Frenemies With Benefits (Geek To Chic Book 2)

by Brinks, Nikki

  “What about our other nosy friends?”

  “As I just pointed out a few of them have their own love lives to figure out, so they are not paying attention to us like Roni and Derek would be. So while they are gone I plan to take advantage.”

  Finishing the pedicure they made their way back to his place, where the exhaustion of the day, finally caught up with her. He kissed her cheek and tucked her into bed, telling her their big date plans could wait until the next day when she actually had some energy to enjoy everything.

  Snuggling into him, she felt content and happy. Maybe they could make it work. Time to put her big girl panties on and tell the man how she felt.

  Chapter Twenty

  Alex had been pacing his penthouse for the last three hours. He had called, text, and stopped by Izzy’s place. Nothing. No Izzy. Alex was damn near frantic. It was now one in the morning, where could she be and why the hell wasn’t she picking up her cell?

  Izzy always answered, she was always home by seven – at the latest – unless she was out with their group of friends. He knew that wasn’t the case because everyone was either traveling or busy tonight.

  Fuck! He had a very bad feeling. She had no reason not to be talking to him. He didn’t think. He thought back over the last few days of their time together and smiled. Nope, nothing in the last few days that would have made her mad, if anything she should be breaking down his door for more.

  Alex grabbed his phone off the counter and hit redial. Again, nothing. “Mother Fucker!” He yelled across the kitchen, barely refraining from throwing his phone into the wall. Another hour, and another hundred or so attempts to get hold of her and still nothing. Alex ran his hands through his hair, pulling at it in pure frustration.

  He was about to grab his keys and go look for her when his phone rang. He looked at the caller id and his heart dropped. Roni would never be calling him at one in the morning while in France if something wasn’t wrong. He took a deep breath and answered the phone. “Hello?” He was praying his voice sounded level, but knew it shook.

  “Oh, thank God, Alex. I need your help. I can’t be there. I can’t even get a flight out you have to help.” Roni’s voice was beyond hysterical. He could barely understand her rambling between her crying breaths.

  “Roni, honey, what’s going on?” He was so desperate for answers, but knew he needed to be calm for her.

  He heard rustling and Derek’s voice was suddenly on the line. “Sorry Alex, she is too shaken up to even talk. We are trying to get a flight out, but can’t get one, commercial or private, until tomorrow afternoon.”

  Derek was calmer but still rambling and not getting to the point. His nerves were frazzled and he needed someone to tell him what the fuck was going on. “Derek, what happened?”

  Derek paused; long enough for Alex to send a quick prayer asking that whatever it was that had these two shaken have nothing to do with Izzy’s random disappearance. His prayers were crushed when Derek spoke. “Roni got a call from Swedish Hospital. Izzy was in a car accident. Apparently Roni is listed as her emergency contact so they called her. They wouldn’t give her any information on the phone other than to say the Izzy was stable. Roni, being Roni, thought quickly and well, dude she told them you were her husband and she would give you a call. Since your name is on a wing of the hospital, Roni figured they would give you the answers, let you see her with minimal questions.”

  Alex had already grabbed his keys and was heading to his car the minute Derek had informed him that Izzy was hurt. Thankfully Roni had thought ahead and made it possible for Alex to gain information. “I am already out the door. I will call you when I get to the hospital.” He hung up and ran for his car.

  Fifteen minutes, and a few broken traffic laws, later, Alex burst through the doors of the emergency room, walking directly to the nurse’s station. “I am looking for Isabella Newport, I’m her husband.” Alex wished that was true with all of his heart. “She was in a car accident.”

  “What is your name?”

  “Alex Porter.”

  “Her friend mentioned you when we called her. We apologize for not calling you first; your wife has not updated her information.” The nurse typed more.

  “Yes, well our marriage is fairly new, hence her name is still Newport. Now can you please tell me where she is? I am a little desperate to see that my wife is ok with my own eyes.” The lies rolled off his tongue with little effort.

  “Yes of course Mr. Porter. When we found out she was your wife and she was stable, we moved her to a private room. Room 522, if you take the elevator…”

  He took off running for the elevators before the nurse could finish the directions. Once the elevator hit the fifth floor, he barreled out of it, looking both ways for the room. A nurse’s desk sat in front of him. “Room 522, please.” He was practically shaking with the need for information.

  The older woman smiled at him. “Yes Mr. Porter the nurse in the ER called up said you were on your way up. Let me take you to see your wife.”

  If Izzy was fine, he was going to buy the hospital another wing or anything else they needed. “Is she ok? All I was told was that she was in a car accident and was stable. Please tell me she is going to be fine?” His heart was in his throat. His emotional need to verify Izzy was fine was beyond friends, but he already knew he had passed that point.

  The gray haired nurse smiled and nodded. “It is so nice to see a man so in love. Your wife is going to be fine. When the other car hit her, it appears she hit her head against her window. She has a concussion and is unconscious.”

  “The car hit her? She’s unconscious? Has a specialist seen her?” He raddled off the questions fast and furious.

  The nurse smiled again, placing a calming hand on his shoulder. “Mr. Porter, your wife was t-boned by a truck. She hit her head, and the airbag hit her wrist. The doctors did a scan. She is fine and so is the baby.”

  Oh, thank God, she was going to be fine. Wait, what? His brain must have short circuited from worry. “I’m sorry can you repeat that last part, please?”

  “Your wife, she’s pregnant. Did she not tell you?” She looked worried, like he was going to freak out.

  Alex fell into the nearest chair, he saw and placing his head in his hands. “No, I don’t even think she knew. How… how far along…… is she?” He looked at the nurse after she didn’t answer for a few beats.

  “Mrs. Porter is 12 weeks along.”

  Alex swallowed hard. “And you’re sure the baby is ok too? If you need to call an out of state specialist or hell a specialist from another country to be sure I’ll pay whatever to make sure the two of them are ok.” The two of them. The statement caught him.

  “You’re being a typical father, ready to go to the ends of the earth for your child.” She smiled, soft wrinkles crinkling around her eyes.

  “I’m going to be a father.” A slow smile spread across his face.

  “Now Mr. Porter, would you like to sit with your wife?” She nodded her head toward a door marked, 522.

  Alex leapt out of his chair and through the door. Looking entirely to still and pale, Izzy lay in the middle of the hospital bed. A steady beeping sound met his ears, along with a low whooshing sound. He looked around the room for the source of the odd sound.

  “That sound is your baby’s very strong heartbeat. Your little one is safe and happy inside his mommy. I need to check on a few patients. I will be back to check on her in a little while.” With a last pat on his back in a sign of support, she was gone.

  Alex pulled up a chair next to Izzy, taking her hand. He took in the bruises on her face and the soft cast on her right wrist. He stroked her hand with his thumb. Unable to help himself, he pulled the blanket off of her to see her stomach. Lying across her stomach was a monitor of some sort. He was assuming that was the source of the whooshing noise. He placed his hand, gently, below the monitor on her belly, wanting to feel some connection to his child.

  His eyes went from her belly to
her soft face. He wondered if she had known she was pregnant and just didn’t tell him. Perhaps she didn’t trust he would stick around. He hoped she knew him better than that. “I’m not going anywhere Izzy. Ever.”

  His phone rang, pulling him from his thoughts of happily ever after and toys scattered around his pristine living room. “Yes, Roni. She’s fine. I promise to take care of her, stay in France. I’ve got his.” With that, he hung up and focused his attention back on the unconscious pixie lying in bed and his child.

  ~*~*~*~

  Izzy groaned when she slightly moved her head. The pain was so intense for such simple movement. She tried to open her eyes but they felt as though they had been glued shut. She groaned again. She could hear the murmurs of people speaking, but could not make out the words. She also heard a whooshing sound. Almost like the sound of waves, but faster.

  “Izzy, baby, can you open your eyes for me? Please, baby you’ve been out for an entire day now.”

  She could feel Alex squeezing her hand.

  What is Alex doing in my house and what the hell is he talking about being out for a day? She concentrated and peeled her eyes open. She blinked and looked around the room. “Where am I?”

  “Oh, Izzy. You have no idea how happy I am to see those big brown eyes of yours. You’re in the hospital, honey; you were in a car accident. Do you remember any of it?” Alex explained.

  She thought back through her foggy memory. She was driving home from her book club. She had turned left on Broadway and everything had gone black after that point. “No, nothing. Why does my head hurt?” She looked down her body to access the damage. Lifting her right arm, she took in the cast. “Was the accident my fault? Is the other driver ok?” She hoped she had not hurt anyone.

  “No, honey, the guy ran the light and hit you. He is fine, he only had a bump on his head.” Alex’s voice sounded tired, exhausted even.

  Izzy took a moment to take in his appearance. His hair was going every which way, his eyes had large circles under them, his clothes were wrinkled and he had much more than a simple five o’clock shadow going. “How long have you been sitting with me?”

  He smiled and brushed a wayward strand of hair from her face. “From the moment I heard you were here, a little shy of 24 hours.”

  “Thank you, Alex.” She whispered, not knowing what else to say. “Can you call the doctor, I am hearing a weird noise. I think they need to check me out again.” His smile grew wide and brightened a hundred fold. Confusing her beyond belief.

  “Izzy I need to ask you something, a little personal.” He paused a moment, rubbing the back of his neck with his hand as though he was gaining the courage to continue. “When was your last period?”

  Her eyes grew to the size of saucers. “Alex, why on earth would you ask that? I’m awake now I can answer the doctor’s questions for myself.” Izzy stuttered out.

  “Humor me.”

  “Fine, if you must know, since I run as many miles as I do a week, I don’t have a period on a regular basis. So it has been six months or so.” She shifted to sit up, noticing a belt or something around her waist. “What is on my waist?”

  He studied her intently for a few moments, amusement and eagerness shown bright in his eyes. “Izzy, um I think I am the only guy in history who has had the opportunity to tell his girlfriend…”

  “Girlfriend?” She interrupted.

  He smiled and nodded his head, kissing her chastely before continuing, “yes and we will be telling people about us after you get out of here regardless of what you think. However, when the nurse comes in, act like you’re my wife. It was the only way Roni could think of to tell them to give me information on your condition.” He held up a hand when she went to question him. “I’ll explain that later. What I was saying before I was interrupted is much more important. Izzy, honey, we’re going to be parents. That sound you thought was in your head, is our baby’s heartbeat.”

  She felt like she was going to pass out again. Good thing she was already in bed. Then it dawned on her, “Alex don't fuck with me when I have just been in a car accident. It's not nice, nor is it true. Now please call the nurse or doctor.” He was so frustrating.

  He smiled again, shaking his head, in pure amusement. “I can see how you would think this is a joke of some kind, but honey in about 28 weeks we are in fact going to be parents.” He pulled down her covers and pulled up her hospital gown to show her the baby monitor on her belly.

  She quickly did the math in her head. “You're telling me I am 12 weeks pregnant? How on earth did I not know I am pregnant?” She was staring at the ceiling. “Is the baby ok?” She asked in a whisper. Her hand automatically moving protectively over her belly.

  Alex gently cupped her chin, turning her head to lock eyes. “Honey, you and the baby are both fine.”

  Relief flooded her mind, her baby was going to be ok. She stared at him again, assessing his state of mind. Was he happy about the baby? Or only playing he was, so she wouldn't freak out?

  Izzy smiled because in all honesty, she wasn't freaking out. She was beyond happy. She wanted this baby. Was happy Alex was the father. “A baby.”

  “Our baby.” His hand left her chin, moving to lay upon her hand resting on her belly.

  “I don’t understand, I take my pill, religiously! How did this happen?” Izzy tried to think back, did she miss a pill?

  “Remember when you got sick and had to take all those antibiotics?” Alex questioned. “According to the doctor, antibiotics weaken or nullify the pill.” Alex shrugged.

  “Fuck! Why didn’t I think of that? We have been sleeping together without a condom for months.” Suddenly it dawned on her. “Shit, no one knows we are sleeping together. No one knows anything about us being together. How are we going to explain this to everyone? Roni and Gracey are going to be pissed that I have been keeping this from them all these months.”

  Alex nodded in agreement, rubbing his chin with his thumb and finger. “Well, I have been thinking about our… how should I put it…… unique situation. And I have come up with the perfect solution to our problem.” He paused, she suspected to gage her reaction.

  Izzy glared a little, taking her hand out from under his to cross her arms over her chest. She had a feeling she was not going to like this idea. “So what is your grand plan, oh wise one?”

  Ignoring her sarcastic tone. “Since we started out pretending to be husband and wife in Cabo, and we are pretending again to be husband and wife for the hospital, let’s skip telling the gang we are dating and tell them we are married. We can take a plane to Vegas and be married within a few hours of springing you from this place.”

  Her jaw dropped, her shoulders slumped. She even shook her head. “Let me get this straight, instead of telling our friends, we are dating, you would rather tell them we ran off to Vegas and got married? And I’m the one who hit my head. Maybe we should have the doctor check yours too.”

  “Izzy we’re going to be getting married before the baby arrives anyway, let’s just do it now.” He shrugged.

  Izzy felt tears build in her eyes. He didn’t really want to marry her because he loved her or even cared for her. No, the man she had given her heart to all those years ago, only wanted to marry her because she was carrying his baby.

  Fighting the emotional stab she felt in her chest, she blinked and took a deep breath. Taking his hand to try to soften the bad news. Izzy spoke softly, “Alex, a baby is not a good reason to pledge your life to another person. We can’t get married, hell, we can’t even stand each other most of the time.” Trying desperately to keep her tears at bay, she continued. “Even though we aren’t going to be husband and wife, I will never keep you from your child. I promise, you will always be a part of his or her life.”

  Izzy knew Alex was not used to being told no. She waited for him to explode and storm out. Instead, he sat, perfectly still, studying her. After a few painfully quiet moments. He stood, kissed her forehead and left. No words, no anger, no nothing
.

  Maybe he was relieved that she had said no. Maybe he truly had only proposed marriage out of obligation. The tears she had been holding in broke free, as the nurse and the doctor came in to check on her.

  “Oh honey are you ok? Your wonderful husband will be back. After he told us you were awake, he went to get a cup of coffee and make some calls.”

  Izzy nodded and forced a smile. Laying back to allow them to examine her and answer their questions. Her heart breaking more with each breath.

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Alex had fielded calls from Roni, Derek, Jemma, Gracey and everyone else under the sun. His body was beyond exhausted. His mind however, was buzzing with far too much excitement to even consider sleeping.

  The girl of his dreams was pregnant with his child. He was beyond ecstatic with the thought of being a father. Alex only needed to figure out how to convince the love of his life to marry him. He rolled his eyes at his “proposal.” Explaining logically that they should just get married now since they were going to get married anyway for the baby was not the best approach. His mouth had run with the idea before his brain was able to catch up and weigh in with the proper approach.

  Alex leaned back in the small uncomfortable chair in the waiting room, with his eyes closed. He was attempting to give Izzy some space to come to terms with the pregnancy while also giving himself time to think of a plan to make up for his misstep.

  He knew he had skipped a couple of important steps that are supposed to happen prior to asking a girl to marry you. The first being dating her. Sure, they went out to dinners or out for drinks, but they were always among friends. They needed more night alone, the few times they had been put alone were not enough to constitute dating long enough to be engaged. They still needed a romantic night to remind her of the magic they had shared in Cabo. The connection that still drew them together.

  The second step he missed was far more important and very overdue. He needed to spill his guts about the way he felt about her. In the past few months the two of them had gone from constantly being at each other’s throat to settling into something more. Now they were going to be parents together. He needed to tell her he had fallen in love with her all those years ago.