Page 66 of We Never Kissed

I nodded and let him lead me around the couch—ignoring how needy I felt with my hand in his—and then we both sat, turning our bodies toward each other.

He ran a hand through his hair and sighed. “I’m sorry…”

“No, I’m sorry,” I blurted, though I wasn’t totally sure what he was apologizing for. “I betrayed your trust.”

He nodded. “But you did it out of love, and the way I acted…that was me being an ass.”

I raised my brows and added a little head cock to show I agreed but added, “You were hurt.”

“I was…and you forced me to think about something I’ve been hiding from…for too long.”

“But that’s your choice, Alex.” I scooted closer and placed a hand on his knee. “I didn’t plan what happened, and I know I should have told you, but no matter when you found out, you would have been upset…”

“I know. Everything just felt…out of control. But now—well—I think you did me a favor.” A half grin rose on his face.

“What do you mean?”

“I went to see my mom.” As if he knew I’d be pleased, his grin grew.

“Really?” When he nodded, I threw my arms around his neck. “Oh, Alex, I’m so proud of you.” His arms pulling me to him felt like the sign I needed that everything was going to be all right.

Though I didn’t want to let him go, I was anxious to hear more, so I pulled back. “Did you…want to tell me about it?”

He chuckled. “We had a long talk. She told me things I didn’t remember, things I never knew about.” He shook his head. “My dad played a bigger part in my disastrous family than I ever realized.” His expression turned dark then. “My mother made some terrible choices, and she let me down…but she didn’t deserve a lifetime of me shutting her out.”

Shaking my head, I took his hand. “Hey, don’t blame yourself for that. Most of those years, you had no choice. Now you have the rest of your life to make up for lost time.” I paused, peering into his eyes. “That is what you want?” I asked hesitantly.

He shrugged a shoulder. “I want her in my life…but I want to take it slow. Right now, I have other priorities.”

“You do?” I grinned.

“Yeah, I should probably apologize to Gunnar,” he said matter-of-factly.

My mouth fell open. “Oh…”

When he released a bark of laughter, I sighed in relief, then smacked him in the chest. At the same time he hooked me by the waist and pulled me against him, his mouth capturing mine. It felt like home and hope and heat all wrapped up in one deep, delicious kiss.

Alex ended the kiss but kept me a breath away from him. “I should really apologize to Gunnar, too, though.”

I shook my head, holding back a devious grin. “Let him sweat it out. Teach him a lesson for messing with you.”

“That’s my girl,” he said.

Hearing him call me his girl sent a flush of heat over my skin, but I didn’t have time to recover because Alex rose to his feet, then bent to pick me up. I wrapped my arms around his neck, my legs around his waist as he walked me down the hall.

“I love you,” he whispered into my ear.

“I love you.”

Closing the door behind us, he pressed me against the back of my bedroom door. “Hang on, baby. We’ve got a lot of time to make up for.”

Chapter 39

Alex

Ava slid onto my lap and wrapped her arms around my neck just as Sammy and Sue walked into the dining room, each carrying a tray of food.

“Aw, come on,” Sammy groaned. “Can we have some more acclimation before we have to see that?”

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