Page 17 of Affinity

It took me a moment to figure out that she was acting in front of my friend. Wrapping my arm around her waist, I muttered a good morning back.

“Abbi, this is my friend, Alex Sandström, and her son, Mason. Alex, this is my wife, Abbi.” It took everything in me not to choke on calling Abbi my wife.

I watched as Abbi’s eyes lit up, and her cheeks turned pink. I took in her long brown hair pulled up into a ponytail, an oversized t-shirt hanging off one shoulder, and a pair of tights that showed every delectable curve of her body.

“Oh, my f . . . gosh,” Alex looked to Mason and bit her lip. I thought it was hilarious that she tried not to swear in front of her son when she swore all the time. “You’re even prettier than the pictures I saw on the internet.”

Abbi sat down next to me. “That’s very sweet of you to say. I was a bit of a mess that night.”

We both were.

“It’s nice to meet you. I’m so glad Jenner found someone who can appreciate him for the man he is because he’s one of the best.”

I felt my cheeks heat at Alex’s words and wondered if they pinkened up for everyone to see.

Alex pulled another breakfast sandwich and burrito out of the bag. “When Jenner asked me to bring breakfast, I wasn’t sure which one you’d like, so I got both.”

“You didn’t have to do that. I was going to make an online order yesterday, but I wasn’t sure which store to order from.”

I could feel Abbi’s eyes trying to burn a hole through me but now wasn’t the time. I needed to talk to Alex first before she started to interrogate me.

Alex reached across the table and patted Abbi’s hand. “I’ll make a list of all the places I go to and use. I’ve become an aficionado at trying to avoid the paparazzi in this town.”

Abbi cracked a watery smile. “That would be so great. I haven’t lived here long, and now . . . ” she bit her bottom lip, “I’m in a whole new world.”

Alex gave her hand a squeeze. “I know. Promise me you won’t believe what people say online. They will make up the ugliest stories to try and break you apart.”

“Why?” Abbi asked. The sincerity in her voice shocked me. It was as if she really cared what they said about us.

“That, I can’t answer. When I first started seeing Luke, I didn’t really understand why he wanted to keep us a secret, but once our relationship was out to the public, I knew why. He wanted us to have a foundation before everyone tried to tear us apart.” She looked down at Mason, who was finishing up his milk. “There was this onepersonwho stalked Luke. She took pictures in the background, saying they were together, and he was cheating on her with me.”

“Wait. What? Did you ever believe her?”

“Not once. Seriously, though, the paparazzi will take a picture of you in the worst situations, and the gossip magazines will make up any story to go along. I know there are a lot of people in Hollywood who let fame get to them and do stupid things.” Her eyes flitted to me. “And while Jenner has made some mistakes, know he would never cheat on you.”

Alex’s faith in me was unwavering, and it meant the world to me. Clearing my throat, I stood and made my way around the table to her before I pulled her into a crushing hug and whispered into her hair. “Thank you for believing in me.”

Leaning back, she cupped my cheek. “I’ll always believe in you. You were there for me when Matthew fucked me over. Hell, you drove me all the way back to Missouri so I could get back to Mason. You’ve watched out for me and been a great friend. Let me do the same for you.”

Drawing her back to me, I kissed her on the forehead. “You’re the best of friends. What do you say we get that little monster in the pool so we can talk?”

Nodding, she grabbed some sunscreen out of the huge bag she brought with her and waved it in the air. Mason jumped up and shed his shirt in one second, ready to hit the water. That boy loved to swim. It was a good thing Luke and Alex had a pool at both their houses.

Turning to Abbi, I prayed she didn’t take me up on my offer. “We’re going to hit the pool if you want to join us.”

She looked at the pool and then at each of us before standing up. “For now, I’m going to decline. There are still a few things I still need to do and put away.” She held up the sandwich. “Thank you again for the food.”

I watched her ass sway as she walked away. When I turned back to the pool, Alex’s head was cocked to the side with her brows scrunched up. She definitely knew something wasn’t right between us.

Pulling out a flamingo raft for Alex and a couple of rings for Mason and me to use, I threw them in the water. Alex had barely finished putting the sunscreen on Mason before he was jumping into the water and swimming toward the deep end.

“Have you thought about putting him on a swim team? He might be an Olympic swimmer someday.”

“I’m looking into it. There are a couple of teams in Riverside, but they only have them during the summer. I’ve thought about having him join one here in the summer, but since he’s gone every other weekend, I’m not sure how a team would feel about that.” She let out a defeated sigh.

Slipping into the water, I dunked myself before I slid onto the ring and let my feet dangle in the water. “Are things not better with Decker?”

“I would say they are as good as they can be. He’s happy he doesn’t have to pay child support, but if he can do something to make my life harder, he does it. Summers are . . . ” she tilted her head from side to side, “difficult is the nice way to say it. It’s stressful not knowing how he’s going to try and 'f’ us. We either have to take a late Sunday night flight or one on Monday because he knows we’re flying back and is unreliable as to when he’ll drop Mason off.”

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