Fabi scratched his chin, skeptical. “Right. Let me know how that works out. Speaking of being careful, you and Braylee make sure you’re on full alert. I’ve told you that family is crazy, and I don’t agree with you even going over there. But, I know you. You’re always going to do what you think is right.”
As he stood half-listening to Fabi, Alex looked over at Braylee, who sat in a chair curled up on her feet staring out into space. Her head rested on the palm of her hands. Another rare moment where she was completely vulnerable and had let down her guard. In spite of everything, he couldn’t forget that she was grieving.
Fabi was still venting when Alex checked back into the conversation, “I don’t know how we ever got tangled up with them in the first place. Yes, I do. My brothers fell for a beautiful face, a sweet ass, and a smile.”
Abruptly, Alex cut into the conversation. “Luciano and I aren’t the only Manchetti brothers who can appreciate the beauty of a woman if I recall correctly. Anyway, I’ve got to. I’ll touch base with you when we land and get to the house that we’re renting.”
The moment Braylee heard Alex end the call, she refocused her attention back to him. “So, what now? Can’t take the same risks with Cecily here.”
“There were certain risks I wasn’t going to attempt anyway with you here, but Cecily definitely adds a whole other set of challenges. I better go wake her up.”
Braylee touched his arm. “Let her sleep. There’s no sense in waking her up now. Luckily these chairs recline. Because it looks like, we’ll be sleeping out here.”
Alex took his seat next to her. “Come here.” He reached out his hands to Braylee, and she took them as she got up and sat on his lap. He cradled her in his arms. Her head was tucked underneath his chin as Braylee wrapped her arms around his waist. Alex softened his voice. “How are you? Are you really okay?”
Braylee exhaled into his chest. She sounded tired. “I’m fine.”
He pulled back to look into her eyes. “Physically, yes. But how are you really?”
She was slow to respond. “I’m mostly numb. There are moments when I’m not, and this pain in my chest is just…” Her voice trailed off. “The peace I used to find in working just isn’t helping. I’m unsettled, restless, and so damn angry. I don’t know it’s hard to explain.” Braylee lay her head back on his chest.
Alex hugged her tighter then picked up one of her hands and intertwined her fingers with his. “You’ve been through a lot over the past couple of days.” He brought her hand up to his lips and kissed them.
Not the least of which was the fact that she was pregnant. If you only knew, Braylee thought to herself.
“Have you talked to Stephanie or your mother?”
Braylee tensed at the mention of her mother. “I’ve talked to Stephanie. Since the explosion, it seems like she calls every hour on the hour. I haven’t been able to reassure her.”
“And, your mother?”
Her voice was soft. “I haven’t spoken to her yet.” She tried to tamp down the raw emotions she’d rather not feel as they welled up inside her chest. In this, Braylee preferred to feel numb. She tried not to sound hurt. “But, Stephanie said she asked about me. So, that’s something.”
Alex couldn’t imagine being rejected by a parent. As much as she tried to hide it, he could feel her pain radiating through her body. At some point, Braylee was going to have to find a resolution with the issues she had with her mother. However, after the trauma of the explosion and the death of Nate, and now this madness with his family all he wanted to do was comfort her. “Do you know how crazy I was when I thought you were hurt?”
She responded snarkily in an attempt to lighten the mood. “Yeah, that’s because you like me a lot.”
He squeezed her fingers with his. “I do you know. Like you a lot.” Using his other hand, he tipped her chin up with the tip of his finger so that he could look into her eyes. “I would go so far as to say…I think I might even want to spend the rest of my life with you.”
Shock maybe even disbelief was evident on her face. “What?”
Slowly, Alex lowered his head and kissed her gently on the lips. “You drive me insane and test the boundaries of my willpower. Most of the time, I want to strangle you, but every second you’re not around, I miss you. I even miss fighting with you. I know we haven’t been dating that long so I’m not trying to freak you out. But—when it’s real, you know—and I know.”
Braylee was speechless. She felt the same way but wasn’t sure she could trust her feelings. So much was happening all at the same time. “Alex, I…”
Before she could finish, the flight assistant interrupted. “Mr. Manchetti? I apologize for the interruption, but we’ve run into a bit of bad weather. The ride is going to get pretty choppy. You and Ms. Hinsdale should probably put your seat belts on.”
Immediately, he thought of Cecily. After kissing Braylee on the forehead, he spoke. “Hold that thought, Ms. Hinsdale. It’s time for me to wake sleeping beauty.”
Chapter 14
Chang Lee Xiou was an unassuming looking man. Even in his sixties,
