Chapter Twenty-Seven
Alex didn’t sleep well that night, and it wasn’t just because he’d crammed his long limbs onto the too-short couch. He’d been thinking over and over about Ellie’s jealous reaction to the gym picture. If she really didn’t feel anything for him, then why had she been so upset?
Unable to stand staring at the ceiling a moment longer, he dressed in the same clothes as the night before, shoved on his glasses and went downstairs, stopping at one of the many bathrooms along the way to freshen up, as he didn’t want to disturb Ellie, who was still asleep.
The staff were hurrying around already, preparing for the big day, and after grabbing a coffee he went out onto the porch to sit on his favourite swing.
His father was there, sitting on one of the deckchairs with his paper and a coffee.
‘Hey, Dad,’ he said, sitting on the swing and lightly rocking it with his foot. Eddie and his team were grappling with a gazebo frame on the lawn. ‘Eddie needs a pay rise.’
‘Probably,’ said his father, lowering the corner of his paper thoughtfully. ‘The florist and wedding planner got in a car accident chasing down the missing flowers. So it’s all hands on deck.’
Alex’s coffee cup stopped halfway to his mouth. ‘What?’
His father barrelled on as if he were actually a sea captain: ‘Good news is, they found the flowers.’
‘And they’re okay?’
‘Not sure yet, they weren’t stored properly.’
‘I meant the florist and the wedding planner.’
‘Oh, yeah, they’re both fine. Well, reasonably fine. Joseph, the wedding planner, is on his way here with a fractured wrist. But the florist hit her head and has to stay in hospital under supervision until she gets the all-clear – so won’t be able to make it at all.’
‘Jeez!’ Alex finally sipped his coffee. He needed it.
There was a moment of silence as they imagined the chaos and panic that was probably already happening upstairs.
‘Ellie’s a lovely young woman,’ said his dad conversationally, before going back to reading his paper.
Alex stayed silent for a moment, unsure if his father expected a reply. He’d never once complimented any of his girlfriends in the past. Not even Savannah, who he obviously liked a lot. ‘Yeah, she’s great.’ Shame she wants nothing to do with me after this.
His father lowered his paper ever so slightly. ‘Your mom and I were thinking. Maybe we should come to London. If you do another play there, or if there’s still time before the end of your current run. We’d like to see it.’
He almost choked on his second sip of coffee.
It was the first time his parents had offered to support him in one of his own endeavours.
A welcome surprise, but it still shocked the hell out of him.
‘Are you sure? Sales have been slow. It wasn’t as much of a success at the start as it should have been. ’
‘They picked up though, didn’t they? Last time I checked, you were sold out every weekend until the end of the run.’
Alex’s heart doubled in size as he realised his father had been keeping an eye on his production sales – it meant he cared. ‘I was hoping the theatre might offer me a resident director position, but they haven’t yet.’
His father lowered his paper further. ‘Then approach another theatre, or a film company based in the UK. Sometimes you have to make your own opportunities. Especially when you’ve got a good reason to stay.’
Alex nodded, unable to speak, choked up by his father’s insight and support. He did have a good reason to stay in London. But did Ellie have a good reason to be with him?
His father wasn’t done. ‘And do us a favour… Help Tony with his speech? It sounds like a trailer for one of his action films. Give him some proper stories to add to it.’
Alex chuckled. ‘Sure.’
‘And go see Liam at some point. I think if anything else goes wrong, he’s going to pass out from stress. Poor boy’s a bundle of nerves.’
Alex sipped his coffee thoughtfully. ‘Does he still get bad stage fright? I would have thought he’d gotten over that by now.’
‘You never get over it. Your mum still gets jittery before starting a film even now. You’re like me, always calm under pressure. We never worried about your nerves when you were performing.’ His dad gave him a pointed look. ‘We never thought to worry about you.’
Alex shrugged. ‘That’s because my heart wasn’t in it – acting. But my directing, that’s always meant a lot to me – the nerves are different, but they’re still there.’
His dad looked sad for a moment, and he put down his paper. ‘I’m sorry we weren’t there for you. We didn’t understand why you wanted to do something so… different.’
Alex smothered a smile. His acting dynasty family would never understand why he preferred a backstage role in a London theatre, compared to the buzz and glare of LA fame. ‘It’s okay, and I’d love for you to come and see it.’
They were both momentarily distracted by the fiasco of the gazebo on the lawn. Eddie was running across the grass trying to catch the silk cover that had been blown out of someone’s hands, and the gazebo was wobbling precariously, as if it were missing some much-needed screws.
His father’s voice brought him back to the present. ‘You should have been his best man, not Tony. He needs you.’
‘I’ll do what I can.’
His father reached across and patted his shoulder, a surprisingly gentle look in his eyes. ‘Thanks, son.’ He slapped his thighs and stood up. ‘Right, I think it’s about time we helped. Don’t you?’
Alex rose from the swing. ‘I think so. We don’t want Eddie quitting on us now, do we?’
His father’s eyes widened with genuine horror. ‘God, no!’
Alex spent the rest of the morning helping with the decorations, Tony’s speech, and calming his brother’s nerves.
He’d got dressed for the wedding in his suite, as he needed to put in his contacts, and on the way back he’d caught a glimpse of Ellie running down the corridor to the bridal suite.
She didn’t see him, as he was at the other end of the corridor and she was distracted.
But he was glad to finally see her – after spending so much time together this past week, he was lost without her presence, and he was still worried about how upset she’d been last night.
After this wedding was over, Alex vowed, he would break away from Richie for good.
He didn’t appreciate how he’d treated Ellie or how he’d managed this entire situation between him, Liam and Savannah.
But Richie was also a close friend of his parents, so he’d have to be careful how he ended it.
Hopefully, the new London theatre career would mean a natural break from his Hollywood ties.
He’d already taken his father’s advice and spent an hour today putting out some feelers to see what other options he might have.
Now, as he drank in the sight of Ellie like a man dying of thirst, he knew he’d made the right call.
She hurried down the corridor in her heels, her luscious curves bouncing with each step.
She wore a Fifties swing dress in emerald green, which brought out the sparkle in her chocolate eyes and the warmth of her olive skin.
She turned and entered the bridal suite, and he saw that half of her hair had been pinned up and the rest was cascading down her backless dress like a waterfall of mahogany.
He’d never wanted a woman more. Her rejection stung, but he would have accepted it if it hadn’t been for her jealous reaction to the photo in the gym.
He needed to talk to her properly, clear the air. If she did just want to be friends, then that was fine – even if it hurt like hell. But something about her jealous behaviour and her previous kisses made him wonder.
Perhaps Ellie did want more, but was too afraid to confess it?
After all, she’d been let down so many times in the past that she must be as cautious as he was to put her heart on the line again. In which case, it was up to him to reassure her that he was a safe bet.