“I love that. I’ve never readGone with the Wind,” he admitted.
Scarlet shook her head, her long blond hair brushing her shoulders as she smiled over at him. “Me neither. But I have seen the movie numerous times.”
Suddenly, the smile left her face and he realized that there was more to the story. Should he push or just let it be? He wanted to know more but he was actually enjoying not being in constant conflict with her. He didn’t want to have to apologize again.
“My brothers and I are all named after our ancestors,” he said.
“That’s nice,” she said. Then, without missing a beat, she blurted, “What are we going to do about this baby?”
This baby.
Not our baby or her baby. This baby. Was she trying to figure out what kind of man he was before she included him in her life and the baby’s life?
Was he reading too much into her word choice?
“I don’t know. I think if you aren’t opposed we’ll have a DNA test,” he said.
“I’m not opposed. It will make my lawyers happier, as well. I’m not scheduled to start shooting my reality show again until late October,” she said. “I’d like to keep this quiet until then.”
“That suits me. I do have to go to the West Coast in the morning. It’s not something I can put off. Will you be here when I get back? I don’t mind coming to New York to see you. Mauricio and Hadley have a place there that I can use as my base.”
“I think I’ll stay here,” she said. “For now.”
“I’ll leave you the numbers for my sister and Hadley, so you aren’t alone,” he said.
“I have Billie and another friend here with me, and Hadley already gave me her number,” Scarlet said.
“That’s good,” he said. She realized he was mentally going through some list and he’d switched from being relaxed into some sort of business mode. It was interesting to watch.
“Also, I was invited to book club with Hadley and her sister so I have that to look forward to,” she said.
“Book club? You know they just go to a bar and hang out, right?”
“I do.” She waited to see if he was going to try to tell her not to go.
“I guess that sounded a bit judgy.”
“Yeah, just a bit,” she said. “One thing you should know about me, Alec, I’m not stupid. I play a role for my reality show and social media but that’s not really me.”
“I get that. I sort of clean up the online profiles of large companies and people in the public eye who stand to lose a lot if their image doesn’t jibe with the expectation of who they are,” he said. “I never thought you were stupid, Scarlet.”
“What do you think about me?” she asked. “You’ve never said. I mean I know I shocked the heck out of you by showing up here, but beyond that, I don’t know what you think.”
“That’s a loaded question,” he said, stopping in the middle of the willow branch arbor and turning to face her.
The scent of jasmine was strong here; she realized that someone had woven the climbing vine into the willow branches above their head.
“Is it?” she asked.
Because it seemed straightforward to her.
“Si,”he said.
She noticed he switched between English and Spanish without really seeming to think about it. She liked it. She thought it happened only when he was distracted.
This close she couldn’t help but notice the light stubble on his jaw, which drew her gaze to his mouth. He had firm, full lips that she knew felt just right pressed against her. She felt a jolt of desire go through her and blinked, taking a step back.
She hadn’t come here to hook up again.