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Cara felt a pinprick of fear. “Oh? Whereabouts?” she asked, somehow managing to keep her voice steady.
“Park Slope.”
Phew, she thought, glad to hear his mother didn’t live in Williamsburg, the Brooklyn neighborhood where she lived that was just east of Park Slope. Although it was unlikely she’d ever run into her or Alex, she didn’t want to take any chances.
He took one of the wildflowers out of the jar, inhaled its scent, a faint smile upon his lips. “I would have bought her a place near me,” he continued, “but she wanted to get out of Harlem. Go somewhere different. I guess memories can do that to a person.”
He replaced the flower, and the smile disappeared, eyes clouded over. “Ever since my…” He stopped and took a bite of his sandwich.
“Your what?” she blurted.
The look on his face could have melted concrete. Tension stretched between them and made itself at home.
Way to go, Williams.
When it came to Alex, her natural curiosity went into overdrive. Yet she knew from past experience that sometimes being nosy about someone else’s life could lead to more questions about her own. And in this case, that would be a disaster.
Alex looked stricken as he sat there, toying with his pasta salad.
“I’m sorry. It’s really none of my business.”
She saw something dark flicker in his eyes and vanish.
He waved her apology away, swallowed deep. “My twin brother, Michael. He…left,” he swallowed deep. “And my mom hasn’t been the same since.”
Twins. A lump rose in her throat.
She’d heard that twins shared a strong emotional connection with their other half, even inside the womb, and wondered if Alex and Michael had that type of relationship. They must have.
Then why weren’t there any pictures of Michael anywhere?
“I’m sorry,” she blurted again. And she was sorry for him, more than he would ever understand.
He pinched the bridge of his nose and then suddenly got up. Cara winced as his chair scraped the floor.
“Would you excuse me?” he said without looking at her.
She bit her lip, remained silent as his plate clattered in the sink and he stalked out, the screen door slamming behind him.
Elbows on the table, she pushed her plate aside and threaded her fingers through her hair, not caring now if she messed it up.
She felt bad about bringing up the past, but unconsciously a part of her wanted to hear Alex talk about her father and what he’d done to his family. She hated keeping secrets, and it could have been an opportunity to tell the truth. Clear the air. Maybe the fact that she was Judge Williams’s daughter wouldn’t matter to him.
But she was lying to herself, because she knew that it would.
Thirteen years had gone by. Long enough to forget. It was also long enough to remember.
Michael had to be out of jail by now. Unless the crime was so horrible he was still locked up.
She shuddered at the thought, glad Alex wasn’t involved. She was a huge fan of his music and respected him as an artist.
She couldn’t allow her feelings to go deeper than that. Like any other woman, she knew that falling in love with a musician had extreme heartbreak already built into the package.
Especially someone like Alex, who was all wrapped up in a tight, muscled body that just about knocked her into the next century simply by looking at him.
She had to forget about his past…and his body. The most important thing was getting the lessons started and they weren’t getting anywhere by avoiding each other.
She had to find him.
She washed the dishes and then stepped outside, hoping he wasn’t far. The afternoon sun, although filtered by the canopy of leaves overhead, warmed her face.
Moments later, she peered around the edge of the house and spotted Alex on the deck. He was stretched out on a lounge chair, eyes closed, right arm shielding his face. His shirt was off and wedged behind his neck.
She started to walk around the corner, stopped short. Although she never thought herself a voyeur, this was an opportunity she couldn’t pass up.
Her eyes traced the hair on his muscular chest all the way down to where it disappeared beneath the waistband of his jeans. A quiver of pleasure swelled deep within her loins and feathered up into her abdomen. She wondered how he could look so sexy doing absolutely nothing.
Normally, she didn’t get turned on just by looking at a guy, but Alex was no ordinary man. She’d fantasized about him for years; the sound of his voice, the color of his eyes, the feel of his skin.
Everything.
She leaned against the side of the house, closed her eyes and tried to clear her mind of any thoughts that could get her into trouble.
Alex was within arm’s reach, yet still untouchable. It was scary and frustrating at the same time, because even if she had the courage to act on her desires, she couldn’t cross the line. It would be very unprofessional. Not only that, she might lose control, and that was something she never did.
To her, losing control meant she needed him. Her stomach did a little flip. What would she do if she couldn’t get enough?
Opening her eyes, she clenched her fists against the warmth pooling low in her belly. No màs. The brief contact she’d initiated in the mini-lesson would have to be enough to satisfy her longing.
Just as she was going to announce her presence, her nose did it for her.
“God bless you,” he called, after her loud and obnoxious sneeze.
“Thank you,” she said in a pinched voice, coming around the corner. “I was just coming to find you.” She stood a few feet away from him, covered her mouth and sneezed again.
His eyes opened. “So I heard.”
Her heart skittered and for a second she was afraid he knew she’d been watching him. But unless he could see through walls, that was impossible. Until her allergies gave her away, she’d been out of his line of sight the entire time.
She dragged over a lawn chair and sat down. “Ready to—” her body bent over at the waist and she sneezed a third time “—get to work?”
Alex covered his ears. “Good lord, woman. You sound like a foghorn in reverse.”
“I do not!” she retorted and sneezed again, hating the sound.
“It’s this place.” She waved her arms around above her head. “The fresh mountain air. I think I’m allergic to it. You’re a New Yorker. You know what I’m talking about.”
He laughed. “You got that right. It’s why I bought this place. To escape from a lot of things, the air included.”
She tapped her fingers on the armrest and wondered what he was trying to escape from. “Are you okay?”
His eyes met hers, crinkled at the edges. “I’m good. It’s just been a long time since I talked about my family with anyone.”
Relief that he wasn’t mad flowed through her. “I’m glad to hear that. I’m far too nosy for my own good.”
“You’re a teacher. What do you expect?”
She put her hands on her hips and glared at him. “What do you mean by that?”
He sat up and swung his legs over the side. “Chill out. All I meant was the best teachers like to ask questions. They don’t accept the status quo. They’re always trying to learn new things.”
She raised her eyebrows. “It sounds like you hold the profession in high regard.”
Her breath hitched in her throat as he pulled the lounger closer to her chair. Her eyes delighted at the hair on his chest, small tight curls, just the way she liked it.
His voiced dropped low. “I’ll put it to you this way. I’ve never met a teacher I haven’t been able to, eventually, drive crazy.”
The grin on his face would have made a devil proud. Her skin tingled in bewilderment. She wasn’t sure if he was flirting with her or just kidding around.
As always, the man was an enigma.
She cleared her throat. “I see. Well, what you don’t know about me—I mean, us—is that we can sense when a student is stalling.”
She wanted to laugh at his wide-eyed, innocent stare, but held it in as he put a hand over his heart.
“You can’t mean me?”
“Yes.” She poked him in the chest. “You.”
“Ow, woman. There’s a law against carrying concealed weapons, you know.”
Alex started to lie down again, but Cara stood up, grabbed him by the hand and pulled him to a sitting position. No easy feat.
“Oh, no, you don’t. Come on, big boy. Time for school.”
He groaned in mock protest as he slid open the patio door and stepped aside, allowing her to go in first.
Cara took her place on the sofa, while Alex sat on the easy chair. She patted the spot next to her.
“Sit here, please,” she said, rummaging around in her briefcase for a pencil.
“You don’t have a ruler in there, do you?”
Two can play at this game.
“Maybe, maybe not,” she bantered.
He moved next to her, pointed at the magnetic letters in front of them and made a face. “You’re not planning on teaching me how to read with those, are you?”
“Why not? They’re very effective tools for learning.”
“Yeah, right.” He sniffed, crossing his arms. “Maybe for someone still in diapers.”
She sighed in exasperation. “Will you just trust me? I know what I’m doing here.”
He linked his hands behind his head, leaned against the pillows and stretched out his legs, lips curved in a sullen yet sexy smile.
“Okay, okay. You’re the boss.”
She pursed her lips slightly and tried not to stare at the triangular patch of hair at the base of each muscled arm. His nipples budded hard from the cool air. All of that combined with the faint scent of his cologne was slowly driving her crazy.
Oh, my.
“Can you please put your shirt on?”
His smile deepened. “Why?”
“Because I can’t teach you when you’re half-naked, that’s why. Just put it on. Please.”
He rolled his eyes and she ignored the urge to give him a playful swat on the behind. He went outside and snatched his shirt from the chaise longue. She had to admit she enjoyed watching his muscled abdomen contort as he pulled it over his head, and she was sorry to see it disappear under his shirt.
He sat down. “Thank you. Now what I’d like you to do is put each one of these in alphabetical order.”
Alex cracked his knuckles. “Piece of cake.”
He arranged the letters from A to Z, humming “The Alphabet Song” as he went along. He ended the tune in fake falsetto, holding the last note like an opera diva.
Although she was glad he knew his letters, playtime was over. She had a literacy center to keep open and he had a reputation to maintain. It was as if he’d forgotten the reason they were doing this in the first place.
“Are you always like this?”
“I warned you.” He laughed. “I haven’t even pulled out my best material yet.”
She fought to keep impatience out of her voice. “Let’s try to stay focused, okay?”
“I’m sorry.” He folded his hands in his lap like a choirboy. “You have my complete attention.”
“Next, I’d like you to point to each letter, say it aloud and see if you can think of a word that begins with that sound. I’ll write the word on the whiteboard as you say it. I’ll go first.”
“C. Cup.” She printed the word neatly. “C-U-P.” She put her finger under each letter. “Cup begins with the ‘kuh’ sound.” She put the next letter on the board. “Your turn.”
Alex glanced at the board, then at her. “This all seems so elementary. Are you sure we just can’t—”
“English is a sound-based language,” she interrupted. “You’ll learn faster if you can hear the sounds at the same time you read them.”
She pointed at the letter. “Just take your time.”
His brow furrowed in concentration as he looked at the board.
