“I figured if I ever sell the house, I would present this room as the master suite.”
“You did a fabulous job,” Renee said. She turned to him, grateful the huge closet afforded them some space, even though it wasn’t as much as she would like. Being in such close proximity to Alex, she could feel him all over.
“My aunt’s right, you know,” Renee continued. “I doubt she could afford something this elaborate, even with me helping her pay for it.”
“Don’t worry about the cost.”
“That’s easy to do in theory, but I’ve got to be practical,” Renee reasoned. “The money that contractor stole was most of the money from my aunt’s savings. I’m going to help her as much as I can to pay for the renovations, but it’s not like I’m rolling in dough. My aunt paid off the house years ago; she’s trying not to go too much deeper into debt.
“Even with your guys volunteering to perform the labor you know better than I do what it would cost in materials alone to add something like this to Aunt Lorna’s house plans.”
He shrugged with his good shoulder. “I’ve still got a lot of stuff left over from when I did these renovations.”
Renee shook her head. “Don’t even suggest it. You are already going way beyond the call of duty. I would never think about taking anything more from you.”
“You’re not taking, I’m giving.”
“No, Alex.”
“Renee?” She looked up to find him staring at her with an almost needy look, as if he was dying to do this for her.
“Why?” she asked. “Why would you want to do this?”
“Because it’s the right thing to do,” he said simply.
“But why me? You could do this for so many others.”
“Which the company has done.”
“But—”
“Look, you could just call it an even trade for the help I’ll need to pass that European history class.”
Renee shook her head again. She could not allow him to give her any more than he and his men were already giving. They were saving her and her aunt tens of thousands of dollars by performing demolition and agreeing to do the labor on the rebuild for free.
“Alex, I don’t know about this,” Renee said.
“Actually, it’s not your call. It’s your aunt Lorna’s house.”
“Sorry, but she’s just as stubborn as I am,” Renee said.
“I can be stubborn when I need to be,” Alex countered. A smile tipped up one corner of his mouth. The effect was overwhelming. Did this man have any idea how incredibly gorgeous he was?
“It won’t happen,” Renee said.
He sighed. “Would you just let me clear my conscience?”
“What does any of this have to do with your conscience?”
“I already explained this to you. Hurricane Katrina has brought a huge amount of business to Holmes Construction. The company has made more money this past year than it has in the past four years combined.”
“You say that as if it’s a bad thing,” Renee said. “You should be grateful.”
“I am,” he was quick to say. “Don’t get me wrong, I thank God every day for all He’s blessed my company with, but it’s still hard to reap the benefits from something that caused so much devastation for so many people. I didn’t even have a broken window on my house as a result of the storm,” he said.
“You’re feeling guilty, but I really don’t understand why, Alex. If anything, the city is grateful to have Holmes Construction here to help with the rebuild. You’re running an honest business. You’re not ripping people off. Your guys are volunteering their time every weekend to help out. It’s like you’re an angel.”
“You telling me this won’t stop me from feeling as if I’m making out like a bandit,” he said.
Renee realized any words she told him would not change his mind. She could tell Alex was one of those people who believed in fairness, and for some reason, he didn’t believe it fair that he should benefit from his years of hard work. As Renee saw it, it was simply God’s blessing for living a good life.
“It’s not my call,” she said. “But I have to warn you that you’ll have a hard time convincing my Aunt Lorna.” At least Renee thought he would. Lorna had been quick to agree to the help his men were providing.
Taking one last look at the closet’s fabulous design as she followed him out, Renee secretly hoped her aunt would take Alex up on his offer. Renee so wanted this closet for Lorna’s house.
“I’m still going to take a few pictures of the window and the closet so your aunt can see what I’d like to build.”
“Pictures will not do this closet justice,” she said.
“They’ll give her an idea,” Alex said. “And maybe while I’m taking the pictures you can read over something for me? Something about the Polish Lithuanian Commonwealth?”
“Sure,” Renee laughed.
“I’ll be back in a second,” he said before heading out of Jasmine’s room.
Renee strolled around, simply awed by the attention to detail that was evident in every aspect of the room. From the elaborate eight inch, intricately carved crown molding, to the polished honey colored hardwood floors dotted with rich throw rugs, the space screamed opulence, yet had just enough of a little girl’s feel to make it appropriate for a child Jasmine’s age. The little girl should feel like a princess in this room. It was obvious to Renee just how much her father loved her in order to put this much love and care into her room.
Her own father hadn’t given a crap about her, but Renee had come to terms with that aspect of her life a long time ago. One result of growing up with a deadbeat, abusive father was a keen ability to spot a good one. Alex Holmes was, by all accounts, a spectacular father. The fact that he was raising his daughter on his own just added to his appeal.
“Oh Lord. You’ve got something on your hands with this one,” Renee whispered to herself. She was definitely into this man.
Renee stopped short when she came upon another photograph of Alex’s dead wife, which sat on the nightstand next to the huge canopy bed. She had been a beautiful woman. Jasmine had acquired many of her mother’s features: those gorgeous light brown eyes and the high cheekbones. Not to mention the head of curly jet black hair.
Renee swallowed the pang of sadness that lodged in her throat at the thought of that little girl waking up one morning to find her mother gone. How hard must it have been for Alex to lose his wife that way? What courage he’d had to display in order to continue on the way he had, raising his daughter, running his business. A lesser man would have allowed such circumstances to break him, but Alex had faced his lot in life and persevered.
No wonder she was attracted to him, Renee thought. How could she not be?
“I apologize for the grammatical errors,” he said, reentering the room with a digital camera in one hand and a sheaf of papers in the other. “What?” he asked, and Renee figured her face must have still held that look of wonderment that had been seeping into her bones as she roamed around this gorgeous room he’d so selflessly built for his daughter.
“Nothing,” she answered. She stretched out her hand for the papers. “What’s the topic?”
“The governing rules of the Polish Lithuanian Commonwealth,” he said with about as much enthusiasm as a little boy waiting for a spanking.
“Not one of your favorite topics, I assume.”
“If I had a list of a thousand favorite topics, this one would be nine hundred, ninety nine,” he answered.
A crack of laughter escaped her mouth. “What would be number one thousand?” Renee asked.
“Women’s fashion during the time of the Polish Lithuanian Commonwealth,” he answered.
Renee burst out laughing. She was toast where Alex Holmes was concerned. Her first order of business was to tell Penelope hands off, because this one was hers.
“Have a seat,” Alex said, taking her by the hand and guiding her to the rocking chair nestled in the corner and surrounded by two
bookshelves loaded with books.
After the first couple of paragraphs, Renee knew the entire paper would have to be rewritten, so instead of reading further she took the time to discreetly study Alex as he made his way around the room. He snapped pictures of the bay window from every angle, checking the picture on the small LCD screen each time. Deleting a few, and retaking the shots. When he moved to the interior of the closet, Renee was tempted to follow him.
A few moments later, he exited the closet. “You want to take a look at them before we head back?” he asked, holding the camera out to her.
“I’m sure you snapped enough to give her a good idea of what you’re capable of,” Renee answered.
“What do you think about the paper?” Alex asked.
Renee avoided eye contact, trying to think of a nice way to say what she had to say.
“It’s crap,” Alex said. “You don’t have to be afraid to tell me,” he said. “But do you think there’s potential?”
“Uh, possibly,” she answered.
The theme song from Cinderella began to chime throughout the house.
“It’s the doorbell,” Alex explained. “Jasmine begged me to put that in.”
Renee bit back a smile.
“Alex, you in there?” a voice called from the front of the house.
Annoyance flashed across Alex’s face. “Excuse me,” he said.
Before he broke the plane of Jasmine’s door frame, another man, this one nearly as gorgeous as Alex, and no doubt related to him, appeared in the doorway. “What are you doing in here? Oh, hello,” the other man said when he noticed Renee. He wore hospital scrubs. He also looked really familiar.
“Renee Moore, this is my brother Elijah.”
“Wait a minute.” Renee pointed at him. “Aren’t you the doctor who delivered the baby during that huge traffic jam on the interstate a couple of weeks ago? I saw it on the news.”
“Super Doc to the rescue,” Alex said with a sufficient amount of sarcasm, but the hint of pride Renee heard in his voice was undeniable.
“That was amazing,” Renee said.
“Just a part of the job,” Eli answered. “So, Renee—” He looked from her to Alex and back, his mouth tipping up at the corners. Goodness. It was not fair that one family be blessed with two gorgeous men.
“So, Eli,” Alex interrupted his brother. “What do you want?”
“I had a break between patients. My next C-section isn’t scheduled to start for another couple of hours.” He looked to Renee. “Look, man, if I’d known you weren’t alone, believe me, I never would have stopped by. In fact, I’ll leave right now,” he said, turning.
Alex caught his brother by the shoulder, and turned him around. “I’m helping Ms. Moore, who happens to be one of Jasmine’s teachers, to rebuild her house,” Alex said. “I brought her here to see the walk in closet I designed.”
“I should have known,” Eli grumbled with obvious disappointment.
The look Alex shot his brother was deadly. “What the hell did you want, E?”
“It’s about Mama,” Eli answered. He did the triple look again, from Alex to Renee, then back to Alex.
“I can step out,” Renee offered. This was clearly something they didn’t want to discuss in front of a stranger.
“I won’t be long,” Alex told her. “Help yourself to anything in the kitchen. I promise to have you back home before kickoff.”
Chapter Ten
“It’s about time you brought a woman up in here.” Eli punched Alex on his good shoulder. “I was starting to think you were trying to recapture your virginity or something.”
For years Alex had thought the eldest sibling should be given at least one free shot at killing a younger sibling. Of course, he would have the hardest time trying to figure out which brother to use the privilege on.
Alex leaned against the doorjamb leading to Jasmine’s closet. “Get to the point. What’s up with Mama?”
Eli propped a hip on the short bureau, and rubbed his hands together before letting them rest on his thighs. “Well, according to an unnamed, but very reliable source—”
“Monica,” Alex provided.
“Monica,” Eli confirmed. “Your mother has up and found herself a boyfriend.”
“That’s bull,” Alex said, refusing to believe such a thing about his mother. “Monica told you this?”
Eli nodded. “I had to coax it out of her, but I’m inclined to believe her. I knew Monica had an idea of what was going on.”
“Who’s this boyfriend?”
“Monica claims she doesn’t know the guy’s name.”
“I don’t believe her,” Alex said. His mother tended to tell her future daughter in law more than she ever told her sons, which was starting to annoy him, especially if this was the type of stuff she was keeping secret.
“As Monica’s soon to be husband, I’m supposed to believe her, but I don’t think she’s giving me the entire story, either,” Eli said.
“How did you get her to give up information on the boyfriend in the first place?” Alex asked.
Eli’s lips broke into a telling smile, and Alex was sorry he’d asked. “Yeah, whatever,” Alex said.
“I’m perfectly willing to try and get this guy’s name out of her.”
“I’m sure you are,” Alex retorted.
“I don’t like the thought of Mama with some man,” Eli said. “Who knows who this guy is, Alex? He might be some con artist who preys on unsuspecting widows.”
“I can’t believe Mama would be taken in by someone like that.”
“Yeah, but can you be sure? You told me yourself Mama admitted she had a hangover. You can’t be comfortable with her hanging out with some guy who gets her drunk.”
No, he wasn’t. And he’d be damned if he let some slick talking con take advantage of his mother. “I’m going to stop in on Mama after I drop Renee back to her house,” Alex said.
“Good. Call me as soon as you find out anything. So”— Eli nodded toward the front of the house—“is she married?”
“Don’t start,” Alex warned.
“Aw, man, come on. Tell me something, do you even remember what sex feels like? It’s good, Alex. Really, really good.”
“I’m not having this conversation again.” Alex pushed away from the doorjamb. “I promised to have Renee back at her house before the Florida/Tennessee game kicks off.”
“Hold up. Are you saying she watches football?”
“Yeah. And?”
“You’re kidding me, right? She has a face like that, and she’s into football? Find out if she can put together a decent meal and you’ve got the perfect woman.”
“Are you following me?” Alex asked as he headed out of the room. He refused to entertain his brother another minute.
Alex had thought Chantal was perfect, too, and look how that had turned out. He could not afford to go through that amount of suffering again. Even if it meant he was missing out on a good thing with Renee, it was worth it not to endure the possible pain he’d been subjected to by the last “perfect” woman he’d fallen for.
When they entered the kitchen, Alex found Renee staring up at the ceiling.
“Sorry that took so long,” he said.
“Don’t worry about it.” She waved him off. “I was just admiring this crown molding. The attention to detail in this house is absolutely amazing,” she said.
“That’s Alex for you,” Eli joined in. “Though sometimes, he gets so mired down in the details he forgets to look at the whole picture. He’ll miss a good thing even when it’s standing right in front of him, ain’t that right, Alex?” He clamped a hand on Alex’s good shoulder.
“Remind me to kick your ass later,” Alex said under his breath. “Are you ready?” he asked Renee.
“If you are,” she answered. “Are you still going to watch the game with me?”
“Heck yeah, he’s going to watch the game with you,” Eli piped up. “Alex eats and breathes football. He playe
d at LSU for a few years.”
“Really?” Renee’s eyes lit up in surprise.
“Until I quit school,” Alex said.
Her eyes softened with understanding.
“He still cheers for the Tigers, though,” Eli said.
“Well, I invited your brother to watch the key SEC matchups on television today. I’m pulling for LSU to win but only because it’ll help out my Florida Gators.”
Renee stared with huge, expectant eyes, and Alex realized that he couldn’t say no. Despite the warning signals going off in his brain, warning signals born from years of suffering at the hands of Chantal, something just as strong warred with his conscience. His brain told him to hold back, but his gut was all for going for it. Alex could picture himself enjoying an afternoon of watching football with Renee. He felt comfortable around her. It felt strange, but it also, in a way, felt right.
“Since Jasmine will be busy with Campfire Girls and a trip to the museum with Monica,” Alex said, remembering his daughter’s schedule. “Besides, it’ll give us time to go over the rest of the rebuilding plan.”
“Of course,” Renee said. “Penelope just called to say she can’t make it, so we’ll have more space to spread things out in the trailer’s little kitchen.”
They headed for the front door. Alex gestured for Renee to walk ahead, with Eli following behind. Eli tugged on his good arm and pulled him back.
“Look,” he said in a low voice. “I know it’s been a long time since you’ve been out with a woman, so let me give you a few tips. Start out with just a regular kiss, no tongue. You don’t want to freak her out.”
“Shut up,” Alex said with a harsh whisper, pulling his arm away.
“And don’t put your hand on her butt unless she asks you to,” Eli continued. “That’ll get you slapped every time.”
Alex blasted his brother with a fierce scowl, but Eli only chuckled as he made his way to his Range Rover.
As they drove the short distance back to her aunt’s house, Alex explained how he had come up with the design for the walk in closet, and how he went about building it without the help of his work crews.
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