Alexander

I fielded a lot of questions from the staff for the remainder of the day. The women gushed at how cute Lindsay was and how they didn’t know I had a daughter. I think their knees went weak when I told them that she was Soledad’s daughter. I didn’t feel that I needed to clear up the fact that she wasn’t mine.

I saw the way they looked at me and knew that I had every woman in the place wanting me to knock them up. No, thanks. I also explained that Soledad and I were happy together and getting quite serious. I knew that would lead to some stories, but I didn’t fucking care anymore. She was mine and that’s all that mattered.

I went home and headed inside of the apartment, seeing that Lindsay and Soledad were in the kitchen. She seemed to be teaching her how to cook noodles as I watched for a moment. I smiled as Soledad glanced at me and Lindsay turned to run towards me for a hug. Soledad didn’t smile, and I frowned as I wrapped my arms around the little girl.

I let her down and approached Soledad. “What’s wrong?” I asked her as she drained the noodles in the sink. “Where’s Rosie?”

“She went to dinner with a friend. Since we had lunch, I just went for something simple.” Her voice was flat, and I waited until she put the hot pot on the stove before turning her around to face me. She looked broken and I stroked her arms.

“What’s wrong?” I demanded as her eyes narrowed at me.

“I thought I lost something from the bathroom and called the apartment today. Did you know that it was ransacked after I left?” My heart froze as she spoke, knowing I hid that from her. I didn’t want her to worry and everything was already moved over.

“What did you think you lost?” I asked as anger flashed across her face.

“A facial brush that I loved. I wanted to do some girl stuff with Lind tonight. I ended up finding it, so everything was fine, but why didn’t you tell me?” She hissed at me as I glanced at Lindsay looking at something on the TV.

“You were already out and here. I know how secure this building is, Soledad. I knew that I had your safety covered and they were willing to take care of it.” I slipped my hands down to grip hers as she tried to pull away.

“Is there anything else I need to know?” Soledad asked as I let her go and stared out of the windows. “What are you trying to do, Alex?”

“I am trying to keep you from staying awake all night worrying. I want you to feel like you can come back to work like I know you want to do. I have everything taken care of, Sol.” I kept my voice down so Lindsay wouldn’t hear us, all too aware of the fact that she was just a few feet away from us. I hated hearing my parents argue when they were still together.

“I need to know what’s happening. I have that right because it’s my past haunting us. Yours isn’t as threatening, Alex. Please tell me what’s happening.” I watched tears fill her eyes and then move to the floor.

“How does she like her noodles?” I asked as Soledad’s shoulders slumped.

“Butter and mozzarella. She’ll show you.” I called out to Lindsay and we fixed her bowl just like she wanted before going to the table. I suggested to Soledad that she take a bath and calm down, so we could talk once Lindsay was in bed for the night. I knew that we shouldn’t do this in front of her from personal experience. Soledad stalked down the hall and I heard water later as I sipped a beer at the table with Lindsay. So, this was parenting? Fuck.

I worried about Rosie, but she arrived home just as I was getting Lindsay ready for bed. It was later than planned since she confessed that she had a late nap after lunch, but I finally got her down. I went into my room to see Soledad curled up on our bed in leggings and a shirt, fast asleep.

I stared at her, unsure of what to do. I’d never fought with a woman with meaning before. That was when I usually left and found someone else. There was never any reason to stay but now I had several.

There was the little girl hopefully sleeping across the hall that I adored and this woman. I loved this woman and wanted to find a way to prove it to her. That was not going to happen by hiding the truth, but I hadn’t decided since talking to Keith that evening. He’d been keeping quiet as far as I knew, and I was thinking that it would just be best to pay him to leave us alone. With that came the chance that he could hurt someone else. Could I live with that guilt?

I lay next to Soledad in the dark, staring at the ceiling. I was beyond being angry or even wanting to avoid this topic. I needed Soledad’s input to handle this. I looked over at her as she shifted and whimpered in her sleep, sounding scared. I reached over and shook her gently, watching as she opened her eyes and sucked in her breath. “Are you okay?” I asked her as she calmed herself down.

“I had a nightmare. I think my mind is twisting all of this so much and making me crazy.” She pushed her hair from her face and I gazed down at her. “Is Lindsay okay?”

“She went down late but I’m pretty sure that she was tired. I guess she had a nap?” I asked as she nodded.

“That’s when I called the apartment.”

“Did you really lose something?” I asked as she shook her head.

“I just had a nagging feeling to call. You knew?” I nodded.

“I knew, and I was livid. Angry that you could have been there with Lindsay and Rosie and been hurt or killed. Like anything else, there’s no proof that it was Keith but we both know it was. The complex was just going to fix it and rent it out again once the locks were changed. I didn’t tell them about your history since it was such a brief time there.” I explained as she pressed her forehead against me. “There’s more, Sol.”

“What?” She sighed as if she wasn’t surprised by my words. She probably thought I lied constantly to her.

“I saw him outside of our building. Keith.” She lifted her eyes to look at me. “He is being cut off by his dad unless he fulfills something in the trust fund. If he has a kid, he gets the money.” She looked horrified and I nodded. “I know, baby. He’s desperate, even beyond that.”

“Why would his father do that if he knows how crazy Keith is?” Her voice was shaky, and I kissed her hair.

“Parents think weird shit sometimes. We both know that it’s a bad idea and somewhere deep down, he does as well.”

“He tried to kill me with the car. Breaking into the apartment? He wants me dead and to just take her away?” Tears slid down her cheeks as she started to cry.

“It’s not going to happen. I told him to leave Seattle and I haven’t heard anything further. If it takes my buying him off to disappear, I’m willing.” I held her gaze with mine. “I would do anything to keep you both safe. She’s mine now, just like you. I could take it further than that.”

“A selfish part of me wants that.” Her voice was soft, and I nodded.

“The part I hate about paying him off is that he’ll hurt someone else. He has a history of this.” Her tears slid faster, and she pressed against me. “Eventually he’ll get caught but I don’t want to see someone else hurt or worse, dead. He’s grasping at straws now.”

Soledad cried for a few minutes and then kissed me. I felt the heat of her mouth as she pulled me over her, stunned by her sudden passion. “I need you, Alex.” I kissed her back and our bodies intertwined together easily, knowing the other well. Clothes came off and I knew that she needed me to fuck this out of her tonight. I could do that.

I took her on her back tonight. Her nipples pressed hard against my chest as I started that way until I made her come hard. After that. I brought her feet up my body and drove into her until I was coming as well. Sex with her was so much more than just the act. It was making love and intimate. It was working through things and moving on.

Once I was sated, I dropped beside her and closed my eyes. “Feel better? I know I’ve done that to you a few times.” I said softly as she looked at me.

“I do. I’m not happy that you hid that from me but in the whole scheme of things, I get it. I am already stretched thin and worried about Lindsay.” She pressed her mouth against my shoulder as she turned to her side. “I trust you, Alex. I love you too much to walk away from this. Seeing you with her that way today made me melt inside. Probably every other woman in the office as well.”

“It was interesting, to say the least.” I said as she laughed softly. “They all know that you’re mine.”

“So, what’s the plan?” Soledad asked as I pulled her to my body.

“I am having the PI look into it more. I’ll pay if it comes down to it but he’s being sloppy. I have you being guarded every time you leave this apartment.” She looked at me. “I have to. I was upset that Rosie went out tonight on her own.”

“She called Daniel first. I haven’t told her a lot and I assume you haven’t?” I nodded. “She knows so much. I think Rosie has been through a lot.”

“I’m glad he’s accommodating you both. I pay him well.” I assured her as she sighed.

“All of this isn’t too much for you?” She asked as I shook my head.

“You’ll be back at work before you know it. I just need to know that everything is okay.” I assured her as she stroked my back.

“What’s the difference between my going to work with you in the car versus staying here?” Soledad was a stubborn one.

“You were almost hit by a car going to lunch, Sol. If you come back, I’ll order in every fucking day to keep you safe.” I sighed after I finished the negotiation, thinking that I’d never done that with a woman either.

“There’s always leftovers.” She sounded victorious and I kissed her hair.

“You know that you don’t have to work, right?” I hated saying it since I knew she had a lot of pride.

“I do. You’ve made that clear, but I’ve always worked for what I have. I’m not the kind of woman to let someone take care of me.” Her tone was set, and I nodded.

“Maybe after this we can come up with some different terms for your job.” I hinted as she lifted her face to mine.

“We’ll see. I’ll take the rest of the week off with Lindsay and do some work from home. We’ll see from there. She loves having me here.” Her voice was weak, and I chuckled.

“I know. I can tell.” I agreed as she closed her eyes. “She’ll be in school before you know it. Enjoy this and we can set something else up. You’ll still work because you’re one of the best, but you can do both.”

“Let’s go to sleep. We’ll figure all of this out later.” Soledad mumbled, and I kissed her. “I love you.”

“I love you, baby.” I tucked her into my chest the way she liked and let my eyes close. I was so tired and felt like I needed to sleep for a week.

I got up the next morning after spending some quality time with Soledad, putting smiles on both of our faces. She stayed in bed and agreed to work from home for part of the day since the team was getting into their project. That worked for me and I locked the door behind me, leaving Rosie in the kitchen making some coffee.

It was weird having a girlfriend, kid, and someone cooking in my house with me. I never considered a personal chef before since there was so much take out available when I didn’t feel like cooking. That was often. Now, I preferred her meals when I got home early every night. I preferred hearing about Lindsay’s day and making love to Soledad before we fell asleep together.