“What do you say?” her mom asked, her smile wide.
“Thank you!” the little girl shrieked.
“You’re welcome.”
“Thank you, thank you, thank you!” she repeated, clutching that unicorn like it was going to run away from her if she relaxed even a little bit.
Thank you, the mom mouthed.
Alex nodded, giving the girl another smile that was small but blinding.
Did he have to be so beautiful and nice when he was in the mood?
I couldn’t help myself. I wrapped an arm around his waist and gave him a side hug, pressing tight against that solid frame.
He really was a good man. A total fucking sucker too, but a good man. And I hoped he could see that on my face as he dipped his head while I hugged him.
“You’re a real hero when you use your powers for good,” I told him before dropping my arm just as quickly as I’d gone for him.
He blinked. “I always use them for good, even when I don’t want to.”
“I know.” Because I did.
Alex made a hoarse sound, but I hoped he understood what I meant.
Doing the right thing was never easy, but doing the right thing when you didn’t have to was even harder. Most people would never be able to set aside their pride, to do what should be done. And I think that said everything about his personality.
About him.
It gave me a lot to think about.
His eyes scanned the crowd, and in my gut, I knew it wasn’t just to be cautious. He’d said it himself, there was nothing in this world he had to worry about… other than others like him. But I understood how he’d become so disillusioned. One of these people might need him someday. Would they badmouth him too? Try to sue him?
“Alexander?” a foreign voice spoke up.
Alex’s arm came over my shoulders, pulling me into his side so fast I stumbled into him. Into that rock-hard side that felt like a damn brick wall.
“Hey,” the voice said a moment before a man took a step forward, a toddler-sized boy in his arms, a woman at his side.
The arm on my shoulders stayed right where it was.
“Hey, I guess you don’t remember me. It’s Phillip. We went to Andover Prep together,” the man said.
The fingers dangling by my collarbone twitched, and for a second I thought he was going to deny knowing the guy, but the hand not around me gradually extended toward him. “Yeah… I do.”
He sounded the opposite of excited.
The man named Phillip took Alex’s hand and gave it an aggressive-looking shake. “I almost didn’t recognize you. How’s it going? I haven’t seen you since graduation.”
Yeah, Alex went all tense again, and his voice sounded off, sounded different as he answered, “Well, you?”
This was reminding me of the first few weeks we knew each other.
The man laughed like what he’d said was funny. “I’m great. This is my son, Pip, and my wife, Ashley.”
Alex simply nodded at the two. “This is my… Gracie.”
The guy looked at me, and his gaze flicked in the direction of my boobs. In front of his wife.
