Eight Weeks Later

NEW YORK CITY, USA

Alex was tired and frustrated. Finally, she thought with some small triumph, she had arrived in New York City. Now standing there in the lobby of LaGuardia Airport, she just wanted to collapse on the floor and rest. Where was Jayden anyway? Oh, God! What if he forgot to come and get her? Well, she couldn't blame him if he had because she was late. She was supposed to arrive yesterday afternoon. But being the clumsy, inexperienced traveler she was, she managed to miss the flight from Sydney to Los Angeles and then the rest was history. She was still upset she missed that flight. It was first class. Now she would never know what it was like sitting in that luxurious, comfy seat with the airhostess serving her every need. Damn!

Turning her attention back to her dilemma, she thought if she didn't see Jay within the next five minutes, she'd take a taxi and check into the nearest hotel. Then she'd give him a ring to tell him where she was.

She dragged her luggage across the vast terminal and walked toward the rows of seats near the window. She searched around just in case Jayden was somewhere nearby, waiting for her. When she saw only the faces of strangers, she sighed and slumped on the seat.

"Alex!"

Her stomach knotted. She turned. "Jay!" she murmured. Her throat was so tight her voice was barely above a whisper. She rushed over to him with her heavy bag in tow. Before she knew what she was about, she dropped the luggage and hugged him hard.

Jayden wrapped his arms around her. People looked at them with knowing smiles on their faces. Ah, the lovers finally reunited.

Alex drew back and glanced up at him. Jay saw her face, which was inches from his, and his heart nearly broke. He cupped her face in his hands and said gently, "So how was the traveling?"

Alex didn't say anything. She just stared up at him.

"You must be tired," he said and then turned to pick up her luggage. "My car is this way."

Alex said, "Okay," and followed him toward the exit.

The crisp night air soothed both Alex's emotions and her overheated skin.

"Did you wait long?"

She shook her head.

"Here's my car."

Alex couldn't help but widen her eyes with admiration at the black Mercedes-Benz.

Jay said, "Hop in," as he loaded her luggage into the boot.

Alex wasted no time sliding into the passenger seat. "Nice car," she commented, glancing at Jay beside her.

"Thanks," Jay replied, starting the engine.

Even this late at night, or rather early in the morning, the roads were still busy with cars and trucks coming and going. She wondered if the people in New York ever sleep. The city itself must be beautiful, if only I could see. It was rather dark even though there were streetlights everywhere, like dots of stars. A while later, after her fascination had waned, she settled herself more comfortably in her seat and rested her head against the cool window.

Jay glanced at her. "I apologize for picking those flights for you. I should have chosen a flight straight from Auckland to New York instead of—"

"Don't worry about it, Jayden. I'm here, aren't I? So everything's fine," she said.

"Are you cold?"

She glanced at him and shook her head.

Jayden was still angry with himself for picking those flights for her. He knew she was an inexperienced traveler. She told him so numerous times via their e-mails. He blamed his impatience for this. He wanted her to come as soon as possible and booked her flights for her before she even agreed. Now he wondered again for the hundredth time why he was so eager for her to come to New York.

Oh yeah, you rascal, you know exactly why. You missed her so much that you couldn't stop e-mailing her every day. In fact, he had e-mailed her every chance he had. Not to mention he even visited her Facebook page just to see her profile picture and see what she was up to. He was that pathetic.

"How's Jacob?" he asked, suddenly feeling guilty at the thought of dragging her away from her father.

"He's recovering well," she replied, thinking about that dreadful week her dad had his heart transplant. In the waiting bay, she hugged him and wished him luck while her mom cried and prayed the procedure would go well. Then the anesthetist wheeled him off into the theatre, and she and her mom waited in dread for five long hours. She sighed with relief when her dad ended up in the ward instead of ICU because that meant the procedure went well. But her relief was short-lived when they found out a day later her dad contracted pneumonia from the bacteria Streptococcus pneumoniae. The doctor informed her it was quite common for an elderly man with a low immune system to be infected with it. They gave him strong antibiotics, and within a week he recovered. Now he was home and taking things easy.

"Thanks, by the way."

"What for?"

"For the money. Without it, Dad wouldn't have been able to have his surgery."

Jay couldn't help but grin.

Alex saw this and laughed. "You're so cute when you smile," she commented. And silently added, Too bad you're gay. "They are suspicious I have to go away."

"Huh?"

"I told my family I was going overseas, New York City to be precise, to do some more training. I lied to them."

Jay glanced sideways at her. "You could just tell them the truth."

"I can't do that. I can't tell them I'm pretending to be your girlfriend, and now I'm coming to New York to meet your family."

Jay laughed. She frowned at him.

"Sorry," he said cheekily. "You could have just told them you are my real girlfriend and you're coming to meet my parents."

"But we're not in a real relationship. I mean you're not my real boyfriend. You're gay."

Good point. He totally forgot about that. Shit! Lies upon lies. He wondered which was worse: lying to his family that Alex was his girlfriend or lying to Alex that he was gay. No! He had to put that out of his mind. He had to think about what was going to happen when Alex met his family, when Alex met Beth.

"Alex?"

"Huh?"

"We need to clear something up."

"Clear what up?" Alex replied sleepily.

"Us."

She glanced at him. "Us?"

"Yeah, us. We need to be clear about our story."

Alex nodded in understanding. "Oh, you mean you and me? How we met and stuff like that?"

"Uh-huh." Jay nodded, his foot pressing down on the brake pedal as the car came to a red light.

"Right. Go on, then."

"First of all, we have to be really close," he said. The light changed to green, and he stepped on the accelerator. "What I mean is we want to make people think we're in a serious relationship."

"Yes, I know."

"Good," Jay said, making a right turn. "Secondly, to do this, you'll have to start talking to me more intimately. Like words of endearment."

"Endearment?"

"Yes, like sweetheart, honey. You know? Endearment."

"Right."

"Now I'm going to tell you a bit more about my family."

"Okay," Alex said sleepily. The sound of the car engine humming was like a lullaby to her ears, and she closed her eyes.

"Okay, we'll start with my dad, then. His name is Tom McCartney," he began. "He met Mom..."

Five minutes later, he glanced at his passenger. Damn, she was already sound asleep. He shook his head. Well, his family story would have to wait. He stepped harder on the accelerator as the car merged into the highway. An hour later, the black Mercedes-Benz drove past rows of gigantic, expensive mansions on the Upper East Side of New York City and through wrought iron gates that opened up automatically. The car came to a smooth stop in front of an immaculately kept, massive three-story mansion.

Jayden slid out and rushed over to the passenger side. He cocked his head to one side as he gazed down at Alex, who was still asleep. He couldn't blame her for being so tired, and he couldn't blame her for looking so adorable, too. When people sleep in the car, they don't look adorable; they usually look stupid. But Alex was different.

He chuckled and brushed his fingers gently across her forehead. Should he wake her up? He knew his family would be up by now, waiting to greet his fake girlfriend. No, he shouldn't wake her. It would be cruel. She needed her rest. With his mind made up, he effortlessly scooped her up in his arms, turned on his heels, kicked the car door shut, and strolled toward the house. Before he could reach the bell, the large double-door was opened up for him.

"Thanks, Maggie," he said to the plump, smiling housekeeper who was dressed in her very spotless and immaculate uniform consisting of a black shirt and skirt.

"You're welcome, Master Jayden," the woman said warmly, her gaze resting on Alex, who was snuggling her face comfortably against Jay's hard chest.

"Your girlfriend? She looks tired," Maggie said. "I've arranged your room at your request. New sheets, duvet, drapes, sofa, and, of course, a beautiful vase with a bunch of red roses. Oh, so beautiful."

"Thanks, Maggie," Jay said, grinning.

"You're welcome, Master Jayden." The housekeeper nodded and shut the door. "Just so you know. Everyone is up."

"Right." He knew his family would be in the dining room, having their breakfast, and they'd be expecting him to bring Alex there for introductions. Not yet. He felt it just wasn't the right time for that. Besides, he dreaded what would happen when Beth met Alex. He had no doubt Beth would jump on Alex and claw her to bits, figuratively speaking of course.

Hoping they were still blissfully unaware of their arrival, Jay paced toward the stairs.

"So she's here!"

Jay groaned inside. He slowly turned to see his grandmother down the hallway. As usual, she looked elegant. Nothing was out of order on her person: perfect hair, face, and clothing. This morning she wore a pretty pink suit that fit her slim body gracefully. His mother, Gracie McCartney, came out from the dining room into the foyer just then. She was tall and slim. Her manner gave the aura of elegance and gentleness. Her blue eyes, very much like his, gazed at the sleeping Alex, who was oblivious to the presence of the people surrounding her.

"She is tired, I suppose," Gracie said.

"Jay," a voice echoed from the top of the stairs.

Jay glanced up and saw his sister Kelly. She was dressed in a pretty blue sundress, her blond curls resting about her shoulders.

"You're back," she said as she came down the stairs. "Thought you'd be late with you know who so demanding and all."

Jay knew whom his sister was referring to. It was Sarah. Kelly knew he and Sarah were dating. But Kelly didn't know they broke up. Now he saw the puzzled look in her eyes, questioning him as to what he was doing with another woman in his arms. Come to think of it, Kelly was right. Sarah was a spoiled little brat who always got what she wanted. Why he didn't see it before was beyond him.

Kelly came to a complete stop at the bottom of the stairs once she saw Alex in Jay's arms. She opened her mouth as though to ask Jay who this person was when Granny Beth said, "Why is she dressed like that? Why is she sleeping in your arms?"

"She has just arrived and she's tired, Grandmother."

"Well, she'd better be up before the dinner party starts," Beth commented, gave one more glance at Alex in distaste, and strolled into the lounge with her nose in the air.

Gracie shook her head at Beth's stiff attitude. "So this is your girlfriend?"

Jay managed to nod without flinching. He felt guilty lying to his mother. But he had no choice.

Gracie came to stand beside him and peeked at Alex. "She's cute."

He glanced down at the woman in his arms. Yup, Alex was cute when she was sleeping. She also looked peaceful, young, and very innocent.

"I bet she'll sleep better in a bed than in your arms," Gracie suggested.

"I agree," Jay commented, laughing. "Better take her up, then."

"Yes, yes. Don't forget to wake her before afternoon tea," Gracie said, walking into the drawing room. "We need to get to know her better before the guests arrive. By the way, you've told her there's a party for her arrival, yes?"

Jayden groaned.

"Thought so." Gracie chuckled. "Better do it soon."

"Sure," Jayden responded as he walked up the stairs.

Halfway up, he glanced down at his sister. Kelly eyed him suspiciously, telling him he'd better tell her what the hell was going on. Jay nodded in response to her silent demand. Kelly raised her brows and then went into the dining room.