“Lucy is coming over tomorrow for a playdate with Lily. Trina specifically asked what time you were going to be home.”
“Of course, she did.” I shook my head. “She’s been flirting with me since day one. You know the mom that came up to the car window this morning?”
“Yeah.”
“She told Sam at Lily’s birthday party she hadn’t had sex in a while.”
“Oh my God! Who does that?” She laughed.
“According to Julia, horny moms who like what they see.”
“I can’t say I blame them though.” The corners of her mouth curved upward when she glanced over at me.
“Why?” I grinned.
“You’re very sexy. All of you are. You’re every woman’s fantasy. Shit. I shouldn’t have said that. You’re my boss and it was very inappropriate.”
“I don’t mind. But, if it makes you feel better, I think you’re a very beautiful and sexy woman. See there, we were inappropriate together.” I held up my bottle to her.
“Thanks.” She tapped her bottle against mine.
We heard the sliding door open, and Lily stepped outside and climbed on my lap.
“I’m ready for bed, Dad.”
“Okay, baby girl. Let’s go. Say goodnight to Alex.”
“Good night, Alex.” She blew her a kiss.
“Good night, Lily. Sweet dreams.” She blew her a kiss back.
Chapter 15
Alex
When he took Lily inside, I let out a deep breath and then took a sip of my beer. The words that he was sexy just slipped out of my mouth like it was nothing. Not to mention I said he was every woman’s fantasy. What the hell was wrong with me? I couldn’t even blame it on alcohol for I’d only taken a few sips of beer.
“She’s all tucked in.” Stefan smiled as he walked back out and sat down. “So, where were we? That’s right. We were being inappropriate.” The corners of his mouth curved upward as he gave me a wink.
“Yes, and maybe we need to stop doing that.”
“Fair enough. So, have you been in Seattle the last seven years?”
“No. I’ve lived in multiple states since I left home.”
“So basically, you have no stability,” he said.
“Pretty much.” I smiled. “I haven’t had stability since before my mom died.”
“I have a confession to make, and I don’t want you to get mad.”
“What is it?” I asked.
“Simon ran a background check on you.”
“I already know. He stopped by today to fill me in on Ryan and he told me he did.”
“I hope you’re not upset.”
“Not at all. Like I told your brother, I have nothing to hide.”
“He told me about your dad’s arrest and how you were put in foster care for six months.”
“Yeah. Those were the best six months of my life. The family I was placed with were so nice, and I could be a kid. When my father was released, he told me that he was sorry for everything and promised he would stop drinking, and that he meant it this time. He attended AA meetings and for two weeks, he stayed sober and took care of me. I really thought he had changed.”
“What happened?”
“He went out with some friends of his to a bachelor party and the cycle started all over again. It was that night I knew he would never stop drinking again. So, I did what I had to do. I took care of him and myself until I was old enough to leave and be on my own.”
“You said he never was abusive to you. Are you telling me the truth?”
“He wasn’t. He’d never once became violent. He never hit me, called me names, nothing. He wasn’t a mean drunk. He just was never there for me. Except one day a year he would stay sober.”
“What day was that?”
“My birthday. He told me it was his gift to me.”
“That selfish son-of-a-bitch.” He shook his head. “What made you finally decide to leave?”
“I had been planning it for a long time, and I saved up as much as I could. The day I graduated high school, he never showed up like he promised me he would. I knew his promises never meant shit, but this time I believed him. When I got home, I found him and my best friend passed out drunk in bed together.”
“Jesus, Alex.”
“That was the last straw. I packed my things, left, and never looked back.”
“Did he ever try to contact you?”
“I don’t know. I got rid of my phone and got a new one with a new number.”
“What about your friends?”
“I left everything and everyone back in Ohio. All I wanted was to start a new life.”
His hand reached over and softly stroked my cheek.
“You’re a brave woman, Alessandra Clark.” The corners of his mouth curved upward.
I swallowed hard at the softness of his hand as an unbearable heat tore through me.
“I really didn’t have much of a choice. You can either choose to sink or choose to swim. That’s why I got this tattoo.” I turned my back and lowered my shirt from my shoulder.
“‘I refuse to sink.’ I never noticed it before.” He slowly ran his finger over it.
“I got it when I was in West Virginia. That was the first state I settled in after I left home.”
“It’s nice.”
“Thanks. Okay. Enough about me. Tell me about you.”
“There’s really not too much to tell. You already know I’m a quadruplet and I work with Sam at Kind Design & Architecture. My parents divorced when we were five years old. My mother has remarried twice, and my father is on his most recent fifth marriage.”
“Oh my gosh.” I laughed. “Are you serious?”
“Totally serious.” He smirked. “It’s embarrassing to admit it.”
“What about Lily’s mother?”
He took in a sharp breath.
“She was a one-night stand. We met at a friend’s birthday party, got drunk and—you know. Three months later she contacted me and told me she was pregnant and keeping the baby.”
“How did that make you feel?” I asked.
“I was scared shitless at first. I was basically just starting my career at the company, and I wasn’t ready to be a father, nor did I want a kid. But when I held her in my arms for the first time, I was done for. I paid child support every month and we worked out a custody agreement. I got Lily one day a week and every other weekend. Two months after Lily turned three, Monica dropped her off at my house for the weekend and she was supposed to pick her up by eight o’clock Sunday night. I gave her until ten o’clock before I called her. After it went to voicemail, I sent her a text message asking her where she was. She immediately replied and told me she was doing what she thought was best for Lily and she wasn’t coming back. She told me to raise her right and tell her that she loved her.”
“Wow.” I shook my head. I’m sure Lily had a hard time after that.”
“She did for a while. She cried for her a lot in the beginning. But I spent a lot of time with her, and she adjusted. It was so hard. I’m not going to lie. But I had help between my brothers and my parents. Then I hired Nanny Kate and she was a godsend. Two years after Monica left and there was no contact between her and Lily, I hired an attorney and had her parental rights terminated.”