Alex slid into the passenger seat, clicked on her seat belt, and put on her sunglasses. Jayden couldn’t help but admire the way she handled herself—with such elegance and innocence. She looked as though she belonged there, as a part of his world, but at the same time, she looked vulnerable and lost. She was very contradictory in his mind, but desirable.
“Back home, then, I suppose,” she said absentmindedly.
Back home? Jayden was surprised at her choice of words. Did that mean his home was now her home?
“What?” she asked when she saw him looking at her oddly.
“Nothing,” he replied, starting the engine. He steered the car around and into the thick traffic.
Alex relaxed, thoroughly enjoying the sun. A moment later, she asked, “So what was it?”
“Hmm?” Jay glanced at his blind spot and switched lanes.
“What did you get? Your errand.”
“Oh. In the bag,” he said, nodding to the back seat. “Have a look.”
“Sure. Don’t mind me.” She leaned over and reached for the blue bag. She placed it on her lap and took out two small velvet boxes that had the initial Tiffany & Co. “Ooh,” she made a sound as she opened one. The gold wedding band shone against the glistening sunlight.
“Whoa,” she gasped. “It’s Kelly’s wedding ring?”
Jayden nodded.
“Nice.” She turned the box about so she could inspect it from all sides without having to take the ring out. She didn’t want to dirty it.
Jayden laughed. “Do you want one?”
Alex glanced at him. “Who doesn’t? That is, when I find the right man, of course.”
Jayden was curious. The right man, huh? He wondered what type of man was her “right man.” He had no doubt she probably had a list of criteria.
“Just curious, what’s your ideal man? That perfect man you’re looking for?” he asked casually.
Alex shut the box and placed it back into the bag. “I suppose every girl has her ideal man. Mine is tall but not too tall. Your height is good.”
Jayden grinned at her comment.
“He has to be kind. Don’t care who he is or where he’s from. I mean nationality-wise. Not sure about his career, though. But I’d love to have a doctor as a husband,” she said, nudging her sunglasses up the bridge of her nose.
“Why?” he asked, a hint of disapproval in his voice. “A doctor?”
“Because I’m a scientist. They kind of go together, don’t you think?”
“No. Does it matter that he has to be a doctor?” He glanced at her.
Alex pouted her lips. “No, I suppose not.” She shrugged.
“Besides, aren’t doctors supposed to be so busy that they won’t have time for you?”
“I think that depends,” she commented, starting to feel quite uncomfortable chatting about her “ideal” man. If he asked her enough questions, he’d know who her ideal man was, the man she wanted in her life, which was him. That was why she told him a doctor instead of a businessman.
“Let’s talk about something else,” she suggested.
“What do you want to eat?”
“Huh?” She glanced at him.
“What type of food do you want to eat?”
“Are we going out to eat?”
“Yes.”
A happy feeling bubbled up within her. “And I get to choose the place?”
“Yes.”
“Cool.” She chuckled. “What about a steak house?”
Jayden raised a brow at her. “Really?”
“Yeah, I love steak.”
“All right.” Then he added, “After I’ve taken you for a cruise around town.”
Alex couldn’t believe what she was hearing. She turned to him and grinned, her eyes large and puppy-like. “Really?”
Jayden chuckled. “Unless you have something else planned.”
“Oh, no,” she replied quickly. “Nothing planned.”
“Good,” he said, speeding up. “Taken care of, then.”
After that, everything was a delightful blur to Alex as she took in the sights of Central Park and then the Metropolitan Museum of Art as Jayden guided her around, holding her hand and showing her things. When she was exhausted from the heat and from learning and seeing new things, he took her for a late lunch.
The BMW came to a screeching halt in front of The Steak House restaurant. Jayden got out and rushed over to open the door for her.
Alex laughed. “You don’t have to do that.”
“Ah, but I have to. I’m a gentleman.”
“Yeah. Right.” She scoffed. She felt like reminding him that he was supposed to be gay, but she didn’t have the heart to do so because he looked so pleased with himself. And he was so damn handsome she couldn’t take her eyes off him. She wondered if he knew that he was good-looking and that lots of women would fall for him if he were to lead them on.
The restaurant was busy and packed with customers. Most of the seats were taken, though Alex couldn’t help but admire the fact that everything was running smoothly. A waiter showed them to their table, which was situated near the window that overlooked Central Park. He even pulled out a chair for Alex, and she thanked him politely. Then he poured them each a glass of water and then showed them the menu.
“Would you like some wine today?” he asked.
Jayden glanced down the wine list and chose one. The waiter jotted that down and then left, telling them he’d be back in a few moments.
“Wow. I don’t know what to have,” Alex commented, biting her lip as she scanned through the menu.
“I thought you wanted steak. Just go for a steak,” Jay suggested, leaning back in his seat.
“Yes, I want steak. All right, I’ll go for the steak.” Decision made, she shut the menu.
The waiter reappeared with the wine. He expertly poured a bit into a glass for Jayden to taste. Jayden nodded his approval and then the waiter poured more into his glass.
He turned to Alex and poured some into her glass.
“Oh. Thank you,” she said to him, smiling.
“You’re welcome,” he replied and then left them after he had taken their order.
Once they were alone again, Alex said, “I like this place.” She scanned around and noted that everyone in here dressed up real nice. At the door, she saw two people came in. It was them—the blond-haired woman and the handsome man she had met at Buon Appetito. She hoped they wouldn’t see her and Jayden. She hoped they wouldn’t recognize her.
“I’m sorry, sir, but all our tables are taken. If you both could please wait a moment,” one of the waiters said to them.
The blonde muttered something under her breath and folded her arms across her chest in irritation. Then her eyes met Alex’s.
Alex was sure she could see the hazel eyes narrowing as if there were a sense of recognition. She glanced away, pretending she hadn’t noticed the woman. She wasn’t pleased when the blonde headed toward their table.
The blonde stopped right in front of them. She glanced at Alex and then turned to Jayden, smiling pleasantly as if they were old friends.
“Jayden, darling,” she said brightly.
Alex widened her eyes in shock. The blonde knows Jayden? Oh my God! What a small world.
She watched Jay, who looked at the blonde with a cold, masked face. “Sarah.”
That was when Alex felt the butterflies in her stomach. Her heart fluttered as she realized Jayden was tense. She could see his hands were gripping into fists.
So this was Sarah? Jayden’s ex-girlfriend? The sense of realization settled in her, and Alex felt sick in her stomach.
“Did you enjoy yourself last night? You didn’t stay too late with Britney, did you?” Sarah asked.
Jayden ignored her questions and fired one of his own. “What are you doing here?”
“Lunch, of course, darling,” Sarah replied sweetly.
“Sarah, we’re getting our table,” the man said behind her. He came to a stop when he saw Jayd
en. “Well, well, well. New York is certainly a small place.”
“It is, isn’t it?” Jayden replied sarcastically. “How are you, Kyle? Have you managed to bankrupt another company yet?”
Kyle gritted his teeth. “That’s none of your business, Jayden.” He sneered.
“Sorry for asking. Don’t you have your own table to go to?”
Sarah gritted her teeth at his comment.
Alex could feel the woman glancing at her. There was a sense of curiosity and jealousy in her eyes.
“My girlfriend, Alexandra Stewart,” Jayden said.
“Your what?” Sarah shouted in shock. “This cleaner—this slut is your girlfriend?”
Jayden’s eyes become dark and cold, and his face turned rigid. Alex had never seen him looking so ruthless and dangerous before, and the image set her pulse racing. She had to admit he looked very hot, though.
Alex turned her attention to Sarah Taylor. What an arrogant bitch this woman was. The woman thought she, Alex, was a cleaner and treated her so horribly that Alex was not prepared for it to happen again.
Alex smiled pleasantly and coldly as she stood, her eyes on the other woman. “I’m sorry, but I don’t think I’ve ever told you that I’m a cleaner or that I’m a slut.” Moving her face closer to Sarah, she added, “And I don’t cheat on my boyfriend either.” She folded her arms in satisfaction, her brows rising just a bit.
Alex glanced at Jayden. She hoped she hadn’t gone too far. She sighed with relief when she saw he didn’t look angry. In fact, as she gazed into his eyes, she realized there was a glint of pride. She grinned as he reached his hand out and touched her, like a boyfriend would to his girlfriend, to show her he supported her, cared for her, and loved her.
Sarah’s face burned with humiliation. Alex thought the woman must want to murder her right now. But she couldn’t, of course, and Kyle started begging her to leave.
“I’m not leaving, not yet,” Sarah hissed as they went to the table that was offered to them.
Alex watched as they took their seats. Kyle looked as though he wished they were somewhere else, and Sarah looked stiff and angry. At that moment, an idea popped into her head. She saw her chance and moved her chair so she and Jayden sat side by side, like a loving couple. She whispered softly into his ear, “Sorry about that. I thought I was a bit too forward.”
Jay chuckled. “I see the little bird has finally flown out of its nest.”
She cocked her head to one side. She fluttered her long lashes a few times in confusion and asked, “What does that mean?”
“Just that,” he said, gently tucking some hair back behind her ear. He wondered if she knew her lashes were long and the innocent fluttering affected him.
Alex felt a fluster of warm sensations melting through her. Jayden moved his lips to her ear and said softly, “I’m sorry you had to meet them here.”
His warm breath tickled her senses. She giggled and snuggled her face against his neck. Once she managed to settle herself down, she asked, “Who are they?” She was pretending ignorance, of course.
“Nobody you should know. Ah. Here’s our food.”
They made the most of their meals, both in the delicious food itself and in putting on a good show for their unwelcome guests who were sitting at the table across from them. Alex knew without question she had to make Sarah know her place, that she was no longer Jayden’s girlfriend and Alex now was. She knew she must act as the perfect girlfriend. She did so by doing her best flirting with Jayden. At least she thought she was flirting with Jayden, and she did this by putting some of her food on his plate, feeding him, smiling at him, saying stupid things she knew made him laugh, which he did so accordingly, and yeah, touching him most intimately.
She knew Jayden was uncomfortable with the presence of Kyle and Sarah, that he was tense and he was probably thinking about Sarah throughout the whole meal. That didn’t sit well with her because she knew Jayden still had feelings for Sarah. Otherwise, he would have a new real girlfriend by now and wouldn’t have to hire her to be one.
They finished their meals and took their leave, managing a curt “see ya around” to Kyle and Sarah on their way out.
Sarah watched until the lovebirds were out of sight before she allowed her full hatred to show on her face.
“Ugh! I can’t believe this. Disgusting!” she muttered.
“She’s hot,” Kyle said, smiling.
“What? You think that bitch—that girl is hot?” Sarah asked in disbelief.
“I have to say Jayden does have good taste. Alexandra,” he said softly. “Even her name sounds sweet. Can’t wait to taste her.”
Sarah glared at him, her mouth twisting. Then slowly she smiled as a thought entered her mind. “You really want her?”
Kyle laughed. “What man doesn’t? She’s one hot chick, all right.”
Sarah picked up her wine glass and sipped, a plan forming in her head.
* * * * *