“Maybe because you’re here, she thinks everything is good between the two of you.”
She seemed to consider this. “You might be right. And honestly, I don’t want to stay mad at her. She can have Kevin. I just feel betrayed. I thought we were friends. Even if divorced, friends don’t date each other’s exes. At least, not without talking to each other first.” She took a deep breath. “But my biggest problem with Candace is my own.” She turned and sat on the bed. “I’m jealous that she’s pregnant when I couldn’t be. And I’m so damn pissed that Kevin gets to have a baby, and I don’t.”
I scooted forward and put her bag on the floor. Moving next to her, I put my arm around her and pulled her to me. “I’m sorry, Alexis. Life is nothing but unfair sometimes.”
Chapter Twenty
ALEXIS
Dinner was a little tense at first. The five of us stared at each other while the waitress took our drink orders.
Trevor and I had walked down to the restaurant early. I thought a drink or two might loosen me up enough to eat with Kevin and Candace. Kevin had driven down with his grandma and Candace. It was too far for an elderly woman with cancer and an expectant mother to walk.
Thankfully, the two mojitos I’d had before the rest of our dinner party got there was enough to loosen me up for small talk.
We were at a table with Candace and me across from each other, Trevor and Kevin across from each other, and their grandmother at the end, between her grandsons.
I looked at Trevor’s grandma. “Are you excited to meet your great-grandchild?”
The surprise that sprang on the woman’s face had me wondering if she had never thought about it.
“Yeah, Nana,” Kevin said, putting his arm around Candace. “We don’t know what we’re having yet, but we were thinking if it’s a boy, we’d name him after Grandpa.”
Candace frowned for a moment but then forced a smile on her face. “We’re still talking about it, but it’s in the running.”
I lifted my newest drink to my lips and sipped. It seemed Candace wasn’t on board with naming the baby after her fiancé’s grandfather.
“As it should be. William is a strong name,” Nana said. She cleared her throat and relaxed her stance. “How has your pregnancy been?”
Candace rubbed her belly. “Good. I was sick in the beginning, but that went away months ago.”
“I was sick with Kevin and Trevor’s father.”
Trevor leaned closer to me and whispered in my ear, “Was this your goal? To get Nana to like Candace?”
“Maybe,” I whispered back. “A great-grandmother deserves to know her great-grandchild before she passes. And the baby is innocent in all this.”
Trevor put his arm around me. “You’re a good person.”
I snorted. “I’m an okay person.”
He grinned and kissed me. It wasn’t very sexual, but when we separated, Kevin was staring at us. I met his eyes and took another sip of my mojito.
Kevin put his hand on Candace’s belly. “Would you like to feel the baby move, Nana?”
I shifted in my seat, trying not to let my jealousy at that question consume me.
“Yes, Mrs. Nelson, you have to feel the baby move.” Candace looked at me. “Would you like to feel too, Alexis? He’s kicking right now.”
It seemed like she was trying to be nice, but it felt like a kick to the gut. “No, thank you.”
Kevin stood. “Switch seats with me,” he said to Candace.
She took Kevin’s seat and placed his grandmother’s hand on her belly.
We all sat, waiting for a few seconds until Candace’s face lit up and Nana smiled.
“Did you feel that?” Candace asked.
“I did,” Nana said. She took her hand away. “I’m sorry I was short with you at the airport. I wasn’t happy to find out Kevin had kept you from me and waited so long to marry you.”
“Nana, I told you, we needed to get her back into the country before we could get married.”
“You still could have told me before.”
Kevin pursed his lips but said, “You’re right.”
“Either way, there’s no reason I can’t enjoy my great-grandchild even if it’s only for a short time,” Nana said. She smiled, but it was sad. “If I make it until then.”
Trevor took her hand. “You will, Nana. I have faith.”
“Thank you.” She turned back to Candace. “At least I have the opportunity, right? I thought Alexis would give me grandchildren, but that didn’t happen.”
Immediately, I looked back and forth between Kevin and his grandmother. What did he tell her?
“Alexis had talked about it, but I guess she was too busy to make it happen.”
Candace gasped, and Trevor whispered, “Nana.”
I didn’t really think that her words were meant to hurt me, but hurt me they did.
Reaching behind me, I removed Trevor’s arm from my shoulders. I pushed back my chair. “Please excuse me. I’m not feeling well. I think I’m going to head back to the house.” I stood and looked in Trevor’s direction, but I couldn’t meet his eyes. “Do you have the key?”
He pushed his chair back also. “I’ll come with you.”
I stopped him with my hand. “No, you stay and have dinner.”
He lifted my chin. “I’m coming with.”
Putting my hand on his arm, I said, “You don’t have much time left with your grandmother. Please. Stay.”
His jaw clenched.
“I want to be alone for a bit anyway, and it will make me feel better if you stay.”
Trevor reached into his pocket and pulled out the key.
I swiped it from him. “See you after dinner.”
I headed out of the restaurant and tried to keep my wits about me until I got back to the rental. When I got there, it took several tries for me to get the key in the lock, which was when the tears started to fall.
Finally, I got the door open, and I quickly slammed it shut and sprinted to our room. I threw the bedroom door closed, too, and collapsed on the bed as I started to sob.
I hated that my body had failed me in that aspect. And I hated even more that it meant so much to me. Why couldn’t I be one of those women who never wanted kids?
I didn’t know how long I’d been lying there, but I heard the click of the bedroom door opening. I kept my back turned, figuring it was Trevor. Not wanting him to know how upset I was, I tried to silence my tears.
But when he lay beside me and pulled me into his arms, I turned and cried into his chest. It felt so good to be held. I didn’t care anymore if he saw me at my worst.
I woke up the next morning, still fully clothed, on top of the covers and in Trevor’s arms. I carefully pushed myself up so as not to wake him.
His eyes were closed, and his mouth was partially open. He looked quite adorable. With his dark hair and dark eyes, he was so masculine, but seeing him sleep made him a little more boyish.
I must have stared too long because he groaned and rolled onto his back.
He smacked his tongue against the roof of his mouth. “Ugh, I need to brush my teeth.”
I chuckled. “Same. I didn’t wash my face either.”
He reached out and put his hand on my hip. “You still look beautiful.”
“Ha. Thank you, but I hate the feeling of not getting ready for bed.”
Stretching as he sat up, he said, “I haven’t fallen asleep without my nightly routine in years. It wasn’t even late. I must be getting old.”
I hit my shoulder against his and got off the bed before he caught a whiff of my morning breath. “Sorry about last night. I didn’t mean to ruin dinner.”
“My grandmother ruined dinner.”
“Did you at least get to eat something?” I had no idea how long I had lain in bed before Trevor got home.
His stomach answered by growling.
“That would be a no,” he said.
“How about we shower and go find some breakfast? Just th
e two of us?”
“Sounds like a plan.”
“Do you want to shower first or last?” Or we could save time and shower together?
And that was not a thought I should be having this morning. Just because I’d slept in the comfort of his arms didn’t mean he wanted to have sex.
“You go first.”
Quickly, I grabbed my clothes and left the bedroom before I made things more complicated.
I was nearly to the bathroom when Trevor’s grandma’s door opened, and we almost ran into each other.
I stepped back. “Go ahead.”
“I’ll only be a minute,” she said.
I smiled politely. “No worries.”
Nana went in and used the toilet and washed her hands. When she came out, I tried to duck inside, but she stopped me.
“Alexis?”
“Yes?”
“I apologize for last night. Trevor explained to me about your…troubles and that I was quick to judge.”
Hearing that Trevor had done that warmed my heart.
“Thank you for apologizing.”
Nana looked down at her feet. “Even though I had Trevor’s father, we were never able to have another child. I know it’s not quite the same, but I do understand your pain.”
“I’m sorry to hear that.”
She looked up at me. “Thank you, dear.”
We stood for a few moments before I said, “I’d better get in the shower. Trevor and I are going to breakfast.”
She moved out of the way. “Yes, yes, of course.”
She headed toward her bedroom.
“Mrs. Nelson?”
She turned.
“Would you like to join Trevor and me?”
She smiled. “No, dear. You go and enjoy some time with your husband.”
“Will do.”
“And, Alexis?”
“Yes?”
“You can call me Adele.”
Chapter Twenty-One
ALEXIS
Breakfast was delicious. Trevor and I were both so hungry that we hardly said anything to each other as we stuffed our faces.
After we got back to the house, we all voted to go to the beach.
“You sure you’re up for that?” Trevor asked.
I loved that he was worried about me.
“Yes. Last night was therapeutic, and I don’t want to waste the beautiful weather being sad. Especially when it won’t change anything.”
He grinned. “Let’s go then.”
The best part of the rental was having the beach practically in the backyard. The house also came with huge beach towels, beach chairs, and plenty of sunblock to cover us each ten times over. There were some umbrellas so that Adele and anyone else could sit in the shade.
“I was thinking we could grill something for dinner,” Trevor said as we set up.
“I’m in,” I said. I did not want to have to worry about showering again just to go eat.
I laid my towel over my chair and took off my cover-up.
I heard Trevor make a noise behind me, and I spun around to see what was wrong. He was laying his own towel out. He must have been fighting with it.
I pulled out the strongest sunscreen there was because I was all about sun safety, and I put it on my arms, legs, stomach, and face.
“Do you need me to get your back?” Trevor’s deep voice said behind me.
“Yes, please,” I said and handed the bottle to him. I put my head down so he could get my neck and waited.
His hands were large and warm, and he didn’t rush putting the sunblock on me. He made sure to get every inch of exposed skin and massaged it into me thoroughly. Even though I had gotten my front, with the cut of my two-piece, he was grazing my sides. My nipples peaked, as if to say they wanted to be touched, and I had to hold back a moan.
I had been with one guy after my divorce, mostly so Kevin wouldn’t be the last guy I had slept with, but it hadn’t been anything special. I hadn’t had great sex in a long time, and my body was protesting.
Trevor finished my upper back and moved to the lower half. I was both disappointed and relieved. The bottom part didn’t feel nearly as sexy—until he got to the outside of my hips. I closed my eyes and imagined him pulling me back against his body with one hand as the other slipped beneath the bottoms and over my pussy.
My clit practically throbbed, and this time, there was no holding back my moan.
Trevor immediately stopped. “Are you okay?”
Just hornier than I ever have been in my life.
“Yep.” I stepped forward and turned, putting a bright smile on my face so he wouldn’t sense my embarrassment. “Your turn.”
He chuckled. “I don’t use sunscreen.”
I gasped.
“I don’t burn.”
Trevor’s mother had been from South America, and he had gotten her tan skin tone, so I believed him when he said he didn’t burn.
“That’s no excuse. Everyone should use sunscreen. Everyone. Just ask any dermatologist.”
He rolled his eyes but handed me the bottle and swung around. “Get my back for me?” he asked, pulling off his shirt.
I swallowed. I had seen my husband shirtless since we’d gotten married, but besides our PDA experiment, I hadn’t touched him. His back was strong and his shoulders broad. I wanted to kiss his spine between his shoulder blades, not put sunscreen on him.
Pull yourself together, Alexis.
I managed to spread the sunblock on him only because I looked at Kevin the whole time. My ex was enough to smother some of the flames in my body. Except I was so set on not focusing on Trevor that I missed him twisting so that his front was facing me now.
“Oh.”
His chest was muscular with a sprinkling of dark hair and right in front of my face.
“If you want me to wear sunblock, you have to put it on me.”
I knew he was teasing me because I was the one who was making him wear it, but this was just torture now. And it would look really weird if he saw me watching my ex-husband.
I was going to have to do this quick. I squeezed the bottle so hard that I got way more sunscreen in my hand than I needed, but at least I wouldn’t have to go back for more.
Slapping my hands down on his shoulders, I hastily spread the lotion everywhere as quickly as I could, but it didn’t help. As I touched him, his muscles flexed exactly the way I pictured they would if I caressed him while we were naked.
I couldn’t do it anymore.
I jumped back. “You’ll have to do your legs.” No way was I bending down in front of him. I couldn’t guarantee I wouldn’t do anything outrageous if his dick was right there.
Trevor looked down at the white streaks I’d left on him.
“Sorry,” I muttered. “It’s an emergency. I’ll be right back.” I spun on my heel and ran for the house, fully aware that I probably gave the impression that my emergency was bathroom-related.
But it was better than him knowing the truth.
I made it to our bedroom and my suitcase. I had unpacked most things, except my special friend I’d traveled with. I unzipped the small pocket inside my bag and pulled out my G-spot vibrator. It was long and curved and hit the spot perfectly. But it also worked great on my clit, too, when I wanted something different.
I had never been so aroused that I had to leave a family gathering to masturbate, but I could be embarrassed later. Right now, I needed an orgasm. Maybe two. I needed one at least to take the edge off.
I shut the bedroom door and hit the lock button on the knob. It wouldn’t stay in.
“Dammit.” I tried it a couple more times, making sure the door was shut before giving up. “Fuck it.”
The house was silent with only the sound of the overhead fans creating a low hum. I’d be able to hear someone walking in the house.
I kicked off my bottoms and my top. Even though my clit was what was going to get me to my destination, my nipples wanted to be part of the ride. They were still h
ard from earlier.
I fell back onto the bed and got comfortable before turning my vibrator on.
Chapter Twenty-Two
ALEXIS
Closing my eyes, I touched my vibrator on the top of my mons. I knew I wasn’t going to last long, and I wanted to tease myself just a little. I trailed the toy from one side of my lips to the other as I used my other hand to pinch my nipple. I hadn’t even put it inside me yet, and I was already so wet.
When I felt something on my thigh, I thought I had imagined it. But when I opened my eyes, I saw Trevor standing there, and I sucked in a breath.
I wasn’t sure what to do, but it seemed he did.
Trevor sat on the bed and took the vibrator from my hand. I spread my legs wide and almost came just from the anticipation.
I had no idea how long he’d been watching me, but he picked up where I’d left off. He ran my vibrator over my pussy, but he skipped the good parts. It felt like forever. It didn’t feel long enough. But by the time he pushed it slowly inside me, I moaned long and hard.
He fucked me a few times with the toy before pulling it out to rub it on my clit.
My pelvis arched in the air at the sudden stimulation. It was almost too much to bear. I was grinding my hips, getting closer to coming when Trevor pulled his hand away.
I cried out as he crawled onto the bed and lay on his stomach, and then I could do nothing but stare at him. Looking into my eyes, he pushed the toy inside me again, followed by him putting his mouth right on my swollen nub.
My eyes rolled to the back of my head, and I hadn’t even orgasmed yet. The pleasure was so intense that I knew that when I blew, it was going to be epic.
And suddenly, I realized that wasn’t what I wanted.
I popped open my eyes and sat up. Trevor straightened, questions in his eyes.
His swim trunks were tight across his crotch, and I brushed my hand over his hard dick. I slid my hand into his trunks and took him in my fist. He was warm and thick in my hand.
“I don’t want a sex toy in me when I come. I want you.”
Not Another Fake Marriage (Not Another Romance) Page 9