The Avoiding Series Boxset

by K. A. Linde

  “But you are now,” Lexi mumbled under her breath.

  “I…God, I hope not,” he said his green-gold eyes staring deeply into her own. She fidgeted and looked away from his penetrating gaze.

  “What do you mean? You’re the new vice president, right?” she reminded him

  “Yeah…no…yeah,” he said arguing more with himself than anything.

  “Then what are you doing? You said you didn’t want to be like your father, yet here you are doing everything he’s ever wanted you to do. You don’t even want to do this,” Lexi couldn’t help stammering out.

  “I’m going to try to answer all your questions, but let me back up first,” he said running hand through his hair again. “From the beginning, right?”

  Lexi nodded slowly. She couldn’t believe how uncomfortable and worried he looked. She had never really seen him quite like this. She knew that he wasn’t a hundred percent confident about everything, but sometimes it felt like that. He exuded so much self-confidence that to find him in an uncomfortable state felt foreign to Lexi. It must have felt just as foreign to him by the way he kept readjusting his posture and pushing his hand through his short blonde hair.

  “The medical wing was what he always thought would be the next best thing for the company,” Ramsey began. “It made the company a full-service industry: lawyers, accountants, and doctors all under the same roof…metaphorically speaking. I thought he would just forget about it eventually, but it seemed to be something that faded with time and then rekindled almost without notice. I can’t even tell you how many Club meetings I attended where my father discussed this newest project with anyone who would listen. I’ve actually heard some of his closest friends talking about how that project was never getting off the ground. It was hugely embarrassing.” A blush crept up on his tan face as he recounted the incident.

  “When Parker told my father she was pre-med for the first time, I saw that light in his eyes that I’d seen before. And I was right. He badgered me about the new medical wing, that I was pretty certain would never exist, for the next couple years.”

  “But it is going to exist,” Lexi said.

  “Yes,” he said nodding.

  “And with Parker?” she asked, her brown eyes looking up at him sadly.

  “Yes, but not for Parker.”

  Lexi shook her head side to side. “Then who is it for, because she’s one of the few I can think that are benefiting from this.”

  “You,” he said quickly. “It’s for you.”

  “Me?” she asked a giggle escaping her. “Oh Ramsey, you must be deluded to think that this is for me.”

  “Lexi, it is for you. I’m working to make things better for you,” he said earnestly.

  “How?” she demanded, standing. “By giving up the things you love? By making yourself miserable? By being Daddy’s prodigal son? By working side by side with Parker every day? I’m sorry Ramsey, but these things don’t make me happy. And you know what? You would know all of that if you had just bothered to ask me, if you had bothered to include me in your plans.”

  “I know. I know. I should have included you, but I wasn’t sure this was ever going to actually happen. We’d been planning, but we’d been doing that for years. I never thought that everyone would buckle down and become serious about it when she showed back up,” he said rising to his feet.

  “Well, they did and now what, Ramsey? They’ve just announced that you guys are opening a new branch of the company. What are you going to do with the clubs? What are you going to do about…everything?” she ended lamely, not wanting to bring up all the other things in his life that he would have to rearrange with this new development.

  “The clubs are taken care of. I’m handing everything over to Lola. She already knows.”

  He realized his mistake a little too late. “Wait,” she said pointing her finger in his solid chest. “Lola knows about this? This is what she was talking about on Sunday about how you were making everything better for me. And Brad and Jason know too, right? That’s why they wouldn’t say anything bad about you. They were insisting that they couldn’t tell me why they had moved out, but that it was for me. Everyone knew,” she breathed. “Everyone knew but me.”

  “Lexi…”

  “No,” she said shaking her head. “Tell me the truth, Ramsey. Tell me the truth for once.”

  He let out a big breath, knowing there was no way around it. “Yes, everyone else knew about what was going on. I wanted it to be a surprise.”

  “You didn’t want it to be a surprise. You were scared!” she yelled, pushing her hands against his chest in anger. “You knew I’d be pissed about this…all of this.”

  “No,” he said grabbing her wrists and pulling her against him. “That’s not what this is about. I didn’t want to scare you away, but I did it anyway.”

  “Is it because of Parker?” she questioned him.

  “God, Lexi, no, none of this has to do with her. She just happens to be the other half of this project. I was afraid you would think we were taking things too fast. I mean you moving in was a huge step for you. I didn’t want you to know how serious I was. That I’d asked my roommates to move out so I could live with you, maybe buy a new place for the two of us. That I’d given the reigns over to Lola so I wouldn’t have to be at the club anymore. You wouldn’t have to worry about the girls anymore. I wouldn’t be out so late, and we could actually spend some time together.

  “I was doing this all for you. I might have gone about it all wrong, but we hadn’t even been dating for a year. I couldn’t stop thinking about us. I couldn’t stop thinking about where our life was going and how much I wanted you here. So I did this without talking to you about it. You were so lost in your job, studying for the bar, and your father’s heart attack that I was doing everything I possibly could not to be another complication in your life. And look what I’ve done…” he growled walking away from her dejectedly. “I’ve only made things worse and more complicated.”

  Lexi took a hesitant step toward Ramsey. He sounded so sincere. Every word that he had uttered sounded like repentance for what he had done. He had clearly been suffering without her and for the way he had handled things. It hardly excused the lying and keeping things from her, but still how could she remain angry with him when she finally had the truth.

  He had really thought he was doing all of this for her. She didn’t like the clubs so he got rid of them. He never thought to ask if she would want him to stop working at something that he was not only good at but that he loved. She didn’t like living with his rambunctious, perverted roommates so he asked them to move out. He never thought to ask if she wanted him to be left alone in this townhouse when she knew that he preferred to be surrounded by people. He never thought to ask if she might want to live with him…alone. His actions might have been misguided but his intentions were solid. He loved her.

  “Ramsey,” she whispered huskily. The tone of her voice made him turn to face her. “You love me?”

  A boyish smirk crossed his face at the question as if it was the easiest thing to answer in the world...like he had gotten an easy word at a spelling bee. He strode one large step toward her, placed his hands on either side of her face, bent down, and touched his lips to hers. He kissed her softly, gently like it was something he had been wanting to do for a long time. With his hands holding her in place, she moved her own hands to his waist and pulled him closer against her.

  Lexi’s head was spinning and she felt weightless. His answer was lost on his tongue as he volleyed with her own. He kissed her like a starving man presented with a plate of food. He kissed her like he might never do it again, like no other answer was satisfactory. And she didn’t resist him. She could turn him away, demand an answer, demand answers to all her questions, but none of it mattered. This was where she wanted to be in that moment, lost in his arms, in this heated kiss.

  She groaned as he further deepened the kiss and wound her arms around his neck. Her body felt like it
was on fire. Each touch of his mouth on hers and his hands running the length of her body sent tingles through her. He pulled back long enough to bend down and began to kiss down her neck and back up. She managed only one word as the sensation in her body began to build. “Bedroom.”

  He obeyed eagerly walking backward toward the stairs, never letting her go. He almost seemed afraid that if he let her go somehow this moment would end. Lexi moved her hands down to begin loosening his tie and unbuttoning his shirt. When they reached the stairs, he pulled back fractionally to pull his shirt and tie over his head and discard them on the floor. His head dipped back down and relished in another one of her kisses while he slowly peeled off her party dress. As the dress fell to the floor, she quickly darted up the stairs and into his bedroom. She could hear the patter of his footsteps as he followed behind. Ramsey had managed to unclasp his belt as he went up the stairs, and his pants were already falling to his ankles when he entered the bedroom.

  He stumbled out of his dress slacks just as she stripped out of her bra and thong. She reached down and extracted him out of his boxers before yanking them to the floor with the remainder of his clothes. He dipped his head back down to claim her mouth, inching her backward toward his bed.

  When her knees hit the footboard, she climbed backward across the down duvet. He followed clambering onto the bed and towering over her. He paused to look into her eyes. Lexi knew what she must look like—fiery, dilated, and hungry with desire. She could see the same thing all over him. She wasn’t even sure how he was able to pause to even take one glance at her.

  “The answer is yes,” he murmured softly kissing her forehead then her nose then gently on her mouth. “I do love you.”

  “I love you too,” she said instantly knowing it was the truth.

  It was the last thing either of them said before he buried himself deep inside of her. She was glad the anger from the other day had dissipated, and wondered why she had ever wanted anything but this, anything but him making love to her. He began thrusting into her deep steady movements that quickly had her panting laboriously. She could feel her own release building. She reached up and pulled his body down on top of her digging her nails deep into his flesh. He grunted into her shoulder and the pain mixing with the pleasure only forced him to move faster and harder into her.

  She gasped as he hoisted her right leg up against his shoulder, the movement seamless and effortless. This only allowed him deeper access to her, and she was sure that any second she was going to burst. She could feel him getting closer with her and when she was sure she couldn’t hold out any longer, they released together.

  Lexi threw her head back against the pillow and released all the air she had been holding in her lungs as her legs shook from exertion. Ramsey rested his head against her chest his breathing ragged and heavy.

  He kissed her forehead once more before sliding off the bed to clean up. She lay back against his comforter and stared dreamy-eyed up at the ceiling. When he returned, she snuggled up against him, letting her eyes drift closed. “You promise?” she whispered.

  “You don’t think that was a promise?” he murmured back.

  “That was amazing.”

  He smiled into her now mussed hair. “You’re amazing, and yes, I love you.”

  “And it’s all the truth?” she asked barely audible as she drifted to sleep against him.

  “Yeah, baby, it’s all the truth.”

  JULY—ONE MONTH EARLIER

  “Ramsey, I really need to talk to you,” Parker cried panting a little as if she had sprinted down the hallway. She was still in scrubs like she had come straight from the hospital.

  He stood shakily and stared between the two women in his office. “About what you told Lexi?” he growled.

  Parker’s lips parted as she realized she had walked in on Lexi and Ramsey. She nodded. “Uh, yeah…I told her.”

  “Of course, you did,” he grumbled throwing his arms in the air.

  Parker stood really still clearly assessing the situation she had walked into. Lexi wasn’t sure why Parker hadn’t told Ramsey that she told Lexi. But by the look on her face, she had been waiting for Lexi to do it for her. Lexi wondered if Parker would have confronted Ramsey about it after she talked to him…after she yelled at them. Would she have calmed him down? Would she have tried to comfort him? Would she have tried to get back with him out of his pain? Lexi wondered then how much Parker was like her best friend, Bekah.

  “Uh, I see I’ve come at a bad time,” Parker said easing back out of the room.

  Ramsey stared at her menacingly, his anger holding strong. “Wait a minute,” he demanded stopping her in her tracks.

  “Yes?” she squeaked out. Parker stopped mid-step. It was obvious; there was no way Ramsey was letting Parker extract herself from the conversation after barging in so suddenly. She had said and done too much.

  Lexi felt the weight of the situation permeate the room. What Parker had done by telling her wasn’t just some small act of self-righteousness or pity; it was wrecking irreparable damage through their relationship. She couldn’t just walk out of the room.

  “Why can’t you just stay out of my fucking business?” Ramsey snapped back, slamming his hand down on his desk in anger.

  “I think she had a right to know,” Parker responded, flinching at the tone of his voice and grasping the door handle.

  Ramsey shook his head from side to side slowly. “Well, I’m so glad you told the story,” he sneered, stepping away from Parker as if she were the last person he wanted to be around. Her story cast him in such a negative light, not that Lexi was sure if she could believe his story either. After all, he had lied about everything else.

  Lexi could tell Parker wanted to just leave, but the weight of Ramsey’s gaze held her in place. Parker took another step farther away from him. She was even shaking a little. The force of his anger radiated off him in waves. “Were you even going to tell her?” Parker asked seeming to brace herself against him.

  “That’s none of your goddamn business!” he snapped back.

  It was a question that Lexi had wondered herself. She hadn’t been able to ask him, and now Parker had brought it up. Ramsey looked even more furious that she had uttered those words, but Lexi was thankful that she hadn’t had to.

  Lexi had been watching their exchange intently for the past couple minutes. Up until that moment, she hadn’t really seen an opportunity to interrupt the conversation, even though it was her argument to begin with. Parker’s arrival had thrown her, and she was still attempting to get her bearings about how to proceed.

  On one hand, she wanted Parker there to confirm or deny the pregnancy discrepancy. She was still up in the air with who to believe about that one. On the other hand, Parker made things complicated. She was the reason Lexi was here at all. She was the reason her and Ramsey were having this conversation. She was the reason that her relationship was on thin ice. Lexi hated her for that, even if she had needed to know the truth about the situation. She knew the whole phrase about don’t shoot the messenger, but she really didn’t want to follow it in that moment.

  It didn’t help that it seemed Ramsey and Parker spoke their own language. They were arguing with each other and yelling at each other, but somehow Lexi felt as if she had missed half of what had been said. She realized that more was being said in their sidelong looks and body language than anything they were actually saying to each other. She just wished that she understood their language. They had known each other and been together in a relationship for so long, that they never lost the bond that so many couples developed. Lexi knew that she could talk to Jack like that, but she didn’t particularly like it either.

  Lexi couldn’t just stand by and let him ignore her presence any longer. “Well, it most certainly is my business,” Lexi cut in, “and I think I have a right to know if you were ever going to tell me.”

  Ramsey stared down at his palm, which was now flat against his desk, and sighed. He clearly hated h
aving this conversation. He probably didn’t even want Parker and Lexi in the same vicinity. Lexi knew that look, because she had seen it on her own face. His past had caught up with him, and it was the last thing that he wanted. “This doesn’t have anything to do with our relationship,” he told her brusquely, grinding his teeth.

  Lexi openly scoffed at him. How could he be so naïve to think that his past didn’t affect his future? Lexi had realized long ago how big of a part your past played in your present. That would be like saying that her relationship with Jack had nothing to do with who she was today. It would be a total lie. Jack had so much to do with who she was. He had changed her forever…for better or for worse. She liked to think he had done both.

  In either case, Parker had done a number on him. Sure, their relationship was far from what she had with Jack, but they had been together for real for so long that it had completely altered him. Not to mention their terrible, practically catastrophic, ending had jaded him. He didn’t trust people. He didn’t let people in. He hadn’t had a decent relationship before Lexi since he and Parker had broken up. The very idea that Parker didn’t have anything to do with him and how he was acting now was absolutely ludicrous.

  “Really?” Lexi asked nearly laughing out loud at him. “You lying to me has nothing to do with our relationship?”

  Ramsey leaned against the desk heavily. “No, Lexi, that’s not what I meant. I meant that Parker has no place in our relationship,” he quickly amended.

  “The fact that you have to clarify that is truly telling,” she murmured turning away from Parker and Ramsey. She began walking the length of Ramsey’s desk back and forth, seething with anger. She didn’t know what his current relationship was with Parker. She wanted to hope for the best, but really her past had always proven otherwise.