His Hired Girlfriend (26 page)

“
Well, I’m not that heavy
anyway, and you have to work off all that lunch you just had,” she
teases as she wiggles herself to get more comfortable in his
arms.

“
I have worked it all off,
darling, due to your incessant chattering for the past three
hours.”

“
Jayden!” she gasps. “I
did not chatter. I just talked, that’s all.”

“
Talk is chatter, my
sweet.” He grins cheekily.

Alex smiles. She can’t believe he’s using endearing words
when other people are not even around. That is surely odd because
they don’t have to act like a loving couple right now. But she
feels all warm and happy inside when he uses those
words.

“
Comfy?”

“
Yes.”

Jayden nods and starts
walking down to the end of the wharf.

“
Where are we going, by
the way?” she asks some moment later.

“
You’ll see,” he
replies.

And Alex does see. There’s
a beautiful large, white yacht waiting for them. It has the name
‘Spirit’ painted on the side.

“
Oh, my,” she exclaims in excitement. “This is my first time
in a boat. But I must tell you I can’t swim.”

“
Don’t worry. You’re in
safe hands.”

“
Whose is it?” she asks
curiously as they walk to the main deck.

“
Mine,” he replies,
grinning.

“
Yours?” Of course, it’s his. He’s a billionaire, after all,
and what billionaire doesn’t own a boat?

“
You like it?”

“
Heck, yeah!” she chuckles. “You know I can save up for the
rest of my life and still would never be able to buy this type of
stuff?”

He chuckles, glancing at
her.

“
I’m lucky. Thank you. So
like do I get to look around?”

“
Heck, yeah!” he echoes her words, and Alex laughs, throwing
her head back.

Jayden can’t help but feel
a glow of happiness spreading through him.

He eases her down gently.
Once her feet touch the smooth, shiny deck, Alex glances up at
Jayden to see him gazing down at her. His stare is so intense she
starts responding. Her body is trembling, and her heart is
fluttering.

She knows her cheeks are
red because she feels the heat rushing to her face. She bites her
lower lip and quickly unwraps her arms from his neck. When she’s
about to walk away, he catches her wrist and pulls her to him.
“Come on, I’ll show you around.”

“
All right,” she manages
to say, her throat dry.

He leads her into the saloon. Alex gasps in awe as she
stares at the interior surroundings. The dining and living area are
exceptionally beautiful with the leather sofa and a chandelier
smack in the middle. The galley is exceedingly flashy, made out of
oak wood and modern kitchenware.

Jayden smiles at her look
of wonder. “Come on,” he says, leading her to the upper
deck.

Alex is excited when she
sees that they are in the captain’s quarters. A moment later, she
hears the engine running. She glances at Jayden and sees that he’s
guiding the yacht out of the harbor. She grins and comes to stand
beside him, studying as the boat slowly steers its way to the
sea.

With the wind in her hair and a smile on her face, Alex
can’t help but feel like she’s in heaven as Jayden cruises the boat
about New York Harbor, showing her places she can see from afar. He
even lets her steer the boat. She feels like she’s in a romantic
movie as he stands behind her, his face beside hers, and his hands
on top of hers as she’s steering the boat.

“
Can you see that?” he
asks, pointing north.

Alex narrows her eyes. “Oh, my gosh! It’s the Statue of
Liberty!”

“
Yes,” he chuckles. “You
know all about it, huh?”

“
Can we go there?” she
asks, looking up at him.

“
We can’t. We need
permission.”

“
Oh. Right. But it’s still
nice to see it from here.” She grins at him.

Jayden suddenly switches off the engine. “Come on,” he
says, taking her hand and leading her outside onto the deck. He
makes her stand by the rail, his body behind her, and his face
close to hers. He can smell her perfume, a sweet scent. He loves
it.

“
Can you see New York City
from where we are?” he whispers into her ear.

Alex nods, biting her
lips, enjoying the view and enjoying his warm breath against her
skin. They stand there gazing out into the distance, enjoying the
peaceful moment.

“
I had fun. Thank you,”
she comments some moments later.

Jayden looks at her.
“You’re welcome,” he says, staring deeply into her eyes.

Alex doesn’t know what
comes over her as she tilts her face to his, offering her soft lips
for him. Suddenly he kisses her—deeply and passionately. His tongue
plunges into her mouth, igniting the fire within her. She groans
and wraps her arms around his neck, responding to his demanding
urge.

Alex feels as though her whole body is on fire. She’s all
warm and cozy. She feels alive. She tightens her arms around his
neck and digs her fingers into his thick, blond hair. She groans
and wonders if she’s in heaven.

Jayden suddenly stops the kiss and pulls back. He stares
into her eyes. He sees the passionate desire there and something
else, something deep and personal.
Oh, shit!
He realizes
what it is.
She’s in love
with him.

His heart does a somersault.
Oh shit, Jayden, you seriously screwed this one up
now.
This, he thinks, can’t
be right. Alexandra cannot fall in love with him, not when he’s
supposed to be gay. And the most ironic thing is that he knows he’s
falling in love with her, too. But how the heck is he going to
resolve this complicated web? Would she still love him if she knew
he wasn’t gay? That he’s just like any other man?

He frowns, taking a step
back, shocked at that realization.

“
What’s wrong?” she asks,
searching his face. “Oh. I see.”

Jayden rakes his fingers
through his hair. “Alex, I have to tell you something.”

“
No, you don’t. I
understand,” she blurts out. She knows he’s regretting he kissed
her. In her heart, she knows he still loves Sarah, and now he feels
disgusted and guilty that he has kissed another woman.

Alex feels the hurt building up in her chest. No, she could
never make Jayden love her because his heart already belongs to
another woman, a woman who cheated and betrayed him.
How could a man love that kind of
woman?

“
No, you don’t. Look, Alex.” H
e cups her face in his hands; his heart feels tight with
dread. Gosh, how he wants to tell her he loves her, but he doesn’t
want to get hurt. He doesn’t want to get rejected. He knows she
will hate him the moment she finds out he’s not gay and that he’s
lying to her. But he knows it’s either now or never.

“
Alex,” he begins. “I have
to tell you something.”

“
No, Jayden. You don’t
have to. I understand,” she says, shaking her head, a dark
expression in her eyes.

“
Sweetheart, I’m sorry. I’m not gay. I’m straight. Just like
Sam and Dad and Peter, like any other man you know. And I—” He
couldn’t go on. The little voice in his head keeps
screaming—
Tell her, you
idiot! Tell her you love her.

“
Why did you lie to me?”
she asks, her voice quivering with emotion. “Why did you have to
tell me you’re gay when you’re not?”

“
I couldn’t help it. It
just all happened at once and—”

“
There’re many other women around, ones that are better
looking than me. Ones who—I don’t know—ones who belong in your
world. I, Jayden, I don’t know your world. Why me?”

“
I’m sorry, it just
happened.”

“
Don’t be sorry, Jayden. I don’t understand why you’ve
chosen me, though I do understand why you did it. I know you still
love her. I know you don’t want your family to fix you up. I know
you need space. That’s why you hired me.”

“
Alex, sweetheart, it’s
not like that.” His face inches from hers that Alex could feel his
warm breath on her skin.

“
I don’t like people lying to me, Jayden, and I’m really
upset about it. I totally understand why you did it, though. But
since you’ve paid me, and I’ve used up the money, it’s my
obligation that I must complete my part of the deal.”

Jayden wants to growl.
She’s calling their relationship a deal now? And that it’s her
obligation to complete it? This is ridiculous.

“
Alex, listen to me,
sweetheart.”

“
Jayden, you don’t have to
call me ‘sweetheart’ anymore. We’re alone. I’m getting cold. Can we
go now?” she says abruptly and moves his hands away from her. She
turns and strolls back into the captain’s area, away from the
sudden onset of cold wind.

Jayden feels defeated. He
also feels like half of him is dying, very slowly and painfully. My
God, how he wants to explain everything to her even though none of
it actually makes any sense to him.

Yes, she hates his guts, all right. And yes, she hates him
even more now because he’s not gay.
Shit!

He spins on his heels,
returns to the wheel, and starts the engine.

Their drive back is a
solemn and quiet one. Even though they’re within arm's reach of
each other, their emotional connection feels like it’s miles away,
perhaps even as far as the distance between New Zealand and the
States. The atmosphere is tense and thick.

Once home, Alex tells everyone that she has a terrible
headache and that she needs a good rest before dinner. Alone in the
bedroom, she cries her heart out. She hates herself for falling in
love with Jayden. She can’t believe she’s that weak. How she wishes
things were different. How she wishes Jayden loved her. But that’s
impossible because he is still in love with Sarah.

Never mind, she tells herself. The wedding is in a few
days’ time. And after that, she’d be gone. Back to New Zealand for
her. She would never have to see Jayden ever again.

The thought doesn’t sit
well with her though, and she starts crying again.

* * *

Jayden hears the soft sobbing from the other side of the door. He
knows in his gut that he is the cause. He rakes his fingers through
his hair in frustration.

Oh, Alex sweetheart, I didn’t mean to hurt you,
he wants to tell her.
Okay, Jayden,
the voice at the back of his head says,
Just go in and tell her. Tell her
everything. Tell her you love her and you are glad what happened
has happened. Tell her you’re glad you found Sarah cheating on you.
You’re glad you dumped her. You’re glad Peter suggested you hire
her, Alexandra Stewart, as your girlfriend. And that you’re glad
you are in love with her because she’s a great woman.

Jayden wraps his fingers
around the door handle, about to open it, when—

Ring, ring, ring
...

“
Shit!” he swears under his breath. He snatches the
BlackBerry from his trousers pocket and flips it on. “Jayden,” he
growls into the phone.

The voice on the other
side says, “Boss, it’s me.”

Jayden recognizes it as
David Peterson, his executive associate.

“
David, what is it?” he
snaps.

“
We’ve got a problem. It’s
about that piece of property Mr. Marcelo wants to sell
us.”

“
What the heck is wrong
with it?”

“
It’s big. You’ll have to
come see for yourself. I’ll be in the office.”

“
Damn! Yeah. Be there in five.” He flips his cell shut.
“Shit!” he swears again, glancing at the door to his bedroom,
knowing that Alex is in there crying her heart out. “I’m sorry,
sweetheart,” he says and then runs down the
stairs
. I’ll be back
soon.

* * *

T
wenty

Try as she might, Alex
just couldn’t get up the next morning. What happened yesterday in
the yacht is still fresh in her mind. Thank God Jayden didn’t
return to their room, so she was able to cry herself to sleep.
Otherwise, she wouldn’t have been able to face him. She thinks he’s
probably back with Sarah, making out.

She feels guilty she told Gracie not to bother her last
night when the woman came in to ask if she wanted dinner. She lied
that she had a terrible headache and that she didn’t feel like
eating because the food made her feel sick. It was true about the
food part, at least. A normal dysfunction, surely, when one is in a
mood of depression—
the
heartbroken type.

She slowly and reluctantly
gets up, showers, and dresses. No makeup for her today, as she
doesn’t feel up to the task and the fact that the makeup artist is
coming anyway to do a trial.