Page 28 of Rex's Honor
“That was a mistake,” he said. “Come on. Let’s take this outside and sit by the pool.” He snagged the bottle of red. “We can discuss a plan that will satisfy my mother’s need for us to be together, but with the boundaries you want.”
“We’re going to have to fake date until she dies, and this goes under the inappropriate category, but I think you coming home might have extended her life indefinitely.”
He laced his fingers through hers.
She told herself it was just practice. The only problem with that was how much she liked practicing.
“We only have to date when I’m home, and while I can take time off from the Aegis Network indefinitely, the fire station poses a different set of problems. I will have to change some shifts around, but we have one person out with injuries and others who are on vacation. I will have to go back and forth.”
She glanced up at him. “You’d do that for your mother?”
“I was wrong to cut her out.”
She plopped herself on a lounge chair, making sure her drink didn’t spill, which was amazing considering how tipsy she was. Rex was turning out to be the same man she’d fallen in love with. Not the jerk that took off.
Go figure.
“Why, Rex Jordan, I think you might have grown up,” she said.
“Don’t tell anyone. I’d like to keep it a secret.” He sat on the foot of the chair, swirling his glass. “We’re going to have to been seen in public, at the club. Are you ready for that?”
“I’ve already gotten two texts congratulating me on our recent reunion.”
He shook his head. “I played golf with Eddy and his dad, both asking when the wedding will be.”
“What have we gotten ourselves into?”
7
Rex spent the first night in his mother’s house tossing and turning. Every time he got up to use the bathroom, he hoped he’d run into Tilly, but it never happened.
And he couldn’t bring himself to sneak into her room. Things had gotten too weird. He needed to spend some time alone with her, without the premise of making his mother happy. So, with that in mind, he’d borrowed a buddy’s sailboat, and he and Tilly would spend the day on the Chesapeake before being put on display at the club during an annual Tuesday evening couples’ night, golf and all.
“You and boats,” she said as he stepped on the twenty-foot day sailor. “You should have joined the Navy.”
“Their firefighter program isn’t as intense as the Air Force.”
“Perhaps, but their white dress uniforms are smoking hot.”
“You women love a man in uniform.” He untied the boat after starting the single engine. It wasn’t the windiest day, and he probably wouldn’t even put the sail up. Hell, floating and drinking a few beers seemed more like a plan than anything else.
She’d removed her T-shirt, showing off a tiny bikini top. The sexy miniskirt made the outfit complete. Talk about smoking hot. She burned his lips every time he kissed her. She neverunderstood how sexy she was, even now. She might carry herself with confidence, but that came because she knew she was smart. In the looks department, she always saw herself as just another pretty girl, nothing special.
She was special in every way.
“How was breakfast with your mother?” she asked, leaning back on the bench on the starboard side.
“She was disappointed you didn’t join us.”
“I went to yoga class, like I do every day I’m at her house.” She covered her eyes with her hand, glancing in his direction. “Did she bring up the sleeping arrangements?”
“And then some.” He shook his head. “My mom was always direct. Hell, she made me blush giving me the sex talk, trying to explain why I should listen to what a woman wanted and if that wasn’t bad enough, she gave a few graphic details about how to please a woman. I wanted to crawl in a hole and die.”
“Well, you must have listened to her at some point, because you always knew what I wanted and from the start, you knew what to do.”
He laughed. “You never gave me a choice. Always so demanding in bed.”
“I most certainly am not.”
