Long Way Home

by Neve Cottrell

  Alexis popped her head into the family room to say goodbye to her father, but he was snoring away in his chair. She placed her wrap around her shoulders and headed out the door.

  Alexis had rejected Tyler’s offer to pick her up so she could arrive a bit later. In part, she wanted to give him time alone with his friends, but, more than that, she felt that arriving together implied they were a couple.

  She drove her mother’s golf cart to the Flamingo Key neighborhood on the south side of the island. The house was closer than Gatsby’s and she found it easily. Navigating Mangrove Island wasn’t difficult at the worst of times. It was a far cry from the higgledy piggledy streets of London. Sometimes she wondered how she managed to find anywhere in that sprawling metropolis. Initially, she’d found it exciting to explore the forgotten side streets and cobblestone alleyways. Over time, it became a nuisance to live in a city without a grid system where, even after years of living there, she continued to carry a city map with her at all times. She appreciated Mangrove Island’s simplicity now in a way that she hadn’t before.

  The Keeler house was obvious as soon as she turned the corner onto White Oak Lane. It was the house with about twenty golf carts parked in front of it, some on the neatly manicured lawn. Alexis hoped that Tyler wasn’t one of the thoughtless guests to damage those lovely blades of grass. Somehow, she knew that he wasn’t. She heard noise from the backyard but couldn’t see over the tall fence.

  On the way to the front door, she stopped to smooth her dress and unpeel a few stray hairs from her cheek. Then she took a deep breath and forged ahead.

  The party was crowded, spilling out into the backyard where lights blazed and various outdoor games were set up. No one seemed to recognize Alexis so she maneuvered her way through the house with a smile plastered on her face but no actual conversation. She spied Tyler immediately, a beer in one hand and a horseshoe in the other. He was mid-throw when he saw her through the sliding glass door and he nearly clocked the guy next to him with the end of the horseshoe.

  Seeing Tyler’s reaction, Alexis allowed herself the tiny thrill of knowing that she was still desirable. She’d spent the last year and a half feeling more like a ghost than a person and Tyler’s rapt attention somehow made her feel corporeal again.

  She heard the grumbles of dismay when Tyler abandoned his game to join Alexis in the house.

  “I’m so glad you came,” Tyler said, giving her a peck on the cheek. He desperately wanted to slide a hand around her waist, but he kept himself in check.

  “Me too,” she said with a genuine smile.

  That smile took his breath away. He spotted Peyton in the kitchen, setting out a tray of brownies, and waved. Peyton set down the tray and worked her way through the throng of guests to greet Alexis.

  Alexis recognized her instantly. Peyton looked surprisingly similar to her high school self, her tall frame still willowy and her blonde hair flowing around her shoulders in soft waves. She wore a red maxi dress with a halter style neckline that highlighted her toned shoulders and arms.

  “Alexis, how great to see you again.” Peyton greeted her with a warm hug and Alexis felt her stomach unclench. She hadn’t realized just how anxious she was.

  “You too, Peyton. You look absolutely beautiful.”

  “Forget me. You look stunning. Green is definitely your color.”

  “I love your house,” Alexis said, glancing around the rooms again. “I wouldn’t have expected such a modern interior from the outside.”

  “I know. I love that element of surprise. The house was a total mess when we bought it, so I couldn’t wait to change it up.”

  “You did an incredible job.”

  Alexis felt something brush past her leg and looked down in time to see a blonde blur disappear behind Peyton’s dress.

  “Ariana, you’re supposed to be in bed, young lady,” Peyton said firmly.

  Alexis saw the little girl’s fingers clasp her mother’s legs.

  “It’s too dark,” Ariana complained. She peeked out from behind Peyton and gazed up at Alexis with wide, light eyes. Her hair was lighter than Peyton’s but with the same thick waves.

  “Hello, I’m Alexis,” she said. “And you are most definitely your mother’s daughter.” She bent down to speak to the little girl at her own level. “I’m guessing you’re about five years old.”

  Ariana nodded mutely.

  “Good guess,” Tyler murmured.

  She’d forgotten he was even standing there; she was so transfixed by the little girl. “Your nightgown is so lovely.”

  The little girl wore a long-sleeved, white nightgown adorned with pink and purple butterflies.

  “I got it for my birthday,” Ariana said.

  “And when was that?” Alexis asked.

  “October fifth.”

  A strong pair of arms swooped in and lifted Ariana off the ground. She screeched with delight as she was turned upside down.

  “Craig, don’t get her hyper now,” Peyton warned. “It’s bedtime.”

  Alexis straightened up and took a good look at Craig Keeler. Nope, he didn’t seem familiar either. That made her feel a little better about not recognizing Tyler.

  “Hi, Alexis,” said Craig. “Long time, no see.”

  “Thank you for including me tonight,” she said.

  “Are you kidding? Tyler would’ve dropped me on my head in the middle of Mangrove Pass.”

  Tyler cleared his throat awkwardly. “Um, right here, Keeler.” He ran a nervous hand through his hair.

  Craig patted his daughter’s back affectionately. “Let’s get this specimen back to the lab, Doctor.”

  Ariana squealed as he flipped her the right way up. “Again, Daddy,” she cried.

  “To bed,” Peyton said firmly.

  “Goodnight, Ariana,” said Alexis. “It was really nice to meet you.”

  “Goodnight, pretty lady,” said Ariana. “Uncle Tyler talks about you all the time now. It’s so boring.” She rolled her large eyes for effect.

  As Alexis suppressed a coy smile, Tyler felt that familiar ache. Her body in that curve-hugging dress was wreaking havoc on his usual restraint. The hint of her breasts, the nape of her neck, those long legs. Every inch of her turned him on. He was going to struggle to stay sane in her presence tonight.

  “Sorry about that, Tyler,” Peyton apologized for her daughter.

  “No worries. It’s not like I hide it very well.” Tyler took a swig of beer.

  “Well, when he mentioned he’d run into you,” said Peyton, “I’ll admit I was curious to see if he’d finally pluck up the courage to ask you out.”

  “I bet him twenty bucks that he’d crash and burn,” Craig said, reappearing behind his wife.

  “Spoken like a true friend,” Tyler said.

  “Oh, Alexis, forgive my manners,” Peyton said. “Can I get you a drink or something to eat? Wine or beer?”

  “I wouldn’t mind a glass of wine. Red, if you have it.”

  “Is Pinot Noir okay?”

  “Perfect.”

  As Peyton moved back into the kitchen for the wine, Craig stepped forward to continue to mortify his friend.

  “So has Tyler played you any of his songs?” asked Craig, a glimmer of mischief in his eyes.

  “I heard him play at your place, actually,” said Alexis. “Congratulations on that, by the way, Gatsby’s is a great place.”

  “Thanks, Peyton and I work our butts off, but we love it.” He gave Tyler a sidelong glance. “Did he play Mermaid’s Kiss?”

  Tyler shot his friend a warning look that Alexis pretended not to see.

  “Um, I don’t think so. The title doesn’t ring a bell.”

  “Oh, maybe next time. You should request it. Or Goodbye Girl. Now that’s a classic.”

  “Pinot noir for our special guest,” Peyton said, handing a long-stemmed glass to Alexis.

  “Just in time,” Tyler said through clenched teeth. As his best friend, Craig seemed to enjoy Tyler’s disco
mfort a bit too much.

  “Thank you,” Alexis said, careful not to spill the wine on her dress.

  “Should we go outside?” Peyton suggested. “The air is perfect tonight.”

  “Sorry about that,” he whispered, as they trailed behind the Keelers.

  Tyler squeezed her hand and an electric current shot through her body.

  “He’s just having a good time making you squirm. I think it’s pretty funny, actually.”

  Tyler sighed inwardly. He knew Craig was dying to bust his balls, but he didn’t want his dream girl frightened off in the process. He was lucky enough to have this second chance at winning her and he wasn’t about to have that chance scuppered by a well-meaning, albeit annoying, friend.

  “So what have I missed out in Tyler’s life?” asked Alexis good-naturedly, once they were seated on the patio. “I want all the embarrassing details.”

  Craig eagerly rubbed his hands together.

  “Play nice, Craig,” his wife warned him. She turned back to Alexis. “As everyone here knows, Tyler is obsessed with his music and with good reason.”

  “Yes, he’s very talented,” Alexis agreed. “I was afraid he’d be awful and I’d have to find a way to sneak out and never see him again.”

  Tyler looked at her with mock indignation and she gave him a sly smile in return, taking a delicate sip of her wine. She’d been a wine drinker for a long time, until whiskey had taken over. She’d forgotten how pleasant it felt to have a nice, smooth drink and be sociable.

  Their exchange didn’t escape Peyton’s attention. To her, they seemed to act very much like a couple, whether they realized it or not.

  “He spends time outdoors whenever the mood strikes him,” Craig offered. “That’s why he’s a better surfer than me, that bastard.”

  “I don’t have a wife to cater to, a child to chase after, or a business to run,” Tyler said diplomatically.

  “You could’ve had any of those things,” Craig countered. “Not like you didn’t have the chance.”

  They fell silent and Alexis sensed a sore subject had inadvertently cropped up.

  “Is she coming tonight?” Tyler asked.

  Craig shook his head. “She’s visiting our grandma in Orlando for Christmas. Grandma Mabel’s too old to travel now.” Craig turned to Alexis, not wanting to exclude her. “My little sister, Shelby, had a thing for Tyler. Took her a long time to realize that he wasn’t going to change his mind about her.”

  “It wasn’t a reflection on her,” Tyler added.

  Craig patted his friend on the back. “I was pissed off, as Tyler well knows, but I got through it and so did she, eventually. I know there’s somebody out there for her.”

  “There’d better be,” Peyton interjected, “because your parents need other grandchildren to keep them from spoiling Ariana.”

  Alexis turned her attention to Peyton. “So Ariana’s your only child?”

  “Yes,” Peyton replied. “She’s our special angel.”

  “She is adorable.”

  “We didn’t want her to be an only child, but sometimes things work out differently than you expect.” Peyton’s gaze drifted off and Alexis felt a rush of sympathy.

  “I know exactly what you mean,” she said.

  Peyton’s eyes darted back to her guest. “Do you?” she asked, searching Alexis’s face.

  “I do.”

  Peyton smiled vaguely. “Certain times of year bring it all back. The possibilities. The could-have-beens, but then I hug my Ariana and I feel so grateful.”

  Alexis nodded sympathetically and found herself relieved to have someone who understood and was willing to share. Despite her years abroad, she didn’t have that in London. Even with Mark’s support, it had been a lonely time for her. The second time, even he wasn’t around to offer his support. Those were dark times that Alexis was desperate to move on from.

  Tyler listened with half an ear, knowing that he’d missed a critical piece of information. Something had passed between the women and he couldn’t quite figure out what it was.

  Despite that somber exchange, the rest of the evening passed quickly, with good food and better conversation. Alexis enjoyed herself immensely and joined in the cheering when Tyler appeared with his guitar on the patio. He played all the silly requests that were thrown his way, including a naughty version of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer that Alexis had never heard before.

  When she could no longer fight the fatigue that plagued her, she thanked the Keelers for a lovely evening and Tyler offered to walk her out.

  “Don’t be a stranger,” Peyton told her. “We’d love to see you again before you go back to London.”

  “That would be nice,” Alexis said and realized that she meant it.

  She retrieved her wrap from inside and shivered when she felt Tyler’s hand on the small of her back. Outside, most of the golf carts had disappeared.

  “It’s late,” Tyler said. “Let me ride home with you and I’ll walk from there.”

  “Tyler,” she objected. “It’s perfectly safe.”

  “I know. I just want more time with you.”

  Without warning, he pulled her in for a deep, lingering kiss. When he finally released her, he took a tentative step back.

  “Was that okay?”

  “The kiss itself or the fact that it happened?” she asked, peering up at him.

  “I hope the kiss itself was more than okay,” he said.

  “It was all more than okay,” she told him, her stomach performing somersaults.

  In an instant, his lips were back on hers and, this time, Alexis responded in a way that removed all doubt. His lips felt better than she’d imagined. She melted against his chest as he wrapped his strong arms around her. Tyler stirred feelings in her that she’d thought were dead and buried. Now it seemed they merely had been dormant.

  “I’ve been waiting a very long time for that kiss,” he murmured.

  “So Betsy was telling the truth?” And basically everyone at the party, she almost added, but didn’t want to embarrass him.

  He cocked his head. “Depends on what Betsy said.”

  “That you may have had a teeny crush on me in high school.” She felt embarrassed saying it aloud to him.

  “Not true,” he said and watched with satisfaction as her shoulders drooped the slightest bit. Then he whispered in her ear, “It was way bigger than teeny.”

  “In that case, I’m glad you’re so patient,” Alexis whispered back.

  “It’s one of my many skills,” Tyler told her.

  He kissed her again, his tongue darting around her mouth, teasing her. He moved a hand to the back of her head as they continued to taste each other. Her thick, brown hair was as smooth and silky as he’d imagined it. He longed to lose himself in her completely. As his fingers caressed her bare neck, she clutched his back, feeling the muscles beneath his shirt. Her heartbeat accelerated and her entire body hummed with electricity.

  Tyler’s breathing grew ragged as the urgency of his kisses intensified. His fingers danced their way inside her deep neckline. Musician’s fingers, Alexis thought to herself as she felt his hand slip up and under her silky bra. Desire pulsed through her, but she managed to pull herself together. As good as she felt, she wasn’t ready for more. Gently, she covered his nimble fingers with her hand.

  He pressed his forehead lightly against hers. “Sorry,” he said. “It’s like all my Christmases coming at once. I can’t wait to unwrap you.”

  “Tyler, I can’t rush into anything,” she said softly.

  “I’ve waited this long,” Tyler said, flashing his trademark dimple. “What’s another decade or two?”

  She released his hand and adjusted her dress, embarrassed by her display of public affection. How did he work his way under her skin like that? It wasn’t her style to engage in hot and heavy make out sessions on someone’s front lawn.

  His blue eyes twinkled and she fought the urge to pull him in for another kiss.

&n
bsp; “My life is complicated,” she said.

  “I’m not, so whenever you feel like living the simple life, reach out to me. I’ll be waiting for you.”

  He bent to kiss her again and, for once, her mind quieted and she thought of nothing except the feel of Tyler’s lips on hers, and how good it felt to be held.

  Chapter Twelve

  Alexis and Tilly rolled meatballs at the kitchen table, using a recipe that Alexis had learned from her mother-in-law. She was glad that her mother wasn’t too territorial in the kitchen and seemed eager to employ some of her daughter’s suggestions.

  As Tilly chattered away about various neighbors, Alexis’s mind drifted to her incredible kiss with Tyler. He was working until five and had invited her to Gatsby’s to watch him play again later in the evening. She felt like a giddy teenager, itching to see him again.

  “I guess you’re not very interested in Harry Weyburn’s gall bladder surgery,” Tilly remarked.

  “Not in any lifetime.”

  Tilly stopped rolling. “Then why don’t you talk to me about something?”

  “Like what?”

  “Oh, I don’t know. Your life. Tell me about my adult daughter, Alexis.” She paused. “Tell me about your husband. What’s his name?”

  “Mark.” Alexis cleared her throat. “A good, decent man.”

  “Did you leave him?”

  “No, I didn’t leave him.” Alexis quickly grew annoyed when she saw her mother’s look of surprise. “Is that so shocking?”

  “You left us,” her mother said quietly. “Why wouldn’t you leave him?”

  Alexis stopped rolling and met her mother’s steady gaze. “I didn’t leave him,” she repeated.

  “Are you going back to London then?” her mother asked.

  “I haven’t decided what I’m doing next.”

  “Really? Because of Tyler Barnes?”

  Now it was Alexis’s turn to be surprised. “Damn Betsy,” she hissed.

  “Don’t blame your sister. Everyone on the island has seen you two together.”

  “Tyler is…” She started to say just a friend, but that no longer seemed true. “Tyler is aware that there are obstacles.”

  “Well, we both know you’re quite capable of overcoming obstacles, if you really want to.”