Lured into Love (Blossom in Winter #2) - Melanie Martins Page 0,156
me, and a smile escapes him before he takes another sip of his drink. Not sure if he can tell the state I’m in, but I hope not. “I was seriously worried. I mean, the fact that he gave his heart to his once seven-year-old goddaughter was freaking me out. But I guess he’s good at keeping his promises.”
“Promises?” I squint my eyes in confusion. “Um, what promise are you referring to?”
“He didn’t tell you?” Since my eyes keep squinting at him, he says, “That he’d never love or marry anyone but you.”
Huh? He promised me that? But… if I recall properly, except for the fact that Alex was extremely embarrassed by my request at the time, no one had ever mentioned that he had actually agreed to it. So, wait! Does that mean Alex actually said those words to my dad and Amanda? Letting out a quick chuckle, I act like I already knew about it. “Ah, yes, he did.”
Hendrik keeps smiling at me, most likely reveling in my uneasiness with the whole conversion. “I’m sorry to tell you all this, but I thought you had to know.” Liar.
I might be young, but I’m not that naive. There is an underlying reason why he’s sharing these stories with me out of the blue. He either wants to create friction between Alex and me, or he wants something in return. There is no free ride. Obviously, Hendrik was truly looking forward to his son’s wedding. But it was not with me. Jeez… If Margaret made me feel nervous, Hendrik makes me feel like a total intruder. I have no words, no answer to offer him in return. I genuinely thought he liked me, and my disappointment makes me want to throw up. My mind is totally blank. After a few more seconds, though, I take a deep breath, hold his stare steadily, and ask, “Why are you telling me all this?”
He blinks twice, taken aback by my question. “I just think it’s important to be frank with each other. I’m sorry if Alex didn’t tell you that himself.” And he ends his comment by taking a last sip, finishing his drink.
So apparently Hendrik wants to create tension between his son and me. That’s his goal. But why though? Is it some sort of punishment for Alex leaving the family office to start his own hedge fund with my dad? Or is it because he left Amanda? “I…” My mind keeps searching for words, any words. “It belongs to the past anyway. And, um, I believe Alex has got his own reasons for not telling me who Mona was and how close you are with his ex-girlfriend.”
“And you still take his side no matter what,” he states, not sure if it’s a praise or not. But he seems genuinely surprised. “You do really trust him.”
“I do, yes.” And I don’t really see why I wouldn’t. “Doesn’t Mona trust you that way?”
There is a side smile growing on his lips, and a few beats of silence ensue. It seems like his answer is not as straightforward as I thought it would be. “I hope this little talk can stay between us.” He doesn’t even bother to reply to my question. It seems like the truth was too harsh to face.
After leaving Hendrik’s office, I’m still baffled at everything we discussed. From his relationship with Mona and Amanda, to Margaret, I feel like I was his confidant, but I can’t discern why he would confide in me so easily. Is it because of my loyalty toward his son? If that was the case, though, then why did he ask me to keep our conversation strictly between us? The fact that he never answered my question about Mona, who he’s known for eighteen years, is quite surprising to me.
As I walk down the hallway, I follow where the noise is coming from and find myself in a vast dining and living room combo filled with only unknown faces. Some are having dinner, others are sitting on the sofa chatting, and still others are standing around in circles.
“That was a long meeting.” Alex emerges from nowhere among the crowd, and my lips curve up instantly upon seeing him. As I look at the man standing in front of me, I can’t help but be drawn to him. No matter how many times I have seen him, he always makes my heart pound faster when he is around. In that moment, I realize that if I