Page 63 of Lucky in Love
“No. It’s not that.” She stared into her mug. “It just never crossed my mind. I mean, why?”
“Why do I want to go out with you?”
She nodded.
“You’re acting like it’s impossible to believe such a thing.”
“Brody. Look at you. You’re gorgeous, famous, well-traveled, established. And then look at me. What am I supposed to think?”
Holy cow. Under all her bravado, her confident swagger, she wasn’t as self-assured as she let on.
“Alex,” he said, putting his hands on her waist. “Youare funny, thoughtful, smart, and beautiful. Any man would be lucky to date you.”
“You barely know me.”
“I know you care about people—your grandpa, your friends, your duck.” That got a chuckle out of her. “You’re ambitious enough to buy a small business and brave enough to try something new with it. You’re a hell of a three-point shooter. And as to your beauty. Well, that’s just an objectively true thing.”
While he was talking, she’d moved her hands to his chest, and he pulled her closer.
“Those are very nice things to say,” she said with a smile. “But it’s really hard to take you seriously in those sweats.”
He looked down at his lime-green legs and laughed. “Alex. I like you. I can’t promise I’ll be around forever. But if you’re willing, I’d like to spend time with you before I have to go.”
In response, she went up on her tiptoes and slid her arms around his neck. “All right. All right,” she said. “You don’t have to beg. Is that what all the kissing’s been about?”
He smiled against her lips and kissed her. This time, she was expecting it and leaned in. She was warm in his arms and tasted like fruity tea. To negate their height difference, he hoisted her onto the counter and went back to kissing her.
“Hmm. I knew it,” he said. “We can add ‘great kisser’ to your list of phenomenal traits.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
Kissing Brody Collins had not been on Alex’s bingo card. And him asking her out was even further down the list of plausible things that might happen that night.
It was sheer coincidence that she’d been thinking about him when he burst through the door. The surprise of it left her in a raw, weak place when he’d made his move.
Her brain initially skipped over the “until I have to go” part, but of course, that was what the future held. While they patched together a light dinner, ate, and polished off the wine, she’d talked herself into the notion of a temporary thing.
Going into a relationship knowing it would end took the pressure off. She could do or say whatever she wanted. She didn’t have to be on her “best” behavior. If he left early, so what? The idea was liberating, and she liked it.
They discussed his book ideas and her troubles with the cabins.
“It’s just one disaster after another,” Alex griped. “The fugitive thing cost me two weeks of renters, and this storm will cost another. I’m leveraged to the hilt and have got to start making some money going into the slow season.”
“Not to toot my own horn, but my review should help with bookings. I’ve done my part, and it’s in my editor’s hands now. It comes out at the end of the month, both the print and online versions.”
They’d moved to the couch, and she snuggled deeper into his arms. “Does that mean you’re giving me a good review?”
“I had to do a little revising after my first impression, but yes.”
She chuckled. “More like completely whitewash it, but thank you. I’ll take any and all help. That’snotwhy I’m making out with you, but I wouldn’t have been above groveling. Glad to know I don’t have to.”
“It’s beautiful here,” Brody said. “And I really do love the Wi-Fi-free idea. I mean, not for me while I’m working, but in general. People need to unplug now more than ever.”
“Well, I’m betting on lots of other people feeling the same. So, you turned in your last article. How does it feel to be untethered from the magazine?”
“Weird,” he answered quickly. “Been with them since the beginning of my career. It’s all I’ve ever known. But it’s also freeing in a way. Now there’s no one to tell me where to go or when. I can do whatever I want.”
“’Course, that means they’re not picking up the tab anymore.”
