CHAPTER 20 ALEXIS
It was the first thing I saw when I scrolled my phone this morning, and it has already soured my day.
I know there’s an explanation. Deep down…yes, I know that.
But that knowledge doesn’t really help much right now.
He hasn’t reached out with a call or text to assure me I have nothing to worry about, and I also realize how conflicting and hypocritical it is for me to be upset given the fact that I’m engaged to marry someone else.
But those two days we shared meant something to me, something big, and I know they meant the same thing to him, too.
So seeing this image with his mouth on some random girl pulses a feeling of sadness and anger and confusion inside me.
And it only gets worse when I head downstairs for breakfast.
I hear Brooks and my father talking before I even enter the room.
“I can’t believe she wanted to be associated with someone like him,” my father says.
“What a douchebag,” Brooks echoes, ever the little idiot parrot agreeing with every opinion my father holds. “Kissing a different woman every chance he gets.” He scoffs.
“Thank God she’s engaged to you. I can’t imagine what might’ve happened if we hadn’t gotten that tied up.”
I walk into the kitchen, clearing my throat loudly, and neither man has the grace to look embarrassed by their conversation. They should.
“And there’s the bride,” my father says.
“Don’t call me that,” I say through a clenched jaw.
“Well, you are. And we’ve set the date. January fourteenth,” he says. “Congratulations to my daughter and my future son-in-law.”
My chest tightens. “That’s the weekend filming wraps,” I protest.
“And it’s the one weekend I was able to score the Peninsula,” he brags.
Of course—the Peninsula. The place where all the celebrities get married.
I sigh.
That gives me a little over two months to figure out how the hell to get out of this thing.
“I also have you booked at sunset today for an engagement shoot. The crew will be here for hair and make-up in a few hours.”
I grab an omelet my dad’s cook left for me along with some fresh fruit, and I take my breakfast upstairs without a single word of reply. I have no desire to sit in the same room with these men who are running every aspect of my life.
And when I get upstairs, my phone is ringing on my nightstand where I left it.
“Hey,” I answer breathlessly, catching it just before it heads to voicemail.
“It’s not what it looked like.” His voice sounds tired, and I wish I was there in his arms.
“I know. I can’t be mad about it when my dad just informed me I’ll be sitting for engagement photos this evening.”
“Fuck, Lex,” he utters, and it’s reminiscent of when he slid his big dick into me from behind and he murmured those words into my ear.
God, I want him again.
Now would be fine.
“He also informed me of my wedding date.” I hold my breath as I await his reaction.
“What?” he breathes. “I thought you said he wasn’t going to make you go through with it.”
“He did say that, and then he backtracked. Danny, he said he’ll give me anything I want the second my last name is Donovan. Including a new agent. Including my masters.” I hear the begging in my own tone.
I’m begging him to stay with me.
I’m begging him not to leave me because of this.
I’m begging him to hang tight while we figure out some way out of this.
I don’t actually say any of that, though.
“When?” he asks quietly.
“January fourteenth. The weekend after filming wraps.”
“Shit, that’s only two months away.” His voice is subdued.
“I know.”
“And you don’t think he’ll backtrack again? Somehow find a loophole to keep your masters?” he asks.
I hadn’t thought of that.
He’s my father, and I’ve been trained to trust him…even though no part of me should at this point.
“I…I don’t know.” I clear my throat, and I shift topics. “What happened last night?”
“I went to a bar with some friends. Teammates. We were attacked as soon as we walked in, and that girl kissed me. I shoved her off me, but I was already drunk and didn’t have the reflex time I should’ve. I spent the night drinking whiskey with Cooper and Rush in a booth. That was it, I swear.”
“You don’t have to defend yourself to me, Danny,” I say quietly. “I trust you, okay?”
“Yeah.”
I want him to tell me how he trusts me, too.
He doesn’t, and a beat of quiet passes between us.
“Wait a minute. Doesn’t Rush troll for women every time he goes out?” I ask.
“In fact he does, but he claims he wanted to touch base with me and make sure I was okay.”
“Are you?” My voice is soft as I brace myself for the answer.
“I don’t know if I’ve ever been less okay.”
“Same.”
“I’m sorry, Lex. We’ll figure this out though. Right?” He’s begging now.
“We don’t have any other choice.”
“Get this, too—he asked about my sister. They met in April when she was in town, and he wants to see her again,” he says.
“How does that make you feel?”
“Some mix of disgusted and…I don’t know. The fact that he wasn’t trolling last night makes me think he’s trying to make a different impression on me.”
“Are you okay with that?” I press.
“It’s not my decision to make. My sister’s had a rough year, and I want her to be happy. Will Rush be the guy who makes her happy? Who knows. But did anyone think Danny Brewer would be the guy to make Alexis Bodega happy?” he asks.
My entire body warms as I consider his words. “I do, and I don’t care what anyone else thinks.”
“That’s my girl.”
Those three little words make my stomach flip. They have some sort of crazy effect on me as I realize for the first time, I am his girl.
And he lets me be myself.
I’ve belonged to someone else my entire life, and I’m hopping from being my father’s to being Brooks’s to being Danny’s.
The problem with the former two is that I have to be who they project me to be.
But with Danny, I can be just me…and that’s the girl he fell in love with.
I’ve never gotten to just be me with anybody before, and I think that’s what makes this so powerful. So important.
And I will find a way to make it work.
I have to.