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Bex’s heart tripped over in her chest. Wasn’t that the big question? She’d spent a lot of time asking herself the same thing, and in her soul, she knew she did because the thought of being without him sent a shaft of cold through her body.
“I do.” She shook her head. “I guess you probably think that’s weird when his brother is my daughter’s father.”
Kat slanted her a look. “Girlfriend, I have eyes. I’ve seen Michael, and there’s nothing weird about wanting him.”
This time, Bex’s laugh was real. “Thanks, I needed that.”
“Anytime.” Kat leaned over and kissed her cheek. “Let me know if there’s anything else you’d like to talk about.”
“I will.” But most of all, she needed to have a conversation with Michael.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Michael stirredhis coffee and sat opposite his mother at the breakfast table. Wesley and Nigel were still in bed. His parents had ended up staying since they’d been unable to convince Wesley to leave.
“How long has it been since we shared a table?” Imogen asked, setting the newspaper aside and sliding off her glasses. Another thing that had changed. There’d been a time when she was too vain to wear spectacles.
“No idea,” he replied, because he wasn’t in a chatty mood. “Christmas, maybe.” He took the paper and skimmed the headlines.
“So, you and Rebecca are a couple?” she asked, refusing to be put off.
“What if we are?” He kept his eyes on the text, even if he wasn’t taking any of it in. “Do you have a problem with that?” He expected her to be disgusted—the whole thing was probably a little too incestuous for her taste—but she surprised him.
“I always thought Rebecca was better suited to you than Wesley. She’s too…”—she thought for a moment—“free-spirited for him.”
Michael frowned. “But not for me?”
She smiled almost fondly. “You and Wesley lead very different lives. Yours has space for someone like her. His does not.”
He grunted, not sure how to take the comment.
“Isobel seems like a nice enough girl,” she continued. “You were correct, she has the Briggston look about her.”
This time he couldn’t mask his shock. He gaped at her. Had she actually admitted he was right about something? What on earth was going on?
“You’re not going to demand a paternity test?”
She cocked her head. “I don’t think that will be necessary. It would be gauche when the resemblance is clear and the timeline adds up.”
He blew on the surface of his coffee then took a sip. “Have you talked to Wes about this?”
“Yes, we spoke last night.” No doubt after Michael had shut himself in his room and said he didn’t want to be disturbed. “It’s unfortunate that the situation has the potential to derail his chance to become prime minister.”
And there she was. The mother he knew. She hadn’t disappeared completely.
“You’re getting ahead of yourself, don’t you think?”
“Nonsense.” She finished her herbal tea and set the mug down. “Without this, he’s a shoo-in, but if word gets out…”
“I guess we’ll have to do the best we can and see what happens.”
She nodded. “I’m optimistic that dating you means Rebecca won’t say anything to the media.”
A chill skated across his skin. The woman could be so calculating.
“She would never do that. She’s a good mother and has Izzy’s best interests at heart. The last thing she’d want is to make her daughter into the scandal of the year.”
The fact Imogen would even consider the possibility showed how different her world view was from Bex’s. Fromtheirs. Because he was part of Bex and Izzy’s world now, whatever words they’d exchanged yesterday. Standing abruptly, he pushed his chair back. He needed fresh air. He couldn’t think here. He grabbed a banana from the kitchen, called a farewell to his mother, and headed to work.
