Acting Up (26 page)

They were saved by the timely arrival of Ethan's mother. “Boys, why don't you come with me? I think I heard they're trying to make the world's biggest ice cream sundae.”

The announcement proved to be enough to make the twins forget about Addison buying them. For the moment at least.

His mother winked. “Have a nice dinner. We'll see you for the concert later I hope?”

“Sure,” Addison said.

His family disappeared into the crowd. Left alone, they could only stare at each other in awkward silence. Finally, Ethan cleared his throat. “Are you hungry?”

As a conversation starter, it was lame, but food seemed like a pretty safe subject.

“Is there anything remotely healthy here?” Addison asked, rubbing her stomach gingerly. “I've had nothing but junk food all day.”

“Chicken on a stick?” he said, naming the only thing he could think of not coated in some kind of fried batter.

She wrinkled her nose, but, in the end, nodded. “It's better than nothing, I guess.”

“Come on then, my lady,” he said, holding out his arm. “And next time, dinner is on me.”

“I should hope so.” Addison sniffed. “Six hundred dollars. I must be out of my mind. I had no intention of bidding, you know.”

Putting a hand to his chest, Ethan staggered back. “You didn't want me? I'm hurt.”

“I'm not in the habit of paying men to spend time with me, but when I saw Carrie's face, I couldn't stop myself.”

“Were you jealous?” he teased, though the prospect of Addison actually being possessive made his pulse skip a beat.

“Remember I told you I don't like to lose?” she asked, tossing her hair. “Carrie goaded me into it. They all did. I was set up.”

“Set up?”

“Your sister-in-law, my stepson, and even Julia were in on it. Elizabeth insisted I had to be here for the auction because there was something I would want to have.”

That gave him pause. His brothers had guessed at his growing feelings. Did the rest of his family sense the attraction, too?

“She seems to think there's something going on between us.”

What did Addison think? Ethan almost asked, but something in her expression stopped him. They didn't speak again until they'd gotten their food. He led her to the grandstands behind the fairgrounds, which were empty at the moment. This far from the midway, it was almost like being alone. Ethan sighed in relief, grateful to leave the noise and confusion behind for a while.

“Kids sure do come up with strange notions,” Addison said, after picking at her food for a few minutes. “Imagine the boys suggesting I buy them. Crazy, right?”

The mention of his boys brought Ethan back to reality with a thump. He couldn't forget for one second that everything he did affected them.

“They like you,” he said, staring out across the dirt-packed show arena.

“I like them, too. They're so cute. And smart. Even Aaron thinks they're cool, and trust me, he's hard to impress.”

Pride filled him. “They are pretty great. They terrify me sometimes, though. I can't believe I've been entrusted to raise two human beings. All on my own, too. It wasn't supposed to be only me.”

No, Jenny was supposed to be here. Jenny was supposed to ruffle the boys' hair. She was supposed to wipe chocolate off their faces and ride the carousel with them.

Except Jenny was gone, and he was sitting in the bleachers with a woman who didn't bat an eyelash over paying six hundred dollars for a date consisting of rubbery chicken on a stick. A woman who made him want things he could never have.

Addison poked at said rubbery chicken. “Of course you miss your wife.”

“It's more than missing her,” he said. “There's a lot of guilt, too.”

“What do you have to feel guilty about?”

He leaned forward, resting his arms on his thighs. “Jenny died in our bed. I was sleeping right next to her and—” His voice broke, and he cupped his hands over his face as memories crashed in on him.

How many times had he relived that moment? Rolling over and touching her shoulder, only to find her body cold and lifeless? The gut-churning sense of utter doom. He'd yelled. Dialed 911 and then performed CPR until help had arrived. He'd kept at it, until the EMT had physically pulled him back.

CPR had been useless. The EMT said she'd probably been dead for hours.
Hours
. His wife lay dead only inches from him, and Ethan hadn't stirred. How could he not have known? Why hadn't he felt the seismic shift in the universe as the love of his life departed this world forever?

“You didn't wake up and save her,” Addison said.

His head bobbed.

“I did some research on the Internet, and from what I gather, even if you had woken up and called 911 immediately, she probably still would have died,” Addison said.

“I know,” Ethan said. “The doctor told me the same thing, but it doesn't erase the fact that my wife was in trouble, and I slept through it.”

Her hand squeezed his shoulder. “Always wanting to play the hero. Your wife was very lucky.”

His gaze flickered down. Flushing in embarrassment, Addison pulled back and clutched the edge of the bleacher.

Ethan might not have sensed his wife passing away, but every nerve ending was aware of Addison. Her scent. The softness of her skin. The curve of her full lips. The shuttered expression in her blue eyes telling him maybe… maybe… she shared the same awareness.

Reaching out, he brushed a strand of hair behind her ear, and she jumped like he'd given her a shock. “You've become something of a problem, Alice Jones,” Ethan said, savoring the feel of her skin beneath his hand.

A delicate shudder rippled through her body, and then she fluttered her lashes. “Trouble?” she said in a breathy, Southern-accented voice. “Little ole' me?”

Right on cue. The Hollywood actress tried to reassert herself. Knowing her alternate persona was mostly a cover, Ethan understood. Ms. Covington appeared whenever she felt threatened or vulnerable, and there was only one reason for her to feel vulnerable now.

The one possible reason made him stifle a smile. “The guilt I mentioned isn't only about Jenny dying. It's that someone else has started to occupy a place in my heart.”

“Oh,” she said with genuine astonishment.

Ethan was surprised she hadn't guessed.

“Half the time I'm not even sure you like me,” Addison said. “You even told me you didn't have time to for a Hollywood actress on the lam.”

Oh, had he ever been a jerk. “I've apologized, right? My attacking you was nothing more than a defense mechanism. The truth is, ever since I saw you leaning against your car at the
Gas Up
, I've started breathing again.”

“What?”

“Sometimes it seems like I've been holding my breath ever since I watched my wife being lowered into the ground. Then you showed up. Now I'm having trouble concentrating. Trouble sleeping. Trouble remembering why it would be absolutely crazy to kiss you right now.”

“Are you sure it's crazy?” she asked, tongue flickering out to moisten her lips.

“It has to be. The fact is you're not Alice Faye Jones anymore. You're Addison Covington, one of the most famous women in the country, and I'm a high school principal. You probably made more money last year than I'll make in my entire life.”

“If I don't find another job I could find myself living out on the street—”

A brow quirked.

“In about ten years,” she admitted, with a sheepish grin. “Don't tell me you're one of those men who can't handle a woman making more money than he does.”

“I'm a realist, and the reality is you're only in Covington Falls for a short time. You're here because you needed a place to hide out, but soon you'll go back to your life. The life you love.”

Addison released a sigh so long and deep he felt it in his own chest. “Of course, you're right,” she said, bracing her hands on her knees to stand up.

Before she could escape, he tugged on her hand. She lost her balance, ending up lying across his lap. Ethan took one glorious moment to appreciate the weight of her body against him. Curves that seemed to meld perfectly with his.

“I thought you said this was a bad idea,” Addison said, staring up at him.

“Oh, it is.” He cradled the back of her head. “You're trouble because even though I know it's crazy, I can't stop thinking about you.”

Suddenly, Addison tugged him closer. “Mr. Thomas, you talk too much.”

Yes. Talking was overrated. Very overrated. Kissing Addison Covington, on the other hand, was as close to heaven as Ethan would ever feel on this earth.

She pulled back and gazed at him in surprise. “You're pretty good at this kissing thing, for a man with so little experience.”

Addison's eyes were dazed and unfocused, her cheeks flushed with color. Ethan was man enough to feel triumph at knowing he was the one who'd put her in such a state. “I was married for a few years, you know.”

“Yeah, but it's not like you were Don Juan before then. You saved yourself for marriage, right?”

He pressed kisses along her temple. “Jenny and I dated for seven years before we got married. We spent seven years perfecting the art of kissing, because that was all we could do. We were still teenagers with raging hormones. Anything more and we never would have made it to our wedding day. So, we had to be creative.”

“Like an apprenticeship in kissing.” Addison chuckled, the short puffs of air brushing his cheek. “I should thank your Jenny.”

Ethan silenced her with another deep kiss. Addison wound her arms around his neck and hung on. When she squirmed to get closer, he knew he had to call a halt or he'd explode. So even though every part of him screamed to finish the job, he pushed her away.

“What—” She gasped, reeling a little as she tried to regain her balance.

Shoving his hands through his hair, Ethan took several deep breaths. “Sorry. I think it's time we stop.”

“But it was starting to get interesting.”

“That's the problem. It's been too long. Kisses won't be enough with you.”

“Who says we have to stop at kisses?” Addison reached for him again. “We're both adults. Unattached and obviously attracted to each other.”

“I do. The vow I made about sex before marriage didn't end when I became an adult.”

Addison stared at him in disbelief. “No way.”

“Way.”

“I didn't think anyone believed in abstinence anymore,” she said. “If you love someone, why should it be wrong to express it physically?”

“Are you saying you love me?”

The question caused her breath to hitch. “I don't—”

“Look, I know what the world says. The kids at my school certainly know the message. I loved my wife. I loved making love to her
.
I believe sex is the most beautiful gift God ever gave us, but it should be within the bounds of marriage. Besides, I've got two boys who'll soon be at an age where they'll be interested in girls. How can I ask them to abstain if I won't?”

Addison shook her head and then started laughing.

“What?” he said.

“I'm thinking it's just my luck to meet the last honorable man on earth,” she said, running a hand through her hair in frustration.

“You think I'm old-fashioned and ridiculous?”

“No. It's very sweet, actually. Very gallant. I should have guessed you'd feel this way. It goes right along with your Sir Galahad mentality.”

A flush stole up his cheeks. “I hope you aren't offended. It's not that I don't—”

“No apologies.” She laid a finger to his lips. “Maybe we should get back.”

Ethan encircled her wrist, pressing a kiss to her finger. “Right.”

Pushing to her feet, Addison carefully made her way down the bleachers. He followed but at a much slower pace. He needed a minute to get all his limbs — not to mention certain parts of his anatomy — in working order again.

Addison hit the ground and immediately took off for the midway. Her head stayed down, and he knew she had to feel rejected. He couldn't stand her thinking he'd turned down the sweetest offer he could imagine because he didn't want her.

He jumped over the last two bleachers, landing on the ground inches from her. “Hey—” he called out.

She whirled around. “What?”

He stepped close, cradling her face as he pressed one more searing kiss to her lips. She swayed toward him when he pulled away.

A lovely dazed expression entered her eyes, making him want to howl at the moon. “What was that about?”

“For not being offended,” he said. “Plus, you did pay six hundred dollars for me. I figured I owed you.”

Addison wasn't one to let a guy have the upper hand for long. She rose up on her toes and nipped his chin. “I tell you what, Sir Galahad. I'll let you work it off in kisses.”

“I'm not sure I'd survive,” he said on a desperate groan.

Addison let loose with a glorious, knee-weakening, tongue-tying, movie star smile. “I think that's the most flattering thing anyone's ever said to me.”