Almost Perfect: A Frenemies to Lovers Romance

by Claudia Burgoa

  Jason clears his throat. “Okay, sounds like we might have more Alex if I do this.”

  “How bad can this be?”

  “Famous last words,” he says.

  After I hang up the phone, June calls. It’s like they’re taking turns. Where is Hannah? She said she’d be ready soon and soon isn’t happening yet. Instead of sending my sister to voicemail, I answer to kill some time.

  “Hey, you need to tell your people that I don’t work for you,” she states. “You fired me.”

  I chuckle. “Hello to you, too. Which people are you talking about?”

  She clears her throat. “Let’s cut to the chase. There’s some award ceremony next week. They want to honor you. I’m sending you all the information,” she states.

  “Not sure if I’ll do it,” I tell her, she growls.

  “Did you listen to the part where I said they’re honoring Alexander Spearman?”

  I let out a loud exhale. “Fine, I’ll look into it. Happy?”

  “What’s going on with Hannah?” She cuts to the chase.

  “It’s safe to say that we’re dating, and we signed a peace treaty,” I answer calmly. “Not sure where this is going, but we’re getting to know each other.”

  “Now can you give me the non-bullshit version?”

  I laugh. “It’s the only version you’re getting, June.”

  “Alex, I love you,” she says. “But if you fuck this up and I lose my friend, I swear, I’m going to kill you.”

  “You have too little faith in me.”

  “I know you too well, Alexander Spearman. She’s the flavor of the month, but what’s going to happen when you can’t go beyond and give her everything she deserves?”

  “Well, then it’s over,” I answer sarcastically. “If you know me so well, then you know I’ll just leave her when I’m done with her.”

  I hear someone clearing his throat; when I turn around, Kaden Hades is glaring at me. Fucking hell. I hate my sister.

  “You’re an asshole,” June says and hangs up on me.

  “You seem like a smart guy,” Kaden starts. “Do you have kids?”

  I shake my head.

  “Of course not, you’re what thirty-five, thirty-six? Still playing the field,” he states.

  I stare at him, unable to speak. I swear he’s going to fucking kill me.

  “You have sisters, right?”

  I nod once.

  “What would you do if you heard the guy who’s dating one of your sister say that fucking shit?”

  “Sir, it’s a misunderstanding,” I defend myself.

  He shakes his finger as if saying no. “I heard you pretty well. You’re going to leave Hannah when you’re done. I had my reservations about you. My kid has gone through a lot. Her mother, that asshole that I wish I had…” he sighs, his hands turning into fists.

  “Just leave.”

  “You have children,” I say. “I’m sure they get along for the most part, but there are times when they fight. Others when they lie to each other because it’s for the best. This was the case.”

  “Why would you say that to your sister?”

  “Because Hannah doesn’t want to tell everyone about us yet,” I explain. “It’s new, she still has doubts, and I’m giving her the space she needs. My sister is pushy, if I tell her more…”

  How do I explain to him that I don’t want to lose his daughter?

  “You’re protecting Hannah?”

  “More like giving her space,” I clarify.

  “What are your intentions?”

  Normally, I’d say something like we’re just getting to know each other. In this case, I can’t say that because this guy looks like he wants to destroy me.

  “I intend to be with her forever,” I respond. “There’s no pressure because she has to come to terms with what we are on her own. Pushing her won’t help either one of us.”

  He looks at me and nods. “Be careful with her heart. When she loves, she gives it all.”

  “I’m trying my best,” I say, because I can’t tell Kaden that it’s more likely for Hannah to hurt me than the other way around.

  Well, fuck.

  The perfect date is done before it even began.

  I can feel it in my bones as everyone in the Hades family begs Hannah to stay for dinner. No people, I have dinner reservations and the presidential suite at the Four Seasons. Which I had hoped I would use for more than a shower.

  How do I tell them no when I’m trying to impress them?

  “Please, Hanny,” Aubrey, Hannah’s younger sister, begs her to stay for dinner and have a slumber party with her.

  No, she’s coming with me.

  There’s no use thinking of all the things we could do when it’s evident that this is a battle I’m going to lose.

  “We haven’t seen you in so long.” Her brother Grady stands next to Hannah.

  She looks up to him and says, “You need to stop growing, kid.”

  Now I understand why she complains about her height. She’s the smallest of her siblings. The three younger ones are a bunch of teenagers, and she’s so tiny compared to them that she looks almost their age.

  Hannah turns to look at me, I shrug.

  “The rooms are ready for you,” Hannah’s mom adds and then says, “We can bake cookies afterward.”

  That moment is when I know it’s over. We’re staying. They used her favorite C-word.

  “Okay, let me change,” she says.

  I follow right behind her and close the door once we’re both inside a room.

  “Sorry,” she apologizes, looking through her luggage.

  “There was a plan,” I say. “Dinner, wine, cookies…”

  “They said the C-word before you.”

  I grab her hand. “What about Alex’s cock? That’s a C-word you like.”

  She smiles mischievously. “Are we even ready for that?” She warns me. “Maybe when we get home?”

  “Next week, there’s an awards ceremony,” I offer. “Apparently, they sent the invitation a month ago, but I never saw it. June RSVPed for us.”

  “Us?”

  I nod. “Can you come with me, please?”

  She sets her sweatshirt on the luggage and crosses her arms. “I don’t like those events.”

  “Me neither,” I say, hoping she’ll take pity on me. “This is the first time I’ll be going to one of these since the accident. I’m the guest of honor, I can’t skip it. Please, come with me.”

  I can see her nostrils flare a little, and her face turns red.

  “You don’t have to come,” I offer calmly. I’d lie if I say I wasn’t disappointed.

  She shakes her head. “Sorry, bad memories.”

  “I’d never push you to do something you don’t like, Hannah. Hard limits aren’t just for sex. If this is something you can’t do, I respect it.”

  Her lips part in surprise. She studies me for a long moment. Then she nods. “It’s a compromise. You came all the way here to support me. I’m going—for you.”

  I smile and reach for her hand. “Thank you. It means a lot to me.”

  There’s a bang on the door. “No kissing in the room.”

  “Oh my God, Kieran!” Hannah complains, then she changes her clothes quickly and jets out of the room. “Mom, tell Kieran to leave me alone.”

  Forty-Eight

  Hannah

  “You’re good at this family stuff,” I say, as we board the plane.

  Somehow, my parents convinced us to stay until Sunday. Alex bonded with everyone. Tess came by the house on Saturday with her family, and Alex is now best friends with Gage Rodin. Well, that’s his version. I’m sure Gage thinks he’s okay.

  “Only for you.” He brushes a strand of hair off my face and kisses my cheek.

  My stomach flips, and my heart skips several beats.

  Alex has been nothing but patient and attentive with me. He spent hours in the greenhouse with me, listening to everything I had to say about the flowers.r />
  “I’m going to miss them,” I say, as I adjust my seat and hold onto it for takeoff.

  Once we’re at cruising altitude, he takes off his seat belt and helps me with mine. He pulls me into his lap. I rest my head against his chest. Listening to his steady heartbeat calms me. Maybe I’m leaving my family, but this feels more like home.

  He’s home.

  He nuzzles my hair and kisses my forehead. Neither one of us speaks for several minutes. These few days were more rewarding than I expected. Maybe we came to fix a problem, but I got a lot more from it. Time with my family, and of course, with him.

  “Never thought that making someone happy would make me this happy,” he says.

  “Are you happy?”

  I feel his head moving into a nod. “Even when you chose cookies over Alex’s cock.”

  “Stop talking about yourself in the third person.” I try to sound upset, but I burst into laughter.

  To make it up to him, I say, “You know what we’ve never done before?”

  He wiggles me slightly, pulling me in for a kiss that starts out light and playful.

  “We can move to the bedroom,” he offers. “I don’t want the flight attendant to see us.”

  “Yeah?” I ask, wiggling myself on top of his already hard length.

  “Babe, let’s go,” he says, but his mouth moves down my neck.

  I manage to untangle myself from him. He scoops me up and takes me to the bedroom. The moment the door is locked, he kisses me. Our mouths are greedy. I tilt my hips toward him, trying to find some friction.

  Suddenly, he stops and looks at me. He squares his shoulders as he studies me. I smirk because I know what he’s doing. He’s trying to figure out how I want it.

  “It’s a jet. Fast, rough.”

  He grins, his eyes are hot, almost feral. He towers over me, his hand clasps both of mine, and he pulls them above my head. Slanting his mouth on top of mine, he kisses me vigorously. His tongue darts between my lips hard. The way he does it, fast and urgently, tells me how much he needs me and that he’s just as turned on as I am.

  Releasing my hands, he places his hands on my hips, dragging my leggings down, leaving me bare. He smirks. “I knew you weren’t wearing anything underneath.”

  I don’t have time to say much because he pushes me to the bed, leaving my ass right at the edge. He bends my knees and pushes my legs apart. And before I can brace myself, his hot mouth kisses my core. I shiver when his tongue circles my clit, and he orders, “Touch yourself.”

  His voice vibrating my body makes me quiver, and I almost come. I’m wet, filled with lust, and his dark hooded look is only making me hotter.

  I do as he said. He flicks his tongue several times before he dips inside me. I shake. I swear I can’t think straight. I rub myself faster, and he releases my legs and inserts a couple of fingers inside me. The friction inside me grows. I’m becoming a wild mass of fire about to make the entire sky explode. I buck against his mouth as I turn liquid around him.

  Alex

  Hannah Hades is the only woman who’s ever pushed me to my limits and gotten everything I have. She destroyed my walls when I wasn’t looking. My biggest mistake was keeping her at a distance when I should’ve held onto her from the moment I saw her.

  I just wasn’t ready.

  Seeing that she’s opening up to me, letting me in again, without restraint, tells me I have to make this special. Ours. Maybe the second round can be different. Rough and dirty, the way she likes it. I undress fast. As I drop onto the bed, our eyes lock. The vulnerability in her eyes squeezes my heart.

  I enter her slowly, holding her hips. Stretching her as I fuse myself inside her body. Once I’m seated all the way, I freeze. Closing my eyes, I hold back the words I want to say.

  I’m yours.

  I love you.

  Never leave me.

  This isn’t the time for those words. Someday soon, I can tell her how I feel about her and how much I need her. When I open my eyes, I start thrusting in and out. I follow her rhythm, she’s in charge—always. In no time, we begin to move faster. I plunge into her tight pussy. Her walls sucking me tightly. Electricity radiates through my body as she moans my name and screams, “Deeper.”

  She circles her hips against me. Her hands squeezing my biceps as I drive inside her faster. She raises her hips, giving me more access. I lower myself until I can kiss her hungrily, drinking her moans.

  I can’t contain myself. Her pussy is so slick, and I can’t get enough. I feel it when she’s about to take off and fly. Her nails dig into my back, her mouth sucks hard on my bottom lip, and her inside walls milk my cock, squeezing it even tighter. I can’t hold back any longer. I follow right behind her release, rolling my hips and thrusting even deeper into her, at a pace that’s so fast, it feels like I’m burning.

  I shudder on top of her, while she’s shaking under me. My heart beats furiously. I roll us over until she’s on top of me, and I can wrap her up in my arms. I pull her tightly into me. We’re trapped in a haze, and more than anything, I want to stay in this moment. This is exactly where I belong.

  With her.

  Forty-Nine

  Hannah

  During my travels, I learned to trust my instinct. It never stirs me wrong. In fact, it has saved me several times. You know what pushed me to ignore my instincts… more like who?

  Alexander Spearman.

  With those dark blue eyes and hypnotizing voice. Last week, when Alex asked me to go with him to his award ceremony, I knew the answer was, ‘hell no.’ It’s self-preservation. The last place I should set foot is where there’s a bunch of journalists, ready to snap your picture and sell a story.

  More so after the scandal my friends got into, but did I listen to my instinct?

  Nope. So, here I am, looking at a picture where I’m next to Alex ‘the Speedman’ Spearman.

  Speedman, the man of the hour. The guy who is coming back into the spotlight. What is he doing since six o’clock in the morning? Taking one phone call after the other.

  “Yes, I’ve been considering it,” he says over the phone. “Well, if it’s the right offer, you never know.”

  Arrogant asshole!

  “Of course, I’ll be happy to talk with you about that offer, just not today,” he says to the next person who calls him.

  His phone keeps ringing, and he keeps answering, sounding shallow and petulant. As if no one who’s calling deserves him.

  By now, his face must be hurting since he keeps smiling like a Cheshire cat. Honestly, I don’t think I’ve ever seen him like this…animated and different. It’s like he just got a second air. Another chance at…another chance at his old life. He’s dating me, and now everyone is interested in him.

  Fucking déjà vu. This is Davis all over again. He’s back and stronger. I try to keep calm, but instead, I begin to pace around my apartment. How could I be so stupid?

  My legs won’t stand still, and I decide to go out for a walk with Bruno. Instead of just admiring the landscape, I’m going through all the pictures that have been posted from last night. There’re so many speculations about us, including that I’m using his good name to clean my own. My publicist is using the guy to hide the fact that I just came out of rehab.

  Raging, I start walking faster. The more articles I read, the more erratic my breathing becomes. It’s not until I’m back at the apartment when I realize that I’m hyperventilating. Also, there’re several reporters outside the building. We’re lucky to have a doorman who is stopping them, but how am I supposed to go back in the house without being seen?

  I go through the back, and I’m thankful that they switched the keycard system with an app. I tap my phone and enter through the underground garage.

  When I reach my apartment, Alex is still on the phone. “Hey, don’t focus on the girl. She’s arm candy. Let’s talk about this interview your network is requesting,” he says, and that’s it. I’m done with him.

  Arm candy? I’m su
re he can do better. Maybe he should contact Samantha, his ex. I start packing because there’s no point in staying in this building. Everyone knows where to find me. They’ll be stalking me until they get tired.

  “Hey, babe, what are you doing?” he asks, with concern in his voice.

  His phone rings and for the first time, he doesn’t answer it.

  “Packing,” I state the obvious.

  “Wait, where are we going?”

  “I’m going home,” I answer, without even looking at him because if I do, I’ll definitely punch him in the face.

  “Sounds like a good idea, though we can always go to Colorado with my family. They wouldn’t expect you to be there,” he says. “I’ll get the plane ready.”

  “No, thank you,” I state dryly.

  “Wait, what’s happening?”

  I close my bag and search for Draco’s backpack.

  “Congratulations, you have your career back. I should’ve known there was always an ulterior motive.”

  “Hannah, what’s happening?” He looks at me confused.

  “Seriously? You’re back on the top with the big guys. Here’s your second chance, you’re welcome. Now that you’ve fucked up my life in San Francisco, I’m going home to find some peace.”

  “Listen to me,” he says.

  “Save your words,” I advise and open the door. “I’ll have someone come by to pack my stuff and put the place on the market. Have a nice life, Alex.”

  “Hannah, what the fuck is happening?” He is following right behind me. I rush down the stairs.

  “You tell me, you keep giving interviews and closing new deals.”

  “Nana, I’m trying to do damage control,” he says, as if I’m going to believe him.

  “You’re not allowed to call me Nana!”

  He shakes his head as if he can’t believe I’m overreacting. “You’re misunderstanding everything.”

  I laugh. “Please, don’t insult me.”

  “Don’t leave me,” he says.

  I ignore him and put my luggage in the trunk of my car. Then, I set Draco on the back seat.