Jay glanced at Peter for help. Pete leaned toward Alex. “Look, Alex, Jay’s having a hard time at the moment. His parents—well, more like his mum and nana—are demanding he bring home a girlfriend or they’ll start matchmaking him again.”
“So?”
“So? Alex, it’s a big deal. I’m simply sick of them trying to sort out my life. I’m thirty.” That last bit he said with an exaggerated frown and a shrug of his powerful shoulders, which told Alex how annoyed he was. “I know we’ve just met, but—”
Alex looked down at her empty cup. Slowly, she began to understand everything. “But what about your real girlfriend?” She didn’t dare look at him when she asked him that question.
“We broke up.”
She studied him then, her eyes questioning.
Jay understood her quizzical gaze. “It’s personal.” When he saw her hesitation, he said, “Look, I’ll pay you. Like I said, you’re like my employee. I’m hiring you to do this. You just name the price. A hundred thousand?”
Alex nearly choked. She blinked. Money! The dollar sign suddenly appeared before her eyes along with the ding, ding, ding that sounds like Scrooge McDuck. She didn’t even buy a lotto ticket, and she was about to get a hundred thousand bucks just like that? Was Jay rich? Well, she didn’t need to ask him that question. She could tell by his expensive clothing and his powerful aura. He walked and acted as though he owned the world. Well, maybe he did, parts of it, anyway.
Suddenly, her dad’s heart transplant didn’t seem so out of reach after all. Maybe she could also use the money to pay off the mortgage, and her mum wouldn’t need to work so hard.
Okay. So what if she agreed? She licked her lips nervously.
“So, um, what do I have to do to pretend to be your girlfriend? Hypothetically, that is, if I were to agree with this, um, proposal of yours?”
Peter and Jay glanced at each other.
Jay said, “You know, the usual girlfriend stuff. I’ll take you back to New York and introduce you to my family. It’s my sister’s wedding. It’ll only be two weeks max. I promise.”
“All the way to New York, huh?’ she murmured, her eyes large behind her glasses. Okay. Girlfriend stuff. Intimate stuff like going out—movies, dinners, and picnics—stuff she wasn’t familiar with. Well, considering the fact she had never dated or had a boyfriend, she shouldn’t blame herself for being so ignorant about this boyfriend-girlfriend stuff. But what if she really fell for him when they were fake dating? And then his ex-girlfriend decided to come back into his life?
She glanced at Jay, who was watching her, waiting for her answer. No, it wouldn’t be hard to fall in love with him. She thought she was actually starting to do that right now. Oh, God, she didn’t want to get hurt. Yeah, Alex might be a romantic, always dreaming about some hot guy like Jay coming into her life and making a difference, but she was also a realist. Nothing like that ever happened in real life.
She pushed her cup away and put on her jacket.
Jay and Peter both watched her. Jay thought she was getting colder. Peter, however, knew differently. He knew she was backing out, and there was nothing he could do right now.
She picked up her satchel and said, “I’m sorry, Jay. I don’t think I can help you.” She got up and rushed to the door.
Jay shot up. He was about to go after her when Peter stopped him.
“What the hell happened?” he asked, confused. The girl was truly odd. One minute she was sitting there, listening and questioning them, and then the next—poof! She was gone.
“She needs time to think. The offer is too much for her.”
“Ludicrous, more like it. I think she thinks I’m nuts,” Jayden said, lifting his coffee cup to his lips.
“Maybe.”
“So tell me about her,” Jay began, setting down his cup. “What is she like?”
“Sweet, innocent, and loyal,” Peter said. “There, I’ve summed it all up for you.”
Jay narrowed his eyes. “Very funny, Pete. Has she had any boyfriends before?”
“Nope. Zippo.”
Jay cocked his head to one side. “Maybe that’s why she’s scared.”
“What?”
“She’s afraid of men. That explains her nerves around me. She’s probably afraid I might hurt her. That explains why she never has a boyfriend. Tell me, has she been abused?” He was actually thinking about last night. Perhaps that kind of things was common in her life.
Peter had to try hard not to laugh in front of his friend’s face. As far as he knew, Alex had a loving family. Jacob was the best. He loved his wife and children to bits.
“No, at least I don’t think so.”
“You have to convince her to help me, Pete.”
“Me?”
“You’re close to her. She’d probably run away again if I approached her.”
“You’re right.” Peter agreed.
“Do something. Anything.”
“Anything, huh?” Peter said, nodding his head. He knew just how to go about it. Oh boy, this is going to be fun.
* * * * *
Chapter 4
Alexandra was going nuts! She couldn’t concentrate or do anything right after that damn hot-choc with Peter and Jayden. Once home and alone in her bedroom, she threw her satchel on the floor and collapsed on the bed.
“You’ve sent me the wrong man,” she muttered under her breath, looking heavenward at the white ceiling. She sighed and rolled over to lie on her stomach. “He’s not even interested in me. He’s interested because I can help him.” She pouted her lips. “His girlfriend must be very hot.” Then she thought to add, “And very stupid.”
She rested her chin on her palm as she stared at her pink netbook screen. Well, you better stop thinking about him and start paying bills, Alex, she told herself.
Nodding her head and determined not to think about Jayden, she logged into her internet banking and started paying her electricity and phone bills. The balance in her bank account after that made her feel terribly depressed. She sighed. Oh, well, at least next Wednesday would be payday. Her spirit lifted with that thought. She moved on to check her e-mails. She stared up at the ceiling as she waited for her login. When she glanced back at the screen, she gasped.
“Oh my God!”
She stared hard at the screen, which read: Jayden has requested to be your friend. Press accept if you know him.
She nibbled her lower lip, excitement bubbling up within her. Should I accept? Her finger moved toward the link below that would lead her to the Facebook login page. Click!
Oh, Alex, you’re not a stalker, are you? No, no, Alex, you’re not a stalker. You’re simply checking out this American guy, a guy who asked you to be his fake girlfriend. What type of request is that, anyway?
So, okay, checking him out meant she was simply doing her research. After all, she didn’t want to get into an agreement with a weird creep who’d probably harm her now, would she?
His profile picture was of him skiing at the top of a snow-covered mountain. Queenstown? She couldn’t even make out his face. But he still looked hot even in that winter jacket, wool hat, and sunglasses.
Browsing through his Facebook, she found he loved extreme sports and he was a fan of many sports clubs. She concluded he was real. She noted he didn’t show his relationship status. He was probably still too heartbroken from the breakup.
After she had enough, she logged out of Facebook and turned off the laptop. She rolled herself over her double bed and sat up. Just then her cell phone rang. She wondered who it was as she reached for it. She flipped the phone on and saw it was Peter.
She grunted under her breath and said, “Hey, Pete.”
“Hey, Alex, how’s things?”
Before Alex could say, “Everything is not all right,” because she kept thinking about Jayden and seeing his handsome face in her mind and she had just finished stalking him via Facebook, he said, “Look, Alex, so sorry about this afternoon.”
Alex bit he
r lip. “That’s okay, Pete. I know you want to help your friend. At least Margaret isn’t matchmaking you. Well, she doesn’t have to since you’re already engaged anyway.”
She heard him laughing, loud and clear, from the other side.
“Hey, so no hard feelings, right?”
“Yeah, no hard feelings. I forgive you.”
“Thing is Jay is gay.”
Alex blinked. “Say what?” she shouted into the phone. She drew back, shocked at herself for bellowing like that. She could just imagine Peter rubbing his sore ear as he stared at the phone in a bizarre way.
“Yeah, he’s gay. And there’s no girlfriend. Jay made it up so people think he’s—you know—straight. Anyway, you get the idea. You know, his family is well known in New York. If this gets out—”
Alex just sat there, her mouth agape in shock. Oh my God! Jay is gay? That hot dude who loves extreme sports is gay?
“If his family knows, he’s in deep shit. Pardon my French.”
Alex asked, “That’s why he wants to hire me to pretend to be his girlfriend? To prevent his family from finding out that he’s gay? So they’d stop matchmaking him?”
She looked heavenward and shouted internally, You totally sent down the wrong guy, mister. He’s gay! Did you accidentally stuff up his genes before you sent him down to earth or something? Is he supposed to have two X's instead of an X and a Y?
She said into the phone, “I’m sorry to hear that.”
“Well, aren’t you going to help? Hey, he’s rich. This means more to him than making a million bucks. Besides, you could use the money for your dad.”
Alex thought Peter was right. She could certainly use the money, and her dad’s condition was getting worse. He had started to have fainting spells again. Not to mention chest pains, palpitations, and his depression was getting worse. She shouldn’t be selfish in such a situation. Not that she had ever been selfish in her life anyway.
“It’s like killing two birds with one stone, Alex. You’re helping a man in need, and at the same time, you’re helping your father.”
Bull’s-eye! Alex thought Peter hit the target right there.
“Hey, Peter, can I phone you back in like an hour or something? I have to think this over.”
“Yeah, sure. Talk to ya later, then.”
“Yeah,” she said and then flipped the cell shut.
She sat there on the side of the bed, deep in thought. She didn’t want to do this. She didn’t want to have to ask for help. And this was the weirdest help she had ever received. But then again, this wasn’t help, was it? Jayden was, after all, hiring her. So in effect, it was a job. A weird one.
She left her room and came into the living area. She spotted her dad taking his many medications. He was still young, at the age of fifty-five, and he had to go through all that?
“You okay, Dad?” she asked. She knew he hated that he, as the breadwinner of the family, was now depending on his family for survival. The very thought hurt him, and it threatened to kill him.
“Just a migraine,” Jacob said.
She knew he was lying. She glanced at her mom and asked, “What’s for dinner?”
“Sweet and sour salmon soup and beef and mixed veggie stir-fry,” Mali replied. “Honey, why don’t you go lie down?” she suggested to her husband.
Jacob grunted and nodded. Then he made himself comfortable on the La-Z-Boy chair.
Alex grabbed the blanket and wrapped it about him. “Comfortable?”
Jacob nodded and closed his eyes. Alex lowered her face to his and then gave him a peck on his cheek. “You’re not very good at lying, you know.”
“You’re not either.”
“It’s genetic,” she retorted.
After helping her mom with the veggies, Alex went back to her bedroom. She threw herself on the bed and slouched on her stomach. Then she grabbed her notebook and a pen. She wrote down on top of the page: PRETENDING TO BE MR. HOT-CHOC’S GIRLFRIEND. Then on the right side of the page she wrote: ADVANTAGES, and on the left side she wrote: DISADVANTAGES.
A lot of thinking, mumbling, writing, and furiously scribbling out later, she read aloud what she had written down.
“Advantages: help Dad pay for his heart surgery, pay off the mortgage, help Mr. Hot-Choc, get to see New York, get to go to a wedding, get a holiday, and get to see Mr. Hot-Choc every day for two weeks or so.”
She frowned at that last one and furiously scribbled it out. He’s gay, she reminded herself. Then she looked at the list below the word disadvantage. She read, “Away from home and family. Mr. Hot-Choc’s family might not like me. Who cares!” She cocked her head to one side. “Decision made.” That meant she’d have to hand in her annual leave on Monday. She smiled at that thought. Finally, it was holiday time.
* * * * *
Margaret Thompson glanced at Peter and Jayden from where she stood in the kitchen, armed with a knife and chopping board. She wondered what they were doing, sitting there for almost an hour now, staring at the BlackBerry that was on the coffee table. It looked as though they were daring it to ring, so intense they were at their task. The air was thick with tension and anticipation.
The telephone on the side table beside Peter shrilled out, causing the two men to jump. They glanced at each other. Peter ignored the ringing phone beside him that seriously demanded his attention and leaned closer to his BlackBerry. A second later, the continuous buzzing was starting to annoy the men. They both frowned at the damn thing and demanded it to shut up.
Peter said, “Mum, aren’t you going to get that?”
Margaret looked up, her green eyes peering above her spectacles at Peter, her red hair bright and glowing under the light. “I’m busy, Peter. Aren’t you going to pick it up?”
“I’m waiting for an important call, Mum,” Peter said, signifying that this could be a life-and-death situation.
“Well, your call must be very important, then,” Margaret retorted, shaking her head. She wiped her hands clean with a towel and rushed to pick up the receiver. Meanwhile, the two men turned their attentions back to the BlackBerry that refused to give any sign of an urgent incoming call.
“Hello, Margaret speaking,” she said, heading toward the kitchen. A short pause and then, “Hello, Alex dear, how are you?”
The two men snapped their heads up and zeroed in on the phone in Margaret’s hand. They both jumped up at the same time and rushed toward Margaret, who was oblivious to their eager advance and was chatting animatedly to Alexandra.
Peter raced up and intercepted his mother. “Mum, Alex?”
“What?” Margaret asked, clearly confused. “Of course it’s Alex. Wait! What are you doing?” she snapped as Peter tried to seize the phone from her hand. “Don’t you dare! I’m talking to Alex.” She shoved the phone away from him.
“No, Mum, this is important,” Peter begged.
“What is so important? It’s only Alex,” Margaret said, the phone up in the air and away from their reach. “Besides, I haven’t talked to Alex for ages.”
Pete snatched the receiver from his mother simply because he was taller. “Sorry, Mum, you can talk to her later.” He placed the receiver against his ear. “Alex? That you? It’s Pete here.”
“Oh! Hey, Pete.”
“So what is it? What’s your decision?” Pete asked as he eyed Jayden, who looked rather nervous all of a sudden.
“Look—um—I’ve been thinking—I’ve—I’ve decided to help Jay.”
Peter grinned and motioned a thumbs-up at Jayden, winking at the same time. Jay nodded and smiled.
Margaret saw Peter winking cheekily and shook her head as she went into the kitchen. She said loudly, “Why don’t you invite her over for dinner?”
“Who? Alex? Okay,” Peter said and then to the phone. “Great, Alex. Good decision. Listen, why don’t you come over for dinner?”
“Oh, okay. I’ll be there in a jiffy. Bye now.”
“Bye,” Peter said and hung up. The two men laughed.
Margaret saw and raised an eyebrow. She wondered if Peter was trying to set Alex and Jay up. She hoped so because that sweet girl deserved a fine young man like Jayden.
“She’s coming over,” Peter shouted to his mum.
Jay said, “I still haven’t forgiven you.”
“About what?” Peter asked innocently.
“About that lie. I’m not gay.”
Peter chuckled. “Hey, bro, I know you’re not, but it’s the only way to get her to change her mind. She feels sorry for you. You ought to be pleased with that.”
Jay took a seat and leaned back against the comfortable sofa. “Yeah, I suppose I should.”
* * * * *
Chapter 5
The room suddenly felt awfully small and the air so thick Alex had to sit down and take deep, slow breaths to calm herself.
It’s done. She had agreed to Jayden’s proposal, and her stomach still hadn’t stopped fluttering. She wondered what it would be like to live with her Mr. Hot-Choc for two long weeks and to see him every single day.
Oh, shoot! Had she just referred to Jayden as her Mr. Hot-Choc? Oh God! What was she thinking?
Shaking her head at her silly thought, she rushed up and busied herself trying to find clothes for a quick shower. As she headed to the bathroom, she shouted, “Mum, I’m going out for dinner tonight.”
“Will you be late home?” her mother asked from the kitchen.
“No, I won’t. I’m only going to the Thompsons’,” she replied.
“Great, say hi to them for me, won’t you? Oh, we’ll have to give them some of our lettuces and silver beet.”
“Yeah, sure. I’ll pick them after my shower.”
“Don’t worry. I’ll do it.”
“Okay,” Alex shouted and then shut the door. When she was out and ready to leave, her mum grabbed her attention. “Don’t forget this.”
Alex got the plastic bag full of lettuce and silver beet as she said, “Thanks, Mum.” She glanced at her dad in the La-Z-Boy chair, now reading the Otago Daily Times. His face wasn’t as pale as before.
Kiwi Bride: Volume 1 (Kiwi Bride Series Book 3) Page 4
