‘Weird to discover after all this time the solution to the mystery was so damn simple,’ he added, the whisper of his breath on her nape as comforting as it was exciting.
‘And so heartbreaking,’ Ellie replied, letting out an unsteady breath.
Even as her heart shattered for what the MacGregors had gone through before they’d found her that night, she felt a wave of relief washing through her. As if a huge concrete slab she hadn’t even realised she had been carrying had been lifted from her shoulders. A concrete slab that carried within it the burden of all those expectations Ross and Susan had always had of her—why wasn’t she quieter, less reckless, more content, happy with the life they’d given her? She understood now why she had never been able to fulfil those expectations, because the life Ross and Susan had wanted her to settle into wasn’t hers.
‘You want me to ask him to get the grave exhumed? So we can confirm everything?’ Alex asked.
His arms tightened as he waited for her answer. How did he know instinctively when she needed his support the most?
She shook her head. ‘No.’ She sighed, and turned in his arms, needing to see his face, needing to feel that heady connection. ‘Little Ellie MacGregor deserves to rest in peace,’ she said, knowing she wasn’t just talking about Ross and Susan MacGregor’s dead baby, but also the reckless, free-spirited girl who didn’t need to try and replace that lost child any more.
She touched his face, felt his hard cheek soften against her palm. ‘And thank you, Alex, for giving me this closure. It means a lot to know that, however deluded they were, they did love me in their own way. Just notmeexactly,’ she added with a watery smile.
He covered her hand with his, drew it away from his face and then placed a gentle kiss in her palm. ‘Damn, Eleanor, you’re something else,’ he said, his gaze full of that rich appreciation she intended to bask in for the rest of her days. ‘How can you be so forgiving? How can you not hate them, for what they stole from you?’
‘Because I know, in my heart of hearts, they never meant to hurt me,’ she said, but he looked unconvinced.
‘Yeah, right,’ he said.
She huffed out a breath. But she couldn’t help smiling at Alex’s disgruntled expression, knowing this time his cynicism, his reluctance to forgive the MacGregors, stemmed from his fierce desire to protect her from anyone who would ever hurt her.
‘And now I have everything I need,’ she added simply. ‘Most especially, I have you and Roman, and your wonderful, totally overwhelming family.’
‘You mean my way too big, don’t-know-how-the-heck-to-mind-their-own-business family?’ he cut in, but she could hear the lightness in his tone.
His family had texted him en masse after their Christmas Day visit, until he’d finally agreed—with a lot of additional prompting from her—to host another family gathering at his estate in the Adirondacks in the new year. At which point she would be by his side, while he told them the truth about their father.
She’d also started repairing her family drama too, by messaging Roman, and arranging a meeting with him and his legal team next week.
She still wasn’t sure why settling the inheritance was so important to Roman, but she would find out everything about her new brother. Eventually. Once she and Roman both got to know each other better. Something she was now determined to do.
She even planned to solve the mystery of what the heck was going on in her brother’s love life, which Alex had begun to pick up on too when he had been forced to admit Roman was being even more guarded than usual.
But she was glad that at least Roman and Alex seemed to have settled any issues they had about Roman’s best friend dating his kid sister.
‘Not to mention more money than I could ever spend in my lifetime,’ she added, cheekily. ‘And more orgasms than I know what to do with.’
Alex laughed, but then his hands drifted down to slide under the sweater she wore and touch bare skin. ‘About that...’ he said, his rough palms making sensation zip and zing over her back and sink deep into her abdomen. ‘How do you feel about skipping the bash at the High Line tonight and ringing in the New Year here? Alone? Just you, me and lots of extra-curricular orgasms?’
She let out a delighted chuckle as his hands finally cupped her backside and tugged her against the definite ridge forming in his pants. Grasping his shoulders, she leapt into his arms, knowing he would catch her, and wrapped her legs around his waist.
‘Why, Mr Costa!’ She laughed, going the full sex kitten, as he lifted her out of the study and down the hallway towards their bedroom, his lips already doing dastardly things to her neck. ‘I thought you’d never ask.’
Three exhausting hours later, Alex held the woman he adored naked in his arms, his body still humming as they watched the fireworks burst into the night sky from the different displays across the city.
Could life ever get any better than this?Doubtful.
‘Alex?’ Her voice beckoned from the darkness. He looked down to see her watching him intently, her head tilted back against his shoulder, her serious expression lit by the explosions of coloured light outside.
‘Yes, Eleanor?’ he teased, even as his arms tightened around her, loving the feel of her, the smell of her, the weight of her snuggled against his chest—and the knowledge that she would always be his.
He’d fallen in love with his best bud’s kid sister. What the hell?
‘I think maybe you should call me Eloise from now on,’ she said.
His breathing slowed, and the sensual smile on his lips died as his heart thumped his ribs, and he realised the enormous significance of the name change. ‘You sure?’
‘Yes, Eleanor is dead now...she’s been dead for a long time. Just like Sandro.’