THE BILLIONAIRE'S DANCE(Billionaire Bachelors #2)(38)

“That was quite fun,” Jessica agreed.

“Let’s go get something to drink. All this laughter is great but man my stomach hurts now,” Amy said.

“Plus I have got to get off these feet; I swear they are still swollen and acting like I’m pregnant.”

“I could use a drink myself. I’ve been fighting the flu and having a hard time keeping things down, so don’t bring the baby to close to me. I would never forgive myself if I got my nephew sick,” Jessica said.

The girls joined the rest of the party, stealing two very comfortable chairs for themselves. The food was excellent and Jessica was relaxed and calm.

“It’s time to sing happy birthday,” Alex shouted above the voices as he came walking out of the house with a large chocolate cake and a single candle burning in the center.

Jacob blew out his candle with the help of his father and then clapped his hands with everyone else.

Everybody roared with laughter when Jacob stuck his little hand into the cake and smeared it all over himself, saying yummy over and over again.

Jessica’s eyes filled with tears as she watched Alex stick his face into the cake with their son. She loved how much they were bonded. “Daddy likes cake too,” Jacob squealed and then giggled.

“So does grandpa,” Joseph said and took a big handful for himself.

“I think I’ll pass on the cake,” Jessica said with affection, while staring at her chocolate covered men.

“I will second that,” Amy added.

“You don’t know what you’re missing,” Alex said. Before she could stop him, Alex took a chocolate smeared finger and rubbed it down her nose. She stood there in shock for a moment and then fast as lightening scooped up a small piece of the cake and chucked it at her husband.

She saw the light of mischief come into his eyes and decided it was a great time to retreat. She took off running but Alex caught her in no time. He gently tackled her to the ground and rubbed his chocolate covered face against hers.

Jessica was laughing so hard she could barely speak. “Okay, okay I call truce,” she finally managed to get out.

“There are no truces in a food war,” he said and rubbed against her some more. Suddenly he seemed to realize he was stretched out on top of her. He had her hands pinned above her head and she was completely at his mercy.

Alex forgot their yard was filled with people. No one else seemed visible to him except his beautiful, chocolate covered wife. He bent his head down and instead of rubbing more chocolate on her, his lips met hers and he kissed her with an intenseness that wiped away all laughter.

Alex released her hands and they immediately wrapped around his neck so she could pull him tighter to her body.

“Um guys, I hate to interrupt you twice in one evening but this is a G-rated party,” came the laughing voice of Mark once again.

Alex pulled apart from her reluctantly and growled at his brother. Jessica looked at her husband in shock. She then looked around her in embarrassment and was extremely grateful no one was paying the least bit of attention to them.

Alex finally got up and pulled Jessica to her feet. “This party can end anytime now,” he said, with promise of completion to come. “As a matter of fact, no one would probably even notice if we disappeared for a little while,” he offered her.

She was getting ready to agree with him and sneak off upstairs when Joseph walked up to them.

“Now that Jacob is a year old, when are you planning on giving him a sibling?” Joseph asked Alex.

“You know a boy needs to have some younger sibling to harass,” he added and looked pointedly at Mark.

Jessica was the only one who noticed the shutters lock into place on her husband’s face. Her heart broke a little bit more. He’d gone from passionate lover, to closed off in about two seconds.

“Dad, you already have three grandkids, quit being so greedy,” Alex finally managed to say in a stilted voice.

“Now son, you’re not getting any younger. You better get working on things,” Joseph continued, not noticing the sudden tension in his son. He winked at Alex and Jessica both, which made her blush again.

“Yeah, yeah, just enjoy the cake,” Alex said and then quickly changed the subject. Jessica had her answer she hadn’t wanted to face. Her husband definitely didn’t plan on having more children with her. How could a night so full of promise just a moment ago have suddenly gone so dark?

The party went on even after Jacob finally succumbed to his exhaustion and went to bed. Jessica loved to watch the brothers laugh together and act like they were teenagers. She was putting on a fake mask the rest of the night though, because all she really wanted to do was crawl in bed and have herself a really good cry. She and Amy sat back and visited while the rest of the guests slowly started to depart.

She managed to maintain her composure the rest of the night. She could go curl up in bed and think about what she was going to do about her future really soon. She knew she couldn’t stay in the marriage if Alex didn’t want to be a real family but she didn’t want to think about it.

“We need to have another girl day, how about Friday?” Amy asked.

“That sounds great,” Jessica said before hugging her goodbye. She was almost sad to see the rest of the guests go but at the same time she really needed to be alone for a while.

“I have some work to finish up. I’ll be up later,” Alex said before quickly turning and heading to his office.