I Refuse to Be Your Second Choice novel Chapter 227

Alexander eased himself in front of Steven, blocking his line of sight.

“Who are you?” His voice was cold, his eyes sharp. Steven quickly looked away from Natalie, forcing a polite smile.

“I’m Steven Wright, marketing manager at Robinson Properties Group.” He held out his business card, but Alexander didn’t take it. He didn’t even glance at it.

Steven stood there awkwardly with his card in the air, then pulled it back and let out a nervous laugh. “Well, I’ll leave you be, Mr. Ramirez.” He shot another look at Alexander’s unreadable face, then hurried off with his date.

Natalie peeked out from behind Alexander’s shoulder, watching Steven disappear.

“You know, you wrinkled my suit,” Alexander murmured near her ear, though his tone had softened.

That was when Natalie realized she was still holding onto his jacket, still pressed close to him. She let go and pushed him away, a little too hard, almost losing her balance.

Alexander slid his hands into his pockets and didn’t make a move to catch her. “Weren’t you looking for evidence? If you take any longer, you’ll lose your chance.”

He turned and walked off, not bothering to look back.

He was clearly annoyed by how she’d pulled away.

Natalie crouched down and rubbed her ankle before standing, limping after him. Alexander’s legs were long and he moved fast. With her twisted ankle, she was nowhere near as quick, but she refused to call out and ask him to slow down.

The resort was built to blend into the landscape, so the guest rooms were spread out, not clustered together. Soon, they reached the bottom of a small hill.

A handful of wooden cabins dotted the slope above them, connected by a long stretch of stone steps.

Natalie was ready to hobble up, taking it one step at a time, when Alexander suddenly reappeared and crouched down with his back to her.

“Get on.”

“I can walk,” she insisted, knowing full well what he meant.

Alexander glanced over his shoulder. “If you keep going like this, we’ll never figure out which room they’re in. What, do you want to make a scene and get everyone’s attention?”

She looked up at the night sky. Heavy clouds covered the moon, and the path was silent. Steven and the woman were almost out of sight.

Natalie slid off Alexander’s back and they both crept closer to the window.

Light spilled out, revealing Steven and the woman wrapped up in a messy, desperate kiss. They were so caught up in each other that their noises floated out into the night.

Natalie looked away immediately, embarrassed, but then remembered what she was supposed to be doing. She whipped out her phone, squinted, and aimed the camera inside.

As the scene came into focus, she quickly turned her head again, not wanting to see more. Alexander stood right beside her, eyes fixed on the couple inside, his face calm.

Natalie nudged his arm. He glanced down at her.

“That’s enough, right?” she mouthed.

There was already plenty of footage. Anyone could tell what was going on between Steven and this woman.

Alexander’s lips curled in a teasing smile. He leaned closer.

“Already feeling shy?” he whispered.