Every part of her soul screamed she wanted to stay in his arms. However her heart buzzed too. She closed her eyes but before he kissed her, she asked, “Do you love me?”
“I might.” He tugged her the last inch closer.
She held him tight as he kissed her and she didn’t want this feeling to ever end.
This was the last time. The intensity of her dreams and hopes were all tied together with the electrictity in her body.
He ended the hard kiss and she let her arms fall to her sides.
Emily wanted to bring him to her bed and rip his clothes off. But she needed to be responsible. She needed to love herself. So she stepped back, opened the door and said, “I wish I hadn’t done so much damage and I wish I could go with the flow, but I can’t. Bye.”
He walked out and waved his goodbye. Tears formed in her eyes as she closed the door.
This was the right thing to do. They had no future. All they had were memories, but the tears on her cheeks stung.
His pretend wife was because of a stalker. Today they needed security and his driver to get them to safety, from a grocery store. This wasn’t the life for her and they both knew it. Reality shone in her face today. Emily needed to protect her heart from impossible dreams.
Axel’s entire body felt tight. He’d changed back into his suit when he’d reached home and now walked across the street of mansions toward Peter’s house.
Once, as a boy, when their father had been alive, Axel had wanted more than anything to live in this house, with his mother and brothers.
That had been a horrible fantasy.
Peter, John and Vicki had no good stories. Axel had been better off in Paris and New Orleans and the movie studios and later on, his music tours. But that only made what had just happened with Emily worse.
He’d never had a home. He’d never had a woman he wanted to spend his days with. And tomorrow, his life returned to the boring monotony that he’d lived through since Catherine turned up, alive and well.
He hurried inside, and the silence was the first clue that something was wrong.
He headed right outside and toward the tent filled with guests eating appetizers and drinking, many not in their seats.
Was the wedding on or off?
He glanced around and finally saw Linsey as she made her way through the throng.
Shouldn’t she be with Jennifer? She brushed his arm while she waved for another drink. “Axel, there you are.”
Right now, he couldn’t make heads or tails of this situation.
And the numbness inside his body grew. If Emily had stayed, maybe he’d think and react better.
Linsey ordered a white wine. He turned toward her and asked, “What’s going on?”
Linsey stared at him like he was from another planet. She honestly looked nothing like her sister. Emily was soft and sweet and kind in her smiles. Linsey was all bone and sharp angles and nothing about her seemed remotely nice. She sipped her wine like she was holding her tongue for dramatic effect and then finally said, “Belle’s in the office with Peter, and another woman.”
He jerked backward. His family was in the house, which meant he should be too. “What other woman?”
Linsey shrugged and took another small sip--enjoying holding information. “I don’t know her name. Rumor is that it’s Belle and Peter who brought her here. She came with Emily’s security guard.”
Right. Emily’s job had been to spy on this wedding. His feet pivoted toward the exit but he stopped himself and asked one more question, “Where is Jennifer?”
Linsey sniffed disdainfully and then glanced around to make sure they weren't overheard. “She ran to the bridal suites and hasn’t come out. So, the bridesmaids and I decided to enjoy the free alcohol with the guests.”
That was probably a sign the wedding was a no-go. He nodded his goodbye. “Thanks, Linsey. I need to see my brothers.”
She grabbed his arm and held him in place. “Oh. Well, I thought you were with my sister and that’s why you were both gone.”
His face was hot. If Emily was here, he might be happy. Maybe. But she was right that they were from two different worlds. He untangled his arm from Linsey's grip. “I was. She’s home now.”
“She’s home?” Linsey followed him toward the door.
Axel realized his heart ached because he'd lost Emily. In time, maybe he’d forget whatever had happened. But for now, he wished she was still here, when he knew that was silly. He couldn't make her want to be with him. “Yeah, I just dropped her off at her apartment.”
Linsey’s eyebrows were so sharp that when she raised them they turned into razor blades of judgment. “So, things didn’t work between you two?”
If Belle and Peter had another fallout, he needed to be there for his brother. There was no telling what might happen. He took another step and this time she didn’t follow. “I have to go, Linsey.”
She rolled her eyes like she disapproved of him., “Fine. I have to tell Mom to check on Emily now.”
As he walked out of the tent and back toward the mansion, his shoulders pressed down. He slumped in the way he’d done whenever he’d visited the makeshift grave of his sister’s in Paris. Fate had brought Catherine back but today he wasn’t depressed because of his sister’s death. For a while now he’d been empty in his soul and hadn’t known that if he found Emily, until he had, that she’d fill that void.
This was all about Emily.
And how his arms ached to hold her still. He dutifully made his way into the family quarters of the mansion, and immediately saw his brothers grouped together, while his mother and sister were outside on a balcony talking. He couldn't help but notice that most of his male relative had wives.
Axel was all by himself. This shouldn’t bother him, though the memory of Emily dancing with him yesterday flashed in his mind. He blinked and it was gone.
"Hey, Galen," he said. "What's happening now?"
Galen's brown eyes brightened in greeting as he clasped hands with his wife, Natalie. “From what we understand the woman with Belle is a surrogate.”
Natalie sported a short bob which was a new style that Axel liked. Almost nine months ago, Jennifer had stolen Peter’s sperm and they all thought she’d been fertilized on accident. Galen had slept with Jennifer the night before all of this drama but in the end had discovered Natalie. All the past ran in his mind fast. “What surrogate?”
Damien, who'd always been the devil may care rebel until he met his wife, now nodded like he was the responsible one. “She’s having Belle and Peter’s baby. We’re wondering if Galen might be the father after all, though he used protection.”
Oh no. No wonder everyone looked concerned. “What kind of protection?”
“A condom, so he should be fine.” Natalie offered Galen a bottle of water. He kissed her cheek and then Natalie left to talk with the other ladies. Axel wished Emily was here too.
Galen's phone dinged, and he read the text with wide eyes. Everyone quieted and took seats around an oval table. Galen said, “I have news from Rafe.”
Mitch looked like their father when he asked somberly, “What news?”
Galen shook his head like he didn’t believe his own words. “Jennifer isn’t having Peter’s baby at all. She stole the fertilized egg, not just his sperm, and she paid another woman to have the baby.”
“What?” Axel drummed his fingers on the tabletop.
This sounded surreal.
Galen read his text again and said, “She stashed the woman into a paid apartment and took care of all her living and medical expenses because this woman was having Peter’s baby away this whole time. Jennifer had been paying for her every need and detail of Ashley’s life, including doctor’s appointments.”
Axel’s mind swirled. He didn’t understand entirely. “But she’s clearly pregnant and had a genetic test done months ago.”
“That was inconclusive.” Galen read his next text and then put his phone down as he said, “And she used
the woman’s genetic test to prove Peter was the father.”
“But Jennifer is clearly pregnant.” Axel repeated himself. How was it possible for anyone to steal sperm or fertilized eggs?
Galen nodded. “We don’t know who the father of her baby is.”
There were no words.
Damien scowled. “Luke thinks the baby Jennifer is having might be Anthony’s, as he claims, so they are running tests.”
Well, that would relieve Galen. Axel nodded and finally said, “This only happens on television shows.”
“Too risque for a kid's show, like you had, and not plausible for one of Matthew’s movies. Maybe one of Jennifer's telenovelas she first starred in.” Mitch patted him on the back. “But we don’t know for sure. We have to wait for DNA confirmation. Belle’s firm uncovered a lot but the tests will conclude everything.”
“What about the woman having Peter and Belle’s baby?”
“She’s at the hospital too.” Galen said.
Somehow with Jennifer anything was possible. Axel stood. Being with his family just made him think about Emily, so he saluted his brothers like a man on a mission and said, “I’m going to talk to Jennifer.”
“Why?” Galen asked.
Axel spoke in a stream of consciousness that he shouldn’t have when he said, “She kicked Emily out of the wedding, and now Emily is gone--she had her reasons.”
“Oh.” Galen pointed toward the door and asked, “Do you want us to go with you?”
This was something he needed to handle. Emily had wanted him and almost gone with him until this wedding. Now he needed to hear what Jennifer had done, because Emily had blamed herself for hurting Jennifer, when it was obvious that her firm, and her job, had uncovered important truths. She’d thought Jennifer was nice, but that clearly was another lie. He pushed his thick, blond hair behind his ears and shrugged. “No, I can handle Jennifer.”
“Be careful, Axel,” Galen cautioned.
Axel stopped at the door and turned toward the room. This was his family. Everyone in this room mattered to him. He’d do anything for them. Axel met Mitch’s gaze as he said, “If something happens, get me.”
Emily hadn’t said she wished they were in love, but a lot of her doubts were about betraying Jennifer. She hadn’t said it, but her part of possibly reuniting Peter and his wife, Belle, wasn’t seen by her as a good deed. He’d been so angry in that moment when honestly he should have kissed her harder.
She hated the person she'd become if she accepted his world and maybe didn’t see that money can also be used for good.
The thought crossed his mind that he should have told her how he appreciated her more, but even then that might not have been enough. Somehow he should have shown how he could use the money for good too. He knocked on the door leading to the bridal suite.
The door unlocked.
He stepped in and saw Jennifer in a pale blue maternity dress and sandals rather than a white gown. Of all the lies she'd told, she was definitely pregnant. He pointed toward a pair of empty chairs, away from her Gucci black luggage with wheels she had on the table. “Jennifer?”
She let out a long sigh and followed him. She held a bottle of water between her hands like it was a weapon as she took the seat next to him. “What do you want?”
Want? Somehow to not think about Emily. He coughed and refused to say that. He’d find out about his brother, so he said, “The truth.”
Jennifer wiped her puffy eyes. “About what?”
Galen. Peter. Even Anthony mattered though he didn’t know him well. They were all his blood and brothers stick together. He folded his hands over his knee to take charge of this conversation. “Were you hiding Peter and Belle’s surrogate?”
Jennifer’s hands were clutched at her sides and she stared at the chandelier. The ceiling had been painted to look like the sky. “She wouldn’t even be pregnant if not for me.”
Peter and Belle had a plan to get Belle pregnant, not that he knew the details, or if they ever discussed a surrogate or not. “What are you talking about?”
Jennifer stopped crying and met his gaze now, staring at him like she’d been misunderstood. “Ashley needed money, fast. I wanted to give Peter his child. The lab was going to throw away Belle’s fertilized egg because she never showed up for her appointment. So, I made sure that dream of Peter’s didn’t die and acted fast.”
And Jennifer monitored the clinic that closely? If Belle and Peter hadn’t shown up for a procedure, that was absolutely their business. He scooted closer and kept his voice low so she’d tell him more as he asked, “Why didn’t you have the baby yourself then and avoid all this drama?”
“My figure. That was so stupid in hindsight.” Her chin quivered but then she took a deep breath and stared at her lap. “At the time, I intended to just disappear and show up with the baby in my arms. But when I found out I was pregnant, for real, I wanted to have both babies. When the time came, I had a plan all set for how I’d disappear and reappear with both.”
Jennifer’s voice sounded defeated. Maybe this was why Emily had acted so guilty--her natural compassion, her ability to feel everything. He lowered his head to not frighten Jennifer. “Is Anthony the father of your baby, then?”
She scooted out of her chair with awkward movements because of her large belly. “Yeah, probably. That’s why you’re here, talking to me.” She nodded with understanding. “Galen used a condom.”
Axel stood up and wished he had some way to make Emily appear and for them to forget this afternoon. But that was stupid. He walked beside Jennifer as she returned to packing her suitcase. “And Anthony knows all this?”
“He’s mad at me.” She zipped her bag closed.
The clothes and one flower she put on the top before she closed the bag meant she wanted to remember today. Once he lost sight of the pink rose, he said, “Emily ended things with me, so I get how you feel.”
Jennifer patted his cheek. “If she loved you like I love Peter, she’d have stayed.”
She then tried to get her bag down, but he helped her with it as he said, “I don’t want her to love me like you love Peter.”
A small laugh escaped her lips. She took the handle of her suitcase as she said, “Then she was smart to protect herself. I wish I knew how to win Peter back.”
No. That conversation would alienate him from his family. And if Jennifer would leave the Morgans alone, everyone would be better off. He hoped Jennifer understood that. “He’s with Belle right now.”
She avoided his gaze and reached for the door as she said, “I’m leaving out the servant’s entrance. Belle can use my dress that I never wore.”
None of that would matter. Jennifer and Anthony needed to talk. Peter and Belle were probably making up, but Belle had her own style and personality. He held the door for Jennifer as he said, “She won’t want it.”
She shrugged and gave him a sad smile. “You’re probably right. Have a good tour and I hope you and Emily both find the people you’re supposed to love and be with.”
Axel’s stomach churned. Emily. She’d broken things off because they didn’t fit together. They both understood that, but she chose her life alone rather than a chance with him. And besides, she'd never said she loved him.
Maybe that was the bee sting that bothered him.He waved at Jennifer. “Emily was right about you. You’re not that bad.”
“Well, I’m glad we cleared that up.” She wiped a tear off her cheek.
Emily would probably try to comfort. That thought spurred him to call out, “Anthony will find you.”
She turned around and waved to him like this was also a forever goodbye. “I’ll deal with him later, if he shows up.”
If Emily was pregnant, he’d never leave her alone either. She probably wasn’t as they were both careful, but he told Jennifer’s back, “Good luck.”
“You too.” She didn’t turn around.
A moment later she was gone. He should be happy. He needed to tell his family ab
out this conversation, but the ghost of Emily seemed to follow him.
He returned to the large living area, and his brothers. If Emily had said she loved him, he’d have never let her go. But wishes were just that and he’d have to use the pent up sadness inside him to write a new song. Maybe if he wrote them he’d figure out what he felt. Perhaps he’d dedicate his next album to Emily’s face, which burned brightly in his mind. Maybe then he’d find a way to move on.
Emily Wilson caught a glance of herself in the mirror on her way to the door and froze—she’d forgotten to brush her hair and a huge tangled knot stuck out from the side.
Today she planned on quitting her job, but she didn’t need to look like she’d barely survived a hurricane either. She turned around but the silence of her apartment jarred at her.
Last night she hadn’t slept well, but that didn’t matter.
She needed change. She’d never take a job where she had to betray the man she loved.
She brushed her hair and the thought hit her hard.
There was nothing she could do to fix anything. She’d loved and lost because she’d made bad choices.
Now she had to face herself in the mirror. She put the hairbrush down. She’d go to her office, type out her resignation letter and get her resume in order.
There had to be something out there that she could do for work with her management degree, and someway forget Axel Morgan. Or she could go to school and finish the Master of Finance program she’d started.
As she stepped into her lobby, she heard the radio at the desk playing one of Axel’s songs.
Her body tensed and she rushed to her car.
She took a deep breath and then started her engine. Luckily, Axel’s people had knocked on her door last night with the keys and a gift receipt with no numbers, to return her Chevy.
Axel’s kindness was another reason she loved him.
Emily flipped on her radio but Axel’s voice startled her rather than soothed on her morning ride. She turned it off and headed to work in silence.
In traffic, she stared at the fenders of the cars in front of her and when she checked her rearview mirror, the hoods of cars behind her. Monotonous and boring.
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