Save the Date (24 page)

Tension swirled around Alex like morning fog on the bay. Lucy had no idea. Of course he would’ve just let it go by. “Yes, I’ve been counting the days until . . . Alex’s birthday.” As any future fiancée would. But how did a family celebrate the birthday of one son and the loss of another?

His mother sighed. “They were my Fourth of July babies.”

Lucy found herself reeled in closer to the hard wall of Alex’s chest. “Lucy and I might stop by for the day, but I can’t afford to be gone for much more than that.”

Donna’s face fell. “Oh. Well. All right then.”

“I see you’ve chosen yet another career to get in the way of your family.” His father looked so much like Alex. A head full of dark hair, yet threaded with gray. Tall stature he wasn’t afraid to use to intimidate. And eyes that missed nothing. “We need to be together as a family this year more than ever.”

“Forget it.” Finley checked a text on her phone. “It’s not like he cares.”

Alex stilled like a Roman statue. “I see some people I need to talk to. Enjoy yourselves tonight.” He reached out and tweaked his sister’s nose. “Stay out of trouble.”

The snarl Finley sent him was nothing short of art. Lucy studied it with appreciation, hoping to remember it for future use. Reaching out an arm, she grabbed Alex by the sleeve, holding him in place. The least he could do was have a conversation with his family.

“Lucy, we want you to join us for the Fourth of July weekend, of course.” The gracious smiled returned to Donna’s face. “We’d love to spend some time with you.”

Alex increased the pressure of his squeeze, but Lucy wasn’t having any of it. “Thank you,” she said. “I’ll certainly see what I can do. And I agree—a person needs to spend time with family, right?”

Father stared at son. “Exactly.”

Alex’s hand snaked up her spine to massage the back of her neck. “We need to mingle.”

“I mean, what’s a holiday without the people you love?” Whatever rift was between Alex and his parents needed to be dealt with. He had pushed her toward Clare, so surely it was fine that she pushed back. Besides, the Sinclairs were unexpectedly nice. Lucy had thought they’d be snooty and perfectly awful, but they were so weirdly normal. Marcus had his arm around his daughter, and Donna couldn’t take her worried eyes off Alex.

“You talk my son into coming.” Donna smiled at her newest friend. “I put on a mean shrimp boil.”

Lucy risked a peek at her soon-to-be fiancé. “He’s been telling me how much he misses your cooking.”

“Then you guys will come?” Finley tried not to look interested. “For real?”

“He’ll be there. All weekend.”

Lucy looked into Alex’s face and knew the
Southern Mischief
was about to encounter choppy waters.

He wasn’t even married to Lucy, and she was already a meddling nuisance. With his strong hand at her back, Alex led his scheming girlfriend across the floor. “What was that all about?” he asked tightly.

“You were
such
a help in reuniting Clare and me, I just thought I would return the favor.”

He nodded to a few friends. “My relationship with my family is just fine.”

“You treat them like you can’t stand to breathe the same air.”

Alex made an abrupt stop and turned sharp eyes on Lucy. “You have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“You have a family who loves you.” She looked up at him with pity, and he wanted to howl. He didn’t deserve anyone’s sympathy. “Keeping them at a distance isn’t going to bring your brother back.”

A muscle flexed in his stubborn jaw, and Lucy reached out a tentative hand. Her cool fingers touched his cheek, as if to stroke the tension away. He couldn’t move, couldn’t breathe.

Lucy’s eyes widened, as if she’d caught herself by surprise. She lifted her hand as if it burned, but he grabbed it. And stared down into her questioning face. How could he explain his loss? His emptiness? There were no words for how his family’s kindness ate at him like a pestilence.

“They need you, Alex.”

He opened his mouth to argue, to say the words that would hurt her like he was hurting.

But not Lucy. The woman who saved homeless girls and bravely stood by his side night after night. He clamped his lips and turned his head toward the water. Inhaling the salty air, Alex stared at the fading sun and let the silence stretch. “There’s nothing I can do for them,” he finally said.

“You’re not supposed to fix it for them.” He wondered if she knew she no longer looked at him with that old resentment. “They’re hurting, too, and they just want to be near you.”

He shook his head, his expression as empty as his heart as he watched another ship pass by. “I can’t do that right now.”

Lucy stepped closer, and her light scent swept over him. “I don’t know where your guilt comes from, but it’s not from God. And it’s undeserved and hurting the people you love.”

Fire exploded behind his eyes. Who was
she
or anyone else to tell him to get rid of his guilt? Like it was that easy? He prayed to God every day to make it go away, along with the relentless fever that consumed him. He had to find his brother, and he had to win this election. Nothing else mattered.

He tore his eyes away from the sky and fastened them on Lucy. “Your job,” he said, “is to just stick by my side tonight. That’s all. I don’t need your counseling nor do I need your prying.”

“Right.” He could tell she was considering how she might throw his body overboard. “Because I’m just a temporary companion.”

She was becoming more than that. But he didn’t know what and didn’t have time to take it out and examine it tonight. “Are you up for this or not?”

“Don’t worry.” Her words dripped with venom. “I won’t fail you.” She took a step back, putting a mile of distance between them. “You may think you’re just lying to the world, but the real tragedy here is you’re lying to yourself.”

“Hey, there you two are!”

Alex’s blistering rebuttal died on his lips as Morgan and Chuck approached. Lucy’s words played in his head like a taunt as she completely ignored him and chatted with her friends.

“Nice party.” Morgan pulled Lucy into a hug. “Almost as good as the one we went to with the youth last weekend at Chuck E. Cheese’s.”

“Can’t beat a night of skeeball,” her fiancé said. Wearing a sleek black suit, Chuck looked more adult than Alex had ever seen him. And incredibly uncomfortable.

Lucy’s friend Sanjay squeezed past a small group of women to join them. Snagging a shrimp puff from a passing waiter, he winked at a busty blonde. He was a fashion disaster in his powder-blue tuxedo, gray athletic socks, and yellow sneakers.

“We almost missed the ship,” Sanjay said as some of the other Hobbits gathered. “I had a big fight with the lady.”

“Girlfriend trouble?” Alex asked.

“Yeah, I told her I would take out the trash when I was good and ready. I’m the man of the house, and she isn’t going to tell me what to do.”

“Things will be fine when you get home.” Chuck slapped a hand on Sanjay’s bony shoulder. “Just give your mom some time to cool down.”

“How are the wedding plans coming?” Alex asked Morgan.

“Busy, but good.” Morgan’s mama bear face melted as she took in her best friend. “Lucy, you look beautiful.”

“Yes, she does.” Alex reached for her. “I’m beyond blessed to be with the prettiest woman on the ship.”

“Does anyone else smell dead fish?” Lucy tried to step away, but Alex held a firm grip.

“The Hobbits’ meeting still on for Thursday?” Sanjay asked. “It’s your night to make cookies, Lucy. Make them in the shape of Ewoks again.”

“Actually, I’m not staying at my house right now.” She cast a pointed glare at Alex. “I should be soon, though.”

“Not too soon.” He liked Lucy where he knew she was safe. And even though he didn’t want to deal with his own family, it was just a matter of time before Lucy’s soft heart let her grandmother in. “But I’m sure Clare wouldn’t mind if you had your party there.”

“We’re not having a party.” Sanjay pushed up the nose of his glasses. “It’s an informational meeting for people with similar intellectual pursuits.”

“It’s a nerd social,” Chuck said. “But we have good snacks.”

Morgan pointed toward a table across the way. “The girls look stunning.”

“The girls?” Lucy looked over her shoulder. All thirteen of her Saving Grace ladies waved in her direction. She turned a questioning eye to Alex.

He merely shrugged. “I thought they might enjoy a night out.”

“That’s just the half of it,” Morgan said. “Today they got the works—a full day of shopping, spa, and hair.”

Lucy’s eyes widened in silent wonder.

“All his idea.” Morgan gave him a reluctant smile.

“Alex, I . . . I don’t know what to say.”

From the playground to the pros, Alex had always been first draft pick. He’d had reps from Nike buy him cars. Agents hand him trips to exotic locales and box seats for the Lakers. Women offer things that would’ve made his mama cry. But nobody had ever looked at him with the kind of awe he saw in Lucy’s face.

“It’s nothing. I just thought the girls deserved a party too.”

Then she was in his arms, hugging him like he had just given her access to his checking account. He settled one arm at her back and the other in the hair he couldn’t quit touching. Just seconds ago Lucy had been ready to toss him to the sharks. And now he was her hero. He knew people were watching, but he didn’t care. Pressing his lips to her temple, Alex just held on.

Chapter Twenty-six

E
very party had a pooper. And this one was headed their way in a black Halston gown with coordinating clutch.

“Alex, Lucy.” Clare’s diamonds swung from her earlobes and circled her wrist. “You may conduct your displays of affection later. There are some people I’d like you to meet.”

Reluctantly Lucy left her friends and stood by Alex’s side as he worked the room. She tried to say as little as possible but kept her smile bright and cheery until she thought her lips would fall off. With Clare stuck to her like glue, Lucy felt her initial annoyance fade away. The former first lady was a genius at steering conversation. So much so that Lucy only had to contribute small bits of input when prompted. Yes, she did like Alex’s new ideas for overhauling the foster care system. She loved that the state was seeing the heart behind the man. No, she didn’t think his opponent had the public schools’ best interest at heart. Had they seen all the research on Alex’s website? Why, of course, she loved Gucci. They made the most fabulous shoes.

It was enough to wear a girl out. Didn’t anyone want to talk about Britney Spears, the BOGO sale at Payless, or the delicious rumor that
Avatar
was going to be a trilogy?

But she held her own. And only slipped once—when she had referred to Senator Coolidge’s current wife by his ex’s name. Clare had discreetly coughed into her fist, and Lucy gracefully righted the error.

After making the rounds, Lucy and Alex found her girls and joined them. As Lucy chatted, Alex coaxed Marinell onto the small dance area, sending the girl into giggles, a sound that was music to Lucy’s ears. Mesmerized, Lucy could hardly maintain a conversation as she watched him dance with each young lady brave enough to spin across the floor with an American icon. Tyneisha, the last to join him, could’ve been Beyonce’s twin in her hot-pink gown and matching heels. She struggled through Alex’s patient instructions on a waltz, and Lucy had to laugh when Tyneisha maneuvered Alex into trying some hip-hop.

The music shifted from classics to a melody Lucy recognized as “The Way You Look Tonight.” Music to fall in love to.

“I was wondering if you’d dance with me, Ms. Wiltshire.”

With her chin in her palm, Lucy looked up to find Alex standing over her, hand extended. His earlier anger was gone, and in its place was a look that had her grateful for a good ocean breeze.

“I don’t know.” She placed her fingers in his palm. “You’ve danced with nearly every woman here.”

“Just sad replacements for the one I really wanted.”

She laughed as he swept her into his arms. “You’re good, Sinclair.”

He didn’t bother with the formal style he had used on the girls. There was no holding each other at arm’s length. He pressed her close, and she rested her head on his chest as they moved across the small space.

“The girls are having the time of their lives,” she said.

His hand massaged the back of her neck, sending warm shivers across her skin. “I’m glad they’re enjoying themselves.”

“You’re a nice man, Alex.”

“I’m going to write that in my journal tonight.”

She leaned back and looked into his face. “Do all your supermodel ex-girlfriends know you have a big heart?”

His lips curved slowly. “Only for you, Luce.”

He leaned down and kissed her forehead.

It was all just a pretty façade, but it could still turn a woman’s head. Why couldn’t he stay the arrogant stereotype? He was going off-script and she didn’t know what to think.

She snuck another glance as they moved in time to the music. Alex looked both elegant and savage in his black tuxedo. It was a good thing someone like Matt was more her type. Stable. Calm. Predictable. Alex was none of those things. He was mercurial, intense, a man who defied all the rules.