Free Unfinished Business by Brenda Jackson

a scene until he danced with you. And that was after you had plastered yourself all over him. I’ve never seen you act that way before.”
    And Christy intended for Shemell to never see her act that way again. “Well, I, uh, had too much to drink,” she said, quickly deciding not to tell anyone the true story.
    “Yeah, that’s what I figured, and I’m sure Kevin was to blame. I’m just glad Mr. Maxwell was there. He knew just what to do. And he was really protective of you. I was OK with letting you leave with him. But I have a feeling that he would have taken you with him whether I approved or not.”
    Christy nodded, knowing that was probably true. “Yes, more than likely he would have. Alex is a good friend of my brothers. He’s also a former FBI agent, so he’s used to taking charge and doing things his way,” she said quietly.
    “A former FBI agent? Wow! That explains a few things.”
    Christy raised a brow. “A few things like what?”
    “About what happened to Kevin. After Mr. Maxwell carried you out of the club—”
    “What do you mean, he carried me out of the club?”
    “Just what I said, he carried you out in his arms. It was like a scene from one of those romantic movies.”
    Christy rubbed a hand down her face. This was worse than she’d thought. “Now what about Kevin?” she asked, deciding the less she knew about Alex carrying her out of the club the better.
    “He staggered out of the men’s room after the two of you left. Someone had worked him and his friend over pretty good. But it appeared Kevin got the worst of it. If Mr. Maxwell was involved in a brawl with Kevin and his friend, I don’t recall seeing a scratch on him anywhere. And you’d better believe I checked him out real good. There wasn’t even a bruised lip.”
    Christy sighed. She didn’t want to tell Shemell that Alex had a bruised lip now, thanks to her.
    “I couldn’t believe a man could look that darn good. Do most men in Texas look that way?”
    Shemell’s question recaptured her attention. “Look what way?”
    “Drop-dead gorgeous, like you’d love to have one for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, someone who takes making you drool to a whole other level.”
    Christy shook her head. Evidently Alex had made quite an impression on Shemell. “Yes, I guess, pretty much.” She didn’t want to say that in her book Alex was in a class all by himself. For her he’d always been.
    “Does he have any brothers?”
    “Yes. Trask Maxwell. But he’s married to my cousin Felicia.”
    “Trask Maxwell? The Trask Maxwell? Former NFL great?”
    Christy couldn’t help but smile. “Yes, that’s him.”
    “Wow! I remember one of my older male cousins having his jersey. And he’s married to your cousin?”
    “Yes.”
    “Hey, what are you all trying to do? Keep it in the family?”
    Christy rolled her eyes to the ceiling. “There’s nothing going on between me and Alex. We’re nothing more than friends.” And even saying they were friends was really stretching it. Although he had gotten her out of a tight spot last night, she could not forget that he was the man who had crushed her heart and trampled her pride.
    “Some friend,” Shemell said. “I’d love to have a friend like that.”
    “Well, look, Shemell, I have to go. Thanks for calling and checking on me.”
    Christy decided not to tell her that Alex was in her kitchen preparing breakfast. She was hungry and whatever he had whipped up smelled good. There was no doubt in her mind that he could cook, since, like all of her brothers’ friends, at one time or another he had been a student—whether willing or not—in Gramma Laverne’s cooking classes.
    “That’s what friends are for. Do you need me to get you anything?”
    “No, I’ll be fine. I’m going to stay in all weekend and read ‘The Patterson Report.’ ”
    Shemell chuckled. “Why? It’s all fiction.”
    “Yeah, probably, but I thought I’d read it just the same.”
    “OK. If you need me for