Jamie could imagine her life without her family. They would no longer make her feel bad about her body. Christine couldn’t insult her anymore, and she would no longer have to see Stephen. She wouldn’t have to constantly witness her mother favoring Christine over her or her father favoring work over her. But she would miss other times as well. The times she and Christine used to gossip about boys and watch romantic comedies. Trying a new recipe with her mother, only for them to realize halfway through that they forgot a really important step and had to start all over again. Attending Broadway plays with her dad. Things had gotten really messed up with the wedding and the conflict about Stephen, but it hadn’t always been that bad. At least, she didn’t think so. “I don’t know,” she said finally. She sighed. Hiding wasn’t going to fix anything. Nor was not talking to her family. Look what that had done to Alex’s. “It’s so complicated.”
Gina nodded. “Family always is,” she said and grabbed Jamie’s drink to take a sip. “Except your family’s more complicated than most.”
Chapter 15
Jamie was still thinking about her family situation when she got home. To try and clear her head, she changed into her swimsuit and dove into the water. She swam a few laps in the cooler water and then turned onto her back to float and stared a few moments at the last colors of the sky as the sun sunk low. She closed her eyes while she gently steered herself in the water. She let the thoughts drift through her mind, not even trying to sort them. She had no idea what she was going to do yet and she was too tired to even try and sort everything out. Instead, she just needed to relax.
“Careful. You might swim into the wall.”
Jamie’s eyes flew open to see Alex standing at the pool’s edge. He was also in his swimsuit, and awkwardly holding a towel. Alex standing there reminded her of the sex dream she had a while back. She blushed and flipped over to tread water. “Thanks,” she murmured. “I didn’t know you were going to use the pool.” She moved toward the edge.
He smiled back, though it looked slightly forced. Since his return things had been strained outside of work. They tended to avoid each other at the house unless it was business related. “You don’t have to leave. It’s fine.”
“You sure?” She hesitated, not sure what to do. If she left it would look like she was running away, and if she stayed, she’d have to talk.
He put the towel on the back of one of the deck chairs and dove in. Perfect dive, no splash, excellent entry. He gasped when his head popped up. “That’s cold,” he said.
Jamie giggled. It was like eighty degrees, not that cold. “Just move around a little bit. You’ll be fine.”
He started swimming in a circle around her and Jamie couldn’t help but notice how gorgeous his body was. The water glistened on his skin, reflecting off the last bits of sun and the lights that had slowly come on. It just showed off his muscles even more, making him look like a Greek god. It was impossible not to admire his physique. She had never seen him up close when he was swimming and she had to resist the urge to scrutinize him now. Her stupid dream kept sending images to her brain that were X-rated.
“Aren’t you just going to get cold by standing there?” he asked, smirking.
Jamie flushed, knowing she had been caught. She started swimming, cutting him off before turning onto her back. “Just thinking,” she mumbled, doing a backstroke across the pool. She snuck a glance back at him and was very satisfied to see him studying her in a similar way she had studied him. She turned around at the pool’s end and swam back toward him. “Now look who’s going to get cold.”
He smirked. “Just thinking.” He swam up to her and his smile slowly faded. “Is everything okay? You seemed distracted today during work.”
“Sorry. I’ll try to be more attentive.” Her response was automatic. She refused to discuss her feelings for him.
“That’s not what I meant,” he said and cleared his throat. “I know things have been a bit awkward since… my father’s passing. I just want to make sure we’re on the same page.”
Jamie sighed. There were pros and cons about being around your boss, and having the hots for him all the time was definitely one of the cons. It was also next to impossible to lie to him. “Just the usual stuff,” she said. “Family stuff.”
He nodded, his face unreadable. He swam away from her and did a few laps. She watched and then held her breath when he stopped and swam back by her. “Have you talked to them lately?”
She shook her head. “Not since my fight with Christine. I’ve been fielding calls from them and they just leave voicemails telling me how horrible I am.” She scoffed. “Yet, somehow, I still miss them.”
“I understand,” he said. “You know I get that.”
She shrugged. “My family’s really not that bad. I mean, I know it’s awkward my ex is marrying my sister, but that’s not the most uncommon thing in the world. It’s just,” she sighed and continued, “complicated.”
He nodded. “I think I know what you mean. I realized things at home were not as bad as they appeared. Stubbornness kind of screwed things up for my family, not just my pig-headedness, all of ours.” He shook his head, droplets of water hit Jamie’s arm and sent a shiver through her. “Are you planning to go to the wedding? That could help with making amends, maybe not the way I suggested to you on the plane…” He hesitated, as if remembering what happened in Philadelphia. He swallowed hard and adverted his eyes.
“I d-don’t know,” Jamie said, pushing past her feelings and making herself keep the conversation focussed on their families, not the two of them. “Part of me wants to go. But at the same time, I’m tired of being taken for granted and mistreated – even if it’s done unintentionally. If I show up, it feels like defeat, I guess. And then they will just continue taking me for granted.”
Alex nodded thoughtfully. “I’m not sure they will. You’ve changed a lot since you started working for me. Not just physically, but you’ve gone and stood in front of a group of snobby, strong-willed investors and held your ground. You’ve proved to me time and time again that you’re an asset to this company. I wouldn’t cross you, nor would I want you working against me.” He grinned. “You’re not ruthless, but you are incredibly smart. You know how to work with people and you know how to not take no for an answer.” He cleared his throat. “Thanks for getting Nick back on board by the way. I appreciate that.”
Jamie smiled. “You’re welcome.” She thought about Nicholas’ job offer and what Alex had just said about not wanting her to work against him. It made her feel good. “I’ll think about the wedding. I can’t avoid them forever. It won’t fix anything.”
“You got that right.”
She realized he must have thought she was insinuating he had done that. She shivered, partially from cold, partially from embarrassment. She began treading water again. But as she started to move her leg cramped and she slipped.
Alex’s arms were around her within moments, crushing her to his chest. Desire spread through her as she was forced to hug him.
“You okay?” he asked hoarsely.
She looked up at him and saw desire light in his eyes right before he crushed it. She tried to get a hold of her own desire as well. “Yeah,” she said, pushing back away from him. “Just slipped.” She forced her legs to start treading water on their own, even though her left calf threatened to cramp again. “Think I’m just getting cold. I’m going to head in.” She moved to the stairs and climbed out, feeling Alex’s eyes follow her every movement. She grabbed her towel and wrapped it tightly around he