Page 92 of Not Another Love Song

Kissing her firmly on the mouth, he replaced his fingers with his cock, pressing himself inside and curling an arm under her to mold her to him. He pushed into her slowly, rolling his hips and barely giving her an inch or two of him. She curled her knees up to his chest and dug her heels into his back.

When he sank into her, filling her, he dropped his head to her neck. “I love you,” he breathed against her ear. “Both parts of me love you. All of me.”

“I love you, Alex,” she said over and over.

Gwen let her eyes drift closed in bliss as he kissed her neck and breathed I-love-yous into her ear. He tugged her body close to him as his pace picked up, his skin sliding against her. She came with a gasp as his hips started to jerk out of rhythm, and when she whispered it back to him against his lips, he stilled inside of her, groaning and mouthing the words over her skin.

CHAPTER TWENTY

Convincing Alex to join his mother and stepfather for Thanksgiving was harder than Gwen had imagined it would be.

Well…I usually run the Turkey Trot in the morning with Sonya. And then I’ d have to shower…

I usually go to Dominic’s around one, so maybe I could drop in after.

My mother likes to serve dinner at three, so I might miss it altogether.

Gwen finally told him that she would be heading to Ava’s in the morning, and he was free to join her. She then slammed the door harder than necessary. She let Ava know that she couldn’t guarantee that Alex would be with her, but that she’d stop by for an hour. She would be celebrating two Thanksgivings this year—one in Manhattan and one in Queens. Not that she planned on telling either of her hosts about the other.

She had always spent the holiday with Mabel. Even when her grandfather was alive, Mabel would take the 7 train to the end of the line with a rotisserie chicken and a bowl full of yams and have dinner with them. As an adult, she and Jacob would head to Mabel’s for the day, but Jacob was flying home to Florida with Declan this year. So it would just be Gwen.

Three days before the holiday, the Roses got an offer for a last-minute gig from a Boston venue that was hosting several bands on the evening of Thanksgiving. A portion of the ticket sales was going to a local soup kitchen. Boston had been a hugely successful city on their recent tour, so this was bound to boost sales for the concert.

“Well, that’s an easy out for you,” she said, chuckling as she turned back to the Thanksgiving-themed cookies she was laying on the baking sheet in his kitchen.

“Will you come?”

The turkey she was putting down turned into a blob.

“To Boston?” She blinked at him. He leaned on the kitchen island, pretending to open his mail.

“Yeah”—he shrugged down at a Guitar Center mailer—“I mean, you’ve never seen us live. It’ll probably be a good show. I don’t know the other groups well, but…”

The whole time his eyes were looking down at his fingers, separating bills and junk mail. He was trying not to show how much he wanted her there, and failing badly.

“Yeah,” she said. “Yeah, I’d love to see you live.” The tips of his ears turned pink, and he nodded, still not looking in her direction. “Do the other girlfriends usually come? Will I be alone in the audience?” She chuckled.

“No, I mean, you can…you can watch backstage, if you want.” He pressed his lips together, like it didn’t matter either way to him. She smiled.

“As long as you don’t plan to pull me onstage to play Fugue Number One with you and end up turning me into a star,” she said, turning to the oven with the full baking sheet. “I’ve seen that movie. It doesn’t end well.”

On Thanksgiving morning, Alex was out the door early with a kiss to her forehead as she was just waking up. He would run the Turkey Trot and then meet up with her at noon to drive up to Boston. Gwen rolled out of bed, packed her bag for the night, and slid into some tights and a festive dress. She grabbed her two containers of Thanksgiving cookies and walked through Central Park to get to Ava and Nathan’s on the West Side.

The doorman sent her up to the top floor, and Ava welcomed her inside as Gwen’s eyes widened at the floor-to-ceiling windows and grand piano. There was enough room for a living area and a dining area, and the kitchen had its own room.

“Your place is amazing, Ava,” Gwen said. “Thank you so much for inviting me. I’m sorry I can’t stay.”

“I’m glad you could stop by,” she said, taking the container of cookies from her. “No Alex, I take it?”

“He’s running the Turkey Trot. He informed me that it was very important to him,” she said with a grim smile.

Ava rolled her eyes with a muttered “of course,” and led Gwen into the kitchen to pour her a mimosa. Nathan was checking on the turkey, and greeted her with a smile and a hug.

“We have loads to talk about. So glad you’re here—”

“Nathan,” Ava warned lightly, “not everything has to be business today.”

“Right, right, right. Just a few minutes.” Nathan sipped his mimosa and motioned for Gwen to follow him to the kitchen table. “I have something exciting to show you.” There was a binder on the table. Nathan tapped it and turned to her. “How is Alex feeling about the Valentine’s concert?”

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