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“Alina wouldn’t even look at me.” Then he grumbled. “And she’s running around with a sly dude masquerading as her friend.”
“How do you know that isn’t her friend?” Lee asked. “She’s in her childhood town. They could be long-time friends from her childhood.”
“No freaking way, man,” Dereck swung his hand and almost fell off the stool. “The way he looks at her, he definitely wants to bang her.”
“That doesn’t mean that anything is going on. And if something is going on with them, you have no right to be angry,” Lee said with a calm voice.
“I don’t have any right to be angry?” Dereck yelled through the phone, causing a couple of nearby patrons to glass at him. “That is my woman.”
“Not right now, she isn’t.” Lee still maintained a composed voice. “Right now, she is your ex-girlfriend. Going down there and acting jealous will not get her back. If anything, it’s just going to drive her further away.”
Dereck breathed hard. “So what do I do?”
“For starters, calm down.” Lee urged. “Do not accuse her of anything and do not confront this man. If he really is her friend, it would make you look bad.” Lee breathed heavily. “Forget this man completely and focus on Alina. She is the one you have to win back. Do you understand?” When Dereck didn’t respond, Lee reiterated in a louder voice. “Do you understand?”
“Yes I do,” Dereck said after a while. “But I don’t know if I can do it.”
“If you want Alina back, you will,” Lee said. “Oh, and Dereck. Alina loves you. I don’t believe anything is happening with this guy.”
“Thanks, man,” Dereck said before cutting off the phone.
* * *
The night wasrestless and Dereck was awake way too early. After forcing down some food and coffee into his stomach, he decided to maximize his restless night by picking up Alina. The only thing was, he was not the only one who thought of it.
Dereck wanted nothing more than to confront the sick bastard when he parked his car, but then he remembered what Lee said. Alina wouldn’t appreciate it if she came out and found him interrogating her friend. He needed to get her back on his side again.
When Alina burst through the door, she took one look at Dereck, then took a deep breath, which reflected in her shoulder movements. He knew that by now she had spoken to Taylor and was aware that he knew she was pregnant. Still, he would not rush the conversation with her. Dereck needed to take it slowly with Alina.
“Good morning,” she said as she approached the two men. “Are you guys ready to go?”
“He’s coming with us?” Lucas asked, his eyes shooting Daggers at Dereck.
“Yes,” Alina smiled, but it didn’t reach her eyes. “Dereck wants to see the museum. Is that a problem?”
“No. Not at all,” Lucas said but kept his eyes on Dereck, who remained silent throughout their conversation, but if Alina looked closely, she would see that his hand was fisted. It took everything out of Dereck to hold himself back.
“Dereck, I’m going to ride with Lucas. You can follow in your car.” Dereck was not pleased with Alina’s announcement, but objecting here would look pitiful. He needed to be the bigger man and be patient. At least that is what he kept telling himself.
She was talking to him, she wasn’t shutting him out. That was a start.
35
Though physically in his car, Alina’s mind was definitely not with Lucas. She was with the tall, brooding man following them.
“Alina?” Lucas called her a couple of times before she turned towards him. “Are you okay with all of this? I mean, with him being here?”
Alina shook her head before answering. “Yes. At some point, I will have to deal with this. I might as well get it over with it.”
“I understand,” Lucas said. “But it’s going to be hard with your emotions in turmoil. You took this time away to clear your head. It was inconsiderate of him to follow you here.”
Alina kept her voice even and her gaze steady. “What would you do if you found out your ex-girlfriend was pregnant with your child and left the state without telling you?”
“I’ll cross borders to find her,” Lucas said, and the two went quiet again. “Does this mean he knows?” Lucas broke the silence.
“Uhuh. My friend accidentally told him when she was cussing him out.” Alina sighed. “I guess I’ll have to apologize for that.”
“Why apologize?” Lucas kept his eyes on the road. “Sounds like he deserved it.”
