Curvy Fake Wife for the Player

11. Alex

Chapter 11

Alex

W orking out. Training.

That was the only thing I did for the past three days other than spend time with Dixie, because news of me and Sasha was everywhere. I’d made the mistake of leaving the penthouse—on my own—and the first newsstand I came to was covered in images of me and Sasha from that baby store. Online was, of course, worse by about ten country miles.

There were comparisons of Sasha and Tatiana everywhere, from their fashion choices to the way I interacted with them. The consensus so far was that I was in lust with Tatiana but Sasha was my soul mate. It was totally out of hand, and after that first day, leaving the penthouse without security wasn’t possible so I spent my days working out, training and going over last season’s games.

A prisoner in my own home.

Still, the season started soon and I couldn’t afford to start with an injury so I couldn’t overdo it. I stepped back from the weight bag and wiped my forehead before leaving the gym to go in search of water.

“Hey.”

Sasha looked up from where she was carefully feeding Dixie a tiny spoon of orange mush. “Hey. Good workout?” Her brows dipped in concern but she kept it to herself, which I appreciated.

“It was all right.” I shrugged and guzzled a full bottle of water before tossing it into the recycling bin under the sink.

“Isn’t there such a thing as overtraining?” I glared at her and she laughed. “Forget I asked.”

Forget. As if I could. She was the reason being stuck at home was such a problem. She walked around in perfectly appropriate outfits for a nanny, but in my mind they were X-rated lacy and silky things that I unwrapped from her sinful curves. Every smile was an invitation, and that husky, lyrical laugh? It was too fucking much to handle without a release.

“I’m fine,” I growled.

“Okay,” she said in a high-pitched voice before she shrugged at my response and turned back to Dixie.

“What are you feeding her?”

“Broccoli and sweet potatoes,” she answered without turning back to me, which I deserved.

“Is there any left?” I asked in a grouchy tone.

“There might be,” Henrietta said as she entered the kitchen with Jack on her heels. “If you ask nicely,” she added with a teasing grin.

“Please?”

“Of course,” she said as she brushed past me and made her way to the stove. “Jack is here,” she added as an afterthought for the sole fact it would piss him off.

My gaze lifted from Henrietta to Jack who wore a satisfied smile. “What or who put that smile on your face?”

“I did, of course,” he said as if that was obvious. “I’m a genius,” he crowed, and even though in that moment I couldn’t say why, unease settled in my gut.

“Not to toot your own horn or anything,” Henrietta grumbled under her breath but she was loud enough to be heard.

Jack frowned.

Sasha snorted a laugh.

“Not even you can piss me off right now, Henri.”

Henrietta bristled at the hated nickname and glared at Jack over her shoulder. “Watch it, boy.”

Jack laughed again and turned to me, his eyes bright and excited. “I’ve got it all figured out, Alex. Every base covered.”

I folded my arms, ready to listen, even though that pesky feeling in my gut hadn’t gone anywhere. If anything, it only intensified.

“I’m listening.” A low chime sounded in the distance but I maintained my focus on Jack and whatever plan he’d cooked up to get the world to stop asking about Sasha and Dixie.

“What in the hell is going on?” Sasha’s voice sounded angry and confused and when I turned to see what had upset her, all I saw was fire burning in her blue eyes.

“That’s what I wanted to talk to you about, both of you,” Jack began.

Sasha stood, making sure Dixie was secure in her highchair before she marched across the kitchen and got in Jack’s face. Her blue eyes were wide and furious as she poked her finger against his five hundred dollar shirt.

“Why does the internet think that the ‘mysterious raven haired woman’ is Alex Witter’s baby mama and bride-to-be? Huh, Jack? Why?”

It took a second for her words to sink in, but when they did I turned to him. “Jack.” It was the only thing I could manage at the moment.

“Yeah Jack,” Sasha said over and over as she continued to poke him. “What did you do?”

Jack’s eyes were wide and he looked at me for help, but I shook my head, effectively telling him he was on his own.

“Start. Talking. Now.” I’d never heard Sasha sound so menacing or act so tough. It was seriously hot, which was the worst thing to be thinking in that moment.

“Okay,” he growled and smacked Sasha’s hand away from his chest. “Put that damn thing away, will ya?” He rubbed at his chest before putting a good distance between him and the pissed off nanny. “That’s what I came here to talk to you about, both of you.”

“You said that already.”

Jack’s eyes widened and he took another step back until the table and Dixie stood as barriers between him and Sasha. “I have a plan. It’s quite genius actually, and neither of you can say no because the wheels are already in motion.”

“Wheels?”

Jack nodded, getting excited again as he detailed his plan. “I may have admitted to a few gossip rags that you and Sasha are engaged but have been keeping it under wraps because she wants a private life.”

“Why would you do that!” Sasha cried out. “It’s an easy lie to uncover.”

“Only if it’s not a lie,” he said with a smile. “You and Alex, from this moment forward are engaged. Betrothed. Promised to each other or however else you want to put it.”

“We’re not even dating,” she tried because she didn’t know Jack the way that I did. She didn’t know yet that it was useless to argue with him.

“No one knows that for sure. Who’s going to tell them, Henrietta?”

“This is ridiculous,” she began as Dixie started to make her displeasure at being ignored known. She walked to the little girl to pick her up and I had to smile at Jack’s frightened expression. “Just tell them I’m his nanny and be done with it.”

“That’s not possible,” Jack shot back, his tone hard and firm. “The real story is unsavory, and after the whole Tatiana thing, this will all seem rather gross. No offense,” he said and shot me a sympathetic smile.

“None taken.”

“There’s too much money at risk to play this any other way. Believe me I spent most of the past two days playing out different scenarios. This one is the best.”

If that’s what Jack believed, it was probably true. He was a shrewd businessman and not at all sentimental, which meant this was the way.

“Okay. How will it work?”

Sasha glared at me as if I’d betrayed her while she bounced Dixie in her arms. “You must be sharing a pipe if you think this is going to work. What about Dixie’s mom, the woman who slept with Alex and gave birth to this little girl? She could come out and deny the whole thing with receipts, and I’m guessing that would be worse than the truth.” She closed her eyes and inhaled Dixie’s baby scent as if it was a kind of calming elixir. “And what if it turns out that Dixie isn’t even his child?”

Jack stared at Sasha with a smile. “She’s good. If you get tired of the nanny gig, come talk to me.”

Her gaze narrowed in Jack’s direction but I’d tuned them out, because my mind and my heart were focused on the thought that Dixie might not be mine. It had only been a few days, just over a week since she entered my life, but now I couldn’t imagine her anywhere else.

“That’s not an answer,” she said in a voice so calm that it sent ice barreling through my veins.

“That’s why I didn’t come by yesterday to warn you before your name and face were splashed all over the internet, I was waiting for this.” He pulled an envelope from the inside of his jacket and handed it to me. “It came in yesterday afternoon.”

I stared at the envelope that held my entire future in it. It’s just some results. Yes or no, maybe a few percentages. Nothing more than that, I told myself.

This is what I wanted, what I needed to know to figure out what my next step would be. Not too long ago I told Sasha I didn’t know what outcome I wanted, but as I stared at the envelope sandwiched between Jack’s fingers, I knew that was a lie. I wanted Dixie to be mine. I wanted to be her father and her protector. I needed her as much as she needed me.

“Alex.” Sasha’s soft voice tugged me from my frozen position in the middle of the kitchen. She placed a hand on my arm until our gazes collided, hers was filled with concern and worry.

“Take the results,” she said and plucked the envelope from Jack’s hand and put it in mine. “Go open this in private. Read it and then re-read it. Process your feelings before you do anything else.”

I nodded at her suggestion and wrapped my fingers tightly around the envelope. “Yeah. I think I will.”

“Go,” she said softly and gave me a gentle shove.

I walked out of the kitchen and towards my bedroom, but not before I caught Jack’s last words. “See? You two are already a good couple.”

I shook my head. Jack wasn’t wrong, so far Sasha and I were a good team. A team though, not a couple.

In the quiet of my room I peeled the flap off the envelope and slid the paper out until it fluttered to the floor. I picked it up with shaky hands and read over the results at least a half dozen times until the truth settled in my bones and down to my soul.

Dixie was my daughter. She was mine.

Whatever else was true, that was settled. I could move forward with that knowledge and plan accordingly. I sat there and did as Sasha had instructed, I thought about the results and how I felt about them. I thought about the pros and cons of Jack’s plan, devoting a solid ten minutes before I got to my feet and rejoined Jack and Sasha.

We had a future to plan.