Read Online His Hired Girlfriend by Alexia Praks - Free Book Online

her head at her silly
thought, she rushed up and busied herself trying to find clothes
for a quick shower. As she headed to the bathroom, she shouted,
“Mum, I’m going out for dinner tonight.”
    “Will you be late home?” her
mother asked from the kitchen.
    “No, I’m only going to the
Thompson’s,” she replied.
    “Great, say hi to them for me,
won’t you. Oh, we’ll have to give them some of our lettuces and
silverbeet.”
    “Yeah, sure. I’ll pick them
after my shower,” Alex said, as she began to close the bathroom
door.
    “Don’t worry. I’ll do it.”
    “Ok,” Alex shouted and then
shut the door. Fifteen minutes later she was out, dressed in
another pair of skinny jeans and jersey with her hair still wet
from the shower. She grabbed her satchel and jacket from her
bedroom. In the living area her mum grabbed her attention and said,
“Don’t forget this.”
    Alex grabbed
the plastic bag full of lettuce and silverbeet as she said,
“Thanks, Mum.” She glanced at her dad in the La-Z-boy chair, now
reading the Otago Daily
Times . He must be getting better, she
thought, and he did look a lot better, too. His face was now not as
pale as before.
    “Bye, Dad.”
    Jacob looked over to his
daughter and nodded. “Drive safely, won’t you.”
    “You know I do,” she commented
and came over to kiss him on the cheek.
    “Good girl.”
    “Hey, I want to come too,” Emma
said over the many scattering papers and science books on the
dinning table. Her dark curls were in a wild mess and her brown
eyes were sparkling with hope as she looked at Alex.
    “No you may not. They only
invited me. There will not be enough food for everyone if you come
along,” Alex teased.
    Tim, his eyes narrowed as he
glanced at his younger sister, said, “Get back to your homework,
missy. Otherwise you won’t get into uni with your laziness. All you
think about is food.”
    Emma poked her tongue at her
brother, telling him to bugger off. Then turning back to Alex, she
said, “Hey, I don’t eat that much. I’ve been told that I’m way too
thin anyway.”
    “Yeah, yeah,” Alex mumbled. She
turned to her mom and gave the woman a peck on the cheek. “Love
you.”
    “Love you, sweetheart,” Maly
said.
    Ten minutes later Alex parked
her Toyota Corolla in front of the Thompson’s house and got out.
She rushed to the door and rang the bell. As she waited she glanced
at the beautiful view before her.
    The Thompsons’ house sat on top
of a great hill that over looked the Otago Harbour and the city
below. In days like this one, though slightly breezy and cold, the
view of the harbour was spectacular with the turquoise blue of the
glistening water, the dark blue of the clear sky with the
occasional Columbus cloud scattering here and there, and the
stunning green of the hills with dots of houses on the other side
visible. Their living room also faced north which received all day
sun. A must have in Dunedin if you were buying or selling a
property.
    The door
opened, and Alex glanced up, smiling and expecting to greet one of
the Thompsons. But it was not any of the Thompsons who were
standing there at the door, grinning down at her. It was Mr. Hot-Choc.
    Her heart
missed a beat and then it started to beat faster and faster. ‘Calm down, old girl, it’s only Jay. And he’s
gay. He’s not interested in you.’
    “Hey there,” she said
cheerfully. “What ya doing here?”
    Jay, with his greeting smile
still fixed on his handsome face, said, “I’m staying here for a
little while. Love the view.”
    Alex nodded in agreement.
“Yeah, Waverly’s great.”
    She waited for him to take a
step back to let her through the door, but he didn’t budge. He
simply stood there looking down at her from his great height. She
made an attempt to enter through anyway, and ended up squeezing
herself between him and the side of the door.
    She glanced
up at him as she passed, her heart thumping out of control. Her
face was red because he was so