Page 25 of Moonlighter
The first twotimes Alex moves her smooth knee against mine, I think it’s a come-on. In fact, I can’t resist sliding a hand beneath the table and smoothing her skirt over her leg.
She promptly kicks me.
And that’s when I finally realize that the knee maneuver was meant to be a nudge, telling me her ex is in view.
Whoops. My bad.
I sit up straighter and scan the room. And there he is, only two tables away. As adversaries go, he’s not that interesting. Khaki pants. Blue polo shirt. Closely cropped brown hair and wire-rimmed glasses. He’s perusing the menu, his feet crossed at the ankles.
Eh. I could crush him in the palm of my hand. And it would be very satisfying.
“You’re making a face,” Alex whispers beside me.
“So?”
“That’s not good acting. No Academy Award for you.”
“I call bullshit. My job description is simply to be your very convincing jealous boyfriend.” I put an arm around her again and pull Alex close.Oh, the hardship. She smells like flowers and sunshine. And just to show her what a good actor I am, I turn and press a soft kiss to her temple. And then another. Acting is good work if you can get it. Her skin is so soft against my lips…
She clears her throat.
I release her. “Now who isn’t playing her role?”
“Not true.” She lifts her chin and turns to sear me with a look. “I don’t do PDA. Ever.”
“Not even for your big, grumpy, jealous boyfriend?”
“Not at a business conference.” She gives her head a shake. “There are other ways to act like a couple without pawing each other.”
I laugh out loud. “Pawing? I kissed you on your stubborn, bossy head. If there were pawing, you’d know. I could demonstrate later, if you want. No pressure.”
Her cheeks pink up. “You’re teasing me.”
“Just a little,” I admit. “Not that it doesn’t sound like fun. But I would never embarrass you, Engels. I know you’re surrounded by colleagues.”
“And competitors,” she adds. “Half the people at this conference would like nothing better than to take me down. The other half want to kiss my ass.”
“Mmm.” I waggle my eyebrows at her. “Your boyfriend would be in that latter category, then. I love a shapely ass.”
“God, tone it down a notch.”
“You can take the guy out of the locker room, but you can’t take the locker room out of the guy. And why would you even want to?” I glance over and find that her ex has spotted us. “Lean against me a second. I need to make a point.”
Her eyes widen just slightly. But then she moves in, resting her head on my shoulder.
I run a hand down her bare arm, then give her a peck on the forehead. “Good girl,” I say, and it comes out sounding rough. “He’s getting the message, I think.” In my peripheral vision, I can tell he’s watching us.
“Why can’t he just crawl back into his hole and die?” Alex whispers.
“Such strong words from my love bunny.” Turning her face into my shoulder, she giggles. And just for a second she sounds like her eleven-year-old self. And the familiarity gives me goose bumps.
We laughed a lot, I realize. A long-dormant memory of chasing her down the beach washes over me.
That was another lifetime ago. I give myself a mental shake. “Should I get the check? As soon as you’re finished, we can leave. Oh, wait. You’re already done.” The way this woman can put away food is truly astonishing.
“But…” She straightens up. “No dessert? It’s a long time until dinner.”
I laugh, because a pregnant Alex is a hilarious Alex. “I think I saw an ice cream shop on the resort map. We could walk there on the beach.”
