AllFreeNovel
Share Us
How he helped my boy to walk again.
Oh God. I’ve been so blind.
“He loves Finn,” she says. “He’s impressed with his resilience and determination. And he thinks you’re amazing for how you’ve supported your son and worked so hard. He’s crazy about you, Missie. Never, ever think otherwise. He might be reserved, but he’ll be loyal and devoted to you. I love all my boys—they’re all kind, generous sweethearts, and they all adore their girls. But Alex is the most serious of them all, and the deepest thinker. If he’s decided you’re the one for him, there’s not much you’re going to be able to do about it.”
Tears prick my eyes, and I press my fingers to my lips.
“Aw,” she says, and immediately puts her arms around me and gives me a hug. “I’m sorry if it’s a bit overwhelming, but it had to be said. These guys worry about looking weak or being vulnerable, and they don’t realize sometimes it’s best if they lay all their cards on the table.”
I clear my throat, trying to stop my head from spinning. He told her that first time we met in his office, when we went for a walk through the park, that he was going to marry me? I can’t believe it. We haven’t even said we love each other yet.
But of course I do love him, with all my heart. We might only have been having sex for a week, but we’ve been getting to know one another for a year. Rounding up, as Mae said. Funny how she used the same wording as him.
“It’s difficult for him having Kait here,” she says, interrupting my thoughts, and we start walking down again. “Especially with Sherry and me. His loyalties are split, and that makes him uncomfortable.”
“I can see that. He obviously has a difficult relationship with his mother.”
“Oh yes. I’ve always tried to defend her. In many ways I admire her a lot. Do you know much about her?”
“Not really, only what you see in the papers.”
“She became famous a little later than most actors—she’d already had Alex and Gaby when she landed the role inStation Zero, and her career took off. Mason pressed her to stay in New Zealand rather than move to Hollywood, but of course she had to go there for filming, so she was absent a lot, and the care of their family fell to him. She loved him, I think, but her job put a strain on their relationship, and eventually it broke them. There was all the traveling, and of course he was jealous of her co-stars, understandably so. I don’t think she ever had a relationship with any of them, but it must have been hard for him to see her at all the parties with other men.”
“And he started seeing Sherry?”
“Yes, before he broke up with Kait, which hit Alex very hard. He’s always blamed Kait for the breakup of their marriage, and he feels very guilty about that. He’s quite angry toward his father right now, although he’d never show it.”
“Has he spoken to Mason about it?”
“Not to my knowledge. Kait told Belle at Gaby’s wedding, and then Belle confronted her father. He admitted it, at least. And then she went and told Alex. He was very upset about it. It’s one reason he feels for Finn. Boys are so protective of their mothers.”
“Alex is very fond of you,” I say, smiling.
She gives a bashful smile back. “I do think of him as a son. I’ve known him since he was twelve.”
“What was he like?” I ask, admiring the rose bushes. On our left, the water in the pool sparkles in the bright sunshine.
“Shy. Quiet. Handsome.” She smiles. “He’s always had that strange lock of hair that refuses to lie flat.”
“I know the bit.”
“He and Damon used to follow the twins around. Saxon and Kip were always very good with them, although they used to get them into a lot of mischief.”
I chuckle at the thought of the four boys getting into trouble.
“Of course they spent a lot of time with Neal,” she says. “He was happy to talk about computers for as long as they were willing to listen, which was pretty much all day, every day.”
“Oh, I didn’t realize that’s where Alex’s love of computers came from.”
“Yes, that’s all they talked about. Well, computers, gaming, the All Blacks, food, and occasionally girls.” She winks at me.
“Did you meet any of Alex’s exes?” I ask curiously. “He doesn’t like to talk about them.”
“Yes. He’s only had three girlfriends that I know of.”
“What were they like?”
She smiles. “Do you really want to know?”
