What You Do To Me (Unexpected Love) (41 page)

             
When Sam and I got into the
house,
the girls were waiting for us. They were so excited to meet Sam and
she
seemed genuinely excited to meet them.
I wasn’t
sure how it
happened,
but all five of us ended up in the king
-
size bed for a
n
all
girl’s sleepover. I think it was Lily’s idea and Sam was more th
a
n excited to
accept
the offer. We stayed up watching movies and eating popcorn.

             
I woke up the next mo
rning to lips on my mouth. I sho
t up quickly to see Alex standing over me. “What are you doing here?” I
said,
whispering loudly.

             
Alex dropped to his
knees.
He
ran his hand along my face and through my hair. He brought his forehead to mine. “I’ve never been
as
jealous of my sister as I am now.” He kissed me again.

             
“You didn’t answer
me.
What
are you doing here?” I didn’t understand how he got into the house or why he was
there
.

             
“
Well,
you did tell us to pick you guys up at nine
and
it’s
quarter to nine
. David’s
parents were leaving to play golf when we got here. Derek is talking to them now.”

             
“Shit, it’s going to take forever to get us all ready.” I sat up
quickly,
trying to figure out how we are going to do
it
. “
Okay
, get
Derek, because
he can help with
getting
the girls ready. I’ll wake everyone and Sam can get in the shower.”

             
“Tell me what needs to b
e done with the girls and I’ll help.” I sent Alex into the other room to pull out shorts and tanks
from the suitcases
for the girls. I woke everyone
up,
and Sam and I quickly jumped in the shower. I threw my hair in a ponytail and put on shorts and a tank. When I came
out,
Alex and Derek had the girls
dressed,
and Alex was brushing their hair. “I’m sorry, I can brush hair, but not sure how to style.” I was shocked he did as much as he did. This wasn’t something
he
had to do. I think at
that
very moment was when I finally saw
Alex for all that he truly was and it took everything for me not to tell him how much I loved him.

             
An hour later, we
finally made it out of the house.
Derek gave the security guys
his car
keys
and we all piled into the SUV so we could ride together. Lily
asked
Sam and Alex lots of questions and
told us
all about
their
trip to Hershey. The twins sat back and let Lily do all the talking. Unlike their older
sister,
they were quieter and more reserved. Something I wish I could pull them out of, but after David’s
death,
they clung to me more.

             
When we got to the
zoo,
Alex paid our way in and gave Sam’s name to the lady in the booth. When we entered through the
gate,
there
were
a
man and woman waiting for us. They greeted Sam and Alex and told us they had a few special things planned for us. Sam grabbed Lily’s hand and followed them the elevators to take us up
to
the zoo. Jasmine reached for
Derek,
and Alex scooped up
Josie,
placing her on his shoulders and grabbing my hand. Josie squealed with excitement and I felt warm inside with something more then just
desire.
The
warmth almost felt like contentment.

             
Sam and Derek arranged for the most perfect zoo visit ever. The girls got to see the baby elephant up close. The girls and Sam fed
them
and we got lots of pictures with the baby elephant and
adult ones
. When we got to the
aquarium
, they
let us feed the penguins. I did make Sam go to the glass in front of the penguin exhibit. That was always my favorite part. Josie was a little scared so Alex held her and reassured her
that
everything would be
okay
. She finally agreed to go to the glass as long as he held her. I couldn’t help, but take pictures of th
at
. He looked so at ease and Josie looked so happy. When we walked out to look at the other
things,
Josie leaned
in to hug
him and he kissed her forehead. My heart
hurt,
because this was something she
hadn’t
had in a long time and I was scared that it might be taken
away again. Alex must have sensed me staring at
them,
because he looked over and smiled,
but
he stopped after seeing my face. Josie wanted down so she could climb through tunnels of the
stingray
exhibit with her sister. Alex immediately came over to me. “What’s wrong?”

             
I forced a smile. “Nothing, you did such a nice job
helping
her
g
o see the penguins. You both looked happy.” Alex grabbed my hands and kissed my forehead.

             
“
Abby,
what else, you looked like I killed your dog.”

             
“It’s nothing, really, let’s enjoy the day, everyone is having such a great time. This is by far the best zoo visit we’ve ever experienced.”

             
Alex kissed me on the lips, “Me too.” He
took
my
hand,
leading me towards the girls who were laughing and playing with Sam and Derek.
They day remained
perfect.
We
walked through the zoo,
and
Alex and Derek joined the girls on the giant slides while I snapped pictures. We ate lunch together and the best part
was that
not many people bothered Alex for pictures or autographs. I wasn’t sure if they didn’t
recognize
him or if they were respecting the fact
that
he was out with
kids and family. The more I used that word with Alex in a
sentence,
the more I liked the sound of it. When it was time to leave, the girls were exhausted.

             
Alex and Sam said
goodbye
to the girls and Lily made
Sam
promise to
have
another
sleepover, which
made me smile. Josie clung to
Ale
x
,
not wanting to let go. It broke my heart. Alex whispered something in her ear and
he
gave her a kiss on the
cheek,
which immediately brought a smile to her face. I heard him tell her it was a secret, just between them. She jumped down and ran to her sisters who were
standing with
Derek. Alex walked over to me. “What is the secret?” I gave him a look and then looked at Josie.

             
“Well, it wouldn’t be a secret if I told
you,
would it?” I was getting annoyed.

             
“Have I ever told you
that
I hate secrets?” Alex leaned in and kissed me. It was a quick kiss and it left me wanting more.

             
“I have a feeling you may like this one, but you have to
wait.
Don’t
even think of trying to get it out of my buddy over there. I told her to call me if you do.” I g
a
ve him a pouty face. “I forgot to tell you in all the hustle of the morning
that you
are coming out to Portland next week. Your mom said she is taking the girls on their annual shopping trip.
” I looked at Derek and wondered when he talked to my mother. He must have sensed my question. “She called Derek today to see how you
were,
since you haven’t called her since the night of the concert. So, I got on the phone with her and we had a nice talk. I don’t think
I’ve
won her over yet, but I will.”

             
“She was
okay
with me flying out to see you and skipping out on the annual shopping trip?” I was
shocked, since
this
had
been a thing since I was a little girl. We always went shopping for school clothes together,
and
now it
had
crossed over to the girls.

             
“Actually, it was her idea and I think
it’s
brilliant.” Kissing me again, “I’ll see yo
u in a week and I’ll make sure you work up an appetite
.”
I pulled him in for one more kiss and heard the girls along with Derek and Sam
making
kissing sounds at us. Alex was the first to pull away and he ran over towards
them,
grabbing and scooping them up
to kiss
them on the cheek, even Derek and Sam. I grabbed my camera
to take
pictures. When I was done, I stared at
him,
knowing I was in
trouble,
because I had completely fallen in love with him.

             
On the drive
home,
the girls fell asleep and Derek turned down the radio. “I wasn’t sure about all this, but after today, I think Alex is good for the girls. He wasn’t
just
acting nice to them; you could tell he really was interested in them and cared.
He and
Josie bonded, and I still have a hard time getting her to hold my hand
even being
a mommy’s girl.”

             
I let out a breath. “I
know. When
I saw him holding her and how she took to him, I got scared. What if this doesn’t work and she
loses
someone else in her life.”

             
“That’s your problem; you need to stop thinking everything is going to fail. Enjoy this and have faith.”

             
“Oh
,
and you let him talk to my mother, are you fucking crazy?” Derek laughed as I said that.

             
“I didn’t, he practically ripped my phone out of my hand, but you should have heard him on the phone with her. He had her eating out of his hands. I still can’t get her to like me.”

             
I reach
ed
for Derek’s hand, “She loves you, but would never let you know it, kind of like me, you’ll crack her. It only took me 31 years to do it.”

             
We reached David’s
parent’s
house and Derek carried the girls in for me. He told me he would swing by tomorrow after work. He said he had to
go
in
, because
he was playing too much, but
it
was worth it.

             
The next
day,
we spent lounging by the pool at David’s parent
’
s house
. We grilled out on the patio and as
promised,
Derek stopped by to say his goodbyes to us. I wanted to get on the road first thing in the
morning,
because it was such a long drive back.  Alex called before the girls
went to
bed
to talk to them
. Josie kept him on the phone for
a while
telling him about the pool and her trip to Hershey. I was
shocked,
because she hadn’t even told me about her trip with her grandparents. When she was
done,
Josie handed me the phone. “You must have magical
powers.
I haven’t gotten anything out of her about that trip to Hershey. What did you bribe her with?”

             
“Nothing, I didn’t need
to
,
we’re
best friends.
Actually,
I think she said I’m her BFF.” My heart felt full and ached at the same time. I was so happy Josie found a bond with Alex and so scared at the same time
that
he would not be in her life after awhile.
“What does BFF mean anyways?” I started to laugh.