Chapter 18

EIGHTEEN

Present

“How was London?”

Will continues our small talk as we sit in my office signing a contract. Another day, another business deal. Nothing unusual when you’re an entrepreneur running billion-dollar investments.

“It gave me a lot to think about.”

Will signs his name and then places the pen down, leaning back into the chair.

“Let me take a wild guess,” he says while rubbing his chin. “About how easily your life could have taken a different path?”

I glance up at him. “How did you know?”

“There’s something about London,” he begins, then stalls, keeping his thoughts to himself for a moment like this is something he’s thought about often. “It’s the place to escape your troubles, but the darkness never leaves.”

“It was a long time ago,” I mutter.

“Right, and you have a beautiful wife, daughters, and a million grandchildren now,” he muses.

“About that,” I say with a knowing grin. “When are you going to get the snip? I don’t know how many more grandkids I can take.”

Will chuckles. “When did you?”

“I tried, but Alexa surprised us.”

“You tried?” he repeats in a mocking tone. “Sounds to me like you chickened out. Afraid it would damage the goods.”

I sign the final dotted line and then place my pen down. “Sometimes, my friend, life has a way of working itself out.”

“What you meant to say is Charlie took it for the team?”

“Perhaps,” I respond with a smirk. “We’re all done here. Time to start our next project.”

When it comes to business, Will understands the importance of being ahead of the game. We may have just signed off on something big, but it doesn’t end here. Despite Charlotte telling me to slow down, I’ll be the first to admit it’s one of the hardest things to do.

“Let’s go have dinner before Charlotte finds me working during what is supposed to be family time.”

We leave my office and head outside to the patio. It’s a warm night with the sun still out. Charlotte and Ava set the table while Austin took care of the grill.

Masen is chasing the kids around the big backyard. Even though his brother was the athletic one in the family, Masen’s stamina outdid the kids. I’m quite surprised, given the boys have so much energy.

Amelia is standing behind Emmy, braiding her hair while ensuring her kids stay out of trouble simultaneously.

“I can’t believe Masen outran Ashton and Archer. Those boys are fast,” Amelia comments, shaking her head in disbelief.

“When you’re done with her hair, can you do mine?” Addison begs. “Fishtail, please.”

Amelia glances at Alexa, who, no surprise, is on her phone. “And what about you? Do you want your hair done too, like I have nothing better to do?”

Alexa keeps her eyes lowered, then mumbles. “No, thanks.”

Since our return from London and Alexa’s outburst, I still haven’t mentioned to Charlotte what Alexa said to me. As for our encounters, there haven’t been any. Alexa has ignored me at all costs, and I’m assuming tonight will be no different.

“What crawled up your ass and died?” Ava butts in, carrying a plate of food. “You got your rags?”

Addison shakes her head. “No one calls it that.”

“Shark week,” Ava adds, much to my disgust.

“That’s disgusting,” Amelia expresses while cringing. “The only perk to being pregnant is not having your periods for like a year.”

“Here, here,” Ava brags. “So, what’s wrong?”

“Nothing’s wrong,” Alexa states, still avoiding everyone.

The older three look at each other, but something passes between them. I expect they’ll ambush Alexa again any minute, but Charlotte announces dinner is ready, prompting everyone to take a seat.

We all take a spot at the table, then Ashton announces he wants to say grace. His small but confident voice is heard all around us, bringing our family together.

As I look around, I’m overwhelmed by the emotion of feeling incredibly blessed. I reach out to touch Charlotte’s hand as she glances at me with a loving gaze. We may have done many things wrong, but those mistakes led us here.

“So, Masen and I have set a date for the wedding,” Addison announces with excitement. “It’s nine months from now, and if Mom and Dad are okay with it, we’d love to have the ceremony at our chateau in France.”

“Of course, honey,” Charlotte assures her. “It’s beautiful in spring—”

“Hold on,” Ava interrupts. “Nine months because…”

“Because it’s the only time we can get a whole six weeks off,” Addison quickly interjects.

“There’s no baby.” Masen glares at Ava, setting the record straight. “Work is hectic. We’ve just acquired another publishing house. It’s hard enough taking care of the damn bearded dragon Addison insisted we buy.”

“Hey, don’t talk bad about Mr. Hemsworth. He’s been nothing but good to you,” Addison chastises.

Amelia begins to laugh. “You ended up calling him that?”

“Bearded dragons are native to Australia. It was only fitting his name represented an Aussie.”

“A handsome Aussie,” Ava quips.

“Okay, stop now before this conversation falls into the Hemsworth brother’s rabbit hole again,” Will complains.

I take a sip of the wine Charlotte poured, then clear my throat. “The chateau will be perfect. I’ll make sure my schedule is clear.”

The girls begin to talk about wedding plans which, frankly, bores me. I engage in conversation with Austin as he talks about what’s happening with work. Even though I chose not to follow a career in medicine, I live vicariously through his stories. A part of me wishes one of the girls studied to be a doctor, but all of them freaked out when it came to anything medical. For the better part, Addison is the closest to the medical field.

Our conversation is short-lived as the kids grow bored and begin interrupting all the adults. Charlotte manages to get them to behave with the promise of dessert.

After dessert is served, it’s obvious the kids are heading downhill. Will and Amelia are the first to leave, then Austin and Ava. Masen and Addison stick around for a bit but then head over to Haden and Presley’s for a nightcap.

I welcome the silence when everyone is gone, taking a deep breath and enjoying the summer’s night. That is until I notice Alexa sitting alone at the table. It’s unusual, given she’s the first to disappear to her bedroom. While cleaning up the table, Charlotte glances at me with curiosity but then places the plates down.

“Is everything okay, honey?”

Alexa’s hands spread out on the table, unable to look at either one of us. She lets out a small breath while straightening her shoulders with a strong stance.

“Can you both sit down for a moment? There’s something I want to tell you.”

I take a seat beside Charlotte, knowing whatever I’m about to hear will not be music to my ears. If she’s been unable to talk to me for this long, it’s highly unlikely she’s going to say something pleasant.

“I’ve decided not to go to college.”

The bile rises in my throat, the same time my chest tightens. I try to control my emotions, remembering Charlotte’s wise words, but anger is a beast that can’t always be tamed.

“Alexa,” Charlotte stammers, “I… I don’t understand where this is coming from?”

“This is coming from someone who doesn’t want to go to college,” she responds coldly. “Just because my sisters went doesn’t mean I have to.”

Charlotte stares in confusion. “So, what exactly will you be doing?”

“I’ll be traveling around Europe.”

“Then, when you’re done, say, in a year? You’re going to enroll?” Charlotte pushes.

In slow motion, Alexa’s bitter eyes lock into mine. “No.”

Her stare weighs heavily, and it’s more than teenage angst. What the hell have I done to raise such an ungrateful child? Alexa’s head tilts away, unable to look at me any longer. The contempt she has for me leaves me speechless, but of course, the anger swirling within me refuses to subside.

The skin around my eyes tightens as my jaw sets.

“You have one year to travel,” I state in an arctic tone, strangling my voice to control my temper. “Then, you will return and enrol in college.”

Alexa stands up in a rush, crossing her arms with a defiant stare. “You don’t get a say in my life anymore. I’m almost eighteen.”

“As long as you live under this roof...”

“Well, guess what, Lex…” she drags my name in a condescending tone. “As soon as I graduate, I will no longer be living under this roof. You can control what you want, but you will never control me.”

And as quickly as she drops this bombshell on us, Alexa runs into the house and out of sight.

I bury my head into my hands, unable to shake the animosity from what just happened. In the blink of an eye, I’m sitting here counting my blessings to being disrespected by my own daughter.

I thought I’d experienced the worse when I found out Will and Amelia were lying to me and sneaking behind my back. The anger toward them was unparalleled. I’d never experienced such contempt as I had when I discovered the man I’d mentored was ultimately fucking my daughter.

As for Ava, her pregnancy with Austin was a surprise and at the time, a disappointment. Yet, I soon learned how mistakes equate to blessings. Many said I became soft and treated Ava differently, but I argued the circumstances were entirely different.

Addison has never put me in a position ever to get mad at her. So, perhaps, I thought the worse was over.

But rainbows don’t form until after the storm.

The storm known as Alexandra Adriana Edwards has just made landfall.

And she’s ready to destroy everything in sight….

To be continued in Craving Love…