“Hey.” Dee gave her a hug and air kiss. “Merry Christmas. I figured it easier to come by and bring your present.” Dee handed her a gift box wrapped in red and white striped paper. “And please, a cup of coffee. Damn it’s freezing out there.”
“It’s eleven degrees. Why would you expect a summer day in December?”
“I don’t. But I didn’t except eleven degrees. It was forty last week.” Dee took off her full length mink coat and threw it over the dining room chair.
Alexandra grabbed the coffee mugs and a tray of cookies and carried them into the living room. Along the way she took Dee’s present off the mantel.
“Here you go. At least this year it isn’t two months late.”
“What can I say? I’m a busy girl, running around selling houses.”
“Did you get the sale on Hanover Place?”
“Not yet. Just waiting for the mortgage to be approved. I’m hoping to hear right after the holidays.”
Stop stalling. Ask her before you drive yourself crazy. Instead Alexandra said, “Let’s open our presents. I know you’re going to love yours.”
Dee opened her box and pulled out the new i-pad touch. “Thank you.” She blew her a kiss. “You shouldn’t have.”
“I know you wanted it.” And like a little kid she giggled, “My turn.” Alexandra ripped at the paper and held the new Amazon Kindle.
“It’s fully loaded with all your favorite authors.”
“Thank you.” Alexandra smiled.
“Welcome.” Reaching over, Dee touched Alexandra’s diamond heart necklace. “Nice and heavy. Love the diamonds.”
“That was my gift from Billy, along with the restaurant thing.”
“I’m sorry, but I can’t say I have good news for you.”
Alexandra’s heart beat fast. Fear settled in and she started taking deep breaths. She never questioned Billy about his past, feeling it didn’t matter. Now she felt numb, anticipating her life falling apart.
“Go ahead. Tell me. Don’t hold back,” Alexandra’s voice cracked.
“I won’t. But there isn’t much to go on. I did some research last night. There is no record of Billy working in any restaurant except for a tiny café down in Saint George.”
“Are you sure?”
“Absolutely. There is no record of him working anywhere else. On a good note, he doesn’t have a rap sheet and has only gotten one traffic violation getting zapped by the camera on Clove Road.”
“I don’t get it. Why would he lie and say he worked in restaurants throughout Manhattan?”
“That you will have to ask him. I wish I could give you more information.”
“Thank you. I am going to ask him. First thing tomorrow morning.”
“Why not tonight?”
“I need to process this. Figure out how I’d like to handle the situation,” Alexandra explained.
“Just do me a favor.”
“And that is?”
“Don’t let him bullshit you, but do give him a chance to explain.” Dee stood and grabbed her coat off the chair. “I have to show a house on the other side of town in a half hour. Call me after you speak to Billy. And remember, he could be working under an alias. Let him explain before you make any decisions which could affect the rest of your life.”
Alexandra walked her to the door. She didn’t want to believe Billy could have lied to her, but it was possible. “Thanks for stopping by.”
“Enjoy your Kindle.”
With that, Dee was gone, leaving Alexandra alone in her thoughts. More than likely she’d drive herself crazy before she spoke to Billy, but for the time being, she had to have a game plan. The biggest question was why he lied to her, making himself to be the big time chef working at five star restaurants.
She sent Billy a text, asking him to stop by in the morning around ten. Before giving him a chance to call her, she turned off her phone. She needed to spend the rest of the night figuring out what she wanted to do.
Chapter Seven
Alexandra left the front door unlocked and sat on the floor, staring into the blazing fire waiting for Billy. Last night she barely slept as thoughts of Billy irked her. A white legal pad sat on her lap. Earlier, she had separated the page into two columns: positive and negative. The list of positive’s outweighed the negative, with the first thing on the negative side, liar. Beneath liar, she listed falling asleep immediately following sex.
Pulling her knees into her chest, she bit her tongue, holding back her tears. No way would she shed a tear in front of Billy. She wouldn’t give him the satisfaction of knowing she was upset. But Dee was right. She needed to give him a chance to explain before she went over the deep end. Not showing an ounce of vulnerability would be Alexandra’s main objective. This had nothing to do with her feelings for him. It had to do with honesty and trust.
With a spoon, she played with the mini-marshmallows floating on top of her hot chocolate. She didn’t plan on meeting someone, and especially falling in love. Letting the walls down, she had perfectly built was another thing not in her game plan. Finally, when she felt good about herself and her life, bang, an enormous complication.
Knock, knock. “Hey Alexandra, I’m here. You left your door open.”
Alexandra didn’t budge. “I’m sitting by the fire.”
Billy leaned over and kissed her forehead. “I tried calling you all morning to see what you wanted me to bring over for breakfast. Your phone is dead.”
“No it isn’t. I turned it off,” she said in haste.
Billy sat next to her and took her hand. “Something’s not right. I feel it.”
After a long beat Alexandra spoke. “Billy, I’ve been so blindsided by you and me. I went along with the adventure, never looking at the broader picture.”
“What in God’s name are you talking about?”
“You. Everything you have done since we were kids.”
“Let me grab a cup of coffee and I’ll tell you anything you want to know,” he stood.
“Why don’t you start by telling me why I can’t find you on Classmates.com or any of the other social media sites for high school? Does Billy Davidson even exist?” she pushed.
Billy sat back down and his eyes shot wide open. “Oh course I exist. Did it ever occur to you I chose not to sign up to any of them?”
“Why wouldn’t you?”
“Because I hated the people I went to school with twenty–five years ago. Why would I want to talk to them all these years later?”
He had her there, giving her a perfectly good explanation. The only reason why she joined the websites was to try and track him down. She made a mental note to delete her accounts from those sites. She felt exactly the way he did.
“Does that work for you?” he asked in an irate voice.
“Yes…”
“Don’t you trust me?”
“I want to but there are so many unanswered questions. We aren’t the same people we were when we were kids.”
“Of course we’re not.”
“Don’t take this the wrong way. I am not the jealous type. What you did in the past is in the past, but what I have a hard time dealing with is why I can’t find a single thing about you on the Internet. And why is it that you don’t work on weekend date nights?”
“That’s because I’m with you.”
“Yes. But you told me you were some big-time chef, meaning you be working in some five star restaurant, which led me to wonder why you aren’t listed in any restaurants establishments.”
“You’re asking a lot of questions.”
Alexandra kept her eyes on Billy. He didn’t squirm or show an ounce of nervousness like one would show if they were lying. If anything, he sat relaxed, willing to answer her questions.
“Yes, I am.”
“And I have answers to all your questions.”
Reaching her hand out, she said, “Okay, proceed.”
“The reason why I’m not working on Saturday nights is because I work early
mornings through late afternoon creating the day’s desserts. I finally found my niche. I’d rather bake then cook a gourmet meal.”
“Then why aren’t you listed on any websites? I couldn’t find a single bio on you at all.”
“That’s because I’m not listed under Billy Davidson.”
“You’re kidding me?”
“No. My real name is Stefano William Davidson. My parents called me Billy because they didn’t want the kids to make fun of me at school.”
Alexandra dropped her eyes down to her lap.
“And the reason why you couldn’t find me under Davidson is because I used my mom’s maiden name, Innocenzio. I am known throughout the industry as Stefano Innocenzio.”
Alexandra bit her bottom lip. Could it be? She could always excuse herself and check it out on her cell phone. Stop. Why would he lie after being confronted?
“I still have unanswered questions. Why didn’t you tell me?” Alexandra’s voice raised a notch as she slowly pronounced each word.
“I didn’t think it mattered.” Billy pointed to the dining room table. “Go ahead, get your laptop and look me up now. I’m sure you’ll be quite impressed with my resume.”
“I think I will.”
Alexandra stood and retrieved her laptop. If he were right, then she went out of her mind for nothing. Last night she drove herself crazy questioning Billy’s character.
She opened it up on her lap and she tapped on the space bar until the Google search came up. She typed in Stefano Innocenzio and within seconds, restaurants showed up as well as other websites, which were affiliated with his name. Randomly she selected a page, which brought up a magazine article with a picture of Billy wearing his chef’s hat holding a pastry bag in his hand. She closed the top and laid the laptop on the cocktail table.
“Sorry I doubted you. I guess I just have too much free time on my hands. I should have just asked you.”
“I’m guilty too. I should have told you. Our relationship is based on honesty. I never thought about telling you I worked under an alias.”
No words came from Alexandra. She felt too humiliated. Good thing she listened to Dee and didn’t attack Billy the moment he stepped through her front door. If she had, she would have ruined everything Billy and she built.
Billy slid his arm around her shoulder and kissed the top of her head.
“I love you, Alexandra. Believe me I would never do anything to hurt you. I see our business adventure as that, a business adventure. Are you still aboard?”
Alexandra thought for a moment. What did she have to lose? She’d take a chance and see where it led her. If they could start up a business together and keep their relationship intact, then it would all be worth it.
“Before I answer, do you have any other secrets that you’ve kept from me?”
“My secret is I’m madly in love with you and I’m ready to get started.”
“You know something, so am I.”
Billy lifted her chin. “Sealed with a kiss.” Their lips met, and their adventure was about to begin.
Chapter Eight
And yes, it did. Over the course of the next few weeks, Alexandra and Billy searched for possible locations for their business venture. Out on her own, Alexandra found a storefront, which stood vacant between a hair salon and dry cleaners. From the outside, it looked like a shoebox, but inside the open area was long and wide. To the right stood a long mahogany bar and the kitchen was located in the back of the cafe. The selling point was the two brick ovens in the kitchen.
Excited with her find, she left a message on Billy’s phone as she raced to his house, thrilled to see his black BMW sitting in the driveway. She wanted to bring him to see the property. She had asked the owner to hold it until Billy could go see it. This was a rare find and she would be damned if she’d let it slip through her fingers.
Ring…ring….ring Why wasn’t he answering the door? Quickly she called his cell phone, not once, not twice but three times, to no avail.
After calling and ringing the bell for close to fifteen minutes, Alexandra started to walk back to her car when she heard yelling coming from inside the house. She heard Billy and tried to make out whom the other voice belonged to, but didn’t recognize it. The other man’s words were loud and muffled, making it impossible to understand, except for the words, “I’m going to kill you.”
Frightened, Alexandra got back into her car and sped down the driveway, almost hitting the car at the end of his driveway. What the hell was going on? It wasn’t like Billy not to answer the door, let alone the phone. She had an eerie feeling about this. Why was someone threatening to kill him? There were still so many unanswered questions. Something told her Billy wasn’t being completely honest with her about a lot of things. And there were still those few years that were left unaccounted for. It seemed that every time she asked him a question, he would put her off or change the subject. Alexandra would be damned if she didn’t find out what the hell was going on.
She was home for close to two hours when the phone rang. Billy’s name showed on the screen. Hesitating, she decided to let it go into voicemail and immediately retried it.
Just as Billy’s message played, the doorbell rang. Alexandra pressed end and opened the door where Billy stood with a dozen pink and white roses and a bottle of champagne.
“Here you go honey.” Billy handed her the flowers and kissed her on the lips.
“What are the flowers for?” Could it be guilt?
“For your find. I stopped by the place you told me about and made an offer.”
“You did? I thought we were in this together.”
“We are. You found the perfect place and I signed the lease.”
“I thought we were signing it together. I thought we were partners.”
“We are.”
“Then why didn’t you call me to meet you there? And why didn’t you answer your door when I stopped by earlier?”
“Probably, I wasn’t home.”
“Don’t lie,” Alexandra lashed out. “I was at your house. I called you and rang your bell. You were in the house arguing with a man. What the hell is going on with you?”
“Nothing…”
“Don’t give me that shit. I’m not stupid. I’m tired of all the secrets. You have turned into a mystery man. Just when I thought things between us couldn’t get any better, things have gone downhill.”
Alexandra walked into her kitchen and placed the roses down on the kitchen counter. At least this gave her a few minutes to get her thoughts together and stop the tears from flowing.
Where did she go from here? Should she trust him and let him explain like the last time? But he swore there were no more secrets. And there he stood in front of her saying he wasn’t home.
Billy’s hand touched her shoulder. Taking a deep breath, Alexandra turned to face him. Keep your cool.
“I’m sorry baby. I don’t want you to get involved in certain things.”
“No.” Alexandra shook her hands. “I’m not letting you do this to me. Whoever was in the house with you was pissed and threatened to kill you, along with him cursing you out and calling you a loser.”
Billy leaned against the kitchen counter and covered his face with his hands. “I believe in us. I have never betrayed us.”
“I’m having a hard time believing you. I think it will be best if we took a step back, take a break.”
Billy’s eyes narrowed as he stepped closer to Alexandra. “You don’t mean that.”
“I do.” Alexandra bit her top lip, trying her best to hold back her tears. “I think it would be best if you leave.”
“Give me a chance to explain.”
“There is nothing to explain. This is the second time I have caught you in a lie.”
“This is our project.”
“Maybe. But for the time being, I need time to think and figure out what I have to do.”
“I love you, Alexandra.”
Billy lifted her chin and she step
ped back. “I love you too, but this isn’t about love. It’s about trust. So please respect my wishes and give me time to process this.”
“But the café…”
“I have nothing more to say.” Alexandra walked to the door and opened it as Billy followed behind her.
“Can I call you tomorrow?”
“I’d rather you just give me time.”
Alexandra closed the door behind Billy. Leaning against the door, she covered her face with her hands and let her tears flow.
When the Bee Gee’s song, “How Can You Mend a Broken Heart,” entered her mind, Alexandra tuned it out. If she continued to play out the words in her head, she’d start crying again.
The past two weeks had been hard on her. She hadn’t spoken to Billy at all. He continued to call her everyday, leaving a message on her cell phone, but she refused to answer. There were just too many questions.
Alexandra should have known better than to get herself involved. It wasn’t that he lied to her, he just chose to leave out the finer details of his life, the important things, which led her to think about what else he wasn’t revealing.
She wandered around the house, but couldn’t relax. Damn it, she missed him. She wanted to believe in him. Her cell phone rang and she raced across the room for the phone, only to be disappointed to see the word unavailable scrolled across the screen. This time she wished it was Billy calling her.
She wanted to give him another chance, but dreaded another situation like this. This emotional rollercoaster was taking a toll on her. A decision had to be made on what she would do. It was time to, put her cards out on the table.
Why did she let herself fall in love with him? He broke her heart. Not because he cheated on her, but because he wasn’t honest and upfront.
She wanted to call Dee to get her advice, but decided against it. This was a decision she needed to make without anyone persuading her either way. Whatever decision she made, she had to live with it.
And then there was the café. This was a project she wanted to be a part of. At this stage in her life she was tired of working her eight to four job. She was always a people person and at her job, all she did was sit at her desk, shuffling papers, making phone calls and telling people what to do. She was ready for a hands on job, one that constantly evolved, one that she would be working with Billy.
Whispers of Winter: A Limited Edition Collection of Winter Romances Page 135