Fated An Alpha Male Romance - K. Alex Walker Page 0,73
Alle.”
I agreed and walked over to Roderick. Before we left, I turned back towards her. “By the way, Grandma Evelyn, what happens to those people that live in misery?”
“Ah, the cold ones,” she replied. “Those that don’t share any heat.”
“Yes. What happens to them?”
“They get married and end up having two beautiful daughters whom I have the pleasure of calling my grandchildren.”
Her answer bolted me in place, and my legs only began to move when Roderick tugged on my arm to pull me down the stairs. My mind suddenly went back to the Christmas Eve banquet and the look that I’d noticed on my mother’s face. The one that clearly said, “I’d rather be anywhere but here.” I’d assumed that it was in reference to the party, but never did I realize that it could have possibly been in reference to her marriage.
Chapter Thirteen
Ethan
I’d never once considered myself to be a masochist, but the definition seemed to fit when I thought about the fact that I didn’t ignore the social media stories updating where Alexandra and Roderick were with their wedding planning. Apparently, like he’d said when he was in my office, the wedding was happening quickly. There’d been just a little over a month between his proposal and the big event…which was somehow already only two days away.
I wanted everything to be over with so that I could move on with my life, but wasn’t sure why I had no desire to move on beforehand.
Anita timidly walked into my office. “Dr. Stewart?”
“Yes, you can Anita,” I immediately answered, already knowing what she was about to ask. “You can still take off early for the Easter weekend.”
She grinned and clasped her hands in front of her face. “Thank you, sir, but that’s not why I’m here. Someone’s here to see you.”
My heart suddenly ticked up in speed.
“It’s Gia Westwood,” she replied, shaking her head as if she’d read my thoughts. “But, she doesn’t have Kai with her which means that maybe she’s here to talk about Alexandra?”
“You know, you’ve been the only person brave enough to actually bring that up to my face,” I said, reclining in my chair. “Which is surprising since you’re the quietest person in the office.”
She lowered her eyes briefly. “Well sir, to be honest, I personally think you two are pretty amazing together. Your relationship brought a lot of life and raw energy to the place. Plus, and no offense, I’ve been watching the TV show. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to see that she’s not happy. I just hope that she comes to her senses soon and doesn’t go through with it.”
She didn’t give me a chance to respond, which I felt was done on purpose, before she waved Gia into the room. Gia walked in wearing a form-fitting dress whose pattern looked like a mix between modern and tribal print. Her hair was in what Alexandra had once explained to me was a style called “Marley twists,” and she’d somehow found extension colors that matched her highlights perfectly. Just looking at her face brought every single memory I held of Alexandra to the forefront.
“Eli’s not with me so don’t worry,” she said, leaning in for a hug. “I’m not here to go for a run.”
I laughed. “That’s good news. I’m actually surprised to see you, though.”
“Why is that? Is it because my sister hasn’t fixed her mistake yet?” She leaned against the side of my desk. “You forget that I’m the family shame. The rules don’t apply to me.”
“So, you just came to see me because you missed my company so much?”
“Partly. I’m really here to see how you’re doing. You know, check up on you.”
“I’m pretty good.” I paused. It was a ridiculous question, but yet I still asked, “How’s Alexandra?”
“Faking it until she makes it, I guess,” she answered. “Look, Ethan, I just need to know if you believe what my grandmother said about the punch.”
“The hunch punch?” I echoed her words. “I’m not entirely sure, but it’s really the only way I’ve been able to explain the intensity of my attraction to Alexandra. Even if it was something that I’d never experienced before, I could still tell that it was a bit extreme.”
She shrugged, eased down off of the desk, and grabbed a piece of candy from the bowl in my seating area. “Unless there’s another explanation. Has Grandma Evelyn ever told you about her concept of being ‘rooted’ to someone?”