Irrefutable: The Apprehensive Series, #2

By K.A. Berg

Quinn Taylor had a plan, and it didn't include Alex Conway. 

With Quinn's decisions no longer her own, and her life spinning out of control; she's not sure about anything she once believed in. But, Alex has found something to believe in – Quinn. He knows what life is like without her and it's a life he no longer wants to live.

Just when it seems things can't get any worse, chaos ensues leaving them both out of time and out of options. Should Alex try for Quinn's love without a guarantee in sight? Will Quinn be able to marry one man, to save herself, while knowing it will destroy the one man who truly loves her? Their lives are about to be flipped upside down – one way or another.

Will they have the strength to work against life's obstacles and find true happiness together? Can Alex get Quinn to see she's about to make a huge mistake? Can he show her a side of love that's irrefutable?

• Language: English
• Publisher: BergBooks LLC
• Release date: May 20, 2016
• ISBN: 9780986173882

Book preview

Chapter One

Quinn

The intensity of Alex’s stare burns through me as he waits for me to say something—anything. But I have no idea what to do or say. All I want is to spill my guts and tell him the entire truth. Tell him not only will my father ruin my reputation, but he’s framed me for doing something illegal and I have no clue what he’s done or how to stop it.

I want nothing more than for Alex to wrap me in his safe, muscular arms and tell me everything will be okay. His voice has this way of calming me like nothing else. As close as Jordan and I are, he’s never been able to soothe me the way Alex does. Alex always could make my world okay.

His words dance around inside my frazzled brain. If you don’t love him like that, then don’t marry him.

I don’t love Jordan that way. Not at all. I don’t see us sitting together on some porch swing at sixty years old reminiscing about the wonderful life we’ve had together. Instead, I picture us divorced in less than five years, working together but having our own separate lives. Lives we’ve always wanted. Not the one my father is forcing us into. There’s no fairy tale here.

But how can I not marry Jordan today? The fallout of not doing this could be catastrophic. My father has effectively terrorized me into going through with this. Love has nothing to do with this wedding.

Regardless of love or not, if I back out, I have nothing. How am I supposed to just let him destroy me? My father is huge in this world. You don’t want him as an enemy, and I’d be his biggest target. He won’t stop until I’m ruined. And what about Jordan? His father has terminal cancer, Alex. He’s dying, and Jordan wants to do this for him while he can. All Jordan wants to do is make his father proud. What kind of person would I be if I took that away from him at this point?

You’d be a person who is doing the best she can. Do you want to do something just because it will make everyone else happy? Or do you want to be the person who does something because it makes you happy? And you won’t have nothing if you don’t do this; you’ll have yourself, and the people who care about you. I know how much your career means to you. I understand you’re stuck between two shitty endings, but why do I have the feeling something else is going on here? His eyes search my face, roaming over every inch as if he’s hoping to find the answers he’s looking for painted across it.

Can I trust him? That’s the biggest question I need to answer before I can say a word about the driving force of this wedding. A wedding that’s supposed to take place in less than eight hours. For two years I thought of Alex as this amazing man, the man who was going to change my world. I let him in—I gave him parts of me I gave no one else, and I’m not just talking about sex. Alex got further in than anyone else since my time as an immature teenager, and it ended in a lot of confusion and hurt. My walls are my safety net; I put them there for a reason. No one had ever gotten past them, and I thought that’s how it was always going to be—until Alex.

But Jordan made it in too. I tried to hate him, but it didn’t work. Jordan isn’t my enemy. How can I hurt him? He’s stood by me through everything my dad has done to me. He may not know the full weight of my father’s threats, but he’s still been my rock through it all. When everyone else had something negative to say about what we’re doing, Jordan had my back, to the point of being willing to marry me to save me.

My phone rings in my bedroom, breaking the silence and scaring the crap out of me. My nerves have me at the end of my rope. I scurry from the couch to grab it in desperate need of a minute’s reprieve from Alex. There’s no simple answer to give him. I don’t have the slightest clue what kind of person I’m going to end up being when today is through.

The ringing stops as I make my way into my room, then starts right back up again. It’s got to be Ashley calling to see what the hell is going on. Scooping it up off my nightstand, I see Jordan’s name as Alex’s footsteps resonate louder in the hall the closer he gets to the bedroom.

Hello? I answer just as Alex reaches the threshold of my bedroom door.

A slight sob accompanied by a sniffle greets me on the other end of the line and the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. Something’s wrong. The blood in my veins runs cold. There’s no way my father could’ve done something bad; he doesn’t know I’m even thinking about backing out of today. What’s going on, Jordan?

He’s gone . . . he whispers. His voice is low and broken. It’s a struggle to hear him, but once his words sink in, my heart drops.

No . . . The word slips out. He can’t be gone. He was supposed to have more time, at least another month or two.

Yes. Jordan practically chokes on the word. His devastation is undeniable. This man sounds broken—is broken—and needs me.

Oh my God. My body is already in motion as I head toward my duffle bag near the closet. I’m on my way.

Disconnecting the call, I pull out the first pair of pants my hands find and change out of my pajamas.

As I’m stuffing my legs into my black leggings, Alex clears his throat, reminding me I’m not alone. I don’t know how I could’ve forgotten, but I did. The last hour of indecision has been wiped from my brain upon hearing of Martin’s passing. Jordan needs me. I need to go.

What’s going on, Quinn? The hurt and confusion in his voice blankets me with guilt. We just had a major conversation, revealing the fact I’m not entirely sure about the marriage I’m supposed to be getting ready for, and I’m bolting.

But there’s no time for worrying about any of it at the moment. It’ll all have to wait. All the vacillation has no purpose any longer. There is no wedding happening today. The father of the groom just died. I can’t sit here and continue hashing out my feelings and fears with Alex. I have a family which I was supposed to become an official member of today who needs me right now.

 I slip my feet into my Uggs while tossing my hair into a messy bun on the top of my head. I have to go.

A look of panic crosses his face as his wild, frantic eyes dart around the room, looking from my wedding dress still pooled on the floor to the bags packed in the corner, finally landing on me. Go? Go where?

He steps further into the room, closing in on me as if he thinks he has a shot at changing my mind, but I hold my hand up to halt him. Stop. I can’t do this right now. I really have to go.

I grab my purse from my dresser and rush out the front door, sprinting to my car. There will be time to explain things later, because in love or not, I have a fiancé who needs me.

Chapter Two

Jordan

Admitting my dad was gone was much more agonizing than I’d imagined. The words felt like tar stuck in my throat as I told Quinn. I had to force them out. I knew I’d have to speak those words soon, but I didn’t think it would be this soon, and knowing and actually having to do are two completely different things.

The disbelief in her voice as she gasped over the line only compounded my grief. I don’t love the idea she’s driving over here upset, but I need her.

Quinn really loved my dad; I could see it in the way they interacted together. He was the father she never had, and she was the daughter my dad would’ve loved to have. She may not have had him for thirty-two years like I did, but she still loved him as if she had.

Everything about today is all wrong. It was supposed to be one of the best days of our lives. I was supposed to marry an amazing woman and see the look on my father’s face as I made him proud. When I went to bed last night, I had a shit-eating grin on my face. Quinn was going to become my wife. We were going to start a life together. A life where we both got everything we ever wanted. Instead, my father is gone. My parents have been waiting for the day I started my life with someone. They were both thrilled when I told them Quinn was the one. Now he’ll never get to see it.

My mother’s sobs echo throughout the house, breaking me further. Her pain is palpable and there’s nothing I can do to make it any better.

 Just a few hours ago, we filled the house to the brim with joy and love. Now it’s drowning in sadness.

 We had a wonderful breakfast. The three of us sat around the table enjoying a simple meal as my father reminisced about how he felt the day he married my mother.

When it’s right, you just know, he said with a smile as he gazed lovingly at my mother.

Neither of us thought it would be the last smile we saw from him. We didn’t bat an eyelash when dad said he wanted to go take a nap before things got hectic. He was sick; we knew that. I just thought he wanted to rest before the day got under way.

Too wrapped up in my own happiness, I didn’t notice the signs that things just weren’t right. If I had taken off the blinders, I would’ve noticed. Dad looked exhausted, more so than usual. He seemed thinner and frailer. He didn’t actually eat anything at breakfast either, just pushed the food around his plate. Come to think of it, I didn’t see him eat much last night at the rehearsal dinner either. His speech was slower than usual, and his skin was very pale. If this was any other day, I would’ve seen it and suggested we call someone. But I was too concerned about myself.

Dad had been napping for about two hours when Mom asked me to bring his suit up to him. He’s going to need a little extra time to get ready, Jordan. He doesn’t move around as easily as he used to.

 I was whistling as I walked in. Fucking whistling.

Dad, I called out as I hung his suit on their closet door.

When I got no answer, I walked over to his sleeping form and called out to him again. Dad?

Nothing.

Dad? I shook him and still got no response. My heart jumped its way into my throat as I figured out my father was gone. I pressed my head down on his chest and heard nothing on the other side. No heartbeat and no breaths. My father had died during his nap. On my wedding day. Before he got to see me take the biggest step of my life. The step I knew would make him so damn proud of me.

I thought finding my father passed away in his bed was the worst thing I could ever experience in my life. God was I wrong. The realization I was heading through the house to tell my mother the love of her life was gone hit me like a ton of bricks, causing me to stumble. I used the wall to hold myself up while asking myself how I was going to do this.

How does a person tell someone something as life altering as the death of their soul mate?

The look of grief on mom’s face will forever be etched in my brain. She had tears in her eyes. Her head shook in denial. Her bottom lip quivered. Christ, I had to break my mother’s heart.

It didn’t stop there. I had to watch as my mom crawled onto their bed, laid her head on my dad’s chest, and let out the most heart-wrenching sobs. I let her have her moment with him while I placed the call to 9-1-1 to inform them my father had passed away.

Sitting at the bottom of the stairs in my parents’ foyer, I look around and think about all the many wonderful memories I’ve had with my father here in this room. The countless times he was waiting for me after school, although he was a successful businessman needed at the office, the talk about respecting a lady when I went on my first date, the family photo we took in front of the large ceramic vase in the corner on the day of my high school graduation.

Where do I go from here?

It almost feels like my father took my sense of direction with him. I’m lost. Despite how well I thought I was preparing myself for the inevitable loss, I wasn’t at all. My father had become my compass over the last year. He was teaching me how to be the man he was. He has always been proud of me. I knew that. But the look in his eyes when he looked at me lately screamed just how proud he was. He smiled brighter at me while we’d talk business. He encouraged me to make my own decisions and build my own business from his. The way he looked at Quinn, as if her coming into our lives completed something for him.

Who do I turn to now? Who do I have to guide me from here on out? We didn’t get enough time. So much of it wasted on me being more concerned with living the fun life. I took him for granted. Time is up. Now I have to be the man of the family.

Chapter Three

Alex

What the hell just happened?

Less than an hour ago I walked through the door unsure of what awaited me. Finding a distraught, emotionally drained Quinn was shocking. The woman has always been a force to be reckoned with—strong, beautiful, in control of everything. That woman was nowhere to be found today.

Anyone with working eyes could’ve seen she’d been crying all night. Her once sparkling blue eyes were dull and rimmed with red. The bags under them just added to her distressed look. Nothing about her told me she wants to be a bride today. Her fucking door wasn’t locked, and we had an entire conversation without her even realizing she was wearing those boy-short things and a tank top with no bra.

I could tell the minute I stepped into her place that something was really off. There was a very ominous feeling in the air, like a vortex of misery and despair. The moment I caught sight of her, I had to fight the strong instinct embedded in me to comfort and fix her. What happened to my beautiful angel? My anger toward her mounted and mounted over the last few weeks, and no matter how badly I didn’t want to forget everything she’s done to me, it all went out the window when I saw the state she was in.

My rational side compromised with my instinctual side, and I went with talking. I needed her to talk to me about what was going on inside her. Quinn always tries to be the strongest person in the room. Never wants anyone to see her weakness. From the beginning of this thing with us, I could see through her. Once she accepted that fact, she was always open with me. Except for the bullshit with walking in on her dad and all the shit that happened after that day.

The trauma of seeing her dad being intimate with another woman really fucked her up. I may not agree with or like the way she processed it all, but it is what it is. I can’t change her entire mentality on the subject in one day, but I know I can show her not all men are assholes, give her something positive to form a new opinion on. Especially on a day like today when she really needed someone to just listen to her. I do that for her. When I told her all I wanted was for her to be happy, I wasn’t lying. She may not want to be with me or give us a shot again, and it’s okay. We can still be in a better place. She doesn’t have to avoid me. I don’t begrudge her. I just want her to be happy.

I took a chance when I poured my broken heart out to Quinn, trying to show her honesty and vulnerability. She needed to see it was possible for people to still love her even if she’s made mistakes. Maybe then she’d trust me with a little more and give me the real reason behind this marriage. I thought I was making some progress. Deep down in my gut, I know she was about to tell me something huge . . . and then she was flying out the door.

What the hell am I supposed to do now?

She said little at all as she jetted out. Didn’t give me any details. She didn’t even fully close the door behind her, figuring I’ll just let myself out, I guess. She went from breakdown to madwoman in less than two minutes.

Deciding it’s creepy standing in your ex’s place alone on the day she supposed to marry someone else, I make my way to my car. I don’t even make it to the elevator before my phone rings in my pocket.

It’s Ashley. Shit . . . I hope she isn’t calling to see what’s going on because I still don’t have a fucking clue.

Hey.

What the hell happened, Alex? she fires at me. The wedding planner just called and said the wedding is being postponed.

Postponed? When did that happen? And why? Did Quinn decide she doesn’t want to continue with this? Well, if that was the case, wouldn’t she have just canceled it? Ash didn’t say canceled. I guess maybe she does still plan to marry him.

Hello? Alex? What the hell? Ashley yells into the phone.

I shake my head, attempting to find some sensibility. Sorry. I don’t know. We were talking and then she answered the phone and bolted. Didn’t tell me anything more.

What the fuck? she gasps. How’d she seem? Why was she late?

Should I tell Ashley what Quinn told me? I think she needs to know. The fear was rolling off of her in waves. She was a mess. There’s way more going on here than we thought.

There’s a sharp intake of breath on the other side of the line. Oh my God . . . she whispers. How bad?

Pretty bad.

How long until you can get here? I saw that coming. Ashley’s going to want to talk about this in person and in depth.

I’m on my way.

Why didn’t she tell me all this was going on? Ash tries to figure out. The three of us have gathered in Ashley and Tanner’s kitchen, where I’ve just finished telling them everything I learned this morning.

Because she’s scared, I remind her. This isn’t just about Quinn keeping secrets. There’s a reason she chose not to share this.

Shaking his head in remorse, Tanner chimes in. We weren’t very supportive either.

This is why I wasn’t supportive, because I knew there was a reason behind this that I couldn’t trust, Ashley argues. It’s marriage. This isn’t something she should do just for her job.

And you wonder why she didn’t tell you? I snap, unable to listen to Ashley pick apart Quinn’s motivations.

Her eyes narrow as she turns to me, planting her hands on her hips. What the hell is that supposed to mean, Alex?

Exactly what it sounded like, Ash. I scoff. Quinn’s in some kind of trouble. She needed support, and no one gave it to her except Jordan. Do you even understand how important her job is to her? It’s all she’s ever worked for. She defines herself by her career and reputation, and it’s being threatened. What would you do if someone threatened the most important thing in your life?

I don’t mean to be this harsh with her, but damn. How can she not see this is more than just getting married? Quinn felt very alone in this. It’s obvious to anyone who wanted to see. But Ashley didn’t want to see. You know how I got her to open up to me? I sat down and told her I just wanted her to be happy. Even without me. That’s it. That’s all she needed. Just to know someone had her back. She didn’t tell you because she didn’t think she could trust you, and you just showed me why. She needed understanding and compassion. You gave her resistance and grief.

Don’t go acting all altruistic now, Alex, she yells back. Her face reddens as she approaches me and shoves a finger into my chest. You gave her shit too, but now you think you’re so much better than me? She fought against doing this for almost a year. I listened to her say she didn’t want any part of it. I had her back. I supported her.

Both of you need to calm the hell down right now, Tanner orders, trying to control the emotions running high.

I didn’t give her shit for choosing to marry the man. I shake my head in disagreement. I gave her shit for walking away from me without ever telling me why. She had other plans, and I accepted that. The minute I gave her what she needed, she spilled her fucking guts. You had her back when you agreed with her decision. The minute you didn’t, your support stopped. Maybe if you tried to be her fucking friend instead of demeaning her, like her father, it wouldn’t have gotten this far.

Enough, Alex, Tanner bellows. This isn’t Ashley’s fault. She wasn’t the one forcing Quinn to do anything.

I didn’t say she did. I was just trying to get her to see why Quinn didn’t tell her anything about it, I explain to him before redirecting my attention to Ashley. This has nothing to do with us or our opinions. Do I think Quinn should get married for the reasons she is? No. But it isn’t our choice to make. There’s something more at work here. I was close to finding it all out, but then the phone rang. The woman is terrified of something. If we’re going to find out what, we need to be understanding and supportive. She supported you even when she didn’t agree with you. You need to do the same for her. She needs her best friend, not another person to tell her everything she’s doing is wrong. She’s had enough of that in her life from her father.

The room is silent. The three of us stand there and take a moment to collect our thoughts. Tensions are high right now. Learning Quinn is being forced to marry Jordan to prevent her father from ruining her career has us all up in arms. Quinn’s being blackmailed by her own father. None of us are really sure how to feel about it. Part of me is screaming to stop Quinn from doing this. The other part of me wants to hug her and tell her everything will be okay, just do what she needs to do.

I see your point, Ash mumbles, breaking the silence. I didn’t even give her a chance to prove to me she knew what she was doing. I made nothing easier for her, just harder. Even when I called a truce, it was still hard to pretend to be okay with it all. I’m sure she picked up on that. I’ve been a terrible friend.

No one has the chance to say anything more before Ashley’s phone chimes on the counter next to her.

It’s a text from Quinn, she tells us before letting out a gasp. Oh my God…

What? Tanner and I ask in unison.

Jordan’s dad died.

Chapter Four

Quinn

The McCallahan house is in turmoil when I arrive. Chaos everywhere. A bunch of people in uniforms mill around on the driveway. Neighbors stand outside their homes trying to figure out what’s happening. Two cop cars are parked out front with an ambulance in the middle. Not your typical day in this upscale suburb. The picturesque neighborhood with tree-lined sidewalks is usually quiet. Today Diana’s sobs fill the void. Jordan tries to calm her down—I can see them through the open double front doors—but it doesn’t seem like his mother can even hear him through her grief.

Explaining to the officers at the door who I am, I sneak by and head straight toward Jordan and Diana, wrapping my arms around the both of them. I’m sorry it took me so long to get here.

Diana cries harder and Jordan looks like he’s ready to curl up into a ball in the corner. I can’t blame him. Martin was an amazing man. This family was very close, and now they have to deal with the loss of one of their own.

What can I do? I ask, knowing I need to be the one who holds them together for now. Neither one of them is in any condition to deal with the commotion going on. I didn’t realize until I pulled up Martin had died at home. I probably should’ve, knowing if they’d had to take him to the hospital Jordan would’ve called me earlier.

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