"I'll get it. You sit." He smiled and kissed my cheek. I closed my eyes briefly before nodding.
I kept my eyes low, avoiding Alex's stare. Before I could grab my chair and sit down, Alex sat up and pulled it out for me. I froze and reluctantly moved my eyes up to look at him. He stood there with a shit-eating grin on his face and patiently waited for me to make the next move.
"Do you plan to eat your dinner standing?"
I hesitated, really considering doing just that. Anything to avoid being near him. I could barely focus with him in the house and now I was expected to sit next to him and eat.
"Mac … sit. I won't bite." I raised my brows at him, contemplating if I should trust him or not.
Finally, I inhaled and decided to take the seat. He helped push me in and patted my shoulders briefly before turning to take his seat next to me.
"You need to stop doing that," I whispered in a firm voice so William wouldn't hear me.
"Doing what, Mac?" he asked, not keeping his voice down as I had.
I shot him a death look with my eyes, snarling at him in the process. I was not going to play his stupid games. "Touching me. Standing close to me. Being inappropriate. All of it. You need to stop it."
"And why's that? Afraid you'll slip and actually do something about it?"
I sighed in frustration, rolling my eyes to the ceiling. I needed to stay calm. I already mistook William for him.
"It's inappropriate, Alex," I said, looking him square in the eyes. "I'm marrying your dad. So start getting used to it."
He smirked-the opposite reaction of what I was going for. He was such an asshole.
"What's so funny?"
He huffed once more. "That you're marrying my father … a man twice your age. A man who hardly gives you any attention. A man who cares more about his companies than you or me. A man who has no idea how lucky he truly is … "
I swallowed … unsure of how to respond. I folded my napkin in my lap and cursed William for taking so long with the wine.
"My apologies." He finally walked back in with the bottle of wine. I ended up getting a call that I had to take." He set it down and I snuck a glance at Alex, who made a tell-all expression of ‘told ya so.'
"No problem, darling." I smiled up at him just to piss Alex off. I was used to it and I didn't take offense to it. I knew he worked hard.
I served William his food, making sure to give him a healthy portion of vegetables. His doctor said he needed to eat more greens, so I mixed it with asparagus. "You know, sweetheart," he began with a smile, "it'd be okay to have dessert once in a while."
I set the spoon down and watched as his lips spread into an easy smile. "Nice try." I flashed a fake smile his way. "You heard the doctor," I reminded him.
"I did." He placed his napkin in his lap and continued, "And, well, you only live once. So maybe cake once in a while wouldn't kill me." He winked, and I knew it was going to be impossible to say no.
"Well, since we have company, I suppose we can make this one exception." I smirked playfully, scooping the vegetables onto my own plate.
I heard Alex clear his throat next to me, grabbing both of our attention. "I'm not company. I live here. In fact, I lived here first." His face was tense and for a moment, I feared he was going to say something about us.
"Alexander," William warned, but then his tone softened. "Forgive us. It's been some time since you've been home. We aren't used to anyone dining with us."
We had dinner with William's colleagues often, but never at our home. It was always at some fancy restaurant. The apartment was our sanctuary and for one short moment, I forgot Alex was sitting next to me.
Too bad that moment didn't last.
I sat back and let William and Alex do most of the talking. They still had a lot to catch up on, and I was quickly learning of their relationship. William stuck to questions that were work and business related. I realized he didn't ask many personal questions, so without thinking, I blurted out, "So were you seeing anyone while you studied in Europe?"
I quickly shoved a forkful of chicken into my mouth, but it was too late. They'd both heard me.
"Alexander is very goal-oriented. Surely he had no time for girlfriends." William's curt response felt misplaced, considering he met Alex's mom, Rose, in college.
"That doesn't mean you can't date, darling. You dated in college," I reminded him.
"Yes, and it made me lose focus on the task at hand. He's smarter than that," he said not making eye contact with either of us. Something in the air shifted. I looked from William to Alex and back to William. Their body language was tense, stiff. Something was off.
"Alex can answer for himself, too," Alex cut in, speaking in the third person that grabbed my attention as well as William's. I felt bad for asking the question, wishing I could just take it back.
"Sorry, it wasn't my place to ask. Just forget it," I almost begged.
"No, it's fine," he insisted with a smile. Asshole. "Yes, I did date some. Nothing serious."
I nodded, pursing my lips together. The thought brought my stomach up to my throat with absolutely no reasoning. Alex was young like me-twenty-four or twenty-five. Of course, he dated. I can't believe I let it slip from my mouth.
We finished dinner with light conversation and as soon as William's plate was clear, he stood up and excused himself. "Let me know when dessert is ready. I'll be in my office."
"Sure, darling." I had nothing prepared for dessert. Or ingredients for a cake.
He walked off as I started bringing dishes into the kitchen. I began rinsing the plates when I saw Alex walk in with the rest of the dishes. He shot me a look of anger but didn't say anything. I'm not sure what's going on between them, but I wasn't about to bring it up now.
"Thanks," I said softly, not bringing my eyes up to meet his. I was too ashamed. William usually helped me with clean up, but tonight he'd just walked away leaving me with it. "He's not usually like that," I blurted.
"Maybe not to you," he spat back instantly. I swallowed, not wanting him to clarify what he meant by that. William had been nothing but sweet and kind to me, and I didn't want anything changing my view of him.
I was at the sink when he stood next to me and started drying the dishes I had just washed. We stood next to each other in silence, neither of us having anything worth saying. The tension between us was so painful-it was almost killing me. There was so much to say, yet nothing to say at all. I couldn't help it. The urge to be next to him was stronger than I liked.
As he dried the last dish, and I wiped down the counter, he finally spoke. "You know there's a very expensive dishwasher that works just as good. Probably better, actually."
My lips turned up in a smile. "I know. It's just routine, I suppose."
I threw the wet towel down on the counter and leaned up against it as I contemplated how I was going to make a cake. Dessert wasn't something we typically did unless we were out to dinner, so I had no idea what to do.
"You look lost," Alex said, gaining my attention back toward him. Oddly, he was standing directly in front of me and I hadn't even noticed. Once my eyes took attention, my body did, too.
I squirmed, taking a step back to put space between us. "Just thinking how I'm going to have time to bake a cake before he goes to bed."
He thought for a short moment before speaking, "C'mon, I know a great place." He began walking toward me and grabbed my hand as we left the kitchen together.
Chapter Eight
"What are we doing?" I gasped as he rushed us through the lobby.
"We have to hurry if we're going to make it before closing." He sped the pace up, lacing his fingers with mine as we made our way out of the apartment building. I watched as he waved his hand for a cab and as soon as one pulled over, he pushed me in the back and got in next to me. He rambled off the street and off we went.
"Where are we going?" I asked, curiosity eating at me. I couldn't help but smile at how excited he looked.
"The best fucking bakery in town!" He smiled wide. "Seriously, though. It's so hidden, only locals know it exists."
We pulled up ten minutes later to the cutest little hole-in-the-wall bakery. It had the words Sugar's Sweets written in red, half-painted letters. How was this place even up and running in a city like this?
"Let's go. Sugar will be leaving soon."
"Huh?" Sugar was a name? After paying the driver, he grabbed my hand and pulled me out behind him. We hurried inside and I immediately inhaled the sweet, delicious smell of sugar and sweets. The name definitely fit.
"I can't believe I didn't know this was here¸" I said in amazement. It wasn't that far from the apartment or work, and yet, I never noticed it.