Chapter Twelve

As June turned into July, Jack started claiming that no one loved her anymore seeing as they never came to visit anymore. When Jack got married, she moved into Shane's townhouse on the other side of London.

On the Saturday they decided to visit, they brought gifts.

"Daiquiris!" Jack squealed in dismay. "You know full well that I can't drink, Rider. How could you let him be so forgetful Katie?"

"I wasn't in on the secret," she said as she kissed Jack on the cheek and moved further into the house.

"Who is this?" Jack asked when she saw Sabina.

"It's me, Jack," Sabina replied. "Sabina."

"Oh my goodness! You've grown up. It's been what? Ten years?"

"Give or take a few months," she said with a smile.

Jack gave her a hug before she closed the door.

"We're going to have to sit down and chat but now, go sit down somewhere. Katie, you better not be in the kitchen," she said as she took off down the hall to the kitchen.

Alex looked around with a smile. Shane's house didn't stand a chance when Jack moved in. All of Shane's bachelor furniture was replaced with comfortable pieces in earth tones. The pool table that occupied the front room now resided in the pool house. All of his pictures and things that he just couldn't get rid of now called the pool house home. He was about to follow Jack into the kitchen when Sabina tugged on his hand. Looking at her, he saw that she was up to no good and smiled.

Sabina lead him upstairs and into the first empty room she came across. As soon as the door closed, she pushed him against it and attacked his lips with hungry kisses. She kissed her way from his lips down to the place where his neck turned into his shoulders. She slowly raised his shirt up over his head and let it fall onto the floor. She took a step back and bit the left side of her bottom lip. His body was exquisite in every sense. His gunshot wound only added to his ruggedness. All that tanned skin begged to be kissed so she heeded its call.

Alex watched her watching him and smirked. When she walked back towards him, he turned around and pinned her to the wall. He placed on leg between hers and pushed her higher up the wall. As he unbuttoned her shirt, she wrapped her legs around his waist in an effort to stay up. Alex heard her breathing hitch as he kissed the sensitive spot behind her ear. Once her shirt was off, he explored the top of her body with his hands. When he was bored with that, he let one hand wander south of the border and run up and down her thigh.

"Alex," she whispered trying to control her breathing as Alex's hands wandered over sensitive places.

"Yes?" he whispered back between kisses.

"I don't think I can stay quiet for long. I'm about to…"

She didn't to finish her sentence as her body started to spasm. Alex smirked at her reaction and quickly silenced her with a kiss.

Sabina rested her clammy forehead on Alex's shoulder a few moments later and sighed, satisfied.

"That was naughty," she said. "Especially seeing as this is Paige's room."

Alex twisted in her embrace and looked around. Sure enough, they were in Paige's room. Lucky for them, she was nowhere in sight.

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"How are things?" Jack asked as she washed lettuce for the salad in the kitchen.

"Great."

"Is having Sabina in the house weird?"

"Nope."

Jack stopped what she was doing to look at Katie, who was avoiding her gaze and practically mangling the tomatoes.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing," Katie said looking up.

"Liar."

Katie put the chopping board aside and sighed. She pinched the bridge of her nose while she put her thoughts in order.

"It's weird. I walk around almost on egg shells when Alex is home because I never know what she's up to. I-"

"What she's up to? Explain."

"I mean what they're up to. I don't want to see them in the act, you know? But other than that, things are fine. I'm talking to my sister almost every day. Her husband just got promoted. My dad is thinking about coming for Christmas and my mom managed to send me an email that doesn't reek of sarcasm and her therapist's words."

"Are you sure you're okay?"

"I'm fine, Jack," Katie said firmly.

Jack enveloped the younger woman in a hug. "I can never thank you enough for giving Alex back to me. Whatever you need, don't hesitate to ask, okay?"

"Okay."

"Now, where are those two anyway?"

888

Dinner went along with no incidents. Alex and Sabina managed to keep their affection to themselves, Sabina and Katie kept the glares down to a minimum, and Alex and Katie's natural chemistry cooled a bit. Jack watched the whole thing with a slight frown on her face. Shane, who got there a little after they arrived, didn't see anything but he knew something was up by the way Jack frowned. Paige didn't care about anything. She was happy that her family was over.

After dessert was served, Katie stood up to collect the dishes.

"Sit down, Katie. I'll do it when you leave," Shane said.

"Shane, you have a pregnant wife and a three year old. I can help since I have neither."

"You had a wife, Calloway? I didn't know you were interested in women." Alex said with a raised eyebrow.

"You know full well what I meant," Katie said as she threw a napkin at Alex, which he caught.

"Unfortunately, I do. Sometimes, I think we were twins separated at birth. We've got ESPN or something1," he said as he got up to take a bunch of dishes to the kitchen.

"Sometimes, I think he's lost his mind," Shane said.

Katie laughed as she followed Alex into the kitchen. He already had the water running when she showed up.

"Go ahead and watch TV with the others. I've got this," he said taking the dishes from her.

"I'll help you."

Alex sighed as she took the dish cloth and started to wash the dishes while he dried and put them up. They talked about nothing in particular as they worked, occasionally splashing water on each other. Little did they know, Sabina was watching them from the hall with a scowl on her face. Obviously, Katie didn't take their little talk too seriously. With barely disguised anger, she turned around to seek out Jack.

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When they were getting ready to leave, Paige pitched a fit. Alex and Katie both turned around while Sabina kept walking towards the car as if she didn't hear Paige crying to go with them.

"But I want to go with Tee Katie and Alex," she wailed as Shane held on to her.

"They have guest, honey," Jack said.

"I want to go!"

"Jack, she can come," Alex said, hating to see her cry.

"She has to learn that she can't always get her way," Jack said giving Paige "the look" that all parents gave to their misbehaving children.

Paige started to cry harder and Katie had a sudden idea.

"Jack, could I come and get Paige tomorrow if she stops crying?"

"Yes."

Paige's tears stopped as if they had never started.

"We could go to MacDonald's and play in the balls and get ice cream and go to the toy store," she continued as if she hadn't heard Paige stop crying.

"Mummy, I stopped crying. Tee Katie can come and get me," she said.

"If you go to bed with no fuss, then yes, you can go with Tee Katie tomorrow."

Paige wiggled in her father's arms until he put her down. She ran up the first few stairs before she came back to give Katie a hug and a kiss.

"I love you!" she squealed as she ran back up to her room.

Katie stood rooted to the spot for a second, thinking about the day her own children would tell her something like that, before she snapped out of it. She looked at Jack and Shane, who both nodded. Katie turned around and walked to the car. She opened the back door and got in.


How was it after the last chapter. Some Alex/Sabina action along with a little Alex/Katie action. As you see, Jack has noticed that something is up. It's only a matter of time before the shit hits the fan and the cat's out of the bag. Keep reading. Until then... -RC