Текст книги "Avoiding Temptation"

Автор книги: K. A. Linde

сообщить о нарушении

Текущая страница: 25 (всего у книги 27 страниц)

She just hoped that whatever this surprise was would be good. She knew Jack had changed, but sometimes, it still scared her, knowing that they were together. She loved him with all her heart, and the only thing she wanted to do was give it away to him. Now, she just needed to trust herself not to try to hold on to it too tight. Jack knew what he was doing with it.

The cab drove her uptown through traffic to Chyna’s penthouse overlooking Central Park. Luckily, Lexi managed to arrive a few minutes early. She paid the cab and then stepped outside to see Bernard holding the door open for her.

“Miss Lexi,” he said with a nod. “Good to see you.”

“Mr. B,” she said with a wave. “You know, I never asked—what’s it like for Chyna not to show up with a random man every night? You actually don’t have to babysit her anymore.”

Bernard laughed and shook his head. “Mr. Adam does all the babysitting now. It’s pretty nice.”

Lexi bit her lip and smiled. So much had changed since she had first arrived in New York. “Good seeing you.”

She stepped inside, took the elevator upstairs and walked down the hall to Chyna’s place. The door was unlocked for her, and she entered an almost completely empty apartment. She had been expecting Chyna to be slightly drunk, pacing the apartment with Adam watching on incredulously, like he normally did when his wife acted like…herself. Instead, all Lexi saw was John.

He looked good. She was pretty sure every woman in the world found that man attractive. He just had the look. He was in a dark three-piece suit with a black shirt underneath and no tie. His short brown hair was spiked. His hazel eyes looked her up and down, and that smile crept up across his face.

Lexi hoped it wasn’t obvious what she had been doing with Jack. She hadn’t even checked to see if she had stuff in her hair or if her clothes were properly aligned. Oh well. Nothing she could do about it now. She ran her hands down the front of her skirt reflexively anyway.

“Hey. I didn’t know you were going to be here.” She hadn’t seen or heard from him since the wedding fiasco.

“I didn’t realize you would be here either,” he said, standing from where he had been seated on the couch and walking across the room toward her. “How have you been?”

“Great,” she answered honestly.

A smile grew on her face as she thought about Jack—his face, his body, his sweet kisses, the way his hair curled at the edges, the perfect color of his eyes, the way his hand traced her palm, the way his lips looked when he told her that he loved her.

“Really great.”

“Well, I’m glad to hear that even if I think your fiancé is a total dick,” John said.

Lexi’s mouth popped open. She was so used to John knowing everything about her life that it hadn’t even occurred to her that he wouldn’t know what had happened. But why would he? It hadn’t been that long ago. As far as she knew, he wasn’t still talking to Parker. She supposed that Adam could have told him, but it didn’t seem like that had happened.

“I broke up with him,” Lexi told him softly.

It was John’s turn to look surprised. There was no way that he had been anticipating that.

“I can’t say that I’m disappointed,” John said, taking another step closer to her. “Though, I am disappointed about all the time wasted. You could have been up here all along, avoiding all the bullshit that happened in your life then.”

“I don’t think I wasted any time,” Lexi said defiantly.

John balked at the statement but kept going. “Are you moving back?”

“I think so, but I still have some loose ends to tie up.”

“When can I see you again?” he asked without missing a beat.

Lexi shook her head. Her heart broke a little bit for him. “Why have you waited for me all this time with no certainty that anything would ever happen?”

“You’ve always been at the forefront of my mind. I’ve never met another woman quite like you.”

“One who told you no?” she asked, arching an eyebrow.

He chuckled and shrugged. “There’s that, but you’re different, Lexi. You know that. You don’t bullshit. You’re not afraid to speak your mind. You’re smart and beautiful. A deadly combination.”

“I’m sorry,” she said.

She hated having this conversation again, but at this point, she knew it was necessary. She wasn’t sure how many times she had told John that they couldn’t be together, and it hurt each and every time to have to deliver the news. He could have anyone he wanted, and she couldn’t understand, even with his kind words, why that person would be her.

“What is holding you back?” John asked, reaching for her, wanting to sway her.

“Jack,” she answered, pulling out of his grasp. “It was always Jack.”

John narrowed his eyes. “The one I could never compare to?” he asked the question as if it was still the most ridiculous thing he had ever heard.

She hated to admit it, but she still meant every word that she had said to him that night over dinner.

“Isn’t he still married?”

Lexi shook her head. “No. He got divorced.”

“And now, you’re together.”

“Yes,” she whispered.

“Perfect,” he said sarcastically. “Where is he now?”

Lexi bit her lip. Great. Just what she wanted him to ask. “He’s in the city with me, but I don’t know where right now. He’s on his way.”

“From everything I’ve heard about him, he’s a serial cheater. You’re not concerned that he’s just off and away?” John asked, spouting all the fears that had clouded her mind for years.

But she couldn’t stand there and let him say those things. Jack hadn’t cheated in a very long time. And if she could change, then why couldn’t he? Why couldn’t she give him the benefit of the doubt? Neither of them had been faultless, but they couldn’t continue to judge each other on what had happened so long ago. As Jack had said the day he found out about the divorce paperwork, he was no longer that nineteen-year-old boy anymore.

“I was a serial cheater, too. People tend to forget that when they start to blame Jack for everything. We were both at fault, and now, we’ve both come to terms with who we were and moved on to the people we want to be. So, if you’re going to judge him, then you should judge me, too.”

“So, that’s it then?” John asked. “I can’t change your mind? Tell you how much of a mistake you’re making?”

“I’m not making a mistake. I’ve made my choice. It’s the right one because it makes me happy.”

“Okay.”

He didn’t sound convinced, but she was pretty sure her words were beginning to sink in.

They heard rustling from the other room and then the turn of a doorknob. John pressed his lips together and then sighed.

“Tell Adam I had to head out. I hope you’re right about him,” John said. “I bet Ramsey would smash his face in, too, if it turns out you’re wrong.”

“Yeah, I bet he would,” Lexi said with a giggle even though she was sure John didn’t find that funny at all. “Sorry, not funny. Just feels like a lifetime ago.”

“I’m glad I got to see you. If you change your mind—”

“I won’t,” Lexi answered automatically.

“All right,” John said with a shrug.

And then, he walked out of Chyna’s apartment without another word—no big fanfare, no emotional heart-tugging moment, no farewell kiss. Just the likely realization that he was wasting his time by continuing to fight for her. She had no doubts that if things didn’t work out with Jack, then John would still be interested, but she didn’t think that was going to happen.

In fact, at this point, she couldn’t even imagine a possibility of a life without Jack.

And she counted on never having to.

Just as John closed the door behind him, Chyna and Adam started down the hallway.

“Alexa!” Chyna crowed, walking confidently down the hall in her six-inch high heels and tiny, tight black mini dress.

Lexi could tell that she had clearly been hitting the bottle already.

“Hey, C,” Lexi said with a shake of her head.

She felt a bit strange after what had happened with John coupled with Jack disappearing out of nowhere. She could use a drink of her own.

“Where’s your man?”

“Had to stop to get something. He said it was a surprise, and he would meet us at the restaurant. Are you ready?” Lexi asked quickly.

Chyna raised one perfectly manicured eyebrow. “He just went to get something? That’s…odd.”

Lexi shrugged, trying to let it roll off her shoulders. “It’ll be fine.”

“Totally. I mean, he would be stupid to screw up now,” Chyna said with a tipsy giggle.

Adam shook his head and strode past Chyna. “I have the most insensitive wife in the world.”

“And you love every minute of it,” Chyna snapped back.

“I’m sure Jack is doing exactly what he said he was doing,” Adam said, ignoring Chyna’s outburst. “Have you seen John by any chance?”

“Yeah. He just told me to let you know that he had to head out. He found out about Ramsey and Jack and then took off.”

“Ah,” Adam said.

Their eyes met, and she knew that Adam understood what had passed between her and John. She had always had an uncanny connection with Adam, and Lexi knew that he was very close with John. She wondered but had never asked if John and Adam had talked about her after Adam had found out that they had slept together. She figured it didn’t matter now.

“Well, we’re already going to be late because Adam wanted to give me two orgasms instead of one. Isn’t he a stand-up guy?” Chyna said with a wink as she snaked her hand up his back.

Adam rolled his eyes, but Lexi saw his ears burn red. Lexi assumed it was always like this between them. He was probably used to it even if it still made him blush.

“Get your ass to the car,” he said, smacking her playfully on the butt.

“Y’all are ridiculous,” Lexi said.

Lexi followed their ridiculous asses back out of Chyna’s apartment and into the backseat of her town car. A few minutes later, they pulled up in front of the new restaurant that had just been opened by a prominent reality-TV chef. It was classic Americana food in a gourmet setting with the decadence of the Upper East Side.

As soon as Chyna flounced into the place, they were ushered upstairs and deposited at a table in a private room off of the main dining floor. With candlelight illuminating the small room, the table was set for four with single-sheet hardback menus at each place. Lexi checked her cell phone to see the time. Jack still wasn’t here. They had shown up ten minutes late for their dinner reservations, so she couldn’t say anything about him being late. But she missed him and was so damn curious about what the hell he was doing.

The waitress appeared a few seconds later, and Chyna ordered an expensive bottle of wine for the table while they waited for Jack to appear. The wine was uncorked, and four glasses were poured when Jack showed up. His cheeks were flushed with the chill from outside, and his blue eyes locked in on Lexi. He smiled, and she felt her heart stop.

“Sorry I’m late,” he said before kissing Lexi’s cheek and then taking a seat beside her.

“Glad you could join us,” Chyna said dryly.

Jack chuckled at her. “Drink some more wine, Chyna.”

“Don’t mind if I do,” she said before tipping back her glass. She pulled it back and pointed between them. “You know, I knew that you would pick him.”

“You told me,” Lexi said.

Once Lexi had finally called Chyna to let her know what happened, Chyna had gone on and on about how she knew that Lexi would end up with Jack. Lexi was pretty sure Chyna had thought that Lexi would just leave Jack and Ramsey altogether, but Chyna had insisted it was Jack all along.

And Lexi agreed with her on that. It was always Jack—her Jack.

Dinner came and went without Lexi getting a chance to ask Jack about what he had been up to. She eyed him, trying to get him to spill, but he just smiled and squeezed her hand under the table. If he was bound and determined to hold it back, she might as well let him keep his surprise to himself. She would find out in good time.

“Did you get my message?” Jack whispered when Adam and Chyna were seriously invested in another intimate debate. “You never responded.”

“Message? No. I checked my phone right before you got here. When did you send it?”

“Right before I walked into the room.”

Lexi held up her finger and dug her phone back out. Yep. There was a missed message from Jack.

3 o’clock.

Lexi giggled. “You were checking me out.”

The last time she had gotten a text message like that was when she had been in college, and he had seen her from across the bar. That night had been the spark that they needed to end up back together. And they had kept ending up together for years after that.

“How could I not?”

“You’re silly. I could never forget that night.”

“I could never forget you.”

Her phone buzzed in her hand just as she was putting it away, and she clicked on the email that had come in.

Huh. It was from Cierra.

Cierra had been sad to hear about Lexi breaking up with Ramsey, but she had understood Lexi’s side on the whole thing. Lexi was lucky to still have her as a friend even though she worked for Bridges. Cierra was going to be a bridesmaid for Lexi after all.

The email appeared before her eyes, and as Lexi skimmed the intro, she immediately started laughing.

“What?” Chyna asked, coming out of her argument with Adam.

“Oh, you’ll never believe this,” Lexi said, covering her mouth to keep from laughing hysterically as she read through the article attached to the email.

“Atlanta Lifestyle magazine has a full-page spread about none other than the Bitch herself,” Lexi announced.

“Bekah?” Jack asked softly.

“What is Atlanta Lifestyle magazine?” Chyna asked.

“It’s the richie-rich Atlanta magazine,” Jack explained with a shrug. “All the country clubbers read it religiously. Bekah has had a subscription her whole life. Basically your page six.”

“Oh,” Chyna said, turning her nose up. “So, what does it say?”

Lexi turned her phone around and showed off the picture. It was a clearly unstable Bekah lunging at Lexi with her arms outstretched in front of her and her father holding her back. She looked ready to murder Lexi. Luckily, only the back of Lexi’s head was visible or else it wouldn’t have been as hilarious.

“It briefly mentions the divorce proceedings going wrong for her. The majority of it deals with her cheating with Clark and the destruction of her golden-girl reputation. And get this part,” Lexi said, turning the phone back to herself and reading a part of it. “Due to the humiliation endured against the famous Bridges name and her inability to handle her own finances, an anonymous source has leaked to us that Bekah’s trust fund has been frozen, and her active role as Bridges Enterprise vice president has been revoked until further notice.”

“Wow,” Jack whispered. “She’s got to be mortified.”

“Yeah,” Lexi said, seeing the concern on Jack’s face. “I’m sorry. I mean…I still hate her, but I’m sorry it all happened like this.”

“You know, she was the first person to ever cheat on me,” Jack said offhand.

“I know.”

“Well, personally, I think that crazy bitch got what was coming to her,” Chyna said. “She was pretty dreadful to everyone.”

Lexi reached over and grabbed Jack’s hand.

He smiled at Lexi and agreed, “She was, wasn’t she?”

“Yes. I think this calls for a toast in fact,” Chyna said, raising her glass into the air.

Lexi loved the way her best friend diffused tension…with alcohol.

“What are we toasting to?” Adam asked, jumping in with his wife.

“To being free,” Chyna said.

Lexi laughed, remembering the time when she had boarded Chyna’s jet to escape the world with those same words ringing true. “No,” Lexi said. “To closure.”

Chyna winked at her as Jack and Adam raised their glasses as well.

Just before they clinked their glasses together, Jack added, “To new beginnings.”

They finished off their wine, and a heavy buzz began setting in on the conversation. As her treat, Chyna insisted on paying the entire tab even though everyone tried to argue with her, but really, there wasn’t a way to argue with Chyna.

Lexi half-stumbled down the stairs and back out of the building. Jack had his arm around her waist and helped support her unsteady legs as they exited into the chilly evening.

“I think we’re going to head back,” Jack told Chyna with a smile.

“Now?” Lexi asked. “But the night has just started.”

“It’ll be worth it,” he whispered into her ear. “I’m still dying to get my hands on you again.”

Lexi giggled and nodded. “Yeah, okay. Let’s go.”

“Cool,” Chyna said, waving the comments away. “You should take the town car. We’ll take the next cab.”

Her eyes wide, Lexi stared at Chyna. Never once had Chyna ever offered up her town car when they were separating. Chyna would rather drive Lexi halfway around the city before getting back to her own place than give it up.

So, this could only mean that Chyna knew what Jack had up his sleeve.

Adam pulled open the door for Lexi and Jack to step into the car. Jack went in first, so Lexi wouldn’t have to scoot over in her dress.

Lexi grabbed Chyna’s hand. “What is going on?” she whispered, hoping Chyna would dish.

“You’ll thank me later, chica. Have a nice night,” she said, fluttering her fingers at Lexi.

Lexi leaned into Jack in the back of Chyna’s town car. She didn’t even bother asking where they were going because she knew that if Chyna hadn’t spilled the beans, then Jack certainly wasn’t. Lexi occupied herself on the drive with the weight of his hand against hers, the roughness of his palms against her smooth skin, and the way his seemed to dwarf her tiny hands. Yet, they still fit perfectly together. It made her smile.

They pulled up into a valet station, and Jack eased out of the car. He held his hand out for her, and she placed hers lightly in his. Her eyes drifted up to his eyes and then over his head to the sign hanging on the doorframe. Her eyebrows rose sharply.

“A hotel?” she asked with a quirky smile. “All of this for a hotel room? Couldn’t you have told me that you wanted me all alone?”

Her stomach fluttered anyway. Staying in Chyna’s penthouse was divine, and the location was unreal, but Lexi had missed being alone with Jack. She never would have suggested a hotel though. It didn’t make sense, considering Chyna lived here.

“I want you all alone, Lex,” he whispered, brushing his lips against her.

“Still lost in our park escapade?” At the mention of their early behavior, her mouth quirked up.

“Lost in you,” he answered simply.

Lexi took Jack’s hand and let him escort her through the fancy hotel lobby. It was tiled in a pristine waxed marble with antique-like furniture draped in gorgeous blood-red oriental rugs. An enormous crystal chandelier hung high above their heads on their way to the elevator.

Jack placed a plastic key card into a slot and clicked the button for the top floor.

“Penthouse?” Lexi asked, narrowing her eyes.

Jack had never been one for big displays of wealth. She knew he had money from his accounting job, and of course, he was getting the settlement money from Bekah. But since neither of them had really grown up with opulence, it wasn’t ever a high priority.

“Only the best for my girl.”

“You spoil me,” she said, wringing her hands. “You totally did not have to do this.”

“You don’t know what I’ve done yet,” he whispered.

“Oh God,” she groaned, “with that tone, I just know you’ve outdone yourself.”

Jack reached forward and pushed her hair behind her ear. “With that tone, I know you’re about two seconds away from losing your grip. Chill out. This is me treating you the way you deserve to be treated because you’re special, Lex.”

She closed her eyes and let him kiss her anticipation away until the elevator doors opened. He kissed her one more time before walking down the hall. They located their room, and Jack slid the key into the slot.

He opened the door and held his hand out wide. “After you.”

Lexi bit her lip and glanced up into his mischievous blue eyes before walking into the hotel room. Her eyes lit up as she took in the room before her. Candles lit a trail leading through the room, and she followed them like the bread crumbs that they were. They wrapped around the room and brought her into the master suite with an oversized king bed. Candles were lit on either bedside table and in front of the mirror reflecting back at her from the bathroom. On a side table, a bottle of champagne chilled in a bucket with a plate of regular and chocolate-dipped strawberries. It was really quite simple, and perhaps, that made it even more romantic.

Tears pricked her eyes if for no other reason than the fact that Jack had put so much thought into making her happy. Her heart squeezed painfully at the realization that Jack was giving her everything she had wanted and more.

His hands landing lightly on her shoulders, Jack spun her around. “Do you like it?”

“Like it?” she asked, wiping under her eye. “I love it.”

“Why do you look sad? What did I do?” he asked, concerned.

“Nothing. It’s really beautiful.”

Jack raised his eyebrows. “If it’s so beautiful, why are you sad?”

“It’s just…this is everything I want. You. I want you.”

“I’m yours,” he said, holding his palms up in submission.

“I know.” She tried to get her thoughts together. It was all so perfect, so beautiful, and exactly what she wanted. She just didn’t want something bad to happen. She didn’t want anyone to take this away.

“The last time we were together in New York, you showed me your grandma’s ring and left,” Lexi whispered. She hated bringing it up, but she couldn’t pretend not to have fears. She wanted to confide her fears to him and allow them to fade away naturally.

Jack nodded, understanding crossing his face. “I prefer to think about the month before when I held you in my arms every night.”

“Sometimes, it’s easy to forget the highs with all the lows.”

“There are always going to be lows,” Jack responded, sweeping her hair behind her ear for her. “But I don’t think any of us could really appreciate the highs without them. And I can’t promise you that there won’t be lows. There will be, but every high will be worth it.” His achingly tender lips found hers.

“I know, Jack,” she murmured against his lips. “It’s just…memories.”

“I don’t want to erase those memories. They keep us on the straight and narrow. They remind us where we went wrong and where to go from here. They kept us together,” he said. “You and I, Lex, we’ll always be unfinished business.”

Lexi smiled up at him, letting the tension slide off her shoulders. Jack was right. Of course he was right. There would always be problems to face, but as long as they had each other, trusted in each other, they could overcome them.

“It took me ten years to get to you. I think that’s a fair trade as long as I have a lifetime to spend with you,” he whispered.

Lexi smiled up at him, practically glowing at the statement. How long had she imagined a lifetime with Jack? And now…it was within reach.

“Please don’t freak out,” he told her.

She cocked her head to the side in confusion until she saw him pull out a small black box from his pocket.

“What…is…that?” she stammered, already well past freaking out.

“I told you not to freak out. It’s not what you think,” he said with a tight chuckle.

“Um…” she said, her eyes wide.

Jack opened the box and plucked the small piece of jewelry out before she could get a look at it. At this point, her stomach was sitting somewhere around her feet, and her mind was somewhere else, far, far away. Her mouth was dry, and she could hear ringing in her ears. What exactly was in this little black box that she wasn’t supposed to freak out about?

“I just…I got you something,” he said, his blue eyes meeting hers.

That look alone made her soften. This was Jack. He knew what made her freak out. He knew everything about her.

“You’re such a big part of my life. And I know we’re not ready to make a big step, but I felt like I just needed to show you that I am ready to make a little step. It’s more important to me, I think, Lex, to show you that I’m committed to you more than anything. Because I am. I can tell you a million times that I’m all yours, but I know that time will be proof of that. So, for now, I just thought I’d start with this.”

Jack held out a tiny silver ring with a looped knot on the top. It was simple and easy and so unbelievably perfect for them.

“I want you to be tied to me, Lex, in every way possible,” Jack said, his voice hoarse. “I want you to wear this one until we’re ready for you to wear the other one.”

Jack slid it onto Lexi’s finger. Her heart was in her throat the whole time. This wasn’t an engagement ring or anything, but it meant so much. Maybe, at this moment in time, it meant even more than that. It was a promise ring—a promise to commit to her, a promise to love her, a promise to treat her the way she deserved. And by wearing it on her finger, she was promising him the same in return.

And so much more—so much that they would never be able to articulate to the other, except through glances and touches and experiences and time.

And they had all the time in the world.

THE END