Series: The Laws of Opposite Attract Series by Vi Keeland
Total pages in book: 101
Estimated words: 98878 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 494(@200wpm)___ 396(@250wpm)___ 330(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 98878 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 494(@200wpm)___ 396(@250wpm)___ 330(@300wpm)
“I honestly don’t remember, but I think about three months. She’s a great girl. I have nothing but respect for her. But she’s exactly right. I wasn’t ready for a relationship back then. It feels like a lifetime ago. I was so young. We both were. What she and I had ended before it really began.”
“But you did have sex…” Alex chewed her lip.
I wasn’t sure if it was a question or a statement. Either way, I couldn’t deny it. “Yeah,” I admitted, closing my eyes briefly. “I can only imagine how upsetting that is for you to hear.”
She nodded, clutching her stomach as if she wanted to vomit.
Heck, I felt like vomiting myself.
“Do you have any idea how fucked up it is to feel jealous of your own child?” she cried.
I wanted to look her in the eyes and tell her whatever Kate and I had meant nothing compared to my feelings for her. I also wished I could tell her I hadn’t so much as thought of Kate since college. But that seemed insensitive. This was her daughter we were talking about. Being dismissive was only going to make me look like an asshole. Even if the truth was that Kate meant nothing to me at this point in time and Alex meant…everything.
“When are you going to tell her?” I asked.
“Tomorrow morning at breakfast.”
“Would it help if I went with you?”
“No.” She shook her head. “I think that would make it much worse. I need to do this alone.”
I ran a hand through my hair. “Okay. I know it will be awkward, but if you change your mind and need my support, I’m there.”
Our eyes locked. She looked so damn beautiful tonight. She’d put on a sexy top that revealed more cleavage than she’d ever shown. She’d been comfortable enough to wear it around me, comfortable enough to finally let me explore all of her. Sex with her would’ve been incredible. But more than that, it would’ve been meaningful. But I’d never get to experience it.
“Shit.” Alex looked down at her phone. “I have to go.”
If she had to leave now, and if her morning was going to be occupied with that difficult talk, I knew I had very little time to say what was on my chest right now. Even if the timing wasn’t right, I needed to do it before I lost the chance. “Before you go, I have to say something, Alex.”
She licked her lips. “Okay…”
“I know it’s not looking good for us right now. It feels like you were ripped away from me tonight. And like my heart got ripped out, too. I know you—you won’t do anything to upset your daughter. And if that means erasing me from your life, that’s what you’ll do. I can’t even blame you for it. I keep wanting to call her your stepdaughter, but really, you’re the only mother she has now. Kate’s your daughter. And I’m…well, I’m basically a stranger who blew into your life out of nowhere. There’s no contest as to who has the upper hand here.” I looked deeply into her eyes. “But I’d regret it if I let you go without telling you how much you mean to me. And I know that before this happened, I meant a lot to you, too.”
“You still mean a lot to me,” she whispered.
I moved in closer but stopped short of touching her. “You were going to give your body to me tonight, and I know you wouldn’t have made that decision had you not already given a piece of your heart to me, too. Don’t think I don’t know that.”
“It doesn’t matter anymore,” she said.
“I will never not wonder what might have happened if Kate hadn’t showed up. I will never get over this. I’ll never get over you. Because, Alex, I’ve never felt this way about anyone. And this unfortunate coincidence doesn’t change the fact that you’re the most incredible woman I’ve ever known.”
She sniffled, fending off tears. “I have to go.” Alex wiped her eyes and turned toward the door before slipping away.
I wondered if I’d ever see her again.
CHAPTER 14
Alex
I couldn’t process words.
I stared at my daughter’s mouth. Sound was coming out, but I could only catch fragments. The rest were a distant murmur, an incoherent language. I’d been up all night, unable to close my eyes long enough to sleep, so I was certain exhaustion had something to do with it. But I also had no focus. My brain couldn’t latch onto thoughts about anything, other than how I was going to tell Caitlin about Brayden. What the hell do I say?
Caitlin spooned some of her yogurt parfait into her mouth and kept talking. After an undetermined amount of time, her brows puckered. She reached out and waved her hand in front of my face. “Earth to Alex…are you in there?”