Part 20 (1/2)

The comforter slipped, exposing the curve of her breast. Alison didn't notice, but Drew's concentration went south. His resolve faltered. He swore he wasn't going to let her get to him. He swore he was going to use this time to talk to her. To do the right thing and tell her that sometimes love wasn't enough. That even though they'd breached the parameters of friends.h.i.+p, that remaining friends was going to have to be enough. He would do it to protect her. To protect Kevin.

To protect himself.

But the words tangled in his throat. And when she looked at him from beneath the dark sweep of her lashes, he finally realized the gravity of his mistake.

He'd fallen in love with her. Not as a friend, he realized with a rise of panic, but in every way that a man could love a woman.

Desperate now to touch her, to feel her against him, he reached for her. She sighed when he pulled her against him. When he nudged her with his s.e.x, she opened and he slipped inside her, began to move. Closing his eyes against the hot burst of ecstasy, he pumped into her, trying desperately to forget, trying even harder not to feel.

He failed on both counts.

CHAPTER FIFTEEN.

Alison woke to the sound of clanging. Groggy, she opened her eyes to see the gray light of dawn slanting in through the window. The bedroom door stood ajar. c.o.c.king her head, she listened, realizing belatedly that the clanging was coming from the kitchen. Judging from the aromas of bacon and coffee filling the air, she suspected Kevin and Drew were fixing breakfast.

Comforted by that, she sank back into the pillows and stretched like a lazy cat. Everything that had happened between her and Drew the night before rushed back. A thrill that was part emotional, part s.e.xual ran the length of her body and she smiled. It had been a long time since she'd been with a man, and she'd forgotten how good s.e.x could make a woman feel. For several minutes she lay there, immersed in the memory of their lovemaking and listened to her son and the man she loved chattering and laughing and clanging pans.

Her heart felt so light that she actually laughed aloud. Stretching languidly, she sat up. Her body felt sensuous and alive and incredibly happy. They'd made love most of the night and every moment had been wonderful. At just before dawn, Drew had crept out of the room and sacked out on the sofa. He didn't want Kevin to see that he'd spent the night in her bedroom.

Suddenly, Alison couldn't wait to see them. She couldn't wait to share this beautiful morning with them. To hold her son and kiss the man she loved.

The man she loved.

The thought took her breath away.

After Rick's death, she'd been certain she would never love again. That she would never be this happy or feel this complete. The power of the emotions inside her made her feel giddy and breathless and incredibly alive.

Leaving the bed, she pulled on her pajamas and robe, then left the bedroom. At the end of the hall, she stopped and peeked into the kitchen. Her heart clenched at the sight of Kevin and Drew. They were standing side by side, facing the stove. Kevin was standing on a stool with a spatula in his hand and Drew was trying to show him how to flip a pancake. On a plate next to the stove, several mangled pancakes had suffered the effects of Kevin's lack of culinary experience.

”Like this, sprout.” Leaning close to him, Drew put his hand over the little boy's and quickly flipped the pancake. ”See?”

”Lemme do it!” Kevin cried.

”One more try, or else we're going to run out of batter.”

Alison watched as his little shoulders tensed with concentration. Then he shoved the spatula beneath the pancake. Drew's hand hovered close, but Kevin finally managed to turn the flapjack.

”Hey, that's great,” Drew said.

”I did it!” Kevin brought his hands together and did a little dance on the chair.

Alison had to put her hand over her mouth to keep from laughing aloud. Finger-combing her hair, she entered the kitchen. ”Hey, kiddo, you managed that like a pro.”

”Mommy!” Kevin jumped off the stool and rushed to her.

She knelt and opened her arms. He threw his arms around her and gave her a smacking kiss on the mouth.

”Drew showed me how to make pancakes and I got to turn them all by myself!”

”I saw that, sweetie.”

She looked at Drew over her son's shoulder. His mouth was curved into a smile, but when she met his gaze, his eyes skittered away. A silent alarm went off inside her head, but she could hardly ask Drew what the problem was in front of her four-year-old son.

”Drew said there's a plane graveyard real close to our house, Mommy. He said he'd take us some day when it's not raining.”

She glanced at Drew and smiled. He met her gaze this time, but he didn't return the smile. ”What on earth is a plane graveyard?” she asked, heading toward the coffeemaker.

”It's where they put all the dead airplanes.” He turned to Drew. ”Tell her, Drew. Mommy, it sounds so cool. Drew said we could go see the planes. I wanna go!”

”It's an old salvage yard,” Drew said to Alison, then he tousled Kevin's hair. ”But we can't go in this storm, sprout.”

”The storm's getting worse?” she asked, snagging a cup from the cupboard.

”The tropical storm strengthened overnight and is now Hurricane Debbie,” said Drew.

”We saw it on the news, Mommy. Boy, I love Florida!”

But Alison knew how dangerous hurricanes could be; Kimberly had been in South Florida during Andrew. Worry trickled into her brain one drop at a time. ”How serious is the storm?” she asked Drew.

”Minimal,” he replied, keeping his hands busy with another batch of pancakes. ”It's a Category 1, right now with sustained winds at about 75 miles per hour. They don't expect a direct hit, so things shouldn't get too bad.”

”That's a relief.”

”Maybe we can go to the plane graveyard tomorrow,” Kevin said.

Alison waited a beat, watching Drew out of the corner of her eye, telling herself he wasn't being distant. That she was imagining things. When he didn't respond, she set her hand on Kevin's shoulder. ”Honey, why don't you go wash your face and hands and get ready for breakfast?”

”Aw, Mommy...”

”And did you make your bed?”

He sighed.

”Make your bed, and we'll have breakfast ready when you come out, okay?”

”Mommy-”

”Right now, young man.”

”Jeez!” Slapping his arms against his sides, Kevin stomped toward the living room.

She turned toward the stove to find Drew watching her, his expression grim. Her smile felt tremulous on her face, and she knew something was wrong. The realization sent a jolt of uneasiness through her.

”What's wrong?” she asked.