The bombshell that dropped yesterday about Gabe and Lesley was still replaying through her mind. She’d told him that she needed a little bit of time with all of this and had gone to bed. He’d slept in the other bedroom and Alex was grateful. It had taken her hours to finally fall into a fitful sleep.

He hadn’t cheated on her. All those roadblocks she’d been putting up were built on something that hadn’t happened. Why hadn’t she just confronted him in that hotel room when she thought he’d slept with Lesley?

Because she was a chicken, that was why. She’d been afraid that if she confronted him, he would have been able to woo her back. He would have woven his spell over her and she would have forgiven him and he would have done it again and again and again, and she would have ended up like the one person in her life she vowed never to be like. The fear had made her heart race and her palms sweat as she envisioned herself sitting at home while he was out on the town sleeping his way through co-stars and fans alike, and she would keep taking him back.

So, she’d run, run away from him and away from the horrifying vision of the future she’d painted for herself. And because of that and the mistakes he’d made, they had both robbed their daughter of a relationship with him. Aaron deserved a boatload of blame in all of this, but if they had been upfront with one another from the beginning and not so damn scared, he wouldn’t have even had the chance.

The front door opened downstairs and Alex sat up. She could hear Emma’s voice bouncing off the walls and Gabe’s deep voice, but couldn’t make out what they were saying. They were talking to someone. She got up, walked to the dresser, and pulled out some clothes. The front door closed and Emma was running around outside.

Thinking that he was giving her some time to herself and taking Emma to the park, she wanted to hustle and get dressed and get some food in her before they returned. She was still feeling raw and ragged inside and needed some coffee or something else to perk her up. She wasn’t exactly looking forward to this day. Things had ended on a strange note last night. Not knowing where things stood with him made it even more difficult.

She got dressed and headed downstairs, and she caught the lit-up screen of a phone in her peripheral vision. Letting out a cross between a squeak and a scream, she gripped her hand to her chest before she realized that it was just Lesley sitting in her living room. Lesley turned to her and put her arm along the back of the couch, looking as radiant as ever. She put her phone down on the table.

“Hey Alex! Gabe said you would be down soon. I hope you don’t mind that I’m waiting here on my own.”

“No, of course not. Not at all. Did you want something to drink? Some tea or juice or something?”

“Sure, some tea would be great, thanks.”

“Come on in the kitchen. I have a pretty good idea why you’re here.” Alex waved Lesley into the kitchen and grabbed a couple of mugs from the cabinet, filled the electric kettle, and turned it on. Lesley slid into one of the stools across the counter. She put two teabags into the mugs and turned back to Lesley, resting her butt against the stove.

“So, I take it Gabe told you about what we talked about last night.”

“Yeah, Alex; I don’t even know where to start. I did not sleep with Gabe. We didn’t sleep together ever and other than kisses done in front of about a hundred crew members, we have never, ever done anything intimate at all.”

“I know,” Alex said, and a stunned expression passed over Lesley’s face. She couldn’t hold back her laugh. “Wasn’t expecting that?”

“No, not at all. From the frantic way Gabe called me last night, I fully expected to come here and see a pile of Gabe’s clothes burning on the front lawn.”

“I had a lot to think over last night and I think I freaked him out. It wasn’t just about the fact that I thought he cheated, but also what was going on with me that made me run away when I thought he had. Walking in on the scene I saw with the two of you was rough.”

“I’m sure, I can’t imagine,” Lesley said, reaching across the island, and giving her hand a squeeze.

“But I didn’t have to react that way. I was more worried about what I would do once I confronted him than I was about the actual cheating.”

“What do you mean?”

“I was worried that you would have come out of that shower and he would have seen me there and told me what happened, and I might have still taken him back. That I would have loved him so much and not wanted to be away from him that I would have settled for whatever scraps he wanted to give me until he was through with me and tossed me out.”

Lesley’s eyes got wide and her jaw dropped. “Alex, no way would Gabe have ever done that. Not just the cheating part, but any of that other stuff. He was ga-ga for you, still is from what I can see. If it weren’t for that contract and the lawsuit they could have filed against him, there’s no way things would have gone down in LA like they did.”

“I know that now, but back then ….” The kettle went off, Alex fixed their tea, and both women sat down at the kitchen table to continue their talk.

“I was so incredibly insecure back then; hell, I’m still insecure now. But then, I was in a not-great place when it came to guys. I had never even really had a boyfriend before Gabe. I’d dated a couple of guys, slept with one other guy just to see what it was all about, but he was the first guy I let into my heart and it scared the shit out of me. Still does.”

Alex went on recounting her relationship with her mom and how that had changed the way relationships worked in her mind. They were a major weakness and could lead you down an unhealthy path if you weren’t careful. Perhaps that had made her too careful and caused her to make mistakes on the other end. Instead of never wanting to be alone and always trying to find a guy to be with no matter how screwed up he was, she did her best to make sure she never got hurt by never letting anyone in.

That no longer seemed like a way to go about living.

* * *

Gabe cautiously entered the house, not knowing quite what to expect. The sound of laughter filtered in from the kitchen and he could finally release the breath he had been holding. Laughter was a good sign. Emma came bounding in behind him and ran into the kitchen. When he turned the corner, Alex and Lesley were giggling over a couple of glasses of wine.

He’d made a whole day of keeping Emma out of the house so that Alex and Lesley could talk. Lesley said she would text him when it was safe to come back, and the fact that she hadn’t sent him a message in over six hours since he’d left the house had sent his anxiety levels sky-high. Turns out she hadn’t sent a text because she was having so much fun with Alex.

“Hey, baby!” She gave Emma a big hug and a wet kiss on the cheek.

“Eww, Mommy, wet lips,” Emma giggled as she wiped the kiss off her face.

“You’re back,” she said to Gabe with a smile. It was a good sign.

“Yes, I’m back. And I see that you two are having some fun this afternoon.” He smiled picking up the nearly finished bottle.

“We were catching up, and how better to catch up than over a glass of wine,” Lesley said, taking a sip.

“That’s always the best way, I say,” Alex chuckled, taking a sip from her glass.

“Well, I will leave you ladies to it. Emma, do you want to watch a movie with me in the living room?”

“Yes! Can we have popcorn?!”

“Sure,” he said, patting her on the head.

“I’ll make it, you two get settled.” Alex grabbed the popcorn from the cabinet and popped it into the microwave.

“I’d better get going.” Lesley stood up and drained the last of her wine. “It was really great seeing you again, Alex, and I hope to see much more of you.”

“Me too, and please bring the little one next time,” she said, giving Lesley a hug.

“I will.”

Alex grabbed the popcorn from the microwave and poured it into a bowl. She walked Lesley out into the living room, where her friend was gathering her things, then put the bowl down on the table and walked Lesley to the front door.

“See you later, Gabe,” Lesley called out.

“You’re leaving already?” He picked up Emma off his lap, placed her on the couch, and walked over to the front door.

“I’ve got to get back before dinner, but don’t worry. I’ll see you next week and I’ll bring Olly with me.” Lesley gave him a hug and then Alex.

“Don’t be afraid of the possibility of letting yourself be loved, Alex,” she whispered in her ear. Her throat tightened and she nodded as Lesley glided down the walkway and into her waiting car. Closing the door, Alex rested her head against it and glanced up to see Gabe still standing there.

“How are you doing?”

“I’m doing great, Gabe, really,” she said, walking over to him, and planting a kiss on him. His eyes widened before he closed them and leaned into the kiss.

“Ewwww. Mommy, Daddy, no kissing in front of little kids.”

She broke the kiss and rested her forehead on his, laughed and walked over to the couch.

“Get used to it kiddo,” she said, tapping Emma on the nose before she grabbed the bowl of popcorn and settled on the other side of her. Gabe reached his hand out along the back of the couch and laced his fingers through hers as they sat and watched the movie together as a family.