“Don’t judge her,” Charles said immediately. “The way I left things after our time together...she had no reason to believe I’d be interested in the baby. You know how the tabloids paint my life.”
“I understand. The fact that you’re defending her means you’ve made peace with the way things happened.”
He gave a small nod. “Her name is Alice Meyers. We met at a tourism conference last year and she’s...different than my typical girlfriends.”
Josephine pressed a manicured hand to her chest. “Thank heavens for that.”
“I haven’t brought her to meet everyone because she’s shy and I think my lifestyle makes her nervous. She’s happy with a quiet night at home and doesn’t come from a big family. I know she likes me... I think she likes me...” He choked out a laugh. “I want her to like me.”
“Charles, you are one of the most likable people in the world. If she can’t appreciate that...”
He shook his head. “That’s the thing, Mum. She doesn’t seem to care about what makes me popular with everyone else. It’s almost a negative that I’m famous. I don’t have to try with her. She doesn’t care about going out or being seen with me. It’s...normal.”
“Normal is underrated,” Josephine said, nodding. “Your father and I wanted to give our children a regular upbringing, but it was difficult with the British press hounding us so much of the time.”
Charles stood and moved to the sofa next to his mother. “You and Dad were the best, Mum. It scares the hell out of me that I won’t be even a tenth of the parent either of you were.”
“You have a big heart, and you want to do the right thing by your son. That counts for a lot.”
“That’s what Alice tells me.”
“I like her already. It’s also obvious that you care about her very much.” Josephine tilted her head to study him. “Perhaps that’s part of your difficulty.”
The thing about having an amazing mother was sometimes she was so perceptive, even when Charles didn’t want her to be. “I can’t remember ever feeling this way about anyone. Alice matters. But I’m afraid of handling it poorly. I haven’t exactly had to work hard for most of my success.”
Josephine gave a motherly tsk. “You sell yourself short. Have you told her how you feel?”
“I asked her to come to London with me. Along with Flynn, of course. I can turn one of the extra bedrooms into a nursery.”
“What is Alice going to do in London?”
“I’ve arranged for the Texas Tourism Board to loan her to the British council for a bit.”
His mother’s eyes widened a fraction. “Did she agree to that?”
“Not exactly,” Charles admitted. “But she will. She has to. I can’t imagine not having her and Flynn in my life.”
“But from how you’ve explained it, that’s not what you told her.”
“She knows it’s what I meant.”
“Are you certain?”
“Of course,” Charles answered, even though he wasn’t certain at all. “I want to take care of her and protect her. I’d never make that kind of an offer if I didn’t care about her.” He glanced at the framed photos of his siblings and their families that lined the cherry bookshelf. “What do I do now?”
Josephine gave him a gentle smile. “What do you want?”
“I want a family of my own. Alice and Flynn are it for me.”
His mother shifted closer, leaned forward to pat his cheek. “Just make sure she knows that, dear.” She glanced at her watch and stood. “And bring them to visit before you leave Texas, if that’s indeed what you decide to do. I want to meet the woman who’s captured your heart.”
He shook his head. “I care about her, Mum. That’s different than my heart being involved.”
“If that’s what you need to believe,” she said. “I’m meeting Orlando for an early dinner with Jeanne Marie and Deke. Would you like to join us?”
“As much as I enjoy my aunt and uncle’s company, I’ll take a rain check.” Charles stood, as well, and gave his mother a quick hug. “I’m going out to the ranch to visit with Amelia and little Clementine.”
“You’re staying in Horseback Hollow for a few days, then?”
He scrubbed a hand over his jaw, realized he’d forgotten to shave this morning. “Alice told me she needs a couple of days to think about her decision regarding London. If I’m in Austin, I won’t be able to stay away from her. While I’m here I’m hoping someone can help me come up with a plan to convince her that leaving with me is best for everyone.”
“What if you can’t?”
“Not an option. This is the most important thing in my life, and I’m going to fight for Alice and Flynn. No matter what.”
Josephine cupped his cheek in her elegant hand. “Your father would be proud, Charles.”
* * *
Alice was in a meeting Tuesday morning when her phone started ringing. She normally kept it with her, set to vibrate, on the days her mother babysat Flynn, in case of an emergency. But the number that flashed on the screen wasn’t one she recognized, so she pressed the button to send it directly to voice mail, and focused her attention back on Amanda, who was talking about an environmental tourism initiative at the front of the room.
A moment later the vibrating started again and Alice glanced down to see three more “unknown” numbers come through. Weird.
“Alice, are we keeping you from something important?” Amanda’s clipped tone rang out in the quiet room, and Alice felt like a schoolgirl called out by a reproachful teacher.
“Sorry,” she muttered, and turned her phone to Do Not Disturb mode for the rest of the meeting.
She pulled it out again as she walked toward her desk thirty minutes later. Before she had a chance to check the twelve new voice mails she’d received, she noticed everyone in the office staring at her. A prickly feeling started between her shoulder blades at the attention. What had happened to have her coworkers gaping at her?
Meredith was waiting in front of Alice’s cubicle, a mix of sympathy and frustration in her eyes.
“What’s going on?” Alice whispered as Meredith dragged her into the small space.
“Nothing to see here, people,” her friend announced to the office as a whole. “Go back to whatever you were doing. She’s still our Alice.”
“Of course I’m still Alice. Why wouldn’t I—” She broke off as Meredith shoved her into the desk chair. The computer monitor glowed bright with the front page of a popular online gossip site. The photo was the first thing that caught her attention. It was a picture of Charles, her and baby Flynn from the evening of the park concert. Alice was holding Flynn as Charles leaned over the two of them, his arm circling her shoulders. There was no denying the intimacy of the moment, and Alice felt her heart tug as she remembered the sweetness of that night and the passion she and Charles had shared after Flynn went to bed. Then her attention jerked to the headline above the photo, written in bold, black type.
Bonnie Lord Charlie’s Love Child Living in Texas.
Oh, no.
Her gazed jerked to Meredith’s. “Everyone knows.”
Her friend gave a small nod. “It hit while you were in the meeting. Almost all the online tabloids have picked up the story. The office phone has been ringing off the hook and the receptionist called building security to stand watch at the front door.” She shook her head. “The paparazzi are waiting for you outside.”
Alice’s chest constricted painfully and she bent forward, gasping for breath. “This is my worst nightmare, Mer.”
“I know, sweetie. I’m sorry.”
“No.” Alice shot out of the chair, punched at the screen of her cell phone with trembling fingers, then grabbed her keys and purse. “Flynn is with my mom. I’ve got to get to my parents’ house before the reporters do.”
“Alice, we need to talk.”
She glanced over her shoulder to see Amanda standing in the opening of her cubicle.
“I need to speak t
o you in my office. Now,” her boss announced.
Alice gulped back the panic choking her throat. “I can’t.”
Amanda crossed her arms over her designer blazer. “Is it true? Is Charles your baby’s father?”
“Yes,” she whispered as she stepped forward.
“How did it happen?”
“I’ll give you a lesson on the birds and bees later,” Meredith answered for her. “Right now, Alice needs to get to Flynn.”
Amanda shook her head and something besides panic welled in Alice. Determination. “I’ll go through you if I have to,” she said with more calm than she felt. “But I’m leaving to get to my son right now.”
“Not out the front door.” Amanda hitched a thumb over her shoulder. “The sidewalk is teeming with reporters. They’ll never let you through.”
Alice had parked in a lot around the corner from the tourism board office because it was cheaper than the covered garage attached to the building. “How am I going to get to my car?” she said with a desperate sob.
“Take mine,” Amanda offered immediately, then looked from her to Meredith. “No need to gawk at me. I’m not a total monster.”
“I never thought you were,” Alice told her honestly, “but thank you.”
“Come on, I’ll grab the keys for you.” She ushered Alice through the office, and no one dared make eye contact, with Amanda leading the way. “I’m impressed,” she said, as she pulled a key fob out of her purse. “I never thought you had it in you to nab a Fortune.”
“That wasn’t my intention,” Alice said, knowing people around the world now thought of her as an ambitious gold digger. “I wanted my son to know his father. If it weren’t for—”
“Enough.” Amanda tossed the keys to her. “I was joking. No one who knows you would ever believe you were capable of being that opportunistic.”
“Plenty of people who will think it, anyway.”
“Forget them,” Amanda advised. She took a tube of lipstick from her purse and reapplied it quickly. “I’m going to go out front and distract the paparazzi.” She flashed Alice a calculated smile. “I’ve always wanted to be on camera. You hurry out to the garage before anyone catches on that you’ve left.”
Alice nodded. “Why are you doing this?”
“I like to give you a hard time, but you’re good at your job and I know you’re a fantastic mother.” She pointed at Alice. “There was also a spark so bright between you and Charles Fortune Chesterfield it could set fire to wet logs.”
Charles. Alice knew he’d gone to Horseback Hollow to visit his family before returning to England. She’d asked for time to think about his proposal that she accompany him to London, and couldn’t help but wonder if he’d changed his mind during his time away. After all, he was used to women falling at his feet, not questioning him. Had the press tracked him down in the tiny Texas town where most of his family lived? None of the Fortunes were fans of the paparazzi, and they wouldn’t welcome the intrusion into their lives. How would they feel about the woman who’d caused it?
Her breath caught again, but she didn’t have time to worry about Charles or the rest of the Fortunes now. She had to get to Flynn.
True to her word, Amanda distracted the reporters so Alice could escape. As she pulled out of the garage, she saw the mass of paparazzi crowded around the entrance of the tourism board office.
She called her mother on the way out of town, and then Charles, disappointment washing through her when his voice mail picked up on the second ring.
Nerves rocketed through her as she turned down her parents’ street, followed quickly by relief when she saw the cul-de-sac empty of cars.
Her mother had the door open before Alice was halfway up the walk.
“Flynn,” Alice whispered, scooping up the wide-eyed baby from Lynn’s arms and cradling him tight to her chest.
“Alice, some of the women from my bunco group have been calling the house.” Her mother’s gaze was filled with worry. “They’re saying—”
“I know,” Alice interrupted, moving past her into the bright entry and then tugging on her arm. “Where’s Dad? I need to talk to both of you.”
They found her father in his study, staring at the computer screen behind his desk. He was watching a news clip from one of the most popular American gossip sites. Alice gasped as her face appeared. It showed her walking next to Charles on a city sidewalk. She was oblivious of the camera shooting footage of them, but there was no mistaking the dreamy expression on her face.
She looked like a lovesick schoolgirl.
It was mortifying to think that’s how she appeared every time she looked at him. That while she was busy trying to be strong and independent, her face gave away everything she was feeling.
Her mother put a hand on her arm, as if offering support from the judgment and personal attacks aimed at her and Flynn from the tabloid report.
“Daddy.”
At the sound of her voice, her father hit the mute button on the keyboard and turned in his chair.
She expected to see disappointment etched on his features, but there was only concern.
“Are you okay, Alice?”
Any other question and she could have held it together, but the reminder of how much her parents loved her in their own gentle way was too much. Tears blinded her and her mother helped her sink into the chair across from her father’s desk. It was the one she’d spent hours in as a girl, reading her favorite books as he worked on syllabi and research papers.
She continued to clutch Flynn, but at his short cry she relaxed her hold on him.
“I’m fine, Dad,” she lied, wiping at her cheeks. “I should have known that the story would break eventually, but I didn’t want to believe it.”
“So it’s true?” Her mother’s voice sounded dazed. “Charles Fortune Chesterfield was your one-night stand?”
“Charles is Flynn’s father,” Alice said with a nod.
“It looks like more than a one-night stand from the footage they’re showing of the two of you.”
“I didn’t tell him about the baby at first, but I realized he had a right to know his own son. Charles has been spending time with Flynn these past few weeks while he’s been in town.”
Lynn perched on the edge of the big desk and studied Alice. “And you, too?”
“And me, too,” she whispered. “I...”
“Fell in love with him,” her mother finished. “He’s the man you told me you can’t see in your future.”
Alice pointed at the computer, where images of her still flashed, along with pictures of Charles’s other girlfriends. “Look at me next to the other women he’s dated. There’s no comparison.”
“You’re right,” her father agreed. “You are more beautiful than any of them.”
“Not to mention you look like you have something between your ears besides air,” Lynn added.
Alice sniffed, then smiled at the way her parents immediately came to her defense. “He’s such a good man, much more than how he’s portrayed in the press. I love being with him, love who I am when we’re together. He’s learning to be a great father to Flynn and I don’t want it to end. But...”
Henry steepled his hands in front of him. “I don’t like buts.”
“He asked me to move to London with him.”
“Oh.” Her mother’s shoulders slumped. “If that’s what you want, of course we’ll support you. I can’t imagine you and Flynn living so far away.”
“I haven’t heard a ‘but’ yet,” her father said. “Is a transatlantic move what you want, Alice?”
“I don’t know,” she admitted quietly. “I want to be with Charles, but I’m afraid that he only asked me because of Flynn.” The baby had fallen asleep in her arms and she smoothed a hand over his soft hair. “I know it sounds silly, but I want him to want me, not just the mother of his baby.”
“That’s not silly at all,” Lynn told her.
“The boy would be a fool not to realize what a
prize you are,” her father added in his gruff voice.
“We just needed more time,” Alice murmured. “Now that the story has broken—”
Lynn glanced at the computer screen and shook her head. “Turn that off, Henry. I’ve seen plenty from the tabloids.” She looked back at Alice. “Have you talked to Charles?”
Alice shook her head in turn. “I haven’t been able to reach him. He’s visiting family in Horseback Hollow and I know at least one of his siblings lives out on a ranch. Maybe there isn’t good cell phone reception where he is.”
“So it’s possible he doesn’t know what you’re dealing with here?”
That seemed hard to believe for a family who was so used to being tabloid fodder, but the alternative was that Charles was avoiding her. “I’m not sure. I guess so.” She took a deep, shuddering breath. “The press was waiting for me outside of work today. What if they’re already at my apartment? What if they come to your house?”
Her father leaned forward. “You’re safe here, Alice.”
“Why don’t you spend the night?” her mother suggested. “You look exhausted and I don’t want you to face the paparazzi on your own.”
“I think I’ll do that, Mom. Thank you.”
“Of course, sweetie.” Her mother reached for the baby as Alice stood. “You still have clothes up in your old bedroom. I’ll take Flynn while you get changed, then we’ll have dinner.” She balanced Flynn in one arm and wrapped the other around Alice’s shoulders. “We’re going to get you through this.”
Afraid she’d start crying again if she tried to speak, Alice simply nodded. She showered, then changed into a pair of pajama pants and a Longhorns T-shirt she’d left in her bedroom. She fed Flynn one last bottle, then put him down for the night before having a quiet meal with her mom and dad. They seemed to understand she wasn’t up for more talking, and both kissed her good-night after dinner.
She checked her phone once more before climbing into bed, but Charles still hadn’t called. Instead her voice mail was full, and texts continued to pop up on the screen, with reporters and friends trying to contact her. It seemed everyone in the world wanted to speak with her, except the one person whose voice she wanted to hear.
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