Lex and Lu(89)

He didn’t elaborate. Lu guessed that was his way of telling her something, but she wasn’t sure what she was supposed to get out of it.

“Mr. Helms wants you,” she informed him, as though she knew anything about it.

“Yeah, I’m meeting with some potential replacements when we get back. My contract’s coming up, but it’s not happening right now, so I have some time to make a good decision.” Lex sat up. Leaning forward, he said, “Our conversation that night, when you told me about my mother, that changed how I felt. I need to make it up to her. So that’s why I want her here. I’ve also gathered that things between her and Dr. A. have been pretty tense. I thought if I got them away from Sarasota, they could maybe see their way through.”

Taking a deep breath, Lex shifted. “So, is that a good enough explanation?” he asked.

Lu looked at him and nodded her head. “Yes, it is.”

“You feel satisfied? I explained myself.”

Lu should have sensed a trap, but she didn’t. She was caught up in his shared confidences and feeling as though they were forging some bond. “Yes. Thank you for telling me.”

“Don’t thank me, Lu. It comes with a price.”





38





“A price?” she said, stupidly.

“Yes, a price.”

“Well, don’t keep me in suspense,” she said flippantly, smiling at him like this was all normal banter.

Lex didn’t say anything. He looked at her for a long while. Lu imagined she should have felt nervous, but something more like an adrenaline rush coursed through her. Like the anticipation of a first kiss. As he continued to study her, her stomach did flips. But his eyes never wavered from her face. There were no longing glances at her lips. He didn’t look like a man in the throes of desire.

Lex knew that this conversation had to take place, but he felt caught between the desire to have it and the knowledge that it could snap the tenuous twig of their relationship. As much as he wanted to spare her any hurt, he needed for her to come clean. He had to know. He struggled to figure out if he should channel Willa’s in-your-face approach or Pete’s diplomatic one. What he needed from her had nothing to do with Nina or Jo or Dr. A. Bracing himself, he stepped to the edge of the precipice and prayed that he could have this conversation while preserving their fledging truce.

He got up from the couch and sat on the coffee table directly in front of her, invading her space. His proximity took over the anticipation and turned it toward nervous. Bracing his arms on his legs, he leaned toward her.

“Why did you sleep with me?”

Lu shouldn’t have been shocked, but the question threw her. Her hands shook, so she quickly put the wineglass down. She couldn’t move away from him as he’d effectively trapped her between the couch, the coffee table, and himself. She wanted to look anywhere but at him, but the only way to avoid him would have been to close her eyes, and she wasn’t that much of a wimp. But maybe she could bluff her way out of this conversation. She felt pretty confident that Lex didn’t really want to know her reason.

She smiled what she hoped was a convincing smile. “Do I really need to explain basic chemistry to you, Lex?” She tried to keep her tone from flippant, knowing he’d sniff that out pretty quickly.

Raising his eyebrow, he attempted to model the death stare. Damn it, he thought, she’s going to fight me on this. He knew then that she didn’t trust him enough, but he’d already peered into Pandora’s box and there wasn’t anything he was going to do to try to fit the top back on.

“Sure, Lu. I get chemistry. Been doing it for a lot longer than you and have most assuredly mixed a lot more reactants together. That’s what you want to chalk it up to? Just sex?”

Again with the jealously, thought Lu as his reference to his healthy sex life smacked her in the face. Part of her wanted to tell him, but she held tightly to her childhood dreams, not willing for them to be shattered by his adult reality. “Look, Lex, we were both in the same place at the same time for the first time in almost ten years. Of course we resorted back into the roles. It’s completely natural that we ended up there.”

“Completely natural, huh?” Lex studied her. He wasn’t sure how far she would take the sophisticated-sexual-being routine, but for the moment he was content to let her continue.

“Yes.” Lu leaned forward and put her hand on Lex’s knee. The casualness of the effort took everything she had in her. “We are going to be raising a daughter together and I don’t want things to be strange between us. I don’t want to feel like I have to be ready for our interactions. We probably shouldn’t have been together back in May, but we can’t undo that now. Let’s just chalk it up to a mistake and move forward.”