His Hired Girlfriend (29 page)

“
I’m so jealous,” Isa
mutters, pouring them each a glass of water.

Mary straightens up and
glances behind her. She sees the three geeks and glares in
distaste.

“
Do you know them?” Hale
asks curiously.

“
Kind of,” she replies
curtly.

Behind them Ruby says, “Did you get her e-mail?”

“
Yeah,” Niki
replies.

“
Me too,” Isa puts in. “She is so lucky. She said she has
been to Central Park, the Museum, and not to mention Tiffany &
Co. Can you believe it?
Tiffany and Co!
”

“
I know, right?” Ruby
comments. “I wish I could go to Tiffany & Co. Man! Would just
love to see all the jewelry.”

“
Yeah. In your dreams,”
Niki chuckles.

“
Hey, you never know,” Ruby retorts. “Remember, I plan to do
my big OE next year. Maybe I should put America in as one of them,
even though it’s only for six weeks.”

“
Oh, yeah? And what about this hunky English guy you’re
seeing?” Niki asks cheekily. Is that the whole reason why you’re
going to do this big OE of yours? Huh?”

Ruby laughs. “Don’t be
silly. He’s only a friend. He’s going to give me a tour when I’m in
the UK.”

“
Yeah, right,” both Niki and Isa say in unison.

By this time, Mary is pissed off with the girls. She can’t
concentrate on being charming to Hale, and she wants them to go sit
somewhere else. Or better yet, go to another restaurant. But she’s
also itching to know what
exactly
they’re
talking about. Plain Alexandra has gone off to New York City for a
conference? Surely not? She’s only a Medical Lab Scientist. Nothing
special about that. And she has been in Tiffany and Co? That’s
surely and utterly ridiculous. No one would let her in. The doorman
would take one look at her and tell her to bugger off.

She turns and says,
“Hello, guys.” A fat, fake smile playing on her face.

There’s stunned silence
all around the table, and then Ruby says, “Mary? Mary St.
Clair?”

“
Yeah,” Mary nods,
grinning. “So how have you all been? Haven’t seen you since the
last year of high school. Can’t remember when that was. Too long
ago.”

“
Yeah,” Isa mutters,
frowning with suspicion at Mary.

“
So like there’s always
the four of you, right? Where’s Alex?”

The three girls glance at
one another.

“
Just curious and all. How
is she? Haven’t seen her at all,” Mary lies, leaning forward, her
brows rising in question innocently.

Knowing the other two are
refusing to talk to the popular Mary, Ruby says, “She’s working in
the hospital. Aren’t you a doctor there? Can’t believe you never
saw her.”

“
Yeah. Can’t believe it,”
Niki adds, her voice stating otherwise.

“
Well, I’m busy. Patients
to look after,” Mary makes the excuse. “So, Alex?”

“
Alex is good. She’s in
New York City right now for a conference. She’s doing very well.”
Ruby smiles, nodding her head with pride.

“
Yes, she is doing very
well,” Mary remarks sourly. She wants to add, ‘for a plain geek.’
But instead she asks, “So, no boyfriends?”

At this statement, the
three friends look at each other. Mary reaches her hands out and
touches Hale, to show them that she isn’t short of a boyfriend.
“Good luck, aye? So, Alex? No boyfriend, too?”

Ruby glares at Mary and
snaps a “No” at the woman.

Mary grins, enjoying
herself. “Have fun, guys,” she says, turning her attention to Hale
and starts kissing him on the lips.

The three girls look at
each other. “Disgusting,” Isa mutters under her breath.

* * *

T
wenty-
T
wo

Alex flutters her eyes
open, staring up at the ceiling, her mind blank. She blinks.
Where is she? Why is her body aching
so much?
Her head hurts like
hell. It feels like a hammer is constantly banging on her skull.
She searches her brain.
Nothing.
The harder
she tries, the more painful her headache becomes.

“
Hey,” a voice says softly
beside her, warm breath fanning against her skin.

She turns to her right and comes to face a gorgeous man
smiling brightly at her. His twinkling blue eyes are deep and
intense, which causes her heart to flutter. Deep down she feels
she’s known him all her life, but for the life of her she can’t
remember who he is.

Then she realizes she’s
lying in bed beside him, her head resting on his arm and her face
against his chest, which is surprisingly soft and comfy.

Who is he?
She asks
herself again.
And where is
she? Where is this place?
She
gazes up at the ceiling, lost and frustrated.

“
Where am I?” she
whispers, her throat dry.

“
You’re home,” Jayden says, smoothing strands of dark hair
from her face. He knows she’s still having the side effects from
the drug.

“
Where is home?” she asks,
turning to her left. She squints her eyes against the bright
sunlight. She tries to think, but there’s only blankness and the
continuous pounding of a dull pain.

She turns to look at him,
tears brewing in her eyes. It’s as if she’s begging him to help her
think, to figure out where she is.

Jayden’s heart nearly
breaks. She looks so vulnerable that it hurts him not being
able to help her. At that moment, he knows he loves her more than
anything else in the world. He wipes tears from her cheek with his
thumb and then kisses her forehead.

“
It will all come back,
sweetheart,” he says. “It will.”

She gazes into his warm eyes. Instantly, she trusts him
even though she can’t remember him. A sense of calm settles within
her, and she closes her eyes, breathing slowly and deeply. Not long
afterward, she falls asleep.

Jayden pulls her close to
him, kissing her now and again, stroking her hair and whispering
words of love until he falls into another slumber.

It’s midday when Jayden
wakes up. He finds that his arm is numb and sore from pins and
needles. He gently removes his arm from under Alex’s head and gets
up. He has a shower, gets dressed, and then goes downstairs after
making sure Alex is comfortable.

He comes into the dining
room, tired and hungry. Maggie takes one look at him and asks,
“What would you like to eat, Master Jayden?”

“
Just some toasted
sandwich will do, Maggie.”

“
Yes, of course. I will
tell Chef Leon to prepare it for you.”

“
Would you please also
tell him to make soup for Alex? She isn’t well, and I don’t think
solid food is good for her stomach at the moment.”

“
Yes, Master Jayden,”
Maggie replies, a smile on her face.

Jay pours himself a cup of
black coffee and collapses in the chair at the head of the table.
He takes a sip and sighs, his mind a bit more alert.

“
Hey there, Jay,” Sam’s
voice comes in from the door.

Jay glances up.
“Hey.”

“
You look like hell. Been
up late last night saving a damsel in distress, eh?”

Jay raises a brow. He’s
not surprised Sam found out about last night already. Kelly would
have told him.

“
Yeah.”

“
Can’t believe that
bastard would do such a thing,” Sam mutters in disgust.

“
I got what you asked for,” Jayden says, taking another sip
of his coffee. “Join me for lunch, and then I’ll give them to
you.”

Sam isn’t surprised by the
complete turn of the subject. “Sure.” He slides into a chair next
to Jayden. “An extra toasted sandwich if you please,
Maggie?”

Maggie does not miss the
conversation that the two men have just had. “Sure thing, Master
Sam,” she replies.

Once the two men finish their lunch, Jayden takes Sam to
his study room and gives the man the wedding bands.

“
This is better than I
expected,” Sam comments, turning the bands over in his
fingers.

“
Yeah.”

Sam replaces the bands
into blue Tiffany & Co. box and says, “Did you know it was
Britney’s idea?”

“
What?”

“
Sorry if I intrude in
your affair, man, but thought I should tell you. Kelly said she saw
Kyle and Britney last night. She heard them talking, and it was all
Britney’s idea.”

Jayden doesn’t know how to
respond to that piece of information. He just shakes his head in
frustration and goes out the door.

In the kitchen, Chef Leon
is just finishing a lovely chicken soup and Maggie is placing the
bowl on a silver tray to take up to Alex, when Kelly pokes her head
in through the door.

“
Maggie!” she calls out.
“Where’s Mom and Grandma?”

“
Out in the rose garden,
Miss Kelly,” Maggie replies as she heads to the door.

“
Thanks!” Kelly rushes
out.

“
Take care with that soup,
Maggie. Don’t drop it!” Leon mutters as he watches the housekeeper
go.

“
I won’t. So many things
going on in this house,” Maggie says under her breath as she heads
for the stairs. Up on the first floor, as she opens the door to
Jayden’s room with one hand, she wonders what that horrible
groaning noise is. Inside, the bed is a mess, but Alex is nowhere
in sight. That sickening groan is getting worse.

“
Miss Alex?” Maggie
calls.

More grunting and
groaning.

“
Oh dear,” Maggie mutters
as she puts the tray on the bedside table and rushes over to the
bathroom. She sees Alex bending over the toilet bowl.

“
Dear me,” she gasps,
rushing over to help the girl. “What’s wrong, Miss
Alex?”

Alex turns to glance at
Maggie, her face ghostly white and her hair a tangle of mess. “I’m
sick,” she whispers, her voice trembling.

“
Yes! Yes! I can see
that,” Maggie says, rubbing Alex’s back.

Alex turns her face back to the toilet bowl and begins
coughing out more bile.

“
Oh. You poor thing,”
Maggie whispers.

Once Alex feels better,
she turns to Maggie. “Can you please help me?”

“
Yes, of course.” Maggie
is about to help Alex up when the door bursts open.

“
Alex!” Jayden says. “Are
you all right?” He rushes in and takes her into his arms. “What’s
wrong?”

“
She’s sick,” Maggie
answers because Alex looks as though she’s about to pass
out.

“
Come on. Let’s get you back to bed.” He scoops her into his
arms, carries her back to bed, and makes her comfortable. “You want
something to eat, sweetheart?”

“
I am hungry,” Alex comments weakly, wondering why this
hunky man is so nice to her.
Who is he?
He keeps
calling her sweetheart.
Perhaps he’s her boyfriend?
Her husband?
The
thought brings a warm feeling within her body. She can’t believe
this handsome stranger is her husband. It’s simply too good to be
true.

Jayden picks up the bowl
of soup and brings it to her. “Can you handle this?”

“
I’ll try,” she whispers,
gazing at him, blushing.

“
Good,” he says and starts
feeding her.

“
Well, I should go down
and prepare afternoon tea then.” Maggie says, and when she sees
Jayden nod, she leaves them.

* * *

Kelly has a dilemma. She doesn’t know whether she should tell her
mother and grandmother about the event that transpired last night.
Her wedding is in two days, and Alex is soon to leave New York.
There simply isn’t much time left to play Cupid, even though she’s
pretty sure Jayden and Alex have already fallen in love with each
other. They simply need a nudge to confess their feelings, that’s
all.

As she advances closer toward the two elderly women, she is
pretty sure they’re having a quiet argument. About what, she isn’t
sure.

“
She is not the person you think she is, Mother,” Gracie
says tightly. “Think of Jayden. He’s your grandson. If you keep
doing this, you’re going to break his heart. And Alex’s, for that
matter. Can’t you accept Jayden loves her and wants her as part of
our family?”

“
I know,” Beth snaps.
“Everything just changes all of a sudden. This girl, Alexandra,
just turns up into our lives and changes everything.”

“
Mother, I understand
that. But she’s having your great-grandchild. Isn’t that want you
want? Isn’t that why you keep telling Jayden to get
married?”

“
Yes, yes,” Beth snaps
again, fluttering her hands in frustration. “I thought Britney was
a good person. I thought she’d be a good
granddaughter-in-law.”