Page 24 of Angel's Share

“Right style, wrong color. I prefer blue.”

“What about this?” Alex offered, selecting a pair of jeans that looked about AJ’s size.

AJ shrugged. “Yeah, okay.”

Alex tossed him the pair. “Try them on. And a few others. Shirts, shoes... a little of everything.” He pointed towards the signs that readdressing rooms.

“Which shirts?” the kid asked, looking perplexed.

“Whichever ones speak to you,” Paco instructed.

“I like the red one,” a girl’s voice chimed in from behind him.

AJ’s eyes widened, and he gulped audibly. “The red one,” he repeated, clearly dumbstruck.

The young girl smiled, the name tag on her shirt readingAshlyn, but Alex already knew who Anita’s daughter was.

Since Anita was one of Jess’s best friends, and Jess was one of Madison’s best friends, Ashlyn has been on the periphery of their universe since she was knee-high.

Alex quickly grabbed the red shirt from the rack and handed it to AJ. “Hi, Ashlyn. You work here?”

Ashlyn nodded. “Just during the summer.” She turned her smile and attention to AJ. “I’m happy to help you pick a few things out.”

“Anything he wants,” Paco boldly chimed in. “He’s got Alex’s credit card.”

With Ashlyn leading the way, AJ followed her through the store, sticking to her like an awkward Great Dane puppy—glued to her side and completely smitten.

Meanwhile, Paco grabbed a pair of sunglasses and tried them on. “One thing’s for sure. He’s not my kid. My kid would bypass all this off-the-rack stuff and head straight for Versace.”

Alex chuckled. “Your kid’s first word won’t bedada. It’ll be Prada.”

“From your lips to God’s ears,” Paco replied, handing Alex a sleek set of Aviators.

Alex tried them on and looked around, his gaze landing on a familiar face across the mall.

He had to squint to be sure, but it was definitely his former bodyguard, dressed down in a simple T-shirt and jeans, browsing through a set of ties.

“Huh,” Alex lightly huffed.

“What’s huh?” Paco asked, pink-tinted glasses gracing his face.

“It’s Damian.” Alex said, without making a step in his direction. It’s awkward enough firing a guy. Bumping into him in the mall with a casual“Hey, how’s it going?”was just flat out rude.

Paco followed Alex’s gaze. “So, that’s Damian. I never got to meet him.”

Stunned, Alex deadpanned. “You’re never around.”

Paco swapped the playful, pink pair for a dark, intense set of shades. “Touché.”

Alex laughed and looked around. Damian was gone. He half-wondered if he should bring him back once the babies were born. How would he be with kids?

Hell, how will I be? Alex went from freewheeling playboy billionaire to married, caring for a teenager, and expecting twins. What bizarro universe was this?

The best universe. The only universe.

My universe.

“Here you are, Mr. Drake,” Ashlyn said, handing him back his black card and the bill.A thousand bucks.

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