Alex stared at Zara in horror. If Alex had been hoping to approach the topic gently that had gone straight out the window.
‘I see,’ Violet said, giving nothing away. ‘Why don’t you go and get us all some mince pie muffins from the café.’ She opened her handbag and gave Zara some money. Zara ran out of the room.
‘Violet, we were going to tell you, but everything isso new and—’ Alex stalled as Violet put her hand up to stem the tide.
‘I’m not mad.’
‘You’re not?’
‘No, and you know I understand better than anyone about keeping relationships a secret, I’m doing that exact same thing myself.’
‘I wanted to tell you when you were here the other day but I wasn’t sure if it was best coming from Quinn or if we should at least tell you together.’
‘It would have been nice to be told rather than finding out from that busybody, Jacqualyn Rumsey, but I long suspected you two had a connection. Quinn moved to Lovegrove Bay so he could be there for you. He moved his studio to here to be close to you. He never told me but that boy has been in love with you for years.’
‘I’ve been in love with him for years too,’ Alex said, quietly.
She nodded. ‘I think he held off out of respect for Liam and out of respect for you and your grief.’
‘Yes, and I held off out of respect for you.’
Violet’s eyebrows shot up. ‘For me?’
‘You’d lost a son. I knew it would be inappropriate for me to move on with Quinn so soon after Liam’s death.’
‘I was heartbroken that Liam died, of course I was, coupled with guilt that I could have done more to help him with his drink problem. But knowing how he died I always wondered if he had reverted back to his old ways. Then Quinn told me what happened eighteenmonths before he died, that his best friend died and he’d snapped. I always knew something like that would push him over the edge. But I know how awful he was to be around when he was drunk. If you lived with that for eighteen months I imagine it was somewhat of a relief that he died.’
Alex looked at her in surprise. ‘I was never relieved that he died, I never wished for that, but I was relieved it was over. He was rude and nasty to me every day and to wake up knowing that I wouldn’t have to deal with his vile moods that day or ever again was a huge relief.’
She hadn’t wanted to tell Violet any of this before as she hadn’t wanted to ruin her memories of her son. But Violet had lived through it too, before their estrangement, she knew only too well what Liam was capable of.
‘I’m so sorry,’ Violet said. ‘I wish we’d spoken about this before but I was so desperate to have a relationship with Zara after the funeral, I didn’t want to pry too much into your life and start asking you questions about Liam’s alcoholism. But I would never have thought badly of you for moving on, no matter how soon it was after his death.’
‘I grieved the loss of our relationship eighteen months before he died,’ Alex said. ‘I think that’s why my heart fell in love so quickly, I was ready to move on even if I felt so guilty doing so.’
‘You have nothing to feel guilty for.’
Alex bit her lip. ‘Is it weird that I’m moving on with Quinn? Half the town seems to think it is.’
‘Half the town can mind their own bloody business.And most of them have secrets far worse and more sordid than you could even imagine. It’s not weird at all. You spent so much time together after Liam died because Quinn wanted to be there for you and Zara so it’s only natural that you two connected on that level. I’m happy for you. Quinn is a good man and he’ll look after you with a fierce loyalty. He’s never been in love before so I’m so glad he’s found that with you. You are a wonderful woman and I think you’ll be good for each other.’
Just then Quinn arrived in Alex’s studio, clearly having run up the stairs.
‘I saw your car in the car park,’ he said to his mother and gestured, obviously a little out of breath. He focussed his attention on Alex. ‘Is everything OK?’
‘Everything is fine,’ Violet answered for her. ‘I’m very happy for you both. Now let me go and see how Zara is doing with those muffins.’ She moved to the door and then turned back. ‘But if I have to hear about your engagement from bloody Jacqualyn Rumsey, there will be hell to pay.’
‘I promise you’ll be the first to know,’ Alex said. ‘Well, after Zara. In fact she’ll probably be the one to tell you she’ll be so excited.’
Violet smiled. ‘I look forward to it.’
With that she left them alone.
Quinn quickly crossed the room and took her in his arms. ‘Was she OK?’
‘She was more than OK with it, she’s really happy.’
‘Really?’
