Strollers & Stilettos: A Sexy Contemporary Romance (In Stilettos Book 4) (13 page)

“I wonder what it is,” Jaya murmured.

“Maybe it’s another magazine with your husband on the cover.” A month ago, Micha’s magazine had profiled the fifty hottest bachelors that were no longer bachelors and the women who’d tamed them. She’d sent Jaya a copy before it hit the stands.

“I doubt it. Micha would have mentioned if she’d featured Alec for anything.”

Drea shrugged and let herself out.

There was no return label, and Jaya frowned again. They’d all had their share of danger over the last two years or so. When she’d first met Alec, his brother Max had gotten himself embroiled with the wrong people. Shortly after that, Ricca’s boss had nearly killed Ricca by accident, and after that, Micha’s assistant had turned out to be a psychopathic stalker type. Maybe it was better to take the envelope down to security for them to open.

“Don’t be a coward, Jai. It’s only an envelope.”

She peeled back the flap, and all she saw inside were several photos. She dumped them onto her desk, and her stomach turned when she saw the subject. Alec with some blond woman, entering a hotel room. Alec and woman leaving a bar. The woman not leaving his hotel room until the following morning if the timestamp could be believed.

Sweat beaded on her brow as she fought the bile rising in her throat. They didn’t look like photo-shopped or doctored photos. They looked like security footage. And the dates—she tried to swallow around the sawdust in her mouth. The dates lined up with when he’d been in Boston.

When you sent him to Boston
.

Whether she’d sent him there or not didn’t seem to matter to her heart. The slice of betrayal burned.

He did tell you it might be possible,
the tiny voice in her head reminded her. But she was in no mood for rational thought. She just stared at the pictures. One after another. The blonde was pretty. Maybe Alec’s usual type.

In the flap of an envelope her whole world tilted. Feeling too shaky to stand, she felt for the chair behind her and lowered herself into it.

He tried to tell you, remember?
He
had
tried to tell her but she hadn’t wanted to hear. She’d been so intent on believing that he wouldn’t have slept with anyone else. She’d been so certain. Was that what he’d tried to tell her last night?

After the alarms had gone off, she’d stayed in the safe room with Alexa for only a moment when Alec had knocked to tell her it was over. The intruder had already been caught by security, then he’d gone down to the main gate to wait for the police. She’d tried to wait up for him, but once she’d finally gotten Alexa back to sleep, she’d tried to stay awake but exhaustion had taken over at four. And when she’d woken up this morning he’d been gone. The only reason she knew he’d been back was the steam in the shower.

They needed to talk about things because clearly there was something he hadn’t told her yet. But she’d hear him out.

Her rational brain tried to reason with her heart. She’d been the one to push him away. But her heart stubbornly argued back. He’d also gone voluntarily.

She shook off the sounds of doubt in her head and gathered the photos. Before she could shove them back into the envelope, she noticed the Post-It taped to the back of one picture.
Did Alec tell you about these, or are you just finding out now?

Something slithering and icy slid around Jaya’s spine, winding its way to her nerve endings. Alec had seen the photos? Was he going to pretend there wasn’t actually a possibility that Alexa wasn’t his? Would he hide something like this from her? Did he think she wouldn’t understand? Granted, she was pretty full of ragey-kill-the-blond-bitch feelings, but she’d at least listen to him. He was her husband. But instead, he’d made love to her like nothing was wrong last night. As if everything was perfectly normal.

No
. He’d wanted to talk last night. About what? About these pictures? But she’d been so focused on her plan to make love so he wouldn’t be angry with her about the baby. She shook her head. For something like this, he should have tried harder. She picked up her phone and called his office.

His voice was brusque. “Jai, what’s wrong? Is it Alexa?”

The concern for the baby made her thaw marginally. Unfortunately, it also made her suspicious. “No, the baby is fine, but I know you wanted to talk to me about something yesterday, and we didn’t get a chance. Do you want to talk to me now?”

A beat of silence, then another. Finally, when she was about to ask if he was still there, he said, “Can we talk about this later? I have to deal with a few things first.”

She chewed her lip. “Was it important?”

“Not now, Jai. I’ll see you later, okay?” He didn’t wait for a response before hanging up.

Quiet fury rolled through her. He might not feel like talking to her now, but she wasn’t just going to let it sit. Photos in-hand, she stood, squaring her shoulders. She strode out of the office with more confidence than she felt. All she needed to do was talk to him for two minutes.

On the way to the elevator, she noticed a familiar figure coming down the hall. Emily Preston from CPS. “Miss Preston?”

The brunette smiled at her warmly. “Mrs. Westhorpe. It’s good to see you again.”

Jaya didn’t feel the same. If this woman was here, then it was about Alexa. But she could fake it. “Same here. Can I help you with something?”

Emily shook her head, displacing her dark curls. “No. I just met with your husband to discuss our alternative placement positions for Alexa. He’s concerned about her safety considering your near break-in the other day.”

Fiery fury twined with the icy slither of concern. He’d gone behind her back? “We can keep her safe,” she muttered through clenched teeth.

Emily nodded. “I’m inclined to agree with you. Your family has influence. But I understand his concern, so I’ll come up with some alternatives and present them. We’ll see what you decide.”

Jaya muttered a thank you that she didn’t feel. As she watched Emily leave the hotel, she changed her plan. She wasn’t dealing with her husband yet. She needed to regroup.

* * *

“You need to deal with that?”

Alec shifted on his heels as he eyed Caleb. “No. I’m already dealing with it. I’ll talk to her about everything once it’s all sorted.”

Caleb shook his head. “When are you going to learn that it’s a better idea for you to talk to her?”

Alec ground his teeth. “You worry about your fiancée, and I’ll worry about my wife.”

Caleb held his hands up. “All right, man, whatever you say.”

“Fuck.” He had to get his shit under control. “Sorry. I’m a dick.”

“That you are.”

Alec rolled his shoulders. “I’m edgy. She’s not going to take the visit from CPS too well.”

“You’re sure it was a good idea to call them?”

Alec narrowed his gaze. “I had a crazy woman break into my house. When I went down to talk to her, the cops had already taken her to the station. It took too long for booking and processing, and they wouldn’t let me see her. Some shit I did put my family in danger. Jaya won’t like it, but I’ll do anything to protect our family.”

“You’re sure having the family counselor look at alternative arrangements is the right plan though? You’re pretty attached to the kid now.”

More than attached. Even though he was praying she wasn’t his, a little part of him wished she was.

He cracked his neck. “She’s my responsibility. I need to keep her safe. If that’s not with me, then fair enough.”

“Let the record show that I still think it’s a bad idea, but I’ll be here to help you with the nuclear fallout. Just like always.”

Alec shook his head, but his gaze flickered to the phone. He didn’t have time to worry about Jaya right now. He needed to get the results of the paternity test, and then he could tell her everything. “Let’s get on with this.”

Caleb reviewed the basics of the test. But Alec’s mind was too unfocused to really process everything.

“Shit, I need you to spell it out. I need to know what this means.”

Caleb blew out a breath. “What that means is that you are not the baby daddy.”

The blood rushed back into his head even as his body sagged, and he let himself fall into his chair. “Oh, thank God.”

“Not so fast, Alec.” Caleb’s voice was solemn. He didn’t look like he was in the mood to celebrate.

“What’s better news than this? I’m not the father.”

“No, you’re not, but given there was enough of a DNA match to put you in the general ballpark, it means Alexa is related to you in some way.”

Alec’s blood ran cold. “Come again?”

“It means Alexa could be your niece. Your dad didn’t have any siblings, right?”

Alec shook his head. “Neither did my mom.” He sucked in a deep breath. “I’m going to fucking kill Max. Maybe the timing on the birth certificate was fudged to make it look like I was the father. Because according to the timeline, Max was out of the country. But if he got me into this shit because he was careless…” His voice trailed.

Caleb ran a hand through his hair. “Relax. I don’t think this is Max’s fault. The lab tech also pointed out a couple of things. Alexa has Waardenburg Syndrome.”

Alec’s stomach clenched as his mind focused on
Syndrome
. “Explain.”

“It can affect hearing and pigmentation. In this case, eye color.”

Alec frowned. “Her eyes.”

Caleb nodded. “I looked over the medical report that CPS sent over—her hearing is fine. I didn’t understand all of the paternity test, so I had a lab geek go over it with me. She inherited the gene from her mother.”

“Yeah, okay, I’m still not sure what this has to do with me?”

“Well, I remember your dad had that shock of white hair in the front before he ever started to go gray. That’s one of the manifestations.”

Alec frowned. “Well, he’s clearly not Alexa’s father.”

“No. But there’s a good chance he could be her grandfather.”

Alec shook his head. “So we’ve excluded me and probably Max. That leaves…”

“Another son…or daughter.”

Blood rushed in his head. “Her mother.”

Caleb nodded. “Lab tech said she inherited the gene from Mommy Dearest.”

He had a sister. One he’d never known about but who clearly knew about him. “Holy fuck.”

“My sentiments exactly.”

Alec shook his head. “But that’s impossible. I would have known, wouldn’t I? I mean, I’ve been through all of Dad’s records with a fine-toothed comb.”

“Maybe he didn’t know. I’ve managed to uncover more about our mystery woman. She grew up in San Diego, Oceanside to be specific. While you were chillin’ in the barrio, she grew up near the beach, not much better off than you though. Difference was, she didn’t seem to have any idea who her father was. From what I’ve been able to dig out, her mother died five years ago. Maybe she found out that she’s a Westhorpe then.”

“I have a sister. All this time. God, she must hate me to go to all this trouble. Why didn’t she just come ask me directly for her piece of the pie? She would have learned pretty quickly that the hotel is thanks to Adele and not my father. There would have been nothing to inherit from him. But I would have done something to help her.”

“Look, man, she’s probably been watching you for years. Checking you out, seeing what you’re about. Hell, she got a job in one of your hotels, and you fired her. No matter what is going on, she thinks she’s justified.”

Chapter Fourteen

It was just like the old days. Sitting on her couch with Micha and Ricca flanking her. The only addition being Alexa sleeping on her boppy pillow.

Micha held her hand. “Okay, so what did he say exactly?”

Jaya shook her head. “He didn’t say anything. He dodged and avoided, to be specific.”

Ricca scratched her nose as she frowned. “But that makes no sense. He would have just told you. I mean, he knows you understand. He didn’t cheat on you. Heck, you’ve been behind him since this whole fiasco started.”

Two weeks ago, Jaya had been overworked and trying to find time to be with him. Now her life was completely upside down but in the best way, and she didn’t have Alec beside her, and of course, he was keeping things from her.

“I’m not mad at him because he might have slept with someone while we weren’t together. I’m pissed because he lied and he didn’t tell me. I mean, he had time to tell me last night.”

Micha raised an eyebrow. “Um, when would he have had time? When you were boning his brains out? And be fair—you have something you haven’t told him either.”

She rounded on Micha and her friend cocked her head and met her glare directly.

“Shut up. I thought you were on my side.”

Micha blew a stray curl out of her face. “Look, I’m not taking his side. I swear. But I’m trying to get you to see sense. You didn’t exactly tell him you’re pregnant.”

Jaya chewed her lip. “I tried. We just got distracted.”

Ricca laughed. “What, you got distracted by his dick?”

Jaya’s jaw dropped. Micha cackled.

“Ricca!” Jaya exclaimed.

Ricca shrugged. “Sorry, Jai, I know I shouldn’t swear around the baby, but come on. You distracted him last night because you were scared to tell him. Though I can’t imagine why. He’ll be happy about it, I swear. But now you’re mad at him for omitting.”