Chapter 22
Chapter Twenty-Two
MAGNOLIA
I padded toward the kitchen, rolling my shoulders. Alex had done an amazing job washing my back. Plus a lot of other areas he found especially dirty. Two orgasms and gallons of hot water later, I was a great deal more relaxed than I had been earlier. Hedgy was asleep on the bed, his head buried between the pillows.
There was a knock at the door, and I mentally did a happy dance, glad the food had arrived. I had built up quite the appetite, thanks to Alex’s wandering hands and mouth.
Alex appeared, heading for the door. “Get the plates,” he said with a smirk and a wink. “Unless you want me to eat sweet-and-sour off your naked body.”
I tossed my damp hair and rolled my eyes. “Not likely, Bane.”
He chuckled, the sound warm and low. “Never say never, Maggie darling.”
In the kitchen, I reached for the plates, then stopped, hearing his voice, now pitched low and angry. A female voice was speaking, and my heart sank when I recognized who it was.
“You are doing this to spite me! I know it.”
“Get over yourself, Mother.”
“You have always done this. Found ways to hurt me. Belittle the values I hold so dear.”
Alex snorted. “The only things you hold dear are money and social status. I’m interested in neither. And frankly, the reasons I’m marrying her don’t involve you in the slightest.”
“You are going to listen?—”
“No. I have no interest in hearing what you have to say. Either of you.”
I set down the plates, hurrying to the door.
Alex stood in front of his mother and brother, all three of them glaring and looking unhappy.
Terry spotted me, a lecherous grin crossing his face. “Ah, the little assistant, now fiancée, appears.”
I was suddenly aware I was wearing a pair of leggings and one of Alex’s T-shirts. No bra or underwear. The shirt came down to my thighs and was loose, the color dark so he couldn’t see anything, but somehow, he made me feel as if he did.
“It’s fine, Magnolia,” Alex said. “They’re leaving. And whoever let them up just got themselves fired.”
Terry smirked. “Money talks, brother. Mine louder than yours, I daresay.”
Alex shook his head. “Whatever makes you sleep better. And stop calling me brother. We are in no way related.”
“You cannot marry her,” his mother informed Alex, indicating me and looking as if I were a bug she wanted to squash under her shoe. I glanced down, biting my lip to stop from laughing. She had to be agitated. She was wearing two different black pumps. “We came to put a stop to this ridiculousness.”
“I’m an adult, Mother. I can marry whomever I choose.” He slipped his arm around me. “And I choose her.”
“She’s no one!”
“She’s everything to me.”
My heart melted, and I wished with everything in me it was true. I knew without a doubt I had fallen for him. Hard. I only wished he felt the same, but I knew his words were simply uttered to anger his mother.
Terry laughed. “Gone sentimental now, have you, Alexander?”
“I won’t try explaining anything to you,” Alex stated dryly. “I don’t have enough time to break all my words into tiny ones so you can understand.”
I bit back another grin, but Terry saw my expression, as did his mother. It only angered them more.
“I will cut you out of my life if you marry her,” she threatened.
“Then I’ll take her to Vegas tonight and seal the deal. I want no part of your life, Mother. So cutting me out is the best present I could ask for.”
“You’ll embarrass me. The whole family. Marrying a nobody.”
“I won’t be in your life, so it doesn’t matter.”
“Why must you continue to hurt me? You have always been so difficult!”
Alex shook his head, looking sorrowful. “I think your expectations have been the difficult thing.”
“She only wants you for your money.”
Alex began to laugh. “Which you think I have none of. So, again, no problem.” Then he kissed my head. “And since you don’t know her, I’ll thank you to keep your mouth shut when it comes to your opinion. Magnolia is the most incredible woman I have ever known.”
Terry narrowed his eyes. “Maybe you need a prenup. If her heart is as pure as you say, then it’ll prove she’s not a gold digger.”
“Maybe you need to shut your mouth,” Alex snarled. “Or I’ll shut it for you.”
“Stop!” I demanded, stepping away from Alex. “Stop all of this.”
They all stared at me.
“I’m not interested in his money. Alex is amazing. Talented. Warm and caring.” I shook my head. “How he ended up that way, given the lot of you, I have no idea, but he is. He must take after his real father.” I turned to his mother. “Why must you criticize him all the time? You don’t even know him! Do you realize how many awards and accolades he has won for his work on environmental issues? How incredible his designs are? How respected he is? All you care about is your image. Your world. If you knew him at all, you would realize he is exactly the son you should be shouting about. You think a name and money give you prestige? What about honor and integrity? Class and manners? Good God, lady, grow up. All you do is belittle him and nag him. Stop it!”
Then I turned to his brother. “As for you, I have read enough to know why Alex doesn’t want you in his life. Your so-called victories in court—mostly defending low-life criminals, your constant revolving door of women. You have no morals! You change law firms more often than I change my socks. No doubt before they fire you, given the stories I’ve read.” I swung my furious gaze back to Mrs. Johnstone. “And you praise him and ignore your biological son! What kind of morals does that show you have?”
I turned my venom back to Terry. “You think being in the papers and the gossip columns is what makes you a man? Alex is a hundred times the man you are. You might have your stepmother drinking the Kool-Aid, but one day, once you end up without a career, drain all your money away, and start dipping into her accounts, she is going to see you for what you are. Unless—” I snorted. “You can marry some idiot heiress who is as blind as your stepmother.” I pointed a finger between them. “You are both greedy, nasty people. Leave Alex alone. Leave us alone. You are not welcome here.”
There was a beat of silence, and Alex pulled me to his chest. “I think Magnolia has said everything that needs to be said. Leave. Don’t come back. You aren’t welcome here or at the office.”
Terry’s face was almost purple in his rage. His mother’s cheeks were flushed a deep red, her eyes almost silver with ice. “I have never been more ashamed of you,” Mrs. Johnstone hissed. “Letting her speak to us that way. I will not stand for it!”
“The truth is never pretty, Mother. Magnolia said what had to be said.”
“You will regret this.”
“I highly doubt it.” Alex stepped to the door, opening it. “Get out.”
Terry shook his head. “I hope you rot in hell.”
Alex smirked. “You first— brother ,” he added sarcastically, looking pleased as Terry stomped out.
His mother stopped, glaring at me. “You caused all this.”
I laughed sardonically. “I think you’re the key factor here. And you might want to check your shoes when you get home.”
She glanced down, the detail I found so humorous sending her over the edge. “You little—” She raised her hand, and in an instant, Alex was in front of me, grabbing her wrist.
“If you dare,” he snarled, “I will have you arrested for battery.” He leaned close. “This entire encounter was videotaped, Mother, so you’ll have none of your lies to wiggle out of it. How would all your friends and upper-class associates feel about you being convicted of striking an innocent woman in her own home?”
She wrenched her hand away, glaring. “She doesn’t deserve to have the last name Bane.”
Alex regarded her somberly. “That shouldn’t bother you since you were very fast to remarry and change your name after Father died.”
“I am still associated with that name. With you. What you do reflects on me.”
He narrowed his eyes. “I have done nothing to be ashamed of. Tell me, Mother, can you or Terry say the same thing? Or your sainted husband?”
I thought she was going to strike him, except she recalled his threat and pulled back, stiffening her shoulders. “I no longer consider you my son.”
“A good day all around, then,” he replied, reopening the door. “Get out, Mrs. Johnstone. You are no longer welcome here. Not that you ever really were.”
She flounced out, and he shut the door, his shoulders dropping. He rested his forehead on the wood, a long exhale escaping.
I didn’t know what to do. I wanted to touch him. Get him to talk to me. But I wasn’t sure if he wanted that.
He straightened, turning to me.
“Dinner and a show,” he muttered. “Didn’t expect that.”
“Alex—”
He held up his hand. “It’s fine, Magnolia.”
“No, it’s not.”
For a moment, he said nothing. Then he spoke, his voice filled with wonder. “You defended me. You told them off.”
“Of course I did.” The words were out before I could stop them. “I love you.”
His eyes widened and his brow furrowed as he processed my words.
“You. Love. Me?”
I couldn’t stand the space between us. I rushed forward, flinging my arms around his neck and holding him close. “I love you.”
It took a moment. Then his arms came around me, holding me so tight I could barely breathe. He buried his face into my neck, breathing deeply. He pulled me even closer, not speaking, not denying my words. He held me as if he needed my touch to hold him together. As if I was what was keeping him upright. He spread his hands open across my back, and I felt every inch of him against me. Solid, strong, yet in such need of my embrace, I knew I couldn’t let go.
I would hold him until he felt my love. Until it filled him up and he could stand on his own.
And I would be right beside him, ready to fill him up again anytime he needed it.
BANE
I held her as tight as I could. No one had ever defended me the way she had done. Stood up and yelled at the two people who liked to criticize and tear me down. I had long since stopped caring what they thought and let their words roll off my back, but there was a small part of me that still cringed at their hateful vitriol.
But with Magnolia wrapped around me, none of it hurt. I had her.
And she’d said the words to me.
I love you.
No one had ever said those words to me before today.
I only wished I were capable of saying them back. Of feeling them.
But my mother and her cold ways had long since stripped me of those emotions.
I cared. I truly cared. I wanted Magnolia safe, appreciated, even cherished, but I couldn’t love.
However, I could make sure she would never want for anything.
There was another knock, and I felt Magnolia tense.
“That better be some spring rolls,” I muttered. “Anyone else, and they’re getting a punch in the jaw.”
I stepped back, instantly missing the warmth of her against me. Wrapped in her arms, I had the sense nothing could hurt me. She wouldn’t allow it.
It was disconcerting, to say the least.
But I liked it.
I opened the door, taking the bag from the usual deliveryman. I tipped him well and went to the kitchen, setting the bag on the counter. Magnolia was quiet, staring at the island, tracing a finger over the design in the quartz repeatedly.
“Hey,” I called.
She looked up, clearly distraught.
“They’re gone. I refuse to let them take away the evening we had planned. I want this time with you, Maggie darling. Us. Okay?”
She nodded halfheartedly.
“I want Chinese, a movie, and you under me later, groaning my name. Maybe on top too.”
A glimmer of a smile crossed her face.
“Is that all you think of?”
“When you’re close, yes. Now, if it would make you feel better, I have a key to Terry’s place I stole once, planning to play a joke on him. I never did, but we could go hide in the dark and jump him when he gets home. Leave him naked and tied up with the doors open. Call the rags he loves to have his name in and let them find him. Then we could go to my mother’s and rearrange her pristine wardrobe so she couldn’t find anything. Steal all her matching shoes and only leave her with one of each. That would hurt her more than physical violence.”
That brought a grin to her lips. “Did you see?” she said with a giggle.
I returned her grin, handing her a spring roll.
“Once you pointed it out. Which I loved, by the way. She was as horrified by the idea of me shitting my pants in public.”
She nodded, sliding onto a stool and taking a bite of her spring roll. “Same thing in her eyes.”
“Yep. Great shame on the family name.”
“What is with that? She’s not a Bane, so why is she so concerned?”
I was happy for her questions. It meant she wasn’t dwelling. “The name Bane is still known in the legal world. My dad was a great lawyer, and his reputation was stellar. She still pulls it out as a double whammy when needed.”
“Double-dipping.”
I chuckled. “She’s an expert at it.”
I took a bite of my spring roll and chewed. “Doug Johnstone was also a huge name in the legal world. Very well-known and represented the wealthy in a lot of trials. He had a reputation for helping the rich stay rich. His first wife died, and he married my mother about two years later.” I paused. “She was very beautiful when she was young, and I imagine she caught his eye. My dad was a good businessman and we were okay financially, but not on Doug’s level. He was and is a snob. She was arm candy. Once she married him, every grandiose idea in her head became the norm for her. I was the fly in the ointment, so to speak. I refused to take his name, then later I heard my mother say she was glad I hadn’t. So was Doug. Neither wanted me to be a Johnstone. So, she uses Bane when it suits her. She doesn’t want either name sullied, and she thinks I have never lived up to my potential.”
“She’s blind.”
I grinned, opening a container and passing it to her. “You know it. Now, enough about my family history. I want you to eat. You’re going to need it for later.”
“Whatever.”
I grinned. “I’ll give you whatever soon enough.”
She frowned, and I leaned close. “Hey. Leave it. They’re gone.”
She met my gaze. “I hate that they hurt you.”
“Then it’s a good thing I have you, isn’t it?”
She furrowed her brow but nodded.
We ate in silence for a while. Despite what had happened, I was hungry. Somehow with Magnolia beside me, her words still in my head, nothing my so-called family said had any meaning. I studied her as we ate. I slid closer, feeding her pieces of sweet-and-sour chicken, garlicky green beans, steamed dumplings. I needed her to eat. I refused to allow them into our space.
After dinner, she put away the leftovers and made some of her foamy coffees. We sipped, eating the lychee nuts I had ordered, picking them from the ice bath one by one and enjoying the unique flavor. She nibbled on the fortune cookies, crunching them and laughing over the fortunes.
The sun was setting, and we went out to the patio, watching as it sank, turning the sky a myriad of colors. I sipped a brandy, then stood behind Magnolia, linking my arms around her. She leaned back into me with a sigh.
“Marry me.”
“Why? To get back at your mother?”
“Frankly, she has nothing to do with it. I don’t care about her feelings one way or another.”
“Then why?”
“Because we suit. We like each other. You make me…feel.”
“I make you feel. But not enough to love.”
“I’m not capable of that.”
“I want more,” she replied, her voice sad.
“I can’t love, Myers. I can care. I can protect. Provide. We can have a good life together.”
She was silent.
“It solves so many things. You’ll have a great place to live. A partner who will support you in everything. You can do whatever you want with your life.”
“Except have a husband who loves me.”
“Maybe what we’ll have will be better. Desire, affection, friendship, respect. Those things mean a great deal.”
“What about children?”
“I don’t want kids,” I replied honestly.
“Why?”
“Magnolia, I have no idea how to be a father. If I’d make a good one. My childhood was so awful, I have no clue how to nurture a child.” I paused. “If I could even love them.”
“I think you could learn. And I think if you open yourself up, you could love them.”
“It’s not a chance I want to take.” I swallowed. “But you want kids, I assume.”
“I’m not sure. But I do know I want the option if I decide.”
I wasn’t sure what to say. “Maybe we could revisit that subject.” It was all I could offer. I couldn’t see changing my mind, but we could discuss it.
She turned in my arms. “Why?” she asked again. “Why do you want to marry me ? You can get companionship with someone else.”
“No. Because of your heart. How you care. How you love. I might not be able to do it, but with you, it’s effortless. You offer love so freely. In your touch. Your actions.”
“And what would I get from it?”
“Security. Wealth. Permanent custody of Hedgy.” I paused, dipping down and kissing her. “Of me.”
“But not your heart.”
“There are other parts of me so much more useful, Myers.” I dragged my mouth down her neck. “So much more enjoyable.”
She whimpered, and I took the opportunity to cover her mouth with mine, kissing her until she was shaking in my arms.
“Think about it,” I begged.
“Okay.”
I took that as progress. It wasn’t a yes, but I had a feeling it would be soon enough.