by Lexy Timms
Mark followed her eyes. “That’s Erica. She’s the professional golfer I hired.”
“She’s perfect for you,” Jamie murmured. The girl had the look that she wouldn’t take anything from anybody and total sweetness at the same time.
“Jamie!” Alex laughed and shook his head. “Not everyone dates their employees.”
“Just you?” Mark tossed at him. “Okay for Alex, but not okay for your little brother?” He jumped back when Alex pushed the stroller forward. “Just kidding!” He turned to Jamie. “Erica’s great. Right now, though, I’m just trying to concentrate on getting this place open and up and running.”
“Sounds like a good plan.” Alex slipped his sunglasses on.
Mark nodded at his brother. “He’s just worried about his investment.”
Jamie loved that the two boys could hammer at each other with no anger. It was great to see. “I’m sure you’ll make him very proud.”
Mark turned serious for a moment. “I hope so.”
“You do, brother. Every day.”
There was an awkward moment of silence, where two guys who never share their feelings realize they suddenly had, and then Alex cleared his throat. “I haven’t got all day. How about we start walking before these two peanuts fall asleep?”
Jamie couldn’t stop smiling. She moved up past Mark, patting him on the shoulder as she stepped beside Alex, slipping her arm through his. “The place looks amazing, Mark.”
He shoved his hands into his pockets, pride shown in his eyes. “I’m planning an opening golf tournament—kind of like an open house. It’s going to get prospective club members in and a bit of schmoozing with the big wigs.” He glanced quickly at Alex. “You’re still coming, right?”
“Free golf? Hell, yeah.”
The twins started babbling and Mark chuckled as he waved at them. “I believe we’ve got two new members wanting to pay club fees.”
“Nice try, brother,” Alex said. “At your next board meeting for the club, I’m going to argue that family members should golf for free.”
Jamie elbowed him. “Cheapskate.”
Mark burst out laughing. “I’ll leave you guys on that note.” He glanced over as Erica was pulling around in a golf cart and nodded. “Work to be done.”
“I’ll bet,” Alex mumbled under his breath and Jamie elbowed him again.
“You are related.” Jamie moved forward as Alex began pushing the stroller.
“I know. In way too many ways I care to admit.” He kissed her forehead. “I love you, Jamie. You and these peanuts are the best thing that’s ever happened to me. I hope Mark can find the same thing one day.”
“He will.” She untangled her arm from his and slipped it around his waist. “I love you, too. To the moon and back.” She quoted a little book she’d been reading to the twins at night. “And back again.”
***
TWO WEEKS LATER
Jamie never mentioned to Christine that their mother had dropped by the house to try to see the twins. She knew their father probably mentioned something about her being in town, but Christine didn’t say anything about it, and Jamie followed her lead. She wasn’t sure reminding her sister that their mother was around would be good for her. No one needed to mention the witch.
Christine was in the nursery, playing with the twins again. Jamie smiled a little to herself as she took her seat at the computer desk and hit the power button. Over the last few weeks her sister had really stepped up, and the time with the twins seemed to be doing her a world of good. She was happier than Jamie had ever seen her. She’d even heard her humming once as she left, and took that as a good sign. She and Mark seemed to be getting along well, too, although they’d only run into each other a couple times since that night they’d babysat, but whatever conversation they’d had seemed to have had a positive impact on Christine, because she never had anything to stay about Mark that wasn’t kind.
The computer finished booting, and Jamie pulled up the browser, taking a moment to flip through Google for any mentions of Alex. It was a bad habit, she knew, but sometimes it helped to know what the press was saying as early as possible. The faster they could get someone on it to shut it down before it blew up, the better. There were the usual results, a few extra mentions that had to do with the conference Alex had spoken at the previous weekend.
Jamie stopped dead.
BILLIONAIRE ABANDONS BABY BOY the headline read. And beneath that, “Mother of Alex Reid’s illegitimate son comes forward to demand the famous businessman help her pay for the costs of care after he left her in the lurch.”
What the hell? Jamie sat back her chair, staring at the screen. Had it not been enough the first time? The name of the mother at least wasn’t Annette. That ex-girlfriend had taken money to smear Alex’s name in the mud before Jamie had married Alex. Jamie didn’t recognize the name Lacey Riker, but that didn’t mean Alex wouldn’t. Jamie wondered if he had already seen the article. Someone at work almost definitely had. Whether or not they’d be feeling brave enough to report that back to Alex or were waiting for a higher-up to do it was the real question.
It was pretty obvious which one when Alex arrived home from work that evening, dropping his briefcase onto the counter with a noise that startled the twins. Benton started crying, and Jamie picked him up, bouncing him gently on her hip.
“I’d like to buy every newspaper and gossip magazine and burn them all at the stake!” Alex huffed, pacing across the floor and reaching up to run one hand through his hair. “Isn’t it enough that they almost ruined my life last year? Hell, Stephen almost killed me.”
“You’re rich and incredibly handsome,” Jamie said quietly. “People want what you have, but they don’t want to do the work that you had to do so you could have it.”
He turned to look at her and Benton still sniffling in her arms, and softened. Crossing the floor with less agitation, he reached out and took the baby from her, gathering their son close. Jamie picked up Lillianna, who, realizing that her brother was being held and she wasn’t, had decided the situation was entirely unfair and started working up to a good cry herself.
“So do you know her?” Jamie asked when both the twins were content again.
“I know her,” Alex said. “We hooked up a few times, but it was years ago. If she really had a kid that was mine why not come forward before now?”
“Maybe Annette’s suit got people’s attention. They figure that even though her case was dropped the next one might not be,” Jamie suggested.
“Well, the child isn’t mine either way,” Alex said. “I know that I used condoms when I was with her, and she was on the pill. There’s no way both of those things failed.”
“I don’t think he’s yours,” Jamie said. “I think the mother just thinks that she can take advantage of you. So don’t let her. Take a paternity test.”
Alex shook his head. “I think it’s better if I just ignore her. Don’t even engage her. Eventually the media will get tired of it and go away.”
Jamie wasn’t so sure that they would, but she didn’t say so. They had enough on their plates as it was. If Alex’s strategy could work, they would try it first. There was always the other option as backup.
“Okay,” she said. “We’ll try that. But if they don’t go away, you’ll take the test and get rid of them?”
“If they don’t go away,” Alex said, “I’ll consider it. I’m not a puppet the media can move around. I’ll pull my own damn strings.”
That, it seemed, was the best she was going to get. Jamie let it slide. He was still upset from just finding out. She’d try again tomorrow.
“What do you say we take the kids out one day this weekend? Away from all the bullsh—” Alex dropped his voice so the twins wouldn’t hear “bullshit.” He turned to look at her. He was smiling, apparently having decided that he wasn’t going to worry about the alleged baby mama anymore. “Somewhere fun. We can make a day of it, and tire them out enough that maybe we can get dinner
while they sleep.”
“That sounds really great,” Jamie said. “I’d like that.” She looked down at the baby on her hip. “What about you, Benton? Huh? Would you like to go somewhere with Daddy and Lilli and me?”
Benton waved his hands in the air, nearly smacking Jamie in the face, and she laughed.
“I think that’s a yes. Out for Saturday, then?”
“Out for Saturday,” Alex agreed, leaning down to steal a kiss.
There was still the issue of this other illegitimate child, but that could wait, Jamie decided. They’d deal with it when they had to. Until then, they had two beautiful children of their own to take care of, and that was where their focus should be.
Chapter 8
It felt strange having Alex and Jamie’s entire house to himself. Mark picked up his towel from the pile of clean laundry that he should probably put away after his swim. They’d never taken the kids anywhere for more than an hour or two at a time, and usually only to places like Jamie’s dad’s. Which was where they were planning on taking them anyway, after dinner. Or for dinner, if they got fussy. They even mentioned possibly staying away for the night. So Mark had the house and the pool to himself for the rest of the afternoon and evening, and he intended to take full advantage of it. It had been a little while since he’d had the opportunity to go swimming.
The water was cool in the heat of the early summer sun, and Mark turned on his back and floated, enjoying the quiet. Working on the country club was exhilarating, but relaxing wasn’t a word that applied to it. There was constantly something someone needed advice or approval on, and usually something that was supposed to be going right that was going wrong.
Here, though, there was just the lapping of the water against the edge of the pool, and the sun shining down on him, just warm enough against the cool of the water to be really pleasant. Mark let himself float, and tried not to think about anything but that.
His thoughts inevitably turned to Erica.
She wasn’t the only person working for him at the club, but she was the one his attention kept returning to. Not that it was any wonder. She was gorgeous, and watching her swing a club was pure art. Mark would have gladly spent all his time staring at her instead of getting any work done, but he didn’t think that she’d really appreciate it. His investors probably wouldn’t either.
He’d thought about approaching her with his interest, but the idea was a little bit terrifying. What if she turned him down? It was easy with women that he couldn’t imagine dating. But Erica was smart and funny, and he could imagine spending the rest of his life with her. He wanted what Jamie and Alex had, he just didn’t know how to find it. After his divorce, he’d vowed to wait some time and just be single. Find himself again, enjoy the odd bit of fun, but try to stay away from anything serious. It would come when he wasn’t expecting it. Trying to force it would only put him in the same position he’d been in with his first marriage. If he ever got married again, it was going to be for the last time.
The sound of voices coming around the corner of the house made Mark straighten up abruptly, dropping his feet to the floor of the pool. Who would be showing up now? Alex and Jamie were gone, and as far as he knew there hadn’t been plans to have anyone over to the house.
“Alex?” a very obviously feminine voice called through the gate. “Are you back there?”
Mark hauled himself out of the pool, not bothering to wrap a towel around his waist when it would just get soaked, and walked toward the gate.
There were two women standing on the other side, one of them short and olive-skinned, the other tall with curls in her hair and a model’s build. Both of them were exactly the kind of women that Alex had rotated through before he’d met Jamie.
“Sorry,” he said, smiling “Not Alex. Can I do something for you?”
The taller girl pouted at him. “Aww, we were hoping for Alex. Do you know when he’ll be home? We’re only in town for a couple nights.”
“Alex is out with his wife,” Mark said, because he figured it would be easier to tell them now than to string them along and let them hope they might have a chance. “And kids.”
They exchanged glances, and then looked back at him.
“Alex is married?” the shorter one asked.
“Months ago,” Mark said. “I’m honestly surprised you didn’t read about it. It was all over the news.”
“Oh darn! We’ve been traveling for ages. Actually just got back to the States. That’s why we’re in New York at all,” the taller one said. “We’re actually from L.A.”
Of course they were.
“Well, like I said, Alex isn’t really available anymore. But I’ll tell him you dropped by.”
He started to turn, and the voice of the shorter one stopped him. “What about you?” she asked as he paused. “Are you available?”
Her voice was a purr that suggested she was asking exactly what he thought.
“We brought our bathing suits and everything,” the taller one said, waving a collection of fabric and string that didn’t look large enough to cover a Barbie doll, let alone a human being.
Mark’s mouth went dry. He stepped forward and unlocked the gate without saying a word, and both women laughed.
“Oh, good. We were hoping you would be.”
“You look like Alex a little,” the shorter one said. “Are you related?”
“I’m his brother,” Mark said, shutting the gate again behind them. “And you are?”
“Oh,” the tall one giggled, “I’m Amanda and this is Danni. We’ve been friends with Alex for years. I’m surprised he hasn’t mentioned us.”
“Alex and I weren’t exactly on good terms for a while,” Mark said, because he didn’t want their feelings to be hurt. “By the time we started talking again he was already dating Jamie, and he didn’t really talk about any other women much.”
“Oh,” Danni nodded, “that’s totally understandable. It’s been a year or two since we’ve seen Alex. We didn’t tend to do a lot of talking.” She giggled as they stepped around the corner of the house and onto the deck that overlooked the pool. “You know,” she offered, “the last time we were here we played in the pool, too.”
Mark really hoped Alex had cleaned the water after that. Though he supposed it didn’t really matter. It had been more than a year ago. Well before he was doing any swimming in Alex’s pool. “If you ladies want to go through and put your suits on,” he said, “I assume you know where the bathroom is.”
They grinned at him.
“Oh,” Amanda said.
“We know,” they added together. They giggled. Amanda tilted her head slightly. “It’s changed slightly. He was building a gym by the pool last time we were here.”
“That door there is my suite. Why don’t you go and change there,” Mark said, “and we’ll see what kind of mischief we can get up to once you’re back?” He pitched his voice deliberately low, gave it a little growl.
They looked at him with wide eyes and hurried off to take his advice.
Mark slid back into the pool as soon as they’d stepped into the house, shaking his head. Trust Alex to have booty calls that showed up unexpectedly a year and a half later, happy to jump into bed—or the pool—with the first person they met. He laid back to float on the water again, chuckling to himself, and listened for the sound of the door opening. If he couldn’t bring himself to talk to Erica about how he felt, at least he could have a little fun.
The door opened and shut again, and Mark opened his eyes to find the girls standing on the edge of the pool, looking down at him.
That collection of strings that Amanda had been holding up turned out to cover more than he had expected, though that really wasn’t much. Not that he was complaining. He was very far from complaining, in fact. Danni’s suit looked a little more like something that was held together by tenuous hope, but it didn’t leave much more to the imagination.
“Planning on joining me?” Mark asked, not moving from his laz
y float.
They laughed, and then the water was rippling out from their bodies sliding into it, and a moment later they were on either side of him. Mark looked up at their faces in the summer sunlight, and grinned. “Yes?”
“I think you said something about mischief,” Amanda pointed out.
“Did I?” Mark looked thoughtfully up at the clouds floating overhead, silent for a moment.
“Well, if you’re not going to start it,” Amanda said, “we will.”
There was a giggle, and then the sound of water splashing as both girls ducked under the water. When they came up, they were a few feet away, and Mark raised his head to watch them, wondering just what kind of mischief they had planned.
Danni wound herself around Amanda, arms lifting to wrap around the other girl’s neck, and they both turned to look at him. Danni with wide brown eyes, Amanda with green. Then, slowly, they leaned into each other and let their mouths meet in a kiss.
That was decidedly not fair.
Mark rolled upright, pushing off of the bottom of the pool and coming to a stop just out of arm’s reach. When he reached out, a hand caught his wrist.
“Uh-uh,” Amanda said. “You weren’t fast enough. Now you get to watch.”
He could have pulled free of the hold if he’d really wanted to, but Mark had always been the type of man who would try anything once. Or more than once. He took a step back, and both girls gave him overly sweet smiles.
“Good boy,” Amanda purred.
She dropped his wrist, and pulled Danni into another kiss. A long, teasing, gratuitously slow kiss apparently designed to see if humans were in fact capable of spontaneously combusting from sexual frustration.
When they broke apart, they were both panting lightly.
“Now can I touch?” Mark asked. It wasn’t really a question that he expected any answer other than ‘yes’ to.
Amanda tipped her head to the side like she was thinking, and gave him a smile that wouldn’t have looked out of place on the Cheshire Cat. “No,” she said.