LITMIR.BIZ

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by her grumpy tone. “I think what you really need is a vacation.”

      “A vacation?”

      “That’s right. And I have the perfect solution. You can go to Florida with Alex for his sister’s wedding.” She smiled, looking very pleased with the idea.

      “Florida?” Lindsey repeated, staring dumbly at her friend. “I can’t go to Florida with Alex.”

      “Why not?” Sandy demanded. “It’ll solve both of your problems. Alex needs a date to keep his mother off his back. You need some R and R. It’ll be perfect.”

      Lindsey felt the prickling unease of Alex watching her. Panic filled her chest, making it hard to breathe. While she considered Alex a good friend, whenever she saw him it was usually in the accompaniment of her brother, or with Jamie at her side. The thought of spending time alone with him unnerved her more than she cared to admit.

      “It’s out of the question,” Lindsey insisted, refusing to meet Alex’s gaze. “I have to work. You know...classes to teach, tassels to make.”

      “Next week is Thanksgiving. Doesn’t your school go on break?” Sandy observed calmly.

      “Thanksgiving!” Lindsey nearly shouted with relief. “I can’t leave town on Thanksgiving. If I do, Rick won’t have anywhere to go for his turkey dinner.”

      “Gee, thanks, brat,” Rick drawled, looking amused. “But I don’t think it’ll kill me if I miss one Thanksgiving dinner.”

      “Fine, Rick may not need me. But my son does.” Lindsey raised her chin, a picture of indignation. “What would I do with Jamie? I couldn’t possibly leave him home all alone.”

      “Rick, you’re welcome to join us for dinner, and Jamie can stay with me,” Sandy offered. “You know he loves it at my house. He’ll hardly notice you’re gone.”

      “Thanks a lot,” Lindsey said.

      Alex, who’d been noticeably silent during the interchange, startled her by saying, “Lindsey, maybe you should give it some thought. Sandy’s right. It’d be a solution to both of our problems. You need a break. And I definitely need someone to save me from my mother’s good intentions.” His warm smile melted her defenses. “So what do you say? November in Florida may not be a tropical paradise, but it’s the best I can offer on short notice.”

      “Alex, I’m not sure...” she said, wanting to kick herself for the vague-sounding answer.

      “Come on, Lindsey,” Alex persisted. “You know I won’t give up until you say yes.”

      His blue eyes sparkled with a familiar determination. Work or play, Alex was a man who was used to getting his way. Lindsey knew she might as well give up the fight. Arguing with him would be pointless.

      Besides, did she really want to argue with him?

      Going away with Alex meant time away from all of her responsibilities. Time to relax. Time to do nothing but enjoy herself for an entire weekend.

      She’d be crazy to say no.

      Lindsey looked at Alex, taking in his handsome, determined face and his strong, supple body.

      She’d be crazy to say yes.

      She recalled the moment alone with Alex in the hallway, the temptation she’d felt when he had held her hand. Friend or not, Alex was an attractive man. Lately, she’d become more aware of this fact than ever before.

      A new surge of panic tightened her chest, making it hard to breathe. The last thing she needed was to become entangled in an intimate relationship. Her marriage to Danny hadn’t been a bed of roses. They had had their problems. She wasn’t anxious to repeat her mistakes of the past.

      “Lindsey,” Alex said, his gentle tone softly persuading her to face him. “We’re friends, right?”

      Friends—the word soothed her. Perhaps she was overreacting. She’d known Alex for a long time. Not once in their relationship had he ever indicated he wanted more from her than friendship. Spending time alone with him would be as harmless as spending time alone with her brother. Right?

      “Right,” she said.

      Encouraged, Alex continued. “Then, as friends, what’s the harm in spending a few days together?”

      What’s the harm? She was sure there had to be at least a dozen potential dangers. But for the life of her, at the moment, she couldn’t think of one of them. She sighed. “All right, Alex. I’ll go with you to your sister’s wedding.”

      “You won’t regret this, Lindsey,” he said.

      Lindsey’s heart thumped a warning beat as he blessed her with another irresistible smile.

      She already did.

      

      “I can’t do this,” Lindsey said, stopping midway to the doors of the airplane’s loading gate.

      Five days had passed since Jamie’s birthday party. Five of the most trying days of his life. Alex bit-back a groan. Getting Lindsey to agree to join him for his sister’s wedding had been tough enough. Getting her on the plane was proving darned near impossible.

      They were among the last to board. Fellow passengers skirted around them, sending them curious glances. Time was running out, and Lindsey was giving every indication of jumping ship.

      “Now what’s wrong,” he said, not bothering to hide his impatience.

      “Jamie,” she said, her brown eyes wide and glistening. The tears looked ready to spill at any moment. “I’ve never left him before. He’ll be devastated if I abandon him now. It will probably cause who knows what kind of damage to his psyche.”

      They both glanced at the covey of plastic airport lounge chairs where they’d left Jamie in the care of Lindsey’s friend, Sandy. The boy with the “damaged psyche” was busy pretending to be an airplane in flight, obviously not giving the departing adults a second thought.

      “Yeah, he really looks like he’s ready for the psychiatrist’s chair,” Alex mused.

      Lindsey frowned. “He’s just trying to be brave.”

      Jamie chose that moment to look at them. With a wave of his hand and a grin on his cherubic face, he sped off to join Sandy’s oldest son, who had his nose pressed against the airport’s glass-paneled walls, intent on watching a plane land on the runway.

      A tear trickled down Lindsey’s cheek. “I knew it. He’s going to forget all about me.”

      “Lindsey,” Alex said gently, whisking the tear away with the tips of his fingers. “Jamie’s not going to forget about you. He’s going to be fine.”

      She bit her lip to stop the trembling. “How can you be sure?”

      “Because I just am.” He captured her hand and led her toward the plane. “Now listen to me, Lindsey. Do you have any idea how lucky we were to get these tickets? It’s the day before Thanksgiving. The busiest traveling day of the year. We’ll never be able to get another flight”

      She dragged her pump-clad feet, apparently not impressed by their good fortune.

      “Just remember,” he continued in his most soothing voice. “This is a vacation. You’re not supposed to think about anything but relaxing. No Jamie. No Rick. No work.” He gave a silent cheer of victory as they stepped onto the plane. “Nothing but the sand and the sea and taking it easy with me.”

      She stopped midaisle. “Rick? What am I thinking? He’s going through an emotionally traumatic experience. He could lose his job. He shouldn’t be alone at a time like this. He needs me.”

      A lesser man might have been miffed at the ease with which she’d brushed off the prospect of spending time alone with him on a tropical beach. Alex kept a firm grip on her hand, and his bruised ego.

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