Alec couldn’t wait to get back to Dahlia. He could barely concentrate on his COO’s words as he went on and on.
Alec knew he was only a jet ride away from Dahlia, that the physical distance could be bridged in hardly any time at all, but just feeling like he couldn’t reach her after a twenty-minute limo drive made him crazy.
He was able to work quite easily from the hotel room he had picked out to stay in while he wooed Dahlia, just knowing she was near; he had no problem occupying himself until it was time to pick Dahlia up, ready for their date, but now, away in another country, thoughts of her intruded upon him.
“I’m sorry, what was that?” he said for at least the third time since the meeting began.
“Who is the lucky lady?”
“What?”
“I’ve never seen you so distracted, Alec, and only two things bring that level of distraction: a hospitalized or recently dead loved one, or love in the romantic sense.”
“Love?” Alec looked into the old man’s grin.
“Alec, I wish you could see your face—the expressions it has gone through over the time you’ve been sitting here have been quite entertaining. Listen, just give me the next half-hour. You’ll be back to that woman in no time.”
Alec smiled back and suddenly found himself able to concentrate better. He figured the reminder helped—this meeting would be over soon, and in less than twenty-four hours, he would see Dahlia again.
As Alec left the meeting, he realized he had a missed call from Dahlia from the phone line he had given her.
He called her back immediately.
“What is it, Dahlia?”
“You didn’t send any of your people to Angelo’s school, did you?”
“My people? What are you talking about?”
“Oh my god.” Dahlia took a breath. “Someone tried to pick Angelo up today. I think…I think Angelo’s dad has come back.”
Alec wasn’t sure what to make of this new information, and he certainly didn’t like the sense of dread that came with his confusion.
“What am I going to do? I told Angelo his father died in an accident. I knew I shouldn’t have, but what else was I supposed to tell him? That his father didn’t give a shit about him and didn’t want to see him? That wasn’t an option.”
“Nobody would blame you, Dahlia. But you’re not considering letting that man back in if it was him, are you?”
Alec realized his voice had probably sounded more stern than he’d meant.
“I…I don’t know what to do—I mean, I can’t keep him away from his dad! They have a right to know each other, right? You know what? Maybe I’m freaking out for nothing. He probably isn’t going to show up again; in fact, it was probably just some mixup—some poor guy got sent to pick up a kid, and got him confused with Angelo. I guess I just jumped to conclusions because when we ran into Dena the other day…” She took another breath. “God, I can’t believe how jumpy this has me.”
“Of course you would be—some guy might have tried to go off with your son! Maybe it was an innocent mixup, maybe not. But you certainly have a right to be on guard. Talk to the teachers, reaffirm the pickup policies…”
“Yes, I know—I have. I just…I guess I just needed to mention it to someone.”
“You did the right thing letting me know, Dahlia.”
Alec hung up from her knowing what he had to do right away.
Dahlia would certainly understand if she found out, but he found no need to tell her what he was up to, as he arranged security detail for her and Angelo.
He began arrangements for Darren too, but for reasons entirely different.
Dahlia’s judgment was obviously clouded, and he wasn’t going to let her, that sweet little boy of hers, or himself pay for any lapse. He would protect what was his at all costs.
Chapter Eight
Open & Shut
Dahlia’s heart soared when she heard the knock on the door.
She knew it wasn’t Beth back with Angelo from the park just yet, so she thought it might have been Alec, back a bit early from his trip. But when she looked through her peephole, she saw a face she thought she would never see again.
Her heart sped up, and she pulled back from the door, unsure what to do next.
Then she realized she was overreacting—it wasn’t like he had come to harm her or anything. But what could he possibly want? Why did Darren find the need to find her after all this time?
She took a few deep breaths, and then plastered on a slight smile.
She opened her door.
“Darren!” she began. “This is quite a surprise. What are you doing here?”
“Dahlia…may I come in, first?”
Dahlia considered the request for a brief moment before stepping aside and indicating permission.
“Thank you,” Darren said.
Dahlia examined him. He looked the same as she remembered—life certainly hadn’t been treating him poorly as far as she could tell, and despite how much she had wished it on him years ago as she struggled with her new baby. He was still clean-cut—his handsome, brown face was clean-shaven, his hair trimmed neatly, and his clothes befitting a gainfully employed, middle-class citizen.
“You look good,” he said.
“Thanks. You too.” She looked at him expectantly.
“Obviously, you want to know why I’m here after all this time. Well, first of all, I want to apologize. I know it’s terribly insufficient, but it’s all I’ve got. You didn’t deserve what I did to you back then. I was stupid and immature, and truthfully, I just panicked. I can’t tell you how sorry I am.”
Dahlia warmed, relaxing a bit. He sounded genuine, and his face looked so sincere that she found herself feeling the beginning of forgiveness.
“I missed you, and I often wondered about how you were holding up and if you had given the baby up for adoption or what, but I was too afraid to look further; I wasn’t ready for that kind of responsibility. Eventually, I didn’t even think about it anymore.”
Dahlia bit her tongue. It was beyond her how someone could put a child of theirs completely out of their mind. How could you rest knowing that your child is out there somewhere? Not knowing where they ended up and if they were okay? What kind of person could carry on with a clean conscience knowing they abandoned their kid?
Darren smiled. “You haven’t changed much, Dahlia—you’re so easy to read. I practically saw all your thoughts pass across your face. What kind of monster am I, right?”
Dahlia realized that she hated the way Darren said her name—not like Alec at all. And how he stood there grinning at her like he still knew her or anything of what she’d been through the past few years infuriated her.
“Can we get to the point here? Did you just come here to apologize?”
His smile faded a bit. “No, I…I want to do the right thing. I want to be in your—our—son’s life.”
“Why after all this time? And what makes you think I didn’t give him up for adoption?”
He looked away briefly. “My cousin told me she ran into you, and it got me thinking. She said he looked like me and everything, and…I don’t know, it’s like it suddenly became real—like it finally sunk in that I was partially responsible for bringing a kid into this world, and he’s here. A mini-me. Anyway, I’d at least like to meet him, that’s all. We can figure out where to go from there.”
Dahlia thought about it. He sounded so reasonable that she could find no excuse to shout at him to get out of her place and never show up at her door—or Angelo’s school—again.
“Tell me something, what the hell got into you approaching him at his school like that? That was you, wasn’t it?”
He looked sheepish and nodded.
“How did you even find out where he went to school? And how did you know which one was him?” He gave her a look. “Fine. First question still stands.”
“Dahlia, we still have mutual Facebook friends—I can still see some of your posts. Good for you not
posting a photo of my son, but you did post about being excited he got into that school.”
“So wait—you have been aware of us before I ran into Dena.”
“I’m just saying that information is easy to find; we leave trails everywhere. It was pretty easy to locate you guys. And like I said, having Dena talk about him made it all more real.”
Dahlia’s gut nudged her.
“Anyway, what do you say?” he continued. “I apologize for stepping out of my place like that—I shouldn’t have gone up to him. I should have come to you first, but I wasn’t sure what you’d say, and I wanted to have the chance to own my first impression on him. What have you been telling him about me anyway?”
“You’re dead to us,” she said. “At least, that’s what I told him—you died in an accident. And now I have to find a way to bring you back from the dead.”
“So you’ll agree?”
Dahlia gave a brief nod.
It was the right thing to do.
Alec tried to keep himself calm as he knocked on Dahlia’s door.
He had gotten back in town as soon as possible, and he had his driver step on it once he had been alerted about Darren.
Dahlia looked delighted when she opened the door, and he found his heart lifting as he saw her smiling face.
“Alec!” she said, throwing her arms around him. “What are you doing here? I thought you weren’t due for another few hours.”
Alec immediately sized the man in her living room up, and then grabbed Dahlia’s hands.
“Are you okay, Dahlia?”
She nodded, her eyes lingering on his face for a moment, communicating to him that indeed, she was.
“This is Angelo’s father, Darren,” she said, stepping aside to let him in.
Alec pretended like he didn’t already know. He nodded in greeting, and was glad Darren didn’t try to shake his hand.
“This is Alec,” Dahlia said to Darren, and Alec wanted to tell her that she didn’t have to explain a thing to this guy, but he realized that she was just performing simple social politeness. Still, he was glad she didn’t explain their relationship further, even though Darren was looking expectantly. Thank goodness the fellow seemed smart enough not to push.
“We were talking,” Dahlia began, “and Darren is hoping to be a part of Angelo’s life.”
“I see,” Alec said, just looking at Darren.
“Well, I better get going,” Darren said. “It was good to see you, Dahlia, and I look forward to getting to know our son. Alec,” he said, nodding toward Alec as he headed out. “I’m guessing we’ll all be working together on this. Good to meet you. Glad to see she’s being taken care of.”
Darren’s face produced a small smile, and then he left.
Alec looked at Dahlia.
“Dahlia, tell me you’re not thinking about agreeing to this.”
“Well, I already have.”
“But, Dahlia, remember? ‘Fool me once…’ Aren’t you in the least bit suspicious why he has suddenly popped up after all this time?”
“I was, and he explained it. When we ran into his cousin at LegoLand and she told him about Angelo, I guess his paternal instinct finally kicked in.”
“And you believe him?”
“Why wouldn’t I?” she asked, looking at him sharply.
Had Dahlia lost it? She suddenly thought Darren was decent?
Alec was well aware of the extent to which people could change—physically and otherwise—but something wasn’t adding up. He couldn’t see exactly what was out of place, but something didn’t feel right, and he trusted his gut; it had made him a multimillionaire, and going against it a few times only brought regret, so he learned to trust it in all cases.
“I just think he might be up to something. Why don’t you officially file for child support and see what he does, huh? See how long he sticks around.”
“Look, I know your world is filled with backstabbers, but you just can’t live life that way. Besides, whether or not he’s up to something, he’s here. He’s back. And he is Angelo’s father. Not you.”
Had Dahlia stabbed him with an actual knife, Alec figured it would have hurt less.
Dahlia immediately felt guilty when she saw the look on Alec’s face.
“I’m really sorry, Alec—I didn’t mean it like that; I picked the wrong words.”
“No, it’s…true, I guess. I just care about you guys, and I’m concerned; I’m just looking out for you.”
“I appreciate that, Alec, and believe me, I appreciate everything you’ve been doing for us, and everything you’ve been to us. Just please understand I want to do the right thing here, and no matter how many ways I look at it, keeping Angelo from his dad now that he wants to be in his life feels like the wrong thing; I can’t justify doing that. I know he hasn’t checked in once all this time, but you saw how sincere he seemed. Right?” She searched Alec’s face.
“I’m not the best to judge,” he said. “Like you said, I tend to err on the skeptical side—for good reason.”
“Look, you’ve been amazing and Angelo loves…hanging out with you. This doesn’t mean the three of us will hang out any less, you know? Well, I guess it does…” She thought about it for a moment. “I’m thinking of having them spend time on Saturdays. Maybe every other Saturday? Gosh, I don’t even know where Darren lives—how far. Anyway, I’ll figure it out, Alec, don’t you worry.”
She put her hand on his chest and smiled up at him. She warmed when she saw a small smile coaxed out of him.
Then he took a heavy breath. “Is he going to go off with him alone somewhere? Where is Angelo, anyway?” he said, looking around.
“Beth’s got him for another hour or so. And I’m thinking I’ll have Darren come here and interact with him first, you know? I mean, we dated for a while, but I don’t really know him anymore, and he doesn’t know anything about looking after a child as far as I know—I’m not just going to let him go off with mine.”
“Good.”
“Maybe eventually, once they get to know each other, and Angelo’s comfortable with it…I don’t know. We’ll see. It’s just so new, you know? Unchartered territory. I’ll just keep feeling it out.”
There was a fierceness to Alec’s kiss that stuck with her long after he briefly glanced at her bedroom, and she felt the thrill of possibilities with an undeniable look in his eyes interrupted by Beth’s arrival with Angelo. That fierceness sat with her long after Angelo ran to Alec and asked him if he wanted to play, and Alec quickly paid Beth before she could, and then picked up her son and hugged him. It remained after her heart melted at the way Angelo rested his head on Alec’s shoulder, looking unbelievably happy, and lingered after Alec sat listening to Angelo’s stories about the park and the past few days at school, then his phone suddenly alerted him and he stood up, saying he had to go, but they would make plans later.
“Can Alec be my daddy?” Angelo asked after he left.
“Well, baby, funny you should mention that. You know how we thought your real daddy had died in an accident? Well, I just found out I was wrong, and he just lost his memory and ended up living another life somewhere else. But his memory came back and he knows about you and wants to meet you.”
“So that was my dad who came to school the other day?” Dahlia nodded. After a moment, Angelo said, “But I want Alec to be my daddy.”
“Honey, it doesn’t work like that.”
“Doesn’t Alec want us to be a family?”
“Sweetie, I…” Dahlia didn’t know what to say next. “We’ll have to see, baby. It’s a big decision and grownups have to think really hard about these things. I know Alec adores you, but your real dad wants to get a chance to know you, too. Is that okay?”
Angelo shrugged, looking away. “I guess.”
Dahlia watched father and son carefully.
She found an easy comfort in playing babysitter for the day, keeping a close eye on the interaction between father and son, providing the basics—sna
cks, hydration—with no pressure.
She was able to get a bit of reading done and catch up on some emails, all with her ears tuned to the duo in her living room.
She noticed that Angelo didn’t run off to show Darren what he did with lego, and as the words came to her tongue to suggest it, she killed them; Angelo needed to feel his father out on his own time, just as she did.
When Darren left, and Angelo realized that Alec would be coming over soon to take them out, his entire demeanor changed, and his body practically buzzed with excitement.
Did he recognize the major difference between the two men? Did Angelo love Alec because of the things he had been able to do for him? But then she remembered—Angelo had taken to Alec long before he knew what Alec was capable of. Before Alec even started taking her out, there Angelo was that day at school, eyes widened in engagement with a stranger, mouth uncharacteristically going and going, talking about who-knew-what.
Angelo had fought for Alec from the get-go—did she really have the right to go against him? But although Alec’s words spoke of commitment, and he seemed quite serious about having the two of them in his life, what did it all really mean? Wasn’t it only until he got distracted by some shiny, new thing? And then where would it leave poor Angelo? In this case, her son would at least still have his real dad in his life.
Dahlia tried to ignore the ache that ran through her at the thought of eventually losing Alec. While her head kept telling her to take what they had for what it was, and that the very nature of relationships was to eventually run their courses—long-running, decades-old relationships the exception rather than the rule—her heart longed for more. She couldn’t imagine just going on without Alec—he had rooted himself in her and opened her eyes to more possibilities. He made her see what true love could be…
Dahlia shook her head, but although she had caught herself getting carried away, she could do nothing to stop it.
She was glad for the phone call from Alec interrupting her thoughts to let her know he was a short way away.
What to Read After FSOG: The Gemstone Collection (WTRAFSOG Book 7) Page 124
