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I bristled. Of course, she would assume my mom was the one with Spencer, not me. It was just one more reason why Spencer and I shouldn’t be together. We’d forever be judged based on the age difference between us. Now that I knew Spencer had money too, everyone would probably think I was a gold digger!
Mom laughed and shook her head. “Oh no, I’m not Spencer’s wife. He’s just an old friend.”
“Oh,” Alexa replied, her eyes seeming to light up as she turned her attention back to Spencer. “Well, isn’t that interesting.” She grinned up at him and took another step toward him. I’d never wanted to slap someone so much in my life. What was that woman doing trying to get close to Spencer right in front of me?
“Anyway, Rylee, let’s head out to the beach,” my mom said as she took my arm and led me away, leaving Spencer in the clutches of that vile woman. Jayden tottered behind us.
“Mom! What are you doing?” I protested, glancing behind me to see if Spencer was watching me. He wasn’t. He was looking down at Alexa and smiling. My heart shattered into pieces at the sight.
“Come on, Rylee, don’t be so naïve,” Mom chastised with a roll of her eyes. “That woman was clearly interested in Spencer. We may as well leave them alone so Spencer can have some fun on this vacation too.”
My heart sunk. The world around me seemed like it was spinning and I wanted to puke. What was I going to do? I stayed silent the entire walk back to the villa and before I knew it, my mom was packing her bag and donning her sunglasses.
“I’m going to check out the spa while I have a chance, Rylee! If you need any help with Jayden or anything, just call my cell!” she called as she disappeared out the door.
In an attempt to keep my mind off of Spencer, I busied myself by having fun with Jayden. I collected all his beach toys and took him out on the private beach again. We waded out into the water together and enjoyed the privacy together.
“Splash, splash, Mama!” Jayden shrieked as he slapped his palms on the surface of the water. I laughed. He was always such a cutie and I couldn’t wait to spend more time with him.
The vacation continued in the same vein for the next few days. I spent my days mostly exploring the island with Jayden and sometimes Mom would tag along. We all ate our meals together every day and I enjoyed many new types of cuisine I’d never had before. Spencer and I even managed to sneak away together a few times in the evening, but they were few and far between since I didn’t want Mom or Jayden to find out.
I didn’t bring up Alexa. I didn’t want to spoil the little time we had together with jealousy. All in all, it was like the perfect little family vacation and I’d never thought I would enjoy myself as much as I did. Life for those first few days felt wonderful and I was determined not to let anything or anyone ruin it—sadly, I couldn’t have known what would happen next.
23
Spencer
At first, I’d assumed Alexa was just an opportunist who saw a walking dollar bill when she looked at me, but by the time Tuesday rolled around, I was starting to rethink everything. The woman started appearing everywhere after we bumped into her after breakfast on Sunday morning. When I went for a quiet walk along the beach on Monday morning, she suddenly appeared out of nowhere in the tiniest two-piece bikini and clutching a pair of designer sunglasses. Then she pulled her chair up next to mine at lunch that same day and I could see Rylee’s expression flare with annoyance at her presence.
Suffice to say, Alexa Gilroy was everywhere and she was dying to get my attention. So far, I’d managed to spurn most of her advances. I was quick to shy away from her obvious flirting and I even avoided giving out my number on the two occasions she tried to pry it out of me. I didn’t want to spend time with her. I wanted to spend time with Rylee! So far, we’d hardly managed to have a few spare moments together.
I could tell how frustrated Rylee was getting too and I didn’t want Alexa to push us any further apart than we already were. It wasn’t like I was new to these kinds of desperate divorcees throwing themselves at me. After my newfound money was reported on in TIME, I’d had far too many friends attempt to introduce me to their loved ones who they wanted to set me up with.
I could even remember being accosted outside of an expensive restaurant in Chicago two years ago by a very attractive and well-dressed woman who I later learned was named Vanessa Newport. She started off the conversation by telling me all about the charity she was on the board for which was related to women fleeing domestic abuse. At first, I’d been interested and even willing to donate toward the cause, but by the end of the night, she was trying to proposition me and she even attempted to slip her hotel key into my hands!
