by Katie Dowe
“So you are going to allow us to suffer because you have some stupid reason why we should not get married.”
“Jayda-” A knock on the door interrupted him and he looked up impatiently.
“You have a call on line two. I was calling your intercom but you were not picking up,” his secretary told him as she poked her head in.
“Obviously because I was on another call,” he said impatiently.
“A Domenico is insisting on talking with you,” Alice said looking unfazed at his tone.
He almost shouted at her to get the hell out but managed to contain himself. “I have to go.”
“Please call me later.”
He waited until she had closed the door before he picked up the call. “Why are you calling me?”
“I need some cash fast.”
“I already gave you a hundred thousand dollars and I am not giving you anymore,” Alessandro said grimly. His cousin had left the cottage in the three weeks he had said that he would leave and he had breathed a sigh of relief hoping he would never hear from him again.
“You are worth billions, man, and you gave a few lousy thousands. I am in trouble and I need money. They are closing in on me and I need to go underground. I am your flesh and blood and I cannot believe you would let them kill me.”
“How much?” Alessandro asked him tightly feeling sick to his stomach about the whole thing. This was the main reason why he could not be with her!
“Two hundred and fifty thousand.”
“I will transfer the money into an account for you. And Domenico? Please don’t ever call me again.”
*****
She was waiting at the gate for him when he got home that night. He drove up and saw the car and knew it was her. He stopped and got out and so did she. “Jayda, what are you doing here?” he asked her wearily. She came forward and searched his handsome face.
“What’s wrong?”
“Nothing. Just work.”
She stood there looking at him until he felt himself weakening. She was the only woman who could make him weaken like that and it was getting on his nerves. “Let’s go in,” he said impatiently. He drove in front and put in the code for the gate and she followed behind him. He felt a jolt as she pushed her hand through his arm as they rode the elevator up to his apartment.
“Sit,” she commanded him as soon as they got inside.
“What?”
“Just sit, Alessandro,” she said indicating the large tan wraparound sofa in the living room. He sighed and did as he was told. “I am making us tea and then you can tell me all about it.”
“I hate tea,” he said roughly but she had already gone into the kitchen. She came back with two steaming cups of chamomile tea and handed one to him. He stared into the small white cup as if he was suspicious of the contents before he started sipping it. She did the same and did not say anything to him until they had both finished. He put the cup on the table in front of him and so did she. He almost jumped out of his skin as she went behind him and started massaging his shoulders. “Whenever you are ready to talk I am here.”
Alessandro felt the emotions churning inside him. No matter how much he tried to push her away she stood firm. She was there for him and had broken through the barriers he had put up and refused to take no for an answer. He felt the knot in his shoulders loosening and with a sigh he closed his eyes and leaned back against the back of the sofa. “Better?”
He nodded and looked up at her.
“Good.” She bent and kissed his forehead gently.
She came around and sat next to him and waited for him to talk. To his immense surprise he poured his heart out and she did not say anything to him until he had finished.
“I always wished I had a brother or a sister,” she said with a sigh. “I was a little lonely growing up.” She took his hand in her small ones and bringing it up to her lips she kissed it gently. “You did the right thing in giving him the money to help him but you also did the right thing in cutting it off there. Have you found out if they are really after him for real or is he just using that to get some money out of you?”
“I am not an imbecile, Jayda,” he told her in amusement. “I had some investigations done and found out that he really put that guy in the hospital.”
“But are they still looking for him?”
“Those people do not tolerate slights, Jayda, and that is more than a slight.”
“Okay, you know more than me but I would do a thorough investigation to put my mind at ease.” She got closer and leaned against him. “Is that all that’s bothering you?”
“Are you sure you are a party planner and not a counselor?” he asked her dryly as he held her to him.
“Event Coordinator,” she corrected him as she inhaled his cologne. “I love you so it makes it easy for me to listen to you and talk to you.”
“I want to meet your parents,” he said abruptly as she snuggled against him.
Her head flew up and she stared at him. “When?”
“As soon as you can arrange it.” His dark eyes looked down at her and he was lost in her. “I figured I would get it out of the way. Maybe they will see straight through me and convince you that we are not suited.”
“That’s the reason you want to meet them?” she teased him.
“Maybe.” He dropped a kiss on her mouth swiftly. “I thought that was what you wanted.”
“It is what I want. And I also want to meet your parents.”
“One step at a time.”
“Would you think about coming to church on Sunday?” she asked persuasively. “It would also give the members a chance to thank you personally.”
“If the press gets wind of me visiting the church they will not give you a moment’s peace.”
“So we will keep it a secret. Please?”
He stared down at her helplessly and realized that he had a very hard time saying no to her. “Okay,” he said with a sigh. “You twisted my arm.”
“Good. Thanks.” Her dark brown eyes shone with pleasure. “How about playing something while I listen?”
“As long as you sing to me,” he said softly as he brushed the hair back from her face. She reminded him of a child and he wondered what on earth he was getting himself into!
“Of course.” She leaned into him and kissed him on the mouth. He pulled her close and deepened the kiss before letting her go. He was actually getting used to not going all the way with her!
Chapter 9
He toyed around with the idea for a little bit but then he made the call. He had held off on transferring the money after he had spoken to Jayda. He made the call as soon as he had settled down with his coffee and told his secretary that he did not want to be disturbed just yet. Giovanni himself answered the phone. “Mr. Russo, it is Alessandro Rivera.”
“How are you, Alessandro?” the man asked gruffly. “You are the last person I expected to hear from.”
“I know. I need to ask you something very strange.”
“About Domenico?” Giovanni asked with a laugh.
“You found him?” Alessandro’s heartbeat quickened with fear. After all the man was his flesh and blood.
“Since the first day he left Italy. My wife persuaded me not to go ahead with what I planned for him. He is back in Italy and he and my son made up differences.” Alessandro felt the shock and disappointment vying with each other inside him. “Why do you ask?”
“I just wanted to know that he was out of danger,” Alessandro said as he improvised. He would find a way to deal with his cousin a different way, he thought grimly.
“Will you tell your parents hi for me?” the man asked him.
“I will.”
Alessandro hung up the phone and shook his head. She had been right after all! A smile played around his lips as he thought of her. Somehow she had found the way to his heart and his soul, he thought with a jolt and he realized that there was no turning back for him.
He dialed his cousin’s number.
“I am heading into a meeting,” Lorenzo told him.
“Just a quick word. I have met someone.”
“The meeting can wait,” Lorenzo said with a trace of amusement in his voice. “I need specifics. This is not some two week thing or something temporary, is it?”
“She is unbelievable,” he said slowly. “She has me convinced that we belong together and no matter what I do she does not get angry or put off. I think I am falling in love with her, man.”
Lorenzo gave a shout of laughter that had Alessandro putting the phone away from his ear a little. “Who is this amazing woman?”
“She is the daughter of a pastor.”
“Wait! Is it the same girl who organized the party for Isabella?”
“I am afraid so.”
“You are having sex with the daughter of a minister?”
“That’s just it. We have not had sex yet. She wants to wait until we get married.”
The silence was so long at Lorenzo’s end that Alessandro started to get uncomfortable.
“Could you repeat? I am not sure I heard right.”
“Make fun all you want,” Alessandro said grimly. “I can hardly believe it myself. I am meeting her parents on Sunday. I am attending church.”
The silence was shorter this time. “Who are you and what have you done with my cousin?” Lorenzo demanded.
“You see my plight.” Alessandro sighed. “I have not been with her intimately except exchanging a few heated kisses and yet I am more drawn to her than any woman I have ever met.”
“Are you sure it is not because she is holding out?”
“I thought of that myself but I love talking to her and love the way she does everything. I want to protect her and be there for her,” he explained.
“Welcome to the club,” Lorenzo said in wonder. “When is the wedding?”
“I am not sure her parents are going to accept me.” For the first time in his life Alessandro sounded doubtful.
“I am sure they will, man.”
*****
“Daddy, I met someone,” Jayda told her father as she sat across from them on Friday for dinner. It had been three weeks since the tragedy and the church community was slowly getting back on solid ground. The scholarship in the members who had lost loved ones had helped the healing process somewhat. Her mother looked at her swiftly and did not say anything.
“That’s wonderful, my dear! Is he a member of our church?”
She exchanged glances with her mother and continued. “His name is Alessandro Rivera.”
Her father stared at her in shock at the name. “Rivera Chocolates?”
“I am afraid so,” she said with a gentle smile. “He is not religious and I am a little bit concerned about that but I am in love with him and feel that God ordained us to be together. He has reluctantly agreed to come to services because he wants to meet you guys. He is afraid you will not approve of him.”
Her father stared at the woman sitting across from him and felt his heart lurch at the fact that his daughter was a woman in love. “We are not here to judge,” he said slowly. He had seen the beautiful young man in the papers and on television and knew of his reputation with the fairer sex. He was always praying that his daughter would meet someone who would love and respect her and treat her right. He wondered if this young man was the one who would. “Does he love you?”
“He is getting there.”
“We will certainly welcome him, honey.” Jenny gave her husband a telling glance. “We will be happy to meet him in person as I am sure will all the grateful parents who lost their daughters.”
“Yes, of course,” her father said with a beaming smile, trying hard to rid himself of the worry. He was a praying man and he was always sending up petitions for his only child. But a Rivera? They were worth more money than he could ever imagine!
“Thank you.”
*****
“Cara, you are a bit quiet tonight,” his mother commented as she came and sat next to him on the sofa in the living room. He had come over for dinner and had spent the time playing around in his food and barely saying a word. Not that he had any need to do so because his sister was content to carry on the conversation all by herself. She and Alec had become an item and spent a lot of time together when he was not working. He looked at her and then at his father and sister. “I met someone,” he said briefly.
Katarina looked at her husband swiftly then back at her son. “That’s wonderful! Is it a meaningful someone or-”
“I am going to ask her to marry me if I can work up the courage,” he said interrupting her.
“That’s amazing!” Isabella abandoned her place on the sofa she had been sitting on and came and perched herself on her brother’s lap. “Finally!” she said planting a kiss on his jaw.
He looked at his parents. “You know her. Her name is Jayda Walker.”
This time it was shock that had them staring at him. “The Event Coordinator?” his father asked him quizzically.
“Yes, and I am going to church tomorrow to meet her parents.” He shrugged a little helplessly. “She is an amazing woman and somehow I cannot see myself without her. I know she might not be what-”
“Stop,” his father said quietly. “All we want is for you to be happy and it sounds like you are.”
“I am,” he admitted slowly. “She is someone I can talk to and be with in ways I never expected.” He glanced at his sister and smiled slightly. “I have truly never met anyone like her. She can make the sun come out on a very dark day.” He laughed wryly. “I hear myself saying it and I am wondering if it is me.”
“We would like to come with you tomorrow,” Katarina told him softly, her eyes bright with wonder. “She must be quite a woman to capture your heart.”
“She is,” he said in wonder. “Thanks.”
*****
“Do I wear a jacket and tie? Or just a slacks and shirt? What is the required dress code?” he asked her that night.
“We don’t stand on ceremony. So just a nice shirt and pants. Want me to come over and pick something out for you?” she teased.
“No,” he told her dryly as he stood inside his huge closet. He felt as if he was going out on his first date and even then he had never felt so nervous. “But I wish you were here.”
“I had dinner with my parents and broke the news to them that I have met the man I am going to marry.”
“How did they take it?” He had gotten used to her talking about marriage where he was concerned.
“I think my dad is still in shock,” she said with a laugh. “You have the name Rivera and that makes people nervous.”
“Maybe they won’t like me.” He held out a steel grey shirt to the mirror and examined it critically.
“Just be your charming self and they will.”
“My parents and Isabella will be there as well. You might get more than you bargain for in terms of the press.”
“You told them about us,” Jayda said in wonder.
“I did.” He decided on the shirt and started looking for pants to match. “Have you come to your senses yet?” he asked her gruffly.
“In terms of what?”
“Realizing that I am not the man for you. I am darkness and you are light, Jayda.”
“So we complement each other. Stop trying to find excuses, Alessandro. I love you and no matter what I always will.”
“There is no dissuading you, is there?” he asked her softly feeling the power of her love even though she was not there.
“No. Services starts at ten and then we socialize a little bit after. I figured we could go back to your place and spend the rest of the afternoon there.”
“Are you intent on running my life from now on?” he asked her feeling ridiculously happy.
“Maybe.”
“I cannot be around you and not want you, Jayda. You know that.”
“I know but we can compromise because I want to be around you.”
“Okay. I will see you tomorrow
.”
*****
She told herself that she was not going to dress in anything fancy but the man she was pledging the rest of her life to and his family would be there. This called for extra care! She rummaged through her closet and picked out the perfect dress. It had been an extravagant gift to herself on her birthday in April and she had closed her eyes at the price and bought it anyway. It was a Romano’s original: a smoky grey wool with a tight fitted waist and a modest neckline. It had very wide skirts and billowed around her legs before coming to rest in folds whenever she walked. She had bought shoes to match as well and had blown her hair out so that it fell thick and straight to her shoulders. She put on more makeup than usual and stood there staring into the mirror when she was done. She looked different and for a moment she wondered if she had overdone it but with a shrug she reached for her coat and her clutch and headed out. It was a quarter of ten but traffic was light and she got there on time. She scanned the parking lot as she drove in and not seeing any strange cars parked there she sighed in relief. She did not want them to be there and she was not.
She quickly went in and put on her gown to get ready to go on the choir. She was starting to get anxious about not seeing him when she heard a slight commotion at the door as the ushers hurried to find places for them. Jayda’s heart caught in her throat as she looked at the beautiful man walking up the front to take a seat. His eyes met hers briefly and he inclined his head, a slight smile on his face. People stared at the family in fascination and it was quite some time before the commotion ended.
She did her best to ignore him and listen to the sermon her father was preaching. When it was time for the choir she avoided looking at him and concentrated on the singing. It was a song that had her singing the solo parts and she closed her eyes and blocked out every distraction as she sang to the glory of God!
Alessandro had his eyes fixed on her and could not tear his gaze away. She was magnificent, he thought achingly. And he knew then without a shadow of a doubt that he wanted to spend his life with her! He was unaware that his mother was looking at him and smiling secretly as she recognized the look on her son’s face. She reached for her husband’s hand and held it as she continued to enjoy the service.