And with that, he walked over to the walk-in refrigerator to take out all the chicken and ingredients he’d need for tonight’s dinner. He slammed the bowls down and stayed focused on the task in front of him.
“Can I say something?” Walker asked after several long moments.
Connor shrugged.
“You’re right. We didn’t talk to you first, and we should have. But…I don’t think it would have changed anything. Lexi is in a bad way right now and needs help. I think that takes precedence over you just being uncomfortable because you were forced to break up with her at sixteen.”
Axel stepped forward and helped himself to a red bell pepper strip. “Is it possible that you’re just romanticizing the relationship because your parents made you break up with Lexi?”
That made him stop and look up. “What do you mean?”
“I mean…everything feels…you know…like more when you’re a teenager. First love and all that. And it’s not just you; I think we all have a story of that first girl and how you thought it was the greatest love in the world. Whether it’s hormones or just being too young to fully understand your feelings, maybe there’s a chance that you’re holding on so strongly to those feelings and the guilt because you’ve always wondered…what if.”
He wanted to disagree on principle, but maybe Axel had a point.
Had he just built the relationship up in his head because he hated the direction his life was forced into? Was he holding on to memories of Lexi because the thought of marrying her was preferable to the woman he actually married?
“Well, shit.”
Walker came up beside him, resting his hand on Connor’s shoulder. “You okay?”
“I guess I never thought about it like that,” he admitted gruffly. “But now that it’s out there, I suppose it’s possible. I just don’t know where it leaves me.”
“What do you mean?”
“It’s one thing to just say that I romanticized the whole thing, but without taking the time to get to know Lexi again, I’ll never be absolutely sure.”
Axel groaned. “I wasn’t trying to give you a reason to harass her.”
“No, no, I get that. But you see what I mean, don’t you? I’ll still never know if we never get to talk. We never got any closure.”
Grabbing a carrot, Walker nodded and moved to sit on a stool. “Okay. At some point, the two of you might be able to talk. And I think you should. But it has to be on Lexi’s terms. Don’t push and don’t come up with crazy reasons you have to run into her. Just…let it happen naturally. Neither of you is going anywhere. You’re both working and essentially living here—or close to here—and there are a lot of things that you need to focus on that are slightly more important than teenage love.”
Again, he wanted to disagree on principle, but this time, Walker had a point.
“Fine. I’ll wait and let whatever’s going to happen happen organically. For all we know, she’s going to stick to her guns about not eating with us, and we’ll both be too busy to even see each other from a distance.”
“Let’s hope,” Axel murmured.
Connor glared at him briefly before looking at all the food he had to prep and cook. “Now that we have that semi-settled, can we let it go? I need to get dinner started if we’re going to eat early. Annabeth will be getting dropped off in about thirty minutes, so I’d like to be further along with this so I can spend a few minutes sitting and relaxing with her.”
“It's awesome that you were able to coordinate with a carpool that didn’t mind bringing her all the way here to the resort,” Walker said. “I’m sure that wasn’t easy.”
“It’s not really a carpool as much as it’s a nanny.”
“A nanny? Why?”
“Because I have a lot to do here and there are times it might not be easy for me to get away to be there for after-school pickup. And once the resort opens, I’m not really sure it’s a good idea for Annabeth to be hanging out here. I’ll be distracted, and there will be too many strangers. Plus, with a nanny at the house, she’ll be able to have playdates with her friends.”
“That makes sense,” Axel commented as he snagged a handful of pepper strips. “Where did you find her?”
“She’s Swati’s aunt,” he explained. “She’s retired and was looking for some part-time work. Annabeth and I met her for lunch last Sunday and we ended up spending the entire day together. She’s very nice and caring and had excellent references.”
“Namely, Swati, right?” Axel asked.
“Exactly. So, it seemed like a great solution. Now, if you’ll both excuse me, I have work to do.”
“We’ll see you at dinner,” Walker said as he got up. Axel joined him, and they walked out of the kitchen while discussing the work that was currently being done on the Olympic-size swimming pool on the property.
