Enough to take his bastard son into her home.
Thea had always treated Alex as one of her own. She’d loved him unconditionally, even though he must have been a daily reminder of her husband’s infidelity. She’d never made him feel like an interloper in the Mackopoulos home, expecting everyone to treat him like a member of the family or face her wrath.
Not that his stepmother was the least bit intimidating. She was warm and loving, with a talent for cooking that had earned her a reputation for serving some of the best Greek cuisine in San Francisco. She’d toyed with the idea of opening a restaurant, but she had never followed through, insisting that her family came first. That was only one of the reasons Alex would protect her with his life. And why he’d gone to jail for her.
“Just explain to me why you’d be crazy enough to pay a visit to Paige Hanover after all this time?” Nico dug in his pocket for his car keys.
Alex stopped next to the vintage red Corvette that belonged to his brother. “None of your damn business.”
“If it affects this family, then it is my business.” Nico pushed the unlock button on his remote control, then popped open the door. “What exactly did you tell her, Alex?”
“Enough to get me thrown into jail.” Alex slid into the front passenger seat, then unspooled the seat belt. He was in no mood to deal with his overbearing brother today.
“Do you know what your problem is?” Nico asked.
Alex clenched his jaw. “I’m sure you’ll be happy to tell me.”
“You’re too damn noble. You probably went to see her so you could apologize. Am I right?”
“You think you are. That’s all that ever matters.”
Nico gripped the steering wheel of the parked car as he stared straight ahead. “Just tell me you didn’t spill all the family secrets to clear your conscience.”
Alex turned to look at him. “I went to jail for almost a year to keep our father’s secret. A Mackopoulos never breaks his word.”
“Then promise me you won’t see her again.”
Alex stared out the passenger window. “I can’t do that.”
“Why not?”
He couldn’t tell Nico the real reason. That Paige had gotten under his skin a year ago and no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t seem to forget her. Need for her pulsed through his veins, even after she’d had him thrown in jail. But Alex wasn’t about to give up. A Mackopoulos never surrendered.
Unfortunately, his brother shared that same trait. Which made it difficult to deal with him whenever they disagreed. Like now, for instance.
“Just drop me off at Bay Bouquets in the Embarcadero Center. We’ll talk about this later.”
Nico narrowed his eyes. “Paige’s flower shop? Are you crazy? She had you locked up the last time you saw her. She might shoot you this time.”
“She’s not a violent person,” Alex said, hoping it was true. He’d never seen Paige as angry as she’d been the other night, her cheeks flushed with indignation and her blue eyes flashing fire. But passion burned underneath that fire. He could see it in the way she looked at him.
“How much does she know?” Nico asked, pulling out of the parking lot.
Alex turned to him. “She knows I dated her to try and gather information about her stepfather. She doesn’t know why. Or that you were the one who sent her that damn e-mail proposal.”
“I only sent it because you weren’t making any progress in locating Stanley Weaver. It’s obvious to me now that I should have done the job myself.”
The thought of Nico romancing Paige set Alex’s teeth on edge. “She couldn’t have told you what she didn’t know.”
“Maybe,” Nico conceded. “But it looks like I’ll be making her acquaintance anyway.”
Alex frowned at him. “Why?”
“To convince her to drop these ridiculous charges against you. I don’t want you spending another minute in jail. Not when I should have gone in your place.”
He was talking about the year Alex had been incarcerated on contempt charges for refusing to testify before a grand jury. It had been his bad luck to draw a hardnosed judge who routinely jailed witnesses until they agreed to talk. A judge who didn’t care that Lucian Mackopoulos, the owner of the company under investigation for illegal distribution of funds, was too ill to even realize what was happening.
Alex thought back to how it had all started, when Nico had come across a blackmail threat meant for their father. There was an audiotape, proving that Lucian had recently had a fling with a stripper in his private office, along with a threat promising to send the tape to Thea unless their father handed over twenty thousand dollars.
The blackmailer obviously didn’t know that Lucian had just suffered his first heart attack the day before. Nico, shocked by the evidence of his father’s betrayal, had paid the money to protect his mother. That had been his first mistake. His second had been withdrawing the funds from the company account.
By the time he’d confided in Alex, it had been too late. An overzealous IRS agent had caught the discrepancy months later and an investigation had begun.
Alex and Nico had begun an investigation of their own during that time, after the security firm they’d hired had pegged Stanley Weaver as the probable blackmailer. That’s when Alex had gone undercover as Paige’s boyfriend, hoping to discover Stanley’s whereabouts and try to find the original of the explosive audiotape.
But nothing had turned out as they’d planned. And neither Alex nor Nico could reveal the truth behind the missing twenty thousand dollars. Not without breaking their mother’s heart.
If Lucian hadn’t died of heart complications three months ago, Alex might still be in jail. They’d let him out just long enough to tell his father goodbye. Just long enough for Lucian to extract a promise from both his sons to take good care of their mother.
A promise they both intended to keep.
With Lucian’s death, the investigation against Mackopoulos Imports came to a grinding halt. But it still took almost twelve weeks before the case was officially closed and Alex was released from jail. He certainly didn’t intend to go back again.
“I’ll talk to Paige myself,” Alex said.
“Are you sure?” Nico asked him, turning into the Embarcadero Center. “I’ll be happy to handle it for you.”
“I’m sure,” he said firmly.
Alex tried to ignore the thrill of anticipation in the pit of his stomach. He hadn’t been able to stop thinking about her all weekend. Despite the fact that she’d had him thrown in jail, he still wanted her.
In truth, he wanted her more now than when he’d been forced to leave her a year ago. But he still couldn’t tell her about the grand-jury proceedings. Or the contempt charges. Not without revealing everything.
Alex rubbed one hand over his face, realizing Paige would probably never let him near her again. But at least now he had an excuse. A reason to see her again. It was a step in the right direction.
Nico pulled up to the curb in front of Bay Bouquets. “Just let me know if she gives you any more trouble.”
“Thanks for the ride,” Alex said, climbing out of the Corvette. He didn’t want Nico within one hundred feet of Paige. The intensity of his possessiveness shocked him. It also made one thing perfectly clear.
He wanted Paige back. For real this time.
Alex walked into the shop as the Corvette spun away. The scent