With Me In Seattle: Bundle Two (123 page)

“I just want to talk.” She loops her arm through mine and walks with me to join Meg, Will, and Nate standing by Steven’s newest koi pond.

“What are we talking about?” I ask.

“We’d like to do a fund raiser for the hospital,” Meg says with a soft smile. “Nate thought it would be a good idea to have a dinner, dance, and silent auction, which they already do every year, but…”

“But rather than have it in downtown Seattle this year, we were thinking of asking if we can book the vineyard. Include packages in the silent auction of wines, and maybe a stay out there. Stuff like that.”

“Of course. The vineyard is always open to you. You know that.”

“Awesome!” Meg hugs me hard, then presses her hand on my chest. “You’re my favorite brother-in-law.”

“I was your favorite ten minutes ago when I suggested it,” Nate says with a smile.

“Shh,” Meg says, holding her hand over Nate’s lips. “Don’t ruin it.”

Alecia hurries past with Meredith, talking fast and completely ignoring me.

That’s the last damn time she’ll pretend that I’m not here.

“She went to San Francisco, you know,” Jules says quietly. My gaze jerks down to her.

“When?”

“A few weeks ago.” She shrugs and takes a sip of her drink. “She won’t say why. Just that she had some things to deal with.”

Her family.

She went alone.

What the fuck is going on?

Jules watches me for a long minute, her usual smile gone, replaced with serious eyes.

“I need to go talk to Natalie,” she says finally, and walks away.

“So the event will be in the spring,” Meg says excitedly, and for the next thirty minutes, she and I bounce ideas off of each other to make the event fresh and new.

“Dom, can you help me with something?” Natalie asks as she approaches me. “I’m sorry to interrupt. This won’t take long.”

“Of course. What’s up?”

“There’s a book on the top shelf of Steven’s study that I want to show Luke, and I can’t reach it. Can you get it for me? I’ll show you where it is.”

I frown down at her. “What about Luke?”

“He’s busy with the babies,” she says and grabs my arm, not giving me time to look around, and practically drags me into the house, through the kitchen and down the hall to my father’s study. “It’s right in here—”

She looks like she’s staring at the bookcase, then turns when she hears voices.

“Oh, hold on. Stay right here.”

“Nat, what’s going on?”

Suddenly, Jules and Alecia appear in the doorway.

“What is going on?” Alecia asks as Jules pushes her in the room, then Nat and Jules each grab a doorknob on the French doors and pull them shut.

“There!” Jules yells through the door. “Now you have to talk! So talk!”

Chapter Twenty Two

~Alecia~

“Alecia!” Jules calls out and hurries over to where I’m talking with Jax and Logan in Steven’s garden.

“Hey, Jules.”

“You guys are so damn hot,” Jules says as she approaches us, then hugs each of them. “Like, super hot. I love your suits.”

Jax and Logan opted for grey suits, minus the jackets, with a three button vest and white button up shirts rolled on the forearms. Jax is wearing a green tie and Logan is wearing a soft pink one, in honor of his mother, who is currently battling breast cancer. They look hip and fresh and completely handsome.

“Thanks, gorgeous,” Jax replies and kisses her cheek.

“Are you happy?” Jules asks them.

“Couldn’t be happier,” Logan says with a grin, then kisses his groom on the cheek. “This was perfect, and your family is awesome for hosting.”

“Well, we were happy to do it.” She sighs happily. “It’s so romantic. Alecia,” she turns to me. “Can I steal you for a minute? I’d like to discuss something with you.”

“Of course.”

“Thanks again, Alecia,” Logan says and hugs me tight. “You did an awesome job.”

“My pleasure.” I collect my hug from the incredibly sexy Jax, then follow Jules toward the house. “What’s up?”

“Oh, let’s go inside and get out of the sun,” she says and takes my hand in hers. “It’s so hot today.”

I frown over at her. “It’s not that hot.”

“You’re not hot? Oh, I’m roasting.” She fans her face and rolls her eyes. “Maybe my hormones are still out of whack from having Stella.”

“She’s five months old,” I remind her.

“Well, either way, I’d like to go inside. Too much sun causes wrinkles.” She winks at me and leads me through the kitchen. “Let’s go to my dad’s study. It’s quiet in there.”

She’s up to something. One thing Jules is
not
is a good liar. Before I know it, she’s planted her hand in my back and shoved me not so gently into the study, and she and Natalie pull the doors closed behind me, leaving me with an equally surprised Dominic.

“There!” Jules yells. “Now you have to talk! So talk!”

I close my eyes and sigh in defeat.
Damn them
.

“We love you!” Natalie calls in a sing song voice.

Dominic leans his hips back on Steven’s desk and crosses his arms, watching me quietly. Resigned, I cross to the couch, it’s back facing the desk, and lean my hips against it, facing him, mirroring his stance.

“Why aren’t they talking?” Jules mutters.

Dom’s lips twitch with humor.

“So, how was Italy?” I ask, breaking the silence.

He frowns and blinks. “It was fine.”

I nod thoughtfully. “Good.”

“How’s Blake?” he asks out of the blue.

I scowl. “Fine, I guess. Why wouldn’t he be?”

“Are you fucking him?” he asks quietly, and I’m struck dumb.

Am I fucking Blake?

“What did he ask?” Natalie whispers loudly.

“I don’t know, they’re not talking loud enough,” Jules replies.

“Am I fucking
Blake
?” I repeat.

He just raises a brow and waits, but his eyes have softened as he watches me.

“You think I’m fucking
Blake
?” I hate the quiver in my voice. Hate it. How could he possibly think that?

“Let me get this straight.” I push away from the couch and pace before him. “You come to my condo and walk in on something you didn’t even fully understand, get angry, make accusations, and then you leave the damn
country
. I haven’t seen you in
weeks
, haven’t heard from you, and the first thing you ask me is if I’m fucking my best friend?”

“I saw it,” he replies.

“What, exactly, do you think you saw?”

“I came to your condo to ask you to go to Italy with me, and I walked in to find Blake half naked, you coming out of the shower, and your clothes thrown all over the living room.”

“You came to take me to Italy?”

My heart stops. He wanted me to go with him?

“I did.”

“I was in the shower,” I reply, the blood leaving my face. “Getting ready to come see you.”

He tilts his head. “Excuse me?”

“Blake and I went for a run, and then he talked me into going to your place.”

He swallows hard, processing my words, and I’m still stuck like stupid on
I came to take you to Italy with me
.

“And then you pissed me off so bad with your insane accusation that the reason I was going to come to your place completely left my brain.”

“Why were you coming to see me?” he asks quietly.

I can’t tell him this!

“I guess there’s nothing left to say.” I turn to walk away, but he stops me, his hand on my arm.

“Oh, there’s plenty to say.”

“You thought I was unfaithful to you!” I round on him, furious. “You jumped to conclusions without talking to me!”

“I’ve tried to call you,” he replies, his voice hard and cold. “You never answered. I had to go to Italy. I had a family emergency.”

“You left without me! I thought you’d just left because the going got rough! That I didn’t mean enough for you to fight for me. Just like everyone else in my life.”

“Alecia, no.” He shakes his head in disbelief.

“I think it’s obvious that this isn’t going to work.” I school my features and swallow hard, determined to get through this without letting him see me cry. “You obviously don’t trust me, and what I need, you can’t give me.”

“Just tell me what you want! Tell me how you fucking feel!”

“I fell in love with you!” I yell back angrily. “I was so in love with you my heart ached. And then I find out that just like everyone else in my life, you rank me last on your priority list!”

“This is bullshit!” he exclaims. “You
are
my priority. You’re my
only
priority, damn it!”

He takes my shoulders in his hands and holds me in front of him. “I was coming
to you
to take you with me.”

“I was coming to you to tell you I love you,” I reply before I can stop the words, and feel my eyes fill with tears. “And when I got there, I was told you’d left for Italy. And you didn’t even call me to tell me your were leaving.”

“Oh, baby, no.” He pulls me against him, and hugs me tightly, in the special way he does. “I’m so sorry for this. For all of it. We’ve been hurting for weeks for no reason.”

“I didn’t fuck Blake,” I say, the anger surging through me again as I push away from him. “I would
never
do that. How could you think that?”

“It looked really bad,” he replies with a sigh. “And I’ve lived that before.”

“The ex.” I cover my mouth with my hand.

“After my mother died, I was engaged to a woman, and I walked in on her having an affair with my cousin the night before our wedding.”

“Oh, my God,” I whisper and glance away, covering my mouth with my hand, but then I get pissed again. “And you immediately assumed that I’d do the same?”

“I was worried about Gianna back in Italy. I was excited to see you and whisk you away on a romantic trip to my home, and when I walked unannounced into your condo, I felt like I was reliving that scene in Italy all over again.”

“But nothing happened,” I insist. “Nor would it ever happen. Blake is in love with Emily.”

He simply nods, his eyes sad, mouth grim.

“It’s been a shitty few weeks,” he says quietly.

I simply nod. “One good thing came of it, though.”

“What’s that?”

“I went home too. To San Francisco. I confronted my parents and Jonathan.”

His eyes warm. “What happened?”

I lean against the couch again and cross my arms, wanting to touch him. Aching for him to hold me again.

“My parents are my parents. They don’t get it, and honestly, I don’t know if they ever will, but I told them how they made me feel and I felt really proud of myself when I left.”

“You should be proud of yourself. You’re so fucking strong. And Jonathan?”

“That was a surprise.” I frown. “He apologized to me.”

“Really.”

“He was actually…
sweet
. And it felt good to put some closure on it.”

He nods and smiles softly. “I’m so happy for you, Alecia.”

“So, what now?” I ask, waiting for him to make a move.

“Well, I can’t unlove you,
cara
. Trust me. I’ve tried. The past few weeks have been a hell that I wouldn’t wish on my worst enemy.”

“You love me?” I ask with a whisper. Finally,
finally
, he reaches for me, crushes me to him and holds on tight.

“Loving you is like breathing, Alecia. Being apart from you, thinking that I’d never hold you like this again, was agony. I love you
so much,
and I’m so sorry that I didn’t say it before.”

“I’m so afraid that you’ll hurt me,” I whisper against his chest. “I know it sounds stupid, but I can’t help it.”

“Love doesn’t hurt you,
tesoro
. People who don’t know how to love hurt you. You have so much love to give, and trust me when I say, I’m never going to stop loving you. I’d never walk away from you and you can damn well know that I’m going to fight for you. Remember what I told you that night in your condo? It’s you and me.”

“I missed you,” I murmur with a nod. “I missed us.”

“That’s the last time you’ll miss me.” He tips my chin up and smiles down at me softly. “I’m sorry.”

“Me too.”

“Here!” Jules calls from the other side of the door. “You’re gonna need this!”

She slides a condom under the door, and Natalie giggles.

“Wait!” Natalie slips another with it. “Take two. You’ve earned it.”

“They’re still out there,” I mutter with a laugh.

“We’re not having sex in here!” Dom calls out. “And you both need to go away!”

“Killjoy!” Jules yells. “You should be thanking us!”

“Thank you!” I say. “Now go away!”

“We’re not appreciated,” Natalie says. “Let’s go eat cupcakes.”

“Will’s probably already claimed them all.”

***

“I think it went well,” I say, as Dominic escorts me up to my condo after the reception.

“I’m here with you, so yes, I’d say Jules and Nat’s plan went well.”

“The wedding, silly.” I nudge him with my elbow and then laugh and wrap my arms around his waist, lean my cheek on his chest and breathe him in as we wait for the elevator. “Okay, that went well too.”

“Are you tired?” he asks quietly, his lips in my hair.

“I’m fine,” I reply and lead him to my door. “Are you tired?”

He shakes his head slowly, his eyes pinned to mine as he slowly stalks me through my apartment.

“Are you hungry?” I ask.

He smiles slowly, that dimple winking at me, as he shakes his head again and reaches for my hand, pulls me to him and lowers his lips to mine and kisses me gently, lightly, his mouth dancing with mine in the dark silence of my condo. My fingers find each of the buttons on his shirt and then I push it over his shoulders to the floor. He reaches for the zipper on my dress, but I quickly sink down, squatting before him, and make quick work of his belt, unfasten his pants, plant a kiss on his stomach, right between his navel and his cock as I stroke his already semi-hardness, kissing my way down to it.

“Alecia,” he whispers, as I lick around the rim of the head, and grin when he sucks in a breath and his abs contract. “Fuck.”