Well pardon me but you have my attention
Ever since you strolled into the room
Believe me that it's not my intention
If I appear to come on too smooth

Why not tonight – Reba McEntire

Alex fondled the empty wine glass in front of her, and wished that somehow all of this would come right in her head.

Gene was, is, my guardian angel. He rescued me, not Evan. Evan isn't the villain I almost thought he was. And I'm no nearer Molly than I was before. And my Mum is dead.

Tears welled up in her eyes. That hurt worst of all, that her Mum loved her, and now before she had a chance to find out how much, her Mum was dead.

Nothing makes sense. All my preconceptions of what think I know. They're all wrong. Gene's impassioned speech about fear and... she struggled to remember what else, but the fear kept getting in the way, some of that's going to come true. In battling to save my parents, which I could never do, have I failed to save Gene like I should have done?

A bottle appeared in her peripheral vision, the hand rock steady as he poured more wine into her empty glass. She stole a glance, but his face held his most inscrutable expression, she could read nothing. And that hurt. A large part of her wanted to reach out and touch him, reassure herself that he was real.

Because he was real. Very real. Six foot of large powerful alpha male, oozing self assurance. The Manc Lion indeed. King of his very own jungle. She inhaled, the scents of wine, cigarettes and aftershave mingled with something else that made her senses reel, and her fingers itch to touch him.

The glass was full, the bottle and the hand holding it disappeared, as he turned to walk back to the booth in the corner. Before he'd sat down again, she had made her decision. Everything she had done so far had been solely for her, to her benefit. She'd almost thrown away what was right in front of her, and she wasn't taking any more chances. She looked across at the booth. He raised his glass, that was invitation enough. She slipped off the chair, and made her way across to his table.

Why not tonight!