Fated An Alpha Male Romance - K. Alex Walker Page 0,25

hand before they disappeared into the kitchen. Eli, Gia, and Roderick followed suit, but my father lingered behind. I knew that a lecture was coming, but as usual, I had no clue what it would be about.

I began to push myself up from the floor simply to get him to start talking. If not, I’d be sitting under five minutes of his quiet, intense scrutiny. My father was like a less approachable version of Colin Powell in stature, presence, and appearance, rounded out with a James Earl Jones voice.

“Sit down, Alexandra.”

I returned to the floor. “What did I do, Daddy?”

“Don’t Daddy me.” His frown burrowed deeper. “You know what you did.”

“Ok. Well, I’m sorry.”

“Sorry? You had that man worried sick, Alexandra!”

My brain was still trying to piece everything together. “Who was worried sick? What is this about?”

“Roderick told me that the last couple of days, the two of you have been periodically out of contact. That is inexcusable.”

“Because I wasn’t feeling well and was spending time with Gia and Kai,” I lied. “I called him back.”

“What has gotten into you, Alexandra? We’re used to you returning your phone calls, even when you’re at work, in under thirty minutes. Now, hours go by and it’s as though you’ve disappeared off the face of the Earth.” He pointed to the earrings. “Those are your fault.”

I could feel myself wanting to submit, but something inside of me was fighting it. “My earrings are my fault? What does that even mean?”

“It means that if you’d been on your best behavior, that would have been an engagement ring,” he explained.

“Daddy, no offense, but my so-called disappearances happened two days ago. I’m pretty sure that Roderick bought these earrings way before that.”

He squeezed his forehead. “Do not sass me and for God’s sake, whatever you do, please do not turn into your sister. I do not have room for two disappointments.”

I jumped to my feet. “What is this thing that you and Mother have against Gia? How do you think it makes her feel when you two continuously call her a disappointment because she’s not, I don’t know, a robot?”

“Watch your tone, young lady.”

“Daddy, you’re about twenty-three years too late if you think you’re talking to a five-year old.”

His lips parted as though I’d just told him I’d been secretly plotting, for years, to kill him in his sleep, then his jaw clenched as he poised his towering height over me. Again, I wanted to recoil, but a small fire in me refused to be extinguished.

“Don’t let it happen again,” he threatened. “And, heaven help me, if I find out that there’s another man involved, I promise you that you both will regret it.”

Then, he was gone.

Grandma Evelyn appeared from the direction of the kitchen. Our eyes met and she opened her arms. I walked right into them.

“It’s all noise right now,” she said, squeezing me. “Give it time. It will all make sense. You will be happy. The seed has been planted, my dear.”

-----

Ethan

Christmas for me consisted of stopping by to hang out with my grandfather at his assisted living facility, and then heading over to spend the holiday with the same group of friends that I’ve been celebrating with over the years. Over time, the group had grown and shrank accordingly as people married and had children, but we’d all somehow still managed to remain close.

This year, we were celebrating both the Christmas holiday as well as the departure of one of my best friends, Kellen Edwards. He was joining the Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta network as the Associate Director of Pediatrics at Piedmont Hospital. It was an amazing opportunity and we were all happy for him, but we also knew that the tumultuous end of his last relationship was forcing him out of Louisiana.

I walked through the door and a series of cheers went up. Someone took my coat and scarf while simultaneously placing a champagne flute in my hand. The man of the hour pulled away from a conversation and made his way over to me.

“Took you long enough,” Kellen said, smiling from his hazel eyes as we slapped hands. “On behalf of everyone here, Merry Christmas, and we appreciate you taking a break from diving in a sea of pussy to come and celebrate with us.”

An image of Alexandra flashed behind my eyes and I forced it out before I spent the rest of the evening consumed by thoughts of her. I’d already picked up my phone several times to call