his very eager tongue. His mouth consumed me, leaving me breathless and wanting more. When he pulled back, I moaned in protest, bringing a small grin to his mouth.
"I don't understand," I questioned, only barely finding my voice.
"Neither do I," he said, shaking his head and released his hold on me. "Something about you…" He pulled his eyes from mine. "I can't control myself around you."
"Lexi? Is everything all right?" Kat called from the terrace overlooking the grassy area where we stood.
My guess was that she saw the whole thing. I took the opportunity to escape and nearly ran up the hill to her.
"Did he just kiss you?" she whispered, whisking me inside past the group of people gathered around the terrace to see who was yelling out there. I seemed to be unable to stop making a spectacle of myself.
"Kat, please, I don't want to talk about it. I just want to go home."
***
I thought for sure Kat was going to want to talk when we got home, but to my surprise, she didn't say a word. No sooner had we walked in the door and she disappeared into her room with Matt. I knew something was up, but I had enough on my own plate at that moment. I just couldn't deal with that too.
There was so much going on in my head that it hurt just to try to think. I downed a couple ibuprofen and took a steaming hot shower. I let everything melt down the drain with the water. Sam, Sebastian, my father, all of it, gone for just a little while. There would be tomorrow. Plenty of time to deal with the world, as long as it wasn't in that moment.
CHAPTER EIGHT
The last thing I wanted to do after last night was have lunch with my father and the next addition to his collection, but despite what I wanted, that's exactly where I found myself.
"Lexi, sweetheart, I've missed you," my father beamed, pulling me into an unwelcomed hug. "This is Greta, my fiancé." The poor woman stood there smiling, having no idea what she was getting herself into.
"Larry, Greta," I said flatly, taking the seat across the small table, pulling Matt down next to me. I didn't want to take a chance that my father would sit too close. Across the table was bad enough.
Greta was a plain looking woman with short, neatly styled brown hair, matching brown eyes, and a slightly plump frame. She was nothing like the other women I'd seen my father with, though I'd apparently missed a few, so I couldn't be sure it wasn't a longer term trend.
My father had been a handsome man, his features similar to Matt and very much the charmer. When I was a little girl, I'd look at photos of my him and swear I would one day marry a man that looked just like him. Now, he was getting older and didn't have quite as much hair as he used to. He also wasn't in as good shape as he used to be, not that he totally let himself go, he hadn't. He was still an attractive man, I had to admit, but it was his charm that really carried him. He passed that same charm down to Matt who never missed an opportunity to use it to his advantage with the ladies. It made me sad that my brother thought so highly of Larry and acted like him around women. Matt was better than that. I knew he was.
"So, Lexi, your father tells me you are a journalist for the Ledger. That sounds like an exciting job. How are you liking it?" she asked, trying to sound interested. I felt bad for her. It wasn't her fault and I didn't want to be mean to her intentionally.
"Technically, I freelance. It's difficult to get a full time position right now with the economy and all. It's an okay job, not too exciting," I answered, my eyes down, scanning my menu.
"Lexi really wants to move to the city and work for some hot shot paper there, Greta. She is much too talented for the likes of our lowly local newspaper," Matt boasted, trying to make poor Greta feel less awkward. He nudged me under the table with his knee and I knew he wanted me to make more of an effort.
"Well, that sounds even more exciting. My daughter
"I don't understand," I questioned, only barely finding my voice.
"Neither do I," he said, shaking his head and released his hold on me. "Something about you…" He pulled his eyes from mine. "I can't control myself around you."
"Lexi? Is everything all right?" Kat called from the terrace overlooking the grassy area where we stood.
My guess was that she saw the whole thing. I took the opportunity to escape and nearly ran up the hill to her.
"Did he just kiss you?" she whispered, whisking me inside past the group of people gathered around the terrace to see who was yelling out there. I seemed to be unable to stop making a spectacle of myself.
"Kat, please, I don't want to talk about it. I just want to go home."
***
I thought for sure Kat was going to want to talk when we got home, but to my surprise, she didn't say a word. No sooner had we walked in the door and she disappeared into her room with Matt. I knew something was up, but I had enough on my own plate at that moment. I just couldn't deal with that too.
There was so much going on in my head that it hurt just to try to think. I downed a couple ibuprofen and took a steaming hot shower. I let everything melt down the drain with the water. Sam, Sebastian, my father, all of it, gone for just a little while. There would be tomorrow. Plenty of time to deal with the world, as long as it wasn't in that moment.
CHAPTER EIGHT
The last thing I wanted to do after last night was have lunch with my father and the next addition to his collection, but despite what I wanted, that's exactly where I found myself.
"Lexi, sweetheart, I've missed you," my father beamed, pulling me into an unwelcomed hug. "This is Greta, my fiancé." The poor woman stood there smiling, having no idea what she was getting herself into.
"Larry, Greta," I said flatly, taking the seat across the small table, pulling Matt down next to me. I didn't want to take a chance that my father would sit too close. Across the table was bad enough.
Greta was a plain looking woman with short, neatly styled brown hair, matching brown eyes, and a slightly plump frame. She was nothing like the other women I'd seen my father with, though I'd apparently missed a few, so I couldn't be sure it wasn't a longer term trend.
My father had been a handsome man, his features similar to Matt and very much the charmer. When I was a little girl, I'd look at photos of my him and swear I would one day marry a man that looked just like him. Now, he was getting older and didn't have quite as much hair as he used to. He also wasn't in as good shape as he used to be, not that he totally let himself go, he hadn't. He was still an attractive man, I had to admit, but it was his charm that really carried him. He passed that same charm down to Matt who never missed an opportunity to use it to his advantage with the ladies. It made me sad that my brother thought so highly of Larry and acted like him around women. Matt was better than that. I knew he was.
"So, Lexi, your father tells me you are a journalist for the Ledger. That sounds like an exciting job. How are you liking it?" she asked, trying to sound interested. I felt bad for her. It wasn't her fault and I didn't want to be mean to her intentionally.
"Technically, I freelance. It's difficult to get a full time position right now with the economy and all. It's an okay job, not too exciting," I answered, my eyes down, scanning my menu.
"Lexi really wants to move to the city and work for some hot shot paper there, Greta. She is much too talented for the likes of our lowly local newspaper," Matt boasted, trying to make poor Greta feel less awkward. He nudged me under the table with his knee and I knew he wanted me to make more of an effort.
"Well, that sounds even more exciting. My daughter
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