Chapter 16
Alex was busily making a few more Christmassy decorations to sell in her shop.
Since getting back from their visit to Santa there had been a steady flow of customers all looking for last-minute gifts.
Her book page baubles were proving very popular as gifts so she was making more of those.
They didn’t take too long and she had a bit of a production line going where she was trying to make ten different ones at the same time.
Zara was also making a few, and Alex had promised her that if any of hers sold all the money would be hers.
Zara’s were simple but really effective.
Alex looked around the shop. Half of her stock had been emptied over the last few days so she wanted to try and restock as much as possible.
She was still open tomorrow and probably until lunch on Christmas Eve, but that was up to her if she wanted to work that late.
She might just take the day off to do Christmas activities with Zara.
‘Hello!’
Alex looked up to see Violet standing in the doorway and her heart leapt. Quinn and Alex had been intending to pop by to see Violet that evening to talk to her about their relationship. Quinn had gone to talk to Tina so she felt a bit vulnerable possibly having to face her wrath by herself.
Fortunately, Zara was there to break the ice.
‘Nanny!’ Zara abandoned her craft efforts and ran over to give Violet a hug.
‘Hello, my beautiful girl,’ Violet said, enveloping Zara in her arms.
‘We went to see Santa this morning and I asked him for a new dad and a new husband for Mum,’ Zara told her.
‘He asked Quinn if he wanted to be my dad and he said yes and that he loved me very much. And he asked him if he wanted to be Mummy’s husband and he said yes and now I think they might get married and I’ll probably be the bridesmaid.
Harley is going to be bridesmaid at her mummy’s wedding to Jake so I think I’ll probably be bridesmaid too for Mum and Quinn.
And then I’ll have a new daddy and I’m so excited because I love Quinn too. ’
Alex stared at Zara in horror. If Alex had been hoping to approach the topic gently that had gone straight out the window.
‘I see,’ Violet said, giving nothing away. ‘Why don’t you go and get us all some mince pie muffins from the café.’ She opened her handbag and gave Zara some money. Zara ran out of the room.
‘Violet, we were going to tell you, but everything is so new and—’ Alex stalled as Violet put her hand up to stem the tide.
‘I’m not mad.’
‘You’re not?’
‘No, and you know I understand better than anyone about keeping relationships a secret, I’m doing that exact same thing myself.’
‘I wanted to tell you when you were here the other day but I wasn’t sure if it was best coming from Quinn or if we should at least tell you together.’
‘It would have been nice to be told rather than finding out from that busybody, Jacqualyn Rumsey, but I long suspected you two had a connection. Quinn moved to Lovegrove Bay so he could be there for you. He moved his studio to here to be close to you. He never told me but that boy has been in love with you for years.’
‘I’ve been in love with him for years too,’ Alex said, quietly.
She nodded. ‘I think he held off out of respect for Liam and out of respect for you and your grief.’
‘Yes, and I held off out of respect for you.’
Violet’s eyebrows shot up. ‘For me?’
‘You’d lost a son. I knew it would be inappropriate for me to move on with Quinn so soon after Liam’s death.’
‘I was heartbroken that Liam died, of course I was, coupled with guilt that I could have done more to help him with his drink problem. But knowing how he died I always wondered if he had reverted back to his old ways. Then Quinn told me what happened eighteen months before he died, that his best friend died and he’d snapped.
I always knew something like that would push him over the edge.
But I know how awful he was to be around when he was drunk.
If you lived with that for eighteen months I imagine it was somewhat of a relief that he died. ’
Alex looked at her in surprise. ‘I was never relieved that he died, I never wished for that, but I was relieved it was over. He was rude and nasty to me every day and to wake up knowing that I wouldn’t have to deal with his vile moods that day or ever again was a huge relief.’
She hadn’t wanted to tell Violet any of this before as she hadn’t wanted to ruin her memories of her son. But Violet had lived through it too, before their estrangement, she knew only too well what Liam was capable of.
‘I’m so sorry,’ Violet said. ‘I wish we’d spoken about this before but I was so desperate to have a relationship with Zara after the funeral, I didn’t want to pry too much into your life and start asking you questions about Liam’s alcoholism.
But I would never have thought badly of you for moving on, no matter how soon it was after his death. ’
‘I grieved the loss of our relationship eighteen months before he died,’ Alex said. ‘I think that’s why my heart fell in love so quickly, I was ready to move on even if I felt so guilty doing so.’
‘You have nothing to feel guilty for.’
Alex bit her lip. ‘Is it weird that I’m moving on with Quinn? Half the town seems to think it is.’
‘Half the town can mind their own bloody business. And most of them have secrets far worse and more sordid than you could even imagine. It’s not weird at all.
You spent so much time together after Liam died because Quinn wanted to be there for you and Zara so it’s only natural that you two connected on that level.
I’m happy for you. Quinn is a good man and he’ll look after you with a fierce loyalty.
He’s never been in love before so I’m so glad he’s found that with you.
You are a wonderful woman and I think you’ll be good for each other. ’
Just then Quinn arrived in Alex’s studio, clearly having run up the stairs.
‘I saw your car in the car park,’ he said to his mother and gestured, obviously a little out of breath. He focussed his attention on Alex. ‘Is everything OK?’
‘Everything is fine,’ Violet answered for her. ‘I’m very happy for you both. Now let me go and see how Zara is doing with those muffins.’ She moved to the door and then turned back. ‘But if I have to hear about your engagement from bloody Jacqualyn Rumsey, there will be hell to pay.’
‘I promise you’ll be the first to know,’ Alex said. ‘Well, after Zara. In fact she’ll probably be the one to tell you she’ll be so excited.’
Violet smiled. ‘I look forward to it.’
With that she left them alone.
Quinn quickly crossed the room and took her in his arms. ‘Was she OK?’
‘She was more than OK with it, she’s really happy.’
‘Really?’
Alex nodded. ‘Well, she’s not impressed she found out about it from someone other than us but she’s happy. She saw it coming a mile off. She says we’ll be good for each other.’
‘Well, you’re certainly good for me.’
She smiled.
‘I am relieved she’s happy,’ Quinn said. ‘With Dad and Liam gone, she’s only got me and I’d never want to do anything to hurt her. I mean, if she wasn’t happy we’d have to try and win her round because there was no way I’m ever giving up on you, but I’m glad we won’t see any resistance there.’
‘And maybe, if she ever starts dating someone, you can remember this and keep an open mind,’ Alex suggested.
He shook his head. ‘I don’t think that will happen, she loved my dad.’
‘You never know when love might strike, sometimes it appears in the unlikeliest of places. Take Xander and Immy for example, who’d have ever seen them two together? I mean, it may never happen for them, love, but even them sleeping together is a bit of a shock, so keep an open mind.’
‘I thought I saw Mum with a man the other day actually, but I couldn’t be sure it was her as she was hiding her face in the menu in a café. But even just seeing her hair and clothes, I’m pretty sure it was her.’
Alex decided to change the subject. She certainly didn’t want to drop poor Violet in it.
‘How did it go with Tina?’ she asked.
‘That went surprisingly well too. You might even get a public apology from her.’
Alex laughed. ‘I’ll wait with bated breath for that one.’
‘Yeah, I’m not sure that will happen either but she did say she was sorry and regrets posting what she did.’
‘Well that’s something. Can you go round and speak to everyone else in the town too?’
‘If that’s what it takes to make you happy then I will.’
She smiled with love for him. ‘You make me happy, I don’t need their validation. Zara and Violet are happy. I don’t need anything more than that. Let the people talk if that’s how they get their kicks. I know what we have is special and there’s nothing that can stand in the way of that.’
Alex watched as Zara helped Quinn around the ice skating rink.
They had been skating for about half an hour and Alex had just got off the ice to have a rest. Although she could skate, she felt like she was using muscles in her legs and feet she didn’t even know she had.
Quinn, however, was skating like Bambi on ice, all shaky legs and feet going in opposite directions.
Zara was holding his hand and very patiently trying to teach him how to do it. She looked so ridiculously happy.
God, Alex loved this man so much. He was everything she ever wanted in a partner and so much more.
He completed her, made her whole again. And suddenly she realised what St Nick meant when he referred to his girlfriend or friend as his other half.
Being together just made sense like they were two halves of a whole.
And that had been the sticking point between being able to pinpoint Quinn as St Nick. She couldn’t understand why he would refer to her as his other half when they weren’t together at that point. But now she understood it. He had always been the other half of her heart.