Penny smiled, then took a couple of bangles off the shelf beside her. “I think I’m going to get these for my daughter. She loves jewelry.”
As Ivy made her way to the counter, Alex fingered one of the bracelets. “Yeah, my niece is really into jewelry right now too. And dressing up. She keeps trying to steal my lipstick.” She glared at Ivy without heat.
Her sister rolled her eyes. “Oh, don’t act like you’re annoyed. You’d do anything for her.”
Penny was watching them closely. “Have you both been raising her?”
It was a direct question and if anyone else asked it, Alex might have told the person to shove it, but something about Penny made Alex want to be honest. “We have been, yeah. Her dad didn’t want to be involved, and I . . . well, I got out of a bad relationship, and being a good example for Violet is one of the reasons I had the courage to get out.”
Okay, so that was really honest, and Ivy was staring at her, hands poised above the cash register.
Alex bit her lip and went to duck her eyes when Penny reached across the counter and squeezed her wrist. “I did the same thing. I was married to a man whom I left because I didn’t want my children around the toxicity. And I know it’s hard, but it’s a good thing too. Forces you to learn to love yourself.” She smiled then and leaned back. “And that’s more important than the love of anyone else.” Then she turned to Ivy, as if she hadn’t just rocked Alex’s world. “Do you take MasterCard?”
CENTRAL PARK IN New York City was lovely but it was still Central Park. There were still tourists and people and the sounds of the city all around.
There was still the knowledge that right outside the park was the hustle and bustle of New Yorkers, the honks of the taxicabs, the smell of trash and food trucks and too many bodies.
Here, in Tory Park, Spencer didn’t feel anything but peace. Even as he listened closely, inhaled deeply, all he heard were the sounds of families in the park, all he smelled was fresh air. He let his head fall back and he closed his eyes, the fall air warming his face. He probably needed a jacket, but he didn’t care because the cool breeze felt good on his face, on his skin, the sun burning brightly behind his closed lids.
He inhaled the scene of the nearby lake, the newly cut grass.
He knew that outside this park was a small town, full of Alex and the Paytons and that was it. He’d been so ingrained in New York City life for so long, that he’d forgotten how others lived. He felt refreshed down to his bones.
The only thing preventing him from fully relaxing was the replay of the conversation he’d had with Penny and Nick that morning. They were leaving in a couple of days, having wrapped up the last of their studies. Penny still hadn’t mentioned which site her father was leaning toward, but Spencer had confidence.
He was the best, after all.
The sound of footsteps reached his ears and he looked up. Alex stood before him, sunglasses over her eyes, sipping some drink through a straw. Her eyebrows lifted behind her shades. “You’re early.”
He glanced at his watch. “I’ve been here an hour.”
She shifted her glasses to the top of her head so he could finally see her blue eyes. “Good God, why?”
He shrugged. “It’s beautiful outside.”
Alex didn’t look impressed. “You’re probably sitting in so much duck crap right now.”
He laughed at that. “You really know how to make the moment.”
She grinned. “My specialty.”
He wiped his hands together and stood up beside her. They were at the park to attend a cookout for MacMillan Investments employees. He had been invited, which he still found strange, but Jenna had told him he’d better be there.
Small-town hospitality. Nothing better.
Apparently the MacMillan parties ended up being attended by most of the town now that Jenna had taken the helm of publicity to improve the image of the company.
Spencer wasn’t complaining. It gave him another excuse to spend time with Alex.
It was Sunday and once they walked around the pond to the area where people were gathered, he noticed that a lot were wearing their Sunday best.
Alex, however, was in her standard uniform of jeans and a T-shirt.
He liked that, that she didn’t give a shite, that she remained herself no matter what.
If she had been a woman who wore dresses all the time, that would have been lovely too. But she wasn’t, and he appreciated her lack of fucks.
He reached out and squeezed her hand, then let go. She smiled up at him.
Penny and Nick had been invited too, but they declined. Which was fine with Spencer. He didn’t want questions about Alex. He and Alex had talked and planned to keep their rekindled relationship between them. Neither wanted to deal with the rumors and the questions, and since this would end eventually anyway, they decided to keep what they had in a small, insular vacuum between themselves. Ivy knew and that was enough for both of them.
It would be hard not to grab her and kiss Alex in public, but he could manage.
Although, with this family, Spencer wondered if any secret ever really stayed a secret.
He vowed to be good to Alex though, to follow her lead. This was her town, her life, and after what she’d been through, the last thing he wanted to do was cause her problems.
And he was really, really hoping karma came around and totally demolished Robby. Like, drawn, quartered, and beheaded. Maybe castrated too.
The man had to be insecure down to his bones. There was no other explanation why someone could look at Alex and treat her as anything but a queen.
“You know,” he said, as they approached the large group of people standing around picnic tables and under pavilions, “we’ll have to redo that date sometime. One where we don’t fuck up royally.”
Alex smiled and kicked a clump of grass. “I don’t know, I thought naked pizza was kind of fun.”
“We weren’t naked.”
“We were shortly after ingestion of said pizza.”
He thought about that. “Okay, that’s true.”
A blur of purple rushed toward them, and then Alex was scooping up Violet into her arms.
“Where’d you go, Alex?” Violet asked.
“I had to go get Mr. UK over here. He seemed to be lost.”
Violet stared at him with big eyes. “You know, you can get directions on your phone.”
He poked Alex with his elbow and then smiled at the little girl. “I know, but luckily your aunt here found me before I had to resort to that.”
Violet gripped Alex’s face to make her aunt look at her. “They. Have. Hot dogs,” she said with wonder in her voice.
“Yes, I’m sure they do,” Alex said with a laugh.
Brent approached them, one arm slung around Ivy’s shoulders, the other extended to Spencer, who shook it. “How’s it going, man?”
“Going nicely, thanks,” Spencer answered. “The party looks well attended.”
“Yeah, Jenna puts on a good show.” Brent leaned in. “But no beer. Apparently Jenna thinks that’s tacky at a company party. I disagree with that wholeheartedly and tried to tell her, but Cal threatened to smack me so I let it go. I’ll work on it for next time, though.”
Spencer nodded gravely, because Brent appeared to take his lack of beer seriously. “Okay, then.”
“You’ll back me up, right?”
“Of course.”
Brent nodded. “Good man.”
Alex was watching them with amusement and when Brent turned around, Spencer rolled his eyes. She giggled.
ALEX SAT BY herself at a picnic table that had long been abandoned.
She watched Violet and Spencer throw a ball to Honeybear, who was delighted by the attention. They were all stuffed from paper plates heaped with hot dogs and potato salad and some caramel brownies that Asher had made.
Alex didn’t want to get up, and she certainly didn’t want to run around. A nap would have been great.
She smiled as Honeybear nearly knocked Spencer over in her excitement while Violet squealed with delight.
He’s leaving, she kept repeating in her head. That was a good thing, right?
The bench under her moved and she looked up to see Cal taking a seat beside her. He clasped his hands on the table and watched the scene in front of them with narrowed slate eyes.
He didn’t talk, so she didn’t either. That’s what she liked about Cal. He was good with silence.
“So you and the Brit, huh?” he said after a while.
That’s what she didn’t like about Cal. When he did speak, it usually meant the other person was put on the spot.
“There’s no me and the Brit,” she said.
Cal’s face didn’t change. “I know my porch railing didn’t break itself.”
“Hey—”
“Quit being cagey, Alex.”
She scowled at him.
He didn’t look deterred.
“Look, I wasn’t on the clock when we hooked up the day he came into town, okay?”
Cal raised his eyebrows. “You think I give a shit about that? You work your ass off, so if you did take a break to . . . get off, you won’t hear me complaining.”
Alex gasped out a laugh. “I can’t believe you just said that.”
Cal grinned.
“Look, he’s not in town for long, but we like each other, so we’re hanging out until he leaves, all right? I hadn’t planned on telling the whole goddamn family, but you all are such nosy fuckers.”