“Was good.” He kissed her forehead and temple. “We’re adults, Lexie. You’re beautiful and hot, and sex with you is something I still think about.” Her mouth found his in the dark. Unlike the earlier kiss in the bar, there was no reason to hold back. No one was watching or acting or playing at anything. The instant her mouth touched his, everything got real hot real fast. No sweet kisses for the camera this time. With his free hand, he unzipped her leather jacket and slid his hand inside. Her ribs were warm against his palm, her breasts warmer. She moaned into his mouth and he backed her against the car door and shoved his pelvis into her belly. Her nipples were so hard, he felt them through her shirt and bra. He remembered the taste and softness of her, and he wanted that again. Right here. Right now. In a parking lot in Seattle.
She fed him another long, sweet moan and rocked against his full-blown erection. Hard and painful, craving the soft pleasure of her body. He grabbed the backs of her thighs, and she readily wrapped her long legs around him. Just like that night at the Harbor Inn, her fingers combed through his hair and he fanned her puckered nipple with this thumb, back and forth, feeling it grow harder beneath his touch. He wanted her. He wanted to slide his mouth all over her and make her his. At that moment, he couldn’t recall anything he wanted as much as he wanted her. By the sounds in her throat and the crotch grinding into him, she wanted it every bit as much. There was a part of him that knew he was only causing more trouble for himself. More chaos. At the moment, he didn’t care.
She pulled back and took a huge gulp of air. Without a second of hesitation, he slid his open mouth to the side of her cool neck.
“Sean.”
“Mmm.” He kissed her throat, feeling the varying degrees of temperature as he lowered his face.
“Sean!” She placed her hands on the sides of his head and brought his face to hers. Through the pitchy darkness she said, “Someone just walked into the parking lot.”
His hand squeezed her. “Then we’ll have to be quiet.”
The car behind him beeped twice, the lights flashed, and Lexie’s feet hit the ground before the locks popped up. His hand slid from her breast and she looked down at the ends of her jacket.
The threat of getting caught dry humping like a teenager did nothing to alleviate his hard-on. “Come home with me tonight,” he spoke to the part in her hair.
She shook her head and zipped her coat up practically to her chin. “Sex will just complicate things.”
Not for him. Sex was just sex. Sometimes fast. Sometimes slow. Not complicated unless someone wanted to make it complicated.
The phone in his hoodie vibrated and saved him from an argument he knew he would lose. “Yeah,” he answered without checking the number.
“I’m here.”
“What?” He actually pulled the phone from his ear and looked at the number. “Mother?”
“I’m here,” she repeated herself. “But I don’t have a key and the guy at the desk won’t let me in.”
“Where?” A bad feeling landed in the pit of his stomach. “Where are you?”
“Here.”
“In Seattle?”
“Yes. Where are you?”
Hell. “How did you get here?”
“Your friend with the frog plane.”
“Jimmy?” He glanced down into Lexie’s dark face. “Why are you here?”
“I’m your mother. Who else should help you plan your wedding?”
“Wedding?”
“I heard it on Wendy Williams!”
He looked out into the parking lot and the glassy rain puddles. “You shouldn’t get your news from Wendy.”
“I have experience planning weddings, you know.”
Yeah, she’d planned three of her own.
He looked at Lexie for help.
“Lexie’s a pretty girl, but you can’t expect someone special with a dusty attic to do it on her own,” his mother said.
Lexie slid into her car, and the dome light turned on just long enough for him to see the smile on her face and the laughter in her eyes. She probably wouldn’t be smiling so big if she knew his mother thought she was “special.”
“That trip just about killed my small bladder.”
He imagined she’d complained the entire trip. It served Jimmy right. “Hand the phone to the guy at the front desk.” One of the last things he needed was for Geraldine to chat it up with people in his building. Lexie gave him a little three-finger wave as she drove from the parking lot, and the taillights of her small SUV disappeared into the dark Seattle night. He instructed the front desk to let his mother into his apartment, then shoved the phone inside the pocket of his hooded sweatshirt. A water droplet hit his forehead and ran down the bridge of his nose. Just as he looked up into the heavy night sky, inky clouds opened up and pelted him with cold rain.
He raised the hood over his head and ducked his face against the stinging downpour. By the time he’d jogged three blocks, his sweatshirt and shoes were soaked. At the corner of Broad Street and Second Avenue, a minivan raced through a yellow light and sent a spray of water up his legs to the crotch of his pants.
Fabulous. He was soaking wet, freezing to the marrow of his bones, and his mother waited for him at his apartment. He didn’t think his life could suck any harder.
“Would you like more tea, Geraldine?” Georgeanne Kowalsky lifted a china pot with tiny pink flowers painted on it and wrapped her hand around one side. “The water is still warm.”
“Yes, please.” Sean’s mother set her little matching teacup on the matching saucer and handed it over. She hadn’t mentioned the dog at the table, yet. Sean hoped she’d keep her rant about disease-spreading, filthy animals to herself.
“We serve a pink tea at several local retirement communities each year. The residents look forward to it, and we love it,” Georgeanne explained as she poured. “It’s a family tradition.”
Georgeanne’s Southern accent clung to her words like golden honey. If Sean listened close enough, he thought he just might hear “Dixie” playing in the background.
“Not my family,” John said as he reached for his tea and took a chug. His big hand dwarfed the delicate cup and looked as ridiculously out of place as Sean imagined his own did.
“John?” Georgeanne motioned toward her husband.
“No. Thank you, love.”
“Sean?”
“I’m good. Thank you.”
A bowl of pink roses and lilies sat in the center of a round table covered in pink linen. Next to the bowl, fussy a two-tier stand was filled with girl food.
“Cucumber sandwich?” Lexie asked him as she picked up a pair of silver tongs. She stood beside him, looking beautiful in a pink dress that hugged her in all the right places. A pink headband held her blond hair from her face. If they’d been alone, he might have messed it up for her. She leaned a little toward the tray, and the back of her dress inched up her thighs. If they’d been alone, he might have inched his hands up her thighs, too. “I’ve got petits fours and cream puffs?”
“Sure.” Why not? He was in hell. He sat at a pink-covered table with John and Georgeanne, thinking about sliding his hands up their daughter’s thighs. His mother sat on his right, her pinkie out like she was the queen of England. Why not eat the tiny food? Maybe he’d choke to death and put himself out of his misery.
“You may notice that we are missing a few cream puffs.” Lexie pointed to an empty space on the tray. “I’m not sure where they went”—she paused to look across at the ugly dog sitting in John’s lap—“but someone had cream on her nose.” She set a small plate in front of Sean with two crustless little sandwiches; three pink squares, each with a red rose; and two cream puffs. The dog was dressed in a tutu again, and her beady eyes stared across at Sean as her black tongue snaked out and licked the tip of her nose. He reached for a pink square and pushed the cream puffs to one side.
“Did you do that?” John “The Wall,” Chinooks coach and hockey legend, asked the hairless mutt. The d
og yipped and was rewarded with a piece of pink cake.
“It’s been a long time since you joined us for pink tea, Daddy,” Lexie said through a laugh as she sat next to Sean. She raised a cup to her lips and took a delicate sip.
“If I’d known John and Sean were joining us, I would have more to offer.” Georgeanne slid Geraldine’s cup toward her. “You should have given me a heads-up,” she told her husband.
Kicking back in his chair, dog in his lap, he shrugged. “When Knox mentioned his mother was here at Lexie’s, I thought I should drop in and say hello. Sean asked to tag along.”
Yes, so he could head off his mother if John asked too many questions, or if she happened to mention their daughter’s dusty attic. She’d been in town two days now, and he was fairly certain he’d convinced her that there wasn’t going to be a wedding anytime soon. He hoped she didn’t bring up her miraculous pancreas cure or her latest—diplopia. Or double vision.
“I’ve never been to such a fancy occasion.” Geraldine picked up a pair of silver tongs and placed a cream puff and a cucumber sandwich on her plate. For the “fancy” occasion, she wore a green pantsuit and yellow blouse. She’d curled her brown hair and put on some lipstick. If not for the eye patch, she would have passed for normal.
“We’re leaving in the morning, and I’d hate to miss the opportunity to meet Sean’s mother.” John tipped his chair back and looked across the table at Sean. “You met my daughter when she and Sean hightailed it to your place.”
“Oh yes.” Geraldine dipped a bag of Earl Grey into her cup. “It was all very romantic.”
“Huh.”
John still wasn’t totally buying the whole story and looked like he was gearing up to interrogate Sean’s mother. If that was the case, he and Lexie were screwed.
“John.” Georgeanne placed a hand on his shoulder. “We didn’t invite Mrs. Brown to tea so you could grill her about what took place in Canada.”
The legs of the chair hit the floor. John combed his fingers through the dog’s topknot. They’d agreed to shelve this discussion until after the season. When they talked hockey, they were on common ground. But this wasn’t hockey. This was about Lexie, and he still didn’t like the idea of Sean dating his daughter.
“I saw they were in love right away. That’s why I didn’t call Wendy and get that trip to Disney World. Or Hoda and Kathie Lee. Of course, I could never go to Cancun.” She paused to take a sip of tea. “I have sun sensitivity.”
Still with the Disney World. “Give it up, Mom.” But what did he expect from the most embarrassing woman on the planet?
“I’m still grateful for that.” Lexie leaned forward and looked at Geraldine. “You gave up a trip of a lifetime for true love.”
“Jesus. Pass the bucket.”
“Now, John.”
“Daddy!” Lexie reached for Sean’s hand on the table and entwined their fingers.
Yum Yum lifted her nose in the air and barked while Geraldine scooted as far from the dog as possible without falling on the floor.
Sean looked at the big man, the legend, surrounded by frilly, fluffy pink chaos, and he didn’t appear in the least threatened or miserable. He reached for a little square cake and tossed it above his head. He easily caught it in his mouth and chewed through a grin as if he was real pleased with himself. As if he’d maneuvered Sean into the perfect position for a slap shot to the nuts.
Sean wasn’t intimidated by anything. Least of all an explosion of tiny pink teacups and tinier food. He looked across the table at his coach and raised his and Lexie’s entwined fingers to his mouth. Sean fed him a one-timer and kissed the back of his daughter’s hand. Game over.
“Sean?”
She said his name, a hitch of surprise and a catch of wonder. He turned to look into Lexie’s deep blue eyes, and it would have been the most natural thing in the world to kiss her pink lips. To hover there for several breaths, teasing them both but giving in to neither. Within those teasing breaths, this game they played with each other suddenly felt real. So real, her eyes looked bluer and deeper. So real the edges of his solid world threatened to unravel. So real he felt held together by a thread so fragile he was afraid to breathe.
“More petits fours, Sean?” He let go of his breath and the feeling was gone. He shook his head and turned his attention to Georgeanne. “No thank you.” His throat felt dry, and he picked up his teacup in the palm of his hand. So fragile he could easily crush it. He downed the tea in two swallows and returned his attention to Lexie. She’d turned away, and all he could see was the shell of her ear, the single pearl in her lobe, and a tinge of pink climbing her throat. He’d seen color flush her neck before. When she’d been embarrassed or lying or making love. This flush in her throat and catch in his lungs wasn’t love, but it was more than desire. It was confusion and chaos.
It wasn’t a game anymore.
Chapter 12
•love: subtle as a sledgehammer
“Are we almost there yet?”
From behind the frames of her black sunglasses, Lexie gave a quick glance across her car at Geraldine. Sean’s mother held the armrest so tight, Lexie wouldn’t be in the least surprised to discover nail marks in the leather. “Almost.”
“Is there always this much traffic?”
“This isn’t bad.” It was one o’clock on a February afternoon. “Wait until five. That’s bad traffic.”
“I don’t know how you live like this.” She wore a blue parka and mukluks. Perfect winter gear for an island just south of Alaska, but a little overdressed for Seattle’s fifty-degree weather. “Too many people.”
Sean had been right about his mother. She didn’t like feeling like a little fish. “Wait until you see my store,” Lexie said to change the subject. “It’s fabulous.”
As if on cue, Yum Yum barked from her pink mesh car seat in the back. “That’s right, Yummy Cakes,” Lexie gushed as she slowed and merged into the center lane.
“You call your dog Yummy Cakes?”
Lexie looked at Geraldine, who wore an identical expression as her son when talking about Yum Yum. “It fits her and she likes it.” Discussion closed.
They turned into the high-end strip mall not far from Bellevue Square, and Lexie was relieved to hear silence from the passenger seat. The only sound to fill the car was her gasp as she pulled into a parking slot of her first store. The backlit dormer and Venetian awnings were up and Lexie paused to look at the deep red storefront. She’d worked so hard, and her heart gave a little hiccup of pride. The physical store had been purposely branded with Yum Yum’s Closet online, but it looked so much richer in real life. On the dormer, “Yum Yum’s Closet” was painted in bold black letters lined in gold. It looked so fabulous tears pinched the backs of her eyes.
“Your dog is weird-looking.”
Evidently the discussion was not closed. “Yum Yum has tender feelings.” She turned off the car and unbelted herself. “She knows when you say hurtful things about her.”
Geraldine turned to Lexie. “How?”
“She is very intuitive and gets sad.”
This time Geraldine looked at Lexie as if she’d lost her mind. Coming from a woman who’d put her patch on the wrong eye, Lexie wasn’t all that bent out of shape over her opinion.
“Sorry,” Geraldine mumbled, and reached for her seat belt.
“Thank you.” The front doors of the store were open, which was always a good sign, and when Lexie got out of the car, she heard the glorious sounds of power tools. Dog in one arm and Geraldine in tow, she walked into the building. Sawdust filled the air toward the back and settled on the plastic covering the front counter and several white tables. In her four-inch pumps, Lexie picked her way toward the back, stepping over boxes of nails and parts to the shelving system. She wore a white blouse and pinstriped skirt. Whenever she met with the general contractor, she always liked to look professional. She was the Owner/President, CEO, Director of Products, and sole designer of Yum Yum Inc. She’d discove
red that people sometimes needed to be reminded that she was the boss, but of course the contractor wasn’t on scene. She spoke with the site manager instead. The crystal chandelier hadn’t arrived, nor had the freestanding wardrobe closets. The manager assured her everything would be ready for the grand opening in two and a half weeks. Looking around, Lexie wasn’t convinced.
“All this is for dog clothes?” Geraldine asked.
“Not just clothes,” she answered as they picked their way back toward the front. “Accessories, treats, bedding. Whatever a dog could possibly need, and a few things the owner hadn’t thought of needing.”
On the way back to Lexie’s apartment, they stopped off at Whole Foods and bought fresh fruits and vegetables and meat. Lexie was going to overdose Geraldine on healthy food, even if it killed her. Lexie always watched what she ate, but could always eat more veggies.
Once they were home, Lexie put away the groceries while Geraldine watched the television above the fireplace; from the sounds of it, Ellen. If Lexie leaned back just far enough, she could see Geraldine’s left hand, stroking the ponytail Lexie had put in Yum Yum’s hair. From her reaction at the pink tea and today in the car, Lexie wouldn’t have thought the woman even liked dogs.
Crazy. Crazier still, Lexie had somehow become Geraldine’s keeper again. Sean had been gone two days and his mother had moved into Lexie’s condo the night before. According to Geraldine, Sean’s apartment was too noisy and the neighbors looked at her funny, which was no doubt true.
While Geraldine watched daytime TV, Lexie worked on the fall line for Yum Yum’s Closet. She’d been inspired by the rich fabrics of the latest Beauty and the Beast movie. The one with Emma Watson. She designed everything from leashes and collars to soft bedding and cavalier vests.
Just after four, her entertainment lawyer got back to her regarding a few stipulations she wanted added to the Gettin’ Hitched reunion contract: No, she couldn’t storm out after five minutes and not return. Yes, she could refuse to answer intimate questions.
At five-thirty, Sean texted an inquiry after his mother: Has Mother driven you insane yet?
The Art of Running in Heels Page 18