Anyone but Alex (The English Brothers Book 3) by Katy Regnery Page A

asked.
    “At the Tate. I volunteer, for now. Hoping for a paid position at some point, once I’ve proven myself.”
    “Modern Art,” he said, cocking his head to the side. “I wouldn’t have guessed that.”
    “ Why is it such a surprise?”
    “ I don’t know. You seem traditional.”
    “I am traditional, but I love modern art. The edginess of it, the way it breaks the box and shatters the ceiling.”
    “Will you hate me if I say I don’t get it?” he teased.
    “I wouldn’t begin to know how to hate you, Alex,” she said gently, searching his eyes with a small smile. “But… I think we should take a field trip together so I can educate you on everything wonderful there is ‘to get’ about modern art.”
    “T o the Tate? Long field trip.”
    “ Maybe someday to the Tate,” she said with a grin. “But for now, just to the ICA at U Penn.”
    She was referring to the Institute of Contemporary Art at Alex’s alma mater , the University of Pennsylvania. He’d never been. He was too busy splitting his time between girls and studies at college. Not to mention, modern art had never been one of Alex’s interests, something he was suddenly anxious to remedy.
    “I’ll show you what I see,” she continued. “And maybe you’ll find something you get.”
    “ If you get it, I’ll get it,” he said, surprised to find he meant it. He wanted to see through her eyes and appreciate something she found beautiful. In fact, he might stop at a bookstore on the way back to the office and see what he could pick up on modern art, just so he’d be ready to impress her a little. “Tell me when you want to go.”
    “Sunday,” she said. “After brunch.”
    He laughed at her audacity. If she followed his reputation on the internet as she said on Saturday night, she knew about his Sunday brunches. He decided she was teasing him and played along.
    “ Oh! Are we having brunch on Sunday?”
    “Mm- hm,” she murmured confidently, looking away from him to smile at the waitress when she returned with their beer.
    She couldn’t be serious, could she?
    Alex leaned his elbows against the table as soon as they were alone again. Despite the fullness of his heart when he was with Jessie, he still had a firm grip on right and wrong, and being seen for Sunday brunch with Jessie was not an option. He needed to set her straight, on the off-chance that she was actually serious.
    “I can’t fall for you Jess ,” he reminded her. “And you can’t fall for me.”
    She lifted her beer to take a sip, but before she did, she gave him a small, sympathetic smile. “Too late.”
    ***
    Jessie knew that she was being forward, but she couldn’t help it. Talking to her mother this morning had given her the final drop of courage she needed to make her move. She let the cool beer stream down her throat, watching his surprised face. There was no use pretending she just wanted to be friends with Alex, because that’s not what she wanted. She wanted far more from him. Everything she’d ever felt as a child had been picked up with unerring precision the moment her eyes locked with his on Saturday night. She wanted Alex. There was no way around it.
    Before he could start pulling away from her again and telling her what a bad influence he could potentially be on her life, she placed her glass back on the table and asked conversationally—as though she hadn’t just admitted that she had fallen for him—“So, tell me about English & Sons. What do you do there?”
    He took a quick sip of his beer, huffed once, and stared at her with deeply furrowed brows. She could see him mentally deciding if he should argue with her about her feelings or let it go for now. She was relieved when his face relaxed, and he sat back.
    “I’m the CFO.”
    “The numbers guy,” she said, tilting her head to the side.
    “Now who’s surprised?”
    She gave him a saucy grin. “Bet it comes in handy when you’re calculating your stats with the ladies, Professor