“Perfect, I can’t wait to see you tomorrow.”
I knew she was worried about me. She had been since the night we met, and it had only gotten worse once my life started to swirl down the drain. It was a good thing she didn’t know everything. It was a good thing she’d been busy falling in love and getting married while everything was going on.
“I can’t wait to see you too.” I had been hiding from my friends for far too long.
“Bye,” both Luke and Alex called before they hung up.
“Bye,” I softly said as I walked back to the house and into my bedroom. They were a nice distraction, and now it was back to reality.
Opening up the box Catherine had given me, I looked down at the silver band inside. Could I pretend to be married to Abbi for a year? I guess I didn’t have a choice.
Not wanting to think about it anymore, I slipped under the covers and hit the remote by my bed to close the blackout shades that would plunge my room into darkness.
I must have needed the sleep because I didn’t open my eyes until early the next morning. God only knew what Abbi thought when I didn’t come out at all yesterday. She probably thought I was pouting back here all day.
Not having eaten for twenty-four hours, I was starved. Unsure if Abbi had any groceries delivered while I slept the day away, I sent Alex a text asking if she’d pick up some breakfast on her way over. I took a quick shower before she and Mason arrived, put on a pair of swim trunks since I knew they’d likely want to hang out by the pool, slipped the silver band onto my left ring finger, and then set the table for us to eat outside.
Sitting down, I chugged half a bottle of water as images of last night’s dreams came back to me. My hands roaming Abbi’s creamy skin. My mouth on every inch of her body. Her pretty pink lips wrapped around my cock.
I wasn’t sure if it was a dream or flashbacks from our night in Vegas. If it was a flashback, I needed to convince her that we should give in to our desires, so my house didn’t turn into a battle zone. It would become an all-out war if I went for an entire year without sex. The last time I’d done that, I’d been married to Poppy.
A knock on the front door brought me out of my musings, and I momentarily forgot about my unfaithful ex-wife. As I opened the door, little arms wrapped around my waist and squeezed me tight. Wrapping my arm around him, I hugged Mason back.
Mason had to be the sweetest kid in the world, and I loved that he had Luke in his life. That little boy deserved to have a father who loved him.
“We brought breakfast.” He held up the bag and waved it around.
Rubbing my hand over his dark head of hair, I smiled down at him. “Thank you, buddy. Why don’t you take it out back to the table while I say hi to your mom?”
Mason ran off with a big smile on his face. His blue eyes, just like his moms, shining. Damn, he was cute.
“I’m not going to start now, but we are going to talk,” Alex said as she wrapped her arms around me, giving me the biggest hug that I didn’t know I needed until that moment. I squeezed her back just as tightly.
“Thanks. I promise I’ll talk to you. I need someone to talk to about all of this. The only thing I ask is that you not speak of it to anyone.”
Alex took a step back. Her eyes narrowed at me.
“Of course, you can tell Luke, just let him know that it stays between us. It’s serious. If it gets out, I’ll lose my job, and my career might be over.”
“You drop that bomb and then expect me to wait,” she groaned. “You’re killing me here, Jenner.”
Wrapping my arm around her shoulder, I guided her out to the backyard and over to the table. “We need to wait for Mason to be distracted.”
Sitting down beside her son, she looked across at me with furrowed brows. “Is it that bad?”
“You might not think it’s appropriate for him to hear, and it’s not something I’m supposed to talk about.”
Her left brow lifted. “I’m intrigued.”
“What did you bring for us to eat?” I asked, changing the subject.
“You know, now that you’re married again, you need to have food in your house.” Alex cracked a smile, letting me know she was joking.
“I know and I will, and for all I know I might have food here, but—”
“How do you not know?” she shot back as she pulled out two breakfast burritos, and some sort of sandwich for Mason.
“I fell asleep early yesterday and didn’t wake up until this morning, so I don’t know if Abbi made the grocery order or not. That’s why I asked you to bring food because I’m starving.” Unwrapping my burrito, I took a bite and groaned. “Thank you for this.” I held up my burrito.
Alex set two orange juices and a chocolate milk on the table before she bumped her burrito against mine. “Not a problem unless you don’t start talking.”
Setting down my food, I scrubbed my face with my hands. “I will, but let’s eat first, and then maybe someone would like to go swimming.”
“Me, me!” Mason jumped in his seat. I knew he was listening. “Can we go swimming now?”
Alex laughed. “You know you have to eat your breakfast and then put on sunscreen so you don’t get burned.”
Mason harrumphed but went back to eating his breakfast.
“Um . . . ” Alex nodded toward the house. “I think your wife just spotted us.”
Turning around in my seat, I watched as Abbi walked outside with her head held high. When her hand landed on my shoulder and she leaned down, placing a kiss on my cheek, I tensed up.
“Good morning, honey.”
Honey?
It took me a moment to figure out that she was acting in front of my friend. Wrapping my arm around her waist, I muttered a good morning back.
“Abbi, this is my friend, Alex Sandström, and her son, Mason. Alex, this is my wife, Abbi.” It took everything in me not to choke on calling Abbi my wife.
I watched as Abbi’s eyes lit up, and her cheeks turned pink. I took in her long brown hair pulled up into a ponytail, an oversized t-shirt hanging off one shoulder, and a pair of tights that showed every delectable curve of her body.
“Oh, my f . . . gosh,” Alex looked to Mason and bit her lip. I thought it was hilarious that she tried not to swear in front of her son when she swore all the time. “You’re even prettier than the pictures I saw on the internet.”
Abbi sat down next to me. “That’s very sweet of you to say. I was a bit of a mess that night.”
We both were.
“It’s nice to meet you. I’m so glad Jenner found someone who can appreciate him for the man he is because he’s one of the best.”
I felt my cheeks heat at Alex’s words and wondered if they pinkened up for everyone to see.
Alex pulled another breakfast sandwich and burrito out of the bag. “When Jenner asked me to bring breakfast, I wasn’t sure which one you’d like, so I got both.”
“You didn’t have to do that. I was going to make an online order yesterday, but I wasn’t sure which store to order from.”
I could feel Abbi’s eyes trying to burn a hole through me but now wasn’t the time. I needed to talk to Alex first before she started to interrogate me.
Alex reached across the table and patted Abbi’s hand. “I’ll make a list of all the places I go to and use. I’ve become an aficionado at trying to avoid the paparazzi in this town.”