Sorry I took such a long time to write this chapter. I've had a big case of writer's block and final exams and grades that I had to worry about. But I was finally able to write and finish this chapter. Hope everyone likes it. XOXO :)

Chapter 24

ALEXANDRIA

I woke up the next day in a hotel room and I was wrapped tightly in Paul's arms. I snuggled closer and felt lips kiss my shoulder lightly. I turned to face him and saw that sleepy smile that I love so much. He leaned down and lightly kissed me.

"Morning" He said as he pulled away.

"Morning. What's on the agenda for today?" I asked.

"You and I are going to be together all day today."He replied.

"You don't have anything to do today?"

"Nope."

I smiled and gave him another kiss. "Good."

Paul pulled me close and started to kiss my neck. I dug my hands in his already messy hair to keep him there as I felt his warm lips across my neck and his hand on my back keeping me close to him. We heard a knock at the door and a growl from Paul as he pulled away. When we was going to get up, I grabbed his hand.

"What if it's Stephanie?" I asked.

"I'll tell her to go away." He replied.

"If it's really Stephanie, wanna try something to make her go crazy?"

He raised his eyebrows. "Like what?"

We heard a knock again. I got out of bed with the sheets covering me. I was sure that my hair was not far from being messy either. But at the moment, I didn't care. I looked through the peephole and of course, it was Stephanie. I tried to hide my smile as I opened the door. I saw her smile drop as she saw me trying to cover myself with the sheets. As well as the hickie that I was sure about having on my neck from last night.

"Stephanie. Hi. Can I help you with something?" I asked.

"I uh, was just looking for Paul." She replied. "I thought he was in this room."

"I am." I heard his answer. I looked back and saw him in nothing but his shorts. I noticed a couple of small scratches on his chest. I smiled knowing that it was from me. I felt the warmth of his hand when he found my waist.

"What's wrong Stephanie?" he asked.

"Just wanted to know if you were busy today." She replied.

"Yeah. I'm spending the whole day with Alexandria. Besides, we were kind of busy just moments ago. So if you don't mind..."

"Please don't paint a picture. I don't need that." said Stephanie quickly."You're not well enough to compete but you're well enough to have sex with the COO of the company."

"What's your problem Stephanie?" asked Paul

"Nothing. I just see that she's sleeping with you to get around."

"Stephanie!" yelled Paul. I saw her flinch but her words hurt me.

"I'm with Paul because I'm in love with him and I want to spend the rest of my life with him. You don't have anything to do with our relationship and you shouldn't care. You had your chance with Paul and you blew it. Now I have his heart and I'm taking good care of it. I don't need anyone doubting my relationship with him no matter what position he had in this company. Why don't you find someone else to bother? Gosh!"

I walked away and slammed the door. I laid back down in bed and it didn't take long before I felt a tear fighting to come out.

PAUL

"Stephanie, that was wrong of you to say." I told her as Alex slammed the door behind her.

"But it's the truth." She replied.

"No it's not. We're together because we love each other and we want to spend the rest of our lives together. Don't mess this up for me. Please don't. I don't know what I'd do without her in my life. I need her. I want her. I'm in love with her. Please just leave us alone."

I closed the door before she could say anything to that and put my back against the door. I walked to the bedroom and opened the door lightly only to find Alex in bed. She sounded like she was crying.

"Baby," I said softly as I walked up to her side of the bed. "Hey, come on. Don't cry. Please?"

"What she said really hurt me Paul. I know that she had your heart before I did. I want to be better than her in every way possible and actually keep you but I don't need to hear things like that. It hurts."

"You're already better than her in every way possible. You're 100 times more beautiful. You're incredibly talented and smart. You're funny, and nice. You have a big heart and a sweet caring personality. Sweetie, I love you more than anything. You're my heart. My world. I'd protect you in a heartbeat. I hear your name, I'm happy. I hear your voice, I'm happy. I get to see you and come home to you every time I'm off the road. You're the one I want to marry and be with. I want to have a family with you. I love you. That will never change. What me and her had was a thing in the past. It's never going to happen again. I mean that."

"So why is she being mean to me?" she asked. "What did I ever do to her?" she asked crying.

"You did nothing. I bet she's just intimidated by you because you're the one that's going to make me happy for the rest of my life. Not her. She's probably jealous too that I got me a hot, sexy fiancee. But..."

She giggled. "I am if I do say so myself." she said in between giggles. I couldn't help but smile and let out a chuckle.

"Now I don't like seeing my favorite girl cry." I asked.

"I'll try to not think about it today." she replied softly as she smiled. I gave her a soft kiss. "So I'm your favorite?" She asked.

"You've always been my favorite girl. That's not going to change," She gave me a sweet smile and kiss.

0.0

We finally decided to get out of the room to go out for lunch. We were going to meet with Randy, John and some of the girls that Alex is pretty close with. I also thought that this would help Alex keep her mind off of what happened this morning with Stephanie. I told the guys what had happened and Randy was just as mad as I was, if not more. I don't blame him. That's his little sister.

"If only she wasn't a female. Can I take it out on Laurenitis?" asked Randy. "I'll make sure I do a hell of a excellent job with him."

"No, no, no. I'll take care of it. For now, I'm just wanting to make sure that what happened this morning stays out of her head. I want her to have a good day."

"Me too." Replied Randy. "But that doesn't change how I feel about Stephanie and the way she acts towards my sister. She's had enough people in her life being mean to her. She doesn't need someone else being mean to her because of who she's with." He added through clenched teeth. "This isn't high school anymore Paul. This is the real world."

"I know Randy. I'll see what I can do about it. I won't hesitate to ask you for help."

The girls came up to us and I felt a pair of hands on my waist from behind. I looked to the side to see Alex step beside me and smile.

"You boys behaving yourselves?" she asked. We both told her that we were as I felt her fingers intertwine with mine. I gave her hand a gentle squeeze and saw her smile.

When we got back to the hotel, I started to think about where we're going to live once we marry. In St. Louis or in Connecticut?

"You okay?" asked Alex bringing me back from my thoughts.

"Uh, yeah. I'm fine. Just thinking about something. Can I ask you something?"

"What is it?" she asked.

"Um, would you like to move in with me?" I asked rather nervously.

"You want me to move into your house in Connecticut?"

"Yeah. Only if you want to though. I won't force you. We practically live together anyways, so I've been thinking about the whole living situation." I told her. She smiled.

"I'd love to move in with you."

"Yeah?" I asked her puller her close when I wrapped my arms around her.

"Yes."

"Have you picked a date yet that you'd like for the wedding?" I asked letting my lips lightly brush against hers.

"Would you like a summer wedding?"

"Mmm...sounds nice. Gives me some really good ideas for the honeymoon." I replied smiling as I heard her giggle.

"Now I wanna know what they are."

"You're gonna have to be patient Baby." She pouted and I gave her a kiss. "I love you, too."

Two days later

We walked hand in hand through the airport to catch our flight back to St. Louis. Alexandria has another appointment for a check up to see how her back's doing. I heard my phone ring and saw Stephanie's name on the screen. I ignored it and put it back in my pocket.

"Not answering it?"

"Nope. I'm going home with my fiancee and we have a wedding to plan." I replied. She smiled and gave me a kiss on the cheek.