More Layers: Book Two Layers Series Read online

  “Oh come on Lex, you could use some fun.”

  “Live a little,” Marco adds.

  “I’d rather have a root canal.”

  “Have you ever had a root canal?” Jules asks.

  “No, but I’d still rather have one.”

  “If you change your mind, we’re leaving at six,” Sam says.

  “No friggin’ way will I be changing my mind.”

  Sam frowns. “Okay, suit yourself, I’m going to bed.”

  “Hold up, I’ll walk you out to the cottage,” Jules say. “Goodnight everyone,” she adds and they leave.

  “Goodnight,” I tell them and wave.

  Marco and I walk up the stairs. When we get to my room we stop in front of the door.

  “Are you going to bed?” he asks.

  “I’ve got some overseas work to do, then I’m going to take a long, hot bath.”

  “I’m sorry about your first Thanksgiving.”

  “It’s not one we’ll soon forget.”

  He chuckles. “You’re right about that.”

  He kisses me on the cheek. “Don’t stay up too late.”

  I give him a salute. “Yes, sir.”

  “If you’re not going shopping, then I guess Henry and I will see you on Monday.”

  He kisses me on my forehead, “Goodnight, Princess.”

  “Goodnight.”

  Two hours later, I shut down my laptop and put it on my nightstand. I reach over to turn off the lamp and my cell rings.

  I look at the number and answer.” Hello, Alexia Grant.”

  “Alexia, it’s Dr. Peterson. How are you my dear?”

  “I’m fine, thank you.”

  “Sorry to call so late. Are you free to talk for a minute?”

  “Sure.”

  “I had two early arrivals today and I’m waiting for another. So, I’ve been catching up on paperwork and I notice your lab results came in.”

  “Is there a problem?”

  “No dear, everything...is fine. Your record indicates that you had some spotting last month.”

  “Yes...I did.”

  “Sometimes it happens.”

  “What happens?”

  “Alexia, your results come back positive—you’re pregnant.”

  What the fuck! “Pregnant? But I had spotting?”

  “You can spot and be pregnant.”

  “Christ baby Jesus.”

  “I’d say that you’re about—nine weeks.”

  Ten weeks, two days and five hours. Goddamn edible condom!

  “Alexia, are you still with me?”

  “Yeah...are...you’re sure?”

  “Yes.”

  “Fuck me.”

  She laughs. “Well, that’s not the normal response I get.”

  “I’m sorry, I’m just...”

  “In shock.”

  “Yes.”

  “I would like you to call my office on Monday and schedule an ultrasound.”

  “Okay...I’ll call Monday.”

  “Alexia, you don’t sound happy.”

  “I’m...I don’t know how I feel.”

  “It’s unexpected news. Give yourself sometime.”

  “Okay, thank you, doctor.”

  “Take care then.”

  OMG! I disconnect and...stare at my phone. Then it hits me like a tsunami. Oh shit! Oh shit! I jump up and race to the bathroom.

  After I ralph up all my Thanksgiving dinner—and my small intestines—that bitch, déjà vu, hits me like a slap. Yeah, I’ve been here before—sick, alone and pregnant. If my head didn’t hurt so bad I’d bang it on the wall. “You stupid, stupid, non-birth-control-using, pregnant-ass, bitch.”

  * * *

  I awaken, startled, when I hear a sharp knock on my bathroom door. I look at my watch. I’ve been sleeping on the bathroom floor for over two hours.

  “Alexia, are you in there?”

  “Yeah, I’m it here,” I call. The voice registers and I blink. “Jaxson...why are you here?”

  “Sorry...I knocked on the outer door and got no answer. Are you all right?”

  Just peachy. “I’m fine, give me a minute.” I stand and steady myself again the wall and then walk to the sink and splash some cold water on my face. I look at my refection in the mirror. Yeah, I look like crap—pregnant-ass crap. I brush my teeth, walk to the adjoining closet and put on sweats. God bless the inventor of sweats. They are the comfort food of clothing. I walk out and Jaxson is sitting on a sofa in front of the fireplace.

  He stands as I approach. “What’s wrong?”

  “Nothing,” I lie; something I’m good at.

  I sit on the other end of the sofa. “Why are you here?”

  He sits down. “Are you sure you’re okay, because you don’t look it?”

  “I’m fine, really,” I lie—again.

  “I wanted to apologize for what happened at dinner. I’m sorry, Mia was out of line.”

  “So...that’s what you call it when someone talks about disciplining your son with a belt and cropping an abused horse?”

  “I’m trying here, Lex.”

  “Don’t trouble yourself, she’s not worth it.”

  “I never told her about...your time in Wales.”

  “It doesn’t matter.”

  “Are you sure you’re all right, you look...”

  Pregnant. “I’m just tired. Are we done?”

  “No. We need to talk about us.”

  “I’ve been trying to talk to you for weeks.”

  “I know...” He shakes his head. “I still have a hard time looking at you...every time I do, all I see is the woman who betrayed me, the woman who didn’t possess enough courage or scruples to tell me the truth.”

  Ouch!

  “Mia has issues and she’s done some rotten things. But at least with her, I know what to except. With you...it’s like jumping from one bigass roller coaster to the next.”

  “I’m confused, Jaxson. Are you saying, that you would rather be with Tinker Hell because she’s predictable?”

  “No. I’m not saying I want to be with her. I’m saying you drive me batshit crazy, and I can’t do crazy right now. I’m being pulled apart, Alexia. I feel like a goddamn puppet. You, Mia, my unborn daughter, my sons, each of you pulling on a string but in all different directions.”

  He’s going to need another string.

  “Your daughter?”

  “We found out yesterday.”

  Poor kid. “Congratulations.”

  “Thank you.”

  I take a deep breath. “So, according to you, I possess no courage or scruples, I’m a roller coaster, I’ve betrayed you, make you feel like a puppet, and I drive you batshit crazy. Anything else you’d care to add?”

  He gifts me with “The Brow,” and shakes his head.

  “What are you trying to say?”

  “I think we need to take a break.”

  Ouch! “A break? We’ve only spent a few hours together in almost three years, and you need a break?”

  “If you would have believed in me, trusted me, and told me about the boys, then we wouldn’t be where we are right now. I wouldn’t be married to Mia, she wouldn’t be pregnant and you and I wouldn’t have spent the last almost three years apart.”

  “I get that not telling you about your sons was a major fuckup, but I’m not going to take all the blame. You told me you had doubts about us. Then you walked out on me and didn’t respond to any of my messages.

  I begged you to respond, but you didn’t. So, I went to London not knowing where we stood and in just days I became the CEO of Grant, an expectant mother of twins, filed for divorce, and I found my lover’s ex-fucking-wife in a bed sheet in his hotel room. I was overwhelmed, devastated, afraid and alone.”

  “Alright, we both messed up. Bottom line—I can’t do this anymore.”

  “You’re giving up on us?”

  “Lex, I can’t be...”

  “Be what?”

  “There can be no ‘us.’“


  “You can’t...you don’t...mean that.”

  He looks at me and starts to say something but changes his mind. He stands. “When you have time, we need to sit down and work out a visitation schedule. Supervised visitation,” he adds.

  I sit in stunned silence. Have I really lost him? Have I lost his love? I’m finally getting my shit together and he’s rejecting me. I just don’t get it. It’s beyond my comprehension. I need a magic pussy, pronto.

  “Lex, did you hear what I said?”

  I can no longer hold back my tears. They flood over and run down my cheeks. I wipe them away and close my eyes and say my mantra: I’m Alexia Grant and I’m not going to run. I’m not going to hide. I’m not going to fear. I’m going to conquer and find the love I deserve. I open my eyes and he’s halfway to the door.

  “I’ll...I’ll contact you on Monday,” I croak out.

  “Okay,” he says and continues to walk to the door. When he reaches it, he turns and clears his throat. “There is something else I should mention. Lizbet offered me a job in PR.”

  “She told me.”

  “I’ve decided to take it. My first day will be on Tuesday. Is this going to be a problem for you?”

  Of course I have a problem with it. “No, no problem.”

  He hesitates for a few seconds. “I never did apologize for accusing you of acquiring Ryan. I never really looked at the signature. I saw Grant, then saw red. I’d assumed it was you, not Lizbet. I’m sorry for that.”

  “I hope you know what you’re getting yourself into. It’s not easy working with Gram.”

  “I’m bankrupt. I’ve lost my company and I have a pregnant wife to take care of. For what’s she offering to pay me, I’ll manage.”

  Every time he says “wife,” I want to cry and or ralph. I can’t believe this is happening—again. Fuck Mia! Fuck Jaxson Ryan! Fuck it all!

  He opens the door and steps out.

  “Jaxson, one more...little thing.”

  He nods.

  “I’m pregnant.”

  It’s My Party and I’ll Cry if I Want To

  Alexia

  “Daddy!” the boys yell in unison and run to him.”

  He lifts them both. “Oh my gosh, you’re getting big.”

  He looks over at me. “You look...beautiful.”

  “Thank you.”

  He puts the boys down. “Where’s Carrie?”

  “It’s her weekend off.”

  “Oh...Okay.”

  “Is that a problem?”

  “No, I just wanted to know if she was home.”

  “Just us men tonight,” Chase tells him.

  “Sounds good to me.”

  JB takes his dad’s hand. “Come on Dad, come see what Chase and I made today.”

  “It’s awesome, dude,” Chase adds.

  “Lane helped us. He’s a Lego master.”

  “Go on up to your room, I need a minute with your mom.”

  “Come give me a kiss first.”

  They roll their eyes at me in unison, then walk over and give me a kiss on the cheek.

  “Be good for your Dad.”

  “We will,” JB says.

  Chase kisses my tummy. “Be good, Peaches.”

  I smile. Yes, I nicknamed her Peaches—I just had to.

  I rub my tummy. “She will.”

  They run off.

  I wait for Jaxson to say whatever he wanted to say. He remains silent, so I do the mom thing. “It’s pizza night. Everything you need is in the fridge; no juice, even if they give you their sad puppy look. Limit bath time to thirty minutes and no diving or whale spouting. And yes, belly flopping is considered diving. Help them floss, then electric toothbrushes for the entire two minutes, then rinse. JB will debate with you about the necessity of the routine because they’re going to start falling out in about 1.498973306 years. If it becomes annoying, tell him because I said so, and I’m the mom. In bed by nine, and I’m not kidding. We’re reading Treasure Island—we just started chapter six.” I pause. “‘Fifteen men on the dead man’s chest. Yo-ho-ho, and a bottle of rum!’“

  “What?”

  I guess he’s not a fan of Robert Louis Stevenson. “Never mind. And they will ask and the answers is no. They will not die of scurvy by morning if they don’t get to drink a carton of juice with added vitamin C. We have juice in the mornings and only on juice days. Juice days are when I say they are, because I’m the mom and the adult, and I pay for the juice and the roof over their heads. Technically, they have enough money in their trust funds to buy several houses and millions of cartons or bottles of juice, but they don’t need to know this until they are twenty-one, or when they finish college with their masters. And no, they can’t have a bottle of rum for their birthday, even though Lane thinks it’s hilarious that they ask. Which reminds me, we need to talk about their party, and coordinate our schedules. They want a dog, but I’m not going there right now.”

  I grab my clutch and coat.

  “What’s this guy’s name again?”

  What? “Did you hear anything I just said?”

  “I just want to know the guy’s name. Why are you acting so hostile?”

  “His name is Calvin Lucas. He’s a cardiologist that made a fortune on some kind of replacement heart valve. A few years ago he started a foundation called ‘Heart Beats’ and now he and his team travel around the world and give treatment to those who can’t afford, or have no access to, heart care. After I set up the Karen Foundation, he got ahold of me and asked me to join his cause. I did. The Karen Foundation bought them new equipment and a jet that could act as a flying hospital if necessary. His home is in London, but he grew up in Malibu.

  He’s a kind, smart, fun, handsome, talented man and the boys adore him. Did you get that?”

  He gives me “The Brow.”

  “Why do you even care?”

  “You’re the mother of my sons and you’re pregnant with my daughter.”

  “And...?”

  “I have the right to know what kind of man you’re exposing my baby to.”

  “What?”

  “It’s a legitimate concern.”

  “Maybe on Uranus or whatever planet your brain’s vacationing on. I would never harm my baby and it’s none of your business who I date or if I ‘do’ my date.”

  “Are you ‘doing’ Calvin?”

  I put my coat on. “A month ago I thought this jealous routine, and don’t try and deny it, it’s jealousy. I thought it was cute, but now it’s...painfully annoying and it just makes me mad. You’re not alone in any of this. You might not love Mia, but you’re married to her. You go home to her every night, and I go home alone. I’m not really alone, but you get what I mean. I don’t want to be alone any more, Jaxson. I like Calvin, a lot. No, I don’t love him but...he’s the first man, other than you, that I’ve been attracted to in years. You ended us, remember? You said I drove you batshit crazy, and you wanted off the roller coaster. I can’t be with you, there is no ‘us’—remember? You can’t have it both ways, Ryan. You can’t want me, or act like you do, and be with her, or be with me and feel guilty about her and the baby. It’s not fair and it’s...selfish. I don’t ask you about what you and Mia do together, because quite frankly the thought of you ‘doing’ Mia makes me ill. Thinking of anyone ‘doing’ her makes me ill. All I want and care about when it comes to her is that she’s never alone with our boys, and that she stays the fuck away from me. The woman is not right, Jaxson, and there’s something not right about your relationship with her. I’ve been trying to figure it out, but I’m done. It hurts my head. I’m pregnant, Jaxson, and I’m horny and I want to ‘do’ it. I want sex. I want to fuck. And if it can’t be with you, then it will be with Dr. Calvin Lucas because he’s hot and I go a little crazy when I’m pregnant. I hump furniture and it’s all your fault anyway.”

  The doorbell rings.

  “Are you going to get that, Ryan, or just stand with your mouth gaping open, looking like an idiot?”

 
; He shuts his mouth and walks to the door, opens it and Lee steps in.

  “Mr. Ryan.”

  “Lee.”

  Lee looks at me and then back at Jaxson.

  I roll my eyes. “Don’t ask?”

  “Okay. Are you ready?”

  “More than you know.”

  Lee steps out the door and I follow.

  “Have...a nice time,” Jaxson says.

  “Thank you, I intend to.”

  He nods.

  “What is a belly flop?”

  “Diving.”

  “What can they not consume no matter what, because I said so?”

  “Juice.”

  “I’ll be late, as in two a.m. late. So you better call Mia now and let her know before she seizures and goes into premature labor. If you plan to spend the night, you sleep in the guest room at the far end of the hall; the one furthest from the master bedroom. And don’t...”

  He shuts the door on me.

  Lee laughs.

  “If I didn’t love you and trust you with my life, I’d fire your muscled ass.”

  * * *

  “You’ve been holding out. Dr. Calvin Lucas is hot.”

  “He’s not bad.”

  “Not bad?” Marco chuckles.

  “Okay, he’s hot.”

  “The man is head over feet into you. Why did you end your...thing?”

  “Because that’s all it was. A thing, and he wanted it to be more than a thing.”

  “So, what do you want now, and what does he want?”

  “I don’t know. We didn’t have time to get into it.”

  “I thought he was in New York for a week.”

  “One of his surgeons fell ill, so he had to fill in. I think he said they were going to Uruguay or Argentina or something. I don’t know. I was distracted all evening. Thanks for putting up with me and letting me hang out. I couldn’t go home early after I told Jaxson I was going to be out until two a.m.

  “When we close the restaurant we’re here until two or three.”

  “I’m glad you were closing because I didn’t want to ring your bell at midnight and beg you to let me in.”

  “You would never have to beg. What kind of shit is that?”

  “Sorry, I’m a little...off. I would have gone to Jules and Nick if they weren’t...you know, all the time. The honeymoon is over, for hell sake. And goddamn her for calling me all the time and telling me about their all-day-long fuck fests and how many orgasms she has in an hour. Slut.”