Part 2
Alex tried to stop her foot from tapping nervously, but it was hard. It had been a long time since she’d been to a family gathering. When her parents had betrayed her, and she had cut contact, any family-oriented events stopped. Gray Tower had been her family. Now, she had a new one: Nathan’s.
Her parents were permanently cut off from her life.
Nathan had told her about Dominic Burton, her parents, and what he had done.
She had been relieved and grateful that Burton was dead.
As for her parents, she was deeply hurt and angry at what her father had done, and she was completely fine with them being harassed for the rest of their lives.
Nathan had told her about Sally—in a roundabout way.
He had thrown out a hypothetical situation in which Sally could have survived, and she inferred from there.
That way, she didn’t have to keep information from Miles, and she and Nathan didn’t have secrets between them.
It was a little sketchy, but it was the best they could do.
He had also started at Gray Tower a few weeks ago and loved it, but they didn’t want that to become an issue down the road.
“You okay?” Nathan asked, taking her hand and squeezing it gently.
“Oh, fine,” she replied. “Just spaced out for a second. I’m a little overwhelmed.”
Nathan looked around Logan and Keira’s living room and scowled. There were a lot of people crammed in the house. Besides Alex, Nathan, Logan, and Keira (who was stuck in a recliner so she could be part of the group), John Stratton had decided to stick around and show up to this.
Then, there were Logan and Nathan’s estranged parents, Beverly and Charles.
That reunion had been extremely uncomfortable for Nathan.
He didn’t have to do it, but he felt responsible for creating family chaos, even if it had been brought on by his parents’ behavior.
Alex was proud of him. He wasn’t sure if he’d see them much after this, since they would never sit down and discuss the reasons why he left, but at least they could have this.
Finally, because Alex didn’t have anyone in her family, Miles and his wife, Candice, had graciously offered to come over and support her.
She wasn’t super close to Candice, as Miles had been estranged from his wife for quite some time.
But now that they were back together, Alex had been seeing her more.
She was a wonderful person and had immediately accepted Alex in a similar capacity to Miles.
“So, Alexandria,” Nathan’s mother began, glancing at Miles and Candice. “It’s nice to meet the Bryants, but where are your parents?”
Nathan rubbed his head and groaned.
“We talked about this,” he said. “Where Alex’s parents are is irrelevant. Miles and Candice are here for her.”
Alex squeezed his hand sympathetically. She appreciated how he stood up for her. His parents were intimidating. Beverly, despite her sweet demeanor, had some nasty claws, and Charles could be downright mean.
Miles was about to speak when Candice waved her hand.
She stepped closer to Beverly, her five-foot-eight frame heightened even more by three-inch heels.
She hovered over Nathan’s mother, who was closer to Alex’s height.
Candice was more put together, wearing a beautiful yellow dress.
Her hair was natural now and framed her gorgeous face in soft coils, giving her a poised and professional look.
Beverly’s hair was short, asymmetrical, and made her look tired.
“I consider Alex like a daughter,” Candice said, her eyes narrowing at Beverly.
“After I lost my own daughter years ago, Miles had the foresight to create a company to honor her by serving justice for those without a voice. I fought with my husband for years, thinking his company was an attempt to keep our daughter’s memory alive.
I was wrong. I fully support Gray Tower’s cause, and Logan, Keira, Alex, and now Nathan are all making that happen.
“Alex has been through a lot. She is a special woman. You should be ecstatic to have her as part of your family.”
Beverly swallowed hard and nodded.
“Ye—yes, of course,” she said, taking a step back.
“I’m sorry. It’s been nice to see you both.
Alex has been wonderful. I couldn’t believe it when I heard Nathan was alive, let alone had such a beautiful and sweet woman with him.
I don’t think either of our boys could have picked better.
” She looked between Keira and Alex, a nervous smile on her face.
Candice stepped back, nodding. Her message had been read loud and clear.
“Just noting that we’re not married, Candice,” Alex said teasingly.
She felt like the thick fog had been lifted over the room.
Charles and Beverly had been grumpy the whole time they’d been together.
Candice putting Beverly in her place had changed the tone.
Alex was happy it was she who confronted Nathan’s mom.
Miles could have done it and would have, if necessary, but Candice had done it to solidify her place as a part of Alex’s new family.
But as suddenly as the tension had left, it was replaced by awkwardness. No one spoke after Alex’s joke. Everyone was looking at one another uneasily.
After a few moments without anyone saying anything, Alex finally said, “What? What did I say?”
“Well, I was going to do this later, but since you’re forcing the issue…” Nathan began before he slid down from the couch and got down on one knee in front of her.
Oh, my gosh. Oh, my gosh, she chanted in her head.
“I know we haven’t known each other that long,” he told her. “It was only four months ago when we met under, uh…interesting circumstances.”
A grin formed on Alex’s face, thinking back to the chaotic time he had kidnapped her. She had been so scared, yet she had also known deep down that he was safe.
“I must have known you were mine because I couldn’t let you go, no matter how much I knew I should,” he continued.
“I’m glad you didn’t,” Alex said quietly.
Nathan smiled and said, “We can thank Stratton for that.” John, who had been sulking in the back of the room, arms crossed, rolled his eyes and shook his head.
“But seriously, Alex, you were the one to see me for me, not what I was. You believed in me when I didn’t believe in myself.
You stayed with me, even when you had every right to cut me out of your life.
“I love you so much, and I can’t stand the thought of wasting any more time.” He pulled out a blue velvet box and opened it. “Will you marry me?”
Alex blinked rapidly as she stared at the proffered ring. How had he known? She hadn’t told a soul. It was ridiculously expensive, and she wouldn’t expect anyone to get it for her. But here it was, the ring design she had seen a month ago and fallen in love with because it made her think of Nathan.
It was a singular, emerald-cut blue diamond, two carats, in a gold band.
The band itself had smaller diamonds around it.
Her search engine algorithm decided she needed to see engagement rings.
She would have scrolled right past until she saw a picture of this one.
The color reminded her so much of Nathan.
It was the deepest blue and made her think of the first time she saw those troubled blue eyes.
This ring also cost over fifteen thousand dollars, and any thought of wearing it went straight out of her mind.
Sally hadn’t said anything, had she?
“No. No, no, no,” Alex said to herself in shock at the extravagant ring.
Nathan’s expression dimmed, and he looked like a kicked puppy.
“No, you won’t marry me?” he asked cautiously. “I mean, we could wait—”
“No!” Alex exclaimed. “Gosh, I am screwing this all up! Of course, I would screw up my own proposal. Yes, I’ll marry you, Nathan. But no, you can’t give me that ring. It’s too much.”
“Do you like it?” he asked, a smile beginning to form on his face.
“Well, yes, but how did you know I even wanted it? And again, I cannot stress enough that it is too expensive. You just started at Gray Tower, and—”
“Don’t worry about it,” he told her and grinned. “I was given quite a large payment from my last job.”
She cocked her head and questioned, “John?”
Nathan shook his head and said, “Isaac. Apparently, he wanted Victor dead more than I did.”
“I find that hard to believe,” Alex said.
“Believe it,” John said simply from the back of the room.
Everyone froze, wondering what that cryptic statement meant, but Nathan brought the conversation back on track.
“But…how did you know?” she asked.
“A little birdie told me,” Nathan said and winked.
It had to be Sally. Alex would bet money on it; she would have to ask Nathan later. Right now, she just wanted to kiss him.