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I laugh. “Well, he may have been like that before, but damn girl, you got your man whipped.”
“I do know how to keep him entertained.” She wiggles her brows.
The men return with Rocky talking Nikki’s head off about the sports crew he met and something about having lunch with them on Monday. Walking back to us slowly, Will looks tired with his excitement wearing off.
“You guys take the SUV home. If Lex doesn’t mind, I’d like to take him out.”
Lex glances at me, tipping his head to the side, surprised. We say our goodbyes, and I ask Lex if he wants to take a walk through Rockefeller Center.
We take a cab there, talking quietly about the game until we reach our destination.
Lex finds us a bench to sit on near where some performers are playing music. A small crowd gathers, families happily strolling around, and the tourists are snapping anything and everything in sight.
“I love it here,” I say, watching the crowds around us. “When I first came to the city, I’d sit here for hours and just watch the people walk by. There’s something calming about it.”
“I remember once, I think I was twelve or something, Mom and Dad brought us here and we went ice skating. Adriana had the biggest fall… she needed stitches on her head it was that bad. There was blood all over the ice. I can’t help but remember that every time I’m here.”
“How often do you come to New York?”
“At least once every three months. It depends on work, of course. I’ve never actually been here for pleasure…” He pauses, then laughs.
“I’d argue that.”
“Such a dirty mind, Miss Mason,” he teases, averting his eyes back to people walking past us.
“How are your mom and dad? Do they still live in Carmel?”
“They spend the summers there, but most of the time they are on the road. Instead of settling down at the hospital, Dad travels all over the world helping people who don’t have the means for medical treatment.”
Of the conversations we used to have, the Alex I knew was passionate about being a doctor. He shared similar qualities with his father, often talking about the intensity of practicing medicine and how it changed him in ways he never imagined possible.
“That could have been you,” I remind him, gently. “What made you finally quit?”
Shifting on the bench, he places his hands inside the pocket of his jeans, watching a couple in front of us kiss while taking a selfie. My question, raw yet with purpose, pushes the boundary between us. I need to get to know him again because unanswered questions allow my mind to go rampant.
“It was after I found out about Samantha, and the fact that she lied about the baby. I came back from looking for you, and everyone told me to leave you alone, let you live your life the way you deserved. I argued, of course, but in the end I listened, thinking they were right.” Closing his eyes momentarily, he pinches the bridge of his nose before opening them wide again. “I couldn’t help people, not in the frame of mind I was in. I confronted my grandfather first. He was happy to hand over the reins of his business. I agreed to go back and study, initially only taking on a small portion of work.”
“Then what happened?” I ask, trying to process everything.
“I tripled our profits, and the company grew. He was pleased and wanted to hand the rest over to me. I said no, I wanted to focus solely on the part that was mine. My father stopped talking to me then. Eventually, I was doing so well due to not having a life and working twenty-four seven. My grandfather passed away a year later, and the company was left to me.”
I’m unable to find the right words to say. So many things hadn’t changed, yet so many things were completely different.
“And you’re wealthy. It all paid off,” I say, admiring his tenacity.
“I was unstoppable,” he breathes, almost as if it’s a curse. “The money, the power, the control… I lived and breathed it, but there’s no denying I was lonely.”
“But Lex, look at you…” I turn to face him, tucking my knee under my leg, “… you can have any woman you want. Why didn’t you settle down and find someone?”
Cocking his head, he glances at me with a smirk. “That’s where you’re wrong. I can’t have any woman I want. Otherwise, we wouldn’t be sitting here as just friends.”
I remain silent, pondering his last comment, trying to figure out a way to answer without pushing him away.
“I just need time.”
“I’m trying to understand, Charlotte. Believe me.”
“I know you are.” I bow my head, playing with a loose thread on my jeans. “And I thank you for giving me that.”
