Jamie shrugs, and his shoulder brushes against mine. “Maybe, but we had it rough. How many kids have to deal with what we did? We’re a dynamic duo, you and me.”
My face hurts from smiling. “True. No matter what, we always have each other. I don’t think I would’ve made it this far without you, Jamie.” I position my hands in the air, as if I’m about to shoot a basketball, and say, “You’re the Pippen to my Jordan, the Shaq to my Kobe,” I finish by flicking my wrist, as if I had just taken the shot.
Jamie shakes his head. “Of course you make a basketball reference, but I prefer Jobs to Wozniak.”
“And there you go with your computer references. I guess we’re even. The sports junkie and the lovable programmer—they should write a book about us. You’re such a nerd, Jameson O’Connor…but that’s why I love you.”
We come to a stop and move to the side, leaning against the ledge to make room for other skaters.
“Love you, too.” Jamie throws his arm around me and kisses my hair. “Happy birthday, Charlie.”
I lean my head on his shoulder, a smile already on my face. “How much longer do you have until you have to get back to work?”
He slides the sleeve of his jacket up to inspect his watch. “About five minutes, and even that is pushing it.”
After the morning I had, this is the perfect start to my afternoon. There’s no one else I’d rather spend this day with but Jamie, except for my parents. Unfortunately, because of their addiction, I never knew most of my family members. The ones who were around when I was a kid didn’t hang too long after my parents turned into full-blown junkies. I couldn’t blame them with my parents always asking for money to support their habit and pretending it was to support me.
Jamie elbows me in the arm to get my attention, and I lift my head from his shoulder.
“Is that who I think it is?”
Skating down the center of the ice, I spot the most graceful and gorgeous specimen of a man, all two hundred twenty pounds of muscle and sex appeal, barreling toward us.
Why is Alex in Philly, and why is he here?
My heart races at the sight of him in jeans that hug him in all the right places and a fitted black sweater. He turns heads everywhere he goes, and now, people are stopping to take a second look.
But I hate him…or at least I want to hate him. The feelings I’ve developed for Alex over the past few months are so strong that I have no idea how to process them. My mind and heart are not in sync because one tells me he’s a jerk and to forget about him, and the other wants the man who holds me in his arms until I fall asleep at night.
Before I can get in a word, Jamie steps in front of me, facing off with Alex, and pushes his hand out to stop him. “She doesn’t want anything to do with you, Parker. Don’t go ruining this day for her.”
“Just let me explain,” Alex says, making eye contact with me and ignoring Jamie. “It’s not what you think. I know how that picture looks, but I didn’t drink, and I never touched that girl. I ate dinner with Kane and Donovan and went up to bed right after. By myself,” he stresses.
Biting down on my lip, I fight back the tears that are welling in my bottom lids. I hate that I care enough about him to shed a single tear. This week, alone in my bed and waking up with painful nightmares, hasn’t been easy without Alex there to comfort me. I never need people. They need me. But, lately, the tables have turned, and I’m finding that all my rules that were meant to protect me are also what have been hurting me.
“She doesn’t care,” Jamie says, raising his voice. “Don’t do this here and on today of all days. Just let her go, and move on. Charlie was fine before you came along.”
Alex places his hands on his hips, looking perplexed. “What do you mean, today of all days? Because it’s Valentine’s Day? Look, sweetheart, I sent you flowers and jewelry earlier, but your secretary refused the delivery of them. I wanted to be here with you, but it’s out of my control when I’m on the road.”
“Today is her birthday, jackass.” Jamie shocks me with his boldness. He’s always been very protective of me, but to get in Alex’s face takes some nerve. “She doesn’t need you to send her flowers or jewelry. All she needed was for you not to be an asshole.”
Alex glances down at the ice for a few seconds and sighs. “I had no idea that today was your birthday.”
He skates around Jamie and stands at my side, taking my hand in his. I want to shrug him off, but I don’t because it’s freezing cold, and he’s keeping my hand warm.
“That means, it’s your parents’…shit! Charlotte, I am so sorry, baby.”
“How could you do that to me, Alex? I took you in when you needed help, believed you when you said you wanted to be with me and no one else. Even if I could pretend that you didn’t hook up with the girl at the restaurant, how do you explain the girl you were seen with at the airport?”
To say that Alex looks confused would be an understatement. “What girl at the airport? I came here alone. As soon as I saw that picture, I left Dallas and got on the first flight out here.”
I remove my cell phone from my jacket pocket, thankful I bought special gloves that allow me to use my iPhone with them on, and open my email before shoving the phone in Alex’s face, so he can see the skank from the TSA line.
His mouth and eyes widen. “I don’t even know her. She was just some girl who was standing behind me in line and needed help. They asked her to remove her shoes, and she almost fell over, so I offered her my arm. I was being nice. I honestly didn’t think anything of it at the time. She was going to Little Rock to se
e her grandmother. It was a two-minute conversation. I promise, Charlotte. Nothing happened.”
“No, I don’t want to hear it, Alex,” I say, shaking my head in disgust. “If it was one picture, maybe I could see it as a coincidence, but two—”