Authors: Lexy Timms
Forever the Boss: Billionaire Romance ~ Hot and Steamy (Managing the Bosses Series Book 10) (2 page)
Contents
New Series with Alex from the Boss Series
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Chapter 1
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Chapter 2
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Chapter 3
“I think you should go see Dr. Bennet,” Alex said. His breath brushed against Jamie’s ear as he spoke, and she could feel the rise and fall of his chest against her back in the dark bedroom, his arms wrapped around her waist.
Jamie snuggled a little closer against him and considered the words. “We could just do a pregnancy test here.”
The arms wrapped around her tightened, just slightly. “Not after the complications with the twins. If you’re pregnant I want to know early, and I want to know if there’s anything that we need to be worried about going in.”
It was a reasonable request, and Jamie knew it. “Okay,” she agreed. “I’ll go see the doctor.”
“Thank you.” Alex’s pressed a kiss to the nape of her neck, his lips warm and soft against her skin, and then he curled closer around her, his breathing leveling out into sleep.
Jamie lay awake.
There was a part of her that feared going to the doctor would be admitting ahead of time that there had to be a problem with the new pregnancy.
If
she was pregnant. Had she missed her period? Time had moved so strangely lately, alternately fast and slow between the long days spent at home and the anxiety about Reid Enterprises and the trouble with Zander.
The doctor would be able to confirm for sure. Until she talked to him, worrying wasn’t going to do her any good. She closed her eyes and tried to convince her body to listen to her brain. Her thoughts still spun in circles. What if there was something wrong, like there had been with the twins? And how was she going to take care of three children when two of them were barely a year old?
What if…
The thought never finished as she rolled over to cuddle close to Alex.
***
When Jamie opened her eyes, early morning sunlight was slanting in through the window and Alex was gone, though his place in the bed was still warm and the scent of him lingered on the sheets. She didn’t remember falling asleep, but, somewhere in the whirl of worry over the potential pregnancy, she must have. She rolled over into the slight depression Alex’s body had left behind in the mattress and watched the shadows shift on the bedroom floor.
Whatever happens
, she told herself,
it’s going to be fine
. They could afford the best doctors. The twins had been okay, despite the complications. Soon they would be walking, running, and everywhere. Maybe even out of diapers. Jamie still wasn’t sure how she was going to keep up with them, especially if there was another baby on the way, but other mothers did it, and she did have Brianna to help. As much as she’d disliked the thought of a nanny when Benton and Lilli had been on the way, she’d come to rely on the younger woman. Although, this morning it was her turn to get the peanuts up.
Jamie glanced at the clock. Half past seven. The twins would probably be awake soon. She should think about getting out of bed.
Footsteps announced Alex, who came back into the room fully dressed. The dark suit set off his eyes, and Jamie abruptly wished that she didn’t have to get out of bed at all. What she’d really like to do was pull Alex in with her and take that suit off piece by piece, slowly baring his perfect body to her hands and her gaze. They’d had more time together since they’d caught Zander, but more didn’t mean enough. Jamie wasn’t sure there was such thing as enough, especially when he walked in looking that good.
“I can tell what you’re thinking,” Alex said, voice rough in a way that made her shiver all the way down to her toes with want and drag her eyes back to his face with a guilty little start. He gave her that slow smile that always made heat race through her center. “Naughty girl.”
“Then you know how much I want you to get back into this bed,” Jamie answered, giving him a smile in return.
She saw the want on his face, in his blue eyes, but he shook his head, the mischievous expression melting into resignation. “I can’t, unfortunately. I've got a meeting first thing with the head of one of the companies that's been thinking about leaving after the mess with Zander. I've got to try to keep them in the fold.”
Jamie sighed. She sat up and slid from the bed, reluctant to leave its warmth but more reluctant to let Alex go without a kiss. He took her in his arms as he got close and pulled her against his strong chest. His head dipped to meet hers, and Jamie opened to him as he kissed her slow and soft.
“Later,” he said as he drew back, leaving her a little breathless. “I promise that we'll make some time later.”
“I know,” Jamie answered. She smiled at him again, without the 'come hither' look. “I'll see you tonight.”
“You will.”
She took a step back, but he caught her again, reeling her in for one more kiss, which Jamie returned enthusiastically. “I'm not sure it's actually okay to kiss me like that and walk away,” she said when he'd broken the kiss and she had managed to gather enough air to speak.
Alex laughed. “I'm torturing myself as much as I am you, baby. Trust me.”
That was probably true. At least it was fair, if not completely appreciated.
“Call the doctor,” he added, the laughter gone. “And make an appointment.”
“I will.”
He disappeared out the door and Jamie sank back onto the foot of the bed, arms resting against her thighs. He really was right. She needed to call the doctor and make sure that nothing was wrong. It was better to know than to pretend that nothing was happening and hope it all turned out okay.
She stood and made her way to the bathroom, glancing in the mirror as she passed. Maybe she was just imagining things, but she thought sometimes lately that she looked older than she had when she married Alex, a few new lines on her face. It was probably all the stress that had come with marrying into Reid Enterprises, although she wouldn't have changed that decision for the world. Not when it came with Alex and the twins. They were worth every bit of worry, and every wrinkle.
As though summoned by her thinking of them, the sound of one of the twins waking up came through the baby monitor. At least, Jamie thought with a somewhat rueful smile as she pulled on some sweat pants and a t-shirt, it was a happy sound. The twins were sleeping through the night quite well, and they usually didn't wake crying anymore, and that was a major plus.
It was Lilli who was awake, standing at the edge of the crib and reaching her arms out as soon as she saw Jamie. Jamie picked up her daughter, grunting a little at the weight.
“You're getting big, aren't you?” she cooed. Lilli looked up at her with wide blue eyes that were hopefully going to be just the same shade as her father's. “Going to be too big to carry soon. Especially with two of you.”
The only answer she got was a stream of incomprehensible baby babble. She hadn't really expected anything else. Lilli didn't care whether or not she was almost too heavy for her mother to carry. She just cared about whether she got breakfast or not.
Jamie took her down the hall and settled her into her highchair, then hurried back to the room to get Benton, who was just starting to stir, blinking his sleepy eyes at the room. He smiled when he saw her, and Jamie felt her heart light up. There was nothing in the world that she loved as much as she loved the twins.
“How about you? Ready for breakfast?” Benton batted his hand against her shoulder, and Jamie laughed. “I'm going to take that as a 'yes,' I think.”
It was pretty safe to assume that any question involving food for either of them was a yes. Well, any food that wasn't beets. They really didn't like beets.
Setting Benton in his highchair as well, Jamie got out the food for the twins' breakfast and sat down between them, dialing the doctor's number so that she could talk as she fed them.
“Dr. Bennett’s office. How may I help you?”
“Hi. This is Jamie Reid, and I'm calling to make an appointment with Dr. Bennet. I'm sure that I'm already on your patient list.”
There was a moment of silence. “You are, ma'am. When would you like an appointment?”
“As soon as possible, if you can. It’s not technically an emergency, but it is a little time-sensitive, and my husband is kind of anxious for me to get in.”
“Of course, Mrs. Reid.”
The sound of keys rapidly clicking came over the phone, and then the receptionist spoke again. “Does two o’clock today work for you?”
That was actually a little sooner than Jamie had expected, and she considered telling the woman that she wasn’t going to be available then, but Alex wouldn’t be happy until she’d had the appointment, so she nodded and then knowing the assistant couldn’t see her, she said, “That should be fine.”
“Great. We’ll see you at two, Mrs. Reid. Have a nice day.”
“And you.”
Call ended, Jamie fed Benton another bite of egg. Now all she had to worry about was getting the appointment over with.
***
“Well,” Dr. Bennett said, stepping back into the room. “You’re not pregnant.”
Jamie, sitting on the exam table, looked up. “I’m not?” She hadn’t expected that to be the answer he came back with. Some part of her had actually been really looking forward to another child, despite her worries and reservations, and that same part of her sank as he shook his head.
“You mentioned that you’ve been having some trouble with elevated stress levels. That’s likely what caused you to faint, especially if you’d already been feeling ill before that.”
Elevated stress levels
. Jamie’s hand drifted to her stomach, brushing absently over it. She hadn’t expected to be so disappointed by a negative answer. “Okay.”
“Are you disappointed?” Dr. Bennet asked kindly. “You’re young and in general good health. Alex is as well. It won’t take long if you’re trying.”
“We haven’t really been trying,” she said absently. “I mean,” she blushed, “we haven’t been trying to conceive. We actually haven’t talked about it much. I guess maybe we should.” She smiled and let Dr. Bennet chat a few moments before she thanked him.
As she walked out of the doctor's office, she dialed Alex's number.
“Hey, baby.” He sounded harried, like something was going on at the office that had his attention, but he'd answered right away, obviously eager to know how the appointment had gone. “What’d the doctor say?”
“I'm not pregnant.” Jamie hadn’t meant the words to come out. At least not so quickly, and not sounding so disappointed.
On the other end of the line Alex made a sound like he was shushing someone, and then she heard the vague background noise of the office fade, the sound of his door shutting. “You sound like you're unhappy about it.”
“I...” Jamie took a deep breath. “I didn't think I’d be so disappointed. I was pretty sure, ya know? That I was pregnant. And I know that we already have the twins and they're only just a year old. I told myself that if I wasn't pregnant it would be easier on us all, but when he said that I wasn't, I...”
There was a moment of silence from Alex, maybe waiting to see if she would say anything else, but Jamie didn't know what to say. Didn't know how to describe the sudden hollow feeling that had overtaken her when the doctor had given her his answer.
“Do you really want another baby, Jamie?” There wasn't judgment in Alex's voice. “Now, I mean?”
“I think so,” Jamie said. “I know that it's kind of sudden, but when I thought I was pregnant I was just so… so happy. Another brother or sister for the twins to play with. Another baby. I really liked the idea.”
“Well, you know, if you really want a baby I'm sure we could make that happen.” There was a smile in the words.
“Do
you
want another baby so soon?” Jamie wasn't going to fall for it that easily.
“I was happy when you thought you were pregnant, too. If you want another baby, I'm all about that.” His voice dropped lower. “And all about trying to make one, too.”
Jamie laughed, the pall over her spirits lifting. “You never cease to make me smile, Alex Reid.”
“That's what I'm here for,” Alex said. “Well, that and making you scream in the very best ways.”
“If you don't quit that, I'm going to have to make up an emergency and call you home from work so that we can get started right away,” Jamie shot back.
“As much as I would love that,” Alex answered, “and I would
really
love that, I can't. I've got a minor issue here at work that has to be taken care of, but I'll be home later and we'll see about that trying thing.”
“That's what you told me this morning. Or close enough. And I have yet to see the fulfillment of that promise,” Jamie teased.
It was Alex's turn to laugh. “That’s because it’s not quite tonight yet, babe. Rest assured that you're going to get what you're waiting for. And you're going to get it good.”
“I'm holding you to that promise.”
“And I'll be holding you soon.”
They said their goodbyes and Jamie hung up, looking down for a moment at the phone in her hand and the screen saver photo of herself and Alex with the twins. She tucked it away in her purse and slid into her car, turning the key in the ignition.
