HERO (The Complete Series)

by Bella Love-Wins

He decided right then—if Alexandra didn’t fill him in within two days, he would confront her. It couldn’t be any worse than watching her leave with this new wall she had erected.

  Chapter 7

  SEBASTIAN drove downtown with Alexandra to the construction company around midmorning the next day. So far, it had been uncomfortable for the past few days. They barely talked to one another, but now that he committed to confronting her, at least an end was in sight. In the close quarters of his Jeep, he turned on the charm to get her to loosen up a bit. It was obvious she had doubts about staying at his place, which easily explained why she made herself so scarce. Hell, he was rethinking it too.

  Somehow, the question of exes entered their strained conversation, and he had to ask. “So are you telling me it was so bad that you would rather have a one-night stand instead of going out on one date with your most recent ex?”

  Alexandra squealed with horrified laughter. “That’s so messed up, Bash! Hmmm. Let me think. You know what? That’s easy. If I had to choose, I’d pick the one-night stand. My ex is such a douche—d-d-delusional broad, I mean!”

  “Delusional broad? Does anyone say ‘broad’ anymore?”

  “What? I like it, and delusional fits. If you ever met my ex, you’d completely get it.”

  “Okay, I guess,” he said, shaking his head. “Well you’re lucky we don’t have time to get into it. That’s the building up there at the next corner.”

  Sebastian found a parking spot and turned off the engine.

  “Well, this is it. Are you ready?”

  Still giggling, Alexandra hopped out of the vehicle as Sebastian walked around to the sidewalk. She shielded her eyes and gazed up at the towering corporate office.

  “Wow, that’s big,” she murmured.

  “Yes, but, don’t let the size intimidate you. This contractor’s rates are reasonable, and I’m pretty sure they can handle your timetable and get things started before Max gets released from the hospital. These guys are good.”

  He pointed the way and motioned for her to go in through the revolving door at the front of the building. His eyes kept straying to her. Alexandra had this uncanny way of holding his attention. He was not sure how much of that allure had to do with the forbidden nature of their attraction while she was busy trying to pull off being a guy.

  I’ll find out soon enough.

  He pulled out the business card from his wallet to confirm the floor they needed to go to, and led Alexandra to the elevator bay. The two of them slipped inside before the elevator doors closed.

  Alexandra turned to look up at him. “I don’t mean to get all sentimental on you, but I want to tell you as I’ll be leaving soon. I feel lucky to have a friend like you…”

  For a moment, their eyes locked. She seemed like she was so open.

  This is a weird place for her to confess, but whatever.

  Instead, she said, “Thanks for helping me find a contractor. I’d probably still be calling on less than qualified handymen right now if it wasn’t for you. You know how much guys hate asking for help.”

  The elevator dinged on their floor, and the doors slid open. “It’s women who think that, Alex,” he said, giving her a nudge on the arm so she would step off. “I won’t speak for every guy, but I prefer to figure things out on my own if I can. I don’t mind asking for help when I need to.”

  She had no response, not even a nod. Shaking his head he ushered Alexandra to the suite. Without thinking, he opened the door and stood aside for her to go inside.

  Alexandra did not skip a beat, and entered, until she realized he had held the door for her the way he would for a woman. Looking back, she flashed him a glare. “Thanks bud. You know I can get my own doors, right?”

  He walked in behind her. “It’s not a big deal, but I get it. After all, how else are you gonna build up those pecs if you don’t open your own—”

  Sebastian’s jaw dropped and he stopped dead in his tracks just inside the office.

  What in the hell is she doing here?

  Aileen stood at the front desk of the construction company’s office. Aileen, the cheating married woman who played him like a fiddle until that phone call over Christmas, was here.

  Alexandra turned to him and quickly noticed his reaction. Sebastian looked back and forth between the two of them. He instantly wanted to turn and leave, but that was not an option. Alexandra needed this contractor to get the restoration work started. Gritting his teeth, he stood his ground and waiting for his ex to notice them.

  Aileen threw her hands to her face and shrieked in surprise when she finally looked up. “Sebastian? Sebastian Sullivan!” she squealed. The waiting area of Ward & Baron Construction was a small space. Thankfully there were no other clients waiting around, but Aileen’s animated greeting made Alexandra’s head snap toward her at lightning speed. Sebastian forced a polite smile and hoped for the best.

  Alexandra was now the one looking back and forth between the two of them, curious as ever. Before Sebastian could explain—hell, before Alexandra could even formulate the right questions to ask—Aileen sashayed from behind the desk and positioned herself between him and Alexandra. She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed his jaw seductively, making it clear what kind of history they had. The realization dawned on Alexandra’s face.

  Now she has to know I’m straight.

  “How nice to see you, Bash!” Aileen gushed, pulling out of the embrace and now wrapping her arms around his waist. “This is such a surprise.”

  At the flash of Aileen’s wedding band, Sebastian got angry all over again at something that happened over seven months ago.

  Fuck.

  Forcing a smile, he pushed down the involuntary reaction and pulled himself from her clingy grasp.

  “Yes, definitely a surprise. What are you doing here, Aileen?”

  “I work here, honey. I started a few months ago.”

  “Great.” Remembering his manners, he added, “Aileen, this is my friend Alex. Alex, this is, Aileen…someone I used to know.”

  Aileen tossed her glistening honey blonde hair and barely looked over her shoulder toward Alexandra, as though the person who walked in with Sebastian was irrelevant.

  “Is that all I am to you? Someone you used to know? Don’t say it like that, baby. Unless you mean you knew me in the biblical sense, in which case, yes you did.” She pressed her hands on his chest and popped up on her tiptoes to whisper, “You knew me very well,” for only him to hear.

  Sebastian took a step back. Over Aileen’s shoulder, he saw Alexandra staring at the back of Aileen’s head with something more than annoyance. She was obviously pissed as hell, but, the minute she noticed him looking at her, she strained a pleasant smile.

  “Bash, what impeccable taste you have,” Alexandra said.

  It was such a catty, feminine response that Sebastian was sure Alexandra had forgotten she was still playing her Alex Roberts role. He could not tell if she was upset at finding out he was not gay, or if she was simply reacting to the way Aileen ignored her.

  Aileen chuckled and did a half-turn. “Oh, you’re so cute! What are you, in college or something? Way to use your SAT words, kid.” She turned back to Sebastian. “Who’s your little friend, Bash?”

  Embarrassed, Sebastian grimaced. “As I said, this is Alex. We’re looking for Gerald Campbell, and we’re kind of in a hurry, here. Is he available?”

  “Aww, babe,” she pouted, “Mr. Campbell is at a job site. You just missed him, but he’ll be back in an hour. You two should wait here for him. We can catch up on old times.”

  “I’d rather not. We’ll come back to see him.”

  “I haven’t seen you in months, Bash. What have you been up to?” She pushed closer and dropped her voice, but not enough for Alexandra to miss what she was saying. “You stopped taking my calls, baby. I figured you blocked my number or something. I’ve missed you, Bash.”

  Sebastian didn’t bother to confirm Aileen’s statement. When he put Ail
een out of his life, he had intended it to be for good. It was just bad luck that they ran into each other today.

  He stepped toward the door. “We have to go now. Come on, Alex.”

  Aileen ran back to the front desk. “Wait, let me give you his new card. Phone his cell number. He has the afternoon open and can meet you in person if you need an estimate.” She scribbled something down on the back and, with a wink, flirtatiously tucked it into the pocket on the front of Sebastian’s shirt. “Make sure you don’t lose my number again, honey.”

  Alexandra rolled her eyes and marched through the door in front of him.

  Sebastian took the card out of his pocket and passed it right back to Aileen. “Thanks, but no thanks. I already have his card, so I can phone his cell. Hey, how’s your husband been lately?”

  He could not resist the reminder before he turned to leave after Alexandra. A genuine smile rose up on his face at the uncomfortable glimmer in Aileen’s eyes.

  “He’s fine,” she said nervously. “Thanks for asking.”

  Sebastian nodded and walked out. He found Alexandra waiting at the elevator bay. The awkwardness rapidly presented itself on the elevator and when they made their way to his car. Once inside, he turned on the radio to drown out the silence. He looked over at Alexandra before starting the car. She was her staring out the window.

  “I can phone the contractor when we get back to the house if you’d like. If you prefer, there are other companies we can try. You don’t need to wait for this one.”

  She turned to him, eyes squinted as though confused. “I know I’m prying, but what was up with that chick?”

  “Remember the married person I told you about? The person I told you did a number on me?” She nodded. “Yeah, that was her.”

  “Her?”

  “Yes. Why?”

  “I don’t know. I just assumed you were talking about a…” She trailed off and shrugged. “She did not fit the profile of what I had in mind.”

  “Really? What profile is that?”

  “Never mind. I mean, I guess I can see why you liked her.”

  He knew what Alexandra assumed. She had no idea Sebastian let her assume whatever she wanted to. In fact, he may have stirred the pot a bit, letting her think he was gay, but that was her assumption to begin with. Coming on to her while she was playing Alex Roberts was his only shot at getting to know the girl next door, and he was not going to apologize for that. Now, Alexandra pulled away even more with each mile on the drive home.

  “She’s pretty hot if you go for that kind of thing,” Alexandra said softly when they pulled up to the house.

  “She’s a lot of things, most of them are not that great. I hope you know I didn’t expect to see her there.”

  “Yes. That part was pretty clear.”

  He found himself hesitating. “It brings back a lot of bad memories, but that’s neither here nor there. Aileen Gales is out of my life. You’d probably feel the same way if you bumped into one of your exes.”

  Sebastian climbed out of the Jeep and waited for Alexandra out of habit, but she pushed past him and headed next door.

  “I have to check on some things,” she called over her shoulder.

  “Okay. I’ll search for a few other contractor details so you can pick the one you prefer.”

  “Thanks. See you later.” She waved him off.

  It’s official.

  My secret’s out, and she is not too happy about it.

  Let’s see if she’ll come clean now.

  Chapter 8

  ALEXANDRA was steaming. Bursting through the door of Dad’s house, she took some satisfaction from slamming it behind her. The noise echoed through the emptiness, making quite the racket.

  “Damn it, damn it, damn it!”

  She stomped past the mirror in the hallway and looked at herself. Her face was flush and her eyebrows furrowed from the mental exertion of wrestling a crazy jumble of thoughts and emotions that made absolutely no sense anymore. She clenched her eyes shut, picturing the vixen at the construction company office with her mid-level salon hair and breast implants.

  She is Bash’s ex-girlfriend?

  Why am I angry?

  A small voice in the back of her mind answered. Alexandra was falling for him. Sebastian Sullivan was now in league with the most conniving, most infuriating men she knew, except he was also the sweetest, sexiest, funniest guy she had gotten to know too. There really was nothing bad she could say about him. She was the problem. She was flat out wrong.

  It’s not like he tricked me.

  Shit, I’m still mad as hell.

  She tried to convince herself that most infuriating part was she had been so close to telling him who she was.

  She sucked in a miserable breath. That was not true. She wanted to tell him, but had caved every time. She sat on the bottom step, running an anxious hand through her hair.

  This is all on me.

  Looking back now, she realized she had probably ignored all the hints from Dad and Rosa that Bash was straight, simply because it was convenient. It fit better into her situation. She saw it clearly—she had projected what she wanted onto the situation. Bash was not remotely interested in Alex. He was just a nice, friendly next-door neighbor, and comfortable enough in his manhood to hang out with Alex Roberts.

  I’m the fraudulent one.

  I should be mad at myself.

  The anger turned quickly to embarrassment. One thing was clear—Sebastian Sullivan was not gay. Now she needed to think about how best to move forward. The simplest next step would have been to confess who she was right now, and hope he understood her reasons. She also considered waiting for Eva to show up for emotional support.

  Either way, he might think I was playing him for a fool.

  Groaning with angst, she got to her feet and began to pace the hallway. The image of Bash’s ex-girlfriend played on her mind, and a third option surfaced.

  I might as well keep up the Alex Roberts act.

  I’m not his type anyway. I’m nothing like Aileen.

  For a moment, it felt like the best option, and all Bash would know after she left for LA was that Alex Roberts went back home to his boring job as a bartender.

  I can disappear into obscurity and forget this craziness ever happened.

  Thinking honestly, that was not what she wanted. Bash had become a friend, in a murky, complicated, unusual way. The problem was still how to come clean. It was bound to squeeze the life out of that very friendship.

  How can I expect him to feel anything but contempt for me after this?

  * * *

  Alexandra fired off a text when she returned to Bash’s place and got up to the guestroom.

  ‘The plan is off, Eva. We’re not telling Bash about my real identity.’

  She sat cross-legged on the bed with her laptop, grimly pulling up her flight plans. There was no point making an appearance as Lexxi anymore. She could keep her original flight back to LA and forget about the chaos of the past month.

  Bash called through the door before Eva answered her text. “Alex? A courier just dropped off a package for you.”

  Crap. My wig.

  She jumped to her feet, crossing the room to fling the door open.

  “Thanks!” she said to him, pulling the box from his hands.

  “You don’t have to stay cooped up in here, you know?”

  “Yes, I know that,” she said with a curt tone. “I’m just organizing a few things.”

  “Got it.” Bash took a step back. “Did I do something to tick you off, bro?”

  Before she could answer, her phone buzzed. Both of their gazes darted back to her smartphone on the edge of the bed. She grimaced, hoping Bash could not see Eva’s face and phone number light up the screen. She rushed over to the phone and flipped the screen off.

  “Oh, is it your harassing ex who’s killing your mood?” Bash asked, still gesturing to the phone.

  “Sure,” she answered. Wilkes came to mind at first, and t
hen the unforgettable image of Aileen plastered all over Bash snuck back in.

  “Well, none of us can change the past,” he said. “The upside is, you can choose who you keep in your life and who you let go.”

  What if I don’t want to let you go?

  Bash shut the guestroom door behind him, and Alexandra grabbed her phone to call back Eva before her chaotic shooting schedule pulled her away again. She hit redial and pressed it to her ear, feeling regretful.

  “What do you mean we’re not telling him,” Eva said as soon as she answered. “I’m already in—”

  “Thank goodness you called me back right away. I was worried I’d have to text it all out to you.”

  “Text what to me? What happened?”

  “Ugh! Where do I start? Let’s just say I got solid evidence today that Bash is definitely not gay, and Lexxi Rock isn’t remotely his type. He likes his women blonde and buxom with large breasts.”

  Her best friend gave her a tawdry whistle. “Blonde with big boobs? Not a bad combination, but who cares what she looks like? They aren’t together, are they?”

  “No.”

  “That’s what matters. Lexxi, darling, just start from the beginning and tell me everything.”

  Alexandra relayed the story of running into Aileen, and concluded with, “So, you don’t have to come out here anymore, Eva. I’ll be back in LA before you make the trip. Plus, there’s no point in telling him now. I’ll only look like an idiot, especially since he knows I thought he was gay.”

  “Wait, he knows you thought he was gay? Lexxi, do you get what that means?”

  “What?”

  “Well on top of sounding utterly crazy, it means all this time, Sebastian has been trying to clue you in. He already knows you’re a woman!” she said excitedly.

  Alexandra clutched the phone to her ear, trying to piece it together in her head, but not following at all. “Eva, what in the hell are you talking about? What does his knowing I thought he was gay have to do with that?”

  Eva let out a long breath. “Isn’t it obvious? You told me that since you’ve been back home, Bash has been extra-chummy, extra-touchy feely and extra-available, right?”