This Too Shall Pass

  “You should have told me we were staying in a five star hotel. I would have found my own room,” Alexis grumbled. This weekend was going to cost her a couple grand.

  “Stop whining. It’s paid for.”

  Alexis opened her door, but stayed seated, staring directly at his eyes staring back. “I don’t want you to pay for anything for me. I’m doing just fine, but thanks.”

  “I didn’t pay for it. My parents did.”

  “Why?”

  “The wedding is here. A lot of friends and family will be staying here.”

  “Oh, that’s just great.” Alexis opened the door and walked to the back. Cory beat her to it and opened the lift gate for the attendant waiting to assist them and escort them to their room. Her angry eyes briefly met his right before she stomped off to retrieve Kinley from her seat.

  “I can get her, give me a second,” Cory offered.

  “So can I.” Alexis shook Riki’s knee and quietly spoke her name. “Hey, Riki. We’re here. Come on, baby.” Riki’s eyes opened with excitement. She unbuckled her seat and then stretched while Alexis unstrapped Kinley. Kinley did the same thing. Her little eyes looked around at the bright, extravagant hotel.

  “Is this a castle?” Riki asked Cory as he opened the door and took her hand.

  “It’s sort of a castle. You’re going to have so much fun here,” he explained while closing the distance between them and Alexis. He reached for Kinley and she squealed with joy. Two in the morning and they were both wide awake. Nice.

  “With Ellen?”

  “Yes, she’ll be here tomorrow.”

  Alexis trailed behind with the diaper bag while Cory walked in front of her with both girls. Her Brady County Dragon sweats were suddenly obvious, sticking out like a sore thumb once they entered the extravagant building. Even the help were dressed to kill.

  “You could have told me. I didn’t bring clothes for this,” Alexis whispered to Cory in the elevator.

  He leaned over and whispered right back. “You don’t really need clothes.”

  Lucky for him, the attendant and both girls were in their company. The F bomb was right there, ready to roll her tongue.

  The gasp was hard to hide once they were on their floor, they were forty-one stories from the ground. Gold, granite, limestone, marble, and crystal plastered the room.

  “Will there be anything else, sir?” The assistant asked with a straight posture and arms folded behind his back.

  The gawking of the amazing room was halted and Alexis turned her attention to the well-groomed man. “Whoa, wait a minute. Where’s my room.”

  “You can have the master,” Cory nodded toward the immense gold and white door on the right. “That’ll be all, thank you,” Cory offered with twenty and a nod. Twenty?!

  “I’m not sleeping in the same room with you,” Alexis demanded through a clenched jaw, making sure he was the only one who could hear. Riki and Kinley were off to stare out the massive wall of glass.

  “You’re not sleeping in my room. You’re sleeping in there. It’s my weekend with the girls. You can do what you want, just don’t go wondering around the city. This place is the perfect location for shopping and dining. You don’t need to go very far.”

  “And when I need a dad, I’ll let you know!” Cory Baker was an ass. Cory Baker could go to hell. Who did he think he was? She was nothing to him. Why did she think he would get her own room? She should have known better. Oh my God. Why did she fall for this?

  Riki and Kinley were wide awake and wound for sound, running and chasing each other through the condo.

  Alexis went into her dedicated room and Cory followed with her bags. “This can be a good weekend, Alexis. You don’t have to ruin it for yourself.”

  “For myself?”

  “Yes, yourself. You won’t be ruining it for me or the girls. We’ll be too busy to care about you sitting here sulking in your pity.”

  “Kinley has some sort of Crystal thingy,” Alexis smirked over his shoulder. “Oh and one more thing before you go. Go fuck yourself.”

  “You’re getting pretty good at using that word. Your daddy know how that word rolls off your tongue so easily?”

  “No, I only say it to you. You should probably go take that away from her before she breaks it. It is your weekend.” Alexis turned her back on him and opened her bag. Her eyes glanced over her shoulder when he scooped Kinley up and she squealed.

  “I’m sleeping with you, Okay, Lexis?”

  “Yes, you can sleep with me, sweetie. Go tell your dad and sister goodnight.”

  “You sure? You might want to go check out our room first,” Cory countered. Of course he had to up her one.

  “What is it?” Riki questioned.

  “Go look. Right through that door,” Cory nodded as Kinley squirmed to run away, too. As much as she wanted to see, too, Alexis refrained from following, especially after Cory turned and smirked her way. Bastard.

  “A tent bed? We get to sleep in a tent bed? Kinley can, too. She won’t fall out. Where’s the legs?”

  “There are no legs. It’s a floating bed.” Cory explained. He walked away from Alexis, lifting his T-shirt over his head. There had been a time not so long ago that Alexis would have drooled over his defined back. The spiteful attempt to get to her backfired. She wasn’t salivating over him. She was disgusted. Cory turned and closed the double doors behind him, still wearing the stupid smirk. He didn’t even let her say goodnight to either one of the girls.

  Anger permeated her entire body. If he only knew what a dick he was being. She was mad enough to grasp her engagement right with tight fingers, but stopped. She couldn’t do it. Why? Why? Why couldn’t she take it off? The glimmering lights of the city caught her eye over the magnificent bed and she sighed. A beautiful room with sparkling lights and a breathtaking view, a satin covered bed with a romantic atmosphere, and she was all alone. An audible breath escaped her lungs as she slipped out of her shoes and grazed across the plush white carpet. Floor to ceiling windows covered an entire wall, illuminating an ebullient city, full of life and lights.

  The attention to the city was turned toward the door when Riki entered, dressed in her warm nightgown, dragging on the floor.

  “Hey, baby. What are you doing?”

  Riki walked to the window and hugged her legs. “I love you, Lexis.”

  Alexis squatted and hugged her tight. “I love you too, sweetie. I’m okay in here by myself. You can sleep in the cool bed. I love this room.”

  “But I don’t want you to be all alone.”

  “I am alone every time you and Kinley go with Daddy.”

  “Nuh-uh. Mr. Dog is with you.”

  Alexis smiled past Riki to grinning Kinley, wearing the same long nightgown. Adorable. She hugged her, too, kissed her head and promised Riki she was fine.

  “I’m really tired, so I actually won’t be alone. I’ll be sleeping with you and Kinley in my dreams. You don’t have to worry about me. I promise.”

  “Maybe I’ll sleep in here tomorrow with you.”

  “We’ll see. Let’s get to bed. You have a busy day tomorrow.” Alexis stood with Kinley and walked toward shirtless Cory. Her eyes stayed fixated on his and not the distinct bare chest. Cory took Kinley from her arms and tried to hold the eye contact. Alexis didn’t let him. She closed the door.

  The explanation of being tired she’d just told Riki wasn’t a lie. Alexis was exhausted. After washing her face with a soft, floral scent washcloth, she crawled in the too big for her bed and rolled to her side, staring out at twinkling city lights until sleep won and she rested.

  ***

  Despite the late morning, the room was dark. Alexis opened her eyes and searched the room for the time. It was nearly nine. Panic slowly emerged when she thought about the girls, sure they were already up. Indulgent cotton caressed her skin and the same floral scent tickled her nose, filling it with roses. The long soft belt was barely long enough to tie around her midsection. The double doors opene
d to the bright lit, quiet room. Alexis crossed the living area to Cory’s room and silently opened the door. Her eyebrows raised toward the ceiling when she saw the bed Riki had been so excited about. It wasn’t really a tent bed. It was romantic with white shears covering the sides of the floating bed. No wonder she was so excited. Riki was curled into a tiny ball, still sound asleep, but Cory and Kinley weren’t there.

  Tiptoeing back to the sitting area, Alexis peered over the back of the sofa. Kinley looked freaking adorable with her little nightgown scrunched above her white diaper, sleeping on Cory’s chest. Now it looked sexy.

  “I can smell you a mile away,” Cory quietly spoke without opening his eyes.

  Alexis backed away and went to the marble covered kitchen to make coffee. He couldn’t smell anything. She didn’t smell like anything. He was stupid.

  Cory slid Kinley from his chest and followed Alexis to the kitchen. “We’ll be out of your hair most of the day. We have a busy day with Ellen, and then a fitting for the girl’s dresses, and then the rehearsal dinner. I know you don’t really give a fuck, but please stay close to the hotel.”

  Alexis tried not to feel resentful. She moved around the kitchen in search of ingredients to make coffee. “Yeah, I’m sort of all out of fucks to give when it comes to you. What time will you be back?”

  “The rehearsal dinner is here at six. We should be back by eight or so. I might bring Kinley up to you, depending on how rowdy the party gets.”

  Alexis filled the pot with water and then tried to figure out how the hell to get it in the fancy coffee maker. “Text me, I’ll let you know if I’m here by then.”

  Cory walked behind her, trapping her body between his and the counter. He lifted the lid that she couldn’t figure out and whispered in her ear. “You’re one of a kind.”

  The scent of his cologne lingered, even after Cory stepped away. Alexis looked over her shoulder and then to smiling Kinley, sitting up on the sofa. “Good morning, sweet-pea.” You couldn’t help but smile at that face. Cory’s body and his scent was quickly forgotten.

  Alexis had both girls dressed in warm clothes when Cory came out half dressed with low riding jeans and a damp, bare chest. His eyes met hers while the towel scrubbed his wet hair, leaving that messy boy band look she always loved. Riki stood between her legs, talking to Kinley about Ellen while Alexis continued to brush her hair. As soon as the pink barrette clicked, Riki ran off, Kinley hot on her heels. The housekeeper was going to have fun cleaning the windows. The girls loved the wall of glass.

  “You always walk around half naked in front of the girls?” Alexis quietly asked while trying like hell not to move her eyes from his, to the bare chest. She pulled back, trying to walk away with a smirk.

  Cory stopped her and pulled her close with his hand on her back. His eyes went to the exposed cleavage and then to the swell in her stomach. “Only girls I’ve fucked.”

  “You’re an ass and I don’t find you the least bit attractive.” Alexis jerked away and walked to the window with the girls. A trail of laughter from Cory followed.

  Cory went to his room and returned five minutes later, fully dressed and hair combed. “Go grab your coats, Riki. We have to meet Ellen for breakfast.”

  “Are you coming too, Lexis?”

  “No, baby. I’m going to go take some pictures of the city. I’ll see you later.”

  “Well, dad said you can’t do that.”

  “He didn’t mean it. Go get your coats.”

  “He did mean it,” Cory assured her when Riki ran past him.

  “But he’s not my boss so…”

  “Hey what’s this?” Riki questioned with a puzzled look. Warm crimson was felt in Alexis’s ears and then to her cheeks.

  “That’s not for little girls. It’s for grownups.” Alexis took the magic wand from Riki, not about to turn to the expression on Cory’s face.

  “But what is it?”

  Alexis ushered her into her room, hid the toy below clothes in her opened suitcase and retrieved their matching coats. “It’s a muscle massager. Make sure you tell Ellen I said hi, okay?”

  “Okay, I will.”

  And just like that, it was enough. For Riki anyway. Alexis looked up to Cory standing in the door with Kinley. She walked confidently to him and slid Kinley’s arm into her coat. The expression on Cory’s face was different. His mind worked alongside his imagination and he watched her with great concentration. Alexis zipped the coat and backed away, feeling like she was once again in control, holding the ball in her court.

  “Make sure you put her hat on her when you go out.”

  “What are you going to do? At least tell me where you’re going.”

  “I’m not going anywhere for a while. I’m going to take care of an ache and then soak in that tub with bubbles to my neck. After that, I am going to take my camera, find a nice place to eat, and maybe do some Christmas shopping. I’ll be fine. Don’t worry.”

  “An ache?”

  Alexis laughed and tried to zip Riki’s coat. She didn’t need help, informing Alexis that she could do it herself. She kissed her cheek and then took a step to Cory, kissed Kinley’s little lips, and quietly replied to Cory’s question. “Mind blowing,” she explained with only that. That and a smirk. Yup, he was drooling. She could tell with the swallow in his throat. Score.

  Alexis wasn’t really planning on using the toy. Not until she was forced to think about it. She waited until Cory left with the kids, started the tub of water, and retrieved her magical toy. She hadn’t even been thinking about an ache, the throb was out of nowhere, and the wetness quickly followed. The powerful vibrations rapidly took care of that and Alexis was satisfied.

  The city was full of life. Christmas lights and window displays filled the stores and shops. Her day was actually great. She got a lot of good shots, and a lot of good deals. Her dad was going to love the sandblast pipe she’d found. He had one just like it years before and still spoke about how that was his favorite pipe. He looked for years, trying to replace the broken pipe. Alexis couldn’t wait to give it to him. She found the coolest magnet doll house in a toy store for Riki. The same brand and size of the dolls she’d played with in the car ride. She was going to love it and it would be perfect in the attic. The salesman just had to go and show her the magnet zoo too. Plump animals that would fit perfectly in Kinley’s chubby fingers. Of course she had to have it too. Once she bartered for free shipping back to Cedar Springs, Alexis ate the best turkey-panini she’d ever tasted at a cute little gift-shop, designed like a diner from the sixties. The old music matched the fun little diner and waitresses skated around in short skirts and roller skates.

  People filled the streets, cognizant of the holiday quickly approaching. Everywhere she went the Black Friday shopping was crazy, shoppers enjoying the chaotic, November shopping. The next store was a children’s boutique with the cutest clothes ever. She bought Taylor a ball-cap, and Boy Scout pajamas that looked just like his little blue uniform, only softer. Next were the most adorable Christmas dresses she’d ever seen. Even with the price tag, Alexis couldn’t pass them up. The hangers squealed across the bar while she decided on the matching dresses, and then changed her mind—again. She wanted them all. They were gorgeous. The kick in her stomach caused her to think about the next Christmas. Alexis would have three kids to buy for. The thought brought a smile to her face for the first time and she turned to the little suits. She had a fifty, fifty chance of having a boy.

  She held the four little dresses in her hand, still undecided while she looked at the little boy’s clothing. If she was due in February he would be ten months the following year. Twelve months should do it. That was the first outfit she’d bought for the little guy. If it was a little guy. If not, she wouldn’t have to buy anything. Kinley grew faster than she could wear most of her clothes. Baby number three would have an entire wardrobe to come home to. Unable to beat the impulse, Alexis bought the little black tuxedo with the matching crush, velvet cummerbu
nd and tie. Riki and Kinley ended up with corresponding red satin dresses and black shoes. Not just any shoes. Tap shoes with the metal plates fastened to the bottoms. That one was probably going to bite her in the ass. She didn’t care. The thought of the noisy little shoes, dancing on the hardwood floors brought an instant smile to her face.

  The plan to stay out the entire day came to a halt around four in the evening. Alexis was exhausted, having enough of the walking. Her cell phone GPS told her that she was two miles from her hotel. No way. She wasn’t walking back, not with an armful of bags. She fumbled with the bags, trying to get two fingers to her mouth, and whistled, hailing a cab to take her back.

  The barely English, speaking driver tried to have a conversation with her, but she wasn’t interested. The way he smiled at her through the mirror gave her the creeps and she mostly ignored him, choosing to stare out at the busy streets instead. Her plans to eat at the pizza place Cory had taken her to the first time she was there was deleted as well. She was too tired for that. Maybe she would order in and watch a movie. That actually sounded like an awesome plan and she was looking forward to the evening alone. A soak in the elegant tub, a comedy, and catered meal. Perfect ending to a busy shopping day. Alexis thought about Cory and the girls next, wondering what they were doing and what time they would be back.

  The same attendant that had escorted her out, took her bags and escorted her back to her room. She tipped him with a ten, not a twenty. Cory and the girls had been there and gone again. She could tell by the clothes left on the coffee table. With an audible sigh, she picked up the shirt and looked at the chocolate stain, knowing exactly what happened. Kinley got a hold of a cup without a lid. Dammit, she just bought that shirt. Once the little shirt was soaking in a sink with cold water, Alexis unpacked her shopping bags. She hung the little dresses along with the baby tux on a hook and packed away the things she didn’t want the girls to see until Christmas. The hot tub filled with rose scented bubbles was felt on every sore muscle. Muscles she hadn’t realized were even sore.