“Oh my God.” Alice leaned forward. “Don’t look now, but Gabby just came into the diner.”
“Oh no.” I groaned.
“And she’s with Henry.”
“Henry?” My voice rose and I couldn’t stop myself from looking over towards the entrance. My jaw dropped as I watched Gabby and Henry walking to a booth, with his arm on her back, tenderly stroking her. “What the fuck is going on?” I turned back to Alice. “Are we in the Twilight Zone?”
“Maybe?” She shook her head and I could see she looked dazed as well. “I’m seriously confused here.”
“Me too.” And then suddenly it hit me. “What if Henry is the dad?”
“What?” She frowned.
“What if Henry is the baby daddy.” I nodded as the idea started to make sense. “Maybe Xander is marrying her because Henry doesn’t want to, but they figure Xander can because of the inheritance and stuff and this way they make sure the baby is taken better care of.”
“I guess that could make sense.” She nodded. “I did wonder why Henry was there last weekend.”
“It was odd right? And he kept talking about babies.” I nodded. “Shit, I should become a detective.” I said excitedly. “Frigging Henry is the dad.”
“But what about Luke?” Alice frowned.
“Who knows?” I shrugged and we both looked at Gabby and Henry smiling and flirting on the other side of the restaurant. “Wait a second, I’m getting a call.” I grabbed my phone from my bag and pulled it out. “Hello.”
“Hey you.” Xander’s voice sounded smooth and sexy.
“Hey you back.” I smiled into the phone. “It’s Xander.” I mouthed towards Alice and she grinned.
“What are you doing?”
“Alice and I are eating.”
“Will you be done soon?” He asked softly. “I want to see you.”
“Well, I’m with Alice...” My voice trailed off as I looked at my friend.
“It’s fine.” She mouthed to me. “I’m going to go home and do my nails.”
“You sure?” I asked with a frown.
“Positive.” She nodded. “Go and get the dirt from Xander.”
“Okay.” I grinned. “You still there, Xander.”
“Yes.”
“Okay, I’m downtown. Come and meet me at the bookstore on Steamer Avenue in an hour.”
“Okay. I’ll see you there in an hour.” He said and hung up.
“We’re meeting in an hour.”
“Sounds good.” Alice grinned. “I can’t wait to find out what’s going on.”
“I already told you.” I grinned back at her.“Okay Sherlock.” She laughed and I winked at her, excited to see Xander and find out what decision he had made.
***
“I missed you today.” Xander kissed me and twirled me around.
“I missed you too.” I said giddily, happy to see him. “So before we go any further, I have a question to ask you.”
“Okay...?” He looked at me with a curious expression.
“Is Henry, Gabby’s baby daddy?” I rushed out and Xander’s expression looked shocked.
“How did you know?”
“I knew it!” I fist pumped. “Scotland Yard here I come.”
“You’re moving to England” He teased me.
“No.” I rolled my eyes and laughed. “But seriously, he’s the baby daddy?”
“We’re not sure. We think so.” He sighed. “Do not tell anyone this, but it’s either Henry or Luke.”
“What?” My jaw dropped. “They had a gangbang?”
“Liv.” He laughed and shook his head. “No, they didn’t.”
“Then how?” I asked quickly.
“She slept with them both.” He sighed. “But based on the dates, we’re pretty confident that Henry is the father.”
“Oh wow.” I chewed on my lower lip. “That’s crazy.”
“I take it Gabby didn’t tell you all this.”
“No she didn’t.” I said with a laugh. “I didn’t know she was such a slut.”
“Liv.” He admonished me.
“What? I’m just saying.” I giggled as we walked through the bookstore.
“Well now you understand why this is all so complicated.” He sighed as we stopped in the self-help section.
“No why?” I frowned.
“Henry slept with her, but he doesn’t want a relationship with her. He doesn’t want to be tied to her, but he does want a life with his kid. This seemed to be a perfect solution. I get to marry someone and gain control of the company and Henry gets to have a relationship with his child.”
“Okay.” My breathing slowed at his words.
“So this marriage really solves two problems.”
“So what are you saying, Xander? You don’t want to end the engagement?”
“We would only be married for a year. That’s the amount of time I need to be married before I can gain control of the company.”
“So you want to marry my sister and sleep with me on the side?”
“You wouldn’t be on the side.” He exclaimed angrily. “There is nothing between me and Gabby, you know that. This is just a business transaction.”