His Hired Girlfriend (19 page)

*****

CHAPTER 13

ALEXANDRA DIDN’T QUITE
comprehend what was going on except for the fact that Jayden was
leading her by the arm out from the changing room – with Stephanie
smirking knowingly behind them. There was a sort of excitement on
her pretty face that led Alex to wonder what the cause was. She
glanced back at the red-headed woman and saw her winking. That was
when it hit her in between the eyes.

Oh My God! Stephanie must have
thought that she and Jayden had been making out. Oh no, no, no.
She’d have to explain to the woman that nothing of the sort had
happened. That it was all a misunderstanding. Gosh, she thought,
how a mucked up this all was!

“There you two are,” Kelly
announced. “What do you think?” She pointed to her dress.

Alex came to a sudden stop and
the thought of explaining to Stephanie about her and Jayden making
out was completely wiped out of her mind once she had seen Kelly.
My God! The young woman was truly beautiful in that wedding
gown.

It was a dress like Alex had
never seen before in real life – the type of dress she had only
seen in high fashion magazines. The gown was an ivory white
strapless with a full A-line and a natural waist. There was a bow
of golden silk on the side, and the skirt itself was asymmetrically
draped with a bias tiered origami shape.

“Wow!” she exclaimed.

Kelly smiled. “I know, right?”
Then she touched the material of the skirt.

“It’s a one of a kind piece,”
Victoria, the shop owner said, who was standing just behind
Kelly.

The shop assistant who was
standing on the other side of Kelly said, “A lot of brides want
this dress, but unfortunately most brides can’t afford it.” She
touched the fabric on the side of Kelly’s skirt and spread it out
to show off the pieces.

“I’m so happy. I love it! Sam
will love it!” Kelly announced.

“Of course he will,” Beth said,
smiling. “Now come here and give your grandmother a kiss.”

Kelly laughed as she put her
arms around her grandmother. Then she kissed the woman on both
cheeks.

“That’s my girl,” Beth said.
“You’re beautiful, just like me when I was your age.”

A loud cheer went up then. The
room echoed with their laughter. Kelly couldn’t help beaming from
ear to ear.

When the cheer died down a
voice said, “Yes, I do agree it is rather a beautiful dress.”

Alex glanced to her right and
saw there sitting on the sofa was Britney – dressed in a mini, sexy
black dress and her long, slender legs crossed elegantly. When had
the woman turned up? And who had invited her? She wasn’t family,
after all.

‘
Oh stop
it, Alex!’
She snapped at
herself.
‘You’re not family
either.’
But then again she was supposed
to be Jayden’s girlfriend, and girlfriends count as a member of the
family.

“If I were to get married,”
Britney continued as she stood up. Then she sexily tossed her long
hair behind her bare shoulders, similar to the action in a hair
commercial. She came to stand beside Kelly and said, “I’d wear a
gown that’s a bit more extravagant than this one.” She fingered the
fabric of the skirt in distaste, which caused the shop assistant to
frown darkly. “The skirt a bit fuller than this one. One with a
long train – like the one Princess Diana wore on her wedding day.
There’d be some red mixed with the boring white colour. Gold
doesn’t really go with white, don’t you think?

There was an uncomfortable
silence. Victoria and her shop assistant glanced at each other.

“But I like gold with white,”
Kelly said. “I don’t care for red and white.”

“I agree,”
Stephanie announced. “Gold and white goes well with your
complexion, Kelly. It makes you look sweet and seductive at the
same time.” She turned to Britney. “I’m sure you’ll look smashing
when you wear a white and red wedding gown
if
you are a bride, Britney,” she
said sarcastically.

Britney narrowed her eyes
dangerously at Stephanie but didn’t reply. Kelly and Stephanie
grinned at each other. Even Victoria and her shop assistant hid a
satisfied smile.

“Oh my, where did you find that
gown, Alex?” Gracie asked suddenly. Everyone’s attention was turned
to Alex then, whose cheeks turned almost the same colour as the
gown she had on.

“Oh, um, I kind of found it at
the back,” Alex said.

“That’s a Chandra evening gown,
love,” Victoria said. “It’s a new designer’s gown. Quite tasteful.
And it fits you perfectly.”

“It is very nice on you,”
Gracie commented.

“I agree,” Kelly said. “Perfect
for the wedding.”

“Yes, it is rather, isn’t it?”
Jayden said.

Alex glimpsed him eyeing her
and thought that there was way too much interest there. She casted
her eyes downward shyly for receiving so much attention. She
thought about running back into the dressing room and change, but
knew it was rude to do so when everyone was still watching her as
though she was on a stage show – the one that she had mucked
up.

Britney did a cat walk over to
Jayden and linked her hands about his arm. She said, “Jayden
darling, Daddy wanted you to join us for lunch today. I know it is
rather short notice, but Daddy insisted you must come. Mr.
McCartney will be there as well, of course. I think he wants to
talk business with you.”

Jayden was
speechless
. A business lunch with Mr.
Marcelo?
Who would have thought? And his
dad would be there as well? Something big was definitely on the
menu here.

“Jayden, I think you should buy
that dress for Alex,” Kelly cut in from the distance, her voice
high and intended to interrupt the rude Britney.

On cue Jay turned to Alex and
said, “Well? Do you like it?”

Alex didn’t know how to reply
to that. Wasn’t he supposed to be responding to Britney’s query
first about that short notice business lunch date? She cleared her
throat nervously because she knew Britney was now glaring at her
and perhaps wanted to murder her right there and then for stealing
Jayden’s attention from her. “Well... Yes, but...”

Jay chuckled. “That settles it
then.”

Britney switched her glare into
a lovely smile then – at Jayden of course. “So you’ll come to
lunch?”

Jay turned to Victoria. “Could
you please deliver that dress along with my sister’s wedding gown
to the address noted?”

Victoria smiled brightly. “Of
course.”

“But I don’t want it,” Alex put
in quickly.

“Why not?” Kelly asked.

“It’s too much for me,” Alex
said.

Frowning darkly, Britney said
sharply, “Yes, it rather is. It’s too expensive and too beautiful
for someone as plain as you. I mean you’re vertically challenged.
Look at you, the skirt is sweeping all over the floor. Your skin
tone is rather dull. Your make up is just too boring. And your hair
– dear Lord may I use this phrase?” she chuckled as she looked up
to the heavens. Looking straight into Alex’s eyes, she said with a
mark of exaggeration, “Your hair is positively medieval.”

Alex felt like she had just
been slapped in the face and drowned into the depth of the cold
ocean and left there to die. She had never been so humiliated in
all her life. And then she realised that Britney was a bitch.

“I think I better go and
change,” she murmured under her breath. Refusing to make eye
contact with anyone, she quickly made her way back to the dressing
room. She could feel everyone’s eyes on her as she left.

Once she was in the comfort and
safety of the changing room she sighed and gently touched the
dress, her heart quivering with a sickening feeling.

‘
Yes,
Britney was an absolute bitch. Don’t you listen to her,
Alex,’
she told herself.
‘Don’t you listen to that
woman.
’ But even as she told herself so,
she couldn’t help but agree with Britney that she was very plain,
that the dress was too beautiful and expensive for her, and yes,
her hair was positively medieval – just like what Caroline Bingley
had said to Elizabeth Bennett in Pride and Prejudice.

God it hurt when the truth had
spoken out loud, even worse to such a big audience. She turned her
attention to the gown, admiring it on her. “It’s not meant to be.
You’re beautiful, even on such a plain girl like me, but...” She
shook her head and unzipped the back. She told herself not to feel
attach to a simple thing as a gown.

Once she had the dress off, she
stood there in front of the mirror and touching the material and
staring into space.

The door flew opened and then—
“Alex?”

Alex gasped, too shocked to do
anything else when she saw Jayden standing there. She thought she
had locked the door. Then she suddenly realised that she was half
naked with only her underwear on when she had seen him starring at
her bizarrely again. She quickly covered herself with her
hands.

“Jayden, I’m naked here,” she
snapped.

Jay shook his head. “I’m sorry,
Alex. I was just, umm, wondering if you’re all right.”

Alex saw that he had lapsed
into some sort of a fixed trance again, gazing at her – especially
at her chest that she could barely cover with her hands.

“Jayden,” she said. “I’m
fine.”

He blinked. “Really?” he asked,
looking at her now as though he hadn’t a clue as to what she was
talking about.

“Yes, I’m fine. What are you
doing here?”

Jayden cleared his throat.
“Just want to make sure you’re okay.” He came closer despite the
fact that she showed him clearly she wanted him to leave so she
could get dressed.

“You’re not hurt? I mean what
Britney said back there was mean.” Then he touched her bare
shoulders, his hands sending warm sensations down her body. She
wanted to melt in his arms. She wanted him to hold her and tell her
that what Britney had said was not true, that in actual fact
Britney was jealous and that she, Alex, was pretty and very
desirable – especially in that gown.

She, however, managed to kill
that longing and said instead, “Yes, it is hurtful. But I’m fine.
What she said is right anyway.” Her eyes started brewing with
emotional tears.

“Poor Alex,” Jay said, stroking
her hair gently. “Don’t you listen to her.”

“I’m not,” Alex sniffed, tears
rolled out of her eyes.

Or at least she tried telling
herself so anyway. She felt the wet tear rolling down her cheeks
and bent down to wipe it away. “Stupid contacts,” she muttered,
wanting him to think that it was her lenses that were causing her
to cry and not the fact that he had reminded her about what Britney
had said about her appearance.

Jayden chuckled. “Maybe it’s
past its use by date.”

Alex looked up, her eyes large
and questioning. “Huh?”

“Is it sore?”

“Nope, not really,” she
responded.

“Let me have a look,” he
demanded.

“You can’t. It’s in my
eyes.”

“Let me look anyway,” he said
and proceeded to closely study her eyes. As he was doing so, he was
pushing her back against the wall, their body in intimate
contact.

“I can’t see anything,” he
announced.

“You’re not supposed to see
anything. It’s in my eyes,” she muttered with a frown.

“Quit your frowning and open
your eyes,” he chuckled.

“Jayden!” Alex snapped, pushing
at his chest so that he’d step back and go.

Jayden could suddenly feel her
bare breasts against his shirt. He glanced down.

He slowly looked back up to her
face. He stared at her luscious lips. He suddenly wanted to kiss
her again, and against his better judgement, he moved his head
towards her.

He could feel her beautiful
warm heat against him intensifying. His hand automatically moved to
cup her face, his fingers digging into the thickness of her hair.
He felt so right being there with her, being so close to her,
touching her. He could feel the hot, electrifying heat from
within.

Yes, he was going to kiss her,
his lips nearly touching hers. He knew she was ready for him,
waiting for him.

“Oh my! Excuse me!”

Jayden twirled his head around
to look behind him and saw Victoria standing there.

“I beg your pardon, Mr.
McCartney, but I was here to get the gown to pack...”

Jayden wanted to kick the damn
door shut – on Victoria’s face of course –shutting him and Alex in
so that he could kiss her until she was breathless and maybe more.
But he was a gentleman, and gentlemen don’t kick doors shut on a
woman’s face.

He relaxed and even managed a
handsome grin as he said, “Yes, of course.” Then he turned back to
look at Alex who was bright red and staring at her bare feet in
mortification. He wondered what he should say to her. Obviously she
didn’t want to hear anything from him for the situation he had
caused her in. He had thoroughly embarrassed her all right. He had
very nearly kissed her twice already in an hour. It was enough for
her, he supposed.

He sighed and walked out. He
went to sit down on the sofa near the window, waiting while the
women were finalising every minor detail of the dresses with
Victoria and her shop assistant who was jotting notes down
furiously, determined to not miss anything important. Then his cell
rang. He flipped it on and saw that it was his father.

“Dad?”

“Jayden, look I know it’s short
notice but come to lunch. I’m meeting Michael at The Marcelo Hotel
restaurant at twelve.”

“Business, huh?” Jay asked,
eyeing Kelly with interest who looked as thought she was about to
approach him.

“Yes. Michael is interested in
selling you one of his islands. Thought you’d be interested. Sounds
like a great deal.”