by Alexia Praks
She glanced at him to make sure that her tired mind hadn’t played tricks on her, that he was real after all. Just to confirm herself she touched his arm as he led her to his car.
Jayden flashed her a handsome smile. “Did you wait long?”
Alex shook her head. She released her holding on his arm and lowered her head, suddenly wondering why she had been crying and hugging him like a young woman reuniting with her beloved boyfriend who had just returned from war.
“Here’s my car,” he said.
Alex couldn’t help but widen her eyes with admiration at the black Mercedes-Benz.
Jay said, “Hop in,” as he loaded her luggage into the boot.
Alex wasted no time in sliding into the passenger seat. “Nice car,” she said, glancing at Jay beside her.
“Thanks,” Jay replied, starting the engine.
Alex put on her seatbelt as Jay backed out and drove the car out off the parking lot. Even this late at night, or rather early in the morning, the roads were still busy with cars and trucks coming and going. She wondered if the people in New York ever sleep. The city itself must be beautiful, if only she could see. It was rather dark even though there were streets light everywhere, like dots of stars, she thought dreamily.
A while later, after her fascination had waned, she settled herself more comfortably in her seat and rested her head against the cool window.
Jay glanced at her and said, “Are you tired?”
She nodded at him with a weary smile.
“I apologise for picking those flights for you. I should have chosen a flight straight from Auckland to New York instead of—”
“Don’t worry about it, Jayden. I’m here, aren’t I? So everything’s fine,” she said, thinking that it had, in actual fact, never been fine. As if getting disorientated and lost in another country hadn’t been bad enough, a taxi driver back in Florida had ripped her off her cash and had even made a move on her.
The very thought of that fat, malicious man caused her to shudder in anxiety. She wondered if all taxi drivers were like that, trying to rape her because she looked young and naïve. Lucky she had a strong will. She had shouted at him to leave her alone when he had driven her to an isolated spot and had tried to seduce her. Then he had said that if she wanted him to let her go, she’d have to give him all her money.
She had been very angry then, and she had thrown what cash she had had at his face and rushed out the car. Afterward she had found herself another taxi. Luckily this time the driver had been a woman. Thank God!
“Are you cold?” Jay queried.
She glanced at him and shook her head.
Jayden frowned. He knew something was wrong. He knew something had happened to Alex, and she refused to tell him what. He won’t prod of course. He’d wait until she trusted him fully, then she’d tell him when she was ready.
He was still angry at himself for picking those flights for her. He knew very well she was an inexperienced traveller. She had told him so numerous times via email after all. He blamed his impatience for this. He had wanted her to come as soon as possible and had booked her flights for her before she had even agreed. Now he wondered again for the hundredth times why he had been so eager for her to come to New York.
His heart skipped a beat.
‘Oh yeah, you rascal, you knew exactly why. You had missed her so much that you couldn’t stop emailing her every day.’
In fact he had emailed her every chance he had had. Not to mention he had even visited her Facebook page just to see her profile picture and see what she had been up to. He had been that pathetic.
“How’s Jacob?” he asked, suddenly feeling guilty at the thought of dragging her away from her father.
“He’s recovering well,” she replied, thinking about that dreadful week her dad had had his heart transplant. In the waiting bay she had hugged him and wished him luck while her mom had cried and prayed that the procedure would go well. Then the anaesthetist had wheeled him off into theatre, and she and her mom had waited in dread for five long hours. She had sighed with relief when her dad had ended up back in the ward instead of ICU because that meant the procedure had gone well. But her relief was short lived when they had found out a day later her dad had contracted pneumonia. It was from one of the throat bacteria called Streptococcus pneumoniae. The doctor had informed her that it was quite common for an elderly man with a low immune system to be infected with it. They had given him strong antibiotic and within a week he had recovered, and now he was back home and taking things easy.
“Thanks, by the way,” she said, smiling.
“What for?”
“For the money. Without it Dad wouldn’t be able to have his surgery.”
Jay couldn’t help but grin from ear to ear.
Alex saw this and laughed. “You’re so cute when you smile,” she commented. And silently added—‘too bad you’re gay.’
Jay’s fingers gripped on the steering wheel. Oh My God! She had just told him he was cute! My God! Did that mean something?
“They are suspicious I have to go away,” she began.
“Huh?” He was still grinning and thinking about her last comment.
“I told them, my family, that I’m going overseas, New York City to be precise, to do some more training. I lied to them.”
Jay glanced sideway at her and thought she look ashamed. He cocked his head to one side. “You could just tell them the truth.”
Alex blinked and turned to look at him. “I can’t do that. I can’t tell them that I’m pretending to be your girlfriend and now I’m coming to New York to meet your family. And blah, blah, blah...”
Jay laughed.
She frowned at him.
“Sorry,” he said cheekily. “You could have just told them you are my real girlfriend and that you are coming to meet my parents.”
“But we are not in a real relationship. I mean you’re not my real boyfriend. You’re gay.”
Good point, Jay thought. He had totally forgotten about the fact that he was supposed to be gay. Oh dear! Lies upon lies. He wondered which was worse – him lying to his family that Alex was his girlfriend or him lying to Alex that he was gay.
No, no! He had to put that out of his mind. He had to think about what was going to happen when Alex meets his family. More specifically when Alex meets Beth.
“Alex?”
“Huh?”
“We need to clear something up.”
“Clear what up?” Alex replied sleepily.
“Us.”
She glanced at him, frowning. “Us?”
“Yeah, us. We need to be clear about our story.”
Alex nodded in understanding. “Oh, you mean you and I? How we meet et cetera?”
“Uh-huh.” Jay nodded, his foot pressing down the break pedal as the car came towards a red light.
“Right. Go on then.”
“First of all we have to be really close,” he said. The light flicked green and he stepped on the accelerator. “What I mean is we want to make people think we are in a serious relationship.”
“Yes, I know.”
“Good,” Jay said, making a right turn. “Secondly, to do this, you’ll have to start calling me more intimately. Like words of endearment.”
“Endearment?”
“Yes, like sweet heart, honey. You know? Endearment.”
“Right.”
“Now I’m going to tell you a bit more about my family.”
“Okay,” Alex said sleepily. The sound of the car engine humming was like a lullaby to her ears, and she closed her eyes, just to rest them, she told herself.
“Okay, we’ll start with my dad then. His name is Tom McCartney,” he began.
Five minutes later after he had described how his mom and dad had met, he glanced at his passenger. He blinked. Damn, she was already sound a sleep. He shook his head. Well, his family story would have to wait. She was tired after all.
Jay stepped harder on the accelerator as the car
merged into the highway.
An hour later the black Mercedes-Benzes drove past rows of gigantic, expensive mansions on the Upper East Side of New York City and through wrought iron gates that were opening up automatically. The car came to a smooth stop in front of an immaculately kept, massive, white three-storey mansion.
Jayden slid out and rushed over to the passenger side. He cocked his head to one side as he gazed down at Alex who was still asleep. He couldn’t blame her for being so tired and he couldn’t blame her for looking so damn adorable, too. When people sleep in the car they don’t look adorable, they usually look stupid. But Alex was different.
He chuckled and brushed his fingers gently across her forehead. Should he wake her up? He knew his family would be up by now, waiting to greet his fake girlfriend.
No, he shouldn’t wake her. It would be cruel. She needed her rest.
With his mind made up, he effortlessly scooped her up in his arms, turned on his heels, kicked the car door shut, and strolled toward the house. Before he could reach the bell, the large double doors opened up for him.
“Thanks, Maggie,” he said to the plump, smiling housekeeper who was dressed in her very spotless and immaculate uniform consisting of a black shirt and skirt.
“You’re welcome, Master Jayden,” the woman said warmly, her gaze resting on Alex who was snuggling her face comfortably against Jay’s hard chest.
“Your girlfriend? She looks tired,” Maggie said. “I’ve arranged your room to your request. New sheets, duvet, drapes, sofa, and of course, a beautiful vase with a bunch of red rose. Uh, so beautiful.” She sighed happily.
“Thanks, Maggie,” Jay said, grinning.
“You’re welcome, Master Jayden.” The housekeeper nodded and shut the door. “Just so you know. Everyone is up.”
“Right,” Jay said. He knew his family would be in the dining room having their breakfast, and that they’d be expecting him to bring Alex there for introduction. Not yet. He felt that it just wasn’t the right time for that. Alex needed her rest. Besides, he dreaded what would happen when Beth met Alex. He had no doubt Beth would jump on Alex and claw her to bits, figuratively speaking of course.
Hoping that they were still blissfully unaware of their arrival, Jay paced toward the stairs.
“So she’s here!”
Jay groaned inside. He slowly turned to see his grandmother down the hallway. As usual she looked elegant. Nothing was out of order on her person. Perfect hair. Perfect face. Perfect clothing. This morning she wore a pretty pink suit that fitted her slim body gracefully. Beside her stood his mother.
Tall, slim, and still very beautiful – Gracie McCartney gave the aura of elegance and gentleness. Her blue eyes that were very much like his were gazing at the sleeping Alex who was absolutely oblivious to the presence of the people surrounding her.
“She is tired, I supposed,” Gracie said, smiling.
“Jay,” a voice echoed from a top of the stairs.
Jay glanced up and saw his sister Kelly. She was dressed in a pretty blue sun dress with her blonde curls rested about her shoulders. She looked very beautiful indeed.
“You’re back,” Kelly said as she came down the stairs. “Thought you’d be late with you know who so demanding and all.”
Jay knew who his sister was referring to when she had said ‘you know who’. It was Sarah. Kelly knew he and Sarah had been dating. But Kelly didn’t know that they had broken up. Now he saw the puzzled look in her eyes, questioning him as to what he was doing with another woman in his arms.
Come to think of it, Jay thought, Kelly had been right. Sarah was rather a spoiled little brat who had always gotten what she wanted. Why he had not seen it before was beyond him. Perhaps he had been so into her then that he had been blind to all her faults. Although he seemed to remember now that Kelly had mentioned something along those lines to him many times.
Kelly came to a complete stop at the bottom of the stairs once she had seen Alex in Jay’s arm. She opened her mouth as though to ask Jay who this person was when Granny Beth said, “Why is she dressed like that? Why is she sleeping in your arms? A proper lady shouldn’t act like that.”
Jay frowned and said, “She has just arrived and she’s tired, Grandmother. She needs her rest.”
“Well she’s better be up before the dinner party starts,” Beth said, gave one more glance at Alex in distaste, and strolled into the lounge with her nose in the air.
Gracie shook her head at Beth’s stiff attitude and said, “So this is your girlfriend, huh?”
Jay managed to nod without flinching. He felt very guilty lying to his mother. But he had no choice.
Gracie came to stand beside him and peeked at Alex. She laughed. “She’s cute. Good choice, Jay.”
Cute? Was Alex cute? Jay had always though Alex was plain. Of course he had also thought she was cute in the car. He glanced down at the woman in his arms. Yup, Alex was cute when she was sleeping. She also looked peaceful, young and very innocent.
“I bet she’ll sleep better in a bed than in your arms,” Gracie said, winking at him.
“I agree,” Jay commented, laughing. “Better take her up then.”
“Yes, yes. Don’t forget to wake her before afternoon tea,” Gracie said, walking into the drawing room. “We need to get to know her better before the guests arrive. By the way, you haven’t told her yet that there is a party for her arrival, have you?”
Jayden groaned.
“Thought so,” Gracie chuckled. “Better do it soon.”
“Sure,” Jayden responded as he walked up the stairs.
Half way up, he glanced down at his sister. Kelly eyed him suspiciously telling him he’d better tell her what the hell was going on. Jay nodded in respond to her silent demand.
Kelly raised her brows and then went into the dining room.
*****
CHAPTER 8
ALEXANDRA HAD THE most horrible headache ever. It was like someone was hitting her head with a hammer constantly. She flashed her eyes open and rubbed her temple, swearing silently why this was happening to her. The bright sunlight didn’t help either. It was hurting her eyes. She squinted and gritted her teeth.
“Good afternoon, sleepy head.”
She snapped her eyes open, wondering who was in the room with her. She licked her lips and turned to look behind her. Jayden was standing just at the end of the bed, hands in the pockets of his trousers. His white shirt was unbuttoned halfway, showing off his muscular chest.
Oh my God! He was so handsome – just like a very hot Calvin Klein model. She had no doubt that he was wearing Calvin Klein anyway. She couldn’t breathe properly as she stared at him. Her heart was beating abnormally fast.
‘Okay, Alex, calm down.’ Then she wondered why Jay had asked her to be his fake girlfriend when he could have chosen someone much prettier than her. Someone like Mary St. Clair. But then again, she reminded herself, Jay was gay. And because he was not interested in women he wouldn’t know which was hot, which was pretty, and which was plain like her. And of course it explained why he hadn’t been affect by Mary’s famous charm.
Poor man. What a waste. God had made him a perfect creature but—
She shook her head and told herself to stop thinking stupid things. She licked her lips again and did some more blinking.
Jayden chuckled and moved onto the bed. He came to sit beside her and said, “What’s wrong?”
Alex touched her temple again and frowned. “I’ve got the most horrible headache.”
Jay moved closer and peered into her eyes. “You poor thing.” Then he stroked her forehead gently, rubbing her skin so that it’ll ease the tension within her. “You need some aspirin.”
“I don’t want any aspirin, thank you,” she said, her heart starting to do a hard out disco dance.
Oh My God! He was so close. God help her, she could feel his warm breath against her skin. She could feel how very, very close they were from each other. Her inside was exploding with h
ot, thrilling sensations. She loved it!
Not good. This was not good. She was excited that a gay, hot guy was touching her and paying her attention? How twisted was that!
“Why not? You’ll feel better after some.”
“Because I hate aspirin. I hate any pills. I hate swallowing them. I can’t swallow them properly and they taste bitter,” she said with fervour.
Jay chuckled. Then when he saw her seriousness, he stopped. “Hey, you okay?” he asked, now cupping her face so that she could look up at him.
Alex blinked and bit her lip, her headache now forgotten. “Yeah, why?”
“Your face is red.” He smiled. God, he thought, she looked adorable. “I know you look flushed when you’re tired. You are tired. I’m sorry about that.”
Alex was staring at his sensuous lips as he was speaking. What was he talking about? Why can’t she concentrate? Why was she staring at his lips?
Jayden laughed. “You poor thing. You can’t even think straight. You’re not even listening to me.”
That got her attention then. She glanced up to his eyes and saw the mirth there. He was making fun of her. Stupid man! Stupid, hot, gay man!
She brushed his hands away and shifted out off the bed. “Where am I? Are we at your house?”
Jay made himself comfortable on the bed and said, “You’re in our bedroom.”
Alex missed the word ‘our’. She simply nodded and wondered where the bathroom was.
“There.” Jayden pointed to a door to the left.
“Thanks,” she said and rushed in.
Jay waited, and then a moment later, she came back out. “I need my things. Where are they?”
“Hold on.” He got off the bed, opened the huge walk-in-wardrobe and grabbed her luggage out.
Alex widened her eyes at the array of men clothing in there, all neatly arranged. Very expensive looking clothing.
Jay put her bag on the bed. “There you go. I’ll go down and find you that aspirin.”
“Jay, those clothes... whose are they?” she asked, pointing to the wardrobe.
“Mine,” he said, winked at her and then strolled out the room, whistling.