16. Alexi

16

ALEXI

I placed my hand over Troy's shaky ones.

We'd been sitting on the couch at his parents' house for twenty minutes. His mom was in the kitchen with his dad. Wren and Tom were on the way. My parents had messaged to say they'd landed at the small private airport thirty minutes from Chester Falls.

"It's going to be okay," I whispered.

"You don't know that. What if my parents are disappointed?"

"They won't be."

His mom came into the living room a mere second after I took my hand away from his. I didn't like it when he was nervous. He was my Mister Confident.

"Would any of you like a drink? I hear Charlie and Kris are almost here." I heard a car pull into the driveway. "Oh look, my boys are here."

Mrs. Mason went to open the door, and a second later, Miles came running toward us. "Toy! Wexi!"

Wren and Tom followed behind. Wren fell into the armchair and Tom sat on his lap. They both looked exhausted.

Troy picked Miles up and sat him across both our laps.

"Hey, little dude. Look at you running like a big boy," Troy said.

"Moo." Miles held out a little toy cow. He was so adorable, especially when he looked at Troy like he was the most important person in the world.

I knew the feeling all too well.

Troy's gaze met mine and his eyebrows raised.

I chuckled and shook my head.

"Can I interest you guys in a wonderful activity-filled afternoon at the petting zoo?" Wren asked, turning to us.

Miles shouted straight away. "Zoo! Dada. Zoo."

"Is that your way of asking if we can babysit your kid while you nap?" Troy asked.

"Of course not," Tom said indignantly. "We don't need naps, do we, baby?"

"Of course not, angel," Wren said, a yawn escaping his mouth.

"Not even little ones. We're fine and not at all sleep"—Tom yawned—"deprived."

I laughed at the pleading look on Wren's face.

"We'd love to take Miles out."

Wren rubbed Tom's back. "Keep doing that, baby, and I'll fall asleep."

"I've got you, Angel."

"Why are you so tired?" Troy asked. "I thought Miles was done with the sleepless nights."

"Someone decided to gift Miles a playpen set with loud musical instruments," Wren said.

"But to be fair, baby. It was your idea to set it up in his room," Tom added.

"I didn't know he was going to break out of his baby bed to do Rolling Stones impressions at three in the morning and then refuse to go back to sleep."

I tried to control my laughter. Troy elbowed me, but it burst out anyway.

"I'm sorry. It's too funny to think of two grown men brought to their knees by this cute, cherubic blond angel."

"Don't jinx us, Lexi."

Troy's statement didn't go unnoticed because, suddenly, six pairs of eyes were on us.

Tom squeaked, clapping his hands, which was mirrored by Miles, who was also saying my name on repeat. Wren's mouth hung open. Troy's parents, who'd come in at that exact time, looked equally shocked, and my parents, who'd just stepped through the door, had huge smiles.

"Um…what I mean…meant…"

I took Troy's hand and squeezed it tight.

"What Troy means is that we're together."

"I called it, baby," Tom said, raising his hands. "You owe me that blow—um…blow-up mattress I want for when we have visitors."

Wren snorted. "Nice save, Angel."

"Well, we need a celebratory pot of coffee and a nice homemade cake. It's a good thing a mother is always ready," Mrs. Mason said.

Troy's dad came over to us and shook our hands. "Great news, boys." He sat on the other armchair, looking smug.

"What's with the face, Dad?" Troy asked.

"Oh, nothing. Hey, Miles, come sit with Granddad. Look what I have here." He pulled a crocodile toy out of his pocket, and Miles practically jumped across from where we sat to Mr. Mason's lap.

While Troy's mom was out in the kitchen, my parents grabbed two chairs from the dining table and sat near us. Each gave me a kiss on the head in turn.

"Hey, Dad. Hey, Pop."

"You knew about them?" Tom's betrayed expression aimed at my dad, who'd been his best friend since forever, was almost comical.

My dad squeezed my shoulder. "Tom, one day you're going to have to keep a secret or two to stop your husband from hiring hitmen to take out your son's love interest."

Troy stiffened next to me, so I put my hand on his leg. "He wouldn't."

"I would."

"Pop, stop scaring my boyfriend."

"Aww, aren't they adorable," Troy's mom said, returning with more cake and coffee than eight adults could ever consume. "I knew time would sort things out for you two. You've been so close since the day you met."

Troy looked at me and smiled. "We found our way to each other, and that's what matters, but there's something I need to tell Mom, Dad, Wren, and Tom."

"Is everything okay, son?" his dad asked.

"Yes."

I tried to convey all the support I could give by holding Troy's hand. He'd decided to tell his family about Elite now that his final exams were over.

As it turned out, Marco's dad decided Elite was too valuable to sell, so he bought a third of the company with the condition that Marco and Troy hire a CEO.

In the last few months, I'd gotten to know Marco and his fiancé, Veronika, who had been the one to set up my meetings with Troy. Marco's dad was a wealthy businessman and investor. He'd also been somewhat of an absent father to Marco, so his way of making up for it was helping Marco gain his financial freedom by remaining as involved with Elite as he wanted to. The offer was extended in equal terms to Troy.

They'd both decided they enjoyed working for the company but were ready to take a small step back.

Everyone in the room listened attentively as Troy told them about Elite from the very start. Even Miles was completely entranced by his uncle's words.

"So, the plan for me is to continue to work with Marco for as long as Alexi is in college. When he graduates, we're moving to Lydovia."

When he finished, his mom had tears in his eyes. "You were the one paying all the bills? Our accountant swore our paperwork was all in order, but I couldn't figure out how."

Troy's face was full of regret. "I'm so sorry, Mom. I didn't mean to worry you. I spoke to your accountant and told him I'd take care of some bills. I asked him to keep it all a secret. He thought I had a really good job and just wanted to help. Which wasn't a lie."

I would be lying if I said I hadn't been a little worried for Troy. His family meant the world to him, and if they'd ended up being upset with him for keeping those secrets, it would have been devastating.

My parents had been really supportive of everything. They'd flown back to Chester Falls to support us while we delivered the news, but in the end, everything had happened as it should because family was the most important thing, and we all stuck together.

After everyone had talked, drank all the coffee, and eaten all the cake, Troy stood, taking me with him.

"I'm just going to show Alexi my computer collection."

Wren snorted, and Tom hit him. "You're forgetting how many times you've shown me your footballs and old trophies."

I gave my parents a pleading look.

"We're the cool dads. You can make out wherever you want as long as you're safe and it's under our roof," Dad said.

"Not cool, Dad. Not cool."

Troy dragged me upstairs, and as soon as we were inside his room, he pinned me against the wall and kissed me.

I let him work out his nervous energy on me. It was only a pity that our family was downstairs. Despite what we'd done the last time we'd been in this house together, I had no desire to be caught having sex.

"Feeling better?" I asked when he pulled back, resting his forehead on mine.

"Much better. I can't believe how well they took it."

I held his face between my hands. "They love you, Troy. Just like I do. You're an incredible person, you know that, right? Even if Elite had never happened, you'd still be my hero."

"I love you so much, Lexi."

"I love you too, Troy."

"Hey, how long do you think we have to stay before I can take you back to your huge house where your bedroom is miles away from your parents' room? I'm kinda in the mood to ravish you."

I laughed. "We're taking Miles to the petting zoo, remember?"

His grin went wide. "That'll be fun. We can practice for when we have our own little dude."

"In a long time from now," I added.

"You're right. I have to marry you first."

I gasped. Troy put a finger over my lips.

"Don't be surprised, Lexi. I'll wait until you're ready for kids, but don't make me wait to be your husband."

"I won't," I whispered.

"Good. By the way, when we get back, you'll find that your roommate is kicking you out of your dorm. If you need a place to stay until…say, forever…I know a place."

I laughed. "Stop charming Jett, or he'll want to move to Lydovia with us."

"If that would make you happy, I would make it happen."

Someone shouting our names from downstairs reminded us we'd been hiding in his room too long.

"Come on, let's go eat more cake and pet some alpacas," I said.

"After you, Lexi."

I hope you enjoyed Alexi and Troy's story. Troy has been a feature in Chester Falls when since he was a teenager helping out his parents at the store. Even then I knew he had a brilliant future ahead of him, even if I didn't expect it to be quite so brilliant.

As soon as I introduced Alexi at the end of the series I hoped that one day I'd revisit these two characters and give them their story.