She was right. The idea of her sleeping naked made me all kinds of uncomfortable… in my jeans. "Relax, I'm teasing. You're right. We've done this dozens of times. This is no big deal. Get ready for bed and hit the sack. I swear, I am capable of being a perfect gentleman."

  There was something in her eyes that told me she wanted to ask me something or tell me something maybe. But as quickly as it appeared it was gone again. As she was headed to the bathroom to brush her teeth, my stomach fisted then loosened and then fisted again. And heaven help me, my hands twitched a little.

  I changed quickly for bed, shucking my clothes and tossing on some pajama bottoms. I was always too hot and liked to sleep with the window open, but I knew that Alex was almost always too cold. So the best I could compromise was to sleep with my shirt off, at least regulate my body temperature a little bit. When she came out of the bathroom she was humming, but she stopped short when she took one look at me. "Where's your T-shirt?"

  "I get too hot, remember?"

  Alex opened her mouth to say something, then shut it again. Then she tried one more time, but I got the same guppy routine.

  "Something you want to say, Alex?" Even as the question rolled off my tongue, my dick stirred, and I ground my teeth to keep from groaning. I needed to get to the bathroom quickly before she noticed what was happening south of my waistband. "I'm just going to go brush my teeth."

  "Yeah, you do that."

  As I locked myself in the bathroom, I breathed a huge sigh of relief. How in the world was I going to make it through the night sleeping next to her? I was terrified my own inappropriate thoughts were going to soon turn into questionable actions. And Alex was too important to me for that.

  Chapter 10

  Alex

  I sank deeper into the warmth. When was the last time I'd slept like this? I was usually on the go so much that it wasn't uncommon for me to get about five maybe six hours of sleep a night. Especially when I was prepping for something like a gallery opening or showing.

  I nuzzled further into the warmth then froze as one of my hands encountered something hard and hot. Oh no. Jensen. My first instinct was to jump back and pretend the breach hadn't happened. The thing was I knew my hand had encountered abs. Rock-hard abs. And yes, I'd seen him shirtless dozens of times. It never lost its impact though. He was beautiful. And he knew it.

  Last night when we'd gone to bed, I picked a spot on the ceiling and focused on that, willing sleep to come. Because if I hadn't done that, I would've stared.

  Jensen breathed deep and rolled over, slinging an arm across my waist. Oh, God. I could smell the faint hint of his shower gel from the night before.

  Okay, no more torturing myself, out of bed. I was going to be productive today. At the very least, I could hop the ferry to Los Angeles and check on the gallery opening and the delivery of my pieces. Yes, I’d be nice and focused. That was so much better than ogling Jensen.

  I hated leaving him alone with his family, but a little space would do me some good. The last thing I wanted was for this little adventure to put a stressor on the relationship.

  I slid out from under his arm and was in the bathroom in seconds. I snatched up my shower cap out of my toiletry bag and carefully tucked my straight hair underneath it. In and out of the shower in five minutes, and I was dressed even faster. And when I tiptoed out of the bedroom, Jensen was still sleeping.

  Skipping down the stairs, I figured I'd grab something quick in the kitchen and hit the first ferry at 9:00. But I skidded to a stop when I found Grandma Lucy in the kitchen puttering around.

  "Good morning. Do you need help getting anything? I can help you."

  Grandma Lucy turned around and put her hand on her hip, cocking it slightly. "Honey, this is my kitchen. Nothing you could help me find that I didn't put there myself."

  "Oh, I know, ma'am, I just thought I'd get something for you so that you don't overexert yourself."

  The old lady grinned at me. "Ma'am? A long time since anyone called me that. Just call me Grandma Lucy."

  I nodded. "Okay. Can I help you get anything before I head out?"

  Lucy frowned at me. "Where are you going?"

  "Oh, I was going to head into LA today and check on the gallery pieces. They were supposed to be delivered today, and I'd like to be there to check things out. Make sure everything's okay."

  Grandma Lucy suddenly held onto the counter and wobbled slightly. I was on her in a flash, scooting a stool underneath her. "You have to sit down. I'll get Jensen then call your doctor."

  "Oh stop it. I don't need a doctor. I was hoping you could help me in the kitchen this morning."

  I wavered. "Oh, Grandma Lucy, you should probably be warned, I’ve ruined more of your recipes than I should confess. Even with precise directions, I managed to screw them up."

  Grandma Lucy laughed. "Yes, I know, Jensen does tell me all the stories about you. The time you tried to make him a stew."

  I flushed. "It was not my fault. I swear the oven hates me."

  "Well, we'll just fix that today." Her smile was filled with warmth. I knew in that moment there was no way that anyone couldn't love this woman.

  I opened my mouth to tell her that I had to get to the city. But Grandma Lucy just clucked around the kitchen handing me things, asking me to open things, telling me that she was going to show me how to make bread from scratch.

  I needed to get out of there.

  But do you really? Cassie's got it.

  And I was here for Jensen. He wanted his grandmother relaxing. And until he could take care of her himself, it was Alex to the rescue. Besides, I could help out for an hour.

  But as Grandma Lucy told me stories about Jensen growing up and asked me questions about myself and my childhood and what my dreams were, I realized that there was no way I was going to LA today. And part of me didn't even mind.

  Jensen

  I woke up alone and cold. I was never cold. But when I reached for Alex in the morning, her side of the bed was cool, like she'd been out of bed for a while. Probably running from me.

  I flopped back on the pillows and groaned. I expected to be up all night, staring at the wall, kind of like she'd stared at the ceiling. But the moment the light was out and I heard her sigh deeply and exhale, I did the same and was out like a light. My brain offered up glimpses of memory and snippets of the bliss of soft, warm skin pressed into my side within fifteen minutes.

  Just like every other time we'd crashed together, Alex was like coming home. And even though I'd slept later than I would've liked, I felt so refreshed and revived. It was 8:30. Wow, when was the last time I'd slept in that late? I was showered and out the door within minutes, and I could hear Alex in the kitchen laughing with Grandma Lucy. Just the sound of the two of them giggling like schoolgirls in the kitchen made the warmth in my chest spread out like a ball of fire, simultaneously filling me with joy and calm. Like this was the way it should be.

  Easy there, boy. Don't go getting all excited. This is just pretend.

  The smell of baking bread made my stomach react, and I walked into the kitchen with a smile. "I see you two are happy."

  Grandma Lucy gave me a broad grin. "That's because your girl here is regaling me with stories of your misadventures. Did you two really meet because you and your fraternity brothers were attempting to steal a mascot?"

  I darted a glance to Alex. "You told her that story?"

  Alex shrugged. "You know I don't lie well." Her expression said it all.

  Don't go there. I'm trying to talk about anything but the one thing I can't talk about.

  I cursed my luck. "Yeah, Alex busted me, but then I asked her if she wanted to join us. And she helped to cart it all the way back to our fraternity house."

  "Well, the establishment in the Fine Arts department was a bit snooty. They certainly needed a shakeup. Besides, I liked the idea of being stealthy and undercover."

  I grabbed a slice of the fresh-baked bread and slapped a big pat of butter on it. When I took a bite, I all but moaned around it, and my grandmother looked on with delight.

  "Cinnamon bread. Your favorite."

  I couldn't help but talk with my mouth full. "Grandma, seriously, I don't know how you do it, but this is amazing."

  My grandmother shook her head. "Wasn't me. Alex made that."

  I coughed. I wasn't sure if I was supposed to swallow the piece now or spit it back out. Thing was, it tasted fine. It wasn't rock hard. It was soft and warm and moist. Just how I liked it. And it tasted freaking delicious. I opted for swallowing.

  "Alex made this?"

  Alex nodded. "I don’t know how it happened, but with your grandmother standing right here, there was no way I wasn't getting it right. Turns out when she says a pinch, it's not an exact science. It's more like an art. When she explained it like that, it was pretty easy."

  I nodded warily, not sure it was a good idea to take another bite, but my stomach rumbled, begging for more. It was really good.

  My grandmother patted me on the back. "And why are you standing up like I didn't teach you properly? Grab a plate and coffee and juice. Eggs and pancakes will be out in a moment."

  "Another Alex creation?"

  Grandma Lucy shook her head. “Now that I have Marta from the hotel coming over to cook for everybody, Alex and I got to know each other." Her smile intensified when she glanced at Alex. "So listen, Jensen. I want you to go golfing with Martin today. I think you two can heal your tension. Then when you're done with that, will you go to LA and check on Alex's artwork for her so she doesn't have to do it herself? You know her nerves."

  I looked back and forth between my grandmother and my best friend. And my gaze locked on Alex's. The crackle of a spark was there, just like it had been last night, but today it was worse. I needed to get away from it.

  "Okay, I'll head out to the course. What time?"

  My grandmother grinned. "They started an hour ago."

  Shit. That meant I was late. I grabbed another slice of bread and jogged upstairs to change. When I finally made it up to the golf course, my cousins and uncle were on the fourth hole.

  Martin was typically snarky. "Look who decided to wake up. It seems the rest of us who aren’t the favorite were up at the crack of dawn."

  "Keep talking, Martin. Grandma's not here right now, so I will happily break your nose. For the second time." I grinned. I'd been seven when I broke Martin's nose the first time. Didn't matter that my cousin was older or bigger than me.

  But now I had the height and weight advantage. While Martin may have looked similar to me, working out for my cousin consisted of a round on the golf course. I wasn't sure if my cousin had ever run anywhere in his life.

  Martin studied me for a moment, unsure if he should take me seriously or not. There was no way I was going to poke at my cousin with my grandmother present, but since Grandma wasn't there, I was done taking Martin's insults.

  Martin cocked his head and took a step back, conceding it would have been a fight. “It's okay, cousin. I mean, I know you probably didn't get enough sleep with that hot piece next to you.”

  I tossed down the five iron I'd picked and got in Martin's face up close and personal. “What did you say?”

  Martin held his hands up. "Sorry. Can't help it if I notice that your woman is hot. She's got that sassy thing going for her. I mean honestly, I never thought you were into exotic girls, but man am I glad you brought her around. Maybe she's looking for an upgrade.”

  Exotic? What the actual fuck?

  If I hit him in the face, Grandma Lucy would notice and be upset. As I assessed all the points that I could hit on my cousin without my grandmother noticing, my uncle stepped between us. "That's enough, you two." Uncle Jake wasn't a bad guy, he was just complacent and let his son have too much freedom.

  "Not another word about my girlfriend." I punctuated the point with a glare.

  Martin grinned. "That's fine. I'm happy she's in my imagination."

  As if I would let Martin anywhere near Alex. Luckily for Martin, he narrowly dodged a beat down thanks to an intervention. I pulled out my ringing phone and turned my back to my cousin. "Yeah?"

  "Jensen. Thank God you answered. I didn't want to disturb Alex. You know how she gets, and she'd be freaking out right now.”

  "Cassie? Calm down. What's the matter?"

  "The pieces haven't arrived. No, scratch that. Some of them have arrived. But not all of them. And I watched the guys load the truck myself. Alex is going to kill me. And just when we’ve started to become friends. Oh my God.”

  This was so bad. "Cassie, calm down. Were there any other scheduled deliveries for the truck?"

  "I was on the phone with the trucking company this morning, and they're looking up to see where else the truck stopped. But the problem is, I'm here at the gallery and I've only got maybe two-thirds of the pieces we promised. And I don't know a way to fix this. Alex put everything that she had at the studio on that truck, and I have no contingency plan if they can't find the pieces.”

  My gut curled in on itself, and the bile rose. Alex had worked so hard for this. She was finally getting the recognition she deserved. She was selling her pieces. This gallery was going to open things up for her. She needed this. "Cassie, calm down. I'm coming. We'll figure this out together."

  "What about Alex? Will she know there's a problem?"

  "You and I are keeping any problems to ourselves for now. Besides, she asked me to look in on the gallery today anyway."

  I hung up with Cassie and turned on my cousin with a grin. "If you don't mind, I'm going to go save the day for my girlfriend. You should be so lucky."

  Chapter 11

  Jensen

  It had been a long time since I had been this angry. "What do you mean you don't know what happened to the pieces?"

  I had the owner of the delivery truck shifting back and forth on the balls of his feet as he tried to explain. "I don't know what happened. There were two other stops, but things were supposed be loaded there, not taken off. I'm trying to figure it out."

  "You need to do more than try. Do you understand how long Alex Winters has been working for this gallery opening?” Instead of shouting, my voice went deadly soft. Cold. "You may already think yourself a success with your business. She is meant to do so much more than any of us could do. With her work she brings joy and light to people's lives. And you want to tell me that you don't know where those pieces are? Let me tell you how this is going to go. You're going to get on the phone, and then you're going to personally go to those other locations and do a full search for those items. And you will have them here for me tomorrow."

  The guy darted a glance to Cassie, and I got in his face. "Don't look at her. Look at me. I'm the one you have to deal with if you can't perform the simple task of delivering what you were contracted to do."

  The guy nodded vigorously, beads of sweat rolling down his temples. Granted, it was unseasonably warm for December in Los Angeles, but I wasn't screwing around.

  After he left on his search for Alex's paintings, Cassie came over and blew a low whistle. "Man, remind me to never get on your bad side."

  Looking over, I frowned. "What do you mean?"

  "I mean, you've got your boxing gloves on. You were about to tear that guy a new one."

  "Well, he pissed me off. It's his job to deliver. If he can't handle that responsibility, I’ll make sure everyone knows about it. By the time I'm done with him, he won't have much of a business."

  Cassie stared at me for a moment, then the slow smile crept over her lips. "You really care about Alex."

  Shit. Could she see? Did she know what lurked deep down in the recesses of my mind? "Of course I do. I should. She's my best friend."

  "I wish I had a best friend like you, riding in on the white horse, all angry gladiator. I'm down for that."

  I shook my head. "I'm not charging in on a white horse. I'm just trying to get that guy to fulfill his obligations."

  "Whatever you want to call it, it's still fighting for her."

  I frowned. "Of course I am. As if you'd do anything less."

  Cassie shrugged. "Alex has a lot of people who want to see her succeed. So it's cool. In the meantime, when are we going to tell her about the missing pieces? Because as much as you terrified that dude, I'm not so sure he's going to come through.”

  "I certainly hope I scared him straight, but I have another solution. One I pray works almost as well."

  "I'm all ears. Because right now we're up the creek, no paddle, and the canoe is leaking."

  I laughed. "Great visual."

  "Isn't it accurate?"

  I nodded. "That it is."

  "Okay, so what's plan B?" Cassie asked.

  I hadn't gotten much further than light a fire under the delivery guy's ass, but I needed to do something. This was going to break Alex's heart. She'd lost sleep over this show. Hell, she’d lost weight over it, not that she had any weight to lose. The stress was showing. All I wanted to do was help her. "Cassie, don't worry about this. We've got all the pieces we need."

  "What do you mean? We're supposed to be exhibiting twenty pieces, and right now we only have thirteen. There are a couple of sculptural pieces in there too, but she's a bit nervous about those because she's known for her paintings."

  "You won't be short on paintings. You might even have one or two extras."

  “Are you going to go back to Catalina and ask her to paint through the night?"

  "Next best thing. We can raid my piggy bank."

  "Huh?" She scrunched her face.

  "For every birthday and every celebration, whenever Alex asks what I want, I always tell her a new painting. I've got at least eight. They're currently displayed at my condo, but I can have them replaced with prints. Alex needs this. And of course they are pieces that have never been shown from my private collection. So they should make a mint."

  Cassie's eyes went wide. "You would do that for her?"