No. He dropped his head. So she was just like Natalie and not understanding him. He let out a small sigh. “How would you know that?”
She cupped his face with her palms. “Galen, you’re my serious one in the family and you’d never marry Natalie if you didn’t love her. You just need to realize that love doesn’t make you weak. You’re not your father and she’s not me and personally I love how she makes you laugh. She’s good for you and she’ll be perfect as your forever wife.”
No. He’d never abandon or twist the definition of family and he’d never hurt Natalie like his father had done with his mother. He tried to tell his racing pulse to relax but it didn’t work. Instead he kept his own head down and asked, “Mom, is that what you said to Mitch and Damien?”
She shrugged, sipped her water and finally admitted, “I might have called Mitch an idiot. Tess had left him before he admitted his problem.”
“I remember seeing her at the airport.” Galen recalled how upset his brother had been on the phone when he’d told him she’d left. At least Tess hadn’t gone far, and he’d joined her that night in her hotel, so their lover’s quarrel ended quickly.
His mother put her glass down and snapped his attention on the present moment. “You’re marrying someone who’s willing to wait for you. Don’t disappoint that girl upstairs. I like her.”
True. Natalie was one in a million and he’d never find another woman like her. It’s why he wanted to marry her. He leaned closer, confiding a secret. “Me too, Mom, a lot.”
“Don’t blow it—accept that love isn’t what you believe, it’s something you feel.” His mother jumped out of her chair as her phone beeped multiple times with messages. She read a few and then said, “I’m off to talk to the others to see if we can track down your father’s paperwork and see what he actually did with Alison. Just remember your father was all about his legacy growing through you and your siblings.”
Galen stood to walk his mother to the front door. He put his hands behind his back, thinking about what she said and what she meant. “It’s strange to hear you suspect him now. Most of my life you defended him—even about Catherine.”
She kissed both of his cheeks like she’d done when he was little. “You were right and I was wrong. That’s life, but don’t hold my mistakes against your Natalie.”
As he closed the door, he heard light footsteps on the stairs that caused him to turn around. Natalie’s smile was infectious and she glowed with happiness. She met him in the living room and hugged him. “Galen, Caro is going to be my maid-of-honor. Was that your mother? Why didn’t she stay?”
Fiona was on a mission right now. He took her hand in his. “Natalie, I need to talk to you. Can you spare a few minutes?”
She had a bounce in her every move as she just beamed happiness and sunshine. “Sure, I found the dress already, so we have a few minutes before I need you to taste a few samples of cake. It’s nice not leaving the house but getting all the samples delivered.”
“Walk with me to my office.” He continued to hold her hand. Hopefully he’d find the right words. There were too many messes in his life already and Natalie was the one good thing he was sure about. He had to be sure she’d never leave him, no matter what the next curveball might be that was tossed at them.
Natalie heard Galen close the office door and the room seemed to shrink. It was like they were at work again. She took the seat across from his desk out of habit though her skin felt cooler. She picked up a pen and paper from his desk in case she needed to take notes, but this felt strange so she put them back. What did he want to talk about now? Surely work might wait a day or two.
Picking out her wedding dress was so much fun while she reconnected with Caro and made friends with Victoria. And Caro’s wedding sounded like it was going to be glamorous and relaxing at a resort.
But now she stilled and wanted to clutch her cross but held her hands in her lap by force. He took the seat next to her instead of at his desk, so she turned to him. “Okay Galen, what did your mother say?”
He closed his eyes, like he needed to meditate or something. Then he said in a quiet voice, “She thinks Alison is lying about an abortion if there was a child, as she doesn’t believe my father would pay for anything like that.”
This time she clutched her cross and didn’t stop herself. She couldn’t think. This wasn’t something she’d ever lie about and couldn’t imagine. What would be the point? “Why?”
Galen gazed at her and leaned closer. “I told you my mom is Catholic. She made pilgrimages to the Vatican more than once. My father might have kept her as the other woman, but in her heart she was married to him and she feels he wouldn’t be a part of an abortion.”
She dropped her hand from her cross and let her shoulders relax as she stared at him intently. “So she thinks you might have a child out there somewhere?”
“Yeah. Or that Alison is lying. She wants to investigate.” Galen’s face was so dark with worry that she wanted to hug him.
Right now he needed kindness so she winked and tried to break the tension in the room. “That’s kind of funny as you only noticed me when your brother worried I might be having his child.”
His eyes widened but then some of that deepness seeped from his face. Good. She hoped this meant he’d relaxed, but he took her hand in his. “We take children seriously in my family.”
She hopped out of her chair and kissed his cheek, then sat back down. “Well if you do have a child out there, we’ll do what’s best for him or her. I’ll be the best stepmother I can be.”
Color returned to his face in a rush. He squeezed her fingers. “So you’re okay if that turns out to be true.”
The idea was strange. She might not be a mother right now, but that never meant she didn’t want a family of her own. If she married into a family, she’d find a way to make it work. She tilted her head and wondered what was going on his mind. “Why wouldn’t I be?”
His lips didn’t quite close as he stared at her. “A lot of women don’t want children or other people’s children in their lives.”
Aw. Well not everyone was her and she wasn’t going to judge. She reveled in the spark that was in their joined hands—it coursed through her with bright energy. Galen was hers and she was his. “I had pretty awesome parents. I’d like to be like them and one day, maybe, we can have our own. But don’t get me wrong here, I hope she’s lying just to get under your skin and then you don’t feel guilty about anything.”
“I would feel guilty if I had a son or daughter out there. Funny that you see that.” He took his hand back and sat straighter. “But there is more we have to talk about.”
