty minutes, her back still hurt and she was now wide awake.
Gwen flipped on the lamp and sat up in bed, defeated. At home, she would take a hot shower to ease her muscles, but the sight of her swimsuit on the dresser gave her a better idea. A swim in the pool would help take the pressure of the pregnancy off her body and allow her to stretch her sore muscles.
Gwen listened for noises outside her bedroom door, but it seemed that everyone had already gone to bed. Good. This would be her first time wearing her bikini since she’d gotten pregnant, and she wasn’t quite ready to debut it to the world yet. She had a one-piece maternity suit that she would wear during the day with the others.
But tonight, she was free to swim as she pleased, and it would be easier to wrestle out of a wet two-piece. It was her favorite swimsuit, navy blue with tiny, white polka dots. As she slipped it on, she was pleased to find it still seemed to fit okay, although the bottoms rode lower on her hips to accommodate her belly. Gwen unlatched her bracelet, leaving it on the dresser, grabbed her towel and stepped quietly into the dark hallway. She took the direct route through the kitchen, creeping out the back door without so much as a creaking hinge.
Outside, the night was dark, but the lights of the pool were still on, giving it a shimmering turquoise glow. Wavy silver lines reflecting from the water danced along the back of the house and across the round, exposed orb of her stomach.
She tossed her towel across one of the lounge chairs and stepped to the stairs. Dipping her toe, she found the water to be cool, but not too cold. It was heated by solar panels to take the chill off. She stepped down slowly, submerging her body inch by inch until the water reached her waist. Letting go of the railing, she surged forward, cutting through the water. She resurfaced at the far end of the pool, taking a breath and pushing her wet hair back from her face.
It felt so good. Not only the water, but the weightlessness. The ache in her back immediately began to fade.
She seriously needed to look into a membership somewhere with an indoor pool for the last few months of this pregnancy. Maybe a gym where she could work to get back in shape after Peanut was born. But either way, it would be worth the money, even if she just soaked in the water like a giant tea bag.
Gwen pushed off the wall and started back to the other side, stretching and pulling herself through the water. After several laps, she leaned back and let herself float at the surface. The water covered her ears and muffled the sounds around her, leaving nothing but the silent, starry night above her. She sighed, looking up at the twinkling scattershot of stars she couldn’t see in the city. She hadn’t realized how much she missed them until this moment.
As a teenager, she’d spent a hundred nights lying on the trampoline in the backyard doing this same thing. Watching the stars. Making wishes if one fell to Earth. Dreaming that one day she’d get out of Tennessee and do something grand and important with her life. Even at fifteen she knew she wanted to be a nurse. She wanted to help people and make a difference in someone’s life.
Gwen supposed that was why she’d offered to help Robert and Susan. She’d worked for years as a nurse and had wanted to do more. Short of treating soldiers on the battlefield or children in third world countries, she wasn’t sure what more she could do. But helping them have a baby was special. That would make a difference in their lives.
She let her hands drift up over her head, then brought them quickly to her sides, sending her gliding over the surface of the water. As Gwen drifted to a stop, she saw a meteor streak across the sky and dissolve into the atmosphere.
“We need to make a wish, Peanut,” she said. “What shall we wish for?”
There were so many choices, Gwen had a hard time trying to decide. Of course she wanted a healthy, happy baby girl for Robert and Susan, but she didn’t want to use her wish for that tonight. Every decision she made in her life was to make things better for others. Usually, knowing she’d helped someone when they’d needed it most was enough for her. But tonight, as selfish as it might seem, this wish, this star, was just for her.
More Than He Expected Page 6