The CEO Takes a Wife(35)

If at all.



Olivia was glad to leave New York later that week and head back to LA, where they were to spend a couple of days with her mother. Felicia was full of talk about whether she could juggle both the television series and the movie next year, assuming she got the part. It was good to see her mother so enthusiastic and full of promise for the future.

If only she felt as hopeful for the future, too.

But she couldn’t be.

She didn’t want to burst her mother’s bubble so she kept quiet about the conclusive tests for her infertility. Her mother would be devastated.

As she knew Alex was, too. It was the reason he’d been slightly aloof since she’d come out of hospital and hadn’t tried to make love to her. Oh, he’d been wonderful—looking after her and giving her attention, but they were normal everyday things most husbands gave their wives.

Yet she understood where Alex was coming from. He had responsibilities to his father and to his brothers and nothing could change that. He had to step back from her.

Yes, she understood.

But it hurt.

She needed him to tell her everything would be all right.

She needed him to say he wasn’t going to dump her before the twelve months was up.

And right now, as silly as it seemed, she needed him to need her.



“Randall told me he saw you in New York,” Felicia said their first evening at dinner after they’d caught up on other things.

Olivia was glad Alex would be late this evening. It was best they didn’t discuss anything like this in front of him. She didn’t want to give him any reminders about what had happened.

“Yes, and he’s a granddad now, I hear,” she said, pasting on a bright smile to show she could handle it all. She had to put one foot in front of the other and keep moving forward, not stop to think about what she had lost.

Felicia’s mouth curved with affection. “Yes, he told me.” Then her smile faded. “I hope it didn’t upset you, darling?”#p#分页标题#e#

Olivia pretended to be surprised. “No, of course not. I love Randall and I’m happy for him.” That was the truth.

“That’s my girl,” Felicia said, leaning over and briefly squeezing Olivia’s hand. “I’m glad you’re over it.” Just as quickly her mother leaned back in the high-backed dining chair. “Darling, I’ve been wanting to tell you for some time that Eric has a child, too, but I wasn’t sure—”

“Shut the hell up, Felicia,” Alex growled from the doorway, taking them by surprise, and both women spun around in their seats.

Felicia started to gulp like a fish. “Well, I never!”

Alex glared at her. “Can’t you see your daughter is upset? Or is that just a bit beyond your comprehension?”

“Alex, don’t…” Olivia warned.

He waved a dismissive hand. “No, Olivia. I won’t be quiet over this. Tell her the truth. Then she might look beyond herself and see your pain like I do.”

Olivia blinked in shock. There was nothing aloof about him now. Her heart skipped a beat.

“What truth, Olivia?” Felicia demanded. “What is Alex talking about?”

Olivia slowly turned. This was going to be painful for her mother. She swallowed, her throat aching. “I can’t have a child, Mum. It’s been confirmed.”

Felicia paled. “Never?”

“No, Mum.”

Her mother’s mouth worked without speaking for a moment. “Oh God, I’ll never be a grandmother?”

“No, Mum,” Olivia said as gently as she could. “I’m afraid this isn’t like the movies. There won’t be a happy ending.”

Seconds ticked by as Felicia stared aghast at her daughter. Then amazingly, something seemed to change inside her mother. Olivia could feel it in the air.

When she looked across at Alex, he had left the room.

“Darling,” Felicia’s apologetic tone began. “Your husband is right. I’ve only been concerned about me, not you. I’m so sorry.”

Shock ran through Olivia. “Mum, it’s okay.”

Her mother shook her head. “No, it’s not. I know my faults. I’m self-centered and irresponsible at times but…” She took a shaky breath and her eyes filled with tears. “Darling, I love you more than life itself. You know that, don’t you?”

The tears welled in Olivia’s eyes, too. “Yes, Mum, I know that. I’ve always known that. And when it comes right down to it, that’s all that matters.”

“Thank you for that, darling,” Felicia said, and grabbed her napkin, dabbing it at her eyes in a theatrical pose that Olivia knew wasn’t a pose at all this time.