by K. A. Linde
Lexi wondered what that proof was. Had Bekah hired a private investigator? Was there video evidence or just pictures? No. Lexi was not part of this case. She was not going to be an attorney at the moment. She was just Lexi—hearing about the person she hated and the man she had loved splitting up. She could just be happy about it while everyone else freaked out.
Then, she looked at Bekah and took her in from head to toe. Maybe Jack hadn’t been lying. Bekah was too confident, and Lexi never trusted her when she got like that. Could Bekah be bluffing?
“At least the prenup will hold,” her father said, still clearly angry but deflating.
“Prenup?” Lexi immediately asked.
Jack hadn’t mentioned a prenup. Shit, shit, shit! This could be very bad. They could mean to bury him.
“Of course,” Bekah said as if it were a common practice. “I wanted to protect myself.”
Lexi knew she shouldn’t ask, but she had to know. “Did you include an infidelity clause?”
Bekah smiled that evil smile, the one Lexi had learned to associate with only Bekah’s worst ideas. “I said I needed to protect myself.”
OCTOBER—TWO YEARS EARLIER
“I guess I don’t have that much stuff,” Lexi said.
“No, you really don’t. I didn’t realize you were such a minimalist,” Ramsey said with a smirk. “Then, I look in the closet.”
Lexi shrugged. “I had priorities in law school.”
“Like spending all of your nonexistent money on clothes?”
“Like raiding my best friend’s closet. Seriously, Chyna trashes things after she’s worn them once.”
“We might have to rearrange once we unpack everything,” Ramsey said with a shake of his head as he looked at the piles and piles of clothes.
“Yeah…like move your stuff to the guest bedroom,” she said with a giggle.
“Ha! Good luck with that.” Ramsey took a step forward into her personal space and forced her to look up at him.
Her breath caught, and she tried to keep the lustful thoughts at bay. They still had quite a bit of work to do. Not to mention, after moving all of her things into his apartment that had arrived from New York this morning, she needed a shower.
“Don’t make me use my womanly wiles on you.”
“Is that an option?” he asked, ducking his head and planting a kiss on her lips. His handed gripped the back of her T-shirt.
Stepping out of the embrace, she threw her hands up. “Ew, I’m seriously gross right now.”
“I think you’re beautiful.”
“Beautiful, and in need of a shower,” Lexi said, backing toward the bathroom.
“I could join you…” He trailed off as he backed her into the bathroom. His hands pawed at her shirt, which he quickly guided over her head to where it belonged…on the floor.
“I mean, if you insist,” Lexi murmured.
He slid her running shorts to the ground. “Oh, I insist,” he said, admiringly sliding his hands down her slight curves.
Ramsey backed up a step to flip the walk-in shower to its hottest setting before locating two towels and placing them on the counter. Lexi stripped out of her bra and thong, and then she walked right into the steamy glass shower. As Ramsey watched, she eased back into the spray, closed her eyes, and let her head dip back into the water. She heard him groan, and a smile played on her face.
A few seconds passed, and then Ramsey entered the shower. His hands retraced their earlier progression down her now wet body. She breathed in sharply when they moved back up to her breasts and flicked gently against her erect nipples. He leaned forward and took one in his mouth, pushing them both through the shower and back against the tiled wall. Lexi gasped from both the feel of him against her and the cold tiles behind her.
She wound her fingers into his hair and breathed in the air, thick with steam. He hoisted her leg up around his waist, pressing her harder against the wall.
“Fuck,” she cried as she felt the length of him slide between her legs.
“God, I missed you, Lexi,” Ramsey growled against her throat. “I don’t ever want you to go away again.”
“A month in New York was too long,” she agreed, arching her back and swirling her hips invitingly.
“Much too long.”
Ramsey pulled her off the wall, turned her around, and bent her over at the waist. She followed his lead without complaint. She didn’t care how sore she was from carrying boxes and unpacking today. The only thing she could think about right now was the feel of his hands on her body and how much she wanted him.
He took her in one stroke, and she gripped the bench before her. Her body moved in time with his as he pulled out and thrust back into her deeply. The water cascaded down their bodies, dripping from her long brown hair and making them slick and slippery.
But all of that was lost on her as he plunged deeper into her each time. Her body tightened all around him, begging him to give her more. His hands dug into her hips to gain more leverage. Her eyes closed, and she arched her back, feeling the familiar ripples of the climax starting at her core.
“Close,” was all she managed to get out as he picked up the pace.
“Fuck. Fuck!” he growled.
She hit her climax as he buried himself deep in her pussy one last time. He grunted at the feel of her orgasm tightening around his dick and came with her. Lexi felt all the energy leave her body, and her arms wobbled on the bench from where they had been holding her up.
He slowly pulled out of her, holding her around the middle to keep from her collapsing, and then they both took a seat on the bench. Her head fell to his chest as the water splattered on their feet.
“Mmm,” she murmured.
“Agreed.”
After a couple of minutes of silence, they both finally cleaned each other up and got out of the shower just as the water started getting cold. Lexi wrapped herself up in the towel and twisted another one around her hair before plopping down onto the bed.
It was an unbelievable feeling to be back in Atlanta…for good.
She would miss New York, but it was wonderful, knowing that she was finally taking some control of her life. After walking out of dinner with John, Chyna had finally called her back. She was still a little hung up on the fact that Lexi had hidden that she had slept with John, but Chyna didn’t want to lose her best friend over it. They had some work to do in their relationship, but it wasn’t anything that wasn’t fixable.
Over the next week, Lexi had received three calls with offers for jobs—two in New York and one in Atlanta. After confirming with Ramsey that he’d had no contact with the firm in Atlanta, she had agreed to join their company as an attorney, pending her bar exam results. The money was a little bit less than the firms in New York, but the firm in Atlanta had more opportunity to move up, and as far as she could tell, they also had better, more flexible hours.
Plus, this kept her close to Ramsey. She would be lying if she said it hadn’t been a difficult decision. She had always told herself that she wanted a corporate law job in New York City, which was why she had gone to NYU in the first place. But when the Atlanta job offer came in, she hadn’t been able to turn it down. She would miss the city and Chyna and even her roommate Rachelle, but it would be nice to be home with Ramsey.
She had been so excited about it all. She had even agreed to move back in with him. At first, she had thought about getting her own place, but it seemed silly for the same reason it had seemed silly the last time she had moved in with him. She would be spending the majority of her time at the apartment with him. There was no reason to add the extra distance in their relationship. Not to mention, she didn’t have any intention of moving back out again.
It all seemed like a no brainer.
While Lexi missed Chyna terribly, another benefit of being back in Atlanta was getting to hang out with her friend, Brandon. She hadn’t seen him since the day, nearly four months ago, when he had corroborated Parker’s story about her relatio
nship with Ramsey. The thought still made Lexi cringe…and she wasn’t sure when or if it ever wouldn’t. That had been a dark time for her.
But with everything happening so quickly in her life, she hadn’t had any time to see anyone or had any time for herself. So, she had called Brandon to play catch-up and finally get her sushi buddy back.
After reluctantly agreeing to meet him at Bridges Enterprise downtown, she had driven into town. Ramsey was supposed to be in meetings all day with his father, Parker, and the Global partner, Jessica, who had flown down for some of the groundbreaking work on the medical wing. Lexi had gathered that John wasn’t supposed to be in attendance, which had made her breathe easier.
He had called her a few times, which she had shamefully ignored. She knew that she had to be around him for the medical wing, but that didn’t make it any easier. She would have to figure out how to handle that situation.
Lexi pulled into the underground garage below the main Bridges Enterprise building and parked her car. She took the main elevator that exited into the entrance of the building.
Nerves hit her unexpectedly.
Too many bad memories resided in this building. She tried not to think about them, but when she was surrounded by the Bridges logo and the glass building and the clientele, it all rushed back. She let the nerves harden into barely repressed anger at the thought of the wedding.
She walked over to the elevator and pulled out her phone to text Brandon to let him know that she was on her way up. She sent the text and tossed it back into her purse, and then her phone beeped immediately. Surprised that he would respond so fast, she fished it back out of her bag and saw that it was ringing.
Jack was calling her. She glanced around the small alcove where the elevators were, wondering if he could see her or if he had just somehow known that she was in the building. There were two men standing by her, but neither were Jack. Surely, she would have noticed.
She hadn’t spoken to him since the wedding…since he had married Bitch Bekah—not that he had tried to get a hold of her, which was fine by her. She didn’t want to talk to him. She should just silence her phone, go get Brandon, and vacate the premises immediately.
Taking a deep breath, she clicked the Ignore button. She couldn’t remember ever having done that before. Her heart constricted, she inhaled deeply, and then she followed the two men onto the elevator.
“Twenty-four, please,” she said softly.
One of the men pressed the button for Brandon’s floor.
Her phone beeped again, and she stared down at the text from Brandon.
Sounds good, honey.
She laughed. Some things hadn’t changed at least.
Another beep came through her phone. Jack had left a voice mail. Really strange.
She got off on her desired floor as she continued to debate whether or not to listen to it.
Why did he always have to pop back up? She had just moved to Atlanta, she was moving on with her life, and he was married. Yet, he was still here.
She sighed and decided it wouldn’t hurt to just listen to a voice mail. Surely, there was no harm in that. She wouldn’t even call him back.
Once she had successfully talked herself into it, she clicked on the message and pressed her phone to her ear.
“Uh…hey, Lex,” he said hesitantly. “I know you probably aren’t very happy with me or even really want to hear from me right now…and well, I’m sorry that it’s like that.”
She took a deep breath and placed her hand on the wall, bracing herself. All she wanted to know was why he had called her.
“I didn’t think it would all happen like this, but yeah…I guess…on with the point of this call. I have a question for you. Even though you don’t want to talk to me right now, will you still call me anyway? I promise, you’ll actually like the nature of this call. That, I can promise you. So, please call me.”
He sounded so sincere that her heart felt like it was lodged in her throat. Stupid Jack Howard. How did he always make her feel like a ball of mush? Couldn’t he have just left her alone and moved on with his…wife?
God! That was a terrible word.
She pushed her hair behind her ear fiercely and then took a few steps in the direction of Brandon’s office. She made it halfway down the hallway before stopping and staring at her phone again. What could he possible want that he would call her and promise that she would like the nature of the phone call? She couldn’t think of anything off the top of her head.
Her fingers itched to press the button. And with a sigh, she finally just gave in. It was better to know right away, so she could put it out of her mind instead of obsessing about it during her entire lunch with Brandon.
“Lex,” Jack said with a hint of surprise in his voice. “I wasn’t sure you would actually call me back.”
“What do you want, Jack?” Lexi asked. She didn’t want him to hear any of the emotions that had gone through her when she had seen he had called and left a voice mail. That was over and done with.
He sighed. “You’re pissed.”
“Jack…”
“It’s all right. You have every right.”
“Yes, I do,” she said stiffly.
“I, uh…what are you doing next Friday night?”
Lexi’s anger boiled over. “Jack Howard, are you asking me out? Is this a serious conversation we’re having? Did you really have the nerve to call me and ask me about next Friday, like we’re back in college and stupid? You even said that I would like the nature of this call. Well, you’re going to have to try again if you think I could possibly be happy about seeing you!”
“Lexi—”
“No. You know what? I’m clearly the idiot for calling you back. Not sure what I was thinking. Old habits die hard and all that. Please, just leave me alone,” she snapped and then hung up.
Her breathing was ragged when the phone went dead, and she hadn’t even realized how riled up she had gotten. Goddamn it! Why did Jack Fucking Howard always do this to her? It wasn’t enough that he had gotten married? Couldn’t he just let her at least try to move past it all?
Her phone lit up in her hand, and she almost snarled in frustration.
Not asking you out. I’m sorry. Jesus, I can’t seem to do anything right. I didn’t mean to bother you or make you feel like an idiot. I have concert tickets—that’s all. Can I call you back…please?
Concert tickets? Well, that piqued her interest. Why the hell was he contacting her about concert tickets?
If you hear me out and still hate me…you can hang up on me again.
Lexi actually laughed at that, and then she looked up to see if anyone had heard. The hallway was empty. She didn’t have much time before she had to go see Brandon. Satiate her curiosity or just let it go…
Fine. This better be good, Jack.
Her phone rang almost immediately.
“Hey,” he said softly. “Sorry.”
“What is this about concert tickets?”
“Okay, so the story is…Bekah got me tickets to the Sienna Sexton and D-Bags show in Atlanta next weekend.”
“Oh my God…” Lexi breathed. It was their favorite band.
“Yeah. Well, the mix-up at the, uh…wedding,” he began.
Lexi cringed at the word.
“Anyway, Bekah refuses to go and support them since they canceled last minute. Now, I have two tickets…and I guess I could have asked someone else, but I know you love the D-Bags.”
“Yeah. That song of theirs playing on the radio is so good,” she murmured.
That Sienna was a lucky bitch if she were fucking the lead singer because he was quite possibly one of the sexiest men on the planet. Lexi was sure she would use a pass with Ramsey to get to Kellan Kyle.
“It is. And the D-Bags’ ‘Good-bye’ song…I can still listen to it on repeat.”
“Me, too.”
That song always sounded like someone had written it with a specific person in mind. It was so emotional, tugging at her
heart and forcing her to feel every powerful, heart-wrenching word.
Silence lingered between them as shared memories took up the space. Sometimes, she hated how easy it was with Jack. She was angry with him. She didn’t want to remember a time when they had been able to listen to their favorite band together.
“So…will you go with me? Just as a friend. You know…someone who also happens to like the same music as me.”
“What does Bekah think about that?” Lexi asked, deflecting. She had never been able to be Jack’s friend—never.
“Bekah told me to take whoever I want because she’s not going.”
“I don’t think she meant me.”
“She didn’t specify.”
“Well, she’s not too bright, is she?” Lexi muttered before she thought better of it.
“Let’s just…not, okay?” Jack sighed through the line.
She wondered what he was thinking. She never really knew with Jack.
“You don’t have to go if you don’t want to, but I know you’ve never seen them live. I just thought I was being nice.”
Fuckity-fuck. Fuck.
“I have to check with Ramsey.”
“Of course. Take all the time you need. The show is next Friday night at seven thirty at Philips Arena. It’s sold out.”
Lexi tilted her head back, closed her eyes, and sighed heavily. This was such a bad idea, but damn did she want to go to that show. The D-Bags had been one of her favorite bands since college. She was so excited that they were getting more attention, and they were even opening at a huge venue for Sienna Sexton.
“All right,” she said, breathing out in frustration. “If Ramsey is okay with it, then I’ll go. You should probably make sure Bekah actually knows you’re taking me. If I’m going to the concert, then it’s not going to be a secret.”
“Got it. No secrets. Text me after you talk to Ramsey. If he’s down, I’ll talk to Bekah.”
It felt a little like they were getting permission from their parents, but at least she was going about it the right way. Under no circumstances was she going to risk Ramsey a second time for a fucking concert. She wanted to see the D-Bags, but that wouldn’t be worth losing him