When Love's at Work (13 page)

“
I’m so glad you’re here
with me,” she said.

“
I wouldn’t be any place
else,” Alex responded, giving Pure’s hand a gentle
squeeze.

“
Hey, Tap, where did you
go on vacation?” Meg asked.

“
Vegas, baby. Chance and I
heard about the Vegas Arts Festival and decided to check it out. It
was really fabulous. I almost called you,” she gestured to
Purity.

“
Why?”

“
As I was surveying this
one piece of art, I noticed the artist’s name. Care to wager a
guess as to who it was?”

“
No way?! Was it
really
his
art?”
Purity replied.

“
Who?” Bobby
asked.

All four women said, “Viggo.”

“
Viggo Mortensen,” Purity
offered his full name. “You’ll probably remember him most as the
actor who played Aragorn in the Lord of the Rings trilogy, but he’s
also a painter, photographer, poet, writer, singer, and musician.
He’s amazing.”

“
Purity has all his books
and several of his CD’s,” Meg said.

“
And every DVD of every
movie he’s ever been in,” Court added.

“
Glad to see you have a
hobby, sis,” Bobby said, kicking Pure’s foot with his
own.

“
Some people collect
stamps or watch birds,” Pure explained. “I’m a
Viggophile.”

“
If you’re going to be
obsessed about something, or someone, I’d say Viggo is a great
choice,” Courtney remarked.

“
I’d rather be obsessed
with sex,” Bobby said.

Pure picked up a magazine and tossed it at
her brother, saying, “You would.”

“
Not to change the subject
or anything,” Court began, “but I talked with Emily Cravens last
Sunday at church and she said she wants to sell her house quickly
and is planning to reduce the price. I may have mentioned to her
that you were interested, Pure.”

“
I am interested. I love
that house, but I can’t imagine she’s lowered the price enough for
me to afford it.”

“
She said she’d love to
know the house was going to someone that would cherish it the way
she does. I think you should give her a call and check it
out.”

“
I suppose it wouldn’t
hurt to call her,” Pure conceded.

“
It’s a four-bedroom isn’t
it?” Meg asked.

“
Yep,” Pure answered.
“With a wraparound porch, French doors and two
fireplaces.”

Bobby leaned closer to Meg and said, “Want
to go to a movie later?”

“
Sure,” Meg replied,
thinking it would be their very first date. “I don’t even know
what’s playing.”

“
I’m sure there’s some
romantic comedy playing,” Tapestry said, knowing Meg’s penchant for
happy endings.

“
Just make sure you have
her home by midnight or she’ll turn into a pumpkin,” Court
teased.

Bobby almost said how much he liked to eat
pumpkin, but caught himself in the nick of time. He had been told
his humor was sometimes crude and he didn’t know if Meg would
appreciate it or be offended by it. It could go either way with
women he had found.

“
A chick flick it is,” Bob
said. “Then I get to pick where we eat dinner.”

“
Deal,” Meg said, reaching
out to shake hands on it. As Bobby took her hand in his, Meg
silently counted out the number of hours they would be spending
together.

“
What about us?” Courtney
asked, not really wanting to see a movie, but wanting to watch
Meggie squirm.

“
You’re welcome to join
us,” Bobby extended the invitation to everyone gathered.

Meg shot daggers at Court with her eyes,
though a smile never left her lips.

Courtney was enjoying Meg’s dilemma a little
too much, Purity thought. “Two’s company, three’s a crowd,” Purity
stated. “You guys enjoy yourself. None of us will be tagging
along.”

The nurse came into the waiting area and
said Mary Zyetta had been taken to her room and family members
could go up and see her.

Purity and Bobby headed upstairs while the
rest of the group remained in the waiting area.

Pure thought her mom looked good, with more
color in her face that before the surgery. They spent half an hour
with their mother and then said good-bye, returning to the waiting
area.

Bobby and Meg headed to the movies, while
everyone else decided to head for home for a bit more sleep. It had
been a long night and a long morning.

Purity thanked her friends, again, for their
support as they walked toward their vehicles. Alex stayed around
until it was only he and Purity in the parking garage.

“
Thank you, again, Alex.
Not only for today, but for last night, too. Bobby told me what you
did. Well, what you were going to do.”

Alex put his hands on Purity’s arms. “I
meant it when I said there wasn’t anywhere else I wanted to
be.”

Purity took a step closer to Alex and
encircled his neck with her arms. They stood for several seconds,
staring deeply into one another’s eyes. Neither quite sure of where
this relationship was heading, but excited to find out.

Alex initiated a tender kiss. It quickly
turned heated and he found his hands exploring the curves of
Purity’s back. He knew it would be easy to seduce her, but he
wanted more than a quick sexual encounter that would be over and
done with in a blink of an eye. He wanted a future.

Purity felt the emotion and promise in
Alex’s lips. Casual sex was simple, but she wanted more than that.
She wanted a home and long walks hand-in-hand. She wanted someone
she could grow old with and someone she could trust.

Purity pulled away first, but only a
fraction. Just enough to catch her breath, then she rested her head
on Alex’s shoulder, keeping her arms around his neck.

The fatigue hit her suddenly, like she’d hit
a brick wall.

“
Man, I’m really tired,”
Purity said, not realizing she said the words aloud.

“
I can drive you home,”
Alex offered.

Purity thought about his words. She wanted
to take him up on the invitation, but hadn’t she already asked a
lot of him?

“
Are you sure you’re not
too tired to drive? I mean, you didn’t get much sleep last night
either?” Pure asked.

“
I’ll sleep when I’m
dead,” Alex said with macho bravado.

Purity sighed. “I’d love a ride home, but I
insist that you stick around for a while and get some rest
yourself. Neither one of us should really be driving today.”

“
Fair enough,” Alex said,
looking forward to seeing where Pure lived and wondering if they
would be sharing a bed for their nap.

Alex led Purity to his car. She found it
hard to stay awake on the drive to her apartment. She was glad Alex
had offered to drive her home.

Upon entering her apartment, Pure said,
“Bobby’s using the guest room, but he’ll be out for several hours
with Meg, so make yourself at home.”

Well, that answered that question, Alex
thought to himself.

Alex gave Purity an affectionate kiss and
said, “Sweet dreams.”

“
You, too,” Pure replied,
and then headed to her bedroom for some much needed
rest.

Meg didn’t remember the movie. The plot
evaded her. Bobby’s leg touching hers, their hands bumping in the
popcorn bucket and his arm around her shoulder had sent her to a
land far, far away.

Court and Pure teased her relentlessly about
being a dreamer, but what was wrong with wanting a white knight on
a fiery steed sweeping her off her feet? Bobby’s armor was bright
and shiny in Meg’s eyes.

Lunch had been a blur of scents and tastes,
dimmed by comparison to the feeling of Bobby’s eyes on hers. She
knew they talked and shared stories, but now, as they were walking
along the waterfront watching the seagulls hover around the ferry
as it bumped gently against the dock, all she knew was she wanted
to live every day of her life feeling like she did this very
minute.

The moment was picturesque and romantic and
Bobby couldn’t keep his eyes off Meg’s lips. His fingers caressed
her cheek and his thumb brushed against her lips.

Meg thought the moment was sheer torture.
She wanted him closer still. She looked up into Bobby’s eyes and
leaned forward, hoping he was thinking the same thing she was. He
leaned forward, as well, and their lips met. Meg closed her eyes
and drank in the sounds and feelings coursing through her veins.
She would remember this moment. It was being burned into her
memory.

The kiss deepened as tongues explored and
hands found their way to secret places. Bobby fisted his hand in
Meg’s hair and they both felt their hunger grow.

Bobby was drowning and he didn’t care that
he wasn’t wearing a life jacket. He had dreamed of this, and so
much more, for months.

Meg’s feet couldn’t feel the ground. She was
floating. When Bobby whispered in her ear that he wanted to be
alone with her, it took a few moments for his words to sink in.

“
You want to have sex?”
Meg said bluntly, thinking Bobby’s armor had suddenly become
rusted, filthy and full of holes.

“
I want to be closer to
you,” Bobby explained, trying to back paddle.

“
I want to go home,”
Meggie said, removing herself from Bob’s embrace and heading back
toward the car briskly. Her blood was as cold as ice. What kind of
woman did he think she was? Had she given him the impression she
was easy? She hadn’t prevented him from kissing her and she hadn’t
stopped him from holding her hand, but was that really a sign that
she wanted to sleep with him? Meg didn’t know whether to be
insulted or excited.

“
Meg,” Bobby fell into
step with her within seconds, “I didn’t mean anything. I like you
and I want to be with you. I didn’t mean to offend you.” He knew he
shouldn’t have said anything. It just felt right in the moment and
now she was pissed off.

Meg stopped walking and turned to face
Bobby. “It’s not your fault. I think I sent you mixed signals. I
didn’t mean to. You need to understand something, Bobby. I want it
all. Prince Charming, the castle, romance, all of it. I won’t
settle for less. I may want you physically, but I mean it when I
say I won’t settle. One-night stands are not for me. They never
have been. If that’s what you’re looking for, we can just end this
thing now with no hard feelings.”

“
End this thing?” Bobby
replied with surprise in his voice. “I just wanted to have sex. If
you don’t want to have sex, fine. Who’s talking about ending
anything? I’m not.”

“
I thought if you didn’t
get what you wanted… well… you’d be done with me,” Meg said,
looking at the cement sidewalk.

Bobby put his hand under her chin and lifted
it gently so their eyes met. “You’re in my blood. I’ll never be
done with you.”

Somewhere deep in her heart, Meg heard the
whinny of Sir Bobby’s horse nearby.

Alex couldn’t sleep. The thought of Purity
in the next room was driving him crazy. He wondered if she wore
pajamas, a silky nightgown, or nothing at all while she was slept.
How in the hell had she managed to have such a hold on him so
quickly?

Alex decided sleep just wasn’t going to
happen, so he got up and went to the kitchen. He rolled up the
sleeves of his shirt and rummaged through the refrigerator and
pantry. He puckered his lips as he named off ingredients in his
head. He could make this work. He pulled cornbread mix, beans,
canned tomatoes and seasonings out of the cupboard and onions and
garlic out of the fridge. Alex’s famous chili and cornbread was
about to be created. The longer it simmered, the better it would
taste.

He put some Lynyrd Skynyrd
into Pure’s CD player, making sure the volume wasn’t too loud so it
wouldn’t disturb Purity’s sleep. He began dicing onions to
Sweet Home Alabama
.

Purity slept hard, for forty-five minutes,
then woke up gasping for air. She almost yelped. Sweat beads were
rolling off her forehead and her body was slick, as if she’d just
run ten miles. She put her right hand up to her neck to feel for
bruises. There were none. It was a dream. Only it wasn’t really. It
was a memory.

Heavy sobs released themselves as she cried
into her pillow. When would the nightmare end? When would the
memory diminish and lose its powerful spell? She felt like she
hadn’t had a peaceful sleep in ages.

Finally able to take deep, cleansing
breaths, Pure became aware of a wonderful smell. Then she
remembered Alex. Was Alex cooking? No man she had ever gone out
with had prepared food for her.

Pure pulled on sweat pants and a tank top
and headed into the kitchen, following her nose.

“
Lynyrd Skynyrd, chili and
a gorgeous man in my kitchen, am I dreaming?” Purity asked as she
kissed Alex on the cheek.

“
You should be dreaming.
How come you’re not sleeping?” Alex inquired, concern leaking
through in his voice.

“
Bad dream,” Pure said,
wondering if she should tell him the whole Derek story.

Alex didn’t ask in words, but his eyes did.
She wanted him to know, to understand. Pure walked around the
counter and climbed up onto one of the stools, resting her elbows
on the counter. “Let me tell ya a little story ‘bout a man named
Derek,” Pure attempted to lighten the mood by singing the words to
the tune of the Beverly Hillbillies theme. Alex didn’t smile.
Instead, he followed Pure’s path and sat on the stool next to
hers.