By now, my cheeks were the color of the cranberry sauce on the table.
I adored Missy. I met her a week ago, when Alex and I arrived at her and Ralph’s Vermont farm for an extended Thanksgiving weekend, but I immediately took a shine to her. Warm, friendly, and down-to-earth, she baked a mean pumpkin pie and had a penchant for raunchy jokes—and raunchy personal stories.
This morning, out of the blue, she asked whether I’d ever had a threesome—I hadn’t—and I’d nearly sprayed orange juice all over her cherrywood table.
“I didn’t mean to embarrass you.” Missy patted my arm, but the spark of mischief remained in her eyes. “I’m just so thrilled Alex is dating. I’ve known that boy for years, and I’ve never seen him look at someone the way he does you. I’ve always said he just needs the right woman to open him up. He was wound tighter than a Victorian corset.”
I leaned toward her and said in a conspiratorial whisper, “Honestly, not much has changed.”
“You know I can hear everything you’re saying,” Alex said dryly.
“Good. I was afraid l wasn’t loud enough.”
His eyes narrowed while Missy burst into laughter. Even Ralph chuckled as I flashed a cheeky smile.
“Sunshine, you being loud has never been an issue,” Alex said in silky voice.
My mashed potatoes went down the wrong pipe, and I erupted into a fit of coughs. Missy’s laughter morphed into outright cackling. Poor Ralph turned bright red, muttered something about the restroom, and fled.
Once I got my coughs under control, I glared at Alex, who remained unfazed. “I’m talking about the volume of your voice during conversations, of course.” He raised his wineglass to his lips. “What did you think I meant?”
“I have a feeling you won’t be hearing my voice during conversations for a while,” I huffed.
“We’ll see.” He sounded infuriatingly smug.
“I’ll leave you two lovebirds alone while I fetch Ralph.” Missy chuckled. “Poor thing is a lion in the bedroom but a blushing kitten when it comes to talking about sex in public—directly or indirectly.”
That was something I could’ve lived the rest of my life without knowing.
After she left, I glared at Alex. “See what you did? You drove our hosts away during their own dinner.”
“Did I?” He gave an elegant shrug. “Might as well take advantage of the situation. Come here, Sunshine.”
“I don’t think so.”
“That wasn’t a request.”
“I’m not a dog.” I took a defiant sip of my water.
“If you’re not in my lap in the next five seconds,” Alex said in the same calm voice. “I’ll bend you over the table, rip off your skirt, and fuck you so hard Ralph will have a heart attack from your screams.”
The bastard was crazy enough to do it, too. And I must be equally crazy, because my panties dampened at his words, and all I could think about was doing the exact thing he’d just threatened.
Alex watched, eyes heated, as I pushed my chair back, walked over to him, and climbed into his lap.
“Good girl,” he purred, wrapping an arm around my waist and pulling me toward him until my back pressed against his chest. His arousal nestled against my ass, and my mouth turned bone-dry. “That wasn’t so hard, was it?”
“I hate you.” I would’ve been more convincing had the words not come out so breathless.
“Hate is just another word for love.” He slipped a hand beneath my sweater and cupped my breast while trailing a string of fiery kisses down my neck.
“I don’t think that’s right,” I said, caught between laughing and moaning. God, his hands and mouth were magic.
I shot a furtive glance at the doorway to the dining room. Missy and Ralph were nowhere in sight…yet. But the possibility of getting caught made the whole thing hotter—I was so wet I was afraid I’d leave a noticeable spot on Alex’s pants when I stood.
“No? Ah, well.” Alex nipped my earlobe. “Close enough.” He cupped my chin with his other hand and turned my face so I looked back at him. “Did you enjoy this week?”
“Yeah. It was the best Thanksgiving I’ve had in a while,” I said softly.
I felt guilty because while all my Thanksgivings with Michael were tainted, I’d spent the holiday with Josh last year. He’d flown to London, and we had a blast stuffing ourselves with food—restaurant-bought because we didn’t know how to cook a turkey—while binge-watching British dramas. But I’d been unsure about my feelings for Alex, and Josh had been pissed at his ex-best friend.
He still was.
When he found out Alex and I were back together, he lost his shit. He wouldn’t talk to me for weeks, and even now, our conversations were strained. Josh stayed in D.C. for his residency, so we still lived in the same city, but he refused to see me if Alex was there. He’d ignored all of Alex’s outreach and seen through my schemes to help them patch things up. I’d invited him to celebrate Thanksgiving with us, but as I’d expected, he’d declined.
“I do wish Josh could’ve made it,” I admitted. I missed my brother.
“Me too. But he’ll come around.” Despite his confident words, a small furrow creased Alex’s brow. He didn’t say it, but I knew he missed Josh too. They’d been as close as brothers.
Unfortunately, Josh was stubborn as a bull. The more you pushed him, the more he dug his heels in. The only thing we could do was give him time and wait.
“He will.” I sighed and looped my arms around Alex’s neck. “Other than that, though, this week was perfect.”
We’d been in Vermont for six days, and the whole getaway had been a Pinterest-worthy autumn dream. Artisan fairs, a turkey trot, the best hot apple cider I’ve ever tasted…even Alex enjoyed being here, though he refused to admit it. I’d overheard his conversation with Ralph when his old Krav Maga instructor called and invited him up here for Thanksgiving, and it took me forever to convince him to accept.
“Good.” Alex dropped both his hands to my waist and kissed me on the lips. “Be glad I rented us our own cabin instead of staying here with Ralph and Missy,” he whispered. “Because you’re going to pay for your sass earlier.”
My heart skipped with excitement. Before I could respond, Missy and Ralph’s voices drifted through the doorway, and I jumped up so fast I banged my knee on the underside of the table.
I lunged into my chair, my face beet-red, right as our hosts reentered the room.
“Sorry we took so long,” Missy chirped. “Hope we’re not interrupting anything.”
“Nope,” I squeaked. “I was just enjoying your delicious chicken.” I munched on the now-cold meat. “Yum.”
Alex snorted out a laugh, which earned him another glare from me.
“Most of the food is cold, dear.” Missy clucked in disappointment. “Do you want me to heat ‘em up or skip straight to dessert? I made pecan pie, pumpkin pie, apple pie—”
“Dessert!” Ralph and I shouted at the same time.
“Alex?” Missy raised her eyebrows.
“One slice of pecan pie is fine, thank you.”
“Nonsense. You’re getting a slice of all three,” she said firmly. “I made ‘em for a reason, didn’t I?”
What Missy wanted, Missy got.
By the time we left her and Ralph’s house, I was full to the point of bursting.
I leaned into Alex for support as we made our way back to our rental cabin, which was a fifteen-minute walk away.
“We should come here for Thanksgiving every year,” I said. “If we’re invited, that is.”
He cast an incredulous glance in my direction. “No.”
“You had fun!”
“I did not. I hate small towns.” Alex placed a hand on the small of my back and steered me around a small puddle I hadn’t noticed.
I pouted. “Then why did you come this year?”
“Because you’ve never been to Vermont, and you wouldn’t shut up about it. Now you’ve been, so we don’t have to come back.”
“Don’t try to act all tough. I saw you buy that little porcelain puppy at the artisan fair when you thought I wasn’t looking. And you drag me to that hot cider shop down the road every afternoon.”