AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“I don’t expect you to be a mind reader,” Alex said, even though she kind of had been expecting him to read her mind. “I’m sorry for not just telling you that I was upset so we could move on.”
“Is that what you want?” he asked. “Do you want to move on to the next guy?”
Alex shook her head. “That’s not what I meant. I should have said that I want to move forward. I want us to have a future, but it seems like we’re always tripping ourselves up.”
Will quirked his head to one side and finished his drink. “I know that you and Gilles weren’t flirting.”
“Oh, he was flirting with me. But that’s just Gilles. He’s a flirt.”
“Such a small world, you dating my sommelier.” Will shook his head, pouring himself another drink. “What happened there, since I assume you did the postmortem this evening?”
“We didn’t have to. He told me he loved me too fast.” Alex was not proud of that bullshit move. “And I ghosted him. Hard. Blocked his number and made sure the doorman at my old building didn’t let him up.”
Will winced. But then he recovered and surprised the hell out of her. “Would you run away from me if I told you that I loved you?”
If he was telling her he loved her now, she couldn’t imagine why. She’d been acting like a spoiled, selfish brat for almost a week. He hadn’t even been able to fully enjoy his big night because of her. If he loved her, it would be a miracle. And she would feel guilty that it came out this way.
“I don’t want you to say it tonight.”
“Because you’ll make sure you never see me again?” His question was only semi-serious, because he was still half smiling.
“No, I just don’t think I deserve it.”
“Love isn’t something you deserve, Alex.” He reached out and gripped the side of her face. She leaned into his warm palm. “Tell you what.”
“What?” He rubbed his thumb against her bottom lip, and she wanted to bite it, but this wasn’t that kind of party. She had a feeling that turning this into a sexual thing now would ruin their chances of ever making this relationship work.
“I think you need to decide that you deserve for me to say it before I say it to you. Because if you don’t know it, deep in your soul, that you don’t have to earn anything with me, you’re going to find a way to fuck things up.”
“How did you—Mr. ‘I don’t express my feelings and I only speak in grunts half the time’—become so wise and together? Especially about me? I always drove you crazy before.”
“You still drive me crazy. That’s not in doubt.” Will shrugged. “I don’t know.”
Alex looked down at the liquid in her glass, which she’d barely touched. “What if I take too long?”
Will tipped up her chin and his mouth was on hers before she could say anything else. His kiss stole her breath and any protests or doubts about whether he would wait for her.
He poured promises and the words she hadn’t let him say into her with that kiss. When his mouth left hers, she had no doubt about what he said next. “Then I’ll wait for you.”
TWENTY-SIX
Alex had no idea how she was going to convince herself that she deserved to be loved by Will. She was so used to working hard for everything, especially love. She’d worked so hard that she’d burned herself out. And it wasn’t like she didn’t know where that came from. Fucking daddy issues. She wished he was still alive so that she could make him pay for her therapy.
She was still thinking about how she could show Will that she was ready to let go of the past a few days later, when the last person in the world she thought she’d ever see again walked into her office. Since the night at the restaurant, she hadn’t kept a close eye on her schedule, but she would have noticed Jason and his fiancée as a new client meeting.
When her ex and the woman she recognized as his fiancée walked in the room, she was speechless for a second. She tried not to let her surprise show, but it was very hard. And she also tried not to compare herself to the curvy biracial woman standing next to her ex-boyfriend and also failed.
They could honestly be sisters. The woman—Danielle—looked more like Alex than her own sister did.
Unsure what else she could do, Alex rose and offered her hand to Danielle and then Jason. “I’m Alex Turner.”
Danielle giggled. “Oh, Jason’s told me all about you.”
Alex wasn’t sure whether that was a good thing, “I saw you on Say Yes to the Dress.” Then Alex turned to Jason. “I hope your visit isn’t a sign that you won’t get to wear such a beautiful gown.” Alex was pretty sure from the things she’d said on the show that Danielle wasn’t going to pick up on the sarcasm of her last statement.
But Jason did. His hand flexed, and a wispy cloud of irritation crossed his face before he recovered. “No, we’re here because we think it’s wise to have a prenuptial agreement.”
Alex would have advised one for anyone with Jason’s assets, but she still wasn’t sure why they were here. “I’m not the only family law attorney in the city, Jason.”
