Lost in Paradise (Paradise Club #2)(61)

“There you two are. I hope my mother isn’t giving you the third degree,” Alex says while walking into the conservatory. He notices the tension between his mother and me and frowns. “What’s going on in here?”

“Sweetie, I might leave you to it. Ivy, Pierre will be here at seven,” Judy tells me. She gives her son a clap on the back as she leaves us alone.

“Babe, are you okay?” Alex rushes over and kneels beside me. “Did Mom say something?”

“She said that our breakups were connected. What the hell does she mean?” I ask him. Alex’s face drops at my comment, and a tingle of unease slides up my spine. He stands, then takes a seat beside me, and reaches out for my hand. I let him, but anxiety settles over me.

“I was only going to mention it when you mentioned who your ex was,” Alex starts.

“You already know who my ex is?” I ask as panic begins to grip my throat and tighten.

I never wanted Alex to know about Steve.

Yes, snippets maybe, of why I am the way I am but knowing his actual name, never.

I pull my hand from his, which makes him frown.

“I wanted to know who the asshole was that treated you horribly,” he confesses.

“Why?” I question.

“I wanted to make him pay,” Alex growls angrily which has me sitting back away from him. “I wanted to know who had no idea what a gift he had right in front of him,” he explains. My heart flutters at his words but my walls shut it down real quick.

“That wasn’t your story to know,” I tell him.

“Nate found out who it was, and he told me,” he says.

Nate knows? My chest begins to tighten, and I can feel a panic attack coming on. I place my glass down on the table. The conservatory is beginning to feel incredibly claustrophobic, so I get up making the chair scrape across the wooden floor.

Alex jumps up too. “Ivy, I’m sorry. I was waiting for you to tell me.”

Emotion begins to well in my eyes. “I never wanted you to know,” I tell him.

“I’m sorry,” he apologizes, his head falling forward, and I hear the sincerity in his voice.

“I don’t get why your mother thinks we have a connection?” I question.

He lets out a frustrated sigh and rakes his hand through his dark mocha-colored hair. “Sit, Ivy, please,” he asks, looking at me with such sadness, so I do, in silence. “You know how I told you about the girl who I worked with and was giving information to our competition?” he asks.

I nod, remembering the story.

“The person who she was having an affair with was Kevin Holdsworth.”

Oh good god, my stomach sinks. The champagne bubbles feel like acid in my stomach. “The brother of your ex,” he adds gently. Tears well in my eyes as I stare at Alex, and I can see the same hurt reflected back at me. All I do is move to sit on his lap and wrap my arms around his neck and hold him tightly.

“I’m sorry I kept that from you,” he says, nuzzling into my neck.

“I’m not ready to talk about my ex,” I tell him honestly.

“Okay,” he says, wrapping his arms around me tightly. “Just know this, I am going to make him pay for what he did to us.”

I’m not sure Alex is as ruthless or as heartless as Steve and Kevin—that entire family is bad to their core.

“I’ve got you, Ivy, okay? I promise you are safe with me,” he tells me.

I move out of his arms and stare down at him. “I believe you,” I tell him because I do. Reaching out and cupping his face, I run a thumb over his scratchy jaw. After a long bout of silence between us, Alex breaks it by asking me if I want to get ready for dinner and shows me up to our room in one of the towers. He gives me a kiss before going off to chat with his mom to let her know everything is fine about her dropping that bombshell on me.

I pull out my phone and call Camryn as it’s only lunchtime for her.

“Hey, babe,” she answers the phone happily.

“Hey,” I answer back, my voice a little wavy with emotion.

“What happened? Aren’t you supposed to be away with Alex? Did he do something? Are his family assholes? Do you need an extraction?” Camryn asks, which makes me laugh.

“No, they’re lovely. The house is beautiful,” I tell her.

“You sound funny,” she adds.

“Alex’s ex, the one that sabotaged his family’s business, she was the mistress of Kevin Holdsworth.” The phone falls dead silent. “Alex knows about Steve and is seeking revenge for the both of us,” I add.

“What the actual fuck?” Camryn says, raising her voice. “First, it’s Pierre and now the Holdsworth’s. How the hell have we never run into Nate and Alex before Paradise?”

“Maybe we weren’t ready,” I add, then the phone falls silent again.

“Are you ready, Ivy?” my sister asks seriously.

“I don’t know. Alex’s family is amazing. They’re so warm, loving, and welcoming.”

“That’s weird,” Camryn adds with a chuckle.

“Yeah, it is, but it’s nice to see healthy relationships for once.” I sigh. “Alex has been accommodating with my wish to go slow.”

“Hate to break it to you, babe, you’re not going slow. You’re meeting the parents.” She laughs.