Page 56 of Twenty Years Later

He thought for a second. "No. Can't say that I have."

"I'm not sure what's worse, to be honest, driving in torrential tropical downpours like in Miami or the ice we get here." They both scared me.

"I love driving in the rain," he admitted.

"Why does that not surprise me?" I laughed. "I hydroplaned once in high school, and it scared the you-know-what out of me." I shuddered remembering that awful feeling and lack of control.

He gave me a concerned glance before returning his eyes to the road. "Did you crash?"

"No, thank God. I honestly have no clue what I did, but the car somehow straightened out despite my panic."

"Well, thank goodness for that." A teasing grin appeared on Alex's face. "You know, my friends and I used to hydroplane on purpose in high school."

"What? Excuse me?" I stared at him.

"Yeah, it was a blast." At my look, he cleared his throat. "Not that I'd ever do that anymore. Of course. But I did learn a lot from it."

"Hmm," I said, not too shocked by his admission actually. It really seemed like something high school guys would do. "Yeah, let's go hydroplane for fun."

We laughed as he pulled into a parking space at the lighthouse. No one else was about at the usually popular spot. Maybe the lighthouse wasn't high on most people's list on a cold December afternoon with snow threatening to fall any second.

But the park was beautiful, made even more so by sharing it with this man next to me. Alex and I held hands, the girls running off ahead... or rather Gabby trying to keep up with Audrey.

Looking at the stunning scenery before me, I let the beauty embrace me. I breathed in the cold air, letting it fill my lungs and awaken me. And with it came a happiness that I hadn't felt in a very long time.

We all followed Audrey as she led the way through the vast and winding park to the playground, the historic lighthouse rising up in the distance. I knew we wouldn't have time to really tour the lighthouse area as dusk would be upon us soon. But at least Alex could see it from the park and take in the atmosphere.

When we reached the playground, Audrey and Gabby had their run of the place with no other kids around. We were the only ones crazy enough to be out here.

Alex hadn't let go of my hand the whole walk here, and I loved how his hand stayed warm despite the cold. That heat seeped into my body, making me crave this man more than I already did. Or maybe it was the fact that he had surpassed my wildest wishes with his reaction to my pregnancy. But Alex had crept so completely into my soul now, I didn't think there was any going back.

"How you doing over there in that cute little hat?" Alex asked, turning his attention away from the girls to glance down at me.

"What is it with you and this hat?"

He threw his head back and laughed. "I have no idea. But I can't wait to get you alone tonight."

"Me too."

"Itisokay though, right?" he asked. "What did your doctor say?"

My heart sunk to my toes at that question. "Um, I..."

Alex surprised me by laughing. "Let me guess. You didn't discuss that, did you?"

"Darn it. No," I groaned.

Alex let out a groan as well. "You're killing me, Jayda."

"Well, from what I know it's supposed to be safe. I guess I need to think about it a bit because, I mean, I never... well, when I was pregnant with Audrey, Blake and I never..." I felt my cheeks flame.

"I know what you're trying to say." Alex squeezed my hand. "Fiona and I never did either."

Now that shocked me. And I wondered why or why not, but I didn't want to ask. To be honest, Alex and I had talked about so many things over the phone. Except our previous partners. Of all things, that might be one of the most important.

I wasn't sure why Alex rarely brought up Fiona. But I knew I didn't like to talk about Blake much because... well, because I thought it might hurt Alex's feelings in some way. I didn't want him comparing our relationship to my previous one.

Maybe that was a mistake on my part. I didn't know. This whole thing was so new to me. I hadn't "dated" anyone since the age of nineteen, and I was more than out of practice. If you could even call this dating. I wasn't sure what we were doing exactly. If weweredating, we were kind of going about it all backwards what with a bun in the oven already.

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