Hiding in the Spotlight

by Karen Booth

  Alex rested for another moment then kissed him. She trailed her finger down his chest, sending a shock through him as she continued south, wrapping her fingers around him. “Your turn. But we need to get you rinsed off. I don’t want to get any soap in my mouth.”

  “Wow. You really have to stop saying things like that. I’m standing on a slippery surface.” He kissed her and quickly twisted his body back and forth in the spray. “You’re all soapy, too.” He steered her into the water, looking over her shoulder as it washed away the suds from her chest. He reached under her arms and gently wiped away the remaining soap, pressing his chest into her back. How many times have I imagined her like this? It didn’t come close to the real thing.

  He nestled his lips in the crook of her neck. A purr came from her throat. “Alex, honey, can we take this into the bedroom?”

  “Starting to prune?” She tilted her head, looking up at him.

  “Yes.” He separated the dripping twists of her hair with his fingers. “But mostly I want to make love to you.”

  “I like that answer.”

  She turned off the water and David grabbed their towels. His eyes roved over her as she dried her shoulders and stomach. She bent over at the waist and twisted her hair up in the towel, making his chest feel like as thought it might erupt from the pressure. She turned and made the quick trip to his bed, ditched the towel, and reclined, her damp hair rolling down her back.

  “David, come on. We have to leave in forty-five minutes.”

  He hurried to her. “It’s okay. I work well under pressure.”

  She laughed and scooted back on to the pillows. “I wish we could spend the whole day in bed.”

  “You have no idea.” He stretched out next to her.

  “You know what?” she asked. “I liked it when you called me honey. I’m going to have to come up with the perfect term of endearment for you.”

  David felt the heat rise in his cheeks. “Like what?”

  “I don’t know yet.”

  “As long as it isn’t Pooky.”

  “No Pooky,” she answered, pulling him close.

  ****

  David backed the Escalade out of the driveway a few minutes behind schedule.

  “We need to talk about the boys. We can’t do anything to make them suspicious.” Alex dug through her purse. “Gum?”

  “Uh, no, thanks.”

  “We have to be extra careful around Page. He notices everything.”

  “I know. He’s always sneaking looks over my shoulder at email.”

  “And it might seem like Tyler isn’t paying attention, but believe me, he is.”

  This wasn’t necessarily what he wanted to talk about, but they needed to be on the same page when it came to the boys. It was the only way to make things work and he really wanted this to work.

  “Okay,” he started. “Well, no kissing. That’s an obvious one. No holding hands. We need to make sure we don’t stand too close to each other.” This is starting to sound really awful. “No pet names. Anything else?”

  “I hate to say this, but I was serious about nothing happening with the boys in the house. Not even if they’ve gone to bed. Tyler wanders in to my room all the time. He’d freak if I wasn’t there.”

  “Of course.” The reality of their situation seeped into the contentment the last eighteen hours with Alex had created. “Whatever you think is right.”

  “We still have the day, when they’re at school.”

  “Except when I’m in the studio producing or working on Double Damage stuff. Or you’re at the library or volunteering at school or meeting with The Weatherman.”

  She reached across the center console and rubbed his thigh. He wondered if there was a place to pull over to the side of the road for a quickie. “It’s just until the divorce stuff progresses. As soon as I can finally talk to Glenn, I can talk to the boys about everything. I need to get them used to the idea that their dad might not come back.”

  David’s heartbeat pounded in his ears. The idea of Alex making plans, talking about the future, their future, filled him with optimism. The thought of Glenn’s return was nauseating. “How can you be so sure Glenn isn’t going to show up one of these days?”

  She propped her sunglasses on the top of her head as they pulled up in front of Page’s friend’s house. “Listen, I know Glenn better than anyone. I’m sure. It’s been days since you called him. If he was interested in getting back together with the band, he would’ve come back by now.”

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  She couldn’t drive fast enough. Alex had tried the other moms, pleaded with them, but nobody was willing to switch carpool duty with her on a Monday morning. Now that the kids were at school, David was her only thought.

  Sunday had been frustrating beyond belief. Every word held greater meaning. Can I top you off? No, thanks, I’ll take it straight up. Do you want your muffin toasted?

  She and David had a two-hour window before she needed to get to the library and he had to leave for yet another band meeting. Today was decision day. Double Damage had five big-money offers for shows. And still no front man.

  Alex tossed her keys and bag on the kitchen counter when she got back to the house, but David was nowhere to be seen. “Hello?” She went to the window at the back of the kitchen, looking out to the pool. Nothing. “David?”

  He came traipsing into the room, a wide grin on his face. “There you are.” He pulled her into his strong arms and nestled his face in her neck.

  She dropped her head to the side, closing her eyes. His lips against her skin were enough to make her forget her name, the date, everything that was wrong.

  “I wanted to do this all day yesterday.” She kissed him before skimming her mouth along the contours of his jaw.

  “Do you know how much I love hearing that?” David clutched her hand and hurried her down the hallway.

  Alex stopped him at her door and tugged on his arm. “In here.”

  “I thought you liked the bed in my room.”

  “I don’t even know what made me say that. Is that the lamest sexy thing anyone has ever said or what?” She pulled the elastic from her ponytail and shook her hair free before threading her shirt over her head. “I want you on my turf.”

  “Technically, this is still my turf. But as long as you want me, the location is secondary.” He wrapped his arms around her waist and gave her a powerful kiss, slipping a hand to the back of her head.

  Alex responded by rubbing her pelvis against David. She felt a buzz against her hip. “Ooh.” She pressed harder.

  David laughed. “I’m good, but I’m not that good.” He fished his phone from his pocket and tossed it on the floor before he unhooked the clasp of Alex’s bra.

  “Crap. I left my phone in the kitchen. I should probably go get it.”

  “No way.” David gripped her shoulders and walked her backward to the bed. “There’s no time for phone calls.”

  “What if the school calls?” Her heart fluttered as he trailed his fingers along her spine and kissed her shoulder.

  “I’m sure the world can spin without you for a little while,” he said, between kisses. David’s phone beeped with the arrival of voicemail.

  “Do you need to get that?” Alex asked.

  He flattened her against the bed and smiled. His hair flopped down around his face, his eyes a smoky brown. “I’m not listening to voicemail when I have you just where I want you.”

  They both collapsed on the bed mere minutes later. Alex hummed and arched her back before rolling onto her side. She traced her finger on his chest, through the curly dark hair, to the smooth parts, and back again. She suspected that she and David might never get enough of each other, or at least not any time soon. This weighed on her, even thought she was the happiest she’d been in a very long time. What am I doing? He’s so sweet. He’s done everything for me. She couldn’t bear the thought of breaking his heart, but her feelings were a mess. She was more than drawn to him—she coul
dn’t imagine life without him now. Still, it felt too soon to think about feelings beyond affection and friendship. Going straight from a failed marriage to a brand new relationship might not have been the smartest plan.

  David looped her hair behind her ear, gazing into her eyes. His were a warm and golden tone in the faint light of the room.

  “Come here.” He dug his hand into the hair at the nape of her neck. He kissed her softly, leaving a whisper-thin space between their lips and bridging the distance with his tongue.

  Alex felt light-headed from the things he stirred up in her, but then the quiet filled her ears when his eyes searched her face.

  “Alex, honey,” he said. “I need to tell you something.”

  “Okay. Listening.”

  He waited, his eyes still scanning. “I love you.”

  The words swept through her head, her breath rushed out of her. Her heart seized up in her chest and then roared back to life with a surge of adrenaline. Every sense was suddenly heightened. Her mouth flew open with only a squeak coming out.

  “Shhh.” He brushed the side of her face with the back of his hand. “Listen, I’ve loved you for a long time, so it’s not fair for me to expect you to say anything in return. I just, I need you to know how I feel. I’ve spent the last seventeen years keeping this bottled up inside me. I can’t keep it there anymore.”

  Heat rose in Alex’s cheeks as the tears silently crept down and cooled them. Only one other man had ever said, “I love you,” and he hadn’t always meant it.

  She felt a crush of guilt. David had bared his soul and she didn’t know how to respond. It sent her scrambling for something to say, anything that could match a fraction of all he’d put on the line. I love you, but do I “love you” love you? It wouldn’t be fair to return the words until she was certain. She couldn’t do to David what Glenn had done to her. She couldn’t say, “I love you,” until she was sure she meant it the way he did.

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  David snatched a box of tissues from the bedside table. “I’ve completely ruined the mood, haven’t I?”

  “What? No. Of course not.” She plucked a tissue from the box. “It’s just that you’re so amazing. I’m trying to figure out what I did to deserve you.”

  He kissed the end of her nose. “Well, then we’re in the same boat because I’m trying to answer the same question.”

  He struggled to decipher her facial expressions as her tears ebbed. For as long as they’d known each other, he couldn’t always read her. The sense that he’d fucked up and taken it too fast ushered waves of regret. Why did I have to say it now? Does it really change anything?

  The reason he couldn’t hide the admission was no comfort, only a reminder of an adult life spent waiting to say those words to a woman and actually mean them. It was impossible to not feel disappointment that she hadn’t returned the sentiment. A part of him thought the words would gush out of her and he could have his reward. Not today.

  Alex rested her chin on his chest and he caressed the smooth skin at the small of her back. She felt frail in his arms, like a frightened bird that had spent days dodging the neighborhood cat, in need of a safe place to nest. He pulled her even closer and kissed her temple, but the weight of his words loomed over them. Time to change the subject.

  “Alex, honey, I was thinking, what if we took the boys away for a few days? Don’t they have a teacher workday coming up?”

  She rolled to her back and grinned, dragging her finger the length of his forearm. “Next weekend. What did you have in mind?”

  “I need to go up to Santa Cruz. There’s a guy selling some pretty rare guitars and I wanted to go look. We could drive up on a Friday and take the scenic route along the ocean. The boys would love the boardwalk and I haven’t been there in years.”

  “Sounds like fun. Maybe it would be good for all of us to get away.”

  “Is that a yes?” He smoothed his hand over her stomach and leaned down to kiss her shoulder.

  “I’m not stupid. I’m not going to turn down mini donuts and rollercoasters.”

  “Great. I’ll start looking into a hotel.” Santa Cruz had once been one of David’s go-to getaways with girlfriends, but he knew his usual choice of lodging, up in the hills with the spa and the super-quiet grounds, wasn’t going to cut it with the boys. “Something by the beach.”

  “You do realize this won’t be a romantic getaway.” She frowned in an adorably playful way.

  “I know. We can still have a good time.” He swallowed, bargaining that if he had to spend a long weekend with Alex in separate rooms, it wouldn’t be much more painful than the previous seventeen years.

  “I should probably take a shower,” Alex said. “I have to be at the library by eleven.”

  David glanced at the clock on the bedside table. “Yeah, I have my meeting with the band. Time to sort all of that out.” He sat up and swiped his clothes from the floor, but felt Alex’s cool hand on his back.

  “Thank you,” she said, as he peered over his shoulder.

  “For what?”

  She cast her eyes down for a moment. “This. Taking us with you to Santa Cruz. Everything.”

  “Alex, honey.” He lifted her chin and pecked her on the lips. “Don’t thank me for a thing.”

  David traipsed to his office at the back of the house. He didn’t quite have the spring in his step he’d had the last time after he’d had sex with Alex. “I love you” followed by deathly silence had put a damper on things. The trip to Santa Cruz would be a good distraction while he waited on her to sort out her feelings. He shook his head as he sat and pressed the voicemail button on his phone.

  David sat frozen as the message began to play. Glenn’s gravely voice on the line sent icy prickles along his spine.

  “Hey, David. Got your message. Sorry I’ve been so out of touch. I hope you weren’t worried about me. I’m just trying to sort some shit out, and I needed to get away from Alex to do it. Sometimes I feel like I can’t even think when she’s around. Anyway, this thing with the movie and the soundtrack sounds pretty cool, but I’m not sure I’m ready to come back and deal with everything else. You know, my personal stuff. I’m leaving all of that to the lawyers right now. So, keep me posted and I’ll think about it.” The sound of Glenn clearing his throat played through the phone. David felt as if someone’s hand was firmly clamped around his.

  “Um, I’d prefer it if you didn’t tell Alex that I called. I don’t want her leaving me a bunch of messages and bitching about stuff. I mean, if you see her or talk to her. Actually, it’d be good if you went by the house and checked on the boys. I miss them like crazy even if I don’t miss Alex.” Glenn let out a breathy laugh. “Hey, man, I appreciate you helping me out like this. You’re always there when I need you. I just need more time. You understand. Anyway, take care, bro. I’ll call soon.”

  David slumped forward, resting his elbows on the desk and burying his hands in his hair. Fuck. His mind spun like a centrifuge, as if he were being pulled in a million different directions at once. Trying to sift through the good and the bad of Glenn’s message felt impossible, his allegiance to the band, his love for Alex, and his sense of obligation toward his oldest friend all at odds with each other.

  Great. You’re thinking about coming back. The band needs you to think harder. The show promoters wanted answers and signed contracts. They wanted Double Damage now that they were hot again. The band’s meeting would now be about finding a way to put things off until they could get an answer from Glenn. If there wasn’t a way, there was the uncomfortable possibility they might start looking for Glenn’s replacement. The rest of the band had been dead-set against it at the beginning, but now that there was so much money in play, the idea might be more palatable.

  Don’t tell Alex I called. Of course, David didn’t want to upset Alex unnecessarily, but he abhorred the thought of keeping things from her. It didn’t bode well for Glenn that he was considering coming back for the band but hadn’t ma
de any contact with the boys or Alex. That alone was grounds for her beating him to a pulp.

  As if she knew David was thinking about her, Alex stepped into his office. “Can you help me with this bracelet?” She smiled and moved behind his desk, presenting her slender wrist and the chunky silver chain. A waft of her perfume filled the air, her eyes narrowed as David hooked the clasp. “Are you okay?”

  His hand went to her hip as she jiggled the bracelet on her arm. “Uh, not really. I have to tell you something.”

  “What?” she asked, a deep crease forming between her brows.

  “Glenn called.”

  “When?” She gasped and covered her mouth as her eyes doubled in size. “The voicemail. When we were in my room.”

  “He’s thinking about coming back to the band but isn’t sure. He also asked me not to tell you. He said he needs his space.”

  “Unreal. I’m glad the band is important enough to him to make him want to come back. What an asshole.” Her jaw tensed and she clamped her eyes shut. “Fine. I’ll give him all the fucking space he needs.”

  “Look at me, Alex.” He gently rubbed her arm. “I know this is awful. He should be calling you or at least calling to speak to the boys. But, maybe it’s good. Just sit back and let The Weatherman deal with everything.”

  She sighed with deep exasperation and her shoulders dropped. “You’re right. The sooner he and I are divorced, the better.”

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  Alex and David stood at the check-in desk while the boys explored the lobby of the Sea Inn, on the beach next to the historic Santa Cruz boardwalk.

  While he tapped away on his computer, the desk clerk explained the inn had recently received a complete remodel. They’d preserved the kitschy 50s vibe, adding the bells and whistles of an upscale boutique hotel. “You’re all set Mr. Callahan,” he said, pushing his black-rimmed glasses onto the bridge of his pointy nose. “I have you here for two nights, two rooms, each with two queen beds.”