Eight
Alex
“I got you this time,Aunt Clem,” I said.
“You say that every time, dear,” she said sweetly, though her sharp brown eyes undercut the effect.
As I stared across the ancient card table at her I wasn’t worried. Because I believed—I knew—that this was finally my time.
After years of toil, I would finally slay my fiercest opponent—the hundred-pound septuagenarian currently wrapped in an afghan wearing fluffy pink slippers.
“Aunt Clem’s the winner,” Birdie said not more than five minutes later.
I leaned back in my chair and tossed the cards away. “I was so sure!”
Aunt Clem just smiled, her wrinkled cheeks lifting, her eyes sparkling with mischief now.
“I know you did. But I appreciate the dedication. Good game, Alex.”
She extended her hand, and I shook it.
She nodded approvingly, then said, “For what it’s worth, my nephew-in-law won’t even play with me anymore.”
I laughed. “Big bad billionaire Dominic Wilder is afraid to play cards with an old lady?”
Birdie shook her head. “Actually, I forbade it,” she said.
“And why is that?” Aunt Clem asked.
“Because I don’t want two out of my three favorite people in this world at each other’s throats over a card game,” Birdie said.
“Me? At someone’s throat?” Aunt Clem said, blinking innocently as she tightened the afghan around her thin shoulders.
I snorted. “Yeah. Definitely you. And that was a good call, Birdie.”
Aunt Clem smiled, and I laughed, staring at her.
She looked so good, and I was so happy.
She was still in the drug trial Dominic had arranged for her to be a part of, and the medication seemed to be working.
Over these last months, she’d put on weight, her skin looked healthier, and even more, those little clouds of worry and discomfort—the ones she tried to hide from Birdie, but that I didn’t miss—looked to be gone.
“How are you liking the new digs?” I asked, looking around the apartment.
“It’s nice,” Aunt Clem said, though the enthusiasm I expected from her was absent.
“Why do I hear a but?” I said, adjusting to tuck a leg under me, feeling like I’d known Aunt Clem my entire life, even though I hadn’t been so fortunate.
“Because there’s no reason to go to all this trouble. I was fine at my old place,” she grumbled.
Grumbling wasn’t like Aunt Clem.
She had no trouble speaking her mind, but Birdie had been insistent about the move, and Aunt Clem had finally agreed, even though it was clear she didn’t fully agree with it.
“It was no trouble,” Birdie said, reaching across the card table to squeeze Aunt Clem’s hand.
The diamond ring on her finger glinted dully under the light. The ring was beautiful but faded to nothing when I looked at Birdie’s face and saw how she practically radiated with joy.
She was dressed casually today, her hair pulled into a half up half down ponytail, wearing the nice, expensive workout clothes that I would never be able to spring for, even if I could fit them.
But what she was wearing had no bearing on how great she looked.
No, that was all happiness.
“Well, I think this place is great,” I said to Aunt Clem.
Her old apartment had been nice as well, but this was next level.
It covered the full floor, three bedrooms, two baths, high-end fixtures, but with Aunt Clem’s favorite pieces of furniture, including that card table, and her recliner inside.
But the inside wasn’t the most important thing.
What mattered was that this place was near the hospital where she got her treatments, came with a full staff, including medical, and had the outdoor space and socialization that Aunt Clem liked.
“And what’s going on with you, Miss Alex?” Aunt Clem asked.
I shifted again, feeling like a fidgety kid as I stretched my legs out and then crossed them at the ankle.
I’d salvaged the clothes I could from my apartment, and Aunt Clem had been kind enough to let me come over to wash. I could have taken them to the laundromat, but this was a good reason to visit, and right now, while I waited for my last load of clothes to get done, I was wearing my standard yoga pants, tank top, jacket combo.
“Believe it or not, despite the disaster that is my apartment, I have good news,” I said.
“I thought your place was repaired enough for you to live comfortably. You can go back to Dominic’s if it’s not,” Birdie said.
“My place is fine,” I said quickly.
Maybe too quickly, though Birdie and Aunt Clem didn’t seem to react.
Birdie probably hadn’t pushed because she’d gotten used to me turning things down, for which I was grateful.
Because there was no way, no how, I would tell her the real reason I was terrified of even driving by Dominic’s townhouse.
“But yeah, despite all that, I have good news,” I said.
“I love good news,” Aunt Clem said, her smile still bright.
“Well, me too. I got an agreement to purchase my building. The owner agreed on a reasonable amount for earnest money and says he’ll work with me on the full purchase price. He also said he liked what I planned to do with the place,” I said, more or less beaming when I stopped.
“Oh my God. That’s awesome, Alex!” Birdie said, leaning over to hug me.
Aunt Clem reached across the card table and patted my hand.
“That is good news, sweetheart,” she said.
“Yeah. I think I can do it too. I have ninety days to get the rest, and then?—”
“Alex, how much is it?” Birdie asked, looking at me with her head tilted in question.
“None of your business,” I responded before I stuck my tongue out.
“Answer,” Birdie said, ignoring me.
“It doesn’t matter if it’s a penny or a million pennies. I’ll get the money myself,” I said.
“Alex, you know I’m always happy to help you,” Birdie said.
“And you do help me, just like I hope I help you. And I appreciate everything you do for me. But help and taking your money are two distinct categories. I can get the building myself. Knowing that you’re cheering me on is help enough,” I said.
Birdie didn’t argue, but I could practically see her holding back the urge to fuss.
I understood it too.
There wasn’t a thing that I wouldn’t give her if she needed it, and I knew that generosity was a two-way street and treasured that I had her unconditional support.
But still, I wanted to do this on my own.
Even more than that, I wouldn’t ever do anything to make Birdie think that something beyond her friendship mattered to me, especially money. Because there was no amount of money that was worth my friendship with her.
“So yeah, I think it’s going to happen,” I said, moving the conversation along to tread on more shaky ground. “And I had lunch with my dad to celebrate.”
I said the last on a rush of fast, bubbly words, and then waited for the response.
I kept my gaze on Birdie, who politely took a sip of coffee.
Then I looked at Aunt Clem, who made no effort to hide the scowl on her face.
“So, he’s back in town, huh?” she said, her voice deadpan and ice fucking cold.
“He’s been around for a little while,” I said. “I think he might be settling in for a bit. He’s got a girlfriend, and he’s been a positive influence on her kids.”
Or at least I thought he was. My dad had mentioned us all getting together, but that hadn’t happened yet, so I hadn’t actually met the woman or kids he talked about nonstop. But that was just an oversight, I was sure.
We all had incredibly busy lives, so I didn’t expect them—including my father—to change their plans to accommodate a meeting with me.
“Hmm,” Aunt Clem said in a tone that conveyed exactly what she meant.
But knowing that didn’t stop me from asking “What do you mean?”
“It’s not my business, Alex girl,” she said.
“Has that ever stopped you?” I asked, my face turning up in a smile.
Her eyes glittered with amusement. “Nope, and it won’t today either since you’re insisting.” She turned serious and then shook her head in what was far too close to sympathy. “I just don’t like the way that man treats you.”
She looked sympathetic, which made her words hurt that much more.
Still, I tried to shrug it off.
“Nobody’s perfect,” I said, feeling and sounding lame.
“No, nobody’s perfect,” Aunt Clem said patiently.
I could see she wanted to say more but was holding her tongue.
I wasn’t sure if I appreciated her keeping her opinion to herself, or the fact that she was so upset on my behalf.
Decided I’d go with the last and leave it at that.
Because my father had his challenges, but Aunt Clem had never had a chance to see the other side of him.
She and Birdie had only met him once, one year when he’d happened to be in town for Christmas.
Aunt Clem had invited us over and made her famous fruitcake.
I would concede that fruitcake was usually not my favorite, but Aunt Clem’s was pure heaven.
But after I’d had my slice and then decided I wanted another, my father had suggested I ease off. Told me, like he had so many times before, that I was a pretty girl, but a second slice of cake was not going to land me a man.
His words had lost the power to hurt me, or at least I thought they had, but Aunt Clem had been scandalized.
Birdie had escorted her from the room in an attempt to make sure Aunt Clem didn’t violate her rules about cursing on the holiday, and since that Christmas, which had to have been seven, maybe eight years ago, his name had been mud to Aunt Clem.
Or maybe it had been the last straw.
I’d mentioned in passing to Aunt Clem that he hadn’t been around much when I was a kid, and between that and the fruitcake comment, Aunt Clem’s mind had been made up.
I knew where Aunt Clem was coming from and knew that no matter how she felt, she always had my best interests and my feelings at heart. So there was no reason to force the matter.
Clearly, Aunt Clem agreed. “Birdie, you want to prepare some of that lunch the chef left?”
“Yes, ma’am,” she said, standing.
“You need some help?” I asked Birdie.
“No. Because Aunt Clem wants to talk to you without me here,” Birdie said.
I looked at Aunt Clem, waiting for her to deny what Birdie had said, but she just shrugged. “This is not a conversation for married women,” Aunt Clem said.
I laughed nervously as I eyed Aunt Clem, not having any idea what was coming next.
“Do I need to run out of here?” I asked Aunt Clem as Birdie laughed, the sound trailing behind her down the hallway.
“No, you just need to sit here and listen to your auntie,” she said.
She was leaning into the old lady thing, burrowing into her blanket and trying to look frail.
I didn’t buy it for a single second.
“Yes, ma’am,” I responded.
I could already feel the contact embarrassment, but on the other hand, I treasured Aunt Clem.
Even after all these years, I missed my mother so desperately it sometimes took my breath away. Aunt Clem helped with that, and I would be forever grateful for having her in my life.
“So what’s going on with you, girl?” Aunt Clem asked.
I shrugged, laughed. “Well, you know about my apartment. Plus, I’m going to buy that building?—”
“Don’t play with me, Alex,” she said.
I laughed again at her narrowed eyes. “I’m not playing. Can you spell it out for me, Aunt Clem?”
“Who is he?” she asked, leaning forward and whispering conspiratorially.
“Who is who?” I asked. I blinked, trying to project innocence, but Aunt Clem just stared at me.
“I don’t have a job, and the next bingo tournament isn’t until Tuesday. So I can sit here as long as I need to,” Aunt Clem said.
I leaned back, still smiling even though I faced my second defeat of the day. “What gave me away?” I asked.
The ridiculousness of having this conversation with my best friend’s aunt was not lost on me, but I was genuinely curious.
“Can’t say for sure,” Aunt Clem said, leaning back in her recliner and studying me, her eyes assessing.
“Maybe it’s just having been alive for so long, but somebody’s caught your eye,” Aunt Clem said.
“And?” I asked, wondering how Aunt Clem could tell. It wasn’t like I was wearing a neon sign, though I couldn’t pretend that Noah hadn’t been constantly in my thoughts.
I smiled when I looked at Aunt Clem, realizing I had drifted off and was no longer surprised that she’d known something was up.
She gave me a knowing smile before she answered. “I’m going to tell you to go for it. You’re young and beautiful, so why wouldn’t you?”
“So, I’m supposed to just be out there with whoever?” I asked Aunt Clem.
She shrugged. “You’re grown, so why not if you want to be? But this is more than you being out there.”
“What do you mean, Auntie?” I asked, letting out a nervous laugh.
“I mean I know you, Alex, and if somebody has your attention, he’s worth looking at, and maybe touching too,” she said with a wink.
I started to blush but didn’t deny it. Because even now, sitting here, thinking about Noah had me on edge.
“Aunt Clem, I don’t know if this is the advice the elders are supposed to give,” I said instead of acknowledging the not at all surprising direction my thoughts had taken.
“The real ones will, and you know I’m that,” she said. “You need to get out and live. You are a beautiful, successful, kind, smart woman. The world is your oyster, and you need to pluck the hell out of it.”
I laughed, though I didn’t agree with her.
The world was most assuredly not my oyster.
I worked, did what I was supposed to do, and tried to build toward my dream.
What I did not do was have entanglements with ridiculously hot billionaires who also happened to be my best friend’s brother-in-law.
Whatever had come over me that night, I was over it and would get back to business, keep my head down, and focus on my goals.
There was no place for Noah Wilder in that.
I started to nod, trying to reaffirm that I was making the right choice—no matter how much I wanted Noah—then stopped when I realized Aunt Clem was still watching me.
“Just think about it, Alex,” Aunt Clem said.
Her eyes were intense as she stared at me, waiting until I agreed.
“All right, Aunt Clem,” I said.
I was certain Aunt Clem didn’t believe me. But she didn’t press the issue.
Instead, she smiled and then picked up the cards.