Click to get it Chapter 0009 BAILEE I turned away from Alex and back to Nicole at the bar as she watched with a smirk . I needed to get out of here . " Ben . Where is Ben ? I need to talk to my brother . He's not home and not answering his phone . " My brother , Benjamin Evans , the starting center for the Rangers , owned this bar , along with several others around the city . With this one being his first , it was his baby . If I ever needed to find him , this was the place to go . " He's at an away game, " Nicole said , and my chest sank in as all the air left my lungs . Of course , he was . "When will he be back ? " I asked , placing my hands on the bar as I leaned in , feeling panicked and desperate . Brinley was at a sleepover , and I had wanted to use the time alone to figure out where we would go from here . I had hoped we could stay with my brother for a few weeks until I could figure something out , but I also hadn't talked to my brother in a long time . Every time we spoke , he would always mention Alex at some point , and our conversation would die off into an awkward silence . I glance down as sparks shot up my arm , stealing my breath and making me feel weak . Alex lifted my arm where he had just grabbed it , softly rubbing the warm pad of his thumb over my wrist . " What are you doing ? " I whispered . My body was frozen from his unexpected touch , allowing him to lift my hand closer to his face to inspect it . It took me a moment to realize what I was doing , and I pulled my hand away . " Don't . " " Don't get ahead of yourself . I'm not making a move on you . I'm just making sure you can't sue me for damaging your wrist , " Alex said with a roll of his eyes . " It doesn't work like that . " I scoffed , offended by his insult . " Yeah , well , rumor has it that you enjoy finding men with money to go after . " His smirk set me on fire , and if we didn't have an audience , I would have tried to slap him again . " Alexander Kingston , you could be the richest man in the world , and I still would have no interest in suing or pursuing you . I don't want you anywhere near me . " I said , glaring at him from the comer of my eye with my lip curled up in feigned disgust before looking back at Nicole . " I don't know when he'll be back ." Nicole said , grabbing a glass from behind the bar and mixing a drink . " They have a couple of games over the next few weeks . He might be gone for a while . " " The team will be back on the 2nd , " Alex said , and I groaned in frustration that he was still talking to me and that Ben would be gone for so long . Three weeks ? I pulled out my phone , seeing that Ben hadn't called me back yet , but I did have an unread text from the mom hosting the sleepover Brinley was at " You have a kid , " Alex said , sounding stunned , and I knew he had caught sight of her picture on my lock screen . " I mean , I saw on the news that you have a kid , but … you really have a kid . " " Yeah , I do " I snapped , irritated that he sounded bothered or maybe even a little disgusted by the fact When we dated in high school , I told him I wanted a big family . So , it was insulting that after I had been married for the past six years , he would sound so shocked and almost disgusted that I would have a child . Granted , signing those papers in Vegas on spring break during my first year of college had been the biggest mistake of my life , but Alexander's disgusted reaction to knowing I had become a mother hurt . If that's how he felt about it , it was probably a good thing that he had destroyed our relationship and things ended when they did 1/2 Ch 001 # 25 BONUS I scanned the text message before rubbing my temples to see that the other mom had she spiked a fever . " And she needs me right now , so I have to go ." had asked me pick Brinley up because I turned to Nicole , forcing a smile even though my nerves were multiplying as I thought of my sweet baby sick . " Can you please just ask Ben to call me the next time y you talk to him ? " I asked , and she nodded . " Do you need a ride ? " Alex said , stepping closer , but I backed up . " No. I need you to stay away from me . " I snapped . One touch from him had already turned my mind into a jumbled mess of anger and frustration . It was best to keep my distance from him . My phone buzzed again . This time , there were no words , only numbers , and my heart clenched , knowing my baby was suffering with a fever of 103.7 . "I have to go . " Wait !" Alex called out behind me , but I kept moving through the crowd . " Wait ! Bailee I had waited for him long enough as a teenager . I didn't need to hear anything he had to say now . He was dead to me .