A Perfect Bride For Christmas (29 page)

Alex closed the door and leaned back with a sigh while his fingers felt for Zoe’s wedding band in his pocket.

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Alex watched his mother making waffles and

beating a bowl of eggs at the same time. He wanted to be anywhere but here. His talk with Zoe left him more confused than ever. Alex needed more time to think, but Mom had demanded everyone’s presence for breakfast.

She went all out. The typical breakfast at the

King household filled the kitchen with the smell of bacon and sausage. It seemed like old times. Except for Sydney. She sat at the table, sipping at her coffee and ignoring everyone.

Alex tried to hide his gut-burning emotions

behind laughter but if he couldn’t concentrate on the conversation floating around him. He and Sydney were still engaged and the wedding loomed closer. If he had to fake some enthusiasm, so be it.

Heath didn’t seem to be in top spirits either. His tried to hide behind good humor, but Alex didn’t buy it. He saw the occasional look in Heath’s eye, the way his normal, laser-focus seemed fuzzy. A twinge of worry stabbed at Alex. Maybe it had to do with Keeley and their father’s affair. It hit Heath harder than him or Clint. Heath might have been Dad’s

clone. They walked, talked, and thought the same, had big hearts and were loyal to a fault.

His eldest brother finally showed up for

breakfast. Clint walked through the door looking like early morning ugly. “Morning.”

“Morning,” Alex and Heath greeted in unison.

Sydney nodded, but said nothing. A smart move

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until Clint had his first cup of coffee.

His brother had all the animation of a zombie as he shambled to the coffee pot, poured a mug, then took a long drink. Alex half expected him to demand brains instead of waffles.

Chaperoning a bunch of kids to a skating rink

with Jesse had probably turned into something

more. If it had, it would be hard to get the lust monkeys back in the barrel. Alex felt the need to probe, anything to get his mind off his own

problems. “Long night?”

Clint didn’t bother to reply. He stood by Mom,

waiting for a waffle to come out of the iron. The buzzer went off, and Clint held out his plate, only to have Heath attempt to snatch it up.

Clint slapped Heath’s forearm. “Mine. Back off.”

Heath’s usual grin popped through the clouds as he made his move. “Gotta move faster, Clinty.”

Clint gave Heath a sour look at the nickname

Jesse saddled him with so long ago. “Don’t touch that waffle, Candy.”

Heath’s old football moves came into play, but

Clint moved faster. Mom slid the waffle into Clint’s waiting plate. Alex half expected him to take a victory lap around the table. Instead, he eased into the chair opposite Sydney and gave her a smile that made Alex sit up in his chair.

No, oh, no
. Clint was on the warpath. Alex should’ve kept his mouth shut about last night.

Damn, things were going to get dicey.

Clint’s eyes sparked with mischief. “Mornin’,

Sis. Have a waffle. They’re good for you.”

He might as well have asked Sydney to eat a

cockroach.

“No thanks.” Her aloof tone held a hint of a

sneer.

Clint leaned back in his chair and gave Alex a

look that said
what the hell is wrong with you, bro?

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Alex shrugged and turned back to Heath.

Discussing last night’s basketball stats seemed a safer topic. Alex opened his mouth to ask about the score, but Heath cut him off.

“So, Mom,” Heath asked. “Why the insistence we

come for breakfast?”

His mother turned off the stove and set the

scrambled eggs on the table. “Well, boys, it seems to be the only time I can get my family in one place at one time.”

She eased into the chair at the head of the table with a wry laugh. “Keeley’s coming by today. She called me late yesterday afternoon. Asked if I

minded. I’ve invited her over, and I want to tell you all, at the same time, I won’t tolerate any

shenanigans. You’ll behave. Treat her like our

family.”

No one said anything until Sydney broke the

stillness. “Isn’t that just peachy.” She got up, smoothed her tan suede skirt, and glanced down at Alex. “I’m going into the city for a while. Remember what I told you.”

Everyone stared at him as Sydney left the room.

Alex shook his head. “She’s stressed about the

wedding.” The heat of anger and embarrassment

flooded his face. In that instant, any remaining love or concern for her feelings evaporated. “Now, Alex.”

His mother started toward the living room entry. “I need you to run me over to Margery Thomas’s house before Keeley arrives. I’m on the Kappa’s Annual Association Meeting committee, and I need to go over venue details with her.”

“Sure thing, Mom. I’ll go ahead and get ready.”

The shower gave him time to think. Zoe told him she wouldn’t give him a second chance however, that didn’t mean he had to marry Sydney. No, he’d break off the wedding even without Zoe in the picture. He soaped up and decided he needed to find a house 233

Dyann Love Barr

with a large yard. The girls had to have a place to play. The idea of having his children for more than a couple of hours scared him to death, but it filled him with anticipation as well. He wondered if they each wanted their own room.

Plans formed. Decisions were made.

Alex knew he had to prove himself to Zoe—and

he would. He’d always loved her, but that feeling had grown until she touched a part of him he’d tried to fill but failed. She was the missing piece of his soul. It might take months, even years to win her back.

Satisfied, he finished dressing and went out into the cold morning to bring the Hummer around for his mother’s trip into town. If he didn’t watch her, she’d sneak out and drive with her bum ankle. It surprised him that she’d asked for help. Something was hinky.

A few minutes later, he gripped the steering

wheel as he negotiated the snow-packed drive. The small amount of sun had melted the top layer and refroze into a sheet of ice. He hoped the road crews had the main roads scraped and salted.

Alex slid a look over at his mother’s tight-lipped face. Black leather-gloved hands smoothed her blue coat over her knees while she sat quiet as a mouse.

Oh yeah, she was in a mood. Anything she had to say to Margery Thomas could’ve been done over the phone. No, she wanted to get him alone to blast him with motherly hellfire.

“Okay, out with it, Mom.”

She opened her purse, got out her lipstick, and flipped down the visor of the mirror to apply a soft coral color to her lips. “I don’t know what you mean,”

she said with her mouth open, lips pressed tight against her teeth but it came out, “I on’t o wa ou een.” “Oh, cut it out. I’m an attorney in good standing.

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I’ve busted better witnesses than you on the stand.

Besides, I’m your son. Do you think I don’t know when something is stuck in your craw? And don’t give me that ‘I’m your mother’ look, either,” he ground out. “I’ve never known you to keep your

opinions to yourself.”

She shoved the lipstick back into her purse and twisted in her seat. “Are you out of your ever-loving mind?”

Alex glanced over at her. “Close.”

“Whatever possessed you to propose to that self-absorbed little witch? I’m sure she has some good qualities, because you must have seen them—or

maybe she’s just talented in bed.”

“Mom.” She’d hit close to the mark on that barb.

Sydney pulled a
switch and b
ait on him. One minute, she was sweet and loving. The next, she might as well be demon possessed. He didn’t know which to suggest to Sydney, therapy or exorcism.

“Do you love her?”

“I used to think so—now, I…”

“Alex.” She placed her hand on his shoulder. “I want the best for my sons. I just don’t think Sydney is what you need, anymore than Bianca was.” She took her hand away to fiddle with the clasp of the purse. Any moment now, he expected the poor thing to scream for mercy. “Your father and I opened a bottle of champagne when Bianca dumped you.”

“Why would you and Dad do that? She broke my

heart.”

“No, she bloodied your ego.” His mother let out a sigh. “Completely different thing.”

“Well, that turned out well, didn’t it?” he

snarked. For a second, Alex forgot he’d addressed his mother, not some witness on the stand. Then he felt like a shit.

“I think it did.” She looked straight-ahead, jaw set. “I don’t know all the ins and outs of how you 235

Dyann Love Barr

came to marry Zoe, I didn’t ask. Yes, your father told me some of it but he left quite a bit out because he told me it wasn’t any of my business. You were a grown man. I abided by his wishes but this time—”

“If you—” he interrupted, only to be shut down

when his mother held up her hand.

Ingrained habits made him bite off what he was

about to say.

“If you love Sydney, really death-do-you-part

love, I won’t stand in your way. But so help me God, you stand there and speak vows you don’t mean, I’ll find a use for that crutch you’re so fond of.”

“I’ve decided I can’t marry Sydney, Mom. Things haven’t been right between us since I found out about the girls.”

“Good.” Mom sagged, letting out a sigh of relief.

“I don’t know what we’re going to do with all the food Zoe’s prepared. She called this morning and said she had about a third of it done already.”

Alex snorted. “I told her burgers and fries.”

“The girls would love that.”

“No doubt.” He relaxed, letting the tension drain out of his shoulders. “Throw in chocolate shakes, and they’re in heaven.”

“Alex, I do want to say something else, and then I’ll butt out.”

“I don’t believe that for a moment,” he chuckled.

“But go on.”

“You screwed the pooch, as your father would’ve said, with Zoe. In spite of that, I now have three beautiful granddaughters. I want to thank you.

Now…” She pulled in a deep breath. “When are you going to ask Zoe to marry you, again?”

Alex clutched the steering wheel tight until his knuckles strained the leather of his gloves. “I asked her for a second chance.”

“And?”

“She said no.” He relived the hurt, the feeling of 236

A Perfect Bride for Christmas

hopelessness.

“Smart girl.”

Her words stunned him. “How can you say

that?”

His mother slit her eyes, her mouth set into a

hard line of coral. “You didn’t tell her you loved her, did you?”

Alex shook his head. “Zoe wouldn’t believe me if I had. She knows my track record better than

anyone, even you. Do you know what she called me?”

“No, but I’m sure it wasn’t complimentary.”

“A man-slut.”

“Oh my.” She patted her chest in fast little

thumps to catch her breath. He couldn’t tell if his mother was offended or trying hard not to laugh.

“You have your work cut out for you.” She ran a gloved fingertip under her eyes to stem a few stray tears. “Do you love Zoe?”

He frowned as he pulled up to Margery

Thomas’s large, red brick house. “I don’t trust my judgment when it comes to love. I wanted what you and Dad had, a perfect marriage. I’m sure
you
were the perfect bride.” He remembered the picture of her and his father on their wedding day that she kept on the table by her chair. Her white flowing dress reminded him of the gowns he’d seen at the

Renaissance Festival. A crown of holly topped her long dark hair that tumbled to her waist. Dad stood ramrod straight in his uniform. The love between them shone as bright as the candles in the picture.

“I’m not even sure what love is anymore.” He got out of the Hummer, and the cold air slapped at his face harder than an angry woman. Alex opened the door for his mother, offering her his arm. “What I feel for the girls goes beyond words, but I’m afraid if I told Zoe I loved her, she’d spit in my face.”

He got his mother’s crutches out of the back seat and helped her out of the car.

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“Tell her how you feel—what’s in your heart.”

“How can I do that when she doesn’t want

anything to do with me?” He handed her the

crutches, watching while she adjusted them under her arms.

“Fight for her.”

He nodded. She was right. “Do me a favor?”

“Anything.”

“Don’t tell anyone I plan to break it off with

Sydney, not just yet.” He stayed a couple of feet behind his mother as she made her way up the

cleared walk to the Thomas’s house. “It wouldn’t be fair to her, and to tell you the truth, I don’t want Clint and Heath ragging on me.”

“I promise.”

“Good, now go in there.” He rang the doorbell for her. “Kick some fundraising booty.”

“Okay. Come back in couple of hours. I have to

get the house ready for Keeley’s visit.”

Keeley
. In the madness of his life, he’d completely forgotten about his half-sister. The new sister he’d only met via the phone. “I’ll make sure I’m there to meet her.”

His mother bit her lip. “I’m a little nervous, but I can’t wait to meet her.” She shot him a look. “I said you’d pick her up at the hotel. She said she wasn’t used to driving in this weather.”

He nodded. “Okay.”

The sound of someone hustling around on the

other side of the door made his mother hand him the crutches. “Good, good,” she nodded. “Take these to the car. I don’t want Margery thinking I’m an

invalid, or she’ll take over the fundraiser in a heartbeat.”

Alex shook his head and chuckled as he got back into the Hummer. He still had a couple of hours to kill and decided to do some Christmas shopping. He was way behind, but then he usually waited until 238