Until There Was Us

by Samantha Chase

  He was so handsome that he took her breath away.

  Placing her hand over her heart, she looked around the house in awe. “Alex,” she whispered as she smiled at him. “When did you have time to do all of this?”

  With a careless shrug, he walked over and kissed her thoroughly. When he lifted his head, he said, “I moved some things around and rescheduled some clients so I could shop. I wanted to celebrate properly since we didn’t get to last night.”

  “It really wasn’t—”

  But he placed a finger over her lips to stop her words.

  “I don’t want to talk about yesterday. I want to have tonight to hear all about your new role and how much everyone loves you.”

  She laughed. “That isn’t going to take all night.”

  His smile turned a little wicked, a little sexy. “That’s good. Because I have other plans for us tonight that don’t involve talking about work.”

  All kinds of sexy images came to mind, and she hoped they matched what Alex had planned. Alex took her by the hand, led her over to the dining room table, and held a chair out for her. She looked at all the delicious food he had prepared—stuffed mushrooms, shrimp cocktail, a salad, and dinner rolls.

  “Oh my goodness, how many of us are eating?” she teased.

  Taking the seat beside her, Alex grinned. “Just the two of us. I knew these were some of your favorites, so I thought it was a good place to start. Then I’ve got salmon, rice pilaf, and a vegetable medley for dinner.”

  Her eyes went wide. “That’s a lot of food!”

  “We’ll take a break in between,” he said mildly and then motioned to the food in front of them. “No rush tonight. We’ll eat at our leisure.”

  She didn’t need to be told twice. There had been so much to do at the office today that she had skipped lunch, so right now, she was starving. Every bite she took was like a little taste of heaven. The man had some serious skills in the kitchen.

  And everywhere else.

  And he was all hers.

  “What are you smiling about?” he asked.

  Busted.

  With a flirty grin, she confessed. “I was sitting here and smiling because you made all this wonderful food and you’re just so…good with everything that you do. And I’m lucky to have you.”

  “Wow…that’s some serious thinking over a stuffed mushroom,” he teased.

  But she shook her head. “I’m being serious, Alex. You are so amazing and…and…” She sighed happily. “Some days I still can’t believe someone like you would want someone like me.”

  He frowned. “What’s wrong with you? Any man who didn’t want you is a fool,” he said fiercely, and then he seemed to relax. “Although their loss is my gain, so why am I complaining?”

  They ate in silence for a few more minutes before he asked about her itinerary for the next day.

  “Christian is picking me up when I arrive in San Diego. We’ll go right to the office, and I’ll work the rest of the day with him.” Then she gave him a rundown of what she had planned for the week. “I’m going to come home Saturday morning. I wanted the opportunity to stay late on Friday in case we make some decent progress. And if we can leave the office at a reasonable time, then I’ll enjoy having dinner with my brother.”

  “Sounds like a good plan.” He reached for her hand again, and his thumb stroked the inside of her wrist. “Promise me you’ll call when you land.”

  Her heart simply skipped a beat at the look in his eyes and sincerity in his voice. “Of course. And I’m going to call you every night before I go to sleep because that’s one of my favorite times of the day for us. I love talking to you until I can’t keep my eyes open anymore.”

  “I love that too.”

  When they finished the appetizers, Alex rose, held out a hand to Megan, and gently pulled her to her feet. Music was still playing softly, and he moved them into the living room where he pulled her in close and began to sway to the music.

  Seriously, she almost swooned right then and there.

  It was beyond romantic—the candles, the flowers, the music—and they didn’t need to talk. Sharing the moment was enough.

  One song turned to two. Two songs to four, and Megan was simply enjoying the intimacy of being close to him. It occurred to her how she was finally learning to enjoy life after five o’clock. For the first time in her life, she had…a life. Something to look forward to, someone to come home to. And suddenly, the thought of leaving and taking on extra responsibilities at work didn’t seem quite so appealing.

  Alex kissed her on the cheek and pulled back a little. “I’m going to get our dinner started. Why don’t you go up and take a nice hot bath and relax, and I’ll call you when everything’s ready?”

  That sounded glorious, but her mind was still racing with whether she wanted to leave in the morning. Before he could walk away, she said his name.

  “You okay?” he asked.

  “I…I was thinking…maybe…” She paused and sighed. “Maybe I shouldn’t do this.”

  “Do what? Take the bath? It was just a suggestion,” he said lightly, kissing her one more time before heading toward the kitchen. “I’d be just as happy to have you sitting here and talking with me while I cooked. Then after dinner we can sit in the hot tub for a while. How does that sound?”

  Well, that sounded even more glorious, but it still didn’t put her mind at ease.

  Alex was in the kitchen, and she could hear him moving pots and pans around. “What if I’m making a mistake?” she called out, and all activity in the kitchen stopped.

  The look on Alex’s face as he walked back toward her showed how confused he was. “So this isn’t about the bath, is it?”

  She shook her head.

  “What’s going on?”

  “Remember all those times we talked about me wanting to change my life? And how working so much wasn’t good for me?”

  He nodded but didn’t say anything.

  “Well…I’m having a life,” she said, her voice cracking on the last word, and then she took a moment to get her thoughts together. What she wanted most was for Alex to wrap her in his arms and tell her it would all be okay, but he was keeping a little distance—probably because he didn’t want to influence her.

  Because he was good like that.

  “I’m finally at a place where I’m happy and comfortable in my own skin. And that’s all because of you,” she said softly. “And even though this job is something I thought I always wanted, now that I have it…I’m not so sure.”

  He let out a long, slow breath and then closed the distance between them. With his hands on her shoulders, he gently squeezed. “It’s okay to be nervous about this, Megan. Like you said, you’ve wanted this for so long, and I’m sure there’s a lot of anxiety about it. I think anyone starting a new job feels that way.”

  “I don’t know—”

  But he silenced her words with one finger over her lips. “Then it’s a good thing your first project is with your brother. Talk to him about how you feel. He’s worked for the company for a long time, and even though you’ve been here with Zach and Summer, I have a feeling you’ll be more comfortable taking advice from Christian.”

  He has a point, she thought. But it still seemed like she wasn’t completely comfortable with this whole thing.

  Now he did pull her into his embrace and kissed her on the lips—slowly. Thoroughly. When he lifted his head, he smiled at her. “Go and spend the next week with your brother and see how you feel. If you’re really not into it, when you get home on Saturday, we’ll talk about it some more. Okay?”

  Silently, she nodded.

  It wasn’t quite what she was hoping for from him. She wanted some guidance, direction.

  She wanted someone to tell her what to do.

  Alex took her by the hand, led her over to
the kitchen island, and motioned for her to sit down. He poured her a glass of wine and then began to talk to her about a food truck rodeo that was going to be in the city next Sunday. It was a great distraction, and for now, she’d take it.

  Chapter 10

  Friday afternoon Alex was in the car and had Megan on speakerphone. “So? How do you feel about the way things are going? Are you working late tonight or going to dinner with Christian?”

  “Dinner with Christian. Definitely,” she said, and he could hear the weariness in her voice. “I can’t wait to come home though. Now I wish I had planned to fly home tonight. I miss you.”

  He smiled because she was so much more at ease with sharing her feelings now. Hell, she was so much more at ease with almost every aspect of her life these days, and it was wonderful to see. And he wasn’t arrogant enough to believe this was all his doing, but he felt good knowing he had played a small part.

  “I miss you too,” he replied. “But this time tomorrow, you’ll be home. Do you already have plans for when you need to leave again?”

  “Unfortunately, Tuesday morning. I was going to try for Monday, but I wanted another day at home before I head out. Am I being too selfish, do you think? If I go Monday, maybe I’ll get done faster.”

  He knew she would continue to second-guess herself, so the only thing he could do was stop her with a distraction. “How about we talk about it when you get home tomorrow? You land at noon, and I have everything we need here for lunch and dinner, so we can come home and chill all day. Actually, I was planning on going to the deli in the morning and getting our lunch stuff, but I did shop for dinner. I’m planning on making those shish kabobs you like, and I stocked up on some of that triple chocolate ice cream for dessert. Does that sound good?”

  She laughed softly. “I know what you’re doing.”

  And he couldn’t help but laugh with her. “Is it working?”

  “Talking about chocolate is always a good distraction. Unfortunately, it doesn’t solve anything.”

  “I think you should enjoy dinner with your brother and relax tonight. Tomorrow you’ll be home before you know it.”

  She hummed softly. “I seriously can’t wait. Don’t get me wrong, I have loved having some time with Christian, but…” She sighed. “He hasn’t been as fun to be around as I’d hoped.”

  Alex laughed again. “Fun? With all the work you had planned, I didn’t think you were looking for fun.”

  “Everyone’s made comments and observations about him over the past couple of years—he’s too serious, he’s not engaging—but I didn’t see that side of him because whenever I did see him, it was at a family function. But now that I’ve seen him in work mode? Um…yeah. He’s a different person. And not in a good way.”

  “Yikes. Have you tried talking to him about it?”

  “That’s my plan tonight.”

  Alex pulled into the parking lot of the long-term care facility Danny had called home for the past six years. It was the third one he’d lived in, and in Alex’s opinion, it was the best place for him. He parked and looked at the clock.

  “Okay, he may be a little hostile toward you questioning him because he’s heard it all before,” he said evenly, “and if he seems resistant, just…find something else to talk about. Something neutral so you don’t spend the night arguing.”

  “Now I wish you were here,” she said with a nervous laugh. “I almost feel like I might need some sort of mediator to help me out.”

  “It won’t be so bad. He may surprise you.”

  “Let’s hope so.”

  They were quiet for a long moment. “I’m sorry, but…I have to go,” he finally said. “I have an appointment.”

  Megan gasped softly. “Oh, I’m sorry! I wasn’t even paying attention to the time.”

  “It’s all right. Go and have a good night, and let’s plan on talking when I pick you up tomorrow, okay? Text me when you get on the plane so I know you’re on time.”

  “I will,” she said softly. “And Alex?”

  “Hmm?”

  “Thank you.”

  He smiled. “For what?”

  “For always knowing exactly what to say to put my mind at ease.”

  His smile grew. “It’s my pleasure.”

  After they said goodbye, Alex sat in the car for a moment longer and let everything Megan had shared with him sink in. Between the job and worry for her brother, he had a feeling she was going to come home far more tense than when she’d left. The image of giving her a sexy massage to help her relax came to mind, but before he let the thought verge on the X-rated version, he forced himself to remember where he was and what he was here to do.

  Gathering his duffel bag and his bottle of water, Alex climbed from the car and made his way into the facility. Everyone on staff knew him, and he waved and said hello to everyone he saw. At the door to Danny’s room, he ran into one of the staff therapists.

  “Hey, Dennis,” Alex said, smiling. It was a little awkward to run into a fellow therapist here—mainly because he never wanted anyone to think he was stepping on their toes. He didn’t come here in a professional capacity. His only concern was to spend time with his friend and maybe enhance the therapy he was getting.

  “Hey, Alex,” Dennis said with an easy grin. He looked over his shoulder into the room and then motioned for Alex to follow him down the hall a bit. At a small seating area, he stopped, and his smile faded slightly.

  “Something wrong?” Alex asked.

  “I’m glad I ran into you.” He paused and let out a small sigh. “Danny isn’t doing well—it’s been a bad week.”

  “Why? What’s going on?”

  “He’s got fluid building up in his lungs,” Dennis said quietly. “And he’s not responding to the antibiotics the doctor prescribed. So his breathing is labored, and he’s sleeping a lot.” He looked Alex in the eye with a hopeless expression. “I don’t think there’s going to be anything anyone can do at this point.” Reaching out, he placed a hand on Alex’s shoulder. “I know how far back the two of you go, and…I thought you should be prepared.”

  Everything in Alex went cold. He’d known it was coming…had seen it last week, and yet…he’d never be okay with it. He’d never be ready for it.

  With a curt nod, he murmured, “Thanks,” and turned to go to Danny’s room. His heart hammered in his chest, but he didn’t stop to think; he just walked in like he always did—with a big smile on his face and ready to tackle any and all of Danny’s objections to their therapy.

  “Hey, buddy,” he said happily. “What’s the word today?”

  Normally Danny would at least crack a smile, but today he was barely awake. Placing his bag and his water down, Alex stepped close to the bed and studied his friend.

  He was pale, and his breathing was labored. Alex swallowed hard and had to fight to keep his own breathing in check. He felt sick; his heart ached. Bowing his head, he fought the tears.

  “How’s…Megan?” Danny whispered.

  Inhaling deeply and letting the breath out slowly, Alex met Danny’s gaze and smiled. “She’s doing great. She’s in San Diego right now working with her brother, but she’ll be back tomorrow.”

  “Good.”

  “That’s how I feel too.” He realized he was going to need to keep the conversation going. They weren’t going to do their exercises today. Today was about simply hanging out and…visiting. “She’s only been gone a few days. But she’ll have to return next week.”

  “How…long?”

  Alex shrugged. “I think this is going to go on for at least a few weeks. Then she’s going to be doing this on the east coast for the rest of the company branches.” He raked a hand through his hair and tried to not sound quite so negative. “She won’t be able to fly home every week, but…we’ll deal with it.”

  “Marry…her,” Danny rasped. />
  Alex laughed softly. “Maybe someday.” Although he already knew he wanted someday to come soon. He had told Danny a week ago that Megan was the one for him, and he’d meant it. Marriage was something he and Megan still had to talk about.

  “You…love…her.” It wasn’t a question.

  “I do. I really do.” He paused. “But I haven’t told her that yet. I mean, we’ve talked about our feelings, but neither of us has used the l-word.”

  Danny grinned. “Afraid?”

  Alex matched his grin. “Terrified, actually. I’ve never said that to anyone before. But I want to. I…well…there hasn’t been the right time to say it. And now with her new work schedule and all the pressure she’s feeling, the last thing I want to do is add to that by maybe saying I love her when she might not be ready to hear it.”

  “Don’t…wait.”

  “Danny—”

  “Trust…me,” Danny said weakly. “No…tomorrows.”

  And damn if that didn’t gut him right there. He knew exactly what Danny meant. He squeezed his friend’s shoulder, even though he knew he couldn’t feel it. “I do trust you. Always,” he said. His throat felt tight, and he had to remember to breathe through his nose to keep himself together.

  “You’re…going…to…be…all…right.”

  But Alex shook his head. This wasn’t the way the conversation was supposed to go. This wasn’t what he came here for. Unfortunately, he didn’t have a clue how to turn the conversation around—couldn’t think of something funny to say to distract them. There wasn’t anything he could do, and that’s what hurt the most.

  There wasn’t anything he could do.

  “Marry…Megan…and…be…happy.” He paused. “For…me.”

  Well…shit.

  Fighting back tears, he looked Danny in the eye, and right then and there, he gave him the words he knew he needed to hear. And they were the truth.

  “I am going to marry her,” Alex said, his voice low and gruff and raw. “And we’re going to be happy, and every day I’m going to live life to the fullest and do all the things we always talked about doing.”