Jared’s father, who could see Caleb, smiled indulgently. As a child, he’d done exactly the same thing.
When Caleb disappeared, Jared saw Alix sprawled across the other couch and sound asleep. An empty plate and glass were on the rug; piles of papers and great rolls of blueprints were scattered everywhere. It looked like they’d again fallen asleep while working. But then they’d been at it for four days and nights and had slept only twice.
Jared sat up on the couch, running his hands over his face, and looked back at her. He knew from experience that she slept hard. The first time she’d fallen asleep on the couch he’d played the gentleman and tried to get her upstairs.
It didn’t happen. He’d tried nudging her, but she’d just murmured and kept sleeping. Even when he put his hands on her shoulders and pulled her upright, she didn’t wake up. He had an idea that if he picked her up she’d snuggle against him like a child. Since he was as tired as she was, he was afraid that if he carried her up to bed he’d climb in with her.
In the end he’d kissed her forehead and let her sleep on the couch. He thought he’d go to the guesthouse, shower, then sleep in his own bed. Instead, he glanced at one of the plans on the floor and realized it had an error on it. He sat back down on the couch, meaning to fix it, but the next thing he knew Alix was standing over him, holding the plan, and saying, “This wall is wrong. It should be four inches to the south.”
It had taken him a moment to wake up but when he did, he said, “I agree.”
That had been two days ago and they hadn’t slept since. They had just worked.
Jared looked back at Alix, smiling at her sleeping. Last night—or rather, early this morning—when she’d fallen asleep, this time, he’d kissed her on the mouth. A sweet kiss, one of friendship more than passion. She’d kissed him back a bit then smiled in her sleep.
Jared had looked up to see his grandfather wearing a look that said, You’re pathetic, then he’d disappeared.
The second time around, Jared never even considered sleeping anywhere but on the couch facing Alix.
A movement caught his eye and he looked up to see his grandfather reappear by the doorway. He looked like he was going to say something, but in the next second Lexie stepped through the man.
“Jared!” she said loudly. “Where have you been? No one’s heard from you since you went out to see Dilys. Toby’s been so worried that she sent me over here to see about— Oh! Is that—?” She was looking at Alix asleep on the couch.
Jared crossed the floor in two strides, took his cousin’s arm, and led her out of the room and into the kitchen.
“Was that Alix on the other couch? Are you two a couple now? Already?”
“No,” Jared said. “At least not in the way you mean. And lower your voice. She needs her sleep.”
“What have you two been doing besides drinking rum?” There was an empty bottle on the counter and a half full one beside it. Lexie held up her hand. “Don’t tell me. You’ve been working.”
“Right,” Jared said. “She is worse than I am.”
“Couldn’t be,” Lexie said, then took pity on him because he looked tired. “At least she and Dilys got you to cut that mass of hair you had. Sit down and I’ll make you some breakfast. Toby sent over some jam she made. Will Alix get up soon?” She filled the coffee-maker.
Jared sat down at the banquette, rubbing his eyes to get the sleep out of them. “She’ll wake up when she does.”
“What does that mean?”
“That before she’s ready, an anchor falling on her feet wouldn’t wake her.”
Lexie had her back to him as she got things out of the fridge so he couldn’t see her smile. She was a very pretty young woman with the dark hair and eyes of all the Kingsleys, and the jawline was unmistakable. Her father had been an off-islander with blond hair and blue eyes, and his coloring had tempered the Kingsley darkness so that in the sun, lighter streaks could be seen in Lexie’s hair. And Dilys always said that Lexie’s eyes were lighter than the Kingsley blue that was so dark it was almost black.
“And you know this how?” Lexie asked as she put a carton of eggs on the counter.
Jared wasn’t about to answer that question. “How is Dilys?”
“Full of talk about you and Alix. Is it true that you make her call you Mr. Kingsley?”
Jared laughed. “It started that way but that was back when she was in awe of me. Now it’s just Kingsley, as in ‘Kingsley, you don’t know what you’re talking about.’ ”
“I thought architecture students thought you were some god to be worshipped.” Lexie’s tone told how absurd she thought that was.
“Not this one.” Jared was smiling. “At least not anymore, even though I was right about the wall in my cousin’s house.”
Lexie paused in breaking eggs to look at him. “You listened to her? From what I’ve seen, when it comes to buildings, it’s your way or get out.”
“Except with Ken,” Jared said.