Her Premarital Ex (The Alexanders Book 3) (11 page)
Read Her Premarital Ex (The Alexanders Book 3) Online
Authors: Tina Martin
Tags: #suspense, #reflection, #true love, #unrequited love, #jealousy, #stalker, #fiction romance
“Wait...Dilvan offered you
some wine?”
“Yeah.”
So that’s how he drugged
her. He slipped something in the wine.
“And you accepted a glass of wine from him?”
“Well, I didn’t want to,
but he’s trying to
change
and show me that he’s sorry for what he did to
me, so I’m trying to find it within myself to forgive him and move
forward. Hey, Padma said to meet her for breakfast at The Blue Room
at nine. It’s 8:15 a.m. now.”
“Okay. Let me go get
ready,” Lalita said. She had to say something to Padma about what
happened. Dilvan couldn’t get away with this.
restaurant, they noticed that Padma and Dilvan were already
there.
“Good morning, ladies,”
Dilvan said, eyeing Gabrielle down.
“Good morning,” Gabrielle
responded cheerfully. She was feeling especially good today since
she would be back home, in the arms of Tyson.
word. Instead, she looked at Dilvan with skeptical
eyes.
Gabrielle took the seat
across from Padma. “So how was sightseeing last night?”
“It was wonderful,” Padma
responded. “Wish you would’ve come with us.”
“I wish you would’ve come
with us, too,” Lalita said.
“I know, but I was so out
of it last night, I don’t even remember when I fell
asleep.”
“Oh, goodness, dear,”
Padma said.
“Lalita told me I was
passed out on her bed.” Gabrielle giggled. “Guess I was so tired, I
couldn’t make it to my own bed.”
water. He hadn’t thought about that – that he might’ve put her on
the wrong bed last night.
Lalita glared at him, but
he hadn’t seen her. He was too busy staring at
Gabrielle.
He actually found it hard
to take his eyes off of her. It’s a strange thing, how he’d taken
her for granted when he had her at his grasp and now that she
belonged to someone else, he wanted her more than he wanted his
next million.
“What did you do last
night, Dilvan?” Lalita decided to ask.
“Not much...hung around
the bar for a minute then went to bed.”
“That’s it?”
“Yeah, pretty
much.”
“So you didn’t see
Gabrielle by the pool last night?” Lalita asked, meeting his
gaze.
Gabrielle then back to Lalita and said, “Yeah.
Briefly.”
“Yeah, I bet,” she
mumbled.
“What was that?” Dilvan
asked.
“Nothing.”
their breakfast entrees had arrived.
Lalita glanced up at
Dilvan every now and then, noticing each time that he was busy
ogling Gabrielle, probably reliving what he’d done to her last
night. Sick bastard. He definitely was not like his older brothers.
Prasad and Heshan would never do what he’d done, then sit at the
table like nothing happened.
“This was a nice little
trip,” Gabrielle said.
“I have another one
scheduled for later this year,” Padma said. “Hopefully you’ll be
able to make that one was well.”
“Yeah, as long as Tyson
comes with me.”
frown by taking a sip of water.
“You newlyweds,” Padma
said. “You miss him after two days.”
“Yes,” she replied
beaming. “He’s such an amazing man.”
deepened. Deciding to change the subject he asked, “What time is
your flight leaving?”
“We got the 2:30 p.m.
direct flight,” Padma responded.
“So do I. Let me run up
and finish packing.” Dilvan stood and took a hundred-dollar bill
from his wallet, placing it on the table. “That should cover
breakfast. I’ll meet you in the lobby at the eleven, then we can go
to the airport together.”
“All right, Dilvan,” Padma
said.
in ear shot, Padma said, “You know I think I’m getting through to
Dilvan after all. I can see the changes in him.”
“Yeah...he’s slowly coming
around,” Gabrielle said. “I think he’s sorry for what he did to me,
but that’s not something I can easily dismiss although I am trying
to be cordial with him...trying to be the bigger
person.”
Lalita hadn’t said a
word. She was too busy questioning herself – replaying in her mind
if she saw what she actually thought she did – Dilvan leaving her
and Gabrielle’s hotel room last night and Gabrielle passed out on
the bed. Something had happened, only she couldn’t be sure exactly
what it was and Gabrielle certainly had no recollection of it. The
only person who knew what went down was Dilvan.
Tyson
threw his small suitcase in the back seat and headed for a
restaurant he frequented when he lived in Atlanta. There, they made
the best eggs, grits and waffles he’d ever tasted outside of his
own.
breakfast, he saw her, Desiree, heading his way. Was she stalking
him now? It couldn’t be a coincidence that she was
here.
He sighed. She was still
pretty in the face, but she looked to be twenty pounds heavier. The
weight looked nice on her. She even turned a few heads as she
approached his table.
Tyson kept on eating,
hoping she would keep walking by but when he heard her say, “Well,
hey stranger,” he looked up at her.
“Hi,” he said. He didn’t
want to be rude. He was always a gentleman no matter the
circumstances, but he also knew how to put someone in their place;
especially someone as conniving as Desiree.
“How have you been?” she
asked him, taking a seat.
“I’m good...um, if you
would excuse me, I was enjoying my breakfast alone and—”
“Okay, I just need to say
this, Tyson.”
“Say what?”
“I’m sorry about the
things I said regarding Dennis. I was angry at the
time.”
piece of work, Desiree.”
“What do you
mean?”
“That’s all you’re sorry
about?”
“Well—”
“You’re sorry about the
things you said regarding Dennis, but you’re not sorry you cheated
on me with my best friend. That you lied to me for months and let
me propose to you knowing that your heart belonged to someone else.
What are you even doing here?”
“I moved back to the ‘A’ a
few months ago...heard you got married.”
“Yep.” Tyson wiped his
mouth, then stood up. “I’m going to see my beautiful wife as we
speak. Enjoy your day,” he told her and walked away. As far as he
was concerned nothing else needed to be said. Their relationship
was over and done with. He’d moved on and that was that. All he
wanted to do now was get back home to see Gabrielle.
All
these seats in first class and I get the one next to
him
. Gabrielle sighed. Padma had offered
to switch seats with her but Gabrielle declined stating that she’d
be fine. Dilvan was behaving relatively well and surely she could
endure a plane ride home with him.
“Would you like the window
seat?” Dilvan asked after he put her bag in the overhead
compartment.
“Yeah. Thanks.” She
scooted pass him, then settled in her seat.
checked his messages. Then he saw an email from his
manager:
TO: Dilvan Alexander
FROM: Len Phillips
SUBJECT: New Gig in the
Windy City!
Dilvan,
They loved you at Ross
& Co. The shoot went so well, they’re looking forward to
working with you again. Great work!
Len
- - -
the work he’d done at Ross & Company. Even their marketing team
had told him yesterday how pleased they were. Accolades as such
made him not want to quit modeling. Maybe if he stuck to smaller
modeling jobs, he would still have time to work with the family
business, thus pleasing his parents and getting back into their
good graces as well as doing what he enjoyed.
let him know she was on the plane, and that she had to put her
phone on airplane mode since they were about to take off. She
hadn’t mentioned that she was sitting next to Dilvan. Tyson
probably would’ve flipped out.
When they were cruising
an appropriate altitude, Dilvan glanced at her and said, “So you
enjoyed yourself?”
“Yeah, I did.”
“Me too,” he said with a
smile. He wanted so badly to hold her hand, but he fought the
urge.
“It’s so strange to me
that after I saw you by the pool last night, I can’t remember a
thing after that. I’ve been racking my brain trying to figure out
how I woke up in Lalita’s bed...she had to take my bed.”
“Maybe you just needed
some rest. It has been a whirlwind weekend,” he told her. He didn’t
need her trying to recall anything that happened last
night.
“Yeah. You’re right. It’s
just odd, though. I didn’t even call Tyson last night.”
“I’m sure it’s nothing,”
he replied. “Unless you’re becoming a workaholic like
me.”
Gabrielle glanced out the window.
“I have to tell you
something, Gabrielle.”
“What’s that?” she asked,
looking at him.
“Well, it’s actually a
confession.”
“Okay.”
“When we were together, I
didn’t give us a real chance because I wasn’t ready to make a
commitment. Now, I am and I know I keep apologizing to you like a
crazy person, but I am sorry I hurt you.”
“Okay. I got
it.”
“Do you forgive
me?”
“Forgiveness doesn’t
happen overnight, Dilvan. Just talking to you and sitting here with
you is a surprise to me.”
“Baby steps,” he
said.
window at the puffy white clouds suspended in the air like cotton.
She found beauty in it, especially since this was the second time
she’d ever been on a plane.
A stewardess came by with
wine and they both took a glass.
Gabrielle was mid sip
when Dilvan asked, “So do you think Tyson would agree to a sit-down
with me?”
Gabrielle coughed,
holding her left hand in front of her mouth. For a moment, it was
hard to get her breath back.
Deciding to offer
assistance, Dilvan placed his right hand on her back and patted
softly.
“I’m okay, Dilvan,”
Gabrielle told him.
back and with a smirk on his face said, “So I guess the answer to
my question is no.”
“Sure is, and you
should’ve known that before you even asked.”
“Why?”
“Because you and Tyson
have never had a good relationship, and honestly, Dilvan, you don’t
even like my husband.”
“That’s not
true.”
“It is, and trust me when
I say that it will take an act of God to get Tyson to say anything
to you.”
“Well, I think it’s my
place to try. I want to change for the better and I can do that,
but I can’t do it alone.”
“You can try. You don’t
need people to change your attitude. You can do that on your
own.”
“I understand that, but
since my Mother blames me for all of our family problems, I feel
that I should make some sort of gesture.”
“Okay, then do what you
feel.”
champagne and asked, “So your marriage is good?”
“Dilvan, I’m not about to
discuss my marriage with you.”
“I was just curious. Maybe
I can learn something to take into my next
relationship.”
“You have brothers...get
advice from them. Prasad is happily married. Heshan is...hmm, not
sure what Heshan’s relationship status is.”
“Heshan has been with more
women than Deuce Bigelow.”
laughed.
“You laugh, but I’m
serious.”
“And what do you know
about Deuce Bigelow when all I’ve ever seen you watch on TV is
soccer.”
trying to determine how she knew that. Then he said, “It came on
one night when there was no soccer on TV...captured my
interest.”
“Strange.”
“Why’s that
strange?”
“No reason, and you’re no saint yourself while you’re trying to
throw Heshan under the bus.”