Topaz leaned against the counter and regarded him curiously. “Why are you so against privileges, when you seem to come from a family that’s obviously well off?”
“I don’t know very many people in my family with half your decency,” he replied without hesitation, his striking eyes never leaving her face.
Topaz was first to look away, her eyes tracing the breadth of his chest and shoulders beneath the gray and burgundy football jersey he sported.
The oven timer sounded before the moment had the opportunity to become too electric.
“The bread’s done,” Topaz announced, pulling the thick, golden creation from the middle oven rack. “Time to eat.”
“Can I help with anything?” Alex offered, tossing the empty bottle to the trash can near the back door.
“No need for all that,” she told him, pouring the greens into a glass casserole dish. “I’ll just set out everything and we can help ourselves. The plates are in that cabinet behind you,” she instructed, already setting the casserole dish on the counter.
They worked together in silence preparing the marble-topped kitchen island for dinner. In the midst of it all, Alex’s hands slowed over the silverware.
“Um, Topaz ... I wanted to talk to you about today ... when I kissed you.”
Topaz felt a shiver shimmie up her spine, but she maintained her self-control.
“I just wanted to tell you I was sorry ... I never meant to do that,” he softly admitted, his gaze soft and sincere. “I don’t want you to think I was taking advantage or anything,” he went on to explain when she turned to look at him.
“You didn’t do anything wrong, Alex.”
He shrugged and finished up with the silverware. “Well, I just thought it needed to be said.”
Topaz stepped closer to the island. “Why?” she asked.
“I like what we have here,” he said, his gaze steady and intent. “I don’t want to ruin it.”
Topaz turned away, not wanting him to see the reaction she was unable to hide. She thought she could’ve sunk beneath the floor—knowing that he only wanted them to be friends.
“You don’t find a woman who can cook, likes rap, and looks the way you do every day, you know?”
Topaz’s spirits instantly lifted and she turned to grace him with a dazzling smile.
“You’re really making me miss my mother right about now,” Alex was saying later while they enjoyed pie and the sounds of Ella Fitzgerald in the living room.
Topaz smiled and set her saucer on the end table. “Well, I must say that I feel flattered to be placed in such high company. I only started making sweet potato pie about two years ago.”
“Well, it’s incredible.”
“So tell me about your family,” she urged, tucking her legs beneath her on the sofa.
Alex felt the muscle tighten in his jaw. “What about ’em?” he asked.
Topaz shrugged. “I don’t know, um ... do you have any brothers, sisters, where are you from ... ?”
“I’m an only child.”
“Ah ... mommy’s little man?” Topaz teased.
Alex nodded. “I think I broke her heart when I got mixed up with the wrong crowd and didn’t go into business like all her nieces and nephews.”
Topaz was shaking her head. “You and De are so different, but I see she’s not the only one from an affluent background.”
Alex rolled his eyes. “I always hated that whole scene,” he grumbled, massaging the back of his neck. “I don’t even know how me and De managed to stay in touch all this time.”
“It’s because you’re a real gentleman and you can’t be mean to a woman no matter how much of a bitch she is.”
Alex’s roaring laughter rumbled to the surface. “That must be it ... which reminds me ...”
“What?”
“I find myself in need of a favor.”
Topaz clasped her hands to her chest. “Finally I get to pay you back.”
Alex responded with a playful, warning look.
“Sorry,” she whispered, then leaned back against the sofa. “Go on.”
“She’s havin’ a dinner party tomorrow night.”
“What’s the problem?” Topaz asked, propping the side of her face against her palm.
“I’ll go crazy if I have to go there without another sane person to talk to.”
