A Fare To Remember_ Just Whistle_Driven - Vicki Lewis Thompson [100]
“We don’t need to talk about this now,” Alec said.
“It’s like the elephant in the room,” she replied.
“It’s business.” He ran a fingertip along her shoulder to her breast, then slowly circled her nipple. “This was pleasure.”
“Was it? Or are you hoping that if you spend enough time with me, you’ll convince me to help you out with your plan? That won’t happen, you know.” Her words contained only a trace of teasing humor. She was looking for assurances.
“Is that want you think?” Alec murmured. He pushed up on his elbows. “Do you regret what just happened?”
“No. I wanted it as much as you did. I’m just wondering if we wanted it for the same reasons,” Sabina said. “I’ve lived here my entire life. This isn’t just some building to me, this is my home. And I don’t plan to leave it anytime soon.”
“You feel safe here,” Alec said.
“I do. These people are like my family. The Wilburns have lived here thirty-five years. They were both teachers in the public schools. And Mr. Harcourt had a little shoe repair place just around the corner. He’s lived here for almost forty years. And Mrs. O’Keefe was a nurse. Her husband died last year. They moved in here on the day they were married in 1963.” Sabina paused. “They helped raise me.”
“Sometimes it’s good to make a break with the past, to start a life of your own.”
Sabina rolled her eyes. “Pot, I’d like to introduce kettle. You’re not the one to make that point, Alec. You work for your father.”
“Technically, he works for me now. And if I had to, I could make a living anywhere.”
“This is where I chose to make my life,” Sabina said. “Near my grandmother, and our friends.”
“And what if you had a reason to leave?”
“What possible reason would I have to leave?” Sabina asked. “Money? I have all I need for now.”
“What if you got married?” Alex challenged. “Moved to a new city, a new state?”
“And why would I have to move? Why couldn’t my husband live here with me?”
Alec glanced around. “It’s a little small for a family, don’t you think?” The moment the words left his lips, Alec regretted saying them. He wasn’t planning their future together, he was merely posing a hypothetical question. Still, he was desperate to know where he stood with her.
Did Sabina consider this just a simple one-night stand? Or did she imagine them in a relationship, falling in love and then getting married? For so long, he’d avoided even the thought of commitment. But now Alec understood the allure. To spend every night in bed with a woman like Sabina would be like a little slice of heaven on earth.
He pulled her closer, tucking her backside into the curve of his body. “I like your apartment,” he said, his lips pressed against her shoulder. “It feels like a home.”
Sabina sighed as if willing to give up the argument for now. Alec closed his eyes and let his thoughts drift. It did feel like home, lying in her bed with his arms wrapped around her naked body. This was all a man really needed out of life, he mused. He could be satisfied with this and nothing more.
But Alec knew from experience that sooner or later reality would creep back in. For him, it had always been sooner. But this time, he’d found something special, something he was willing to protect at all costs.
Sabina wriggled in his embrace. “Why are we talking about this?” She tossed the covers back and crawled out of bed. “I’m getting dressed and then I’m going to go fetch us dinner. You can relax.”
“I’ll come with you,” Alec said.
“No,” Sabina said. “You’ll just slow me down with those crutches. And I’m starving. Thai or pizza?”
“Thai,” he said. “Noodles with peanut sauce.”
“To drink?”
“Beer. Always drink beer with Thai food.”
She grabbed a light cotton dress from her closet and pulled it over her, then slipped into a pair of sandals. Bending over the bed, she gave him a quick kiss. But Alec slipped his hand around her nape and held her close, lingering over her lips for a long moment.
“I’ll be back in a few minutes,” she said.
As he listened to her leave,