Chapter Seventeen #2
She reached out and placed her hand over his heart.
The touch was affectionate, but also subtly reminding him of their invisible boundary.
He could understand why. Their relationship wasn’t real, and she’d been hurt once before by a liar – he knew how brutal that could be.
‘Thank you. But I’m not stupid, I know I don’t fit the ideal body type.
That’s why people think they can say abusive shit and get away with it.
I’m not under any illusions with you, so don’t worry. ’
‘I think you are beautiful and incredibly sexy,’ he said, unable to let her think otherwise. ‘You didn’t think I’d choose just anyone to be my fake girlfriend, did you?’
Her chocolate eyes widened, and she was too sweet, too delicious for him to resist. He sat up and twisted his body over hers until she flopped onto her back with surprise.
Leaning forward, desperate for her to see the truth in his feelings for her, he pressed his mouth firmly against hers, and she softened beneath him.
Boundaries, he reminded himself harshly and raised his head. ‘I want you to know that, even if our relationship isn’t real, my attraction to you is, and I don’t give a fuck about beauty standards, I know what I like, and it’s you.’
Shock, confusion and arousal filled her face as she stared up at him.
He brushed aside some of her hair, allowing himself to feel the silky softness between his fingers. ‘Go to sleep, you’ll need your rest to face Holly’s tournament tomorrow.’
She closed her eyes, her full black lashes fanning across her olive cheeks.
She’d once told him that her family was a melting pot of different cultures, just like the East End.
English, Welsh, Spanish, Polish and Greek were all part of her tapestry of heritage.
So many countries, in fact, that she didn’t know them all.
That’s London for you, she’d told him cheerfully.
Everything about her was uniquely wonderful.
Alex got up from the bed, but didn’t move to the bathroom immediately, instead allowing himself the indulgence of admiring her now that her eyes were closed.
She was beautiful and warm, and the kindest woman he’d ever met.
Even exhausted, she’d been attentive and gracious with his family, including Savannah’s overbearing younger sister Holly, who he suspected wanted to build a film career to rival her sister’s and wasn’t afraid to walk over people in the process.
He needed to keep an eye on Holly’s nasty teasing, and make sure she didn’t bully Ellie.
He went into the lounge area of their suite and noticed that they’d already drunk a lot of the bottled water.
Ellie would probably be thirsty when she woke up after all those punch cocktails, so he decided to go and replenish their supplies.
Downstairs was quiet, and he presumed everyone had decided to spend the rest of the evening in their own suites. He grabbed a large bottle of mineral water from the kitchen, and was about to head upstairs when he noticed the veranda doors were still open in the sun room.
He’d always liked sitting out on the veranda in the evening, so he went outside to the swing and, after placing the water on a nearby table, checked his phone.
There were hundreds of alerts about his relationship with Ellie.
Most were positive, some were a little strange, and a few were downright cruel – the sort of horrible bullshit Ellie had described earlier when she’d told him about David.
Criticism over her curves and suggestions that Alex was some kind of pervert for finding a woman with a shapely figure attractive, or, worse, that he was encouraging her into an unhealthy lifestyle.
Alex immediately dismissed it as the usual Hollywood nonsense.
Growing up, he’d regularly seen the scrutiny and pressure his mother had faced about her appearance.
Too fat, too thin, too old… the criticism never ended.
He also knew that Ellie’s health and attitude towards food and exercise was far better than his mother’s; she’d been hospitalised several times for anaemia and had developed osteoporosis due to her poor diet.
Ironic, that thinness was always deemed healthier when a lot of the actresses he knew barely had enough body fat to function normally.
One particularly odd article stood out.
ALEX KING PUTS HIS TOXIC PAST BEHIND HIM AND FINDS NEW LOVE
He frowned as he scrolled through the article. Still spouting the same old lies – Alex as controlling towards Savannah but, having realised the errors of his ways, now dating with a more relaxed and open mind. Dating an ordinary, plus-size woman was apparently proof that he’d changed.
What the hell was that supposed to mean? That he’d only dated a woman like Ellie to improve his reputation? He flinched, because there was some truth to it; he was dating Ellie to make himself look better – but he’d picked her because he liked and trusted her.
No, more than that. The truth was he found Ellie very attractive, had done from the first moment he’d set eyes on her. If anything, Savannah had never been his type – they’d just fallen into a relationship with one another.
Why had they even started dating in the first place? Hadn’t Richie organised their first date – something to do with promoting their latest films?
A shadow moved across the swing and instinctively Alex swiped away the articles before looking up at the person who’d come outside. Liam stood beside him with two crystal tumblers in his hands.
‘Do you still struggle to wind down after a flight?’ he asked, sitting down beside Alex on the swing and offering him one of the glasses of Scotch.
Alex grunted in acknowledgement, unsure why his brother would approach him like this.
‘Just long haul.’ He took the offered glass and swirled the liquor around.
Smooth and smoky, it would have been the perfect drink to help him wind down – if his pain in the ass brother hadn’t been the one to ruin it by joining him.
‘Ellie seems lovely.’
Did he want to get punched again? ‘She is, so don’t get any ideas.’
Liam’s lips thinned, and he took a sip before answering. ‘I just meant that she suits you.’
Alex couldn’t argue with that; he’d been thinking the same not long ago. But he’d be damned if he’d ever admit his brother was right. ‘Well, leave her alone. Don’t let Holly drag her into anything she doesn’t want to do.’
‘Savannah will have a word with Holly.’
Alex scoffed and took a large sip of the Scotch. ‘Cus that’s worked so well in the past, right?’ Holly had never paid any attention to Savannah’s advice in the past. She thought she knew better than her older sister in every way.
Liam didn’t reply.
‘Why did you even want me here?’ Alex asked tiredly, removing his glasses and pinching the top of his nose, fighting the sudden exhaustion that threatened to overwhelm him.
Liam’s face became pained. ‘You’re my brother… It wouldn’t have felt right without you.’
Alex turned away, his jaw aching with tension. He didn’t bother to hide the brittle anger in his voice. ‘I’m only here because Mom insisted.’
Why was he the one that always had to make amends and do the right thing, while Liam got to do whatever he wanted, no matter who got hurt along the way.
‘I messed things up between us, didn’t I?’
Alex put his glasses back on and scrutinised his brother’s face – how could he ever trust a word he said?
His cheekbones were more prominent than normal, and there were dark lines under his eyes, or was that just the moonlight playing tricks on him?
His brother always looked so confident, so calm, but tonight he seemed nervous.
‘Yeah, you did.’ Why should he pretend like all was well between them? He’d done nothing wrong, and he’d still come to this dumb wedding of theirs. What more did they want?
They both stared straight ahead into the darkness as the cicadas hummed loudly in the tropical night.
‘I’m sorry.’
Alex glared at him. ‘Why couldn’t you just wait? Let her break up with me first. Just a couple of months – that’s all it would have taken. Why go behind my back? Why lie?’
Liam took a deep breath. ‘I couldn’t think clearly… I kept telling myself it was already over between the two of you. And it was, wasn’t it? You hadn’t even spoken to each other in weeks.’
Alex shook his head in disbelief. ‘You think that makes it all right? I trusted you. You’re my brother, the one person who should have had my back.
You think I care about losing Savannah? I don’t.
I care that I lost the one person I believed in and looked up to.
You made me look like a fool in front of the entire world, and you’re still doing it now with this wedding.
But I guess, as always with this family, you were too self-centred to give a shit about anyone but yourself! ’
‘I’m sorry,’ Liam said quietly, unable to give any more excuses.
Alex took a sip and let the heat burn down his throat, a comforting pain that always reminded him of when he was younger and he and Liam used to steal sips from their dad’s liquor cabinet.
One time, he’d drunk too much and been as sick as dog.
Liam had told their mom he’d swallowed too much seawater while swimming.
Alex didn’t drink alcohol again for years after that, and Liam had never revealed his secret.
There’d been a time when nothing could have come between them. When Liam had been the only one in his family to have his back.
‘I’ll get over it, eventually,’ he said, and for once he actually believed it, although he didn’t want to let Liam off the hook just yet. The asshole needed to feel guilty for a few more days at least. He deserved it. ‘Just don’t expect me to be cheering you down the fucking aisle.’
He knocked back the rest of his Scotch, put the glass on the table with a thud and picked up the bottle of mineral water before leaving.
To his surprise his dad stood in the doorway, a sad and disappointed look on his face. ‘Son—’
‘Save it, Dad.’ Alex waved the bottle of water at him dismissively as he walked past. ‘Ellie needs this water, and I’m not up for a heart-to-heart right now. Besides, we all know whose side you’re on, anyway.’
His dad’s expression turned into a scowl. ‘There’s no sides—’
Alex laughed bitterly, throwing back his last words casually, his arms spread wide.
‘Oh, come on! We all know Liam can do no wrong in this family and that he always comes first in the pecking order. Look, I’m playing ball, just be grateful I’m here.
God forbid the perfect Kings look bad to the rest of the world. ’
His dad frowned but couldn’t argue with him.
When Liam’s first feature film was filmed in Brazil, the entire family had moved there to support him through it, because Liam had always struggled with anxiety.
But when Alex had got accepted into Juilliard, they’d clapped him on the back and sent him on his way, letting him move to New York alone while they focused their energy on Liam’s latest project in LA.
It was one of the many times his parents had subtly chosen Liam over him.
Before, he’d always considered it a petty jealousy he needed to control, but now he wondered if his feelings had been justified.
When had they ever put him first?
Alex’s shoulders were a little looser as he climbed the stairs. His words probably wouldn’t make any difference. His dad was probably commiserating with Liam even now, but it felt good to get some of it off his chest.
Back at his rooms, he placed the bottle of water and a clean glass by Ellie’s side of the bed. She’d left the bedside light on for him, and his heart ached with longing when she gave a happy sigh of contentment in her sleep.
He quietly opened the bedside table’s drawer and took out one of the supplies Eddie had left for them, then popped it into his wallet for safe keeping before gently closing the drawer.
Not that he’d ever get to use it – he should be so lucky. But the possibility that he might gave him hope that he might be able to move on after all.