“Am I still only a pal?”
“A friend.”
“Why just a friend?”
“I keep getting the present mixed up with the past. Hearing you talk about wishing you could have been my father stifled my romantic inclinations.”
“When I look at you now, I can’t relate you to that tiny baby in the crib. You’re an exciting woman. I want to hold you, love you, and not like a daddy.”
“No.” She shook her head adamantly. “It just doesn’t sit right, Junior. It’s out of whack.”
This was the speech she should have made to Reede. Why hadn’t she? Because she was a phony, that’s why. And because the same rules didn’t always apply to similar situations, even when one wanted them to. And because she didn’t have any control over whom she fell in love with. She and Celina had that in common.
“We can never be lovers.”
He smiled and said without rancor, “I’m stubborn. Once this is over, I’ll make certain that you see me in a whole new light. We’ll pretend that we’re meeting for the first time and you’ll fall hard for me.”
If it soothes his ego, let him think so, Alex thought.
She knew it would never be, just as it could never have been with him and Celina.
And in both cases, Reede Lambert was the reason.
Chapter 37
Angus’s secretary escorted Alex into his office at ME headquarters. It was an unpretentious complex, situated in a professional building between a dentist’s office and a two-partner law firm. He stepped around his desk to greet her.
“Thank you for stopping by, Alex.”
“I’m glad you called. I needed to talk to you anyway.”
“Would you like a drink?”
“No, thanks.”
“Seen Junior lately?”
“Yes. We had coffee together this morning.”
Angus was pleased. His lecture had obviously worked. As usual, Junior had just needed a pep talk to get into gear.
“Before we get to my business,” Angus said, “what’s on your mind?”
“Specifically, the night my mother died, Angus.”
His hearty smile faded. “Sit down.” He guided her to a small upholstered couch. “What do you want to know?”
“When I spoke with Junior this morning, he confirmed what I’d already been told—that he proposed to Celina that night. I know that you and Mrs. Minton opposed the idea.”
“That’s right, Alex, we did. I hate to tell you that. I don’t mean to speak badly of your mother because I adored her as Junior’s friend.”
“But you didn’t want her for his wife.”
“No.” He leaned forward and wagged his finger at her. “Don’t think it was snobbishness on my part. It wasn’t. Sarah Jo’s opinion might have been swayed by class and economic distinctions, but not mine. I would have objected to Junior marrying anybody at that time in his life.”
“Then why did you consent to his marriage to Stacey Wallace only a few weeks later?”
No dummy this girl, Angus thought. He assumed an innocent pose. “The situation had changed by then. He’d been emotionally devastated by Celina’s death. Stacey worshiped the ground he walked on. I thought she would be good for him. For a while, she was. I don’t regret blessing that marriage.”