At least he knew why she was upset. Axel shouldn’t have forgiven her so easy. Perhaps it was because “they” ended tomorrow and he didn’t care, not really. But she took his hand like he was an anchor. “Okay.”
Jennifer had her hands on her hips as she faced the Morgan heir. “Peter, this baby is yours.”
Peter stood with a few other men his height. How Jennifer confronted what might be a football team full of men staring at her, Emily had no idea. Peter stepped forward from the pack and said, “Then you’ll take a DNA test before the wedding.”
Jennifer asked, “How long will the new DNA tests take?”
Rafe, the dark-haired man who gave the impression of being a cop, said, “If we get you to the hospital, they usually take three days but I can rush them for one day.”
Jennifer wiped a tear from her cheek. “Peter, the wedding is this afternoon.”
Peter shrugged. “I won’t marry you without one. So if you want this wedding, no more excuses about harming the baby if you do a test--not when you have no problem drinking champagne. Let’s go to the hospital and get it done. We’ll figure everything out from there.”
“We did this already, back in my first trimester.” Jennifer sniffled and wiped more tears from her eyes as she said, “And today, we planned-”
Peter glanced up at the sun like he prayed for patience. “Those test results were inconclusive."
"And then the doctor explained the dangers," Jennifer said, which is why I said no, and you agreed.”
Peter didn't back down. “You're almost to term now. What happened to those results?”
Jennifer took both his hands. “This baby is yours.”
The police officer snapped his fingers and said, “Let me call the hospital and request the results.”
Another man, slightly younger, joined the others. It took Emily a minute and then remembered she’d been introduced to him. His name was Luke and he was a doctor. He said, “Anthony and Peter have the same father and the test was 94% accurate. If Anthony’s a higher percentage then there is room to pause.”
Rafe showed his tablet that mostly had numbers she didn’t understand as he said, “We have the baby’s DNA already.”
Luke added fast, “I can have Anthony’s test done in a few hours. He’s already on his way to the hospital. My nurse is handling the draw and personally taking it to the lab.”
“Money is no object.” Peter patted his brother’s back.
Luke nodded. “My hospital staff knows how important this is.”
Jennifer sniffled one more time and then tugged on Peter’s arm. “So what’s going on, Peter?”
Peter released her and wiped his hands like he needed anti-bacterial soap. “Prepare for the wedding, Jennifer. If the tests are for Anthony, he’ll have a marriage license and marry you today.”
Jennifer pouted and looked like a young girl told to eat her vegetables. “I don’t want to marry Anthony.”
Peter shrugged and turned back toward his brothers as he said, “Then the baby potentially doesn’t get the Morgan last name, or money.”
Wow. It became crystal clear to Emily that this wasn’t a love match.
If Emily was Jennifer, she’d have called it off.
But then again Emily never would have stolen sperm. Her head circled back around to the fact that she’d only ever loved Axel and no one else, ever.
No ex-boyfriend had ever measured up.
Drat. Axel and she were temporary. She needed to protect herself.
So why did Axel hold her so close?
Jennifer breathed like she was trying to control her tears. “Peter, I never lied to you.”
Peter pivoted around again and glared down his regal nose like a king addressing a peasant as he said, “Jennifer, you and I are not in love. We both know that.”
Jennifer shook her head, her face stricken. “That’s not true. I have always loved you.”
Peter pressed his fingers to his temple like he had a headache. “You think that. But it’s obvious to everyone you really love Anthony. Let’s stop this pretense now.”
Jennifer kept her head high and walked back inside the house like she was still a queen in a tragedy.
Axel’s brothers all walked into the white tent set up for the ceremony.
Emily held Axel’s hand. She needed to tell Jennifer and the Morgans the truth. She’d hurt everyone here when she agreed to spy and potentially stop this wedding. She needed to like herself again, and besides, Axel left for Orlando tomorrow. Sure, he’d asked her to go with him, but that wasn’t real.
Reality was that she needed to protect herself better. She led him away from the group and toward a spot on the grass below the veranda where they could be alone. “Emily, what’s wrong?”
She reached up and pressed her hand on his cheek. This was the last time she’d feel his slight scruff that he’d shave right before tonight’s ceremony. Her heart stirred even now when she was in his arms.
But she didn’t deserve his love or attention. She’d almost had her dream life with him, and this was knowledge she’d treasure. “Axel, you shouldn’t forgive me.”
His gaze narrowed. “What?”
Her heart pounded. She had no stake in any of this marriage between Peter and Jennifer. She also didn’t understand. She would never marry a man who still clearly loved another. Her father had shown her that marriage without true commitment was a lie, and he’d never shown up for her. She needed to be different. She couldn’t look at Axel as she said, “This is all my fault. Everything. I had no idea who Belle or Jennifer or anyone in the House of Morgan was until the other night. And I betrayed every one of you. Especially Jennifer!”
He glanced over her shoulder toward the tent. “Not now, Emily.”
Even if no more drama happened, there was no way she’d ever survive in the House of Morgan dynasty. She straightened her shoulders, needing to be clear. “I work for Belle…”
“What?” Jennifer’s voice spit out in fury.
Axel’s eyes widened but he held her waist as Emily turned toward Jennifer. Emily’s stomach was in knots but she needed to tell the truth. She shouldn’t be here--she didn't belong. She met Jennifer’s dark-eyed gaze and said, “I wasn’t here to be your friend.”
Jennifer’s words elongated as she pointed toward the door. “You… work… for… Belle? Get out.”
Her life here was over. She lowered her head and wished she’d done things differently. “I am sorry.”
She turned to leave, but Jennifer said, “You ruined my life. How much was that worth?”
This was too much. She glanced at Axel. His long blond hair made him seem like a Viking god come to life. But he wasn’t hers, not forever. And she needed to remember that. She stared at the door, letting his hold on her slip away. “I’m going.”
Jennifer blocked her. “No. How much was my life worth to you. How much did she pay?”
She’d never get or want that bonus. She’d have to find another way to free herself from her debt. Emily sighed and said, “One hundred thousand dollars.”
Jennifer’s face was as white as her wedding dress. Emily wished she had the power to disappear as Jennifer said, “If you’d have played your cards right and not betrayed me, I easily could have gotten you an endorsement deal or a modeling contract for fat people, Emily.”
“Goodbye.” Emily quickened her pace toward the door. She’d failed herself. She absolutely didn’t deserve more with Axel. He deserved better. And she needed to never, ever, ever lie again. She wasn’t cut out to be a spy.
The white walls of the outside tent gently waved in the slight tropical breeze. Palm trees lined both sides of the lawn, and the smell of peonies and roses wafted in the air.
Axel’s brother, Peter, stormed into the tent and Jennifer, in her white wedding dress, trailed after him, probably to tell the guests inside about the delay or cancellation.
This wasn’t how weddings usually worked, but then there probably wasn’t going to be
one today.
In a few minutes, Peter would probably want to talk to Emily, who had confessed to spying on Jennifer, and was now exiting the mansion.
But for once in his life, Axel didn’t want to let a woman, no, Emily, go. Axel chased after her and saw her with her phone in hand as she stood on the sidewalk. He jogged behind her. “Emily, wait.”
“Axel, I’ve called for a car.” She pocketed the phone. “My ride will be here in nine minutes.”
People called for rides? He pressed his hand on her back as he closed the distance between them. “Don’t be silly. I have a chauffeur.”
And any second, his brother would come outside and want to talk to Emily, about how to find Belle.
It was better if she disappeared, along with him. His heart whispered that he didn’t want to let her go, not yet.
Emily’s cheeks were red either from running or from blushing. Her glistening skin made her sexier. “I don’t, and I’ll get charged a cancelation fee.”
If she left, he might never see her again--he wasn’t ready for that. “I’ll pay it. I need to talk to you.”
She walked with him across the street, away from his brother’s house, but stayed on the road. “Axel, you and I were never going to work out.”
Despite their differences, she made his life seem less hollow. The idea of losing her now made his body tighten as he asked, “So you don’t want to come with me on tour?”
Wild parrots flew overhead. Emily crossed her arms and stayed in his driveway. “That’s a silly, childish dream of mine, but it’s time I grow up.”
Her words were like a hammer slamming nails into his skin. She stood so stiff that he massaged her arms and tried to get her to loosen the grip she held herself in, but she didn’t budge. He let her shoulders go and traced her face as he said, “I didn’t know you as a child, Emily.”
Her eyes were bright with unshed tears. “You’re right. You didn’t know me. You still don’t know anything about me.”
But they had the rest of their lives to know each other, if she stayed. His heart thumped--he wasn’t sure that he ready for that but he wanted to find out. He gently squeezed her hands. “So show me?”
She lowered her head and dropped her hands to her sides. “What?”
His mind raced. Neither of them fit together socially and he’d have never normally met her. He brushed his fingers against hers. “You said I could somehow go to a grocery store with you and fit in. Let’s do that.”
Despite the dramatic makeup, her face turned white and lost its blush. She sighed. “We can’t take your limo or fancy driver to Publix.”
Emily was prettier without all that makeup, in his opinion. “The wedding is put off for a few hours anyhow. And I want us to work.”
“I thought you wanted to go to a grocery store to see how us regular people live.”
“I still want to go with you.”
She let out a small laugh. “Fine, even in disguise, you’ll probably be recognized. Then I guess I’ll prove to you that you and I are a dream.”
“Or, we see how we work together, and should.”
Her mouth was slightly open and inviting. He leaned in and closed his eyes. The moment her lips met his, nothing else mattered.
Emily made him feel whole. He needed her in his life. There was no other way to explain how his entire body felt alive just from being near her.
She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him harder.
Everything disappeared for a second. A car drove on the street and screeched passed his house, jarring his attention.
She sighed like she was coming out of the reverie too. Axel traced her soft like silk skin on her arms and asked, “Is that a dream?”
A huge smile grew on her face as she nodded. “Some of the best moments in the dream. Now go and get dressed.”
He walked with her to his own front door. As he opened it he asked, “What should I wear?”
She studied his body and he wanted to show off--needed her to want him in the same way.
She said, “Jeans, a baseball hat, a man bun for that hair of yours, and a t-shirt.”
He saluted like he’d have done to his mother when he was a boy as he said, “So, what I wear on stage minus the hat.”
She studied herself in the hallway mirror and frowned. “No one is going to recognize either of us. I’m pretending to be a model and you’ll be the opposite of a rock star.”
Perhaps she didn’t like the makeup either. He headed toward the stairs and asked, “And if they do, will you come back with me and stay in my house?”
She followed behind him as he was halfway up the stairs. “You want me to?”
He turned and stared down the ten steps toward the most beautiful woman in the world. Losing her tonight would be worse than ripping the scab off a recent wound. She needed to stay. “Yes.”
Another smile graced her face and she dropped her shoulders. “One more night. I can do that. Tomorrow, we’ll go back to our lives. But for now, change fast.”
Right. They were on some sort of time limit. He turned and headed up. The suit he was to wear to the wedding would be here when they returned. He unbuttoned his white shirt and said, “I want you to see what happens at a store when I go without guards.”
She followed him in the room as he dropped his pants and said, “You don’t have to.--I don't want you to be hurt.”
He stepped into a pair of jeans and zipped them as someone honked from his driveway. She walked toward the window and looked down. “There is the car.”
Axel opened the window and shouted down, “I’ll pay whatever wait fee you want. Just give me two minutes to change.”
The driver nodded and waved. “Sure, man.”
He closed the window and grabbed a black t-shirt from his closet. She followed and leaned against the door frame. “Axel?”
Maybe she was right and her simple world didn’t match his exactly, but so what? Even if they both didn’t live in the same world, she could join him in his. If she wanted. He’d never fit in hers. He finished with his shirt and grabbed his sneakers as he said, “Trust me. Just wait.”
She stood straighter and took his hand once he had hisshoes on.
“Done. Let’s go.”
Neither one of them said anything as they left the house. Axel clapped hands with the driver but she paused in the driveway and said, “You don’t have a hat.”
Axel peered into the driver’s front seat and spotted a Marlins hat. He pointed toward it and said, “Man, I’ll give you a hundred dollars for that hat.”
The driver’s eyes widened. He picked up the Marlins cap and held it out the window. “Sold.”
Axel exchanged the hat for a hundred-dollar bill.
He and Emily hopped into the backseat of a small Toyota. He recognized the symbol from commercials.
The seats were more plastic than he was accustomed to, but they headed off and the car drove smooth.
Emily breathed a little deeper as they headed onto the highway and then went inland.
The scenery changed as they left the beach area. Houses looked more, well, dirty.
Condos didn’t glisten beneath the sun. Here, the mostly cement buildings looked older and rundown.
They stopped in front of a cement building where all the cars were parked outside, in spots marked with yellow lines. Emily opened her own door. He hopped out with her and asked, “Where are we?”
She nodded at the driver and then waited on the sidewalk. “My apartment. You have to tell the app your destination when you order the car, and I didn’t change it.”
He glanced up at the twenty-floor cement condo building probably built in the late 1970s or early 1980s. This would have no view of the beach or the ocean at all. He walked to the lobby door and pointed inside. “Let’s go.”
Axel opened the door and held it for her. She joined him and tapped his arm. “You don’t have to come up.”
“I’ve always been curious.”
She
walked with him toward the elevator, ignoring the front desk staff, who also ignored her, as they were on their phones.
If something happened here, she wouldn’t have much protection. He took off his cap while they rode the rather hot elevator with no air.
On the tenth floor, they got off and she led him to a door that was made for a slightly shorter person. He didn’t say anything--yet Emily pressed her lips together and said, “Your house is a mansion.”
Without another word, she unlocked first the upper bolt and then the knob, using her shoulder to push the door open. She motioned for him to enter and he stepped onto the yellow-with-flowers linoleum that belonged to a different century. A light above had a chandelier holder but no crystal prisms. A bare white bulb hung from the center of a fixture in the entryway that he had to push aside to get in. He studied her green and yellow couch that seemed to be the same era as the floor. “And yours is… small.”
Emily's pretty ears turned crimson with embarrassment and she ran into her bedroom in a hurry. “I told you. Most of my furniture was donated from my mother’s friends and they’re all old. Feel free to look around.” Within moments, Emily returned. She hadn't changed her clothes--sparkly heels with jeans and her white shirt, since she'd never gotten into her hot pink bridesmaid's dress, so it was a mystery as to what she’d done in there. She waved for him to move toward the front door. “Let’s go to the grocery store now.”
Hmm. Instead, he pushed open her bedroom door and saw the brown carpet and small room that was about the size of a prison cell. He stared at the bed. “One minute.”
“Why?” She followed him back in.
Nothing seemed touched, but he motioned into the room and asked, “You sleep in a twin bed?”
She crossed her arms defiantly.“Yeah. It takes up less room-- I don’t bring guys home.”
He wrapped his arms around her and every cell was on fire to keep her though their differences became even more apparent. He dropped his hands to her hips. “Why? You’re beautiful.”
She didn’t look at him as she stuck out her chin. “I’m not. Linsey is.”
Was she jealous of her sister? He kissed her cheek, hoping she understood every word and believed him when he said, “I knew your sister before I met you and never thought that about her. You are beautiful and I’ll never forget your face or how you fit in my arms, Emily Wilson.”
Secret Bridesmaid Page 11
