Page 99 of Rivals Next Door

I winced as I listened to Olivia hurl up yet another meal. I leaned against the wall beside the bathroom because she kicked me out again. The toilet flushed and then the faucet came on. Finally, she emerged, thankfully looking a little less pale than before.

“Are you okay?” I asked, pushing myself off the wall.

“A little better now.” She padded across the room and climbed back into bed… my bed, and I loved having her in it. She had been staying at my apartment since we hashed things out in my office last week.

She had refused when I first suggested she stay at my place. However, I’d insisted that she owed me big for keeping the baby from me for an entire month. It was a lame excuse, but she’d rolled her eyes and huffed, “Fine.”

And here we were, shacked up together… just like old times.

“You know, Liv, I have a suspicion that this kid is going to be just like me,” I declared as I followed her back to bed. “I mean, the kid is already giving you a shit ton of trouble with the morning sickness and the mood swings.”

She cried at the drop of a hat now, and I felt like I was in an alternate universe. I mean, she was the Ice Princess for Christ’s sake. She’d always had a firm grip on her emotions.

She scoffed. “And let’s not forget the dizziness and breast tenderness.” I received a withering glare, which only made me smirk. “Trust me, I already gathered that this kid is going to be everything like you… very troublesome.”

Chuckling, I dove onto the bed and rested my head on my hand. “Wait until I teach him or her how to be a master hacker.” We hadn’t found out the baby’s gender yet, but she had an appointment for an ultrasound in a few weeks.

“You will do nothing of the sort, Alex!” Olivia screeched.

I smirked. “Relax, Princess. I’m kidding.” I dropped my voice to a grumble. “I’ll wait until he or she is at least a teenager.”

“Alex,” she growled.

I reached for her, and she settled into my arms and instantly went pliant, which I loved. “Good thing one of us is a responsible adult, eh?” I joked.

She stuck her face between my neck and shoulders—she called it “the nook”—and groaned. “You’re nuts, Alex,” she mumbled. “And I love you.”

Grinning, I inhaled the sweet floral scent of her hair. “I love you too, Princess.”

Damn, it felt good to say that. It felt incredible having her in my arms, and most importantly, a part of my life again. We could be happy again… we would be. That meant I had to make everything right…

The issue of BioTech still hung over us like a heavy cloud. I saw how unhappy she was, especially when she caught a glimpse of something in the media about her beloved company being in new hands. I felt awful. I regretted my vengeful actions every day.

Releasing a long breath, I breached the subject again. “Liv?”

“Mhmm?” she answered from the safety of “the nook”.

“We need to talk about BioTech and how we’re going to proceed.”

She went rigid and then pulled away. Sitting up, she shoved her curtain of hair out of the way and sighed. “Why do we have to talk about it?”

“Because it’s the logical and adult thing to do…” I stared at her, utterly bewildered. “I’ve allowed you to put it off for a week. We’re talking about it… now.”

Her eyes narrowed to slits, and I got the Ice Princess stare. “You didn’t allow anything, and you can’t order me to do anything.”

“There she is,” I purred.

Her eyes got squintier. “Who?”

“My Ice Princess has come out to play. Thank God. You’ve been too quiet and not your confident-bordering-on-arrogant self lately.”

She let out a derisive snort. “My arrogance can never outshine yours, buddy.”

I grinned. “You might be right. Still, I hate seeing you like this. Maybe it’s my fault and I need to fix it. So, I’m giving you back your company.”

“I don’t want it,” she bit out as she glowered at me.

I gazed at her silently, trying to gauge if it was her hormones talking or if she really meant it. Since I couldn’t figure it out, I decided to ask. “Are you hormonal right now?” I realized my mistake in asking when I got socked in the head with a pillow. Biting back a smile, I said, “Sorry I asked.”

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