She sent him a soft smile.
“But I’m not sure Alex has that in her,” he finished.
“She’s a Sharp of the Coddington-Sharps, isn’t she?”
Of course she’d put that together.
He nodded.
“Her mother is in line for the British throne,” she stated.
“Way back in line,” he said by way of confirming.
“Mon Dieu.”
“Yup.”
“She’s money, Judge, old money. Ancient money,” Chloe pointed out.
“I don’t see—”
“And she lives in an essentially one-room house in the mountains. I’ve been there. It’s charming, and very her, but the trust fund she undoubtedly has means she could probably buy the entire mountain and carve it out for a reflecting pool for her castle. She might not be skipping-through-the-office happy, but that’s just not the woman she is. However, she’s clearly content in her own way. She enjoys her job. She’s spoken to me of her friends, and she’s obviously fond of them. She’s built an entire life outside the one she was born into. One that has claws so sharp, they bleed you dry before you’re able to speak your first word. And they dig so deep, you can never get free. So you go through life, especially the women, as a bloodless automaton, or, as it seems her sister might be, a bloodthirsty vampire, but you do it doing what you’re told, not rocking the boat, not stepping out of line, and absolutely not sullying the family name. Alex is beautiful and she’s bright and she’s left that all behind and is living her own life.”
This was no lie, Alex was all of that.
“And you think she can’t take on big, bad, damaged John Hendrix?” Chloe concluded.
Shit.
Fuck.
“Leave me out of it,” he surrendered.
Her smile lit her face, even wearing the sunglasses.
“I mean it,” he pressed. “If the shit hits the fan, I wanna tell Rix I had nothing to do with it.” It was his turn to lean into her. “This goes south, baby, I’m throwing you right under the bus.”
“Have you met my glorious mother and her fabulous fiancé, who I made certain did not let the past interfere with their future?” she queried.
He sighed.
She kept smiling. “This is going to be marvelous.”
“It’s going to be hell.”
“It is not,” she stated haughtily. “You’ll have fun, I promise.”
“Did you miss me telling you to keep me out of it?”
“I won’t involve you, of course. But that doesn’t mean I won’t keep you informed.”
He sat back in the chair and looked to the sky.
He then felt her lips press against his jaw before she said into his ear, “Darling, I’m hungry. You need to feed me.”
To make her pay for the hell she was imminently going to put him through, he made her wait for him to acquiesce to her demand.
He managed a whole five seconds before he was out of his chair, pulling her out of hers and holding her hand as they moved in to the house.
Incidentally, he opened the door for her.
The one to the house. The one to the garage.
And the one to his truck.
Before he drove her to town, fed her…and picked up the check.
Chapter 5
The Ride
Rix
Jesus, he needed her to start talking.
It was Tuesday, mid-morning.
They were in their rental, on their way to Camp Trail Blazer, and Alex had probably spoken only fifty words to him since they’d strapped into the plane three hours ago.
Not unusual for Alex.
And he never in his life thought he’d want a woman to babble, but right then, he not only wanted a babbling woman, he needed one.
Especially if that one was Alex and her voice.
He looked down at the phone he held in his hand, and he knew he shouldn’t do it, but he did.
He pulled up the text that had landed while they were up in the air.
It was the last of over a dozen he’d gotten from Peri since he’d seen her at Scooter’s.
All of the previous ones were invites to drinks, dinner, anywhere he felt comfortable so they could talk, with a few scattered Just thinking of you thrown in.
He’d replied to none of them.
But the last one, the one that came in less than two hours ago, read, Okay, with your silence, message received. But I can’t, and won’t, let us go without telling you what I wanted to tell you face to face. I love you. I loved you then, I love you now, I never stopped loving you, and I WILL never stop loving you. You’re the best man I’ve ever known, Rix. You made me happy. I think we can have that again, if you give us a shot. But if you can’t, I understand. Just know…you’ll always be in my heart.
He wanted to be pissed.
He wanted to remember how it felt. How his first thought when she told him they were over, was Christ, this hurts worse than both my feet being crushed.