Page 94 of Can't Help Falling in Love
Lexi zipped up her jacket. “Who?”
“Ethan’s dad. Mr. Reynolds.”
Lexi froze. “Oh.”
“Don’t look at me like that, Alexandria. He’s a contractor. I asked him for his opinion. I told you I might. He’s coming over this weekend.”
“I shouldn’t have pushed.”
Like she hadn’t spoken, her mother continued, as if she was saying it as much for herself as for Lexi. “I love this house. I always have. I know I need to put the past behind me to some extent but I’m not ready to get rid of it.”
“Mom.” Lexi stepped closer. “I never should have said that. We’ll figure it out. I promise.” Somehow. She understood not wanting to lose the connection to her past. They’d shared so many memories in this house.
“I’llfigure it out, honey. You’re notmymom. I’m yours. He’s going to tell me his thoughts on renovating the basement into a suite. We don’t use it much and I don’t need more space than we have upstairs.”
“That’s a great idea,” Lexi said, her voice catching.
“I agree. Now, I’m moving forward. Are you?”
She didn’t have time for this. She was worried Ethan was going to say Brady could handle things from now on. “Mom.”
“Don’t mom me, Alexandria. I told you all along I wasn’t broken, just sad.”
“I know. I’m sorry. I’m sorry for the things I said and how I pushed.”
Gwen took her shoulders, squeezed. “Stop being sorry. But know this: Iwasn’tbroken. Losing your dad gutted me but we’ve done okay, you and me, haven’t we? I know I could have done more. But we’ve survived, right?”
Lexi nodded.
“I’m coming back, sweetie. But what would actually break me, tear me right in two, is if my beautiful daughter gave up on love because I scared her into thinking it’s not worth the bumps and bruises.”
“Mom.” She didn’t know what she wanted to say—which was good, since her throat had gone impossibly tight.
“You can’t predict the future. It’d be boring if you could. You take the moment you’re in and make the most of it, honey. If it doesn’t work out or something happens, you fall down, let yourself hurt, and then get back up. Will loves you. And you love him. That won’t stop because you’re too scared or stubborn to be with him. You’ll just come to your senses years from now and realize you wasted all that time. You can’t change the past but you can regret it. I hate that your father is gone but I don’t regret one minute of loving him.”
Lexi pulled her mom into a tight hug, breathing her in and out and letting the pieces of her mending heart settle into place. They didn’t all go back where they started but they were there. Ready to stop running.
Lexi hurried into Side Tap, so many emotions rolling around inside her it was a wonder the momentum of them didn’t bowl her over.
Ethan stood at the doorway when she stepped inside. Strange. Cue nerves. She was losing this job. She loved this job.
“Hey,” he said, locking the door behind her.
“Hi,” Lexi said, drawing out the word.
“I’ll be in my office. Put him out of his misery, Lexi. He’s a fucking grump without you. I know part of it was a misunderstanding but know this—he loves you. I adore you. His family, most of them, adore you.One piece of it might not have been true, but the rest of it, the friendships, the job, you and Will? That’s as real as it gets. You’re doing a great job for me because you’re smart as hell. Don’t be stupid about this.”
With that, he leaned down, kissed her cheek, and gave her a little nudge toward the back of the space. The area she’d first had appetizers with Will was lit with more candles than she could count. She didn’t see Will but it was as if she could sense him.
Still, even knowing in her heart that he was there, when he stood from one of the high-back chairs, then turned and met her gaze, Lexi couldn’t move. It was as if the brick of ice in her chest melted just from the sight of him. The pieces of her jumbled heart rearranged as he came closer, finding their proper spots. She felt like she could finally breathe.
He came down the stairs. Dressed in jeans and a sweater, his hair styled messily, which she loved, his gaze steady. Sure.
“I wore braces until I was sixteen. The first time I kissed a girl, her lip got caught in them and cut her bad enough she bled for what seemed like hours but was probably only minutes.”
Lexi stared. Of all the things she’d thought of them saying to each other over the last week, that statement wasn’t even in the running. She didn’t know how to respond.
He walked closer. “I used to have nightmares as a kid. The only thing that made me feel better was this little weird-looking stuffed animal. I don’t even know if it was an animal. It was more like an oddly shaped pillow with a face.”
