Page 65 of Twenty Years Later

As quickly as I could, I threw on some clothes and brushed my teeth, wondering what on earth was going on.

Downstairs, I turned the corner to the living room and stopped, my jaw dropping. There they were! All three of them were lined up on the couch, cereal bowls in their laps, watching Tangled.

Alex turned and grinned at me. "Let you sleep in, hot Mama."

Those Alex butterflies took off deep in my belly. Could I possibly love this man any more than I already did?

"Shhh," Audrey said, shooting me a look, not having any interruptions.

I didn't even say anything because nothing could take away from the wave of love washing over me right now as I stared at Alex. Not to mention the wave of lust. These pregnancy hormones were making me crazy. Or it was just the gorgeous, sexy man in front of me.

Like he could read my thoughts, Alex put his bowl down and walked over to me, quietly taking my hand in his and leading me to the kitchen. He spun me around, putting his hands on my hips and bringing me in close. "Good morning," he whispered, those deep brown eyes staring into mine.

I shivered, wanting his hands all over me. "I need to call the doctor."

"Wait," he said, his voice low and husky, making me melt all over.

And then his lips were on me, drinking me in, heating me up, his hands roaming my body, making me somehow want him more than I ever had before. That mouth of his and what it did to me. I shuddered at the memories from six long weeks ago.

Why, oh, why hadn't I asked the doctor about sex? I was kicking myself right now. Hard.

Alex's kisses sent shockwaves all the way to my toes, and I had to pull back, my lungs thirsting for oxygen. He rested his forehead on mine. "Call the damn doctor," he said, his voice strained.

Laughing, I skirted away from him, needing to put some distance between us. "I'll call the damn doctor. But first, I'd like to know... how on earth did you manage that?" I waved toward the living room.

"Ah, easy actually. You were snoring away when Audrey busted into the room. Just so you know, she had a few questions about why I was sleeping in your bed, but I deflected."

I grimaced, thinking of the conversation we'd have to have later.

"Anyway," Alex continued, "I woke up, but you didn't budge. So I snuck out and thought I'd try to let you sleep. And it actually worked." He smiled like he was proud of himself.

"Well, I'm seriously impressed. I don't remember the last time I slept that late. And by the way, I don't snore, Doctor Hernandez."

"No. Of course not." He raised a brow, making me unsure whether he was kidding or not, but also sending tingles through me at the hot way he was checking me out.

"I need to call the doctor," I mumbled. "And take a shower."

He swatted my bottom as I walked past him, and I laughed my way back up the stairs.

***

Of course, the doctor didn't answer, so I left a message, asking her to call me as soon as possible.Please.

Feeling like a different person than I did yesterday, I rushed through the shower, wanting to get back downstairs, hoping to spend as much time as possible with Alex before they left tomorrow morning.

I couldn't believe how happy I felt today, like so much pressure had been lifted from me. When I had told Alex last night how great I felt, I hadn't been exaggerating. Truly, all the stress of keeping everything to myself had made me miserable. And trying to be a good mom to Audrey, dealing with pregnancy hormones, and writing my book amidst all that was absolutely exhausting.

But between Alex's excitement about the baby and his empathy while talking about Blake, he had shown himself to be an amazing man. Combing out my tangled hair, I shook my head, not quite believing how sweet he'd been.

I mean, what man wanted to hear about someone's past husband? It couldn't have been easy for him. But he had actuallyaskedme about it. And the whole time, he had been so incredibly supportive of me and so caring.

My heart gave a little squeeze as I remembered how he'd held me in bed last night, how he'd caressed me and held onto me like I was someone to be treasured, how I'd woken up a few times and he'd always pulled me back to him, keeping me downright hot during the cool night.

Somehow, I'd fallen even harder. Somehow, I'd fallen even more in love with him.

***

The day ended up being one of the best days of my life. We spent most of the time outside, bundled up in the snow. The girls could barely move in their puffy pants and coats. But they both loved falling in the powder which they did over and over and over, laughing and tossing clumps of snow, the bright sun shining down on us.

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