They had all tried to talk Alex out of it. But no one, not Mack, or his friends, or his mother could convince him he was making a mistake. He had made arrangements for Marissa to fly out and meet him in Las Vegas, where they would be married the day she arrived. Once it had become obvious that Alex wouldn't change his mind, Mackenzie had left the tour. She couldn't even bear the thought of Alex and Marissa marrying, much less watch it happen.
Alex had insisted on going to the airport with her and Howie. Saying goodbye to him was the hardest thing she had ever done in her life. They clung to each other until her flight was called for the last time and Howie gently pried them apart. "Mackenzie," Alex said, "I'll always love you. If there's anything you ever need. . . ." his voice broke and he couldn't go on. Mackenzie had nodded, unable to speak. She walked to the gate to board her flight, turning one last time to look at him. It was then that Alex saw that she had finally broken the vow she had made when she was twelve. She was crying over him.
A week after the wedding, Howie told her Marissa had "lost" the baby. Two weeks later Mackenzie discovered that she was pregnant. Howie had begged her to tell AJ, but she couldn't do it. She knew AJ was determined to make his marriage to Marissa work and Mack refused to come between them.
Howie had bought a house in Tampa for her and the baby and had helped her to find a job. He visited her constantly, even flying in while he was on tour if he could. He had even been at the hospital when Alex was born.
**********************************************
The sound of the doorbell ringing brought her back to the present. She didn't even begin to know what to say to Howie over betraying her trust. Mack walked to the door and opened it to find AJ standing there holding Alex. They stared silently at each other. AJ ran his eyes over her hungrily. He thought she looked even more beautiful than she ever had. Motherhood obviously became her.
"Can we come in?" he asked. She stood aside and let them in. When she reached for Alex he whined and clung to AJ. "Da, da!" he cried.
Mackenzie was stunned. "All these months he's been saying ‘Da da' he's been calling for you?" she cried incredulously. "Howie said it meant ‘McDonald's'!
"Well, he probably associates one with the other," Alex admitted. "That's where we usually meet."
"How long have you known?" she asked. "I held him the day he was born," AJ told her. "But I knew before then. Howie said you didn't want me to know at all. Why, Mackenzie?" he asked her, his face full of pain.
"I did what I thought was best for all three of us," she told him. "I didn't know about Alex until after you were married, or I might have told you. I didn't want to make things any harder on you than they already were."
"You should have told me," AJ said. "He's my son, Mackenzie!"
"I won't keep you from him, AJ," Mack said. "But I don't want Marissa around him," she said adamantly.
"I filed for divorce last month, Mackenzie." AJ said. "God knows it'll probably cost me as much to get rid of her as it did Pearlman, but I can't live this way any longer," he told her.
"Are you sure this is what you want?" Mackenzie asked.
"I'm sure that you and Alex are what I want," AJ told her. Mackenzie's heart was filled with joy, but she ducked her head as she said to AJ, "I don't know if I can do it, AJ."
AJ was disappointed that she had doubts about him but he understood. He didn't intend to give up easily and he would do whatever he had to convince her of how much he loved her and their son.
"I mean, would you expect me to eat at McDonald's every day?" she asked him seriously.
AJ grinned slowly as her words registered in his brain. "Everyday," he told her.
"Every other day," she bargained.
"Every other day," he conceded as he reached out his hand and drew her into his embrace.
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