Her Twin Baby Secret

Benjamin didn’t know what was going on, but he understood he shouldn’t say anything.

‘There’s no way you and Ben are dating.’

‘You’re entitled to believe what you want to, Lee. We don’t owe you explanations.’

‘You’re dating her?’ Lee asked Benjamin now. ‘No. Of course not. You would have told me.’

‘I asked him not to. Apparently his loyalties are divided now.’ She wrinkled her nose. ‘I shouldn’t have said that. It was insensitive.’

She grabbed Benjamin’s hand. Good thing he was still numb from shock, or he might have felt that explosion of warmth from the contact.

‘I’m sorry, Ben.’

Their eyes met again. Nothing he could read on her face gave him any clues to her feelings. No plea that he play along; no acknowledgement that this was strange. Or maybe there were clues, but he couldn’t recognise them.

Then she smiled at him. Her mouth widened, revealing strikingly straight white teeth. Those lips curved up, softening all the lines and angles of her face. Even her gaze warmed, though he had no idea why or how. It was a genuine smile that both stunned and enthralled him. He couldn’t look away.

‘Oh, you are together.’ Lee’s voice penetrated the fog in his brain. ‘Wow. I can already see the headline in Cape Town Culinary: “Rival restaurant owners fall in love”.’ He paused. ‘Maybe we should get the photographer to take a picture of you two now for the article? I’ll call her over.’

Both of them wrenched their gazes away from one another to stare at Lee.

CHAPTER TWO

‘I’D RATHER NOT,’ Alexa said when she recovered from the shock. She set the water she’d been drinking on the bar, slid off the stool. ‘If you’ll excuse me, I think some fresh air would do me good.’

She looked at neither of them. Not the man who’d broken her heart too many times for her to count; not the man who’d helped her brother do it. Though now, of course, she was pretending that he was her boyfriend. She alone, because Benjamin had not once said a word about the elaborate tale she’d woven. He would now, of course. As soon as she was out of the way, he’d tell Lee that she was lying and they’d laugh at her.

Nausea welled up inside her. She hoped it didn’t mean she’d throw up. She could already imagine Lee’s questions: Rough night last night, sis? Or are you pregnant? He would laugh, she wouldn’t, and he’d know something was up. The last thing she needed was her brother discovering her secret.

She soothed the panic the idea evoked by reminding herself that Lee’s presence in the last four years had generally made her queasy. That could be the answer now, too. The thought calmed her. Remembering she’d been feeling surprisingly good these last months helped, too. She took a breath, exhaled slowly. She was one week away from entering her second trimester. Once she got there, she’d tell her parents, and there would be no chance Lee could tell them for her.

It might have been a little paranoid—but then, it might not. She had a brother who was intent on ruining her life after all. Telling their parents she was pregnant before she could was exactly the kind of thing he’d do. She wouldn’t get the chance to tell them the story she’d practised since she’d decided to do something about her need for a family. Not the broken one she currently had, but a whole one. A safe one. A family she could actually trust.

As usual, the thought sent vibrations through her. Pain, disappointment prickled her skin. She stopped walking, bracing herself against a tree as she caught the breath her emotions stole. She didn’t get the chance to.

‘You haven’t seen me in months and this is how you treat me?’

She closed her eyes, put all her defences in place, and turned. ‘I thought you’d get the message.’

‘What message?’

‘I don’t want to see you, Lee,’ she told him. ‘I don’t want you in my life.’

Something almost imperceptible passed over his face. ‘We’re family. You have no choice.’

‘I’m aware that we’re family.’ She took a deep breath. ‘That’s the only reason we’ve seen one another at all in the last four years. Mom and Dad have birthdays, and there are special days, like Christmas and...’ She broke off. She didn’t have to explain anything to him. ‘Anyway, we have to see one another at those occasions. But not outside of them.’

‘All this because I bought a building you wanted?’

‘You know it wasn’t only a building,’ she snapped. Pulled it back. But it was hard to contain. It sat in her chest like a swarm of angry bees, waiting to be let out. She could not let it out. ‘You’ve insisted on making this about you and me, but really it’s about you. It’s always been. I want to live my life without you. You can’t seem to live yours without me.’

He smirked. ‘You’re putting an awful lot of importance on yourself.’

‘No, you are.’

She meant to stride past him, but his hand caught her wrist.

‘I assume you’re here for a new head chef. What happens if you don’t get one, Lex?’ he asked softly. ‘You can’t keep running Infinity and its kitchen. You must be spreading yourself thin since your last chef left.’

‘He didn’t leave. You stole him. You and Benjamin stole him.’

‘Which makes me wonder how your romance bloomed?’ Lee’s lips curved into a smile that broke her heart. Because it was mean, and so unlike that of the brother she’d once thought she had. ‘Were you looking for revenge? Maybe you thought you could make him fall in love with you, then break his heart? Or maybe use your body to—’

‘Lee.’

The voice was deep with unbridled emotion. Both she and Lee looked in the direction it came from. Benjamin stood there, watching them with a glower she’d never seen on him before. He was usually effortlessly charming, which had been one of the reasons she didn’t like him. No one could be that charming, certainly not effortlessly. Her conclusion had been that he was a demon, or some kind of magical being sent there to test her patience. The test was going smoothly. Her results were not as positive.

His disapproval should have been aimed at her then, considering their history of battling against one another. But it wasn’t. It was aimed at Lee. A thrill went through her before she stomped it down viciously. She did a few more jumps on it for good measure.

‘Ben,’ Lee said with a smile. He tended to reserve the vicious side of his temperament for her. ‘Didn’t see you there.’

‘I thought as much. I doubt you’d be talking to Alexa that way if you did.’

Benjamin’s eyes met hers. She wasn’t sure how she knew it, but he was asking her if she was okay. She angled her head. He looked back at Lee.

‘You should probably get someone to help you if that’s your perception of relationships.’ He held a hand out to her. It took her a moment to realise he meant for her to take it. As if someone else were in her body, she did. ‘Even so, I have to say I’m not thrilled with your implication. Alexa and I are in a healthy relationship. Neither of us is using the other. Unless there’s something you want to tell me, Lex?’

Oh. He was keeping the pretence going.

Oh.

She shook her head.

‘If I say something corny like “I’m using you for your addictive kisses”, would you be mad?’ he asked.

There it was, that effortless charm. It was kind of nice when it was being used for good. To help her instead of annoy her.

‘You probably shouldn’t say it, to be safe.’

He laughed. For a moment, it was just the two of them, amused at one another. A part of her wiggled with glee; another part told her to take a step back. This was confusing, and happening too fast. She wasn’t even sure what ‘this’ was.

‘Seriously?’ Genuine confusion lit Lee’s face. ‘I thought this, you two, were a joke.’

‘You were accusing Alexa of those things earlier and you thought this was a joke?’ Benjamin’s voice had switched from charm to ice.

Alexa cleared her throat. She didn’t want this turning into a full-on brawl. Even if the prospect of seeing Lee punched brought her more joy than it should have. She was strangely certain that would be the outcome if she didn’t intervene.

‘Ben and I agreed to keep business and our personal lives separate,’ she told Lee. ‘That’s why no one knew about our relationship until today.’

‘And you told me?’ Lee asked. ‘Now I know you two are lying.’

‘You don’t have to believe us, Lee.’

But she really wanted him to. Maybe that was why she went along with what Benjamin said next.

‘He doesn’t have to believe us, but why don’t we show him why he should?’

When he looked at her, asked her permission with his eyes, she nodded. Told herself wanting to make Lee believe her was why she’d went along with what Benjamin did next. But all of that dissipated when he kissed her.

He’d never wanted to punch someone as much as he’d wanted to punch his business partner in the last few minutes. He wasn’t sure if it was because Lee was acting almost unrecognisably, or if his instincts were tingling because he did recognise the way Lee was acting. It was the same way people in his past had acted. They’d need something from him, then act surprised, attacked, victimised when he asked them if they were taking advantage of his desire to help.

His instincts could also have been tingling because despite his past, he still wanted to help someone who needed him. It was clear Alexa did. It was his weakness, helping people. Not when the help was appreciated; only when the help was taken advantage of. He didn’t know where Alexa fitted into that. It didn’t keep him from kissing her though.

Not his best decision, though his lips disagreed. They heartily approved of the softness of Alexa’s lips pressed against them. She smelled of something sweet and light; reminded him of walking through a garden at the beginning of spring. It felt as though he’d been drawn into that scene when her mouth began to move against his. His body felt lighter, as it often did after a long, dull winter and the sun made its comeback. He could easily imagine the two of them in that garden, surrounded by flowers, overcome with the joy and happiness a new season tended to bring.

The taste of her brought him sharply back into his body.

He hadn’t intended on really kissing her. A quick meeting of lips was enough to convince her brother they were together—people who didn’t like one another didn’t kiss at all. He assumed. Before he started to kiss this woman he supposedly didn’t like.

There was no time to think of it since his tongue had somehow disobeyed his desire to keep things simple. Instead, it had slipped between Alexa’s lips, plunging them both into complicated.

But damn, if complicated didn’t feel good. She was sweet, spicy, exactly as her personality dictated. The tangling of their tongues sent pulses through his body, settling in places that made him both uncomfortable and desperate. He used it as an excuse to rest a hand on the small of her back, pressing her against him. She gave a little gasp into his mouth as her body moulded against his, but she didn’t pull away. She did the opposite in fact, reaching her arms around his neck and pulling herself higher so their bodies were aligned at a more pleasurable height.

It was that thought that had him pulling away. He wouldn’t embarrass himself in public. More importantly, he couldn’t embarrass Alexa. Both would happen if they didn’t pull themselves together.

She didn’t protest, lowering herself to her feet again, her gaze avoiding his. But then she shook her head and looked at him. Curiosity and desire were fierce in her expression, but it was the confusion that did him in.

Was it brought on by this little charade they were performing? Or was she surprised at the intensity of their kisses?

‘Happy?’ she asked.

He almost answered before he realised she wasn’t talking to him. Good thing his brain had started working in time. He would have said something he couldn’t take back if he answered. Something in the vicinity of a yes and no and maybe a few other statements.

Lee was watching them with a frown.

‘You two really are together.’

‘So you keep saying.’

‘I mean it this time,’ Lee said. His next words were directed at Benjamin. ‘You’ve complicated things.’

No kidding. ‘You didn’t know about us for months.’ Because there was nothing to know. ‘We’ll be fine.’

‘I’m sure Cherise de Bruyn agrees.’

Benjamin thought that was a strange thing to say until he saw the jerk of Lee’s head to the side. Cherise stood with her fellow graduates, watching the three of them with a bemused smile on her face. Considering he’d spoken to her first thing when he arrived, he was sure Alexa had, too. Now Cherise was watching the two people competing for her to work for them kiss, and was probably wondering what the hell would happen next.

To be fair, so was he.

CHAPTER THREE

ALEXA PAUSED AT her front door, wondering why she was doing what she was doing. No answer she came up with made her feel better about doing it, so she simply unlocked the door. She stepped aside to let Benjamin pass her, then closed it and resisted—barely—leaning her forehead against it. Alexa couldn’t give in to her impulses any more. They were what had got her into trouble in the first place. If she hadn’t pretended Benjamin was her boyfriend, she wouldn’t be letting him into her home now to discuss the way forward.

It seemed particularly cruel that she had to do that here. Her home was her space. It was where she recovered from long, rough days. It was where she cried when the pressure of running a business got to her. It was where she remembered her complicated feelings when her sous chef had brought in her new baby.

Kenya had come in to show the baby around and had brought her mother, too. There had been so much love between the three of them. Alexa had watched it, her heart breaking and filling at the same time. When Kenya had handed her the child, that breaking stopped. She’d remembered all those times she’d thought family couldn’t only mean competition and neglect. She hadn’t seen examples otherwise, but she’d hoped. Then, between her studies, work, and her brother ruining her dreams, she’d forgotten that hope. Until she’d seen Kenya and her family. Until she’d held that baby.

She’d remembered that, once upon a time, her dreams had included having a family. A warm, happy family with people who loved and respected one another. She thought about how she had no one to go home to at night. How the idea of dating and trusting someone so she could have someone to go home to made her feel ill. A new idea had popped into her head then. One year later, whoops, she was pregnant and there was no going back.

It wasn’t so much whoops as going through vigorous fertility treatments and being artificially inseminated twice. But whoops was what she planned to tell her parents. Rather their disappointment that she hadn’t been careful than tell them she didn’t want anyone in her life who could hurt her the way they had.

She was clearly in a very healthy mental space.

‘Nice place,’ Benjamin said, breaking into her thoughts.

‘Thanks.’

It was more invasive than she’d anticipated, having him look at her stuff. But they needed privacy, her place was the closest, and it was better to be here than at Infinity. There was more of her there, and with their baggage, it had felt wrong to take him there.

It wasn’t that she wasn’t proud of her home. Everything in it had been put there for a reason. The beige sofas were comfortable and expensive, the first items she’d bought for the flat. The restaurant had still been a baby, so it had taken most of her disposable income to buy them. She had slept on them for four months. They weren’t as comfortable as a bed, but then, she hadn’t been sleeping much anyway. She had been fuelled by the desire to succeed, and three to four hours of sleep were more than enough in those days.

The coffee table had come next, then the dining room set, both made from the most gorgeous stained wood. The fluffy carpet had been an indulgence considering she still hadn’t had a bed, but filling the open-plan lounge and dining-room had been more important to her. It had made the flat feel like a home.

Her priorities had then shifted to her bedroom, which took her six months to complete. Last was her kitchen, separated from the dining room by half-wall, half-glass, with an opening on the right. The style somehow managed to give the impression of being open-plan, but offered privacy, too. She hadn’t had the money to do what she wanted in the kitchen for the longest time, which was why she’d left it for last. Besides, she had everything she wanted at her restaurant, and that was enough.

After a year and a half, her kitchen was exactly what she had imagined it would be. Her appliances were top-of-the-range. Shelves were strategically placed all over the room; spices near the stove, fresh herbs near the window. Cupboards were filled with the best quality ingredients, and close to where they were needed. She’d added colour with fake plants, because her energy was mostly focused on keeping the herbs alive and there was too much competition for the light. And her utensils! Those were colourful, too, though pastel, which made her feel classy and grown-up. Heaven only knew why.

‘I didn’t expect it to be quite this...warm.’

She threw her handbag onto the sofa, shrugged off her coat. ‘Because I’m so cold-hearted, you mean?’

‘Not at all.’

‘Then what did you mean?’

‘It’s just...’ He looked around, as if to confirm what he was about to say. ‘It really is lovely. Everything fits. It’s like you selected each thing on purpose.’

‘You didn’t?’ she asked. ‘In your own home?’

‘I don’t have my own home.’

‘What do you mean?’

‘I live with my parents.’

She stared at him. She didn’t know how long it was until his lip curled.

‘You have an opinion on that?’

‘No,’ she replied. ‘I don’t.’

‘You have an opinion on everything. Also, your face is saying something different.’

‘You’re right. I do have an opinion. But I don’t want to share it.’

It was pure stubbornness, since sharing her opinion would have been the perfect segue into the questions she had. Why was he, a successful adult, still living with his parents? She knew he was successful because In the Rough was her main rival, according to reviews and social media, and she was pretty damn successful, despite the forces working against her.

It still smarted that they were succeeding with a restaurant that had been meant to be hers. The location, the property, the name—Lee had stolen it all from her. Then he’d gone and recruited Benjamin to work with him. Lee could have chosen anyone else. Actually, she was sure that Lee had specifically chosen Benjamin because the man annoyed her so much, though she wasn’t sure how Lee would know that. Either way, Benjamin annoyed her more now that he was in cahoots with her brother. At least before, he’d annoyed her on his own merits.

He’d singled her out their first day at the Institute. She had no idea why, since she minded her own business. For some inexplicable reason, he’d decided she was partly his business, and he began to compete with her. She’d instantly recoiled; she had enough competition in life. She hadn’t cut Lee out of her life and minimised her contact with her parents, only to replace them with a negligible man-child.

Now she had to work with the man-child.

‘Would you like some alcohol?’ she asked after a deep sigh.

His eyes flickered with amusement, contrasting the tighter lines on his face. ‘Anything you want to give me is fine.’

She bit her tongue before she could reply. She hadn’t thought of anything to reply with, but her tongue was often quicker than her brain. She didn’t want to take the chance of saying something inappropriate. Such as how what she wanted to give him was another kiss to see if the spark she’d felt was a fluke...

She poured him a generous glass of whiskey from a bottle that was still three quarters full and settled on water and peppermint for herself.

‘You’re not having any?’ he asked, accepting the glass from her.

She leaned back against the counter on the opposite side of the kitchen. ‘I’m on an alcohol fast.’

‘Why?’

She rolled her eyes. ‘Does it matter?’

‘You’re annoyed because I asked?’

‘Yes, actually. It’s rude.’

Plus she didn’t have a good answer for him. She hadn’t anticipated him asking why she was fasting from alcohol. She should have known he wouldn’t be polite and leave it at that though.

‘Sorry.’ His lips twitched. ‘So...’

He didn’t say anything more. She didn’t speak either. The silence stretched between them like a cat in the sun. Then, as a cat would, it stared Alexa in the eyes, unblinking, until she sighed.

‘This is what dating you is like?’ She didn’t wait for an answer. ‘How disturbing.’

How she knew exactly what to say to get under his skin was what was really disturbing.

But then, disturbing seemed to be the theme of the night. What with the fake relationship, the kiss, being in Alexa’s home. He’d offended her by noting that her flat was homey, but he couldn’t help but be honest. She’d done an amazing job turning what would have been a trendy, but not particularly special place into something he could imagine coming home to.

Well, not him, exactly. He had his own home. With his parents. Which she had an opinion on, but wouldn’t tell him about because she was stubborn. He couldn’t be upset by it since he was stubborn, too. If she’d asked why he still lived with his parents he wouldn’t have told her.

Not that any of it was important now.

‘Cherise saw us.’

‘I know.’ She drained her glass. Her gaze rested on his, before it rose to his face. Something about it made his body feel more aware. ‘Would you like some more?’

He glanced at the glass. Empty. Strange. He didn’t remember drinking from it. Except for that one time when he’d taken a long, deep gulp and—

Ah, yes. He remembered now.

‘No, thank you.’ Probably best with all the disturbing stuff happening.

‘Tea, then? I’m making myself some.’

‘Anything to avoid having a straight conversation with me?’

‘What is this we’re having, then?’ she asked, filling the kettle with water. She took out two mugs, despite the fact that he hadn’t answered her. ‘A skew conversation? Diagonal?’

‘Funny lady.’

Amusement flickered in her eyes. ‘I try.’

‘To annoy me, yes,’ he muttered.

The amused light danced in her eyes again. He felt an answering light in his chest. He didn’t care for it. It made him think the tables had turned.

‘I know we have to talk about this.’ She took out ginger from the fridge, sliced up some pieces and threw it in one cup. She looked over at him. ‘Tea? Coffee?’

‘Coffee. Please,’ he added as an afterthought.

She began to make his coffee, expression pensive. ‘I suppose I wanted to make the conversation easier. Less awkward. A discussion over hot drinks seemed like something that would help with that.’

His mother would like her, he thought before he could stop himself. Usually, he was more careful when it came to comparisons between his mother and people he wasn’t related to. Hell, people he was related to, too. It tended to evoke protective feelings in him when he did. He blamed it on the fact that he felt protective of his mother, so when he recognised something akin to her in someone else, those feelings bled over. It had too often in the past, and he’d been hurt because of it. Which should have made him more careful. It usually did. Except now, apparently.