Page 87 of Second Dance
I wanted to believe her. God, I wanted to. But standing there in front of this exquisite, generous woman who had handed me her heart as if I were deserving of it, I wasn’t at all certain.
“Do you love me, Alex?” Her green eyes shimmered with unshed tears.
“Yes, Gillie. More than I could ever say.”
“Then that’s your answer. Love always wins in the end. You’ll see.” She swiped at a wayward tear from her cheek. “Now, get yourself together. We have to be strong for the kids.”
I knew then exactly what to do. Gillian and Grace would be safe at my house. “You and Grace should come stay with us for a few days. I have a gate, security cameras, alarms.” I swallowedhard. “He won’t get near you there. I won’t be able to breathe knowing you’re here without protection.”
“I have to teach tomorrow,” Gillian said. “Grace was supposed to spend the day with Annie and Delphine. Are we supposed to live in a bubble?”
“Just for a few days. I’ll call Ben. Get his take on things. Please, I’ll feel much better if you’re both with me.”
After a beat, she nodded. “All right. It’s unlikely he would come here to my home, but it would make me nervous for Grace and me to be here alone. Now listen to me—we have to show the kids that everything’s going to be fine. I’m talking a normal dinner. A swim in your pool. Fun.”
The knot in my chest eased, just a fraction. “Yes, you’re right.”
Her fingers brushed mine. “I bet he’s already being picked up by the police. This will all be over soon.”
I really hoped she was right, but I had a bad feeling that it wouldn’t be as easy as she imagined it to be. Not with Darren.
18
GILLIAN
“Watch this!” Bella launched herself off the pool's edge, tucking into a cannonball that sent a wave of water across the deck.
I shielded my wine glass just in time, laughing as droplets hit my legs. “Ten out of ten.”
“Wait a minute,” Peter called from the deep end. “You didn't even see mine.”
From my lounge chair, I watched them argue over who'd made the biggest splash—three nearly-grown teenagers acting like they were eight years old again. My chest tightened, but not with anxiety this time. With something softer. After everything that had happened today, after Darren and the fear and Alex nearly walking away from me, this felt like proof that we'd be okay.
Grace floated on her back, pink toenails peeping out of the water. “I vote for me. Obviously.”
Alex appeared at my side with a fresh glass of wine. “For you.” His hand lingered on my shoulder, warm and reassuring.
I looked up at him, reading the question in his eyes. Are we really okay?
I covered his hand with mine. “We're okay.”
For a moment, I thought about what it would mean to Grace and me if we were to merge families with Alex and his children. Grace and I did fine, but we lived modestly. The studio made a decent living for us, but we’d rarely been on vacation or spent much on anything that wasn’t necessary. We had no pool. Or expensive cars. Or this view that overlooked the ocean. Would it be strange to live here? To be married to a man worth a billion dollars? What did that even mean, really?
A niggle of worry nudged at me. Were our lives too different from each other’s to make this work? Would Grace feel second best when compared to his kids?
“What’s wrong?” Alex asked, settling back into his chair.
“Nothing. Just thinking.”
“About?” His thumb traced circles on my palm, a touch that had become familiar and necessary.
“Not what you think. I’ve been thinking about how rich you are and what that means. To Grace and me.”
“What does it mean? That’s a weird question.” He squeezed my hand gently.
“We have very different circumstances,” I said. “Will that cause us problems?”
His brow knitted as he took a sip of his wine. “What problems could money cause? Isn’t it usually the other way around?”
