by Claire Adams
I tapped a pen against a stack of papers at the side of my desk. “Renée hired a private investigator to dig into Lexi's background,” I told my sister. “Lexi apparently has a criminal record that I didn't know about. For fraud.” I threw the pen across the room. “How could I have been so stupid? I didn't even bother to look into her background. I had no idea what I was getting myself into. I just went along with everything that she was saying.”
“Did you ask her about the conviction?” Katherine asked, sounding surprised. “Maybe there was a good reason behind it. I mean, not that there's ever a good reason for committing fraud, but if she was trying to, I don't know, help Emma and she thought that that was the only way to do it, then at least it would make sense.”
“This was before Emma came along,” I said grimly. “And that's not the whole story. Renée also got the guy to do a paternity test. Emma isn't mine. Lexi was conning me all along.”
Katherine was silent for a moment, and then she started laughing. “Seriously, Andrew?” she asked, sounding as though she was beside herself.
“Katherine, it's not funny,” I snapped. “I have enough people trying to weasel me out of millions. It was a great scheme, I suppose, but the jig's up now. It's over. And although I didn't tell her to pack her bags, I'm glad that she realizes that it's over and is going to get out of there. I'm staying in a hotel for the meantime.”
“Andy, you idiot,” Katherine said, her voice gone soft. “Forget your feelings for a moment. Think of this as though it were a business deal. If one of Orinoco's competitors showed up at your office and offered you information on a company that you were interested in acquiring, telling you that that company was crap and that you were wasting your time, you'd question their information and their motives, wouldn't you?”
“Of course I would,” I snapped.
“Even if it was legal-looking, all nicely typed-up with tables and graphs,” Katherine said.
“What are you getting at?” I asked.
“That's exactly what Renée did,” Katherine said. “She came to your work with the goal of convincing you that her rival wasn't worth your time. But you're so worried about things not working out with Lexi that you started to wonder if maybe Renée's information was right.”
“Lexi and Renée aren't rivals,” I said firmly. “And Renée knows that. She said that she respects that we aren't in a relationship anymore and that we are never getting back together. She said so, in as many words. Your whole argument is invalid.”
“Of course, Renée was going to say that,” Katherine said gently. “Because she couldn't very well say that she was there to try to win you back, could she? You would never have listened to her if she had put it that way.”
“She said she was just trying to look out for me because we'd been friends long before we started dating one another,” I said. “Friends do that sort of thing, looking out for one another.” I knew saying this out loud, made me sound stupid, but at the time I had believed her.
Katherine laughed again. “I don't know what's funnier, you calling Renée a friend, or your insistence that she was just looking out for you. She managed to destroy your relationship, the thing that made you the happiest that I've ever seen you, all in one night. And the two of you were never friends.”
“We've known each other for a long time,” I maintained stubbornly.
“And Renée has only ever been self-motivated and petty,” Katherine said. She sighed. “Are you really telling me that there's nothing about this that seems weird to you? Like how she managed to get a paternity test at all? Where the hell did she get Emma’s DNA, you moron? And don’t you feel the least bit guilty at how much you’ve upset Lexi?”
The truth was, I did feel guilty. I hated the idea of Lexi packing up her bags, almost as much as I'd hated sleeping on my own the previous night. But I couldn't let my feelings get in the way of what I knew to be a logical decision.
“Even if I throw out the evidence that Renée gave me, doesn't it say something about Lexi's and my relationship that I even considered the evidence to be true?” I asked, putting my head down on the desk.
Katherine was silent for a moment.
“It doesn’t say anything about your relationship with Lexi,” she said. “It says something about you. Your suspicion has always been your biggest flaw. And I understand where that comes from. It's also what makes you such a great businessman. One of the many things that makes you such a great businessman, rather.” She paused. “The thing that you have to remember is that, yes, Renée does know you. I get the feeling that she's been watching you for a lot longer than you think. I think she's had her eyes on you since long before the two of you started dating.”
“She does seem a little obsessed with me,” I admitted. “I actually threatened to get a restraining order if she came near me again.”
“And this is the woman you trust over Lexi?” Katherine asked with a sigh.
I’d never heard her sound so disappointed in me. I had no response.
“A restraining order might be a good idea,” Katherine said. “Although, it'll ruin her family's reputation.”
“I know,” I sighed. “And that's the only reason I haven't had the paperwork drawn up already.”
“Your safety and well-being are more important than her family’s reputation,” Katherine said. “Besides, she had no problem destroying your family. The one you built with Lexi and Emma.”
“We don’t know that they’re my family,” I said.
“Come on, Andrew. If anyone knows how to play you and push your buttons, it’s Renée. She knows what your fears are and how to manipulate you. It doesn't mean that your relationship with Lexi is doomed to fail. You need to learn to trust Lexi more, sure. I don't think you would have let her live in your home for as long as you have if you didn't trust her, though.”
“What am I going to do?” I asked. “She's never going to forgive me, after this.”
“There's still time,” Katherine said confidently. “She hasn't told Emma that they're leaving yet. To be honest, I don't think she knows where they're going to go if they leave. You can still catch them.”
I swallowed hard, a sickening feeling in my gut. “You don't think she's going to hate me, do you?”
“Let her know how bad you feel,” Katherine advised. “And talk things out, explain to her exactly what happened and what you were feeling. Lexi has Emma, and she has to carefully think through every decision that might affect the girl. I'm sure she'll understand your fear and suspicion, better than you might think.”
I nodded my head. “Katherine?” I asked, sensing that she was about to hang up.
“Yeah?” she asked.
“Thanks,” I said quietly. I hung up with her and quickly dialed Janice's number. I needed a favor.
Chapter Thirty-Five
Lexi
I stared listlessly down at our suitcases, trying to think if there was anything that I'd forgotten to pack that we'd need right away. Or ever again, really. I was sure that once we walked out these doors, we were never going to be allowed back into Andrew's mansion again. The thought still made my heart clench.
I had never meant to let Andrew's mansion feel like home, but it had definitely become that way over the time that we'd been living there. It wasn't just that all of Emma's and my things were there. It wasn't just that I had no idea where else we were going to live. No, it had something to do with the fact that Andrew and Emma and I were all there together. It had something to do with lunches and family outings. It had something to do with finally, for the first time in my life, feeling comfortable in a home.
I couldn't believe I had to let that all go.
“But Mama, where are we going?” Emma asked, sounding confused.
It broke my heart to hear her ask that. I didn’t have a good answer.
“We're going to go stay in a hotel for the night,” I said. “Won't that be fun?”
I had been doing some online freelance work recently
, so I could at least afford a couple nights at a motel. It wasn't a long-term solution, but I didn't know what else to do.
I couldn’t stay there. Not after the accusations Andrew had thrown at me. We couldn't go back to Misty's, not now that someone else had moved into the spare bedroom. Although I think Misty would have been fine with Emma and I staying in the living room, that wasn't good for Emma. Besides, I didn't know what her new roommate would think of that idea.
Probably they'd think that you need to get your shit together, a voice in my head whispered snidely.
“Is Daddy going to be at the hotel, too?” Emma asked, sounding scared as she hugged the sloth that Andrew had brought back from London for her, on his first trip away.
I choked back tears and knelt down next to the girl, trying to figure out some way to say this. “Daddy is—” I broke off, tears streaming down my face.
Of course, as soon as Emma saw my tears, she started crying, too. I gathered her into my arms, trying to think of some way to calm her down, but I didn't have it in me to lie again, not that evening.
There we were, standing by the door, waiting for the taxi to come pick us up and drive us to a motel, all because Andrew had somehow become convinced that I was nothing more than a con artist and a gold digger.
If that was really what he thought. I knew I’d done nothing wrong. I’d always told him the truth. I couldn't help but wonder if maybe he'd just gotten bored with us.
It hurt in ways I'd never expected it to. I'd always been panicked about what Emma and I would do if Andrew chose to kick us out, but I'd never really thought about what it would feel like. It felt as though my whole world was crashing down around me. I remembered being out on the boat on Independence Day and thinking about how I just wanted that moment to last forever. What I wouldn't give to have that time back.
Before I could try to explain things to Emma again, the door swung open. Andrew stood there staring at us.
He took a hesitant step inside. In one hand, he held out a bouquet of flowers to me. Yellow roses, my favorite. In the other, he held out an enormous stuffed giraffe to Emma, who squealed in delight. Her mood changed like lightning.
“Why don't you go introduce Giraffe to all your other stuffed friends?” Andrew suggested. Emma nodded enthusiastically and ran off to her room to do just that.
I looked back at Andrew, wondering what to say. “We were just about to leave,” I said, my voice hoarse as I looked toward our suitcases. “There's a car coming.”
Andrew's face went through a complicated set of emotions, and then he actually got down on his knees in front of me. “I know I haven't done anything to deserve it, but please forgive me, Lexi. I'm so sorry about last night. I'm so sorry that I didn't listen to you, and that I didn't trust you. You didn't deserve any of that. I just got scared. I can't believe I was so stupid.”
He took a deep, shaky breath. “That 'evidence' was actually from Renée. I don't know why I didn't suspect that it was fake. She even mentioned that she'd found a private investigator who was willing to go along with a shady scheme that she had, but I didn't listen to my instincts. I let my suspicions get the better of me, even though I know that Emma is my daughter and that you aren't here to con me.”
I was silent, not sure what to make of this. I wanted to believe that he was really sorry, but inside, I felt kind of hollow. I wasn't sure that I'd be able to resume a relationship with him, even if I wanted to. “How do you know that I'm not conning you?” I finally asked. “What changed?”
“I did what I should have done in the first place?” Andrew told me. “God, I was so stupid. I made such a rookie mistake. One that I never should have made. I didn't bother to check my sources. I didn't double-check the so-called evidence. That's something that I should never have done.”
“And now?” I asked.
Andrew grimaced. “I had Janice collect a few hair samples earlier today,” he admitted. “I know that I should have just trusted you, that I shouldn't have even had to check, but I figured for both of us, to let this rest once and for all, I should get the real truth. I paid one of the best paternity test clinics in the city to expedite the results this afternoon. It turns out that that other sample wasn't from Emma at all.”
I started to feel irritated, wondering if he thought he could just jerk me around and play with my feelings. What right did he have to do this to me? And to Emma as well. “Well, I'm glad that you enjoyed playing forensics analyst for the day,” I snapped. “I'd better go figure out where Emma went so we can get out of here.”
“Wait, hear me out,” Andrew pleaded.
“I'm sure you're going to tell me that when you actually had the paternity test done with Emma's hair, you found out that she wasn't your daughter,” I said. “You continue to refuse that you have any sort of responsibilities toward her.”
Actually, I wasn't sure what I wanted to hear: that he had been able to confirm that Emma was actually his daughter, or that she wasn't. At this point, there was no way that he and I were going to be able to stitch up our relationship. So either way. It didn’t matter.
“But it wasn't a mistake,” Andrew said, catching my hand and holding me there. He was still down on his knees, and I could easily have broken his grasp and left, but something kept me standing there, waiting to hear what else he wanted to say. “After contacting people, I was able to find out that the other hair was Renée's. All that other paternity test proved was that I hadn't fathered Renée. And when I did some further digging into your background, I saw that the conviction had also been faked. It was well done. I'm sure she paid a fortune for it, but it wasn't real. I should have listened to you.”
“You should have,” I agreed, staring at a point somewhere over his head. “But you didn't. Now, I think I should be leaving. I'm just going to go get Emma, and then we'll be gone.”
“Wait,” Andrew said again, finally getting up off his knees. He caught both my hands in his, staring intently into my eyes. “Once I figured all this out, I decided on a course of action. I'm punishing Renée indirectly by withdrawing all of the investments that I had in her family's holdings. In addition, I've submitted all the evidence to the police, and she's being charged with fraud, harassment, and stalking, as well as a few other crimes.”
“Am I supposed to be happy about that?” I asked.
“I got a restraining order against her,” Andrew continued earnestly, as though I hadn't spoken. “She'll never be able to meddle in our relationship again. She won't be able to come near any of us. I promise.” He frowned. “Because of her status and her wealth, it's unlikely that she'll actually have to do time for any of this, unfortunately. She's not a danger to the public at large. But there's a big enough scandal already. She won't want to come anywhere near me and risk violating the restraining order. Plus, I have a feeling her family will be keeping a close eye on her after all of this as well.”
“Great,” I said dryly. “I'm glad that you're getting your revenge, but—”
Andrew interrupted me with a kiss. It was totally inappropriate, and I knew that I should be protesting, that I should be fighting my way out of his arms, collecting Emma, and leaving, once and for all.
The logical part of me tried to insist that he had just made a mistake, but that mistake still hurt. And I was terrified to think about what it would feel like the next time things didn't work out between the two of us. I didn't think I could handle that again.
Especially since Emma was already way too attached to him.
But I didn't push Andrew away. In fact, I leaned into him, finding my balance there against the warmth of his chest. I kissed him desperately, my teeth clacking against his and my fingers twisting in the lapels of his shirt. I never wanted to let him go, but eventually, I had to pull away. I ducked my head down, leaning my forehead against his collarbone, still unable to relinquish my grip on the soft fabric of his shirt.
I started to sob, and Andrew's arms came up around me. “Oh, Lexi,” he murmured into m
y hair, laying his cheek alongside the top of my head. He sighed heavily. “I don't know how you're ever going to be able to forgive me. I don't know how I'm ever going to be able to forgive myself.”
He kissed my hair and then continued. “I was scared, to be honest. I'm so deeply and helplessly in love with you. I think that maybe I was looking for something to be wrong, just so that I could get out of this. I'm so scared of being in love that I had to find something wrong with you. Renée played on that fear. She knew exactly what she was doing. I just can't believe that I fell into her trap.” He paused. “I've never had a relationship like this before. I've never had a girlfriend who I loved like I love you.”
I could hardly believe what I was hearing. Did Andrew Goldwright really just tell me that he loved me? In the past twenty-four hours, it felt as though my entire world had been shaken like a snow globe. First, he'd accused me of conning him, and now he was telling me that he loved me. I felt lost.
“What can I do to make it up to you?”
I sniffled, already feeling calmer, the more he talked about the reasons behind his fears. “Am I actually your girlfriend?”
“You have been for a while now,” Andrew said. He looked uncomfortable. “I've actually been thinking of you in my head as being my girlfriend. We should have talked about that a long time ago, and the fact that we didn't was inexcusable. Yet another bout of stupidity on my part.”
I frowned at him. “Do you want this?” I asked. “Emma and I, and everything that comes with having a family? If you don't, you have to let me know. If you don't want to commit, you can't keep stringing me along.”
“I want this,” Andrew said. “I'm terrified, but I want this.”
“And you're never going to see Renée again?” I felt stupid once the words left my mouth, but I supposed I had to ask them.
Andrew didn't seem to mind the question, either. “I'm never going to see her again,” he vowed, cupping my cheek in his palm and stroking his thumb across my cheekbone. He cracked half a smile. “At least she, unlike you, will wind up with a criminal record after this. Maybe we should order a copy of it and then hang it on the wall.”
