by K, S
“So are you,” Lexie replied. “And so handsome.”
Anthony smiled. “Come on, sit down.” He held the chair out for her then quickly sat down next to her. They clasped each other’s hand tightly, not wanting to let go.
"I wasn’t sure you would even want to meet me," Alexis said. "I didn’t want to just barge in and disrupt your life.”
Anthony shook his head fiercely. “Never that. You don't know how much I've been looking forward to this day. And now that it's here, I want you to tell me everything and don't leave out a single detail."
The two talked over breakfast for hours and tried to get caught up on each other’s lives. Alexis showed him a picture of Michael, proudly telling him how smart and talented he was. Anthony showed her a picture of his wife. Alexis could tell he was deeply in love with her.
“When can I meet her?”
“Tomorrow. I’ll be over to pick you up in the morning to bring you to my house. We’ll all spend the day together and of course you’ll stay for dinner. In fact, I really wish you’d check out of this hotel and stay with us.”
“I don’t want to impose.”
"It's no imposition, but it's your decision. Just know the invitation stands. So, are you married?”
Lexie shook her head. “No, I’ve never been married. It’s a long story, but Michael's father and I have found each other again after ten years, and…well...” Alexis blushed and ducked her head.
“You love him don’t you?”
Lexie nodded. “Very much. In fact, he came with me to Las Vegas and I'd love for you to meet him."
“Please. I’d like to meet the man responsible for this glow you have about you."
Alexis smiled and pulled out her phone to call Amir. “Baby. Hi....yes...can you come downstairs to the restaurant? There's someone I'd like you to meet. Okay...bye." She looked over at her Anthony with bright eyes. “He’s on his way.”
“Good. Lex, I am so happy that you’ve had a good life. Not knowing was almost the worse part.”
“I know. The same goes for me. I wondered if you were happy, safe...”
Anthony stared down at his plate for a moment. He didn’t want to go into that now. Maybe later.
Alexis looked over his shoulder and her eyes lit up. Anthony smiled. Yeah, she was definitely in love. He stood up and turned around, anxious to see who made her come alive just by walking into the room.
But when he saw Lexie’s boyfriend, the smile slowly disappeared from his face.
Wait a minute. Hell no!
Amir slowed down as he approached the table. He'd eagerly been studying Alexis’ face to make sure she wasn’t upset, and was relieved with what he saw. Then he saw the man standing beside her and stopped in his tracks. Shock rendered him motionless.
What the hell??
Amir had only seen him once, but that was one time too many. He would never forget his face. The man’s expression displayed the same blatant hostility now that it had then. The arrogant tilt of his head was the same as well, and his light brown eyes clearly conveyed the message that he still didn’t think Amir was shit.
“Baby? Come here.” Alexis took a few steps towards Amir and pulled him to the table. She was unaware of the tension that suddenly filled the atmosphere. Excitement bubbled out of her as the two men whom she loved most in the world met for the first time.
“Amir Montgomery, I’d like you to meet my brother: Dr. Marcus Anthony Bennett.”
Chapter 17
Time seemed to stand still as Amir and Marcus stared at each other in the restaurant. Shock gave way to disbelief and disbelief gave way to memories. Those memories brought out the extreme and utter dislike which bordered on hatred each felt for the other.
“This is your boyfriend??!”
“This is your brother??!”
They both fired the questions to a stunned Alexis at the same time they pointed at each other with deep scowls marring their handsome faces.
In confusion, Alexis looked from one to the other with her mouth open.
“Y-yes,” she said the word and nodded at the same time - to both of them.
Amir scowled at Marcus, looking him up and down with a sneer that curled up the corner of his mouth. Marcus, seeing the look, narrowed his eyes and took a step towards Amir.
The hostility in the air finally hit Alexis. She quickly stepped between the two men, putting a hand on each of their chests. Although they dwarfed her in size, they immediately paused in their intended plans of action which had probably been to beat the other to a bloody, unrecognizable pulp.
“Wait!” she told them, then lowered her voice as noticed the curious faces in the restaurant staring at them. “What is going on here? Do you two know each other?” She looked at them with incredulous eyes.
Marcus answered her in a low, controlled voice. “Something like that.”
“But…I don’t understand. How? How do you know each other?” She continued to look at them, still not trusting either enough to move from between them. The silence between them stretched and lingered. Alexis raised her voice in frustration as neither of them answered her. “Well?!”
“Ummm...excuse me. Is there a problem?” Katie nervously looked at the three of them.
“No. I’m sorry. There’s no problem.” She turned to Marcus and Amir. “Can we sit down please? I have no idea what’s going on here, but we should be able to discuss whatever it is like the adults we are - right?” she asked firmly. The moment she asked the question, Alexis felt like retracting it because right now they were acting worse than kids!
Each reluctantly looked at her then sat down. Katie quietly walked away with a look of relief when she saw that everything seemed to be under control.
“Now, could one of you please…please…tell me what’s going on?”
Amir pulled his eyes away from Marcus and pinned Alexis with a slightly accusing stare. “I thought you said you had a business meeting."
Guilt crossed Alexis' face as her gaze fell away from Amir's. She had received the phone call she’d been praying for several weeks ago. It had come from an agency she'd been working with that helped children torn apart due to adoption find each other. They told her they’d finally located the older brother she'd been separated from when she was three years old. After their parents were killed in a car accident, the siblings had eventually been put in foster homes. Not long after, Alexis was adopted by her mom and dad, but she didn't find out the truth until after they died. She'd been going through some legal documents of theirs and that's when she found the adoption papers.
She reached for Amir’s hand. “I lied to you when I told you this was a business trip. I should've been honest with you; I just didn’t want to come by myself. You already know I'm adopted. I came here specifically to meet my brother. There’s an agency I’ve been going through for the last several years which specialize in reuniting family members separated due to circumstances beyond their control called The Family Connect Agency. After what seems like a lifetime, they finally found Anthony." Her eyes silently pleaded for his understanding. "I hope you're not upset with me."
Amir's jaw tightened, but he couldn't be mad at her for wanting to know who her family was, but…why did it have to be the son of a bitch who had married Aleesha?? He directed his attention back to Marcus, who was glaring bullets at him.
"I’ll tell you what’s going on. Your long lost brother here slept with my ex-fiancée when she came to Las Vegas for her bachelorette party.” Amir smirked. “He was one of the…strippers.”
Alexis’ mouth fell open again as she turned to look at Marcus. "Anthony? Is that true?"
Marcus held Amir’s stare as Amir continued to look at him, daring him to deny it. “Yes.”
Satisfaction washed over him as Amir’s eyes darkened with anger. He remembered the day Aleesha broke up with him. After she’d thrown the ring he'd given her in his face, she’d casually told him she’d slept with one of the strippers at her bachelorette party…and it h
ad been the best sex she’d ever had. Amir still winced at the memory.
From that point on, his life consisted of partying, women, and having a good time. Soul had tried to talk to him a couple of times, but finally left him alone, figuring he’d straighten up when he was ready. The day Alexis walked back into his life, he’d done just that.
Alexis stared at Marcus as she began to put the entire mess together. “So…the woman in the picture you showed me…your wife…she used to be Amir’s fiancée?”
Again, Marcus simply answered, “Yes.”
Alexis massaged her throbbing temple, trying to process the information. This was unbelievable, almost too crazy to be true. What were the odds that the brother she’d been looking for had slept with and then married Amir’s fiancée…ex-fiancée….which would make them sister-in-laws. Alexis’ head throbbed even more at the thought.
“But…" She paused, trying to gather her thoughts.
When she did, Marcus took the opportunity to fill in the blanks for her, his voice hardening with every word he spoke. “What he’s not telling you is that he’d cheated on Aleesha…not once, not twice, but several times, which she later found out.” He leaned back with a smirk as he delivered the rest of the story Amir didn’t want his sister to know. “Apparently, while she was in Las Vegas at her bachelorette party, he was having one last fling…in her house and in her bed. That’s how little respect he had for her.”
Amir and Marcus stared at each other in a battle of wills. After a couple of seconds, Amir looked away. It didn’t matter if Aleesha had also cheated. Alexis was in a relationship with him, and hearing his part in this whole ugly mess was not something he ever wanted her to know. He’d been a different man back then. He’d changed because of her.
“Amir…?” Alexis waited for him to deny the accusations that Marcus had just hurled at him. Her heart sank when he remained quiet. She slowly pulled her hand from his.
Marcus turned to his sister. He was almost sure she wasn’t aware of the kind of man Amir was, and he would be damned if he’d stand by and let him treat her the way he had treated Aleesha. He snorted in disgust when he thought about how he’d actually wanted to thank the man Alexis was in love with for taking care of her.
A thought suddenly occurred to Marcus as he thought about Michael. Alexis said Michael was almost ten years old now. Aleesha had never mentioned Amir having kids, nor had he heard about any children in the media. Knowing the type of man he was and the morals he had, Marcus didn’t doubt that he probably hadn’t even told her. That meant this bastard had left his sister alone with a child to raise on her own. Probably had treated her the same way he’d treated countless other women - with no respect. But the problem here was the other women weren’t his sister. He turned eyes full of renewed anger towards Amir. No good son of a bitch.
“Alexis, I realize this is a lot for you to digest. You and I have found each other then you discover that he…" Marcus jerked his head towards Amir. "...treated his ex-fiancée like dirt.”
Amir sent Marcus a hate filled glare, wanting to shove his fist down the other man’s throat.
“Honey, maybe you should just come back to my house and stay with us, or at the very least, let me get you another room. I’d feel better knowing -”
“Alexis is not going anywhere. She’s staying with me.” Amir didn’t raise his voice, but his tone told Marcus how serious he was.
“I wasn’t talkin’ to you. I was talkin’ to my sister.”
Amir scowled. “She’s my girlfriend.”
“I don’t give a fu -”
“Enough! Will you two please stop it!! Now!” They both became quiet as they continued to glare at one another. Alexis turned to Amir. “Will you excuse us, please? I need to speak with my brother.”
Amir clenched his jaw and put his hand over hers. “Alexis, baby, I can explain everything...”
Alexis pulled her hand from beneath his. “Amir, please.”
Amir tried to draw her eyes to his, but she refused to look at him. Finally, he exhaled in a huff and stood up. He leaned down to kiss her lips, but Alexis turned her head so that his lips landed on her cheek. When she kept her eyes lowered, he pushed away from the table and walked out of the restaurant without another word.
Chapter 18
Marcus watched Amir as he left the restaurant. He felt no satisfaction in his sister’s unhappiness, but better she end it with him now than continue and eventually be hurt by him. He signaled the waiter for the bill.
“Let me just take care of this. After you pack your things, we can be on our way -”
“I’m not leaving with you Anthony…I mean Marcus,” she said with a small smile. “I guess I’d better get used to calling you that since that’s what you go by.”
Marcus stared at her and then carefully said, “Alexis, you can’t stay with him…especially after what you’ve just found out. Honey, he’ll only hurt you. Look, if you don’t want to come home with me, as I said, at least let me get you another room…”
Alexis shook her head gently at her brother and squeezed his hand. “Marcus, I appreciate you looking out for me. You don’t know how much. But I love him.”
“Alexis…”
“Marcus, he’s not the same man he was back then. Yes, it was shocking to hear what he did, but that was in the past. You should see him with Michael. He's such a great father and Michael is crazy about him.”
“That’s fine, Lexie, but he can still be a good father without you wasting your time with him.”
“You have to promise me something. Promise me you’ll stay out of it,” Alexis said softly to take away the sting of her words. “I can handle this. I’m not a stupid woman, you know.” She gave him a teasing smile.
Marcus sighed, his face still serious. “Alright. I don’t like it, but as you’re so tactfully trying to tell me, you’re a grown woman. And I trust you to do what’s best for yourself and your son.”
“Thank you.”
“But I’m going to be watching him. If he hurts you…I will kill him.”
“He won’t hurt me. But he and I definitely have some things we need to clear the air about.” She leaned over and kissed his cheek as she stood up.
After he paid for the bill, Marcus walked her to the elevators. “So…I’ll be by to pick you up around ten o’clock in the morning?”
“Yes. We'll be ready."
Marcus started to protest, but when he saw the stubborn set of her mouth, he changed his mind. Through gritted teeth, he said, “Fine. I’ll be here to pick you both up in the morning.”
Alexis smiled in relief and gave him one last hug and kiss on the cheek. “Thank you, big brother. I love you.”
“I love you too, sis.”
Amir's thoughts raced as he stalked back and forth across the room, and had just made up his mind to go back to the restaurant when he heard the door opening. He walked over to stand in front of it, and when Alexis came in, he anxiously searched her face for some sign on what she was thinking.
“Lexie?” Alexis nibbled on her lip as if unsure of what to say. Amir dropped his head and sighed. "Okay Alexis, let's not draw this out any more than necessary. I suppose after hearing what Bennett had to say you want to end things."
Alexis cocked her head to the side and looked at him with soft eyes. “Why would you think that? I may not be happy about what I learned, but I know in my heart you’ve changed. I told my brother the same thing. I’m right…aren’t I?”
Amir carefully examined her face. "So you’re not breaking up with me?"
Alexis moved her head from side to side. "No. I love you, Amir. I thought you'd figured that out by now."
Amir let out the long breath he'd been holding and pulled her into his arms. “I love you too, Alexis. Very much," he whispered. "I can explain -"
"Wait..." Alexis covered his mouth with her finger. She led him over to the bed so that they could sit down. "In a minute. First, I want to apologize again for not being truthful about
why I came to Las Vegas."
"It's just so crazy that your brother is the man my ex-fiancée is married to. The times you've mentioned him, you've always referred to him as 'Anthony'."
Alexis nodded and wiped her eyes. "It's funny. For some reason, Anthony is how I always thought about him. Over the years, vague memories have surfaced, but of course I don’t remember much. Only that he used to hold me when I cried, would pat my back if I was scared. I…I can’t remember his face or anything, but I remember he made me feel safe."
“Has he been in Vegas this entire time? I would imagine he's been trying to find you as well."
“He has, but it would’ve been next to impossible to find me. See, I found out when I was adopted, my parents changed my name so even if he’d been searching me, that would’ve made it harder.” Alexis frowned. “The system lost track of him a long time ago. He grew up in an orphanage. The last records they have are when he was a teenager, but after that, it’s as if he dropped off the face of the earth.”
Amir ran a hand over her hair. “Just know you’ll always have my support, no matter what, Alexis. You and Michael….you’re my family and you mean everything to me. I'm gonna tell you something. Even when I was engaged to Aleesha, things somehow just seemed...off. It didn't feel right and I should’ve handled things differently. After the engagement was called off, my life spun out of control and it didn’t right itself until you came back into my life. I love you, baby. If nothing else, please know that."
“I love you too, Amir.”
As they continued to talk, it was like a barrier had been lifted which allowed them to become even closer. Wrapped securely in Amir’s arms, Alexis felt as if she were right where she was supposed to be. Her brother had been the missing link, and now that she'd found him, she couldn’t imagine her life being any more perfect.
Marcus sat in his truck outside the hotel. His first thought had been to call Aleesha, but he didn’t want to tell her this over the phone. He’d wait until he got home. Instead, he pulled out his cell and dialed another number then impatiently waited for the call to connect.
