But she would never forget.

CHAPTER 15

PRESENT

The next morning a town car pulled up in front of Ramsey’s place and waited on Lexi with breakfast and coffee. It wasn’t the type of hospitality Lexi had been expecting to receive from Bekah. When they had last parted, it hadn’t exactly been on good terms. So far, everything had officially gone completely opposite of how she had planned. All she had wanted to do was tell Bekah her story and leave Jack behind. By now she was supposed to be sitting on the back porch of her parents’ house sipping on a margarita and enjoying the remaining week at home. Instead, she found herself being whisked off to some boutique to go shopping for Jack’s birthday party.

She sighed and took a long sip of the black coffee hoping the caffeine buzz would kick her brain back to its proper mode of functioning. If she could get out of this situation sooner rather than later that would be better for her rattled nerves. The only problem was that she wasn’t sure what to tell Bekah.

Things with Jack had never been simple enough to put a label on.

For some reason, everything had to be complicated when it came to Jack. If they had just dated and got bored with each other like normal couples, then maybe she could just go to Bekah and tell her a very simple story. But under the circumstances, Lexi thought it did their relationship a disservice to reduce it to such simplicity.

How she felt about Jack crossed lines that she wasn’t sure many other people ever experienced. The way he looked at her, touched her, and seemed to understand her made the whole scenario much more difficult to explain.

And it’s not like she could tell Bekah the entire story. No one had ever heard the entire story. She was all but certain that Jack hadn’t confessed anything. No way was he going to tell anyone else about New York, and Lexi never had the heart to reveal all the details to anyone else.

So that left her back at square one. What should she tell Bekah?

Lexi had expected to pull up in front of some swank boutique. To her surprise Phipp’s Plaza appeared before her eyes. The mall parking lot was already swarming with expensive cars bustling to feed their owner’s shopping desires. Lexi hadn’t been inside since high school and the only reason she hadn’t returned was because she hadn’t been able to spend a dime in the place. It wasn’t a Manhattan boutique, but it wasn’t like Lexi could afford this either.

She pushed her bangs off her forehead as she entered into the overly air conditioned shopping centre. She felt out of place in her loose fitting purple tank and khaki shorts compared to all the fake princesses clicking along the marble in their four inch Manolos and swishing their tiny butts in professional garb.

When Lexi had received the message from Bekah, she had just been about to go out on a morning run. She hadn’t had much time to do anything but change shorts and throw her hair into a slicked back ponytail. Bekah probably wasn’t going to approve of her choice, but there wasn’t anything she could do about it. She hadn’t let Chyna persuade her into a five hundred dollar t-shirt, and that was her best friend. No way was she going to let this be any different. Lexi dealt with high end, wealthy people every day of her life. She was almost certain that there was nothing Bekah could send her way that would throw her off track.

Bekah’s nose turned up ever so slightly as Lexi approached the entrance to Jimmy Choo. She placed a fantastic pair of brown leather boots back on the stand and sauntered up to the tiny girl. Bekah had never been one to put much effort into her appearance. She had always been the beautiful Southern Belle with long flowing blonde hair, baby blue eyes, and a clear complexion. She always stood out from the crowd and the wealth her parents bestowed her only helped with her wonderful wardrobe.

Under differing circumstances, she could see why Jack had thought she would get along with Lexi. She had the same no theatrics beauty, and carried herself as if she owned the world. She looked just as beautiful, if not more so, than any of the other women who spent millions every year trying to achieve the flawlessness that came to these two women naturally.

This girl obviously had charm.

“Lexi, how wonderful to see you,” Bekah trilled giving her a quick hug.

Lexi was momentarily caught off guard by Bekah’s continued hospitality. This girl really was an enigma. One moment she was a snotty nosed bitch out for her life, and the next she was all happy-go-lucky girl next door. What was scarier was that Lexi didn’t know how to predict her actions. Was it something that Jack had said that forced this woman to play nice with her today? Did Jack even know that they were out together again? Lexi hadn’t bothered to call him. She knew she would have to speak with him eventually. She just didn’t know how much of him she could handle yet. He acted as if everything was fine and there was nothing between them, but then there were moments…shining moments where he was her Jack all over again. And she knew in those moments, she was lost. He would somehow work his magic and make her remember what it was like to be with him. That was when she needed to be on guard the most. She had to get closure. Wasn’t that what all this was about?

Her thoughts seemed to press in at her temples, and she forced a smile onto her face as the pain continued to crush in on her. She didn’t want to think about that right now. She had been able to forget for the briefest of moments about Jack while she had been with Ramsey. That had been her break. Now, she needed to get back to reality and fight out this battle so she could move on with her life.

“Good to see you too,” she said pulling away from the embrace. “What are we up to?”

“You’ll never believe it,” Bekah began ushering her away from Jimmy Choo. A slight glint in her eye remained as she passed the high heeled boots she had been holding.

“What?” Lexi asked feigning interest.

“I had this gorgeous one-of-a-kind handmade Vera shipped to me last week for Jack’s big day. Well, my seamstress got a hold of it to do some last minute repairs and destroyed it.” The look on Bekah’s face was pure devastation. “I’ve never fired anyone so fast, and she’s been working for my family for years. You can’t go and ruin a brand new dress. I’ve no idea what she was thinking, but there was no way to salvage it and still have the desired effect.”

“So, you need a new dress.”

“As do you,” Bekah told her angling her body to direct them into Barney’s.

“Oh, no I don’t think so. I can’t afford…”

“Money isn’t an option,” Bekah said the twinkle in her eye replaced by something else…a bit more mischievous.

“I’d never be able to repay you. I simply cannot accept anything, but I’d be happy to help you find something,” Lexi said not wanting to ever be in debt to this woman or anyone else other than the Federal government for her student loans.

“I’ll take answers to my questions as payment. How does that sound?” Bekah asked.

“I don’t think so,” she said uncertainly.

“Let’s just talk and if we find something for you, then that was payment, and if not, then you’re just fine. Is that better?”

Lexi chewed on her bottom lip not wanting to give in to her. She tucked a lock behind her right ear and fidgeted outside of the store. “Fine, but I doubt I’ll find anything.”

“Great!” Bekah exclaimed linking her arm through Lexi’s and pulling her into the store.