He sputters, but I continue talking over him. “Anyway, if you are going to leave it to Nash, you should make your will ironclad. Something diabolical, to the point where if someone tries to coerce Nash into giving it to them, it automatically gets donated to charity or something like that.”
I keep blazing a trail since I’ve already dug myself into this hole. “I’ve spent some time talking with Natalie. And I’m glad to hear that you changed your ways, so just make sure you keep it up. Your grandson loves you.”
Alexander sighs. “He’s a good boy. A near replica of his father. I wasted eight years being angry his father wouldn’t go into business with me.”
I shrug. “My mom inherited some money from my grandma, and all her siblings fought like crazy over it. It was completely ridiculous. I kept thinking that the whole process could have been avoided if she’d just written a will.”
Alexander looks at me thoughtfully. “And what do you get out of this?”
“The knowledge that Nash will get to live a happy life. Hopefully, I won’t lie awake, worrying about him.”
“You love him, don’t you?” Alexander leans forward to rest his elbows on his knees.
“I’ll admit to nothing.” Because now that I know Alexander better, I know he would use it and twist it to his benefit.
“You do; I can tell,” he says smugly as he moves his pipe to the other side of his mouth.
I hold out my hand, but instead of passing me the pipethat I planned to put out, he pulls an unlit cigar from the drawer.
“I’m not sharing this pipe, but you can have this.”
At this point, I have to assume he’s somebody’s fairy godmother with the ability to pull things out of thin air.
I stare down at the cigar, then take it from him and hold out a hand for the lighter.
“I do love him. And that is going to stay between you and me.” I light the cigar and take a slow puff from it.
My dad gave me my first cigar, and now I get him a box every Christmas.
“Why? Why not tell him?”
I snort. “That man has had enough people grasping at him. He’s scared to trust his feelings. And I won’t spend my life with someone who second-guesses my love for them. I don’t want him to look at me with suspicion. I’ve already made it clear that I’m interested. He even reciprocated. He even wanted to explore what there was between us. But when we came back here, he reverted to wanting to protect me from the stress. I think it’s because he’s scared I’ll choose the money over him.”
“Aha. The ex-fiancée really did a number on him then. I knew she wasn’t good for him.”
“Exactly. He was really thrown for a loop with that one. And he’s busy trying to protect you and not let you see the vultures circling in your own house.”
We smoke in silence for a few minutes, and then Alexander speaks up. “It’s time I took care of this mess I created.”
“Amen,” I say.
CHAPTER 34
Magnolia
I standin the hallway while I wait for Nash. I don’t want to get stuck talking all evening with Charlie and Piper. As much as I love them, I need to talk with Nash tonight. I texted him the second I left Alexander’s.
Nash finally appears at the top of the stairs. He’s holding a length of carpet in his hand.
“Um, what are you doing?” I ask as he stops in front of me, holding up the rectangle fabric for my viewing pleasure.
“This is a tripping hazard.” He shakes the carpet. “It was loose on the stairs. Gah, I can’t wait to get you out of here.”
Butterflies make a few rounds in my stomach. Maybe some part of me should call him presumptuous. He’s talking about making choices for me. But really, I like that he wants me somewhere safe.
“I can’t believe the building supervisor doesn’t fix anything.” He tosses the scrap of carpet in front of our door. “Someone could trip on that going down the stairs.”
The door swings open, and Piper steps out into thehall. The toe of her boot catches on the carpet, and she stumbles forward.
