Page 83 of Rivals Next Door

“When are you going to tell him?”

“Never.”

“You have to.”

I shook my head vehemently. “I don’t. I can’t tell the man who hates me that I’m having his baby. I can’t even imagine his disgust.”

“If he hated you, he wouldn’t have knocked you up,” Elena reasoned.

“Accidentally.”

“And he wouldn’t have saved you from unscrupulous characters twice,” she added.

I rolled my eyes. “Alright, maybe he doesn’t hate me that much, but he doesn’t exactly love me either… far from it,” I sighed. “Which is why it’s probably best to keep this pregnancy from him. It’ll save me the embarrassment of his rejection.”

I bit down on my lip to stop it from quivering because I was close to breaking down into tears. How did a woman who was always so cautious end up in such a mess? Alex came back into my life and turned it upside down.

30

ALEX

“You look beautiful.” I barely wanted to say the words out loud in fear of Olivia hearing the affection in my voice.

Pink bloomed in her cheeks as she lowered her eyelashes and smoothed a palm over the fabric of her dress. The emerald green cocktail dress was modest but sexy, a balance that she always managed effortlessly. I appreciated the way the garment hugged her curves in all the right places.

My gaze lingered on the flare of her hips as I conjured images of me gripping them while I pounded into her from behind. I tore my eyes away from her and tried to get my mind out of the gutter before I embarrassed myself with a hard-on in the elevator. Plus, I really didn’t want to walk into a room full of people with sex on the brain…

“Thank you,” she said softly, her voice barely above a whisper.

I frowned at the wide-eyed uncertain look she gave me. Olivia was a Brentwood. The princess of the country. She was born to be in crowds and high society events. I knew she didn’t like them, but she never failed to pull off being poised and regal. Right now, she looked like she was ready to faint.

“Are you okay?” I asked.

She nodded, but it wasn’t very convincing.

As the elevator stopped and the doors opened, I placed a palm on her lower back. She jumped as if I’d burned her with my touch. My hand immediately dropped as I studied her closely. “Look, I know you might feel uncomfortable hanging out with my friends because they know about our history.”

She glanced up at me with troubled eyes, and I quickly reassured her. “They don’t know the details. No one does. Try to relax.”

Her teeth sank into her lip to punish the flesh. “It isn’t that… Well, yeah, I’m nervous about your friends judging me, but it’s more than that. It’s… a few days ago, I found out…”

My eyebrows elevated as she struggled to get out whatever it was she wanted to say. “Found out what?”

After a tortured look, she shook her head. “It’s nothing important.”

My eyes narrowed on her as she broke away from me and hurried ahead. The hum of the music and clinking glasses filtering from the open doors ahead stopped me from grilling her. I knew Olivia. Whatever she was reluctant to tell me was killing her and she’d never let it out unless I was relentless with my questions.

I supposed I’d have to curb my curiosity and get through the festivities of my friends’ engagement party first. When we stepped inside, my gaze zeroed in on the man and woman of the hour. Charlotte was absolutely stunning. Her happiness gave her an extra glow as she chatted with guests.

Jamie stood by her side wearing the strangest mixed expression of contentment and torture. I snorted my amusement. He hated parties, but he decided to put on a huge event to announce to the world that James Winchester was off the market. Plus, it made Charlotte happy to have all her family and many friends from all over the freaking world here to celebrate with them.

After taking a moment to bask in my happiness for my friends, my attention returned to Olivia. She was watching the bride and groom with a little smile that was hampered down with sadness. The look of longing in her eyes made me realize something. Maybe I longed for what Jamie and Charlotte found together too…

I swallowed hard as I processed the feelings and desires I could no longer deny. Would it be all that crazy if I put aside the past and started over with Olivia?

We didn’t do much talking on our way home from the party. Both Olivia and I seemed to be in the same contemplative mood. I knew why I was quiet and pensive, but why was she? Standing between our doors, we gazed at each other. I shoved my hands into my pockets to stop myself from reaching out and kissing her.

“Thanks for inviting me, Alex. It was great to get out and mingle. I enjoyed catching up with your gang from college. I think it’s wonderful that you guys have remained close all these years. And I adore Charlotte. She’s an incredible woman, so interesting and adventurous. Jamie is a lucky man.”

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