Free Better Than Perfect by Kristina Mathews Page B

time when they worked as a team. They could read each other’s body language to find out what the other needed. He’d never had that kind of connection with anyone else.
    “Thanks.” Alice gathered her dishes and Johnny helped with the rest. “I usually have Zach clear the table, but he really does need to get cracking on his homework.”
    “He’s a great kid.” Johnny followed her into the kitchen.
    “I don’t know what I did to deserve him.” She sighed. A dreamy, proud, awestruck kind of sigh. Stopping him from blurting out something about her having slept with his best friend.
    “You’ve done a hell of a job with him.”
    “I had a lot of help. Frannie was amazing, especially in those early years.” Alice let out another sigh. “And Mel Senior has been wonderful, too. He takes Zach golfing. And sailing. They both take him to museums and art galleries. Expose him to all that San Francisco has to offer.”
    “That’s great.” Johnny helped her load the dishwasher. “How about your family? Do they spend a lot of time with Zach?”
    “We spend some time up there every summer.” Alice rinsed the plate she’d already cleared off. “They’re not real close with him, like they are with my brother’s kids. But you know?”
    Yeah. He knew. Alice had never been close with her parents. She’d been the reason they had to get married. They hadn’t exactly neglected her, but it seemed like they never fully appreciated her either.
    “It’s a good thing he has one set of grandparents he’s close to.” Johnny didn’t have any. His family had consisted of him and his mother. And he hadn’t had much of a relationship with her growing up. She tried, but Johnny couldn’t get past the shame of her profession to feel especially close to her. It was out of guilt more than love that he bought her a house in Vegas as soon as he was able. He sent her money, made sure she was well taken care of, but he didn’t visit very often.
    “Yes. It is a good thing.” Her hand shook a little, and the plate nearly slipped as she reached for the dishwasher.
    Johnny rescued the dish, placing it carefully in the lower rack.
    “Thank you.” She rested her hands on the counter, steadying herself.
    “Do I make you nervous?” Johnny slid his hands around her waist. He couldn’t help himself. It felt so natural. Like old times.
    “A little.” But she leaned back against him. Sighing.
    “Ali.” He breathed her in. Her hair smelled good. Familiar. Was it possible she still used the same shampoo she’d used in college? He nuzzled her neck before spinning her around and lowering his mouth for a kiss. A long, slow, deep kiss that almost transported them back in time.
    Almost.
    “Johnny. I can’t…” She pushed him away. “I can’t do this.”
    “I can finish the dishes. No problem.” Johnny had said the first thing to come to mind. Damn. He was a fool. To think she could want him. “Still not over your husband?” He backed up, putting much needed space between them.
    “No. Not that. I …” She looked up at him, her eyes stormy. A deep, dark blue.
    “How did it happen?” Johnny had spent the last few days wondering. He could have done the research, but he needed to hear it from her. “How did Mel die?”
    “A car accident.” She held her head high and steady. But she didn’t look at him; she gazed off in the distance. Into the past. “It was raining. And we’d had a fight.”
    He willed his feet to stay still. As much as he wanted to pull her back into his arms, he knew that wasn’t going to make everything okay. “What was the fight about?”
    She folded her arms across her chest. Shutting him out. Maybe trying to shut out the memories. “Mel wanted to have another baby. But Zach was starting school, and while I enjoyed helping in his class, it wasn’t enough.”
    “You had dreams of your own.” She’d wanted to be a teacher almost as much as Johnny wanted to play baseball. Maybe even more. “And you