The Avoiding Series Boxset

by K. A. Linde

  “I mean this back and forth isn’t working for me. I don’t like how this is all working out. It’s too sporadic and hard to keep up with,” he stammered out, babbling on like the first time she had officially met him. It was always one of the cutest things about him.

  “So, what do you want?” she asked her voice desperate.

  “I want us to be exclusive,” he told her confidently. “I don’t want to think that you’re seeing anyone else. I want to see you as often as I can. I think about you all the time. I couldn’t stand to be with anyone else with you on my mind, and I can’t imagine you doing that. If I’m wrong, by all means, stop me from continuing, but if not, then please tell me.”

  “Oh, Ramsey,” she murmured breathily scooting forward ever so slightly and putting her lips to his once more, “I’m not with anyone else.”

  “Not entertaining the idea?” he asked cautiously.

  “No.”

  “Then you’re mine?”

  She simply nodded basking in his gorgeous smile. The realization that she was in a relationship with someone, officially, for the first time since she had broken up with Clark during college hit her fresh. She was taking a leap of faith in Ramsey. As he melted her insides with adoring kisses, her mind filled with the joy of newfound happy memories.

  And she didn’t have one thought of Jack. Okay, just one—he had never given her this.

  PRESENT

  “I promise,” Lexi whined sliding out of Chyna’s embrace.

  “You promise, promise?” Chyna asked sticking her with a fierce look.

  “Yes. Don’t worry about me,” she groaned.

  “Last time you said that, you went off the deep end,” Chyna chastised her smiling all the while.

  “Yes, well, I was a year younger. So blame it on my innocence and naivety.”

  Chyna scoffed at her response. “Were you ever innocent and naïve?”

  “More than you’ll ever know,” Lexi told her becoming serious as she leaned forward and kissed her best friend’s cheek.

  “Now, remember what I told you. If anything starts to look like drama, high tail it out of there. Call me, but please just try and get through this without murdering anyone,” Chyna said shaking her head. Lexi could see the look of disapproval across her face, but she couldn’t change anything now. Jack’s wedding was exactly one week away, and she was about to board the plane that flew her directly to it.

  When Lexi had sobered up the morning after Jack’s bachelor party and remembered all that occurred, she had nearly died of humiliation. Of all the things she could have done, agreeing to go to Jack’s wedding was one of the lowest on the list of smart moves.

  And as dense as she was, she had flat out told Ramsey, after agreeing to go to Jack’s stupid wedding with him that it was because of Jack! She had smashed her face into the pillow and screamed until her lungs hurt that morning. It hadn’t helped anything except to increase her killer headache.

  Still now that she knew that the wedding was only a week away, she was drawn to it like a moth to a flame. She had known all along that if she had found out about the wedding, she wouldn’t have been able to stay away. And here she was about to board that damn plane. Real smart, Lexi, real smart.

  “I’ll call you.”

  “Lexi, please,” Chyna cried throwing her arms around her again, “don’t get sucked into his trap again. I know how you are with Jack.”

  “Chyna, I’m not going to,” she said weakly.

  “Ramsey too! Watch out for him.”

  “Stop mothering me,” Lexi said taking a step backward. “I’m going to be fine. I can handle Jack and Ramsey all by myself. Jack doesn’t even matter. I’m not there for him. I’m there to support Ramsey because he needs me. Despite what happened, I think we may still have a shot.” Chyna rolled her eyes. “I might be going crazy, and I know you think I deserve better, but let’s give him a chance.”

  “Another chance,” Chyna mumbled.

  “Yes, another chance, and if this week doesn’t work out, then I’m done,” Lexi told her more confident than she actually felt.

  “For real done?”

  “Yes, for real done.”

  “Then you can move onto your Mystery Man?” Chyna asked conspiratorially.

  Lexi blushed trying not to smile too wide. Her hand itched to open her phone and scroll through the text messages from the night before. “We’re not discussing him. It’s not like I’m dating him or anything.”

  “What?” Chyna burst. “Come on! You were all bubbly after your rendezvous with your stranger, and now you’re not even going to consider dating him? Insufferable!”

  “I have too much to deal with,” she said evading the question. If Chyna only knew how close they had come to dating before her meet up with Ramsey…no, she couldn’t even think about that in front of Chyna. She knew her too well.

  “Fine. I’m going to find out who he is eventually, you know?” Chyna forewarned her.

  “I’m sure, C. Until then, wish me luck.”

  “You’re going to need it.”

  Lexi laughed at her friend, but didn’t disagree with her. She was going to need a lot more than luck to get through this week sane.

  Ramsey picked her up when she landed safely in the Atlanta airport. It was refreshing to walk out of the doors and see his slick black Mercedes idling in traffic. She hadn’t wanted to admit it, but she had missed him.

  It had only been two days since her run in with the bachelor party, which hadn’t really given her much time to digest what she was doing. She wondered if Ramsey had planned it this way. He had waited until the wedding was a week away before bringing up the subject they had avoided for an entire year. That way she wasn’t allowed time to brood about her decision.

  Now, she had made her decision and needed to stick with it…come what may.

  “Hey, Lexi,” Ramsey said as he opened the car door. Lexi’s breath caught at the sight of him. He had obviously come straight from brunch at the Country Club, which she had thankfully missed this time around. His black suit was crisp and tailored to his build. The light blue button-up with a black and silver striped tie completed the outfit. She couldn’t tear her eyes away from him.

  It was like the first time they had met, when she had been caught checking out his ass after walking out of the bathroom at the Club. There really was just something about Ramsey. He was so extremely tall and with that beautiful golden blonde hair and green eyes, he made her melt. Then he smiled, and she could remember a dozen other times when that smile had been the cause of her own smile.

  She sighed at the handsome man before her and made her way in his direction. Before she had a chance to put her luggage in the trunk, he was there. She dropped her bags as his arms came around her waist. She was hoisted off of her feet as he held her against him. “I missed you,” he breathed into her ear.

  A smile returned to her face. She closed her eyes and breathed in his peppermint scent. When she didn’t say anything in return, he gently placed her back on her feet. She could tell he was hesitant about how to react to her after everything that had happened between them. She wanted to tell him that she missed him, but Ramsey wasn’t the only one that was hesitant.

  She was here for him. He needed her and refused to take anyone else. Perhaps she was a masochist, but that didn’t mean they could just pick up as if nothing had ever happened. A lot had changed in the month that they were apart, and she was the first that knew that they needed to work on their issues before anything could be settled.

  Ramsey lifted her luggage and stowed it into the trunk before settling back into the driver’s seat and merging into traffic. “I uh…” he began uncertain of how to begin, “I well, I wasn’t sure…we hadn’t discussed…”

  Lexi could tell how nervous he was, and in the back of her mind she was kind of glad. “We haven’t discussed what?” she asked tentatively.

  “Where you’re staying,” he said glancing in her direction.

  “O
h,” she murmured realizing that they had both overlooked this small fact. She had assumed she would be staying at his place, but at the mention of where she was staying, she realized that maybe that wasn’t the best idea.

  “I can get you a hotel if you want,” he offered though she could tell that was the last thing on his mind. “Is that what you want?”

  Lexi wished that she could answer that question without any complications. “I’m not sure,” she mumbled, glancing out the window.

  “I’d rather you stay at my place. It’s going to be a busy week, and it would be easier if you were with me,” he said rationalizing the situation.

  She knew that was logical. It would be much more convenient than having him pick her up before they went anywhere. But that wasn’t really the issue. “Is it going to be like before?” she asked hesitantly.

  He glanced over into her face judging her question before responding. “Lexi, I’m not going to lie and tell you that I don’t want to be with you.” She could tell that as he spoke, he was gaining the confidence that she so loved about him. “I’m not going to push it though. I know that we have things to work through, but we’re not going to solve everything in a week…especially not this week. And since you’re only here for a week,” he spoke the words forlornly, “I suggest you have a good time. You’re going to be miserable if you dwell on everything, and the last thing I want is for you to be miserable.

  “So just stay with me. I know a month isn’t enough time to forgive me.” He reached over and gently held her hand. She closed off the part of her mind that reminded her of all the time she had spent with another man in the past month. “I know that, ok? But I’m working on it. I promise you that I am.”

  Lexi wanted to ask him how. She wanted to know how exactly he was working to make everything better. She knew he likely wouldn’t answer though. So it was useless to even try to argue. He was right. She needed to relax and enjoy her time in Atlanta, even if that time happened to be at Jack Howard’s wedding.

  “You’re right.”

  “I know,” he said smiling when she scoffed at his statement and tried to yank her hand away from him. He held on tightly, and she had no chance of escaping. Drawing it up to his lips, he placed a light kiss at the center of her hand before releasing it.

  “So,” she began, trying to keep the tingling feeling of his lips on her skin from overtaking her senses.

  “So?” he asked as they approached his apartment.

  “What does the brother of the,” Lexi gulped hard the next word tasting like vinegar when she said it, “bride have to do this week?”

  Ramsey smirked playfully knowing how difficult it was for her to discuss this with him. “Not as much as a groomsman.”

  “Wait, are you a groomsman?” Lexi asked astonished.

  “Uh yeah, did I not mention that?”

  “No.”

  “Why did you think I was at the bachelor party?” he asked incredulously.

  “I don’t know. I didn’t really think about it. I just assumed it was because of Bekah.”

  “Well, it was because of Bekah,” he told her. “She added a bridesmaid and forced me upon Jack.”

  “So, you ended up planning the bachelor party from there?” she asked arching an eyebrow.

  “I do have the most experience with that kind of stuff, Lexi. You know that.”

  “Oh, I know,” she grumbled. “How long have you been a groomsman?”

  “Since about November, I guess.”

  “November?!?” she cried. “As in last November? As in almost a year ago November? You’ve known as long as we were together?”

  “Lexi, you didn’t want to talk about it, and I certainly wasn’t going to bring it up,” he said defending himself.

  “Yeah, but Ramsey, November?” she groaned.

  “You didn’t want to have anything to do with the wedding plans. But I couldn’t escape them. I kept you hidden from what was going on, because that’s what you wanted.”

  “I just didn’t want to know the date or talk about Jack and Bekah. Something like you being a groomsman I would have been interested to know,” she said, amazed at how much he had been able to keep from her.

  Ramsey scoffed at her proclamation. “You would not have been interested in that information. It would have been another reminder of what you weren’t looking for, and I didn’t want to be that reminder to you. I wanted to be the…the future,” he murmured the last word softly.

  Lexi knew that she had been insufferable for the past year about anything to do with the wedding. He was probably right that she hadn’t wanted any clues about what was going on, but his ability to hide things from her was not her favorite characteristic about him…especially not right now. “Okay,” she finally breathed tucking a lock behind her ear, “what does a groomsman have to do?”

  “Are you sure you want me to continue?” he asked hesitantly.

  “Go on.”

  “Lexi?”

  “Ramsey, go on,” she demanded.

  He sighed, but continued, “Much the same as usual, I suppose—the bachelor party, dinner this week, and a fitting before we jump right into the wedding plans,” he proceeded cautiously. “Rehearsal, rehearsal dinner, pictures, wedding, reception.”

  “Right, of course.” Lexi turned her gaze out the window and watched the passing buildings. Her head was dizzy from all the wedding talk, but she was trying her best to hide it. The fact that Jack would be married in less than a week still hadn’t hit her yet. But it was getting awfully close.

  “We don’t have to talk about it…”

  “I’m going to the wedding, Ramsey. We’re going to have to be able to talk about it,” she spoke strongly, taking a deep breath, and turning back toward him. He nodded. “So, what are you wearing?”

  “I can’t spoil the fun. I want your mouth to drop when you see me.”

  “It already does,” she murmured.

  “Good to know,” he said smirking.

  “Don’t get cocky,” she told him smacking his arm. The smile that broke out on his face told her that he was about to make a response about just how cocky he was. “And don’t think about responding to that.”

  He laughed his eyes shining. “I have no idea what you’re referring to.”

  “Sure. Sure.”

  Lexi was pleased that at least for now they were acting normal. She knew it wouldn’t always be this way, but things were looking up. She had discussed the wedding without physically gagging, and Ramsey was being himself again. It was a relief that he didn’t feel that he had to walk on eggs shells around her. They weren’t exactly on solid footing, but she could handle this.

  Ramsey maneuvered the car onto his street slowing down as they approached the apartment. Lexi’s eyes darted to the driveway where a very pretty, very new, black BMW sat. She admired the car from afar picking out the blue and white logo easily on the back of the vehicle. She couldn’t tell what the model was but it was polished and sporty. “Who got a new car?” she asked eyeing the missing license plate.

  Ramsey sighed as he looked upon the car sitting in his driveway. “No one.”

  Lexi looked at him questioningly. “Well then…”

  “It’s Jack.”

  Lexi’s mouth went dry and her stomach did a flip-flop at the statement—at the thought of seeing him. She could feel her brain kick into overdrive. One part of her desperately wanted to see him. She wanted to run into his arms and feel his body against her own. She wanted to forget everything that had happened. She wanted her world to be tipped off its axis and bask in the goodness of his love. This was the part that she so readily repressed. The other part wanted to spit on him in disgust at his very being. She wanted to find the highest building in the city and push him off of it. She wanted to destroy his life and everything in it. She realized that she repressed that side in his presence as well. The worst thing she could do is be completely indifferent.

  Yet her heart skipped a beat as Ramsey’s Mercedes slid
into the spot next to Jack. “What’s he doing here?” she managed to get out.

  “We’re about to find out, aren’t we?” he asking opening his door and exiting the car.

  Lexi followed popping the passenger door open. As she stood tall, she came face to face with Jack. Her heart wrenched as she took in the sight of him. His hair was too long and unseemly disheveled. He must have a hair appointment in the near future to look presentable for the big day. His clothes weren’t the country clubbing, business executive look he had been accustomed to sporting ever since signing on at Bridges Enterprise. He looked more like her Jack in loose fitting denim, a grey t-shirt, and navy blue Converse.

  He swished his head to the side, brushing the hair out of his eyes, and when Lexi glanced up, they were set intently on her. She locked eyes with the cerulean orbs in front of her falling into the endless depths of ocean blue. And for a split second, she was lost. Those eyes had suckered her in countless times previously. She took a deep breath and reminded herself why she was here.

  “Jack,” she murmured, the name coming out throaty as she controlled all the emotions currently running through her.

  “Lex,” he said nodding his head at her. She shuddered at the sound of him saying her pet name. “I didn’t know you here going to be here.” He tore his eyes from her and looked at Ramsey expectantly.

  Ramsey just shrugged. “Can I help you?”

  Lexi edged around the car careful not to make contact with Jack as she passed. “Why didn’t you tell me Lexi was going to be here?” he asked, his voice turning possessive.

  Ramsey looked at him pointedly. “Probably because you already knew.”

  “No, I didn’t know.”

  “You invited her Friday, and look, voila, she’s here,” he muttered, waving his hand in the air. He was obviously still pissed about the fact that she had agreed to come to Atlanta after Jack had cornered her in the hotel hallway. Lexi wished she could take it all back. She was such an idiot when she was drunk.