“Will you tell me about her?” I ask nervously.

The hand caressing my hip stops, and I want to suck the words back in my mouth. I shouldn’t have asked. Now isn’t the time, and even if it was, he may not be ready. Although it’s been four years since they passed, the pain is still very raw. And for all I know, he may not ever want to talk to me about her.

We’re still in bed after our lovemaking. The rain’s still pouring down and the wind has picked up, the former making a soothing rhythm against the roof. I’ve always loved the sound of rain hitting the roof.

I lie with my head on his chest and my hand under my cheek. It’s been thirty minutes since we made love, and I’m still feeling the effects of pure bliss.

I open my mouth to apologize and tell him he doesn’t need to talk about her, but he stops me before I can. His hand starts languidly rubbing circles on my hip again when he starts talking.

“Clara was one of the sweetest women I’ve ever met. She was kindhearted and giving, and so beautiful.”

I remember the picture from his drawer. She wasn’t beautiful, she was gorgeous.

“She had these quirks. Like twirling her hair around her finger. Sometimes I’d find it annoying. Like when we were watching a movie. Her hand would keep going in and out of view, which was distracting. Other times, it would be endearing. She’d be doing it and for some reason, my eyes would catch on it, and I’d sit there for several minutes watching. She could do this thing where she could tie a strand of hair into a knot with just three fingers on the same hand.”

My eyes drift up to him and I see a small smile playing on his face. His expression says he’s far away, lost in memories.

“It was a habit she picked up from her mom and hoped our daughter would pick up as well.”

The smile slowly drops from his face.

“She was cold all the time and always had to have something on her feet. You’d never catch her without at least socks, but most times she had on some form of shoes. She and her family were from Florida, so it was a big adjustment for her when they moved here. I don’t think her body ever adjusted. She hated to be cold. At night, in bed, she’d always warm her icy feet by laying them flat against my calves.” He laughs at the memory.

I love hearing him talking about her. She was such a big part of his life for so long. And I love that their love was so strong.

“She loved cherry filling, like in a pie, but hated real cherries. It was the opposite with coconut. She hated anything with the flavor coconut, but loved coconut itself. She loved altering words. Instead of potato, she’d say tater, and for spaghetti, it was sketti.” His chuckle is quiet when he continues. “She’d get her words mixed up in the funniest of ways too. Like, she would try to say, I’m going to wash the car, and it would come out as I’m going to car the wash. Some were pretty entertaining.”

I laugh lightly and tip my head back so I can see him. “She seems like she’d be fun to be around.”

He looks down, then tucks a piece of hair behind my ear, letting his finger linger on my cheek.

“She would have liked you,” he says warmly.

“I’m sure I would have liked her too,” I tell him honestly.

As much as it pains me to think I wouldn’t have Alexander in my life if Clara and Rayne were still here, it hurts even more knowing the pain he went through when he lost them. I’d rather give up my own happiness to ensure he still had his. I just hope one day he gives me the chance to make him as happy as Clara did.

I kiss the center of his chest before flipping over and resting my arm across his stomach and laying my head on it. His arm hangs over my waist and he rests his hand against the base of my spine.

“I’m sorry for scaring you earlier,” I say while running my fingers over the smooth scars on his chest. As gruesome as they may appear to some, I think they’re beautiful. It shows his strength and the story of his heartbreaking past.

“What was so important that you would drive in such bad weather?"

He stares down at me, and I can tell he’s still bothered. It warms my insides to know he cares enough that he worried about me. But then, I hate that he went through that reminded pain.

“I wanted to see you.” I shift so I’m sitting up more, taking the sheet with me. “After talking with you on the phone for so long, I just felt a strong need to see you.”

I drop my eyes, suddenly feeling exposed. Not physically, but mentally.

He grabs my chin and forces my eyes back to his.

“I know I overreacted, but the thought….” He closes his eyes for a moment, looking pained, before opening them again. “I can’t do it again, Gwen,” he finishes in an agonized whisper.

I scoot closer to him. I know what he’s thinking, and I want to wipe the thought from his mind.

“Nothing will happen to me.”

“There’s no way you can promise that,” he argues.

Cupping his damaged cheek, I lean up and kiss his lips. “I can’t, but I can guarantee that I’ll be as careful as I can, and I know you’ll protect me as best as you can.”

His eyes turn tortured as he takes in my words. I can tell he wants to believe me, but past experiences and his guilt over not saving his wife and baby prevent him from doing so. I hold his gaze, wanting him to see the truth. His eyes stay guarded, and it makes me even more determined to show him he’s a good and honorable man, and that what happened was in no way his fault.

As much as I don’t want to, I need to get back to the kids.

I kiss his lips once more before pulling back. “I have to go get the kids. They’re at Jeremy’s and his mom’s having lunch. I’m sure they’re probably wondering where I am.”

He lifts his arm from my waist, and I slide to the edge of the bed. I feel the heat of him following me. I try to take the sheet with me because somehow my underwear ended up on the other side of the room, and I’m not yet at the stage of shamelessly traipsing across the room naked. When I stand and tug on the sheet, it doesn’t move. I turn and look at what’s stopping it, and see a grinning Alexander with the sheet gripped in his fist.

I arch an eyebrow. “You gonna let go anytime soon?”

His grin grows. “I’ll think I’ll keep ahold of it for a while.”

“Alexander,” I beg.

“Nah-uh.” He shakes his head, then tips his chin toward where my panties are on the floor. “You gonna get dressed?”

I narrow my eyes and hold his stare for several seconds before an idea pops in my head. Two can play this game. Turning on my heel, I make sure to sashay my hips as I walk over to my panties. With my cheeks pink, and with more boldness than I thought I was capable of, I bend with my ass facing him and scoop up my panties from the floor.

Hearing a groan behind me, I turn back to face him with my own smirk.

“Fuck me,” he mutters. “That shit backfired.”

I laugh and slip my legs through the holes and pull them up my hips. I still feel self-conscious as I walk over to my bra by the end of the bed, especially since my breasts aren’t as firm as they used to be. His appreciative gaze says I have nothing to worry about.

He climbs from the bed, and my eyes move to the hardness swaying between his legs. Earlier, when he first pulled off his jeans and briefs, my concentration was stuck on the scars running up and down his leg, so even though it was pretty much in my face, I didn’t get a good look at his erection. And afterwards, he was covered by the sheet. Now though, I can’t take my eyes off it. He’s huge, so huge that it’s a wonder it fit inside me without ripping me in two.

My eyes go wide, and although his size is very intimidating, my body heats at the reminder of how good he felt sliding in and out of me.

His chuckle has my eyes snapping up to his, and I feel a blush creep up my cheeks at being caught ogling him.

“You keep looking at me like that and you’ll be calling Jeremy to let him know he’s got the kids for another couple of hours.”

His laugh is deep when I drop my eyes from him and turn around. Spying my shirt a couple feet away, I grab it and my jeans beside it and put them on. I shiver when the cold and wet material touches my skin. My shirt has no buttons. I turn around to ask him for a shirt, and thankfully see he’s dressed in the same jeans and thermal shirt he had on before, even though they are obviously wet. Silently, he holds out a shirt for me. I slip it on and stealthily smell the soft material.

I snag my jacket off the floor and we leave the bedroom. Gigi comes trotting out of the kitchen and meets us at the front door. I give her a few rubs before he opens the door and we step outside. The rain has stopped and there’re a few rays of sunlight filtering through the clouds.

Before I can walk down the steps, he turns me around to face him, loosely putting his arms around my waist and resting his hands on my lower back.

“How about you and the kids come over for dinner tomorrow night?” he suggests.

I smile, because, well, I can’t not smile. I love that he wants us to come back. I love that he wants to spend time with the kids. And I love that he seems to be working past his issues. We’ve never actually talked about what’s going on between us, but we both know there is something there.

“I’d love to, and I know the kids would too.”

“Good.”

He drops his head and sweeps his lips across mine before settling them more firmly against my mouth. I love the way he tastes and the way he kisses me. His arms tighten around me, bringing me closer to him, and I dig my fingers into his sides as we tangle our tongues together. My core begins to pulse with renewed need, and I wish we had more time. My body is pleasantly sore, but it doesn’t stop me from wanting him again. From his deep groan, he wouldn’t be opposed to the idea either.

The crunch of tires on the driveway is what pulls us apart. We break away and turn our heads to see a white car driving up to the house.

“Shit,” Alexander mutters when the car pulls to a stop. He drops his arms and takes a step back.

“Who is it?” I ask, turning to him.

His eyes leave the car long enough for him to look back at me and say, “My parents,” before looking back.

Surprise has my mouth dropping open, then nerves start to take over.

“Wait! What?” I squeak.

Alexander turns back to me, sees my anxiety, and reaches for my hand. “Hey,” he says, bending his knees to look directly into my eyes. “There’s nothing to be worried about.”

A car door slams behind us. I’ve got no choice but to nod. I’ve got no time to freak out or get used to the idea of meeting his parents. It’s not that I don’t want to; actually, I really do want to. It’s just that I would have liked more time to prepare.

A tall man with weathered skin, dark brown hair, and kind eyes comes walking up, a petite woman with sandy-blond hair tucked into his side. As soon as the woman sees Alexander and me standing on the porch, she pushes away from the man and rushes forward, her hand flying to her mouth. Alexander releases my hand and walks down the steps, meeting her at the bottom. When he engulfs her in his arms, she’s so small compared to him that the only thing I can see is her arms wrapped around his waist.

Murmured words come from her, but they’re so low, I can’t hear them. I look past them and see the man looking up at me curiously. I offer an unsure smile and one corner of his mouth lifts.

A moment later, Alexander and his mother break apart, and I hear his softly spoken, “Hey, Mom.”

She puts her hands on either side of his face and pulls his head down to kiss his cheek before stepping back to let the man step forward. They embrace tightly, clap each other on the back, then step back.

“I’ve got someone I want you to meet,” Alexander says, then steps back so his mother can see me.

I wring my hands nervously as they take the few steps to the porch where I’m still standing. Alexander comes to my side and wraps an arm around my waist.

“Mom, Dad, this is Gwendolyn.” He squeezes me. “Gwendolyn, this is Helen, my mother, and David, my father.”

“It’s nice to meet you both,” I say, holding out my hand to Helen.

She looks just as startled as me, but recovers quickly. I expect to shake her hand, but she surprises me when she pulls me into her arms. I’m stiff for a split second before wrapping my arms around her. Helen’s head only comes to my nose. She’s such a tiny thing, but her arms are tight around me.

When she steps back, David comes forward and hugs me as well.

“It’s so good to meet you, darlin’,” he says after pulling back.

“Gwendolyn,” Helen remarks. “That’s such a pretty name.”

“Please, call me Gwen. Most everyone does.”

She shakes her head and smiles. “I’ll stick with Gwendolyn, if that’s okay.”

I nod and give her my own smile. “That’s fine.”

Helen turns toward Alexander. “I didn’t know you were seeing anyone,” she scolds lightly, but there’s a light in her eyes.

He gives her a half smile, looks down at me, then replies, “I wasn’t until recently.”

She stands in front of us, her hands folded prayer style below her mouth. Her eyes glisten with tears as she looks at us. “Well, this is good news.”

Although we’ve only just met and Alexander and I haven’t known each other long, I get the feeling Helen sees something Alexander and I haven’t even talked about; the seriousness of our relationship and where it’s going. I know where I want it to go, and I’m pretty sure he does too. Helen though, looks as if she’s already picturing our wedding day. I’d laugh if it wasn’t for the fact that deep down inside, I’ve pictured it too and want it to come true so much.

“What are you guys doing here?” Alexander asks, slipping his arm back around me.

David gives him a sympathetic look. “Once you gave the okay, I held her off as long as I could.”

Helen slaps her husband’s stomach, but says to Alexander, “I couldn’t wait any longer. I missed you and it’s been too long.”

Alexander clears his throat, looking bothered for some reason, but simply nods.

“I’m glad you’re here.”

Something feels strange, almost tense, and I wonder if something happened between Alexander and his family. It’s good that I can’t stay, because I think they need time alone together.

“I hate to be so rude, but I’ve got to be going.” I turn to Alexander. “The kids are waiting on me.”

Before he can respond, I hear his mother ask, “You have kids?”

I turn back to her. “I do. Kelsey, my girl, is eight. And my boy, Daniel, is six.”

Her eyes move to Alexander. Both elation and a hint of sadness flash across her face.

“Can we meet them?” she asks with undisguised hope. The look on her face and knowing she’s lost a granddaughter have my throat clogging up.

I grab her hand and give it a firm squeeze. With my eyes, I tell her I understand her pain. She smiles sadly at me.

I’m fine with the kids meeting his parents, but I still leave the decision up to Alexander, as they are his parents, and I worry this may be something he’s not ready for yet.

I needn’t have worried. He glances at me, and I give him a subtle nod.

“They’re coming over for dinner tomorrow evening. You can meet them then.”

The smile that comes across Helen’s face makes her appear ten years younger.

We leave them on the porch and Alexander walks me to my truck. Once I’m at the driver-side door, he puts his arms around me. I feel weird with his parents on the porch with a clear view of us, but I wrap my arms around his waist anyway.

“Sorry about that. I had no idea they were coming for a visit.”

“It’s fine,” I assure him. “They seem like wonderful people.”

He nods. “They are. Are you sure you don’t mind bringing the kids tomorrow to meet them? We can do it some other time.”

I’m shaking my head before he finishes. “As long as you’re okay with it, so am I.”

He dips his head and places a light kiss on my lips.

“See you tomorrow,” he murmurs, then reaches behind me and opens my door.

Not wanting to leave him, but knowing I have to, I step back and get behind the wheel. As soon as the door is closed and I start the truck, I roll down my window. He bends and gives me another kiss before stepping back.

I drive away with a big smile on my face, feeling happier and more hopeful than I have in a long time.