The Contract With Her Father's Billionaire Rival-Chapter 60. Alexa From Australia.

"It’s really you," Alexa said, her thin voice filled with surprise.

Alaric didn’t know how to feel about the interaction, so he just plastered a smile.

"I mean, I wasn’t sure, but that gorgeous hair..." Alexa said, her eyes lifting to his hair. "I would recognize it anywhere."

Before he could respond, the waiter passed him his drink. Thankful for the interruption, he nodded.

Alexa used to be his girlfriend back in Australia. Her brother, Jake, had been a good friend of his. He met Jake, then met Alexa, and a relationship—or something close to that—blossomed.

The relationship hadn’t meant much to him. As a matter of fact, they had only dated for six months before Alexa’s behavior took a turn for the worse.

The relationship had driven a wedge between him and Jake. But Alaric didn’t blame him. Nobody liked to admit that their sister was crazy.

As he reached for his glass, he couldn’t help the thought that swirled in his mind:

Why was Alexa here?

Was she beginning to stalk him again?

"What are you doing here?" he asked, keeping the curiosity in his tone to a minimum.

Instead of answering immediately, Alexa pulled out the chair next to him. She tapped the counter. "Juan, the usual please."

Alaric looked at her, curiosity now fully expressed on his face.

"What?" she asked with a laugh when she caught his expression.

"The usual?"

She laughed, her familiar tiny burst of laughter filling the air. "Come on, Alaric. I am not stalking you."

His brow furrowed. "So you admit you were stalking me before?"

Her laughter faltered. "I walked right into that, didn’t I?"

Alaric shook his head, the memory of her false emergency flashing through his mind. Alexa had faked a crisis just because he hadn’t responded to her call, twenty minutes later.

He had been in a meeting, trying to land a potential deal, when his PA had rushed in to inform him of the emergency.

With a racing heart, he had ended the international meeting and rushed to her house, only to find out it had all been a lie.

He took a sip of his drink, trying to wash away the bitter taste of the memory that lodged at the back of his throat.

But that hadn’t even been the worst of it. She had tracked his devices, shown up uninvited at his office and his house, and even created fake social media profiles to monitor him.

It had all been too much.

And now, seeing her here—when they hadn’t seen each other in years—was more than a little alarming.

"Oh, for Christ’s sake! I didn’t follow you. My dad owns this place!" she snapped, the anger returning to her thin voice.

He narrowed his eyes in disbelief.

She sighed, clearly offended by his expression, but she didn’t stand. She didn’t leave like he had hoped.

The waiter returned with a vibrant green drink that glowed at the bottom. Alexa took it and sipped.

"My dad is the owner of Eternal Paradise, believe it or not," she said through gritted teeth.

"Okay," he replied flatly.

Eternal Paradise. Of course it was something her father could venture into.

But how had he never known that?

Then again, he didn’t really care. All that mattered was that she hadn’t followed him here.

Alaric took his glass and stood up. He wasn’t interested in sparking any conversation with Alexa, not when he was waiting for Nicolette to wake up.

"It’s lovely to see you," he said politely.

Alexa turned to him, her mouth twisting into a frown. "Oh, come on, Alaric. I’m not here to do whatever you think I’m here for. Look, I’m engaged," she added, flashing a shiny ring. "I just thought we could have a conversation. It has been awhile."

That fact that she was engaged didn’t make him feel any better.

"Congratulations," he said with a warm smile.

She didn’t want him to leave, he could tell by that glint in her eyes, but before he could turn, her expression softened.

"Jake is now confined to a wheelchair."

Alaric’s heart skipped. "What?"

She turned back to the counter and took another sip of her drink.

Alaric stepped closer, his hand trembling. "What happened?"

"You know Jake—always living on the edge," she chuckled, but it was dull. "He crashed his car, and that was it."

Shock rippled in his bones.

Jake had already been a force of nature, and it sucked to hear this.

His throat dried as the memory of their late-night adventures filled his head.

"I’m sorry about that," he said, his voice soft with concern. "Where is he?"

"In his private suite. Daddy made him CEO to cheer him up," Alexa explained. "Eternal Paradise really isn’t Dad’s thing. He just uses his money."

That would explain why Alaric hadn’t heard about it in the first place.

"I would love to see him."

Alexa stood abruptly, her soft expression turning sharp in an instant.

"Yeh!" she exclaimed and finished her drink.

What just happened?

"Let’s go to the suite. It’s on the top floor," she said, already linking her arm with his.

A chill ran up Alaric’s spine. Something in Alexa’s eyes didn’t match her words.

"You know what," he said, gently removing his hand from her grip, "I’ll catch up another time."

Alexa’s eyes narrowed in confusion. "I thought you wanted to see Jake?"

"I do. But I just remembered I have to be somewhere," he replied, glancing at his wristwatch. He finished his drink and waved at her. "I’ll see you around."

Alexa didn’t say a word. She just stood there, her eyes darkening.

Alaric wasn’t sure avoiding Jake was a good idea, but he couldn’t trust Alexa. Something about her felt off, and based on their history, he had every right to be cautious.

His stomach growled just as he reached the elevator. He was starving, but Nicolette was still asleep.

When the elevator doors opened to his floor, he saw Tom stepping out of his own room.

It was ridiculous that his whole team was here with him on his honeymoon. But then again, this wasn’t entirely a pleasure trip.

They had business to handle, a reputation to build and protect, and he couldn’t risk the media sniffing any lie. Which was why the team had flown in separately.

"Hello, sir," Tom greeted as he approached.

"Hi, Tom."

"Dinner will begin soon. I have the photo team on standby," Tom informed him.

Was it weird having photojournalists capturing him and Nicolette’s every move? Yes.

But was it necessary? Absolutely.

"Thanks, Tom. We’ll get ready now," he said.

His thoughts drifted to Nicolette, and he began thinking of ways to wake her. One idea popped into his mind, and it spread warmth through his chest.

"I need some of those gifts I got for Nicolette," he said.

"Alright, sir. Give me a minute to get them," Tom replied and headed down the elevator. Some moments later, he returned with another team member.

They were carrying a huge bouquet and three bags of gifts.

Alaric took them himself. He didn’t want anyone else entering his room.

"Thanks, guys," he said and dismissed them.

Alaric opened his room door and stepped inside. Nicolette stirred at the sound, but she didn’t open her eyes.

He set the gifts on the couch facing the bed and walked over to her.

He took off his shoes and jacket and climbed into bed beside her.

"Baby," he whispered, his lips brushing her earlobe.

A smile spread across her face as she turned to him. She gave him a small, sleepy kiss and chuckled.

"Hey."

"Are you awake?" he asked.

She chuckled again. "No. I’m still asleep."

"Great, then," he teased, his heart fluttering at her smile. "I have a remedy that wakes people up."

"Oh yeah? What’s that?" she asked, amused.

Alaric didn’t answer. Instead, he made his way to the base of the bed. He gently pulled at the duvet until he found her bare legs.

She gasped when his hands slid up her thigh.

"I haven’t tried this remedy on anyone else yet. Just let me know if it wakes you up."

Before she could respond, Alaric dropped to his knee and buried his face in between her legs.