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“You should move in with him,” I said.

“What?” Thomas and Alex asked together.

“You should move in with Jake,” I repeated. “It makes the most sense right now. You’re pregnant, and we all want to take care of you, and if you’re not going to be working, it would make sense for you to be with one of us, and Jake has the most room.”

Thomas’s expression shifted, and I knew he understood what I was saying. “You should,” he said. The words were forced out, but they were sincere. “It makes sense.”

Alex’s discomfort was clear. “I just—”

“Why is this so hard for you?” Jake asked. “I get not wanting to lose your own space, but you have to know that I’m not going to crowd—”

“It’s not that,” she interrupted. “It’s just... I don’t want them to be right.”

“Who?”

She flushed. it was hard to know whether it was from embarrassment or anger. “I’m not your damn sugar baby.”

I went hot and cold all at once. Just whatexactlyhad the office gossips been saying about our girl? “We wouldneverthink that about you,” Jake said. “Please don’t tell me that’s how you view yourself.”

Alex hesitated, and my heart broke a little inside my chest. “I know that I’m not using you,” she said quietly. “I know that you love me, and I love you... but if I let you take care of me like you’re asking, doesn’t it seem...” She searched for the word. “Wrong?”

“No,” Jake said. “Not at all.”

“We’re a family now,” Thomas said. “We’ll take care of each other. That’s the whole point, right?”

Alex was quiet for a long time. “Can I think about it?” she asked. “Please?”

“Of course,” Jake said. “Of course, you can.”

The oven timer went off. “Dinner?” Thomas asked.

Alex smiled. “Please,” she said and wiped at the tears on her cheeks. “I amstarving.”

26

ALEX

The tree at Rockefeller Center was even bigger than I imagined it would be. It was lit up with lights and covered in ornaments, and at the top sat a huge crystal star that sparkled. “This is beautiful,” I murmured, glancing at Jake. “Thank you for bringing me.”

“We knew you didn’t have any plans for Christmas, and we wanted to surprise you. I hope you don’t mind,” Jake said.

I rolled my eyes. “Because every girl hates getting swept away by her super hot boyfriends for a surprise romantic holiday,” I said.

Earlier today, when we’d shown up at LAX for my Christmas Eve “date” with Jake, I was confused. Where could we possibly be going? I had been told to pack for the weekend, and most of what I’d packed was stuff to hang around the house in.

But then our plane tickets were for New York City, where Thomas and Zach had been for the past week with a client, and my heart tried to climb its way out of my throat. I hadn’t expected to see them until after the holiday because the client had extended their stay twice. “Merry Christmas, baby,” Jake had said while we sat in the First-Class lounge.

Landing in New York, Thomas and Zach met us in baggage claim, and I threw myself into their arms. “A week is too long,” I said, kissing one and then the other. We were garnering some looks, but I resolutely ignored them. Now that the threat of getting one of my men fired wasn’t hanging over my head, I didn’t care what our relationship looked like to other people. Let people wonder about us. It didn’t bother me anymore... well, I was working on it not bothering me anymore.

We’d spent the day sightseeing, and everything about Manhattan was decorated for Christmas. I had never enjoyed the holidays—there wasn’t much to celebrate when it came to my family—but it was easy to find the Christmas spirit here with my men.

I glanced back at the gigantic tree. “I suppose they use a crane to put that thing in place,” I said.

Jake nodded. “I think so, yeah.” He wrapped an arm around me. “Are you feeling okay? I know it’s been a long day.”

In all honesty, I was tired, but I didn’t want the magic of the day to end. “I should probably get off my feet soon,” I conceded. We had noticed before the trip that the longer I was on my feet, the more my feet and ankles swelled. The doctor wasn’t concerned, but they said to watch it. If the swelling didn’t go down after getting off my feet, then I’d need to call. “But I can wait until Thomas and Zach are finished with their skating.”

My eyes found Thomas and Zach, gliding across the ice as if they’d been born to it. When we first got here, I had every intention of renting some skates, but they’d panicked and begged me not to. I didn’t think there was any harm in it, but I let Jake pull me to where we would have an excellent vantage point to watch the skaters.


Tags: Ajme Williams Erotic