Page 30 of Second Chance for Mr. Alden

I texted Jess.

Me: What items were they supposed to send with the dress?

Jess: They are sending the accessories today. Necklace, earrings, shoes.

Me: Okay. Samantha has them.

I made my way into the kitchen where Gage sat, typing away on his computer. “Are we set for tonight?”

“Just about.” Gage was one of the best hackers I knew. His skills were imperative with situations like this. We couldn’t tip off the event security that we hijacked their system.

“Thank God. They requested no cell phones at the event. I can guarantee Jess would’ve fought me if I told her she had to leave it behind.”

He chuckled. “Yup. Hey, where’s your suit?”

I groaned.

As Jess’s escort, my usual jeans and t-shirt wasn’t acceptable. She’d contacted Lexi and asked for her to bring an appropriate outfit for me to wear tonight. I wasn’t thrilled having Lexi here, but at this point knowing how often my sister and ex-girlfriend had been hanging out, whoever was stalking her most likely knew about their connection.

My phone buzzed with an incoming text.

Lexi: I’m here. Let’s get you ready for tonight. I’ve wanted to do this for I can’t tell you how long! Xoxoxo

I groaned, not bothering to send a reply.

Lexi pulled out a garment bag and a small duffle bag from her car just as I opened the door.

“What’s in the duffle bag?” I asked, not bothering to hide the suspicion in my voice.

Lexi’s eyes looked everywhere but me. “Nothing much. Shoes and stuff.”

I raised an eyebrow. “Andstuff, Lex?”

She pursed her lips and took a deep breath. As she drew closer to me, she stopped. “You will not embarrass Jess tonight. Jamie, seriously, you have to look good.”

“Wow, that hurt my feelings,” I teased.

“Come on. If you’d clean up that scraggly beard, give it a good trim, and put some product in your hair, you’d be pretty devastating. Add a suit. You’d be on fire.”

I laughed. A full belly laugh. When was the last time I’d laughed like that? I threw my arm around her shoulder. “On fire, huh? And just who do you think I need to impress tonight?”

Her lightly tanned skin grew pink. She looked so much like our mother. “No one in particular.”

“Lex, I love you, but Jess and I have been over for a long time. If the two of you want to stay friends, great, but we’re not getting back together.”

“I don’t see why not. You two were perfect together. You looked at her like Dad looked at Mom. She looked at you the same way. How does that just end?”

My heart twisted, the sharp pain made me catch my breath. “Sometimes, things don’t work out like we think they will,” I whispered on a harsh exhale. “Come on. You have a lot of work to do.” I pulled her into the house with me and toward the stairs. I’d been staying in the bedroom next to Jess’s, so I’d be close by in case anything happened.

An hour later, Lexi determined I was groomed enough to attend the party. She even asked Samantha to trim my hair and beard. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d put this much effort into how I looked.

“Jamie, she’s not going to know what hit her,” Lexi whispered.

“Lex, we talked about this,” I cautioned her. My sister was a romantic at heart. I didn’t want to disappoint her again when she realized that nothing more was happening between Jess and me.

She sighed. “I know.”

Samantha stared at me with interest from her spot by the mirror. “If I wasn’t already in a committed relationship—”

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