“Just a friendly question.”
“Change of scenery. What about you? How long have you lived in Bridge Point?”
Alex swallowed. “After my parents split.”
“Sorry to hear that.”
“Not a big deal.”
“How old were you when they split?” Zoe asked.
Alex had tried to block those memories out. His jaw set as it all came back. His mother had rushed down the stairs with his father at her heels.
“I didn’t sign up for this,” his mother had said.
His father’s expression looked pinched. “This is real life. What did you expect?”
His mother had flung her arms in the air. “I thou
ght we’d be further along. I can’t live paycheck to paycheck. I told you when we met I wanted to be kept.”
His father had sighed and reached for his mother. She only stepped back.
“I can’t do this anymore. You’re not the man I thought you were,” she had said.
Alex had hidden behind the stairs, listening to his parents’ conversation. His mother didn’t love his father anymore. She only wanted to use him to live a lifestyle she thought she deserved.
As he grew up, the more Alex saw his mother in the women he dated. They didn’t care about him. All they wanted was what he could do for them. A woman wouldn’t love him for him.
He learned that lesson with Layla. She had used him to get to his so-called friend. It left Alex devastated.
“Alex?” Zoe said.
He blinked. How long had he been quiet on the phone? “Sorry, what was your question?”
“I guess I shouldn’t have asked.”
That was a first. “I don’t mind.” He didn’t? Usually, he didn’t share his past with his women. Zoe wasn’t his woman. Was she? Alex wanted her to be. He wanted more.
“How about you share something with me and I’ll share something of mine.”
He smiled. “Deal.”
“Go ahead.”
He cleared his throat as he crossed the street. “I think I was in middle school when they split. I guess marriage and motherhood weren’t quite what my mother thought she wanted.”
“Sorry to hear that. Really, I am.”
“My dad raised me. He owns the mechanic shop in town.”
“You didn’t take after him?”
“I know a few things about cars, but music is where my heart is.”
“That’s good that you’ve found your passion.”
“Your turn,” he said.