Anyone but Alex (The English Brothers Book 3) (23 page)

It put her new relationship under hard light to look at it in such black and white terms. For all that their feelings had quickly moved from a childhood crush to love, it was still a newborn love that needed to be
protected and nurtured. The stress of moving, the meshing of lives pre-maturely, could put too much pressure on it, threaten it, weaken it, destroy it. And yet, wouldn’t it be worse to be separated? To meet for a weekend every four weeks? To drift away from each other day by day as their lives swallowed them up again?

Jessie took a long gulp of her beer, biting her lip in thought until she was distracted by Emily saying Alex’s name.

“…so Alex said that Stratton would look at the numbers first, and then he’d take a look, too. Hopefully they can help.”

Valeria looked grateful and Jessie asked, “Is Alex helping you with something?”

“My aunt doesn’t manage her money very well, and the bank’s threatening to call in the loan on her dance studio. I’m hoping the English brothers can figure out a miracle to save it.”

“Stratton’s the
‘Great Fixer,’” said Daisy, using air quotes. “When Fitz and I first reconnected, I told him I wanted to start a bakery and voila! Stratton had the entire thing pretty much figured out twelve hours later.”

“
Oooh! I have a problem with my vagina that needs fixing,” deadpanned Valeria. “You think he could help me with that?”

Jessie, Emily
, and Daisy whooped with laughter, none of them noticing that Barrett, Fitz, and Alex had all arrived a few minutes before and were standing up against the bar watching them.

***

“Me, you, or Barrett?” Alex asked Fitz, raising an eyebrow. “Which one of us are they laughing about?”

“Could be Stratton or Wes,” said Barrett.
“Or someone else entirely.”

“Yeah, right. None of them is in the bedroom with Stratton or Wes. Stop being an idiot, Barrett.” He leaned his elbow on the bar and narrowed his eyes. “Seriously. What do you think they’re saying?”

“I have no clue,” said Fitz, his face going all soft. “Look at my girl drinking Sprite. Damn, I love that woman.”

“It’s nice that she doesn’t want your kid to come out with thirteen toes.”

“Yeah,” said Fitz, grinning at Alex. “She’s sweet like that.”

“Don’t you guys think Emily’s
super-hot?” asked Barrett, staring at his fiancée as he tipped back his bottle and took a long pull.

“Awkward,” said Alex.

“All Edwards girls are gorgeous,” said Fitz diplomatically, clinking Barrett’s bottle with his. “You know, Bar, our kids are going to be almost like genetic siblings. Wild, right?”

Barrett shook his head. “I’m not thinking about kids yet. I don’t want anyone walking in on me and my hot wife. I want her all to myself for a while.”

“Amen, brother,” said Alex under his breath, saluting his oldest brother with his bottle, then taking another gulp of cold beer.

“How are things with Jessie?” asked Fitz.

“Good.”

“But not so good with the Winslow’s,” observed Barrett. “Cam called today threatening to
bow out of the deal. It took me an hour to calm him down. For now, they’re still in, and I think I convinced Christopher to be Project Manager. But no thanks to you.”

“Sorry, Barrett. Things got a little haywire at squash today.”

Barrett’s eyes flicked to Alex’s collar. “And Emily said that she walked in on you kissing Hope Atwell.”

“No! No, no, no! Crap! Is that what she
th—”

“Chill out. She said it wasn’t your fault, that you were pushing Hope away.”

“I don’t know why I ever got involved with her. Ugh. The Atwells.”

“Amen, brother,” said Barrett, drinking to Alex.

“She had some choice words for Emily.”

“I heard
,” said Barrett, his lips thin and annoyed. “But, my woman’s tough. She can take it. Hope Atwell’s no match for Emily Edwards.”

“I’m well rid of her.”

“Can you just get your shit in order, please? Jessie…the Winslow’s…all of it. Time to grow up, Alex.”

“I’m working on it.”

“Hey, what do you guys think of Valeria Campanile?” asked Fitz, checking out Emily’s roommate.

Alex gave Fitz a look.
“You’re having a baby, man. I don’t think you should be—”

“Don’t be a moron, Al. For
Strat.”

“For
Strat
?” blurted out Alex. “Is he finally interested in someone?”

“I don’t know,” said Fitz, thoughtfully, taking another sip of beer.

Barrett shook his head. “Don’t go messing around in Stratton’s love life, Fitz. Leave him alone.”

“Daisy thinks he’s lonely.”

“Maybe,” said Alex, “but until Strat asks for help, I’m with Barrett. I think you should leave it alone.”

“Hmm.”

“Uh, excuse me?”

Alex, Fitz
, and Barrett turned from watching their women to look at the bartender, who pushed three cold, open beers toward them. “Ladies at the end of the bar wanted you gentlemen to have another round.”

Alex looked around Barrett to where three gorgeous women stood, beaming their prettiest, sexiest smiles at the English Brothers. He re
cognized the one in the middle—um, Alyssa? Yeah. Alyssa, what? He couldn’t remember. She was a real yeller, though. He remembered that. She was someone with whom he’d hooked up with a few months ago, and his stomach rolled over as he looked back over at Jessie, who was leaning across the table, saying something to Emily and Val that was making them all smile.

“Send them back,” said Alex.

“What the hell, Al?” said Barrett. “Jesus, it’s just a friendly gesture.”

“Send them back,” Alex told the bartender, flexing his jaw and pushing the beers
away.

“They’re already open. You may as well drink them.”

“I’m not going to say it again,” growled Alex.

The bartender shook his head but took the beers off the bar, putting them on the back counter behind him.

Alex didn’t turn back to his brother until the beers were well out of reaching distance, but when he did, Fitz was beaming at him. “Now, tell me you’re not in love with her.”

“Shut up, Fitz,” said Alex, heading
to the bathroom.

“Yep
,” said Fitz, from behind him. “That’s what I thought.”

***

Emily was the first to notice the brothers approaching.

“Daisy! T
ime!”

Daisy flipped over her phone and swiped the screen. “Nine-oh-six.”

“Wow,” said Emily, grinning up at a ridiculously handsome Barrett, who looked over-the-moon to see her. “A whole hour and six minutes to ourselves.”

“You want us to go?”

Emily shook her head.

“You can have my seat,” said Val to Barrett, hopping up and giving him a kiss on the cheek
before looking back down at Emily. “Can you two go to his place tonight? I have studying to do. I need quiet, if you know what I mean.”

Emily’s eyes widened like saucers
, and she blushed bright red. “Val!”

“I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again…the walls are thin. Barrett?”

“
Il tuo desiderio è un ordine, Valeria
,” said Barrett in credible Italian.

Jessie grinned at Val’s
slack-jawed, stunned expression, wondering if she might faint on the spot. Instead, she muttered something about “getting her own English brother” threw her messenger bag over her shoulder and pushed through Barrett and Fitz to leave.

“What does that mean?” demanded Emily, her bright, blue eyes sparkling up at Barrett.

“Your wish is my command,” said Barrett in a low, suggestive rumble as he slid into the booth beside his fiancée. “I missed you.”

“Maybe you
were
being serious about Barrett being the hottest,” a voice whispered in Jessie’s ear, and her heart leapt and danced as Polo Black surrounded her.

She looked up to see Alex sliding in beside her. “No chance. But, you have to admit, player, that was pretty damn smooth.”

“Player? I’m taken.” Alex dropped his eyes to her mouth. “But I’ll show you smooth.”

He kissed her soundly, making her toes curl in her boots, pulling away just before things got indecent.
He put his arm around her, shaking his head with a look a pure adoration. “Damn, Jess.”

“Jesus, Al, get a room,” teased Fitz, looking over at Daisy, who was sandwiched in the corner between Jessie and the wall. “How’re you feeling, beautiful?
How’s Sweet Pea?”

“W
e’re fine,” she said, smiling back at him. “And guess what? I got a late day order for four hundred cookies!”

“Amazing! And in your first week, too!
My girl’s one
phenomenal
business woman.”

Barrett picked up his beer. “To Daisy’s Delights.”

They all picked up their glasses to cheers, and feeling happier than she could ever remember, surrounded by friends and the love of her life, Jessie snuck a quick peek at Alex’s smiling face to her left. That’s when she noticed it: the small, but unmistakable, smudge of red lipstick on Alex’s collar.

When Alex and I
got together today, things got a little hot between us… I just thought you should know.

Jessie gasped softly,
staring at the smudge, the small sound of shock and pain overridden by the clanking of glass and congratulations to Daisy. Her chest heaved as all the air was suddenly sucked out of the room, and her stomach rolled over. Wondering if she was going to be sick, she clenched her jaw together, staring down at the table miserably.

“Jess,” said Emily suddenly, “come to the bathroom with me?”

“Hey,” said Alex, dipping his head to hers, “are you okay, baby? What’s—”

Jessie looked up at Emily gratefully then flicked her glance to Alex. “Let me out.”

“Sure. I just…”

“Now, please.”

“Jess, did something—”

He
stood and Jessie heard the worry in his voice, but she couldn’t look at him. Between Hope’s call and the lipstick on his collar, she was about to burst into tears and she couldn’t bear embarrassing herself like that. She kept her head down, sliding out of the booth and keeping her back to the table.

“Alex, just give us a minute,” said Emily, putting her arm around Jessie’s shoulders and leading her to the bathroom.

Jessie didn’t look up, didn’t see where they were going. She trusted Emily to lead her through the crowd and kept her eyes down, desperately holding the tears at bay.
Once inside the bathroom, Emily closed and locked the deadbolt in the door, as Jessie slumped against the wall, taking a deep, shaky breath as tears spilled from her eyes.

“It’s not what you think,” said Emily.

“What do you mean?”

“The lipstick. On his collar. It’s not what you think.”

“How did you—”

“I saw your face. I know exactly where your mind went, because mine would’ve gone to the exact same place.”

Holding onto whatever shred of hope Emily could offer, Jessie swiped at her eyes, looking up at her friend’s face. “What do you mean that it’s not what I think?”

“Okay, can you listen?”

Jessie took a deep, jagged breath and nodded.

“I needed to talk to Alex today about Valeria’s aunt’s dance studio. I’ve gotten so used to visiting Barrett at the office, I hardly ever knock anymore. When I barged into Alex’s office, Hope
Atwell was throwing herself at Alex, and he was pushing her away. She said, ‘If you change your mind…’ and Alex said, ‘I won’t. Don’t come here again.’ Hope was really angry and tried to insult me a little, and then she left in a huff. Alex called her his last loose end. He didn’t kiss her, Jessie. She was trying to kiss him, and I suspect some of her lipstick got on his collar as he pushed her away.”

Jessie took a shaky breath, her hands fisting at her sides as she imagined any woman touching Alex now that he belonged to her. “You swear it?”

“Oh, Jess. Of course. I’d never defend someone who was in the wrong, I’d tell you to run. But Alex is in love with you. It’s completely obvious.”

Reassured, Jessie slumped against
Emily who held out her arms. She felt relieved about the lipstick, but took a shaky breath before telling Emily about the phone call. “Hope left me a t-terrible voice message t-today and I didn’t want to b-believe it, but when I saw…when I saw the…”

“Hey,” said Emily, rubbing her friend’s back. “Any girl in a new relationship would have wondered the same.”

Jessie took a deep, ragged breath as her tears ended, and Emily ran a piece of paper towel under cold water and handed it to her.

“He’s been with a lot of women,” said Jessie as she pressed the cool paper to her eyes, wiping away her streaked mascara and fanning her face.