Page 51 of The Model

Relaxing my hands, I let out a cleansing breath. “I cannot control who gets booked on the jobs I’m hired for.”

Cocking her head, she narrowed her eyes at me. “Actually, you can. You can have a rider that states you won’t work with her. If you had an agent that gave a damn about you, they would help you come up with one.”

I hadn’t thought of that.

“I don’t want it put out there I’m difficult to work with. You told me I needed to be professional.”

Lexie laughed without humor. “Anyone who’s worked with Lana would commend you on putting your foot down.” Her lips thinned out into a firm line as she shook her head. “I don’t know how she still gets jobs.”

“Great, once I find a new agent, I’ll make sure to have that I won’t work with Lana as a clause.” It would be a relief.

Lexie blinked rapidly in my direction. “So, you’re not with Lana?”

“I’ve never touched her, let alone fucked her,” I growled out.

Squaring her shoulders, she asked. “Why did she post that picture then?”

“Probably to cause exactly what happened between us.” Running my hand through my hair, I shot up out of the chair and sat next to Lexie. I couldn’t stay away from her any longer. I needed to feel the heat of her body next to mine, and for her to understand, I would never be with Lana for as long as I lived. “I didn’t know she posted that picture for almost a month. I was on a casting call and ran into Parker. When he asked how we were doing, and I told him I hadn’t talked to you. That’s when he showed me the picture Lana had posted. All of a sudden, everything made sense. Well,” I moved my head from side to side, “I wouldn’t say it made sense, but I understood why you wouldn’t want to talk to me. It killed me when I couldn’t get a hold of you. All I did was eat, sleep, work, and workout, and not in that order.”

The majority of my time was spent working or working out.

Lexie shuffled on the couch until her back was against the arm, and she was facing me with her forehead wrinkled in confusion. “Why did you change your number?”

“Fucking Lana, that’s why. She broke my phone on my last night in Sydney, and I couldn’t get a replacement for it for a few days. By then, I was in a foreign country where I could barely understand what the guy was saying. The next thing I knew, I had a different phone number. I tried calling you right after I got my phone, but when I did, it said your number had been disconnected or was no longer in service. I didn’t know how to contact you, but I promised myself once I got back, I was going to come to see you. Then Angie told me I had this job.” I hung my head, realizing that I’d almost told her I didn’t care what she had to do but to get me out of doing it. If I had done that, I wouldn’t be sitting here with Lexie. “Now that I know she staged and posted that picture, I think she shattered my phone on purpose.”

“That’s a lot to take in.” Lexie puffed out her cheeks and let it out in a noisy breath. She didn’t believe me. “I was so mad at you when I saw that picture. The betrayal that ran through my veins, I can’t express it. It made me think everything was a lie.”

So, she went and got knocked up by the first guy she saw?

“When I found out I was pregnant and couldn’t contact you, I was broken.” Her chin dipped, and her shoulders started to shake before a hiccupped cry escaped.

Unable to take the distance and now her crying right in front of my eyes, I picked Lexie up and placed her on my lap. She curled into a ball and rested her head against my chest as she continued to cry. I hugged her closer to my chest and rocked us back and forth for what felt like an eternity until she finally calmed down. I breathed in her scent as I kissed the top of her head.

God, please don’t let her be with anyone else. I can love this baby just like I love its mother, but please don’t take her away from me.

“I missed being in your arms like this.” She nuzzled into my chest a little more than sighed. “I miss your scent. When the t-shirt you gave to me stopped smelling like you, I cried myself to sleep that night.” She giggled into my shirt. “Looking back on it now, it was probably the hormones.”

Sitting up to look me in the eyes, Lexie cupped my face in her hands. Her blue eyes were still watery and puffy from all the crying she’d done, but she was still beautiful. I wanted to kiss her, knowing her lips would be extra soft. It didn’t help that it had been too long since my mouth had been on her skin. “I haven’t even asked. How do you feel about all this? I know it’s a lot to take in.”

I wasn’t sure how to explain what I was feeling, but I wanted to be honest with her.

“To be honest, I’m still trying to wrap my head around everything that’s happened today. Never in my wildest dreams did I think you’d be in that room when I walked inside. Was this planned?”

“Was what planned?” She tilted her head to the side. “No,” she shook her head. “I told Sadie and Ty that I’d hired you because you’re the father of my baby, and I hadn’t been able to contact you. They were livid that I used the trust they’d given me for my own needs, but once I showed them some of your pictures, they were on board with me wanting you as the male model. Now they’re rooting for us.”

After hearing the words ‘you’re the father,’ I didn’t comprehend the rest of what Lexie had said. I had to have heard what I wanted to hear.

Lexie’s feather-light touch over my face dragged me out of my fog. “Ryder, are you okay? Are you mad I set this all up? I didn’t know what else to do. I would have hated—”

Interrupting her, I asked her the most important question I’d ever ask her in my life. “Did you say I’m the father?”

Getting up on her knees, Lexie straddled my legs. Her blue eyes scanned my face. “Unless it was an immaculate conception, the baby is yours. I understand that you’re young and just starting out in your career, so you may not want to be a part of his or her life.” She bit down so hard on her bottom lip I thought she might draw blood before she continued. “I wanted you to know as soon as possible so you can be involved as little or a much as you like.”

As little or as much as I’d like?

“I know this wasn’t planned, but I’m at a good place in my life and want this baby.” Her hands rested on the tiny bump that had formed since I last saw her. I knew then that she’d be a good mother, but I had to wonder if I could be a good father.

She wanted the child growing inside of her, but I had another important question. “Do you want me?”

---