Ignite (Explosive) (14 page)

I totally forgot about my Star Wars references, and I cringe as I recall my Yoda impression. As a Star Wars fanatic, I know Ty would’ve laughed at my comments, and I’m hoping Jace can do the same.

In another world, I think that these two men could’ve been friends. Jeremy wasn’t lying when he said that there were a lot of similarities between them, but they also have their differences. Regardless, even though the pain from losing Ty still lingers, I’m inwardly excited at the prospect of getting to spend time with Jace again. I’m slightly in awe that I’ve been fortunate enough to experience the love of two amazing men.

I’m lost in counting my blessings when Jace comes out of the bathroom and starts singing Usher’s “I Will.”

I laugh as he sits down next to me and comments, “Who decided that a penny for someone’s thought was good enough? That almost insulting. I’d pay a million bucks to be inside of your head at any given moment.”

Smiling at him, I agree. He places his hand over mind and gives me a chaste kiss as he drags me off of the bed. Picking up my purse from the hallway, I let him lead me out of the front door. He closes the door behind us and presses me up against it, giving me a deep kiss.

“As much as I want to prove my other mastery skills to you, I want to spend the day getting to know you again. And then we can see where the night takes us. Sound good?”

“Sounds perfect, Jace. Can we stop by Sierra and Jeremy’s condo so I can take a quick shower?” I ask.

Jace contemplates my request before answering. “That’s actually a good idea. Why don’t I meet you there in an hour? I could probably use one, too.”

Giving me a quick kiss, he steers me towards the elevator. He asks what condo number they’re in, and before I know it, I’m smiling as the doors slide shut and Jace disappears from my sight.

Forty-five minutes
later, I’m pacing my condo, anxious to start this day. I have no idea what we’re doing or where we’re going, but I know I need to fill every moment of this weekend with making memories of Alexa. Screw waiting. I decide to go ahead and go to their condo so I can spend some time catching up with Jeremy while she’s getting ready. I grab my wallet and my car keys and my make my way two floors down.

Strangely, I’m nervous as I knock on the door. I feel like I’m picking up my girlfriend to go out on our first date and I’m dreading meeting her dad. Come to think of it, this actually will be what is considered our first date. She’s not exactly my girlfriend, and Sierra’s not her father, but I shudder at the thought of the inquisition I’m sure she’s going to force me to endure. In fact, having a ‘heart to heart’ with Sierra Banks is probably worse than any father sitting on the porch, cleaning his shotgun in order to scare the piss out of any potential suitors. When she’s pissed or fired up, she’s like a black mamba—lurking in the weeds, waiting to strike and sink her fangs into your skin, releasing that deadly venom. On the flip side, she’s also one of the funniest, sweetest girls I’ve ever known, and I’m excited that both Sullivan sisters are back in my life.

Sierra answers the door and throws an empty paper towel roll at me before pulling me inside. She backs up into the hallway and reveals that she also has another one. Then she starts to hum what I believe is the Imperial March. I immediately know that Sierra somehow got the full story of last night’s Star Wars scene out of Alexa.

“Dun dun dun dun dun dun dun dun dun.” She smacks me on the arm with her weapon and I decide to play along.

We duel down the hallway, and I don’t let her get in any more jabs. I back off a little bit, but I do get a few good swipes in before we enter the living room area. I notice Jeremy sitting in a recliner with a toddler on his lap. He’s reading to her, but she gets distracted when she sees her mommy fighting an unknown assailant with a cardboard paper towel roll. We move around the room, and I’m sure we look completely ridiculous, but apparently we’re putting on a good show, because the little girl that I assume is Ava starts squealing with delight. She claps as she watches Sierra land a good blow to my stomach. Feigning an injury, I begin to fall to the floor. She climbs off of Jeremy’s lap and stands over me, watching me with curious eyes.

Sierra hands her the cardboard roll, and before I know what’s happening, she’s beating me with it over and over again. She’s laughing, almost manically, if a four-year-old can do that. I curl myself into a ball and close my eyes as she continues her onslaught of hits. After I beg for mercy, she finally stops, dropping the roll to the floor. I slowly open one eye to see if it’s safe to stand. Ava is peering down at me, now rubbing my shoulder.

“No one hurts my mommy!” she exclaims, causing my heart to melt. Sierra walks over to us and lets Ava know that she and I were just playing around. She tells her that I’m a good guy, one of Aunt Lexi’s friends.

I sit up and Ava immediately parks herself in my lap. Taken aback, I push my hands into the carpet, unsure of what to do. Sierra laughs when she sees me doing this.

“Don’t worry about it, Jace. Ava’s never met a stranger. She’ll have you wrapped around her little fingers before you and Lexi are out the door.”

“My name’s Ava,” the little blonde sweetheart says to me as she beams.

“Hi, Ava. I’m Jace. It’s nice to finally meet you,” I respond and grin when she gives me the cutest smile.

“So you know my Aunt Lexi? I love Lexi. We play games and make cookies and she doesn’t like boys, which is good because I don’t like boys either. They’re yucky.”

I fake a frown as I ask, “You don’t like boys? But what about me? Am I a boy? You don’t like me?”

She contemplates my questions before answering. “No, silly, you’re not a boy. My daddy says that really tall boys are men, and one day I need to find a good one. But he said not until I’m at least thirty, and right now I’m only four,” she says, holding up four fingers to clarify for me.

“So we can be friends? Since I’m a tall boy man?” I ask, completely charmed by this kid already.

She smiles and holds her hand out for a shake. I oblige. “We can’t be friends.” I frown, wondering why I’m being rejected by a four-year-old. “We are friends already!” She leans against me as she falls into a fit of giggles.

I look up at Jeremy, who is watching us with amusement. “There’s no question. This is definitely your spawn,” I tell him as he busts into laughter.

“She’s definitely my girl. Although I know I’m going to have my hands full. Look how quickly she latched on to you. I don’t know if it’s legal, but she may be locked in her room once she reaches the high school stages.”

I laugh, and as if it’s contagious, Ava begins laughing, too. I’m sure if she could actually comprehend what her dad was saying, she’d be attacking him with that makeshift light saber, but that’s the beauty of little kids. They have no idea what we’re saying and they still think we’re freaking hilarious.

Sierra walks back in the room and takes Ava’s place on Jeremy’s lap. She smiles as she watches her daughter play with my cell phone, distracted by all of the buttons and apps she can click on. Having had minimal interactions with little kids, I panic, worrying that she’ll stumble upon something she shouldn’t see. I have no idea when kids start reading, so I’m not worried about the fact that I look like a fool trying to steal a phone away from a toddler.

I quickly snatch it from her because there are some things on a single guy’s phone that are for his eyes only. Hey, don’t judge. A guy needs to take care of himself after being in the field for so long. I sure as hell know that Knox isn’t going to cuddle with me, so I need a little spank bank material. And that material does not need to be seen by a four-year-old.

I’m brought back to reality when Ava turns in my lap and throws her arms around my neck, but not before I see Sierra smirking at me with a knowing look. Dammit, nothing gets past that woman. It’s infuriating.

“I love Aunt Lexi, too! See, we can be very, very, very best friends forever and ever!” Ava squeals, apparently responding to something her mother said. I catch Sierra’s smug smile out of the corner of my eye, and I know where Ava’s gotten this idea from.

Chuckling, I return her hug. Before I can say anything, I see that Alexa has joined us, and I watch her leaning against the door frame, taking in her niece’s exclamation. She’s smiling at us, and I swear, I could look at this woman every single day for the rest of my life and I’d still never be able to get enough. When Ava spots her, she quickly leaves my lap and launches herself at her aunt. Alexa swings her around, causing her to squeal with delight.

I close my eyes as I’m suddenly curious as to why she never had kids. She was the best babysitter on the block when we were in high school. All the parents wanted to book her, and the kids always were excited when they found out that Lexi Sullivan was going to be watching them. She always said that she wanted a big family, so it’s kind of surprising that she was married for so long without ever having any of her own.

I make a mental note to try and work that into some conversation over this weekend. I don’t really want to pry, and to be perfectly honest, I have no desire to hear all about her and Ty, but if I’m going to get to know her again, I have to suck it up and listen to it. The reality is that she spent that last eight or so years with him, and no matter how I feel, I’d never make her hide any of that from me. I think in the long run that’d make things harder for both of us, especially if we’re thinking in the long term. And I don’t know about Alexa, but I’m only thinking about the long term. So I can get over my jealously and be happy that there was someone out there who was good to her, good enough for her, and was able to love her in my absence. I mean, he was obviously a great guy if Alexa fell for him so quickly and spent such a long time with him. So, silently, I send up a quick prayer for Ty, thanking him for loving and taking care of her. And I also may throw up a quick thought letting him know that I’ll be good to her and I won’t let him down.

Surprisingly not creeped out that I’m sending thoughts to Alexa’s dead husband, I open my eyes and watch Ava cling to her. Seriously, the girl was born to be a mom, and I instantaneously feel a pull in my groin at the thought of her holding my child. I shake the thought away, not wanting to give the whole Banks family a glimpse at my goods.

Alexa puts Ava on the floor and asks me if I’m ready to get going. I’m more than happy to relive myself from the madness the Banks women have unleashed on me, so I get up and walk over to her. I’m not secretive as I check her out unashamedly.

Her long blond hair is down and straight, and her face has light makeup, enhancing her beautiful eyes and cheekbones. She’s wearing a yellow sundress that has what I think my sister Carrie always called spaghetti straps. The color of the dress against her tan skin is gorgeous, and I can’t help but think about moving one of those straps away to kiss her bronzed shoulder. She has on brown flat sandals, and I couldn’t be happier. I’m almost a foot and a half taller than her, and I love our height difference. I know most guys love heels, and sure, they’re great in some situations, but I want my Alexa small and petite when she’s wrapped around me.

Saying our goodbyes, we make our way out of the condo. We’re silent in the elevator, but I grab her hand as we make our way towards my car. I wish I could tell you that I have some sort of grand plan to woo her, but I really don’t. I’d rather go with the flow, see where the day takes us. I know Alexa, and she doesn’t need some big grand gesture. We could eat dinner at the Waffle House and she’d be happy. That’s one of the things I always loved about her.

I open her car door, and before she sits, she gets up on her toes to give me a quick peck on the lips. Closing the door after she’s safely inside, I smile to myself as I jog around the car to join her. Before I can suggest anything, she breaks the silence.

“This may sound weird, and you can say no, but I’d really love to see your parents,” Alexa says quietly, looking away from me as if she’s afraid I’ll deny her request.

Mentally kicking myself for not having thought of it sooner, I throw the car in reverse and back out of the parking spot. We’re heading down Highway 98 before I answer her.

“My parents would love to see you, babe. My mom almost bit my head off when she found out that I hadn’t told her about you coming. Apparently she still keeps in touch with your folks.”

Alexa laughs as she replies, “Ms. Beth was always so great to me. I’ve missed her a lot. I was disappointed when they couldn’t attend the wedding. I know Mom really wanted to see them.” She reddens at the mention of her marriage to Tyler.

I give her hand a quick squeeze in reassurance. “They’d have been there if they could have. I think that was the weekend of Clay’s college graduation, but trust me, they wanted to be there. They’re going to love this surprise. They’ve missed you, too.”

She smiles at me, and we drive in silence the rest of the way. We head into Holley by the Sea, and she’s quick to point out houses that our old friends used to inhabit. We pull into my parents’ driveway, and I barely have the car turned off before she’s jumping out. I walk around the car to meet her, and I give her a quick kiss on the lips. I’m thrilled that, for the first time in my life, I’m bringing the girl of my dreams to see my parents as something other than just a friend. She giggles at my kiss, and I can’t help the feeling of excitement that washes over me at the thought of her seeing my family again.

“Ready to meet the parents, baby?” I tease.

She returns my kiss before pulling back. “I’ve never been more ready for anything. Bring it on,
baby,”
she mocks.

We make our way towards the front door, pausing only for Alexa to smell my mom’s lilies, which I know are her favorites. Instead of opening the door like any normal son would, I ring the bell so that one or both of my parents have to answer the door. I know the effect it will have on them to see Alexa on my arm, and dammit if I don’t want to hear my mom squealing with delight.

My dad opens up the door and in a flash has Alexa in his arms. She’s squealing and he’s hooting and I’m honestly surprised that Pop’s making such a big deal, but then again, it’s Alexa. She brightens any room she enters. He pulls her into the foyer as they continue their embrace, and I follow suit, slightly pissed that my dad has his arms around my woman. Well, the woman I want. Whatever. It makes sense to me.

“Who is it, Patrick?” I hear my mom call from somewhere within the house.

My dad sets Alexa down and grins at both of us. “Little Lexi. This house has been so silent without you screaming at Jace about how much better the Reds are than the Braves. We’ve missed you, sweet girl. But shhh. Let’s head to the kitchen and surprise Beth. She’s going to be thrilled.”

I smile as I watch my burly father fawn over Alexa. He always loved her, and it’s a shame I hadn’t realized before just how much she fits in with the McAllisters. We walk towards the kitchen, and before I can even see her, I hear Momma shriek with absolute pleasure. I round the corner and see Alexa in her arms, and I can’t help but feel a tug at my heart as I watch the two most important women in my life catch up.