by Alexia Praks
“Where are we?” Alexandra asked, looking around her curiously. Jayden had been driving her around the city and showing her the sights, which she still could not believe since he did not utter one word to her since they left the restaurant. It was such a pleasant surprise, and she was sure they both enjoyed themselves tremendously.
Jayden got out of the convertible and came over to her side. “Come on, missy,” he said, pulling her out of the car.
“All right. Hold on.” She chuckled, grabbing for her handbag.
Once out, he led her to the wharf. She had no idea where they were, but she loved the scenery. All she knew was she was at the harbor because there were lots of yachts around—really big, expensive-looking ones.
“Slow down, will ya?” she said, laughing. “I’m wearing heels. My feet are sore now.”
Jay shook his head. “Women,” he said under his breath.
“Well, excuse me for being one,” she snapped as she tried to catch up with him so his hand on her wrist wouldn’t hurt her as he dragged her along.
“I didn’t mean it like that. Just a figure of speech.”
“Yeah, right,” she retorted, ignoring him. Suddenly, one of her heels got stuck in between the planks. “Hold on.” She wiggled her foot, pulling him back. “I’m stuck.”
“What?” Jay halted and glanced down. He laughed, loud and clear, so that his chest rumbled.
She smacked him on the arm. “Stop it. This is serious.”
Once he managed to stop, he got down on his knees and helped pull the shoe out. Finally, after a good attempt, he said, “You might have to take that shoe off.”
“All right,” she said, bending down.
“No, don’t. I’ll do it.” He began to help ease her foot out of the peep-toe pumps as she leaned over him for support. Once her foot was free, she stepped back so Jay could do the manly thing of freeing her shoe from the board. His force was so hard he broke the heel.
“Shit!” he swore, staring at the dismantled shoe in disbelief.
Alex laughed. She couldn’t help herself as she touched him on the shoulder, staring into his face. “You’ve destroyed my shoes, Jay. I can’t believe it. They’re expensive, you know.”
He grinned, his eyes twinkling. He got up, shoe in hand. “Well, then what shall I do?” he asked dramatically, his head cocked to one side.
“I don’t know,” Alex replied, hands on hips, her face all serious now. “You broke it. You fix it, mister!”
“Damn!” he muttered. “I’ll buy you another one. That’ll fix it.”
“I happen to like that one, Mr. McCartney. And you can’t buy me happiness.”
“Really?” he prompted.
“Really,” Alex echoed, now folding her arms across her chest. “So what are you going to do about it?”
Jayden looked at the broken shoe in his hands as if he were in a great dilemma. “Well, I can always do this.” He threw the thing into the water nearby.
Alex gasped. “Jayden! Now how am I supposed to walk?”
“I see no other option but to—”
Alex raised her brows, wondering what he was going to do. Her curiosity was answered when he scooped her up in his arms.
“Dear me,” she said under her breath, wrapping her arms around his neck.
“Since you can’t walk with one shoe, I’ll carry you.”
“Well, I’m not that heavy anyway, and you have to work off all that lunch you just had,” she teased as she wiggled herself to get more comfortable in his arms.
“I have worked it all off, darling, due to your incessant chattering for the past three hours.”
“Jayden!” She gasped. “I did not chatter. I just talked, that’s all.”
“Talk is chatter, my sweet.” He grinned cheekily.
Alex smiled. She couldn’t believe he was using endearing words when other people weren’t even around. That was surely odd because they didn’t have to act like a loving couple right now. But she felt all warm and happy inside when he used those words.
“Comfy?”
“Yes.”
Jayden nodded and started walking down to the end of the wharf.
“Where are we going, by the way?” she asked some moments later.
“You’ll see,” he replied.
And Alex did see. There was a beautiful large, white yacht waiting for them. It had the name Spirit painted on the side.
“Oh my,” she exclaimed in excitement. “This is my first time in a boat. But I must tell you I can’t swim.”
“Don’t worry. You’re in safe hands.”
“Whose is it?” she asked curiously as they walked to the main deck.
“Mine,” he replied.
“Yours?” Of course it was his. He was a billionaire, after all, and what billionaire didn’t own a boat?
“You like it?”
“Heck yeah!” she chuckled. “You know I can save up for the rest of my life and still never be able to buy this type of stuff?”
He chuckled, glancing at her.
“I’m lucky. Thank you. So, like, do I get to look around?”
“Heck yeah!” He echoed her words, and Alex laughed, throwing back her head.
Jayden couldn’t help but feel a glow of happiness spreading through him.
He eased her down gently. Once her feet touched the smooth, shiny deck, Alex glanced up at Jayden to see him gazing down at her. His stare was so intense she started responding. Her body was trembling, and her heart was fluttering.
She knew her cheeks were red because she felt the heat rushing to her face. She bit her lip and quickly unwrapped her arms from his neck. When she was about to walk away, he caught her wrist and pulled her to him. “Come on, I’ll show you around.”
“All right,” she managed to say, her throat dry.
He led her into the saloon. Alex gazed in awe at the interior surroundings. The dining and living areas were exceptionally beautiful with the leather sofa and a chandelier smack in the middle. The galley was exceedingly flashy, made out of oak wood and modern kitchenware.
Jayden smiled at her look of wonder. “Come on,” he said, leading her to the upper deck.
Alex was excited when she saw they were in the captain’s quarters. A moment later, she heard the engine running. She glanced at Jayden and saw he was guiding the yacht out of the harbor. She grinned and came to stand beside him, studying as the boat slowly steered its way to the sea.
With the wind in her hair and a smile on her face, Alex couldn’t help but feel like she was in heaven as Jayden cruised the boat about New York Harbor, showing her places she could see from afar. He even let her steer the boat. She felt like she was in a romantic movie as he stood behind her, his face beside hers, and his hands on top of hers as she was steering the boat.
“Can you see that?” he asked, pointing north.
Alex narrowed her eyes. “Oh my gosh! It’s the Statue of Liberty!”
“Yes.” He chuckled. “You know all about it, huh?”
“Can we go there?” she asked, looking up at him.
“We can’t. We need permission.”
“Oh. Right. But it’s still nice to see it from here.”
Jayden switched off the engine. “Come on,” he said, taking her hand and leading her outside onto the deck. He made her stand by the rail, his body behind her and his face close to hers. He could smell her perfume, a sweet scent. He loved it.
“Can you see New York City from where we are?” he whispered into her ear.
Alex nodded, biting her lips, enjoying the view and enjoying his warm breath against her skin. They stood there gazing out into the distance, enjoying the peaceful moment.
“I had fun. Thank you,” she commented some moments later.
Jayden looked at her. “You’re welcome,” he said, staring deeply into her eyes.
Alex didn’t know what came over her as she tilted her face to his, offering her soft lips for him. Suddenly, he kissed her—deeply and passionately. His
tongue plunged into her mouth, igniting the fire within her. She groaned and wrapped her arms around his neck, responding to his demanding urge.
Alex felt as though her whole body were on fire. She was all warm and cozy. She felt alive. She tightened her arms around his neck and dug her fingers into his thick, blond hair. She groaned again and wondered if she was in heaven.
Jayden suddenly stopped the kiss and pulled back. He stared into her eyes. He saw the passionate desire there and something else, something deep and personal. Shit! He realized what it was. She was in love with him.
His heart did a somersault. Jayden, you seriously screwed this one up now. This couldn’t be right. Alexandra could not fall in love with him, not when he was supposed to be gay. And the most ironic thing was he knew he was falling in love with her, too. But how the heck was he going to resolve this complicated web? Would she still love him if she knew he wasn’t gay? That he was just like any other man?
He frowned, taking a step back, shocked at that realization.
“What’s wrong?” she asked, searching his face. “Oh. I see.”
Jayden raked his fingers through his hair. “Alex, I have to tell you something.”
“No, you don’t. I understand,” she blurted out. She knew he was regretting he had kissed her. In her heart, she knew he still loved Sarah, and now he felt disgusted and guilty that he had kissed another woman.
Alex felt the hurt building up in her chest. No, she could never make Jayden love her because his heart had already belonged to another woman, a woman who cheated and betrayed him. How could a man love that kind of woman?
“No, you don’t. Look, Alex.” He cupped her face in his hands; his heart felt tight with dread. Gosh, how he wanted to tell her he loved her, but he didn’t want to get hurt. He didn’t want to get rejected. He knew she would hate him the moment she found out he was not gay and he was lying to her. But he knew it was either now or never.
“Alex…” He began. “I have to tell you something.”
“No, Jayden. You don’t have to. I understand,” she said, shaking her head, a dark expression in her eyes.
“Sweetheart, I’m sorry. I’m not gay. I’m straight. Just like Sam and Dad and Peter, like any other man you know. And I—” He couldn’t go on. The little voice in his head kept screaming, Tell her, you idiot! Tell her you love her.
“Why did you lie to me?” she asked. “Why did you have to tell me you’re gay when you’re not?”
“I couldn’t help it. It just all happened at once and—”
“There’re many other women around, ones that are better looking than me. Ones who—I don’t know—ones who belong in your world. I, Jayden, I don’t know your world. Why me?”
“I’m sorry, it just happened.”
“Don’t be sorry, Jayden. I don’t understand why you’ve chosen me, though I do understand why you did it. I know you still love her. I know you don’t want your family to fix you up. I know you need space. That’s why you hired me.”
“Alex, sweetheart, it’s not like that.” His face inches from hers, Alex could feel his warm breath on her skin.
“I don’t like people lying to me, Jayden, and I’m really upset about it. I totally understand why you did it, though. But since you’ve paid me, and I’ve used up the money, it’s my obligation that I must complete my part of the deal.”
Jayden wanted to growl in frustration. She was calling their relationship a deal now? And that it was her obligation to complete it? This was ridiculous.
“Alex, listen to me, sweetheart.”
“Jayden, you don’t have to call me ‘sweetheart’ anymore. We’re alone. I’m getting cold. Can we go now?” she said abruptly and moved his hands away from her. She turned and strolled back into the captain’s area, away from the sudden onset of cold wind.
Jayden felt defeated. He also felt like half of him was dying, very slowly and painfully. My God, how he wanted to explain everything to her even though none of it actually made any sense to him.
Yes, she hated his guts, all right. And yes, she hated him even more now because he wasn’t gay. Shit!
He spun on his heel, returned to the wheel, and started the engine.
Their drive back was a solemn and quiet one. Even though they were within arm's reach of each other, their emotional connection felt like it was miles away, perhaps even as far as the distance between New Zealand and the States. The atmosphere was tense and thick.
Once home, Alex told everyone she had a terrible headache and needed a good rest before dinner. Alone in the bedroom, she lay in bed and thought how stupid she was. She hated herself for falling in love with Jayden. She couldn’t believe she was that weak. How she wished things were different. How she wished Jayden loved her. But that was impossible because he was still in love with Sarah. Never mind, she told herself. The wedding was in a few days’ time. And after that, she’d be gone. Back to New Zealand for her. She would never have to see Jayden ever again.
The thought didn’t sit well with her, though, and she didn’t forward to that.
On the other side of the door was Jayden. He knew in his gut that he was the cause of their fallout. He raked his fingers through his hair in frustration.
Oh, Alex, sweetheart, I didn’t mean to hurt you, he wanted to tell her. Okay, Jayden, the voice at the back of his head said. Just go in and tell her. Tell her everything. Tell her you love her and you’re glad what happened has happened. Tell her you’re glad you found Sarah cheating on you. You’re glad you dumped her. You’re glad Peter suggested you hire her, Alexandra Stewart, as your girlfriend. And that you’re glad you are in love with her because she’s a great woman.
Jayden wrapped his fingers around the door handle, about to open it, when—
Ring, ring, ring…
“Shit!” he swore under his breath. He snatched the BlackBerry from his trousers pocket and flipped it on. “Jayden,” he growled into the phone.
The voice on the other side said, “Boss, it’s me.”
Jayden recognized it as David Peterson, his executive associate.
“David, what is it?” he snapped.
“We’ve got a problem. It’s about that piece of property Mr. Marcelo wants to sell us.”
“What the heck is wrong with it?”
“It’s big. You’ll have to come see for yourself. I’ll be in the office.”
“Damn! Yeah. Be there in five.” He flipped his cell shut. “Shit!” he swore again, glancing at the door to his bedroom. “I’m sorry, sweetheart,” he said and then ran down the stairs. I’ll be back soon.
* * * * *
CHAPTER 20