The worst part of the week was longing for more. More of Noah, she wanted him. There were times when they kissed when she wanted to throw all her insecurities away and take him into her. He’d been so patient with her, not pushing for anything more than kissing. She didn’t know if she could be that strong if the situation was reversed. The more time she spent with him, the more she knew she was falling in love.
She was also stressed out about the talent show the next day, having still not decided what song to sing, plus there was the Troublesome Trio. Who knew what they were going to do. She’d been making daily telephone calls to them and everyone else, making sure everything would go according to plan, though she knew the ladies would end up derailing it. She shuddered at the thought.
Then there was the trip to L.A. with Noah that had begun to worry her. When he’d asked her to go with him a couple of days ago, she’d agreed easily. She knew it was important to him. Last Stand had recorded the music for a movie premiering next week and they would be performing the title song at a party after the premier. Noah wanted her to meet the rest of the band and their wives and children. She didn’t know what she would have in common with them. What could they possibly talk about?
She tried to push it out of her mind since she still had a couple of days before they would have to leave.
*
Noah was excited about the new music he’d been writing. He’d sent some off to his agent and he thought he could easily find other artists to record the songs. Noah wasn’t sure if the idea would work when it first popped into his head, but the more he thought about it and wrote, the more everything fell into place.
His nights were filled with Lexi. He couldn’t get enough of her. They were connected in a way he’d never been with anyone else. He loved the life they’d started to build. It was a dream he’d never seriously thought of dreaming. But now that he was living it, he didn’t want it to ever end.
He looked out of the window to see Lexi playing with Pepper on the beach. Bruno had gotten him all the paperwork including the police report and trial transcripts from what happened to Lexi. Reading everything in black and white, knowing that it had happened to her, was horrific. This Anthony Maldono was a piece of shit. Bruno dug into his past and learned there were other strange disappearances and deaths of women in and around where Anthony had visited or lived over the years, going back to college. They didn’t have any proof right now, only suspicions based on what Noah and Lexi had seen. Once they had more, they’d go to the police and put him away for life so that he could never terrorize Lexi again.
With all of the strange things that were happening, Bruno had gone to La Jolla and was actually able to meet with Anthony. It made Noah’s skin crawl to think of being in the same room as that bastard and not killing him. Anthony agreed to give Bruno a DNA sample to match with what was taken from him when he was first arrested after Lexi was attacked. They were waiting for the results.
Bruno checked into anyone Anthony Maldono had contact with for the past six years, especially since he’d been out. So far nothing, but if there was something, Bruno would find it.
*
After dinner they swayed back and forth on the porch swing and listened to her iPod on shuffle while a light rain came down. Lexi was curled up into Noah’s side, content.
“Do you know what I was thinking about?” Noah asked.
“I can only imagine,” Lexi said as she snuggled closer.
“I was thinking about one of our first kisses. It was raining that night, too.”
Lexi chuckled. “Yes, it was. Was that a hint?”
“Well, it has been awhile and we are pretty good at it.”
“So let me get this straight, in Noah time ‘awhile’ translates to forty-five minutes?”
“Yeah, when it comes to kissing you, five minutes is too long to go without.” He laughed.
The song changed. Noah stood up and held his hand out to her. “Dance with me, love.”
She was powerless to deny him. She stood and wrapped her arms around his neck. He gently started to sway as he sung the words to I Cross My Heart by George Strait in her ear. He lifted her up and went down the stairs where he continued to dance with her in the sand, the gentle rain falling on them.
Their gazes held and he stopped dancing. “I love you, Alexia. More than I ever knew was possible,” he whispered.
Her heart skipped a beat. This was the first time he’d said those words to her. Saying it out loud was a big step, a step she was ready to take. “I love you, too, Noah.”
He smiled the sweetest smile she had ever seen. Those dimples flashed, he hugged her close and spun her around. She threw her head back and laughed. She felt so free and happy. They had said the words. It was like the clouds had lifted and the sun was shining through the rain.
They tumbled onto the soft sand, laughing, Lexi on top of him. It only took a moment for the laughter to stop and the passion to sweep over them.
“My sweet, sweet, Lexi-love. Every part of my being comes alive when you are with me.” He brushed her hair back behind her ear. “You amaze me every day.”