Page 23 of Ma Belle Marguerite (Hidden Secrets #1)

Alexander

W alking to the bleachers, all I can think about is wanting to take my belt to Bella’s ass.

She knows what calling me Rexy does to me.

I swear she does it on purpose and enjoys the punishment she gets.

But now is not the time for games. I sit close to Bella and her friends but far enough away to give her a sense of privacy.

There is nothing she will be able to hide from me now. She is back and she is mine.

Looking around, I spot Remi almost right away. I hope that he does well today. He is his mother through and through, except that he has black hair. He looks so much like her, the same sea glass green eyes that I love. There is no questioning who his mother is.

It takes me a bit longer to spot Brielle by the school.

She has her mom’s long blonde hair and cute little nose, but she doesn’t share as many of Bella’s features as her brother.

I guess she takes after her father more.

Thinking of that makes me angry because I should have been the one to father Bella's children.

I can’t imagine what it would feel like to lose your father at a young age. Mainly because I had never been close to my father, and we didn’t have that kind of relationship. Then have to up and move from the place you’ve spent your whole life and start over.

I feel my phone vibrate in my pocket. If it’s important, whoever it is will call back.

I want to show Bella that I’m here for her and that her family is my number one priority.

As I watch Remi run out onto the field, I feel a vibration in my pocket again.

I pull my phone out just enough to check the message.

Searched the parameter and found no other traces of anyone being here besides in Bella’s room.

Josh is going to check the neighbor's security system.

This looks personal, whoever it was.

What the fuck? Who would have a personal vendetta against Bella? She is nice to everyone and hasn’t been here long enough to piss someone off.

Let me know if you find anything else. I’m at Remi’s tryout. No interruptions unless it is very important.

Got it Boss.

I look back to Bella sitting with her friends.

They appear to be in a serious conversation, but Bella still has a smile on her face.

Is she not telling them about what happened at the house?

Is she going to let me take care of this and her?

Is she telling them about her time with me?

Suddenly, thoughts of our video call flood back into my mind. Focus, dumbass!

I hear a whistle on the field and look back to see Remi with the opposing team's quarterback on the ground. I let out a whoop before I realize he won’t even know who I am.

Oh well, I’m proud anyway. He is doing a great job of proving how this team could benefit from having him, even though they are partway through the season.

The rest of the game goes by fast with me letting out more whoops of excitement.

Remi gets a few more tackles and touchdowns.

From the look on the coach's face it looks like he has impressed him. I don’t doubt that he’ll get a spot on the team, not after playing like that.

If not, I’ll make sure the coach sees reason and gives him a spot.

He really needs this team and they need him, whether the coach agrees or not.

I wait for Bella to get up and head towards the field. I follow her to the coach as the team heads into the locker room to get showered and changed. Perfect time to make sure he sees reason here.

I hear, “Hello, Isabella, it’s good to see you again. It’s been a long time.” The coach is smiling at my Bella. I feel the need to punch his crooked smile and make it even more lopsided. To make sure he knows that he doesn’t have a chance. She is mine. Nobody touches what is mine.

My Bella’s sweet voice catches my attention and has me walking towards her again. I didn’t even realize that I had stopped mid-step and was staring at the coach.

“It is good to see you, too, coach. How did Remi do? I have never understood football much,” Bella says shyly.

She isn’t wrong. She’s never been one for sports at all.

She would sit and watch hockey with me, but she made a game out of it.

Every goal from my favorite team, the Detroit Red Wings, I got to give her a kiss.

Then, when the opposing team got a goal, she would give me a kiss.

It was enough to have me wanting the other team to win.

I loved it when she showered me with her soft, precious lips.

The best part was that if my team won, I got to do whatever I wanted to her, and if the other team won, she got to pick what we did. Either way, I won. Hockey and sex? Yes please!

“Remi did great. He’ll need to work hard on drills at practice.

Playing hockey has helped him with his agility.

He’ll make a great addition to the team if he’s willing to put the work in.

” Coach says as I approach. It’s a good thing he decided this on his own.

I doubt Bella would appreciate me persuading him my way.

“I’ll help him on nights he isn’t here for practice.

” I cut in. He will not use this as a way to weasel his way into my woman's life. Only I will be her knight in shining armor. This smug prick had a thing for her in high school, and I’ll make sure that is exactly where those feelings stay.

Just seeing how he is looking at her is reason enough for me to kick his ass.

But that wouldn’t be in the best interest of Remi and the team.

I’ll just make sure he sees that nothing has changed since then.

Jumping and letting out a little squeal, Bella turns to me. “Rex! I didn’t hear you. Thank you for the offer. We’ll definitely consider it.”

This woman is so stubborn. Remi and I can practice anytime once they move into my place. She can try and act cool and uninterested, but I will get what I want. I wouldn’t have her any other way, though. It’s part of what makes her uniquely her.

Coach clears his throat awkwardly. His gaze is finally on the ground where it belongs when Bella is around him.

“I’m going to go check on the boys and make sure they aren’t fooling around in the locker room again.

Have a good evening.” He quickly turns and walks briskly towards the school without looking back.

“He’s still as strange as ever,” I say to Bella.

He was the coach’s assistant fresh out of college when we went to school here.

I believe he was on track for the NFL when an injury in college made it so he couldn’t play.

“Do you think the twins will want to ride with us or go with one of your friends?”

“Oh, I’ll go with Camille and the twins to the mall in South River. You don’t need to come. I’m going to get some new clothes. I don’t want them to know what happened at the house.” She looks nervous. “There aren’t many good stores here in town.”

She won’t even make eye contact with me, looking anywhere but my face. It feels like she’s trying to distance herself from me. I won’t let her, though.

Clearing my throat to get her eyes on me, I say, “I’ll take you guys.

It’ll be a good chance to introduce myself to them.

You can use the excuse that since you’re starting a new job with me, you need some new clothes.

” I see a look of frustration pass across her face as she rolls her eyes before she quickly schools it.

“We can tell them about moving in with me. Oh, and we can go out for supper to celebrate everything.”

“Rex, you can’t expect them to be fine with all this. I need time to break it to them.” She backs away from me as she talks.

I feel a growl rise in my chest. “No, Bella, this is what will happen. It’s for your safety as much as theirs. There is no other option. You and the twins are moving into my place tonight.” My voice comes out more aggressive than I want, but I’m not letting her out of this.

I spot Remi coming out of the school around the same time Bella does. I see a huge smile on her face out of the corner of my eye. I can tell she is so proud of him, something Bella and I have never experienced with our parents.

It seemed like no matter what we did right, it was never good enough. Looks of disappointment and annoyance followed everything we did. Bella always had straight A’s, but the fact that she didn’t want to take her fathers place in the organization overshadowed all that.

“You did great, Remi! I’m so proud of you!” Bella says as she pulls him in for a hug. “Did the coach tell you the good news?”

Remi eyes me beside his mom like I am nothing but a lawn ornament. “Yes, he said the next practice is after school on Tuesday. There’s a game on Thursday, but he isn’t sure yet if I will play then or not.” Looking back at his mom, he asks, “Who is this guy?”

Nervously, Bella looks between us. “Umm, this is my new boss and old friend, Alexander. Rex, this is my son, Remi.” She waves her hand back and forth between us as if this is some formal event.

It’s true that I’m her boss, but there is so much more there.

I know I need patience, but I’ve waited long enough.

I will follow her lead for now, but not for long.

I reach out and shake his hand, “You can call me Rex if you prefer. It's nice to meet you; your mom has told me so much about you.” While that isn’t exactly true, Josh has gotten me a fair amount of information already.

“Hey,” is all he says before I hear someone yelling Bella’s name.

We all turn to see Camille, Giselle, and Brielle standing by the bleachers, waving us over. Well, maybe not me, but I’m going anyway. I’m not leaving Bella’s side until we know who broke in and trashed her place.

“Let’s go see your Matantes before they start yelling again. They’re a bit wired from all the coffee and excitement of seeing you play,” Bella lets out a genuine laugh at the annoyed look on Remi’s face.