If The Shoe Fits by Laurie LeClair Page B

back to him. “That’s right. After the wedding.” She closed
the door behind her.
    Stunned, all he could do was burst into
laughter.

Chapter 9
     
     
    “She surprises me, Grandfather,” Alex said as
he stood at the floor-to-ceiling windows in his grandparents’
library. “Every day, almost in every way. Imagine that.” The last
drifted away.
    His gaze took in the scene outdoors. The
small garden had been transformed into an impromptu wedding. Arches
draped with flowers and vines, less than twenty white folding
chairs circled nearby, and ribbons and flowers attached to the
chairs outlined the aisle his bride would soon walk down. Tables
waited in the distance, set with the finest linens, silverware,
china, crystal stem ware, and with the finest food prepared by the
top chefs. The few guests, in all their beautiful finery, arrived.
Even from here he could hear the buzz of activity, the clinking of
glasses, and delighted voices.
    “Really, son? All women surprise me.” His
grandfather’s gruff voice was soon followed by a few coughs.
    Alex turned his back on the view. He frowned
as the coughs came in fits and spurts. His grandfather, once so
powerful and self-possessed, now seemed to have lost control of
this battle with his health.
    A prick of sadness pierced his chest. He owed
everything to this man. Today, on his wedding day, he’d prove it,
too. He could give his grandparents that much. He’d marry for them
and soon produce the great-grandchild they longed for. He sighed
inwardly.
    Crossing the room, he took the armchair near
the older man.
    “Have I ever really thanked you,
Grandfather?” He struggled with a well of emotion.
    Grandfather, with his snowy-white hair and
mustache to match, leaned his tall frame back. He smiled. “I’m not
dying yet.”
    Alex winced and rubbed the back of his neck.
“I didn’t—”
    The older man held up a hand. “No, no. Just
teasing you.” He sobered. “I’ve lost count of how many times you’ve
thanked your grandmother and me over the years.”
    “If it weren’t for you both…” He shuddered at
the possibility of not being saved by them.
    “We couldn’t turn our backs on a boy who’d
survived the plane crash his parents just died in.”
    Silence and sadness descended.
    “But the way you did it. You could have sent
me off to boarding school, checked in on weekends and holidays,
paid the expenses and—
    “Not given a damn,” his grandfather
interrupted with a growl in his voice. “That never crossed our
minds. Not once.”
    A smile tugged at Alex’s lips. “No, Gramps,
it wouldn’t have.” Admiration spread through his middle.
    At Alex’s use of his nickname, the older
man’s face relaxed and he beamed. “You’re a fine young man.”
    “Not so young anymore,” he corrected.
    “You get to be my age and we’ll talk, all
right?”
    “Yes, sir.”
    “I’m proud of you. Oh, not just for the
things you do and get accomplished. It’s how you treat people, how
you go the extra mile. And why? Because, son, you care. You have a
great heart.”
    Taken aback, Alex remained speechless. After
a few silent moments, he choked out, “Thank you. You humble me. All
my life I wanted to be like you, in business and in life. Now I
think I’m getting there.”
    But was he? Something nudged Alex in the back
of his mind. If his grandfather knew everything, would he still
admire what Alex was doing to Charlie? Would Gramps think Alex had
such a good heart then? Guilt pricked at him.
    Alex had put getting married and having a
child on the top of his agenda since his grandparents’ health began
to fade. Now he’d found the woman, never suspecting that he’d come
to care for her in such a short time. To please his grandparents,
he’d marry her today, but to keep his word with her stepmother, he
was going to have to hurt Charlie.
    Sometimes, he hated what he had to do. Would
Charlie end up hating him, too?
     
    ***
     
    “Go on, shoo now, I tell you.” Dolly