“Let’s sit on the deck,” she suggested when he handed her a steaming cup.
He didn’t argue or remind her of the cold. If that’s where she felt comfortable, that’s where they would talk. He opened the French doors, let Alexis pass through first. The heaters were still on from earlier, and he pulled a second chair to the first barrel.
Alexis cradled her cup between both hands. She drew in a long breath and sighed. “I love the smell of hazelnut.”
“It has a homey aroma,” he commented distractedly.
She lifted the rim to her lips and sipped. “You never had that did you?”
“Not really. After my mother passed away when I was two, my father hired nannies for me, then I was on my own most the time once I could fend for myself.” He shrugged. “He tried in his own way, I guess, but nurturing isn’t one of his talents.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be. I’ve turned out okay, for the most part.” He didn’t want her pity. Life was what it was.
She smirked. “The verdict’s still out on that one.”
A chuckle slipped past him, a welcome relief to the heavy mood between them. “Fair enough.”
“I’m only giving you a hard time, but I do want to know what you meant out there. What matters were you talking about?”
He clasped his hands in front of him. “I never wanted to hurt you, Lexi. After years of battling with you, I finally caved in and acknowledged my feelings for you. No matter what I tell you, please believe me on that.”
“I believed you once, and you took that trust and threw it in my face.” Her voice cracked. “My family had gone through several extremely difficult years, and our together were the bright spot of my life. I know it didn’t mean the same to you, and I shouldn’t have projected my family issues onto what we had of a relationship, but it made it that much worse when you rejected me.”
“You’re so wrong. It meant everything to me.” He set his cup aside. “Everything I did was for you. My decisions were made based on your future happiness, not mine.”
She threw her hands up, frustration reaching her voice. “You’re talking in circles. How was breaking my heart and humiliating me supposed to make me happy?”
“My dad threatened to fire Tynley from KapMart if I didn’t break completely free of you.”
“You’re lying,” she accused with fire in her eyes. “Not even your father would be that cruel, knowing that if she was fired, she’d lose custody of Harper.”
“I wish I were, but it’s the truth.” He leaned forward and wrapped her hands in his. The warmth from the coffee mug still gave off heat. “Don’t you see the decision I had to make? Whether I like it or not, my father is a powerful man with influence across the board. You know the capabilities he holds.”
“I do,” she admitted sadly.
“It’s a risk I couldn’t take. Tynley deserved that job and there was no reason to fire her. I wouldn’t have been able to live with myself if Dad had her fired and she subsequently lost custody of Harper because I wouldn’t stay away from you.”
“She’d come so far, but I fear that would have been her undoing again, so early in her recovery.” Leaning back, she freed herself from his touch and set her cup aside. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
“I didn’t know how.” He paused. “And I thought it was better that you didn’t know.”
“We could have worked it out together. I could have warned Tynley and helped her find another job.” She jerked her head and sat upright. “You did that, didn’t you?”
“Did what?”
“You found her another job.” She gave him a sideways glance with an unreadable expression. “Tynley put her all into KapMart, and she loved the job, but she didn’t have the experience to be a corporate trainer. I always thought the out-of-the-blue recruitment was odd, but Tynley was excited about the opportunity. I never questioned it, passed it off as a God thing.”
“God can use people,” he answered neutrally.
“In this case, though, he used you, didn’t he?”
He drew a long breath and released it before answering. “My dad’s threats never set well with me, and I didn’t want Tynley in a position to be threatened, even unknowingly. It wasn’t right.”
“No, it wasn’t.” She spoke in even tones, giving no indication of her emotions.
“I wish I would have thought about it from the beginning. Maybe it would have prevented a lot of unnecessary heartache. Either way, the perfect opportunity arose when Best Mart recruited one of my father’s execs. The man had mentored me, and he didn’t question me when I requested that he hire Tynley.”
