by Lexy Timms
Mark didn’t push the subject any further. Alex would only dig his heels in and get stubborn about it, and he didn’t want to deal with that. But he agreed with Jamie. Alex would be better off just taking the stupid test already and dealing with the woman that way. She didn’t win if people realized that she was a fraud. Then it would be her face splashed across the front page of every gossip rag in circulation, with headlines damning her instead of Alex.
“Where were you last weekend?” Alex asked when Mark didn’t say anything else. “I hardly saw you.”
That was a question Mark had been considering how to answer. How exactly did you tell your brother that you’d banged his friends with benefits? He didn’t think Alex would really mind, but it wasn’t exactly the least awkward topic of conversation.
“How much detail do you want me to answer that with?” Mark asked.
Alex laughed as he took his club from the caddy and stepped into place to line up his first shot. Up ahead of them, there was another group of men just moving on to the third hole, and behind them Mark knew there were other groups getting ready to come through.
There was going to be a tournament later in the afternoon. It was one of the events Mark had set up for the grand opening of the Little Lake Country Club, which was doubling as a fundraiser. Alex couldn’t be the only investor the club had. In the quiet before the contest, there were people taking advantage of the opportunity to get to know the course a little, testing out the terrain.
“I think that gives me at least an idea,” Alex added.
He swung the club, and the ball soared down the fairway.
“Actually,” Mark said, deciding to just confess. “I met a couple friends of yours.”
“Friends of mine?” Alex echoed, turning to look at him.
“Amanda and Danni,” Mark said.
His brother’s expression twisted, like Alex wasn’t sure how he was going to respond to the obvious implication that Mark had hooked up with the girls. He decided on a laugh.
“I take it they showed you a good time?”
They’d hardly left his bed all weekend. Good wasn’t quite the word for it. It had been a lot better than good.
“They were very accommodating.”
“They usually are,” Alex said with a grin.
Mark lined up his own shot, and sent his ball after Alex’s. They started down toward the green, the caddies following behind.
“Do they call before they show up at the house, most of the time?” Mark asked. “Or do they just surprise you?”
“A little of both,” Alex said. “They never called more than an hour ahead of time, even if they knew weeks out that they’d be in town. Sometimes they didn’t call at all. They were always disappointed when I wasn’t as shocked as they expected me to be.” He turned to grin at Mark. “You play Marco Polo?”
Mark’s eyebrows snapped upward. “Marco Polo?” he echoed.
Alex laughed. “I’m surprised they didn’t talk about it. Last time they came out we played Marco Polo.” He shook his head. “They’re both into all kinds of ridiculous little games. Half the time I just ignored their attempts to start them, but they were usually worth the little bit of silliness that went with them.”
His next hit sent the ball the rest of the way down the fairway and across the putting green, into the cup. Mark watched it go with a sigh, and then sent his own after it, grinning when he made the same score.
“Worth it is right,” he said. “But they didn’t make me play Marco Polo.”
They’d played entirely an entirely different sort of game.
“Mr. Reid,” a voice said behind them, and Mark and Alex both turned to find a small group of men in golf attire gathering behind them.
“To which Mr. Reid are you referring?” Alex asked.
“The one running the tournament,” said the apparent leader of the group, a white-haired man with laugh- lines around his eyes. “You’ve really outdone yourself here, I think. Excellent job of putting it all together.”
Mark pulled on a charming smile. “I hope that means we can count on your support?”
“Oh, I think you’ll find me here again.” He winked. “And I gave the check I wrote to one of your people, so I’m sure you’ll find that later as well.”
“We’re very thankful for your support,” Mark said. “Thank you.”
“It’s all I can do these days,” the man said. “Throw money around.” He held out a hand. “I’m Michael Campbell.”
Mark didn’t know the name. He reached out and took the offered hand, shaking it warmly. “Nice to meet you, Mr. Campbell. I’m Mark Reid, as you may have guessed, and this is my brother, Alex.”
Alex reached past him to shake hands as well. “An honor to meet you, Mr. Campbell,” he said.
“Caught that name did you?” The older man asked, amused. “But you’re welcome to call me Michael. I’ve heard good things about you and your company, young man. Very good things.”
“All true,” Alex said without missing a beat, and Mr. Campbell laughed.
“I have no doubt about that. Come. Join our group why don’t you, and we can chat.”
“Mr. Reid,” a new voice said, and Mark turned to see one of the staff waiting behind him, looking a little out of breath. “We need you up at the main house if you have a minute.”
“Of course,” Mark said. “I’ll be right up.” He turned back to the group of men with an apologetic smile. “Looks like duty calls, but feel free to steal my brother away with you.”
“We’ll do just that,” Mr. Campbell said. “I’m sure we’ll meet again, Mr. Reid.”
“I’m sure we will,” Mark said, smiling again, and then he turned and headed back up toward the main house to see what had gone wrong this time.
***
The party was settling down. Dusk had fallen almost an hour ago, bringing the golfers back up to the main house as the light grew dim. Now they stood around, chatting over glasses of wine and plates of hors d’oeuvres, and Mark was finally allowing himself to relax. It had obviously been a success.
Mr. Campbell, who had won the tournament, was holding court at the edge of the patio with a small group of people that included Alex, who still hadn’t gone home. Mark was starting to wonder if he should kick his brother out. Jamie was still at home with the twins, and undoubtedly wanting her husband to come back and help. Mark had told her that she was more than welcome to come, too, and to bring the kids, but she’d declined. He was sure that she was still upset about Alex’s refusal to take the paternity test, and a few glasses of wine in, Mark had half a mind tell his brother just what a stubborn ass he was being.
In fact… He stepped over to the group and slid himself in next to his brother. Alex turned to look at him.
“Can I talk to you a minute?” he asked under his breath. He offered Campbell a smile. “And I know I’ve told you this once already, but congratulations on your win.”
“Thank you again,” Mr. Campbell said. “I presume that you’re here to steal your brother away from us?”
“Unfortunately,” Mark said, still smiling. “Just need to talk to him for a minute.”
He nodded to the men, and Alex, thankfully, followed him as he pulled away.
“Don’t you think you should be headed home about now?” he asked as soon as they were out of earshot. “Your wife must be wondering where you are so late.”
Alex sighed. “I told you, Jamie and I had that argument about the paternity test. I was giving her a little time to cool off.”
“Because ignoring her is going to help so much.” Mark crossed his arms over his chest and met his brother’s gaze. “You need to go home and talk to her. And you need to reconsider your stance on that test.”
Alex’s expression darkened. “What is it with you two and the test?”
“Well, I imagine Jamie’s issue is that your face is on magazine covers paired with headlines about what a terrible person you are. It’s a trending topic on the internet
. People are wondering when you’re going to get your multi-billionaire ass in gear and actually talk to this woman. Not doing it makes you look a.) Guilty. And b.) Rude. If you don’t do something about it, it’s going to start being as bad for business as it is for your wife’s day.”
His brother’s lips pressed into a flat line. “I’ve made my decision on it.”
“So you’re just going to let Jamie be unhappy? Really? She’s the mother of your actual children, Alex, and she cried this morning.”
For the first time, something he was saying seemed to get through to his brother. Alex blinked at him, all the fight sliding out of his stance. “She cried?”
“When I walked into the house she was washing her face at the sink,” Mark said. “And looking a little red around the eyes.”
“Fuck.” Alex ran a hand through his hair, already moving toward the lot and his car. “I’ve got to get home.”
“Go forth,” Mark said, “and stop being an ass to your wife.”
Alex didn’t look amused, but he didn’t stop long enough to look much of anything, just strode away up the drive. Mark watched him go and went to find himself another glass of wine, feeling rather satisfied.
He almost bumped into Erica.
She was standing a little way off from the other groups that were gathered around the patio, a glass of wine in her hand. She was wearing a close-fitting black dress with a skirt that left much of her leg bare. Workable for golf, but still elegant, and showing off every one of her perfect curves.
Mark swallowed hard, and tipped back the rest of his drink. “Hey, Erica,” he said, stepping up beside her. “Enjoying the party?”
Erica turned her head enough to smile at him. “It’s going well, I think. The staff has done a great job today. Especially the kitchen. The food’s amazing.”
Mark laughed. “I think I definitely made the right choice there. Although, unfortunately, I can’t steal away the caterers for my own private staff, so we’ll have to find others to do the day-to-day running, but I tasted the hand of our head chef in that, and I think he’s going to work out perfectly.”
“I thought the tournament was a hit,” she said. “And we did some lessons on the driving range. Kids loved that.”
“Good,” Mark said. “I’m in agreement. It was a success. And the fundraiser went better than I’d imagined, honestly.”
“I think you probably have your brother to thank for that, at least in part.” Erica took a sip from her glass. “He pulled in a lot of very wealthy people who like to invest. And you did offer some great perks. Who wouldn’t want a membership to your club?”
“True enough,” Mark agreed. He stalled there, not sure what to say next and not wanting to keep going on about the party. There were better things to talk about than work. The trouble was that he couldn’t think of any of them. “That dress really suits you,” he said finally.
She gave him an amused glance. “Thank you.”
“I mean, it looks really good,” Mark said, wondering when he had completely lost his ability to flirt. He used to be quite accomplished at it, he was sure.
“Thank you,” Erica said again. “You fill out that suit pretty nicely yourself.”
“So I’ve been told a time or two,” Mark answered, finally feeling steady ground under his feet. “But I do try not to toot my own horn.”
Erica laughed, and he felt a warm flush of triumph. He hadn’t devolved into complete awkwardness just yet, at least.
“Well,” she said. “I can assure you that I’m not the only one thinking it. Some of those golf wives over there were checking you out pretty zealously.”
Mark turned to look in the direction she was indicating, and a group of women looked hastily away, whispering between themselves. He shook his head. “You’d think, eventually, they’d figure out that people can see them,” he said, looking back at Erica, who looked like she was trying not to laugh again. “They’re not exactly invisible. Or quiet.”
“They’re also probably drunk,” Erica pointed out.
“They’re probably not the only ones,” Mark said.
Silence fell between them again, broken by the low murmurs from other discussions and the occasional laugh rising above the conversational noise. Mark searched his thoughts for something to say. He opened his mouth, and Erica’s phone rang.
“Sorry,” she said, reaching into the purse slung over her shoulder to pull out the ringing phone and glancing down at the screen. She smiled apologetically. “I’ve got to take this.”
“Of course,” Mark said. “Go. I’m sure I’ll survive.”
She laughed, and stepped away to take the call, walking rapidly toward the edge of the patio where she could be away from the background sounds of the other guests. Mark watched her go, and sighed. So much for suave.
Chapter 11
Jamie was already in bed when Alex got home, the twins put down for the night. She heard him moving carefully around the dark room, trying not to make enough noise to wake her if she was asleep, but didn’t open her eyes. She didn’t want to talk about the child support suit that woman was trying to level against them, and she didn’t know if she could make herself listen to light-hearted news about Mark’s party when the child support was all she could think about.
The bed dipped with Alex’s weight, and she expected him to lie down alongside her, but he didn’t. He sat where he was and she opened her eyes enough to see the dark form of his body against the lighter gray of the room. His head was bowed, his hands resting in his lap.
“Jamie,” he said quietly, and she almost startled, sure for a second that he’d somehow noticed her staring. “You awake?”
She considered not answering, but that was the kind of thing that would start even worse fights. “I’m awake,” she said quietly.
Alex turned, reaching out to switch on the lamp as he did so, and she blinked against the sudden blinding brightness. When she could see again, he was closer, looking down at her with a furrowed brow. She waited for what he had to say. There was a long pause.
“I’m sorry,” Alex said.
It was the last thing she had expected to hear. Jamie stared at him. “You’re sorry?”
He nodded, reaching out to brush his fingertips against the curve of her cheekbone. “I’m sorry that I didn’t listen to you about the paternity test. I was sure that I knew what would be best, but you’re right. If I don’t take one and stop her, she’s just going to keep coming at us until something gives.”
“Not that I’m complaining,” Jamie said, finally turning her face into the touch, “but what changed your mind?”
“Mark, actually,” he admitted. “He kind of took me aside and told me what was what. He also said that…” Alex paused. “He walked in on you this morning after you’d just finished crying?”
Of course Mark had told Alex that. Jamie sighed. “He kind of did, yeah.”
Alex lay down then, wrapping himself around her and pulling her close. “I’m sorry,” he whispered against her hair. “I should have listened to you.”
Jamie wrapped her arms around him in return. “I forgive you.”
Taking that as an opening for a more physical apology, Alex leaned down and kissed her, slow and sweet. Jamie wrapped an arm around him and drew him in closer. When she pulled back to breathe, he chased her mouth and kissed her again.
“I want you,” he growled when they separated. “Let me make it up to you.”
“What if the twins wake up?”
He smiled. “Well, then, I guess we’ll both be sexually frustrated. But for now…” He rolled over so that his weight rested against hers. “I don’t hear any noise coming from anywhere that isn’t right here with us, do you?”
Jamie listened, but the baby monitor, still glowing with a steady green light, was silent. She gave in and pressed up against his body, dragging him down for another kiss, and then another. “Make it up to me, then,” she said when they’d pulled back enough to both breathe.
Alex laughed, and threw the blankets back.
Underneath, Jamie was wearing simple black lingerie. She hadn’t really expected to get Alex back from the tournament so eager, or she would have worn something nicer. He didn’t seem to have any objection to it, though, his hands sliding over her skin, tracing the lines of hem and waistband.
“You look good in this,” he said.
“You think I look good in anything,” Jamie answered with a smile. “I could wear a trash bag and you’d say the same thing.”
“Hmm,” he agreed. “True. Guess that means you must be really hot.”
Jamie laughed. “I think maybe your measurements are off a little there, but I’m not going to complain.
“While we’re on the subject of measurements,” Alex said, sliding down her body. “I think yours are perfect.”
He curled his fingers around her left ankle, then bent and pressed his lips to it, slowly working his way up her leg with his lips and teeth. Jamie shivered, heat and desire waking a fire in her belly. When he reached the apex of her thigh, he moved down again, and she growled at him.
He chuckled, and moved a little faster. “Not planning on begging tonight, baby?”
“Not if this is apology sex,” Jamie answered, leaning up on one elbow to look down at him between her thighs and thoroughly enjoying the view. “Apology sex means you do what I want.”
“Is that so?” Alex dropped his mouth to where she wanted it most, kissing her through the thin fabric of her panties, his breath warm against her skin. “Is this what you want?”
“I want my underwear off,” Jamie said, already reaching up to unfasten her bra and throw it off the bed.
Alex, still humoring her requests, pulled the underwear down her legs and tossed them aside. His big, warm hands slid back up from her ankles to her thighs, and gently pushed them open wider so that he could get the breadth of his shoulders between them.
“Damn, I’ve missed doing this,” he said when he was flat on the bed, his arms curled under her legs so that his hands could hold her by the hips. “Missed tasting you.”