Chapter 14
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
“Morning.” Xander’s voice was warm as I opened my eyes.
“Morning.” I blinked and looked at the clock on the wall. “Wow, we slept the whole evening away?”
“I guess you were tired.”
“You didn’t sleep?”
“Not until I could no longer keep my eyes open.”
“Oh no, what did you do?”
“Watched you,” he said and then laughed. “I didn’t expect that to sound so creepy.”
“It does sound a bit creepy, doesn’t it?” I giggled, and my heart soared as he stared at me and leaned down to give me a kiss.
“I’m not a creep.” He kissed me harder and ran his hands through my hair. “I promise.”
“Hmm, I’ll take your word for it.” I laughed. “You did kiss my ass yesterday.” I flushed at the memory.
“I think I did more than kiss it.” He winked at me as he ran his fingers down my stomach and between my legs and rubbed gently.
“Xander,” I groaned and pushed his hand away. “Not now.”
“Okay.” He laughed and played with my breasts instead. “Did you sleep well?”
“Yes, I did. You?”
“Great.” He nodded. “I figured out the secret.”
“What secret?”
“The secret to making sure you’re not gone in the morning.”
“What’s the secret?”
“Have sex with you in your apartment.” He grinned, and I laughed.
“You’re an idiot.” I ran my fingers down his chest lightly and played with his nipples.
“A sexy idiot.”
“I guess.” I leaned forward and kissed his chest lightly, and he rubbed my back. “So, what do we do now?” I asked softly, and he froze. I looked up at him with a slight frown and studied his face. “Everything okay?”
“Yes, of course.” He nodded.
“So, what do we do now then?” I asked again.
“I’ll do whatever you want me to do, Liv.” He kissed the top of my forehead and leaned back.
“Whatever I want you to do?” My heart thudded; those weren’t the words I wanted to hear.
“Yes, if you don’t want me to go through with the engagement, I’ll end it.” He nodded.
“What do you want to do?” I cocked my head and studied his face.
Didn’t he want to end the engagement? I could feel my body growing warm.
I should have been happy that he was willing to do what I wanted, but I wasn’t.
I didn’t want him to do what I wanted him to do.
I wanted him to do what he wanted to do.
I wanted him to be the one to decide to call off the engagement.
I wanted him to be the one who made the decision because there was no other option in his mind.
“I don’t care.” He shrugged, his face indifferent. “Whatever will make you happy.”
“Why do you like me, Xander?” I asked him softly. “I mean, aside from me leaving you in the hotel room, why do you like me?”
“I was intrigued by you the moment I saw you at the church.” He stroked my hair.
“And I thought you were beautiful and sexy as hell. And sassy too. And then you called me Mr. Tongue, and I thought that any girl who had the confidence to hook up at a wedding and then give me a nickname had to be a girl I wanted to get to know better.”
“I see,” I said and sighed. I didn’t know what I had been hoping he would say.
“And I’m still intrigued by you. I’m more intrigued by you now than I was before.” He kissed me. “So, tell me, Liv, what do you want me to do?”
“You said that you met up with Luke and Gabby and Henry that day?” I said and decided to ask him the questions that had been puzzling me. “How do you know Luke?”
“His grandfather and mine grew up together,” he said right away. “I’ve known him since we were young.”
“How come we never heard about you or met you when he dated Alice?”
“I don’t know.” He shrugged.
“How does Luke know Gabby?” I said softly. “And why do either of you care what happens to her and the baby?”
“It’s complicated.” Xander made a face. “I don’t think it’s important.”
“I just want to be able to understand.” I sighed.
“Look, I have to go and meet Henry now.” He sat up and pulled me up as well. He kissed me hard over and over again and then pulled back. “Henry and I need to meet up with Luke to discuss something this morning.”
“Oh, okay.” I frowned, and he kissed my cheek.
“Don’t be mad at me, okay?” He gazed into my eyes. “This whole thing will work out. You just tell me what you want.”
“I want you to do what you want to do,” I said softly. “I want you to make the decision.”
“Okay.” He nodded and got out of the bed. “I have to go now. Can I see you later tonight?”
“Yeah, call me,” I said, trying not to have an attitude.
“I’ll see you later, Liv.”
He jumped out of bed, and I watched as he pulled his clothes on and left the room. I lay back with a sigh and closed my eyes. Maybe, one day, we’d be able to get it right.
“So, you think Luke might be the father of the baby?” Alice’s jaw dropped as we sat in a booth at our local diner and ate mozzarella sticks.
“Yes, it’s the only thing that makes any sort of sense.” I nodded. “Every time I bring Luke’s name up, he acts funny.” I sat back. “Crazy, right?”
“I can’t believe it.” She shook her head. “I knew he was a dog, but damn.”
“I know, but we know he’s shady because he cheated on you with Joanna.”
“I wonder if he hooked up with Gabby while he was dating me as well.” She shuddered. “He’s fucking gross.”
“Tell me about it.” I sipped on my Coke. “And Gabby is such a slut. And now she’s marrying my man.” I made a face.
“Why is Xander marrying her again?” Alice made a face. “It’s not like it’s his baby.”
“I guess he and Luke are good friends. And, well, it helps him out as well.”
“They can’t be that good of friends,” Alice said. “I never even heard his name before.”
“I know. I was thinking about that as well,” I said with a sigh. “So many things don’t make sense.”
“Oh my God.” Alice leaned forward. “Don’t look now, but Gabby just came into the diner.”
“Oh no,” I groaned.
“And she’s with Henry.”
“Henry?” My voice rose, and I couldn’t stop myself from looking over toward the entrance. My jaw dropped as I watched Gabby and Henry walking to a booth, his hand on her back, his fingers tenderly stroking her. “What the fuck is going on?” I turned back to Alice. “Are we in the twilight zone?”
“Maybe?” She shook her head, and I could see she looked dazed as well. “I’m seriously confused here.”
“Me too.” And then suddenly, it hit me. “What if Henry is the dad?”
“What?” She frowned.
“What if Henry is the baby daddy?” I nodded as the idea started to make sense. “Maybe Xander is marrying her because Henry doesn’t want to, but they figure Xander can because of the inheritance and stuff, and this way, they can make sure the baby is taken care of.”
“I guess that could make sense.” She nodded. “I did wonder why Henry was there last weekend.”
“It was odd, right? And he kept talking about babies.” I nodded. “Shit, I should become a detective,” I said excitedly. “Frigging Henry is the dad.”
“But what about Luke?” Alice frowned.
“Who knows?” I shrugged, and we both looked at Gabby and Henry smiling and flirting on the other side of the restaurant. “Wait a second. I’m getting a call.” I grabbed my phone from my bag and pulled it out. “Hello?”
“Hey, you.” Xander’s voice sounded smooth and sexy.
“Hey, you back.” I smiled into the phone.
It’s Xander, I mouthed toward Alice, and she grinned.
“What are you doing?”
“Alice and I are eating.”
“Will you be done soon?” he asked softly. “I want to see you.”
“Well, I’m with Alice …” My voice trailed off as I looked at my friend.
“It’s fine,” she whispered to me. “I’m going to go home and do my nails.”
“You sure?” I asked with a frown.
“Positive.” She nodded. “Go and get the dirt from Xander.”
“Okay.” I grinned. “You still there, Xander?”
“Yes.”
“Okay, I’m downtown. Come and meet me at the bookstore on Steamer Avenue in an hour.”
“Okay. I’ll see you there in an hour,” he said and hung up.
“We’re meeting in an hour.”
“Sounds good.” Alice grinned. “I can’t wait to find out what’s going on.”
“I already told you.” I grinned back at her.
“Okay, Sherlock.”
She laughed, and I winked at her, excited to see Xander and find out what decision he had made.
“I missed you today.” Xander kissed me and twirled me around.
“I missed you too,” I said giddily, happy to see him. “So, before we go any further, I have a question to ask you.”
“Okay …” He looked at me with a curious expression.
“Is Henry Gabby’s baby daddy?” I rushed out.
Xander’s expression looked shocked. “How did you know?”
“I knew it!” I fist-pumped. “Scotland Yard, here I come.”
“You’re moving to England?” he teased me.
“No.” I rolled my eyes and laughed. “But seriously, he’s the baby daddy?”
“We’re not sure. We think so.” He sighed. “Do not tell anyone this, but it’s either Henry or Luke.”
“What?” My jaw dropped. “They had a gangbang?”
“Liv”—he laughed and shook his head—“no, they didn’t.”
“Then how?” I asked quickly.
“She slept with them both.” He sighed. “But based on the dates, we’re pretty confident that Henry is the father.”
“Oh, wow.” I chewed on my lower lip. “That’s crazy.”
“I take it, Gabby didn’t tell you all this?”
“No, she didn’t,” I said with a laugh. “I didn’t know she was such a slut.”
“Liv,” he admonished me.
“What? I’m just saying.” I giggled as we walked through the bookstore.
“Well, now you understand why this is all so complicated.” He sighed as we stopped in the Self-Help section.
“No. Why?” I frowned.
“Henry slept with her, but he doesn’t want a relationship with her. He doesn’t want to be tied to her, but he does want a life with his kid. This seemed to be a perfect solution. I get to marry someone and gain control of the company, and Henry gets to have a relationship with his child.”
“Okay.” My breathing slowed at his words.
“So, this marriage really solves two problems.”
“So, what are you saying, Xander? You don’t want to end the engagement?”
“We would only be married for a year. That’s the amount of time I need to be married before I can gain control of the company.”
“So, you want to marry my sister and sleep with me on the side?”
“You wouldn’t be on the side,” he exclaimed angrily. “There is nothing between me and Gabby—you know that. This is just a business transaction.”
“I don’t believe this.” I shook my head and sighed. “I can’t believe you.”
“What?”
“Nothing. I’m done.” I took a step back. “I’m just so done.”
“What? Look, if you want me to end it, then I will. I was just saying that—”
“Forget it, Xander. I don’t want you to do anything you don’t want to do. I want you to end the engagement with Gabby because you can’t go on one more second, living a farce; I don’t want you to do it because I made you.”
“Don’t be mad, Liv.”
He reached out to grab my arm, and I pushed him away.
“Of course I’m mad!” I shouted at him. “Just go home to Gabby and play happy family and leave me out of it.”
I ran out of the store and turned my phone off.
Was it too much to ask for him to want to make the right decision by himself?
Was it really too much to expect? Was I being unreasonable, not wanting to share his bed while he was married to my sister?
I mean, really? Did he really think that was an acceptable solution?
Who in their right mind would ever think that was a good plan?