A Playboy's Love Affair (19 page)

Carly turned back around to face him. This version of Alex was the reflection of someone who’d been through some really rough few weeks, yet she wouldn’t give in. She’d had a hard time herself and no one was feeling sorry for her.

Alex glanced at their audience but didn’t seem one bit uncomfortable.

Unlike him, Carly wanted to run and hide. Not Alex; he stood there comfortably airing their dirty laundry in front of strangers.

“Give me one good reason.” She gripped the metal handle of the bleacher’s stairs next to her.

Alex moved toward her. “Because you’re everything I don’t deserve but everything I need.” He stopped. “I thought I knew freedom but the truth is I didn’t. I was living in a cage and you set me free. You’re my freedom.” He searched her face until his eyes locked on hers. “Because I love you.”

Carly’s lip quivered as tears clouded her eyes. For a moment she thought Alex would give all other reasons and never say the one that mattered most, the one she longed to hear. Now that he had she couldn’t move. Her feet were glued to the ground, she tried hard not to blink but tears slid down her cheeks as the meaning of his words dawned on her.

A mom sitting on the bench near where Carly stood pushed her forward in Alex’s path. “Go get him girl, or I’ll take him from you,” the woman teased.

Carly stumbled but quickly collected herself and moved toward Alex who met her halfway. She wrapped her arms around his neck as he encircled her waist with both his arms. He lifted her off her feet and kissed her.

“I love you,” she murmured against his lips.

“I’ve been through hell since you left. Promise you’ll never leave me again,” he said, putting her down on her feet. “I love you. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you sooner.” His gaze searched hers.

Carly rose on her toes to kiss him back in response but halted midway as she read the five signs the other five kids had up. “Will. You. Marry. Me?” she whispered, and glanced down at Alex, who was now on bended knee in front of her.

“Say you’ll marry me, Carly Mitchell.” He looked up to her from the ground.

Carly covered her mouth with her hands as tears continued to roll down her cheeks. This was the one moment she’d never really dreamed of with Alex. This was that kind of dream everyone had that never came true, yet it was happening to her. Carly only stared at him. The words were stuck in her throat. She wanted to say aloud “yes, yes, yes”, but the words wouldn’t come out.

He placed his hands on her hips bringing her closer to him. “Help me out here would you buddy?” He kissed her belly. “Tell your mom your dad loves you both very much. Tell her to say yes,” he spoke softly, as his gaze met hers.

Carly nodded. “Y-yes… I’ll m-marry you,” she said between sobs. Alex slid on her finger a princess cut diamond ring, kissing her knuckles as he leapt to his feet. She didn’t even bother to look at the ring. All that mattered was that Alex was here with her. Now, they had the rest of their lives to figure things out.

Alex cupped her face with his hands. “Thank you sweet darling.” He kissed her one more time.

****

Celebrity News!

Wedding bells for Alex St. Jones

“We hear wedding bells for Alex St. Jones ladies,” the odious entertainment anchor said to the camera. “The most sought after bachelor is now officially a happily married man. Alex St. Jones, otherwise known as the St. Joneses’ black sheep has tied the knot.” She paused. “Remember this?” Carly’s backside shot when Alex carried her over his shoulder out of the charity event was displayed on TV. “This fine rear end belongs to the woman who stole his heart, none other than Carly Mitchell.” The anchor sighed. “Yes ladies, it’s true. Our bachelor is bachelor no more. Well, we wish the newlyweds the best in this new chapter of their lives.”

The entertainment anchor looked around and closed the distance with the camera. “Rumor has it there’s a baby on the way,” she whispered, winking at the TV viewers.

Epilogue

Alex closed his eyes, recalling the night Carly accepted him back in her life. He had no idea how she’d react or even hear him out. Those minutes in that field could’ve been hours for all he cared because that was how it had felt. His heart plummeted to the ground when Carly stood to leave the park. He thought he’d never see her again, but when she turned around and walked toward him, hope filled his chest.

Then, she’d made him the happiest man alive when she officially said ‘I do’ He was one lucky man, she was now Mrs. Alex St. Jones.

Carly hesitated about getting married right after his proposal, but Alex listed all the reasons why they shouldn’t wait, one of them being they loved each other and had a baby on the way. What was the point of delaying it? He’d never leave her side ever. They decided on a small wedding with close friends and family only, where somehow, someone, had sneaked out some pictures that appeared later on the front cover of a magazine.

The one other major precious moment in his life was the birth of his son, Junior. Alex freaked when Carly went into labor. He didn’t know what to do, where to run. She went through that horrible pain and wished he could take it all away. He was terrified, those were long hours at the hospital, little Junior took his sweet little time leaving his mom’s womb.

The moment Alex laid eyes on his son, his heart crumbled, but that wasn’t as bad as the first time he held him in his arms. Then what Alex knew as the world completely collapsed inside him. Everything stopped for a minute or two in that hospital room. Alex wasn’t able to stop admiring the little baby, staring intently back at him with big moonlit cosmic green eyes like his mom’s, and a head full of black hair like his. The little bundle got him out of his reverie when he wailed, looking for something to suck on, which Alex took as his cue to hand him back to the nurse. Alex had trouble believing how this little boy was his doing, accident or not, planned or not. The best part of all was he wouldn’t want it any other way.

Alex paced around in Junior’s room. Gosh, who would’ve thought his life would change this much? He bet even a fortuneteller couldn’t have seen this. He let out a soft laugh. His bachelor pad was bachelor pad no more. Although the house was big enough, he’d opted for selling it, moving them into a family friendly house just as large and eco-friendly as his previous place. Alex didn’t want anything that reminded him of his bachelor days—he’d done so much crazy stuff in that other house that he couldn’t see himself raising a family in it.

Alex stood next to Junior’s crib, admiring how his little dude slept as soundly as he did himself. Junior would be running around the house very soon. Carly was a freaking over-protective mom, she would go crazy chasing after him. Alex was willing to bet little dude here would give her a run for her money. That’d be something to stand back and watch. Alex couldn’t wait until Junior was big enough to take him places. He imagined himself teaching Junior things fathers were supposed to teach their kids. He didn’t have a clue what he’d show him. There wasn’t a manual that said try that and if it doesn’t work then try this. This was real life. Shoot, this was pretty much on-the-job training but Alex was determined not to screw it up. It wasn’t as if he’d get fired anyway, or would he?

“Would you fire me, little dude?” Alex asked softly to the sleeping cherub as he leaned in over and kissed his forehead. He paced back to the door, taking one last look at Junior, making sure he was still sleeping soundly, before shutting the door.

It was amazing what someone so little as Junior could do. He’d helped him bridge the gap with his dad by reconciling their differences, to some extent. Alex was no longer pissing him off, he still wouldn’t apologize for all his past misgivings or all the heartburns he’d given him, hey, but at least he was trying. Then again, it wasn’t his fault his dad was a famous mogul on Wall Street, and that there was always a media frenzy about their family. Alex just happened to be the unlucky one the media liked to focus on. He didn’t think his life was world newsworthy, but others seemed to differ.

“Where’s everyone?” he asked, stepping over the threshold of his bedroom.

“Hey, babe.” Carly’s voice sounded from their walk-in closet.

An adoring smile formed on Alex’s face. “You look stunning.” He snaked an arm around her waist, drawing her to him.

“You look gorgeous yourself.” Carly rose on her toes and kissed him.

With a groan, he deepened their kiss. His tongue pushed between her lips exploring the hotness of her mouth. He slowly backed her up to the wall as his hands slid the length of her dress. His fingers stroke the inside of her thigh, tracing the lining of her lace thong, finding their way into her wet folds.

“Alex stop,” Carly moaned.

His lips curled up but he didn’t stop kissing her. “Do you really want me to stop?” Alex tore her lace thong. “Oops.”

“Hmmm…” A soft cry escaped her lips when his expert fingers stretched her and his thumb circled her bud. “We have visitors. They can walk in on us any time,” she said breathless.

Alex lifted her securing her legs around his waist. “Darling, I don’t give a damn if anyone walks in on us. I’m with you, my wife,” he emphasized, unzipping his pants before he continued, “and I intend to have you, Mrs. Alex St. Jones.” He kissed her hungrily, thrusting inside her slick channel. Carly laced her fingers in his hair pulling him closer, moving her hips in rhythm with his, meeting him thrust for each hungry thrust. Alex never imagined he’d ever share with a woman what he had with Carly. What they had wasn’t something anyone could buy or make. This was as real as it got; this was love. He increased his pace when her muscles tightened around his shaft, driving her wild with need, taking her to the peak of her ecstasy. Alex thrust in hard, losing himself in the wave of his own orgasm, filling her womb with the warmth of his seed. “Carly… Darling, I love you,” he breathed against her skin.

“I love you too,” Carly whispered. He set her back on her feet, kissing her lips once more “Alex, we need to get ready, the magazine people will be here shortly.” She dragged him to the master bathroom.

Crap, he’d forgotten all about the stupid magazine. Since the media wouldn’t leave him or his family alone, Alex had decided to invite them into his home. He wanted to let them see for themselves the side of the St. Joneses they so craved. His family wasn’t even close to how they were made out to believe in the gossip columns, their kind of issues and fights weren’t limited to the St. Joneses but the media begged to differ.

Did people really get paid for doing this crap? Obviously, they did. Maybe they’d finally leave him alone after this. Regardless, he knew there’d still be something twisted in the story. In the meantime, he was stuck with his parents, brother, sister. Shoot, even Paul, Kiera, their baby, and Dominic were there. Alex St. Jones had been tamed.

On his way out to the terrace he stopped to check in on Junior. Alex couldn’t have wished for a better welcome. Junior was awake babbling his goo talk to the toys hanging above his crib. With a grin full of love, Alex approached the crib. He was one proud dad. Then, the smell of a dirty diaper hit him. The horror! Where was the sitter? He headed back to the door, catching Carly on her way out to the terrace. “Carly!” he called.

She turned to face him and quirked her brow. “Yes?”

“Where’s the sitter? Junior needs a diaper change,” he explained.

Carly crossed her arms, and stared him down. “Honey, I’m sure you can handle something as little as a dirty diaper, can’t you?” Suppressed laughter filled her gaze.

Alex glanced in her direction, a look full of hopelessness on his face. “Darling, I’m sure you don’t really mean that.” He gestured inside the room. “Can you please come take care of it?”

Carly closed the distance between them and peeked inside the room. “Ooh darling. It sounds like Junior is getting ready to throw a fuss. You’d better hurry up.” She rose up on her toes and brushed her lips over his. “We’ll be waiting for you outside.” She spun on her heel.

Alex stared after her by the door. “How do you change a dirty diaper?” He cussed under his breath heading back in the room.

“How the heck should I know? You’re all domesticated and shit now. Shouldn’t you know?” Dominic’s voice sounded from behind. He coughed, covering up a laugh.

Alex gave him a side glance. “Well, don’t just stand there. Help me out here, would you?”

Dominic walked in cautiously. “What do you need? A diaper, wipes, powder, anything else?”

Alex carried Junior, his feet dangling, to the changing table. “Yes. And if you don’t remove that stupid smirk off your face I’ll punch it out of you.”

“Dude, you got all the stuff you need right here.” Dom pointed to the baby’s changing table.

Alex was all for hot sex, sweet and passionate lovemaking. Heck, he enjoyed trying out for babies, but that didn’t mean he loved changing dirty diapers. This wasn’t a requirement he’d thought to ever have to fulfill. He’d avoided it like the plague. And what for? He ended up with the dirtiest diaper to change for his very first time.

Dominic covered his nose and retreated to the door. “Man, if I ever wanted another reason never to marry, you just gave it to me. Damn, you have guts. I don’t know how you guys do it. Mark my words, dude” he said, standing by the door. “There’s no way,
I
, Dom, will ever, ever get married. With you and Paul out of the field, I now got a larger field to mess with. So, thank you, my friend. I ain’t ever doing this crap.” He pointed to the dirty diaper Alex held in his hand, turned and left cursing under his breath.

Alex would’ve liked nothing more than to throw the diaper at Dom, but thought better of it. He chuckled. He’d mark Dom’s words all right. Alex would bask in pleasure when Dom fell, because Dominic would. He’d fall harder than Paul and he had.

“Ready buddy?” Alex asked Junior who was back to babbling his baby gah gah goo talk.

****

Celebrity News!

“Guess who’s featured on the front cover of Elite Magazine’s issue this month?” the gossip entertainment anchor said and paused, before she continued, “Alex St. Jones and his family. What a gorgeous family! Who knew Alex St. Jones had it in him, huh? Not sure if you’ve read the article yet, but I do have to agree, he’ll always be a playboy in our hearts,” the reporter paused again. “What a catchy title to go with it too: What A Playboy Wants, A Playboy Gets.”