Just One Wish (The Kingston Family 4.50)

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Axel sat in the family room at Xander’s house, enjoying a Kingston get-together. He had no family other than his sister, and he was grateful Dash’s family made him part of theirs. Despite the good mood of the people around him, Axel couldn’t shake his bad mood since Tara had turned him down for a date, and here it was, Saturday night, and he was wondering if she was with someone she had feelings for.

Melly, Dash’s mother, sat down beside him. He didn’t remember much about his own mother, but Melly Kingston, in the short time he’d known her, tried to fill that hole.

“You look sad and alone,” she said.

He shook his head. “I’m not alone. I have Bella for company.” He ran his hand over the dog’s soft fur.

She eyed him the way only a mother could, indicating she wasn’t buying what he was selling. “I’m here to listen,” she offered.

He looked down and remained silent, thinking about whether he wanted to get into his problem.

“It’s about a woman, isn’t it?” Melly asked.

Axel lifted his head and met her gaze. “Yeah. My high school girlfriend. We broke up after graduation because we were going in different directions. Now she’s here. In East Hampton. She’s Bella’s vet.” He grinned at the dog who he’d used as a buffer.

“So you’ve reconnected?”

He nodded. “We went on one date. I asked her out again for tonight, but she said she was busy.”

“I see. So you’re worried she’s out having fun with someone else,” Melly said.

“Yeah.” Among other things. “I don’t want her to fall into a relationship with someone else before I get the chance to win her back.” He flexed his fingers, a habit he’d developed to keep his hands limber.

“Does she know you want to get back together?” Melly asked. “Or does she think you’re asking her on casual dates?”

“Umm…”

“Obviously you need to state your intentions. The woman’s not a mind reader,” Melly said, her wry smile making him laugh.

“I–” Before he could reply, his phone buzzed with a text message. He pulled it out of his pocket and glanced at the screen.

Tara: Where are you?

“Speak of the devil,” he said with a grin.

Melly tipped her head. “Yes? What does your lady want while she’s out on her date?”

Axel bit the inside of his cheek as he continued to text with Tara, lost at half of what was coming from her.

“She’s drunk texting me,” he said at last. The next few messages had him raising his eyebrows, confused, laughing, and then concerned.

“Go get her,” Melly said, watching him with amusement on her face.

“She didn’t ask me to do that.” But she was talking about his babies. Something he couldn’t explain to Dash’s mother.

“Men.” Melly rolled her eyes. “If a woman tells you where she is, she wants you to come get her.” She placed her hands on her thighs, her manicured nails a pop of pink. “And on that note, I’m going to leave you alone to go pick her up and tell her how you really feel,” she said, rising to her feet and heading over to her daughter, Chloe.

“Thanks,” he called after her.

The next thing he knew, he was striding into the restaurant and bar in town. A combination of relief that there’d been no date warred with amusement at the drunk messages he’d received.

He took one look at the woman in the chair wiping her mouth with her sleeve and knew just how drunk the usually put-together, well-mannered Tara was.

For all the times he’d seen her drink at high school parties, he’d never seen her like this. Glassy-eyed, cheeks flushed, splayed back against the chair in a heap. She was still the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen.

She glanced up and met his gaze, surprise opening her eyes wide. “Axel!” She hopped up from her seat and wrapped her arms around his neck, which he had to admit felt damned good. “Why are you here?” she asked.

He needed to gauge how inebriated she was and how to deal with her, so he pulled her off him but kept her hands clasped in his. “I realize drunk texting an ex is a thing, but you scared me. I thought you were on a date and something was wrong.”

He didn’t realize how worried he’d been until he’d walked in and seen her safe and sound.

She shook her head, her brown hair falling around her face. “No date! I’m at a party and everyone was talking about babies. Babies made me drink. They also made me think of you,” she babbled.

He released his hold on her hand as she fell into him. He caught her before she could slide to the ground and held her tight against him. She felt good in his arms, but given the reason, he wasn’t going to be admitting his intentions for them tonight.