What to Read After FSOG: The Gemstone Collection (WTRAFSOG Book 7)

by Lexi Buchanan

Dahlia headed to her door without a backward glance at the limo, not allowing Alec to walk her up as usual, and ignoring the feeling of his eyes intently on her the whole way. She didn’t need Angelo getting a glimpse of him and getting excited, and she definitely didn’t need to introduce him to her sister—what would be the point? They were over.

  Her sister’s smiling face immediately disintegrated her dark cloud, the last bit of it disappearing in their hug. Zinnia looked lovely as always—slim and fit, dark brown hair falling past her shoulders.

  But the cloud returned with a vengeance as she stepped inside and saw Angelo, and she wondered how she’d tell him that he was never going to see Alec again.

  “Where’s Alec?” Angelo asked immediately, and her heart sank.

  “Yeah, where’s Alec?” her sister asked, grinning.

  “I’ll tell you later,” she ended up unintentionally whispering to her sister, her throat tightened with suppressed sobs.

  “Did you guys have a fight?” Angelo asked, looking at her far too perceptively for his age, his eyes rounded.

  “Baby, can you go to your room for a second? I need to talk to Zinnia about some grown up stuff.”

  “You know he can probably still hear you, right?” Zinnia said as they watched him leave. “I’m not completely convinced your kid doesn’t have superpowers.”

  “Well, he can probably still hear me without them, with just his ears pressed to the door.” She lowered her voice considerably. “Alec and I…” She mouthed the words: “broke up.”

  Zinnia frowned at her. Then she glanced at Angelo’s door. “Yeah, we’re gonna have to talk about this. Let’s do lunch tomorrow.”

  Zinnia began by talking about her fiancé, Geoff, and Dahlia realized that her sister really was in love—the way her eyes lit up, the way she spoke about their dates and various aspects of Geoff as a man, and how excited she was about the wedding. She had never seen her sister so exhilarated. Eventually, Zinnia winded down.

  “So,” she said, stopping there, and staring at her meaningfully.

  Dahlia let out a breath and summarized as best as she could.

  “Wow,” was all her sister said, looking down briefly. “That’s…a lot. But I’ve got to be honest with you, sis—doesn’t sound like a deal-breaker to me.”

  “God, did he pay you, too?”

  “Oh, please. No one needs to pay me. You’re madly in love with this guy, he sounds madly in love with you, he and Angelo sound madly in love with each other…what’s the problem?”

  “The problem is that it’s not real for him, and I don’t want to hang around to get dumped.”

  “Why are you so sure about that, Dahlia? I don’t get it. Is this self-sabotage? Some way to stay long-suffering and self-sacrificial?” Dahlia felt punched in the gut. “If you feel anything like I feel for Geoff, you shouldn’t let Alec go easily.” Then her tone changed. “Hey, you think he’s that guy who sent you that love letter we giggled about for days when you were in junior high? It was signed ‘A,’ remember? We were trying to figure out if it was an Adam or an Anton…”

  Dahlia shrugged. “I guess it could’ve been—he did tell me he remembered me from back then, at least. Look, I just can’t trust him. I mean, he could’ve been honest with me about their game. He could’ve…God, don’t you remember the other stuff I said? All the other manipulations?”

  “Yeah, but it kind of sounds like he did it all for the right reasons. Sounds like he’s adamant about protecting you, like he’s not just about showing you a good time. Look, he’s probably used to operating a certain way now, you know? He doesn’t remember what it’s like to live by our rules, the limitations of us regular people. He wanted you, he went for you. He wants to fly you around, maybe he paid someone to be your temporary replacement and spoke to your boss. He returned your hard-earned cash to you. He got rid of shady Darren. Dahlia, you might disapprove of his methods, but it sounds like he didn’t exactly do it just for himself; he did it all for you. And yeah, I guess since it seems making you happy makes him happy, in that way, he did it for himself.”

  “I don’t get it—how is it you’re his champion? You haven’t even met him!”

  Zinnia looked away.

  “Out with it; you’re hiding something.”

  Zinnia shook her head. “Can’t, sister dear. You’ll just have to wait and see.”

  “When’s Alec coming by?” Angelo asked again as Dahlia tucked him in for bed.

  “Alec’s got a lot of work to catch up on, baby. It might be a while.”

  “But I miss him,” he said through a yawn, his eyes already closed. “I made him a new statue.”

  Dahlia couldn’t take it. She kissed him on the forehead and left the room quickly, her eyes stinging.

  Alec knew how to work with numbers, hard facts, and logic of all types. But throw emotion into the mix for anything and predictability plummeted.

  Alec couldn’t confidently come to a specific timeframe to give Dahlia to blow off steam. He thought a day would be sufficient at first, but he realized it was probably too little. Then he figured two days should be enough, but he remembered the sisters probably needed more time to hang out—Zinnia only had four days left when they returned from Maui, and two days now.

  But Dahlia had to be out of her mind if she thought he’d wait a week.

  What the heck—three was always a magic number. After three days, surely she would have calmed down enough to at least hear him out.

  “You’re just going to keep calling from different numbers?” Dahlia asked, sounding annoyed.

  “There is no way a mother can ignore a phone call from a strange number when her child is not with her.”

  She huffed. “You are unbelievable, Alec.”

  “Only when I want something, and I don’t just want you, Dahlia.” I need you. I love you.

  Should he tell her now? Relate the depth of his feelings for her? But he knew exactly how she’d take it—no doubt she’d think he was saying the necessary words to pull her strings yet again; she would never believe him.

  “At least a dinner or something, Dahlia—let me say what I need to say to you face to face. Or maybe not dinner—whatever you’re comfortable with. Lunch, your apartment, a coffee shop…I just need to see you, Dahlia, and I won’t tell you how much I miss Angelo—how much I miss the three of us as a…” He let out a breath. Don’t give too much too soon, he reminded himself. Slow and steady sometimes wins the race. Stay measured, stay focused…

  “What do you think you can say that would change my mind? I’ve got your number, Alec—I know what you’re about.”

  “I don’t think you do, Dahlia—at least, I don’t think you have all the info you need about me, and I’d like to give it to you.”

  “You’re so used to getting your way, huh? Your Ivy League education and enabling parents, and then your millions all helped you slide through life, I bet. And now you think you can just buy everything you need.”

  “I have no idea where you got your information, and you’re making a lot of assumptions about me. For one, you know I’m a college dropout, and I only got into that Ivy League school on a scholarship—an earned one, Dahlia—through my grades, and my interview. Remember? I was that nerdy guy with no friends, and no romantic prospects with acne-filled, greasy skin and that decidedly unsexy bony frame. I was able to study hard, to focus. To innovate in all that loneliness. You think I’ve always gotten everything I wanted? I’ve wanted you since then! But even you wouldn’t give me the time of day back then—not with those bucked teeth.”

  “Alec, you never even approached me.”

  “Oh, yes I did—in my own way. Every time I saw you, I looked straight at you and smiled. And damn it, you smiled back, and I guess you just smiled at everybody, but you were the only one who smiled at me. Whatever that smile meant or didn’t mean to you, it was my ray of sunshine. It meant—God, you don’t know how much. As for the rest of what you said, my parents are divorced, and have been for a
very long time. I mainly lived with my mother, and my father has barely looked back since leaving us. I’m not sure why you figured me to be some character from some old sixties or seventies family sitcom, but I actually had to work pretty hard for most of what I have. And it sure hasn’t stopped at you. I guess that’s my destiny. I won’t lie, I feel like my brothers have it easier all around sometimes, and I have definitely run into others who live some kind of charmed life, but that’s definitely not me—although I know it seems that way to you now. But I had to hit the gym hard for this body, I had to have corrective surgeries, I had to work my ass off and put all my brainpower into the companies and wealth I’ve built. It wasn’t easy getting where I am today in any way. And if I have to work my ass off to get you, so be it, because regardless of how hard I’ve had to work for something, in the end, I always get it. And it’s worth every drop of blood, sweat and tears—which, of course, is just an expression, since I don’t cry, obviously, as a man.” He hoped he had gotten her to smile at his light joke in the silence that followed. “I am light years away from that boy I was in school, but I still want you, Dahlia.”

  He waited, heart thumping and marveling at how much calmer he sounded than he felt. He just needed one more chance to show her, to tell her everything…

  “Okay, Alec.”

  His heart soared.

  Chapter Twelve

  Full Disclosure

  What was she thinking going out with Alec again? What was she hoping would come of it?

  “Are you going to see Alec?” Angelo asked, watching her as she got ready.

  Why was she even fixing her makeup and trying to do something with her hair, anyway? Why did she care?

  You know why, stop playing.

  She cared too much when it came to him.

  There was no going back when it came to her feelings for Alec Wilde.

  You sure you’ll be back in time? I can just get Beth, she texted her sister.

  I’m pulling up right now, sister dear, came the text reply, and a few minutes later, Zinnia was at the door.

  “Thanks so much for doing this,” Dahlia said as her sister came in. “I’m so sorry most of your vacation has been spent watching Angelo.”

  “Oh, stop—don’t exaggerate. Only half of it.” She grinned at her. “Besides, like I said, it’s my pleasure.”

  Dahlia wondered if she imagined a mischievous sparkle in her sister’s eye.

  “But you’re leaving tomorrow and here I am, going out with someone else.”

  “You’re doing the right thing,” Zinnia said, her eyes still sparkling, and Dahlia understood her vagueness in Angelo’s presence.

  Angelo looked back and forth between them. “Will Alec come here after? I want to see him!”

  Dahlia’s heart ached. Thankfully, Zinnia jumped in, but to Dahlia’s horror, she said, “You’ll see Alec again real soon, buddy.”

  “Zinnia!”

  “I believe your date’s here,” Zinnia said, indicating Dahlia’s now-ringing phone.

  Dahlia cut her a look before heading out.

  She caught Alec halfway to her apartment, about to meet her at the door as was their usual custom.

  She was unprepared for the flood of emotions at the sight of him looking so ridiculously handsome, and staring at her with a look that melted her with its sincerity and adoration. Not to mention getting an eyeful of that suited hard body she had missed on top of her, beside her, and holding her.

  It took everything in her not to run into his arms immediately and hold on to him like she never wanted to let go.

  “I love you,” she wanted to say again, her lips almost trembling with the effort to hold the words back.

  “You look beautiful, Dahlia,” he said, almost shattering her restraint. She wasn’t even wearing one of those fancy outfits he had bought her.

  She looked down, mumbling a thanks.

  She stayed looking down until after he had helped her into the car.

  She had figured, since it could be the last time, she would let Alec pick the location, and that she would indulge herself one more time before letting this beautiful, brilliant man go.

  Tears stung her eyes and she kept looking down, hoping none of them gathered enough bulk to fall down her face, shaming her horribly. There was no way Alec would miss it if that happened—it seemed he couldn’t take his eyes off of her, and she felt his eyes burning into her face now.

  To her utter embarrassment, a drop fell. Alec was immediately at her side, his arm around her shoulders, and his hand holding hers.

  “Dahlia,” he said softly, only making things worse.

  More tears fell.

  He pulled her into a hug, and her mind and body sang with the pleasure of his hold. It felt too right to be in his arms; it wasn’t fair.

  She was glad he didn’t say anything else for the rest of the ride, and neither did she.

  “Alec, what is this? Where are we?” she asked, looking around when the vehicle stopped at their destination. Alec was glad she had long ago recovered from the sadness that had overtaken her briefly.

  “Malibu. I figured tonight was extra special, and I wanted our location to reflect it. I rented this place for the night; I wanted privacy, but I didn’t want to scare you with another yacht trip.”

  “You arranged all of this?” she asked, eyes wide as she took in the arrangements of flowers all over the exterior and visible in the interior of the home. Then he noticed that she sucked in her breath when she realized the expanse of beach just behind the mansion.

  He nodded. “Would you prefer to eat inside or outside?” he asked.

  “Well, it looks so beautiful already set up on the inside. But maybe we can take a walk on the beach after?”

  Alec smiled.

  She sounded so awed, her excitement so barely contained, that she almost sounded like a little girl.

  “Of course, my love,” he said, and her eyes shot to him, but she said nothing.

  “We have time, Dahlia, I want you to enjoy this,” he said after they sat down at the table decorated in Dahlia’s favorite colors as the first course was brought out.

  Dahlia had gotten a glimpse of the chef, and had smiled a nervous smile at their server. Then she looked around as if expecting to see others.

  “It’s just us, Dahlia—the florists are long gone. Just you and me for now.”

  The conversation remained on their food and surroundings until dessert, and then Alec could wait no longer.

  “Listen, I’m here to tell you the absolute truth, Dahlia Bridges,” he said, grabbing one of her hands. She let him hold on to it, and his heart sang a tune of hope. “Full disclosure: we’ve known each other even longer than I’ve led you to believe. You remember me from junior high, but we were together in kindergarten, too. You were in my class, but we never really spoke until one day on the playground—do you remember it?”

  Dahlia looked blank.

  “I had gotten attacked by this group of boys. Remember how you scared them off at the end? You came shouting for them to leave me alone, with no weapon of defense or backup—just…your outrage, I guess. I still don’t know why they bothered to run off since it was just you and your mouth, but they did, and I was still on the ground—lunch box broken open, glasses broken, ego, limbs and stomach aching. Then you helped me up, and helped me sort everything right again—you helped me try to put things back together.” He squeezed her hand. “You…you hugged me and said, ‘It’s okay, they’re just jealous; don’t let them scare you. They only did that because they think you’re better than them, and they want to make sure you’re not.’”

  He noticed her eyes begin to fill with water. “My mom used to tell me that people pick on who they view as the most powerless and the most powerful,” she said softly. The tears that had gathered in her eyes fell. “I remember,” she said, her voice barely a whisper.

  Alec smiled. “I never forgot that—what you said, and what you did for me. The sweetness and compassion you sho
wed me.” He chuckled. “When I looked up at you from my fallen position on the ground and saw you with your chubby cheeks over me, your hair sticking out in several directions from various colored hair bands, and looking at me with such concern in your eyes—you were the most beautiful thing in the world to me. Dahlia, I still think you’re beautiful. You are the woman I imagined you would be: generous in spirit, trusting, and always looking for the best in everyone. You’re innately kind, and most of the time, the world doesn’t deserve your heart, but I’m hoping to be an exception.

  “I’ve told you about this world I live in—you have no idea how hard it is to find someone genuine, someone who isn’t trying to use you or stab you in the back. Everyone’s wearing a mask. Everyone’s trying to find a way to get a leg up, to get ahead, to get a piece of some pie, no matter who they have to screw over to get it. It doesn’t matter how many times I see these people—I feel like I truly know no one but my brothers. And obviously, even they can’t always be trusted.” Alec tasted bitterness. “I don’t think I’ll be able to forgive Connor if I lose you, even though I know it’s ultimately my fault—I should have been more upfront with you from the get-go.”

  “But you have to forgive him—he’s family,” Dahlia said softly, flicking away at tear streams.

  “Dahlia, I don’t want to talk about him right now. I’m talking about us—about you and me being a family, with Angelo. I’ll take care of him, Dahlia, I’ll take care of you.” He took a breath, trying to get ready for the next part. “You know, we have a lot in common: college dropouts with divorced parents, and we both lived with our barely-there mom…”

  “You ended up a successful billionaire, I end up a single, struggling mom.”

  He could tell that she said, ‘billionaire’ flippantly, as an exaggeration, and he decided not to tell her how on the nose she was.

  Then he sighed. Why was she so bent on being contrary? He saw far more similarities between them than their obvious differences. “I grew up with all boy siblings, you, all girls,” he continued. “But the main thing we have in common—the most important thing,” he said, enveloping her hand in his, “is that I ended up with a hole in my life that just happens to be the size of you.” He heard Dahlia’s breath catch. “And I’m hoping that I fit the gap I see in your life.” Dahlia’s eyes were almost comically large now. “I love my brothers, and it’s been amazing going on this journey with them, but I’ve been wanting something more. Needing something more.”