alex tends to be good at reading people, so if she sensed that fee wasn't quite comfortable with her, she would have approached her gently. been friendly and kind, still tried to get to know her, but given her the space to do it at her pace. she's not the kind of person to ever force herself upon anyone, but she has always loved the herring family, so anyone important to them is important to her.
so even if it took them awhile, maybe they've forged some sense of a friendship? alex moved out to la with will six years ago, and they've been living together ever since. so they would have had plenty of opportunities to cross paths over the years.