But his necessary appearance at the wedding wasn't what had aroused her interest. What she really wanted to know was who the woman was his father had suggested to him. Lexi could hear Bekah's words about Ramsey being a player echo in the back of her mind. And though she knew Bekah was a compulsive liar, she couldn't shake the feeling that some of the things she had said were true. It wasn't like Bekah was the only one who had warned her off Ramsey.
She shook her head slightly trying to shake off the feeling of discomfort that was creeping across her temples. Sure she didn't know Ramsey all that well, but so far he had been nothing but cordial. In fact, he had been a perfect gentleman. They had gone on at least a dozen dates since she had invited him to the engagement party and thus far, all they had done was kiss. She welcomed the change though. After practically throwing herself at him that night, she had vowed to give herself the time she needed to heal. Immediately jumping into bed with another man, Ramsey or anyone, was the worst idea she could fathom. So they were taking it slow, sometimes painfully slow.
In either case, it just showed that they weren't really together. Not that she was in any way in the same position she had been with Jack. This was of her own volition and for her own good. Dating was perfectly acceptable. Though it did make her wonder sometimes if he was dating other people though. She had never had it in her to ask if he was seeing other people. She couldn't imagine that he would only be dating her. They saw each other so infrequently and, sex…well it was something she willing to work towards, but that didn't mean she was going to jump his bones in the museum.
She gulped hard at the thought of him with someone and tried to hide her discomfort. The last thing she wanted to think about was Ramsey with someone else. She knew that she had no claim to him, but they were just at the beginning of a relationship and the idea made her nervous. He had made it clear that he wasn't bringing a girl that his father had suggested to the wedding, but that didn't really mean anything. He didn't exactly have the best relationship with his father. It didn't seem likely that he would want to bring a girl that his father would suggest anyway, but it still made her curious.
"So what does your family do for Thanksgiving?" Ramsey questioned her breaking her out of the trance he had noticed she had fallen into. He wasn't even sure she had looked at the last three exhibits. Something was on her mind, but he wasn't going to pry. She would tell him in her own time.
"Oh nothing fancy," she said shoving a loose strand of hair behind her ear. "Usually it's just the five of us. My mom cooks and we all snuggle up in front of the fireplace to watch the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. But this year for some reason," Lexi rolled her eyes, "my mom decided to invite everyone to our house for Thanksgiving. So both sets of grandparents are flying in tomorrow. All of my aunt's and uncles and their kids are here. It's a mad house."
"Sounds nice," he said dreamily.
"Psh, nice," she muttered sarcastically. "What do you do? It has to be much better."
"When I wake up, I put on a suit to go have a formal breakfast with my father's most prestigious business associates. They talk business," he stated dryly. "I'm expected to contribute now that I am older. From there every minute of the day is mapped out with things we're supposed to be doing to help the business. The business this and the business that," he quoted sardonically. "My grandparents are shoved in their somewhere briefly, before we finish with a more formal dinner at the Club."
"Let me guess, they discuss business?" Lexi asked only half joking.
"Ding ding ding," he said raising his hand in the air.
A wave of compassion flowed through Lexi's body. She knew that Ramsey wasn't exactly fond of his father or Bridges Enterprise which he and his grandfather had built from the ground up, but she had never envisioned why. She had always assumed that he had everything, but she was starting to realize that like Chyna, there was much more to Ramsey than she had originally anticipated. "Ramsey I'm sor…"
But she was cut off. "Please, you're the last person I want sympathy from," he said gently. "I shouldn't have even mentioned it."
"No it's alright," Lexi said averting her eyes and staring into a large mural of the ocean.
"I'm really not trying to play the poor little rich kid routine," he muttered disgust in his voice. "I guess this time of year just grates my nerves."
"You have every right to be upset about it," she told him gingerly dancing around the subject.
"Well there's no point in discussing it," he said veering away from her and into the next exhibit room.
"I think talking helps," she murmured almost instantly regretting that statement. He could ask her a million and a half things that she had no desire to discuss. She knew he was curious about her, but she was hesitant to share too much information about herself. The more left unsaid the better. Her past wasn't exactly picture perfect and she knew better than anyone. What she could share…what she had shared so far was just scratching the surface.
He would find out eventually the kind of person she had once been. She knew it was inevitable. Bekah knew such a large percentage of what had happened with Jack, not that she knew everything, but it was enough to put a chink in her armor. If Ramsey had any knowledge of what had occurred between them, he didn't acknowledge it. And for now at least, she wanted to keep it that way.
"I think talking can be helpful," he agreed, "but not now at least." He shot her a quick smirk his green eyes glowing. "For now, I'm on a date with a beautiful woman and I should be enjoying that."
"Oh you think we're on a date do you?" Lexi asked playfully crossing her arms over her chest and giving him a devilish glance.
"Is this not what this is?" he questioned taking a step towards her.
"Well I don't know. Are you going to take me out to dinner?" she asked him following his lead and stepping into him. "Sweep me off my feet? Walk to my doorstep and give me a lingering kiss good night?" she arched one perfectly shaped eyebrow.
Ramsey leaned into her pulling her body close to him. He dipped his head down close enough to huskily whisper into her ear, "Can I give you a lingering kiss on my doorstep and convince you to make it more than linger?"
Lexi let a faint gasp pass through her lips at his words, and the gentle nip on her ear sent shivers down her entire body. She forced her body to stay in check biting down forcefully on her lip to keep her emotions under control.
They were taking things slow.
She could take things slow. She repeated the words to herself over and over in her mind as he slowly backed away from her.
She had been impulsive in her past and look where that had gotten her. Nowhere. She certainly didn't intend to keep repeating the same mistakes all over again. Ramsey was not Jack and though she liked him, she knew he didn't have the same pull over her. He was different, but in a good way. All she had to do was talk down her body, which was always ten paces ahead of her, and things typically went just fine.
Taking a deep breath, Lexi glanced up into Ramsey glistening green eyes. He was laughing at her with those beautiful eyes. He had been teasing her with her desire. But she could tell there was more. Despite the playful look apparent in his eyes, she knew he had really only been half-joking. He wanted her to come over, and he wanted to do more than kiss.
"Perhaps I'll grant you your wish then," she said just as playfully as he was acting, "but only if you can catch me." She tapped him on the shoulder and muttered, "You're it," then darted off through the museum.