He wore a slate-blue Henley and slim-fitting, dark-wash jeans, and his golden-brown hair flopped just so over his brow. His beard offered grit and depth to his pristine features. His forearms were strong and muscled, his hands broad and capable as they gripped his carry-on and another huge, random bag.
His rapid walk could better be termed a prowl, because he was all animal grace, all fluid motion. When he saw her, his rakish grin creased his cheeks, and … oh. Oh.
Forget all those fluorescent bulbs overhead. Alexander Woodroe emitted his own light, and she had to blink against the glare of it.
At the charity event, she’d called it star power. Charisma. But his appeal, his draw, was more personal than that now. Too personal.
Lauren swallowed hard and watched his rapid approach, almost light-headed at the prospect of his nearness.
Only yesterday, mere hours ago, she’d told Sionna he was sexy, and she’d believed it. But today she felt it. In the exact spot where her friend had advised pressing her phone when it vibrated for the millionth time from one of Alex’s texts.
Dammit. Her libido had chosen a terrible time to emerge from hibernation.
A moment later, he was there, halting only inches away, his gray eyes aglow with warmth and crinkled in good humor. He was breathless from his haste in a way that emphasized the rise and fall of that honed chest. The chest she’d spotted damp and shirtless several times, but hadn’t appreciated properly. The chest she suspected she’d be seeing in her dreams now.
For a moment, she could have sworn he was going to hug her. If he did, she was relatively certain she’d pass out.
Then the moment was gone, and they were walking toward the exit, and he flashed that infuriating, charming smirk at her. “Miss me, Wren?”
“Terribly,” she said dryly, and with more sincerity than she would wish.
“Likewise.” He slung an arm around her shoulders, tugging her into his side for a split-second embrace before releasing her. “In fact, your absence made me philosophical. If a tree misbehaves in a forest and no one is there to scold it, did the tree really misbehave at all? I say no. Let me explain my reasoning, in scintillating and exacting detail.”
His monologue lasted for several minutes straight, which was convenient, because the imprint of his body against hers had left her unable to speak.
But the ache in her chest was gone. Completely, utterly gone.
Texts with Carah: Sunday Afternoon
Alex: In an airplane AGAIN
Alex: So BORED
Alex: ENTERTAIN ME, CARAH
Carah: Where’s Lauren, you whiny bitch
Alex: I thought I was the designated gossipy bitch, but if I can be two types of bitches, all the better
Alex: I contain bitchy multitudes
Alex: Anyway, Nanny Clegg is off having fun with her friend Sionna for the weekend, which is completely unfair, since she won’t let ME have any fun
Carah: I liked Lauren
Carah: I enjoyed meeting her at the auction
Carah: What exactly has she stopped you from doing, may I ask
Alex: SO MUCH, SO SO MUCH
Alex: She nags me to eat enough breakfast when I take my ADHD meds, even when I’d prefer to get going and do other things, which is really annoying
Alex: To be fair, my stomach hurts today because I didn’t eat enough breakfast
Alex: Which is really annoying too, because I hate it when she’s right
Carah: …
Alex: And I should have been having fun with Marcus and April, and I did have fun, but Lauren stopped me from having MORE fun by having her phone on silent and not answering my messages, and then I was checking my phone all the time instead of paying attention to Marcus and April, and that’s totally on her
Alex: And THEN, when I should have been binge-watching baking shows with my best friend, instead I had to go out and buy her a present
Alex: I got her a blanket, because she’s a wet blanket
Alex: Get it????
Alex: It’s really soft and quilted and fluffy
Alex: A pretty green with just a hint of blue
Alex: I think that’s my favorite color
Alex: She’s a killjoy and the worst but she deserves soft, pretty things, and she doesn’t do anything nice for herself ever, which is also extremely annoying, as you might imagine
Alex: As I said: THE ABSOLUTE WORST
Alex: Carah?
Alex: Carah, it’d be nice if you RESPONDED at some point
Carah: Sorry, too busy laughing to type
Carah: Alex, you are a fucking delight
Carah: I have to go film myself eating lutefisk in Maria’s honor, so entertain your own whiny ass while I try not to hork on camera
Carah: BYEEEEEE, MOFO