Free A Beautiful Mess by T. K. Leigh

out the front door and she turned to lock up. She felt Alexander come up behind her, mere inches away. He whispered in her ear, “Please always remember to lock your front door, even when you’re home. You can’t trust anyone.”
    “I thought you said I could trust you.” Olivia turned to face him, remembering his words from a few nights ago. She smirked while she placed her keys in her purse.
    “You probably shouldn’t, but I’d like you to.” He smiled a sort of mischievous smile, caressing Olivia’s forehead where her bruise was. She closed her eyes at the contact, enjoying the feeling of Alexander’s hands on her face. Why did a simple touch feel so good? Olivia didn’t want to think about what it would feel like if he were to touch other parts of her body. She thought she would explode.
    Alexander stared down at Olivia, both of their breathing becoming heavier. He couldn’t understand the pull that woman had on him. He led a life of few distractions, avoiding all serious relationships, just like Olivia. It was hard to maintain total control when in a relationship. Instead, he would see a few women on occasion. Women who knew and understood his needs. But Olivia made him want to change his mind.
    “Do you feel it, too?” he asked, bringing his hand to cup her chin, tilting her head up.
    “Yes,” Olivia breathed, her voice husky. She was normally cool, calm, and collected. Around Alexander, she acted like a thirteen-year-old girl who had her first crush.
    “Good,” he said, turning and walking down her front steps, opening the back door to the waiting Escalade. Olivia needed to take a minute to steady herself so that she didn’t trip over her feet. Once she was finally confident that she could climb down the stairs without causing serious bodily harm, she joined Alexander on the sidewalk and climbed into the car.
    Martin sat at the driver’s seat and greeted Olivia as she entered the SUV. “Good afternoon, Miss Adler.”
    “Hello, Martin.”
    “Looking forward to the ball game this afternoon?”
    “Yes, I am. Thank you.” The door opposite her opened and Alexander sat down, preparing for the short drive. He reached out and grabbed Olivia’s hand.
    Her skin really was soft. Alexander could touch her all day. “You look beautiful today, Miss Adler,” he said softly as he stared into her eyes.
    “Thank you, Mr. Burnham,” Olivia smirked, thinking about how much she wanted to scream his name.
    Alexander brought Olivia’s hand to his lips and kissed it very gently. Her heart raced at the contact from his lips on her body. She stared into his eyes and realized she was falling for that man, as much as she didn’t want that to happen. That was bad. Very, very bad.

C HAPTER S IX
P UZZLE P IECES

    O LIVIA and Alexander arrived at Beer Works after a longer than normal drive from Olivia’s house. She didn’t live far from Fenway Park, but with all the fans out in the streets for the game, it took a little longer than normal, which was to be expected on game day in Boston.
    There was already a line outside, but the doorman saw Alexander and permitted the pair to enter, nodding a greeting to him. As they made their way through the industrial looking microbrewery, Alexander was greeted by more people, shaking hands with some, stopping to take pictures with others. He must have been more well-known than Olivia originally thought.
    Olivia had distanced herself so much from the social scene that she didn’t realize she was in the company of a local celebrity. Alexander had recently been named one of the country’s most eligible bachelors by Esquire magazine, but that wasn’t something he really bragged about.
    They made their way to an empty high top table toward the rear of the large bar and sat down. A server came to take their order of two watermelon ales. As she waited for her drink, Olivia’s mind drifted back to the song she was singing before Alexander arrived. She loved the feeling of sharing a