giving her more of the same. Whatever he was offering, she was lapping up like a thirsty dog.
I glanced up at the monitor displaying the departing flights, none of which I would be on. I’d led Alexandra to believe that I was going out of town merely to see how it would escalate her relationship with Dr. Stewart and eventually lead to a major slip-up. My father was fine; my mother’s message had simply been to tell me that a great uncle of mine, one that I had no particular attachment to, was on his death bed. I’d assumed that Alexandra would have jumped at the chance to have me leave, but instead, she’d offered to come. Looking at the pictures and the way she eyed Dr. Stewart, it made no sense why she would still offer to be by my side. On the other hand, it also meant that I hadn’t yet lost to the doctor.
“Does her father know?” I asked.
“I haven’t reported it back to him yet.”
“Hold off on that,” I requested.
“Do you want me to keep following her?”
“Yes.” I nodded to confirm. “This man, as low as his actions might be, is still very pivotal to the success of the juvenile diabetes fundraiser that’s coming up in a few weeks. I don’t want to do anything to jeopardize that opportunity.”
Stubbs cocked his head to the side. “Really? You’d sacrifice your relationship for the sake of your career?”
I stilled. “Do you really think she could leave me for him?”
“Well, from what I’ve seen, this is a woman enamored. It’s very possible.”
I shook my head. There was no way that Alexandra would even consider leaving me for a man like this. Dr. Stewart, in his own right, deserved credit for the ability to pull himself up by his bootstraps to get to his level of success. As a man, I could respect him for that. However, he and Alexandra were from two completely different societal backgrounds. They were grossly mismatched and unsuited for each other. The fact that this affair even began in the first place felt unusual and out of place.
“I need you to do something for me,” I said, taking another glance at the flight monitor. “I need you to find out how this started.”
“And how do you expect me to do that?” he asked.
“I don’t know. Use your skills. Look, here’s what I can tell you. Alexandra had the utmost perfect behavior up until the days leading up to Christmas Eve. The night before the Christmas Eve banquet was the first time I’d called her and couldn’t reach her, and she’d had her sister call me back. Do you think that you could start there to find out how this happened?”
“What you’re asking me is next to impossible,” Stubbs replied.
“I’ll increase your retainer.”
“I can’t make any promises.”
“I’m not asking you to. Just look into it and see what you can find. My gut is telling me that there’s a story here. You’ve done all this already. I’m pretty sure you can find it.”
He sighed. His pale cheeks tinted by rosacea reminded me of a cherub.
“I’ll see what I can do.”
“Thank you.” I shook his hand. “Call me if anything pops up.”
He agreed and I walked off, a mixture of anger, confusion, and even jealousy powering each step. There was no way that I was going to allow Alexandra to leave me, and I didn’t care what the circumstances were between her and the doctor. I hadn’t wasted two years vetting her to be my wife to lose her to some pompous asshole just because he’d been able to navigate his way around her clitoris. If sweet and considerate was what she wanted, then that was what she was going to keep getting. There was no way that I was going to allow Ethan Stewart to commandeer what I’d taken two years to cultivate.
Chapter Nine
Ethan
I wasn’t as hungover as I’d assumed that I would be, which was perfect because when my eyes opened, Alexandra was in bed next to me. The sunlight was hitting her skin in just the right way and she was sleeping peacefully. Comfortably. In my bed.
I spooned her into my body and kissed the back of her head. Then, I pressed a kiss behind her ear. I was being powered by a faint recollection of a conversation that we’d had the night before. If my memory served me correctly, the woman now tucked into my body had said that she would