B00BR2BOUU EBOK (41 page)

Bryce looked to me, and I
think he could tell I had something on my mind. “Alexis, did you want to add
anything?”

“Well, yes if I could.”
Gareth leaned back and crossed his arms. “I completely understand what Gareth
is saying, but there are ways you can get around that. Look, I think the idea
from a marketing point of view to have extravagantly themed rooms could
definitely be a big selling point. It’s different and special, and parents
especially want their holidays to be special. They want their children to
remember the experience. Obviously, you don’t want rooms being unused simply
because of a painted theme not suiting, but you don’t necessarily have to just
have boy-themed rooms or girl-themed rooms. Why not have universal unisex rooms
to suit multiple personalities.”
Shit, did I just say that? Shit, keep
going.
“Um, for instance a room designed like a magical forest, or a
safari, beach, circus, etc.”
Shit, I don’t want to speak anymore.

It was obvious Gareth had
noticed my choice of words. His look toward Bryce then back to me was bordering
on furious. A part of me thought Gareth was no longer in the room, instead
Scott appeared to have taken his place.
Shit, who is he? Maybe he needs a
collective name too, maybe in circumstances like this he can be Garott!
A
chill went up my spine, and I looked away.

“Exactly,” said Patrick.
“There are definitely ways to avoid being gender specific or as Alexis put it,
to suit multiple personalities.”
Oh, Patrick, shut the fuck up.

Bryce sensed my unease and
pushed to move along. “Okay, Patrick, maybe you could work on some designs of
rooms showing these unisex themes and we can decide on them at the next
meeting?”

“Sure. Okay, moving along
then to safety. As you can see on the tablets in front of you, there is a list
of some minor changes and implementations which will need to be addressed in
order to comply with Australian Safety Standards.” The board members all
perused the list, and then Patrick proceeded to go through some figures in
terms of cost projections, this basically continued until the end of the
meeting. Overall, apart from my stupid, stupid, Freudian slip, it went quite
well.

Afterwards, Patrick and Chris
smiled and congratulated me on backing my ideas. A few of the board’s members introduced
themselves properly and asked about my role as a mother.

Bryce was going over some of
the cost projections with one of the men, so I decided to pack up the drinks
tray and take it to the kitchenette while he was busy. I don’t really know why
I did it, housekeeping would’ve cleared it up, I think it was just my natural need
as a mother to tidy up after people. I placed the tray down next to the sink
and went to leave the room when Gareth blocked the door.
Oh, fuck, play it
cool, Alexis. Don’t bait him.

“Hi, Gareth.”
Now that’s
not playing it cool, he knows you don’t like him, Alexis.

“Did you enjoy yourself in
there?” He sneered.

“Um, no I wouldn’t say I
enjoyed myself. I’m just happy to be able to help.” I walked closer to him as
if to say I was finished and wanted to leave the room, but he didn’t move from
the door frame.

“I think you are more than
happy to stick your nose into things that don’t concern you.”
Oh, shit, stay
calm. Reassure him maybe.

“Look, Gareth, I think you
and I got off on the wrong foot. Maybe we could just put it behind us and start
over?”

“I don’t want to start over,
Alexis.” When he said my name, he emphasised the ‘S’, hissing like a snake. “I
want you gone. I want you to stay away from Bryce. He doesn't belong to you.”

Shit, it’s Scott.
“Gareth, I’m not a threat. I don’t know why you think
I am. I love Bryce and I would never hurt him.” I took another step closer, not
sure if it was in the right direction. Every ounce of me was saying I should be
stepping backward, as far away from him as possible. The problem was, I was
boxed in, and I thought that maybe if I could show him that I was not afraid of
him and not a threat, he might relent.

“Do you think he loves you?”
I
know he does, but should I answer that?

“I...I...I’m not sure.”

“Well, he doesn’t, so if you
know what’s good for you. Fuck off and get out of his life!” He glared at me
with a look I could barely describe. It was terrifying, the most hated expression
I had ever seen in my life. He turned and left room, leaving a chilly, frosty
sting that bit at every inch of my body. I leaned over the sink and put my head
down, trying to bury my fear and gain back control of my senses.

“Alexis, what are you doing?
Shit, Hunny are you okay?”

Bryce rushed to my side and
lifted my head from the sink. I was still trembling from Garott’s presence.
“Alexis, what’s wrong? You’re shaking.”
Don’t tell him, he’ll go insane;
he’ll probably do something that neither of us wants him to do. No Alexis, you
can handle this.

“I’m fine, I was just
nervous, and had a moment.”

“Hunny, you were terrific.
The board was very impressed.”

“I fucked up about Gareth,
though. Where is he?”

“I don’t know, he
disappeared, and so did you. I panicked for a second.” He hugged me tightly.

“I’m fine, Bryce. Honestly,
I’m fine. I’m just exhausted. I think I need something to eat and a long hot
bath.”

“You’re staying tonight?” His
face lit up.

“Well, yeah, if it’s alright
with you. I can always go home, though.” I playfully pouted.

“If I had my way, Hunny, you
would be calling here your home.”

“Hey, about that, I spoke to
Rick yesterday, and he suggested he keep the house, and I move in with you...”

“Hang on, Rick suggested you
move in with me?”

“Well, yeah, sort of. I told
him I was going to move in with you at some stage, but where? I wasn’t sure. He
said there was no point in the both of us moving out and selling the house when
he wanted to keep it. So, I was thinking that I would start staying over a few
nights a week and then easing the kids into staying over as well, and they
could switch between us and Rick. What do you think?”
Oh, fuck, is it too
much too quick? I know he said he wanted me to live with him, but now that it
can happen he might no longer want it.
He grabbed my face, placing an eager
kiss on my lips. Then he lifted me into his arms and carried me out of the
door. Most of the men were still in the foyer, together with Garott. I giggled
and blushed as he whisked me past them.

“Good evening, gentlemen,”
Bryce said with pride.

“Good evening,” I said softly,
still embarrassed by his bold display. I tried not to look at Garott, because I
knew what I would see in return would churn my insides. The men all smiled and
headed for the elevator as Bryce walked toward his apartment. As he punched in
his security number, I looked over his shoulder. Garott was standing there
watching us, so I kissed Bryce, lacing my tongue with his.
Alexis you are a
fucking idiot.
He didn’t move and continued to stare at us until the door
closed. I figured that he needed to see it, maybe then he’d back off.

***

“Welcome home, my love.”

We were standing at the
entryway. I looked around, and smiled. “Say that again.”

“Welcome HOME, my love.”
Home,
could this really be my home? Yes I think it could. Maybe when the evidence of my
children and myself become a permanent part of the decor, then it could be
home.
“We will change whatever you want to change...” He stepped down into
the lounge and swung me in his arms as he turned to look at the apartment. He
was speaking quickly and excitedly as he went over its features. “If you want
to change the colour, and the furniture, you can. We can go shopping together and
you can pick whatever you like. I have already organised contractors to fence off
the pool for the kids and to reinforce the balustrades to make them higher. Do
you want Twister carpet? We can get that too.”

“Bryce, Bryce, stop.” I
laughed at him. “I don’t want to change much at all, I love it as it is. Maybe
some photos up on the walls? And yes, Twister carpet.” I laughed again. “But
other than that, it’s perfect, you’re perfect, and we’re perfect.” I leaned
closer to kiss him again.

“Yes we are, perfect
together. Thank you, my love.”

“For what?”

“For giving me a chance.”

“Bryce, you didn’t need it.
The moment you smirked at me wearing hot white chocolate, was the moment that
cemented our future together, I didn’t know it at the time, but now it could
not have been more clear.

“You had me at ‘Shit! Shit!
Geezus, that is Hot!’ I couldn’t have agreed with you more, Hunny, you were the
hottest thing I had ever laid eyes on.” I looked at him with a strange
expression, and then I remembered that was the first thing I had ever said to
him. “You still are the hottest thing I have ever laid eyes on, and you always
will be.” He pressed his lips to mine, and we didn’t separate them until we were
naked and lying in his bed
,
our bed together.

***

The next day was just as busy
as the previous one. I’m not sure if Bryce’s heavy workload was due to our time
away, or whether it was inevitably from the storm that subsequently followed
the calm. I had been busy organising meetings for him for the rest of the week,
so I had not thought much about the task of breaking the news to the kids that
evening. I guess there was no real point in trying to plan it because how the
kids might react would likely be completely different from each other. I did
feel that I wanted to tell Nate, alone, first. For some reason I felt he
already knew to an extent, that he would understand it better, and that he
would appreciate being treated more like the eldest child. Then maybe he could
possibly help Charli understand it. After 6 p.m., I sucked in all the courage I
had and made my way home, which really wasn’t my home anymore. Bryce had walked
me to the car and kissed me through the window, hesitating to let go even while
I was reversing. I watched him stand there through the rear-view mirror with
his hands in his pockets looking glum, which only dampened my mood further.

***

Rick and I had already
decided to organise pizza for tea, it was sort of a way to lighten the mood
around the house, and show the kids we were still friends. When I walked in the
door, I pulled Rick aside to tell him my thoughts about breaking it to Nate, he
agreed with me so put our plan into motion.

“Charli, have you got
homework tonight?”

“A little bit, Mum.”

“Well, why don’t you do it
now? Then after dinner, we can paint our nails and put on a face mask together.”

“Okay, cool.” She skipped off
to her room.
Good, that has Charli Bear organised.

“Nate...”

“I don’t have any homework, I
did it yesterday.”

“No, no sweetheart. Can you come
into our room for a minute? We want to talk to you about something.”

“Sure.” He slowly and with
uncertainty made his way into our room. I sat down on the bed next to him and
put my arm on his shoulder. Rick stood opposite him, leaning up against the
wall, then before Rick spoke he smiled at me.
That’s right Rick, smile, like
we said.

“Mate, your Mum and I have
something we need to tell both you and your sister. We thought that seeing as
you are the oldest and more mature, we would tell you first. But also, because
your little sister might need you to help her understand.” Rick ran his hand
along his chin.

“You’re breaking up, aren’t
you?” It came out so matter of fact, yet his head was down and his shoulders
had slumped. I squeezed him tighter.

“Yes, Nate, we are. We just
don’t love each other like a husband and wife should anymore, but we still love
each other as friends, and we still love you and Charli just as much as we ever
have.”

“Is that because you now love
Mr. Clark?”
Oh Holy Fuck, he is so tuned in sometimes.

“No, that’s not the reason...But
yes, I do love, Mr. Clark.” I kissed the top of his head, and Rick shot me a
dirty look. “Rick, he deserves to know the truth, he is obviously mature enough
to hear it.” Rick’s eyes widened and I think he thought I was going to tell
Nate about Claire, I shook my head as if to say ‘good on you, as if I would do
that’. “Nate, your Dad and I stopped loving each other years ago, it’s just taken
us a long time to realise it and move on.”

“So, what does that mean?”

“It means that you will now
have two homes, and you can choose when you want to stay at either of them.”

“Are you going to live in
that big apartment with Mr. Clark?”

“Sweetheart, you can call him
Bryce, and yes, eventually I will, but not straight away. We can go and have
sleepovers a few times a week until you decide you want to stay there more
often.” He didn’t say anything and shrugged his shoulders. Charli called out to
Rick, so he left the room to see what she wanted. As soon as the door closed,
Nate looked up at me.