His Hired Girlfriend (23 page)

“
I need help. I don’t know
which dress I should wear.”

“
Yeah. Sure,” he says,
shaking his head. Alex? Having a dilemma of choosing a dress to
wear for the day? Surely not!

“
I’m sorry. I mean Kelly
and Stephanie bought me lots of dresses. They said they wanted to
see me in them. I feel like I’d let them down if I don’t wear
them.”

“
Understandable,” he says. “Why don’t you show them to me?”
He swings his feet to the floor as he gets up.

“
Yeah,” she says and out
she comes.

Jayden nearly has a heart
attack. Right in front of him, with nothing on but her cute pink,
lacy undies and bra stands Alex.

Holy Mother of God!
Jayden feels the breath knocked out of him. He tries to
calm himself down and not make a scene. Only it’s hard because Alex
looks like a Victoria’s Secret model who at that moment is showing
their new season’s underwear collection. She’s all so sexy and hot
that Jayden can’t help but keep ogling at her and wanting nothing
more than to pull her into his arms and kiss her. And do so much
more.

“
Well?” she asks, with an
eyebrow rising. “Which one?”

Jayden blinks. What the
heck is she talking about? Oh right! The dresses, which are in her
hands, one on either side of her.

Honest to God, he does try
to concentrate on the dresses, but it’s impossible because Alex is
too damn tempting.

“
Which one?” she asks
again.

“
I’m not sure. Try them
both on and see,” he suggests, at a loss because all he notices is
her milky soft skin and her shapely body that could make her a
model—a lingerie model—if only she was a little taller.

“
Okay
,” she says,
smiling. “Here.” She hands one for him to hold on to. Jayden
absentmindedly takes it and continues watching her.

Alex is nervous. Oh, God! She thinks he looks as though
he’s about to eat her whole. For what other reason would he stare
at her so intensely? Like she’s his delicious dessert?

Stay calm, Alex,
the
voice at the back of her head says.
Be confident. Show him. After all, you want him to suffer,
don’t you?

Besides, he wouldn’t be
able to touch her because he’s supposed to be gay.

She slowly pulls the light
blue off-the-shoulder dress down her body, the light material
touching and caressing her skin. After tying the string at her
waist, she says, “Well?”

Silence. Blue eyes staring
intensely.

“
Well?” she repeats, a
little nervous this time.

“
What? Oh.” Jayden has to
admit she looks amazing in it. “It looks good,” he says, wondering
when the heck she asked him that question.

“
Yeah, I like it, too,”
she says, her hands smoothing the fabric about her
waist.

Jayden finds himself
jealous of her hands.

“
Let me try the other
one,” she says, undoing the string.

Jayden has a mental
picture of what he would like to do to her next. After she has
slowly taken that dress off, he’d like to pull her into his arms
and start kissing her and then—

“
I’ll have to take my bra
off to wear that one,” she says almost absentmindedly.

“
Huh?” He jolts, wondering
if she is going to take her bra off and get dressed right there in
front of him.

Oh
, yes, sweetheart,
do that
.

Alex bends low toward him
so that her face is inches from his. He glances down and sees her
creamy cleavage parading enticingly before his eyes. She grabs the
dress from his hand, stands up, turns on her heels, and strolls
back to the walk-in wardrobe.

Damn! She’s not going to take her bra off in front of him
after all. He pouts mentally.

A moment later when she
returns, his eyes widen in delight. The printed sweetheart corset
dress fits her perfectly, showing off her slim body, shapely legs,
and not to mention those gorgeous breasts. Holy shit! It’s only
morning, and he’s already excited. This is going to be hard, in
more ways than one.

All right, Jayden
, he
tells himself,
Alex will be
gone soon. Only a week more to go, and then she’d be gone, back to
good old New Zealand.

The thought of her leaving, however, doesn’t sit well with
him. He realizes that he has become attached to her, that he likes
her company, that he might have more feelings for her than he
previously thought, and—
oh
shit
—that he might be falling
in love with her after all.

Alex puts her hands on her
hips and shows off the garment like a model would at the end of a
runway. “What do you think?”

“
I think it looks great,” he says, a tight feeling in his
chest. Oh, God, he wants to pull her into his arms and kiss her and
then tell her he loves her. But he can’t because he’s supposed to
be bloody gay.

“
Jayden, are you okay
?” she asks, concern showing in her soft voice. She comes
to stand right in front of him and strokes her fingers through his
blond hair. “Are you worried about your sister’s
wedding?”

He looks up at her and thinks—
No, sweetheart
,
I’m worried what’s
going to happen to me when you’re gone.

“
It’s okay
,” she says
sweetly, sitting beside him. “Everything is going to be all
right.”

Jayden doesn’t know what
has come over him. It just feels right that he pulls her onto his
lap. She obediently obliges and wraps her arms around his muscular
neck. Then Jayden snuggles his face against the side of her neck
and slowly starts kissing her.

Alex sucks in her breath
from the excitement erupting within her. She tightens her arms
around his neck and groans. His lips against her skin are so hot
and sweet. She doesn’t want it to end, but she knows it must. She
only wants him to want her, break down, and confess to her that
he’s not gay and that he might be in love with her. It doesn’t seem
to be going that way, however, and she doesn’t want to get hurt in
the process.

She pulls back. “I’m
hungry,” she announces. “Can we go down and have our breakfast
now?”

Jayden blinks. He is still
so lost in his own emotions and his want for her that it takes him
a few seconds to register what she said.

“
Of course,” he replies,
trying to regain his composure. “You go down first. I need a
shower.”

“
Okay
,” she says,
getting off his lap.

He doesn’t feel like
letting her go. He feels as though she’s leaving him forever. His
gut twists with dread.

He watches her giving him
a lovely smile before she shuts the door.

“
Oh, Jayden, what have you
gotten yourself into?” he mutters under his breath as he gets up
and heads into the bathroom. After showering and dressing himself
in a pair of Calvin Klein jeans and a T-shirt, he heads down the
stairs. He hears loud voices as he opens the dining room door. He
sees his father earnestly talking to Sam, his future
brother-in-law, who can’t seem to keep his hands away from Kelly.
Alex is sitting beside Gracie on the far side of the dining table,
having breakfast. They are chatting away like old friends. How odd
that he feels good they get along so well.

“
Jay,” Sam greets loudly.
“How are you? Long time, no see, man.”

“
Hey, Sam,” Jayden greets,
smiling as he strolls into the room. He glances at Alex, who is
watching him with her brows raised.

“
Good to see you,” Sam
says.

“
How was business in
Hawaii?” Jayden asks.

“
All sorted. Now it’s
holiday time,” Sam chuckles. He looks at Kelly and winks at her, a
promise in his eyes.

“
Good. Hey, have you met
my girlfriend Alex?”

Alexandra feels her heart miss a beat. Oh, God! Jayden has
just told Sam that she is his girlfriend—in a sincere, warm
tone.

“
Yeah, Kelly introduced
us,” Sam says. “Good choice, man.” He winks knowingly.

Jayden laughs. “So what’s
the plan for the day?”

“
Just me and my lovely
bride today,” Sam says. “What about you?”

“
Nothing planned,” Jayden
replies sheepishly.

Alex picks up her cup of
tea and sips, disappointment building up in her stomach. So there’d
be no chance of her ever seeing New York while she’s here after
all. She might as well go back to bed.

They chat for a while longer, and then Sam ushers Jay to
one side once he has the chance.

“
Hey, mind if you do me a
favor?” he asks.

“
Yeah,” Jayden
replies.

“
I promised to spend time with Kelly today. I mean I really
missed her, bro. If you don’t mind, would you go to Tiffany’s to
get our wedding rings for me?”

“
Yeah, sure.
Today?”

“
Yeah. The payment is taken care of. Just need to fetch
them. Mind you, it’s a surprise for Kelly. She hasn’t seen
them.”

“
Yeah.”

“
Thanks, man,” Sam says,
patting Jayden’s back.

With the deal done, Sam
whisks Kelly away, and Jayden goes about having his
breakfast.

* * *

E
ighteen

Alexandra slips back
into the bedroom. She leans against the closed door and sighs. She
sees the Blackberry Jayden gave her on the bedside table, grabs it,
and starts dialing her home numbers. After a few rings, it is
picked up by her mom.

“
Hello? Mali
speaking.”

“
Hey, Mom.” Alex tightens
the phone in her hand near her ear. The sound of her mother’s voice
causes a knot in the pit of her stomach. Gosh, how she misses her
family.

“
Sweetheart, how’s things? The conference is not tiring you
out? I know how muc
h you
don’t like traveling and especially going to another
country.”

“
I’m good, Mom; how’s Dad
and everyone else?”

“
Everyone here is good. Oh
, sweetheart, we miss you so much, and it has only been
four days.”

“
I know. I miss you all
too.”

In the distance, Alex can hear Emma’s voice
shouting,
“Mom? Is that Alex?
Hey, Alex, have you been shopping for my presents yet? Remember, I
want gifts. And have you been sightseeing at all yet?”

Alex shakes her head. She
wants to laugh. Emma will always be Emma.

Sightseeing?
She has
been wanting to go sightseeing since the day she arrived, but so
far that handsome fake boyfriend of hers has yet to take her as far
out as the street in front of the house.

“
Don’t mind her,”
Alex
hears her mom say.
“You know
how your sister is.”

Alex laughs. “Yeah. Mum? I
love you. I have to go now.”

“
Oh. Of course,
sweetheart. We’ll talk later. And see you again soon.”

“
Yeah, bye now,” she says and hangs up. After placing the
Blackberry back on the bedside table, she ambles to the balcony.
Looking down at the immaculate garden below, she sees Sam and Kelly
kissing passionately near the water feature. A moment later, they
reluctantly part and hop into the red Ferrari. Alex feels an odd
tug at her heart as the car moves away to the gate. No doubt
they’ll be having a wonderful time
together.

Ugh! What’s wrong with you, Alex?
she asks herself. She’s not usually a jealous person,
but—

Heck! She is envious of
Kelly for finding the right man who loves her. But she is also
happy for Kelly because the woman deserves it.

Once the car disappears
from sight, she turns on her heels and goes back to the bedroom.
It’s such a lovely day. She can’t believe she’s wasting it here in
the bedroom, half sulking.

She collapses on the bed and groans. Here she is, dressed
in a sexy dress and hoping the damn man would take notice of her
new look. But what does she get?
Nothing
. Not even an
invitation to go out for a short walk. Oh, yeah! No plan for the
day? What the heck do you plan to do for the whole day,
Jayden?

The next moment she feels
somebody sitting on the bed. She widens her eyes, her heart beating
faster. Then she feels the warmth of a body near her and a hand
touching her hair. Then a voice says near her ear, “Still tired,
huh?”

Alex turns. Her face
nearly collides with Jayden’s. She sees him grinning, his eyes a
sky-blue color as he gazes down at her.

“
I’m not that tired. Just
nothing to do so—”

“
Well, then. Would you like to come on an errand with
me?”

“
Errand?”