Page 76 of Twenty Years Later

"Are you sure?" I could still hear that worry in his voice, and my heart fluttered that he seemed to care so much.

"I am now," I finally said.

He released a sigh. "What on earth were you thinking? Or did you even notice I hadn't called?"

Oh, I had noticed all right. "Yeah, I kind of noticed. And I thought..." Could I even say it?

"Thought what?" he prodded.

I picked up some crumbs on the couch. "I thought maybe you were, you know, back with Fiona."

He laughed so loudly I had to jerk the phone away from my ear. "You did?"

"Well, yeah, what else could I think?"

"No, baby, that'snevergoing to happen." I could almost see his smile through the phone. "She already left."

Good. Thank God for that. "Well, what did she want then? To see Gabby?"

"No." He sighed again. "She dropped by the house Monday night, and we talked. She said she still doesn't have any maternal feelings. But..." Another deep breath. "I really hate telling you this. But I want to be honest."

That made my heart drop all the way down to my toes. "Honest about what?"

"Fiona said she still had feelings for me and was having a hard time of it," he admitted with a tone full of regret.

A wave of nausea overwhelmed me, and I bolted up to find my ginger gum.

"Jayda? You still there?"

With shaky hands, I ruffled through all the crap on the counter, searching. "Yes. I'm here."

"But you remember what I told you, right?" he said quickly. "That Fiona and I are done?"

"I remember," I whispered, giving up on the gum for the moment and leaning against the counter.

"I mean that, Jayda. You hear me? There's nothing there anymore. Not for me, at least."

I wanted to trust him. I wanted that so incredibly much. But could I really take that chance?

"I hope you can believe that," he added in a sincere way that made me suddenly feel warm inside.

"I'd like to," I admitted.

"You can. I promise you, sweetheart. I'm one-hundred percent yours. If you want me that is..."

A smile covered my face. So Alex was all mine, huh? Those words sent me straight from the hell I'd been living in for the past several days all the way to heaven. "Maybe," I said, feeling a burst of happiness surge through me.

"Maybe? Really?" he said in a flirty way.

"You're a pretty smooth talker, Alex Hernandez. And I'll have to see you in person to decide that for sure and see if you really mean it."

"Oh, is that how you're going to play it?" he teased.

"Yep," I said. "So you might want to start thinking about your next visit."

"I'm so on it."

Oh, boy, I really hoped so. I was dying to see him again, especially after what we'd just been through. Talking on the phone was great and all. But there was absolutely nothing like being together in person. However, I knew it might be a while, and I tried not to let that thought crush me.

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