Chapter 59
ALEX
“Brooke?”
She jumps, as if drawn back into the present.
She looks up, her green eyes slightly dazed.
“Brooke, are you okay? I’ve called your name about five times.”
She blinks.
“Sorry, I was miles away,” she says with a smile.
I continue to stare at her, and she sighs.
“Honestly, I’m fine. I didn’t sleep very well last night.”
I raise an eyebrow. We don’t spend our weeknights together, giving each other space. Not that I want that, but I don’t want to crowd her.
She sits back in her chair. “One of the neighbours was having a party,” she says, her hand twisting her necklace. “I woke up on the sofa at three.”
“Therein lies your problem,” I say, with a perfectly straight face. “If you’d been at mine…”
She opens her eyes wide and stares at me.
My lips twitch. I know we’ve agreed not to talk about our relationship in the office, but seeing her out of sorts, I need to know I’m not the only one who’s caught up in this.
She smirks.
“Miss me?” she says, inclining her head.
“Absolutely.”
“I’ll see you later.”
It’s our code for her coming over tonight after work. It’s the start of the weekend, and I’ve been counting down since Monday.
She rubs her neck.
“I’ll give you a massage later. Work out some of those knots.”
“I think David might have something to say about that,” a voice says from behind me.
I spin to find Callie pushing a pram towards us, her eyes flicking between Brooke and me.
I turn back to Brooke, who’s doing a great impression of a horrified goldfish.
“Callie,” she says, jumping up and making her way around the desk, pulling her in for a hug. “You should have let us know you were coming.”
Callie lets out a bark of laughter. “What, and miss out on the salacious gossip I’ve just overheard? Not a chance.”
She turns to me. “Now, now.”
“You better get in my office,” I say, looking over her shoulder. She might be smiling, but Brooke won’t be if anyone else overhears.
“I’ll get you a drink,” Brooke announces. “Then I want a cuddle.”
Callie grins. “Fennel, please.”
“One fennel tea coming up. Alex?”
“Usual, please.”
I hold open the door as Callie pushes a sleeping Logan into my office. It’s been three months since his birth, and she’s glowing. Motherhood is good for her.
“You and Brooke, huh? Actually, together now?”
“Brooke and me,” I say, knowing there’s no point in denying it, not to Callie.
“You don’t seem surprised?”
She stares at me and inclines her head. “No. I could see the sparks from the moment you two met.”
I quirk a brow.
“A woman’s intuition,” she says. “I’m just surprised you’ve acted on it.”
“Why does everyone keep saying that?”
“People know?”
“I’ll amend that. Enzo said the same thing.”
“That should tell you something,” she says with a smirk.
I frown.
“Don’t take this the wrong way, but you are a stickler for the rules. You keep tight control over your emotions, your business and your personal life. Brooke is younger, your subordinate.”
I sink into my chair.
“Are you going to lecture me on how wrong it is that I’ve got involved with her?”
“Should I be?” she asks, inclining her head. “Let me ask you this, are you happy?”
I nod.
“Then no. You deserve to be happy, Alex. The other things don’t matter.”
A knock sounds, and Brooke enters.
She looks in, uncertainty in her eyes.
“Come in,” I say, motioning to the chair next to Callie.
“Just like old times,” Callie says with a smile.
I remember Brooke sitting silently next to Callie as we went through the day’s tasks, taking copious notes.
“How are you?” Brooke asks, pulling me back into the present. “Motherhood suits you.”
“I think so. I thought I’d be bored, but… I’m loving every moment, even the sleepless nights.”
“And David?” I ask.
“Logan has his daddy jumping through hoops. He’s even getting up and doing the three AM feed.”
“That’s why he’s been blowing the boys off,” I say.
“Needs his beauty sleep when he can,” she adds, but knowing my friend, I’m sure he’s loving every minute of his parental duties.
Logan starts to grizzle in his pram.
Brooke is up and staring down at him, her face filled with wonder.
“He’s gorgeous,” she says.
“You can get him out and have a cuddle if you want,” Callie says.
Brooke’s face is a picture as she grins and stoops, scooping him up, cradling him against her chest.
“Hello, gorgeous boy,” she says, her eyes never leaving his face as he blinks up at her.
“Would you like to give him a bottle? He’s a hungry devil, and I’m having to substitute some of his feeds.”
“Really?” Brooke asks.
“Please. He’s fussy when I try to give him anything other than breast milk.”
“My sister-in-law had the same issue. My brothers would fight over who was going to feed him,” she says, offering more insight into her family life.
She takes a seat as Callie undoes a bottle carrier and hands her the bottle.
I watch in fascination as she feeds Logan like an expert.
“You look like you’ve had practice,” Callie says.
“A little,” she says, keeping her focus on the baby in her arms, cooing until he’s done. She drapes a linen cloth over her shoulder, settles him against it and rubs circles on his back. He snuggles in, letting out a tiny belch.
My chest constricts.
“Oh wow, I need you at two a.m.,” Callie says, her eyes never leaving Brooke and her son.
“He’s adorable,” Brooke says, moving him away and handing him back to Callie. “I’d better get back to work. Those reports on my desk need to be out by the end of the day.”
I want to tell her she doesn’t have to, but that’s not true. We’ve also talked about life in and out of the office.
“It was lovely to see you, Brooke.”
“You, too.”
She leaves us, closing the door behind her.
Callie turns, and I can’t miss the look in her eyes.
“This isn’t just a social call,” I say. “You’re here to hand in your resignation.”
“You always could read me.”
“Motherhood looks good on you.”
“Thank you.”
“Your health?”
“All back to normal. Although I’ll have to watch out if we’re blessed with another.”
“Already?”
Callie shakes her head. “Not just yet, but we won’t wait long. This little button was a miracle. There are no guarantees, and I’m not getting any younger.”
“Callie…”
“Don’t worry, I’ll not say anything,” she says. “But I’m worried about the perceptiveness of everyone working here if they haven’t noticed. The way you look at her… the way she looks at you.”
I open my mouth.
“Alex, be careful. I love Brooke. She seems like a lovely woman, but she’s not from here. She may want to go home at some point. She clearly has a family. Be prepared for that.”
I can’t pretend it’s not something I’ve thought about.
If Brooke leaves, it’s not like I, as CEO, can up sticks and move St Clair’s headquarters to London. And the more we talk, the more she lets slip about her life and family. It’s clearly a complex situation. I just hope when she’s ready, she’ll trust me with what happened.
“I know,” I say, running a hand through my hair.
She shoots me a look. “Do you?”
Her expression is caught somewhere between sympathy and maybe you’ve got this.
“Only time will tell, but I can’t change the way I feel.”
She smiles, this one reaching her eyes. “The guys are going to be made up,” she says, changing the subject. “Dante has placed a bet on how long it would take for you and Brooke to get together.”
“I’m going to kill him,” I say, rolling my eyes. “How do you know?”
“David, of course. He and Dante are the only ones who’ve met Brooke. They’ve been arguing about it, especially since you’ve been absent from boys’ nights.”
“I’ve been busy.”
She winks. “I can see.”