B00BR2BOUU EBOK (19 page)

“On second thought, it’s huge and deep and needs a lot of
attention.” He pulled the bottom lip and removed the tissue away from his cut.
I smiled at his adorable attempt to reverse my decision.

“Oh, yes it does. Poor baby, but you do realise I cannot let
you drive a motor vehicle in your current state.” I grabbed the keys from his
hand and opened the passenger side door. He smiled, and without a choice, sat
in the seat. Already, my body reacted with little tingling sensations as I
grasped the steering wheel, and I could feel my face stretching into an
uncontrollable smile.

“You won, my love, fair and square.”

“I did.” I turned on the engine and shuffled in my seat.

“So what do I get for winning, Mr. Clark?” The Charger
roared out of the car park, my heart roaring along with it.

“This.” He indicated the car.
Getting to drive this baby
was well worth the win
.

“Well, if getting to drive this home is my prize for winning
then, I shall challenge you again tomorrow.”
Oh my God, this car is just
gorgeous.

“No, my love, it’s yours.” I shot him a ‘what the fuck’
look, but he just smiled.

“No. Bryce, I can’t accept this.” I stated with certainty. I
wanted to, really wanted to, but I couldn’t possibly accept it.

“It’s non-negotiable, Alexis,” he replied quite sternly.

“But...”

“It’s yours, end of story.”

I couldn’t help but smile, even though deep down inside I
knew I could not accept this gift. I smiled for him, smiled for my victory, and
I think I smiled all the way back to the hotel.

***

With my hand in his, I led him up to his bedroom and
directed him to sit on the end of the bed. I disappeared into the walk in
stadium, returning moments later wearing the nurse costume he had bought, after
I sang him the ‘Boo Boo Song’ a couple of weeks ago. He had requested I dress
up for him, and now was the perfect time to do that. The costume was made of
white shiny Lycra and barely covered my arse and breasts. It also came with a
tie-on hat and red thigh-high PVC boots. He was looking down at his hands when
I stopped in the doorway.

“So, Mr. Clark, where does it hurt?” He looked up, and a
huge smile crept across his face, displaying absolutely no signs of injury or
illness at all.

“Right here.” He pointed to his heart.

“I thought you had a boo-boo on your head?”

“Yes, but I think my heart just stopped, Nurse Summers.”

I walked over to him very slowly, noticing him swallow quite
heavily as I approached. I bent down and put my ear to his chest, then stood
back up and put my fingers over his carotid pulse.

“Mr. Clark, your heart is just resting.” I moved so that I
was now in between his legs Then taking his head in my hands I assessed the cut
on his forehead. It wasn’t as deep as I had originally thought, but it still
needed a band-aid. “First, Mr Clark, I must see to your wound, then we can look
at ways of getting your heart beating faster.” I raised an eyebrow at him, in
the hope it would have the very same effect on him as his has on me. The
slightest involuntary twitch of his eye told me that it did, empowering me to
carry on with my little charade.

“Are you going to sing to me, Nurse Summers?”

“Yes, but only if you are a good patient, Mr. Clark.” I
walked around to the bedside table. My handbag was sitting on top, so I reached
inside and pulled out a tissue and band-aid. A sneaky, self-satisfied smirk
crept across my face as I realised that my pay back for the ‘rose petal, birds
nest look’ was about to come to fruition.
Yes, good things do come to those
who wait Alexis!
Placing myself back in between his legs, I seductively
licked the tissue. A part of it got stuck on my tongue and I had to spit it
out. Bryce laughed hysterically and fell back onto the bed. I too had to fight
back my pending laughter if I wished to remain in character. “Mr. Clark, it
appears you are well again. Does that mean I am no longer needed?”

“No, Nurse Summers, my head still hurts...BAD!” He shot back
up and supressed the laugh he still had within him. I placed the tissue on his
head and wiped away the remainder of the dry blood, then started to sing Fix
You by Coldplay. My singing was distracting him from looking at the band-aid as
I unwrapped it—which was exactly what I wanted. I placed it over his cut and
smoothed it out as I sang the last line, telling him I would ‘fix’ him.

“There, all fixed.” I looked at my handy work, and it took
everything within in me not to burst into laughter, because staring back at me
was a cute little ‘Dora the Explorer’ band-aid, and it was attached to his
forehead.
Score, Alexis, you little payback devil.

“No, I’m not Nurse Summers, I’m not fixed.” He was smiling
at me but his eyes were speaking another language.

“Why, Mr. Clark?” I cupped his cheeks in my hands.

“Because now my heart has definitely stopped beating.”

I suddenly felt awfully guilty. He was so incredibly
romantic and here I was sticking cartoon character medical aids to his head.

“Oh Bryce, I need your heart to beat.”

I kissed him and we both fell back onto the bed.

CHAPTER
THIRTEEN

Today was the last day Bryce
and I would spend together before I
reclaimed my children from their
grandparents and returned home. I needed to provide Nate and Charlotte with a
sense of normality and routine, because when I explained to them that their
world was about to change, this was the only thing I could think to do in order
to help soften the blow.
I planned on heading
home first to see Rick. Facing him was almost upon me, and I was now dreading
it more than ever. During the past week, I had been able to put my pending
confrontation with my husband out of my head. And because of that, the idea of
seeing him for the first time tomorrow was even more unbearable. The past week
had been amazing, the most wonderful and exciting week of my life. In hindsight
though, that was probably because I had Bryce to comfort me. He had taken my
mind away from the devastation that I would no doubt have felt and suffered
through, if he had not been with me every step of the way.

I stepped into my shower—or
my silent confessional booth—as I had so aptly named it—as for some unknown
reason, this little confined steamy location gave me clarity. Anxiety was one
thing I felt as I stood here, but anger was another and it was boiling
underneath my skin, bubbling away near the point of explosion.
Why would he bloody
cheat? We were happy, we have always been happy, or so I thought.

The memories of our
confrontation in the garage came flooding back, ‘I have wondered what it would
be like with someone else, too. The thing is, I didn’t just stop there either,
Lex, at the wondering bit I mean.’
The memory made me shudder. Okay, so
yes, I had been curious and tempted by another. I understood that part, but I
had not fucked Bryce behind Rick’s back while we were happily playing husband
and wife. I know I had come close, but I hadn’t—I wouldn’t have—and if I
thought it was inevitable, I would have gone to Rick and told him or broken it
off beforehand. I tried to think of exactly what it was that went wrong with
Rick and I. Was it the fact we’d been together since we were kids? Was it
getting married young? Was it having children young? Was it the fact I was a
lot chubbier five years ago and feeling sorry for myself? I couldn’t honestly
put my finger on it. I guess he would have to enlighten me when I saw him, as
to why he saw it fit to fuck Claire. One thing was for certain, though. I could
not go back to him. Not now. And to be honest, I didn’t think he would want me
back either after the week I have had with Bryce.

I got out of the shower and
found Bryce making breakfast, or was it lunch? I honestly had no idea what the
time was. We had been awake for hours after the previous night’s medical
assessment. Nurse Summers had administered not one, but two doses of hot,
steamy sex-medicine, having us well and truly occupied into the night and early
hours of the morning. He was moving about in his kitchen, and as I watched him,
it struck me that his normal elegantly flowing grace around this particular
room was not apparent. He did not seem his normal self, and it was clear
something was bugging him. His phone rang and vibrated across the bench. He
looked at it, at the same time he noticed me standing there, and scooped it up
instantly.

“I have to take this.” He
passed me briskly and wandered out onto the balcony. I eyed him as he spoke on
the phone, and whoever he was speaking with had him acting very nervous. His
hand was placed on the balustrade railing, and I noticed it was tensing and
gripping tightly.
Who is he talking to?
He turned ever so slightly and
looked in my direction, as if he had felt my curious stare pierce deep into the
back of his head. Feeling I was intruding on his conversation, I gave him a shy
smile and looked away. When he hung up he put his finger in the air to suggest
he’d be a little while longer, and then headed into his office.
I hate
secrets with a passion, but I guess he was entitled to them, especially if they
were work related, as this one probably was.
While he was gone my phone
beeped. I lifted it out of my pocket to find a text message from Rick.

Alexis, we really need to talk.

You cannot avoid me forever, it’s not just about us - Rick

I read it out aloud.
Don’t lay
the guilt trip on me. I know very well it is not just about ‘us’.
I started
to type a reply.

I’m fully aware that we need 2 talk,

& I will when I’m ready.

U of all people should not try & lay a guilt trip on me,

especially when it comes 2 our kids - Alexis

I pressed send and put the phone
back into my pocket just as Bryce came through the door, both of us displaying
startled and secretive expressions.

“Is everything all right?” I queried.

“Yes, Hunny. Just had to do some quick banking.”
Oh, okay,
I guess that could be stressful considering the copious amount of money he has?
“So, my love, do you notice anything different at all?” I caught a glimpse of
his very brief devilish glint which made me automatically go into survival
mode.
Right, he is going to attack, but why? How? When?
I surveyed the
room, spotting a picture of the two of us on top of Ayer’s Rock stuck to his
fridge next to the picture of Lucy and him.
Oh Mr Adorable Clark, you’ve
officially added me to your stainless steel picture board of love. How sweet.

“Um, you’ve put a picture of us on your fridge.” I pointed
to it.

“Yes, I have, but no...something different about me?”
About
him?
I happily scrutinized him.
No, you are as sexy as ever, right from
your manly feet, to your sculpted legs, to your unbelievable package...
I
leaned back from the bench to get a better view of his groin, ...
to your
glorious chest, and up to your luscious hair which falls upon your irresistibly
handsome face and forehead...which no longer has a Dora band-aid stuck to it...oh
shit! Look away Alexis, look away.

“Nope, I have no idea what is different about you.” I
glanced up at him ever so slightly.
 Uh oh. Shit, run!
I took off and
got as far as the lounge, stopping on the other side of the sofa.

“So, you think it’s funny to stick Dora the Fucking Explorer
to my head?” I laughed but kept my wits about me as the sofa did not offer much
protection.

“What? What’s wrong with Dora? She has a wealth of
knowledge. Do you know she can speak fluent Spanish? Hola.” He cracked his head
from side to side.
Fuck, I’m a goner.
I grabbed a cushion and held it
up, as I needed some form of defence. He stood up on the sofa and snatched it
away from me.
Uh Oh.
I tried my best Spanish accent. “Hey, Swiper, no
swiping.” He growled and launched himself over the sofa at me. I screamed and
ran for the balcony but he had me up and in his arms before I had even made it
to the bi-folds. “I’m sorry, it was the only band-aid I had. Anyway we are even
now.”

“Oh no, Ms. Summers, we are far from even.” He carried me
out onto the balcony and over to the edge of the pool.

“No, Bryce, please, I just had a shower.”

“We’ll have another one then.”

“You are so infuriating.” I closed my eyes and braced myself
for impact.

“You are so cheeky.” He kept a tight grip on me, but had not
yet taken the plunge.

I opened one eye. “You are going to ruin all of my clothes.”

“You are making me ruin all your clothes.”

Grrrr, he never lets up.
I opened the other eye. “You
always have to win.”

“You always drive me crazy.”

He still hasn’t jumped in yet.
“No, Mr. Clark, you
always drive
me
crazy.”

“You mean the world to me, Alexis.”
This conversation is
now taking a different turn. Whatever I am doing, must be working.

“You make me second guess myself, Bryce.”

“You set my heart on fire, and keep it burning till it hurts,
my love.”

I touched his face. “You, Mr. God-Damn, Breath-takingly Superb
Clark, are the reason I have finally discovered what true love and happiness
is.”

He raised his arms and lifted me to his mouth, then
whispered as he kissed me.

“You, Alexis, are absolutely everything I will ever want or
need. Please remember that tomorrow.”

“Tomorrow?”

“Tomorrow, when you see Rick.” I kicked my legs down and
stood at the edge of the pool facing him.

“Bryce, I am not going back to him, I can’t. You know I
can’t.” He nodded then hung his head. “What? What is eating at you? I’m not
stupid Bryce. I know something is wrong. Just tell me. What have you done?”