Why am I getting worked up?
If anything, Alexandra should be nervous.
The hostess gestured to the table, and all the air rushed out of his lungs. It felt like he had been punched in the gut.
“Holy shit,” he said softly. He stepped forward in a slight haze as his vision zoomed in on them, and everything around them seemed to hit a big pause button.
Against a dusky twilight sky at a table in front of him was none other than Lexxi Rock. She was seated next to a striking, tanned woman he did not immediately recognize because he could not stop staring at Lexxi. Everything about the girl who used to live next door seemed more saturated, richer and more vivid than he remembered. Eyes peered out from her pale, flawless face. Her lips were a pale pink, and the purple hair flowed down her back and around her shoulders, piling into her lap. Her long legs were crossed, and the shapeliness of her calves drew in his stunned gaze.
Sebastian clutched at his chest.
This cannot be happening now.
Beth put a hand on his shoulder. “Are you okay?”
“Lexxi Rock,” Clint said in a calm, hoarse voice.
Sebastian looked down at him, and Clint looked up. The two nodded in awareness. For Clint, he was meeting his celebrity idol. For Sebastian, this was over the top.
This is it.
Alex Roberts is revealing herself as Lexxi Rock.
Here?
What the fuck am I supposed to say to her?
Lexxi appeared to save Sebastian from himself. The rock star gracefully rose from her seat and faced them. She was much taller. Sebastian looked down and noticed heels that looked a mile high. He never would have pictured her in the shoes or the dress she wore, but it was a perfect fit. The stretchy pink fabric clung to her narrow waist, revealing her slim, yet shapely figure.
Other patrons looked their way when Lexxi stood in front of them, and surrounding conversations hit a low hush as more and more people seemed to become aware they were in the company of someone famous. A flash of light nearly blinded Sebastian. He looked around Lexxi and noticed a man with a Nikon camera, squatting nearby as he rapidly took more pictures.
Lexxi smiled apologetically. “Sorry about that. Just try to ignore them. That’s what I do.”
The woman sitting at Alexandra’s table waved politely at them from her chair on the other side of the table. “Hello, everyone! I’m Eva. Lexxi invited me to tag along. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”
Sebastian noticed the slight accent, realizing she was Evangelyn Reese from his research into Lexxi Rock only a few weeks ago.
So that’s where Alex went.
Lexxi shook Clint’s hand, then turned to Beth and shook her hand.
“I’m Lexxi. My cousin, Alex, told me my dad’s neighbor had some friends who wanted to meet me.”
Sebastian’s jaw dropped.
No. She can’t be going there.
Still, Sebastian mentally applauded her for not making it seem as though he was in on this mammoth-sized surprise. Clint would have probably punched him if he thought Sebastian was a part of this.
When Lexxi turned to Sebastian, he swallowed hard.
“Hi…Lexxi?” He forced out the words as she reached for his hand and asked him if she could have a word in private. Their palms made contact, and an electric spark shot through him again, sending a flash of memories from the past few weeks.
“Let’s have a quick word over there,” Alexandra said as the hostess showed Beth her seat and removed a chair for Clint to fit at the table.
“Sure,” he answered, following.
She turned at a quiet corner of the patio. “I’m sorry about this.”
“I…I’m…Why would you do this here?” He searched her face for something familiar of Alex.
She smiled nervously. It looked practiced, hollow. In fact, she reminded him of a beautiful mannequin, like she was put together to look perfect, or to sell something. There was no closeness, no familiarity.
“Please let me explain later. Is that okay?”
“Um…do I really have a choice?”
“Please, Bash.”
Is she trying to tell me she’s going to keep up the Alex routine and balance it with Lexxi while she’s here in Tucson…and she wants me to be in on it?
Sebastian nodded mutely. His smile slipped right off his face. “Fine.”
She thanked him and turned, moving back to their table.
He remained silent as everyone settled into their seats. Lexxi charmed Clint with her soft-spoken, completely spun story about how she had just flown in to stay a couple of days with her father after a vacation in France. Not only was her voice more feminine, her behavior and mannerisms were foreign. He caught himself making comparisons for much of the time at that table.
Alex would never say that.
Alex wouldn’t hold her hand to her face like that.
Alex would laugh about that.
Alexandra’s friend, Evangelyn, looked at him curiously for the entire time. He pretended not to notice her avid interest, as he had no idea what she knew. He found himself looking at his watch repeatedly, hoping the evening would end. The only bright spot was Clint and Beth seemed to be having the time of their lives schmoozing with the stars.
When pulled into the conversation, Sebastian made polite small-talk, but had trouble fully engaging. Lexxi told them to order anything they wanted. She told him as well, leaving him disoriented and out of his depth. It would be rude to decline her invitation to pay the check, but to him, the gesture was a silent judgment. The walls of their differences were erected.
She’s richer. She’s famous. She’s a celebrity.
I must be a fan at this table too.
Then, it hit him.
This was not even Alexandra Storme. Lexxi Rock was just another alter ego. In a way, he wanted to get to know her, but not like this, not before she came clean and let him meet the real Alexandra. Whatever he might have hoped for was not going to happen.
So much for a satisfying conclusion.
He leaned back in his chair, allowed Beth and Clint have their once in a lifetime experience, and looked on without touching his drink or tasting an appetizer.
When the time passed and the celebrities were ready to make their exit, Alexandra leaned forward. “Well, I for one had a great time meeting all of you. Bash, is it?”
“Sebastian,” he said tensely.
She paused as they made eye contact. Sebastian wondered exactly how he was to take her seriously anymore.
She continued, “My cousin told me to let you know he’ll be back around your place later tonight since he couldn’t make it to this dinner date. I’m so sorry on his behalf. I hope I made up for it.”
She lifted a brow, smiled nervously, casting a pleading look. Sebastian looked over at Clint, who was now shaking his head at him in disapproval. Even mild-mannered Beth seemed to wonder what had gotten into him.
Sebastian sat up in his chair. “It was great to meet you too, Lexxi.”
Clint and Beth relaxed a bit, and were elated when Alexandra and Evangelyn gave them their autographs. The minute it was polite to leave, he hurried out with Beth and Clint to get the hell out of there. The drive to Clint’s place was punctuated by Beth and Clint reliving the evening. For Sebastian, it was a chaotic jumble of thoughts. He didn’t know how to feel. There was only a general sense of disappointment.
Rather than go inside, Sebastian helped Clint back into his wheelchair and gave a quick farewell before getting into his Jeep, explaining that he would visit them another time. His drive home was just as disorienting. Finally home, he left a note for Alexandra in the living room and trudged up the stairs to his room. Changing into a t-shirt and sweat pants, he relaxed in his master bedroom sofa to wait for Alexandra.
Alexandra has some explaining to do.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
ALEXANDRA hurriedly changed back into her Alex Roberts gear in Eva’s hotel suite.
“How do you think it
went?”
“It went,” Eva answered.
Alexandra frowned, wriggling out of her dress with a yelp. She washed off her makeup and removed her wig as Eva slinked around the suite in a lush robe. Eva made her way over to her, grabbing her shoulders and forcing her to sit down.
“Listen to me, Lexxi. You really fucked up tonight.”
“What? I thought it went well?”
“Sorry for saying this, but are you blind or stupid?”
Alexandra looked up at her, speechless.
Eva continued. “Before I drag you through the coals, let me tell you this. Your firefighter is hot! When you said he was attractive, you didn’t mention he was damned irresistible. Shame on you for keeping that secret from me, woman.”
Alexandra giggled slightly, but she knew that was likely the only good thing Eva was going to say now. “There’s a ‘but’ coming somewhere, isn’t there?”
Eva sat beside her and crossed her legs. “I don’t think you’re giving that man any credit. You can’t flip flop between Lexxi Rock and Alex Roberts that way.”
“I did what you suggested, Eva. I pulled him aside and told him I would explain later.”
“Bravo to you, Lex, but you also sucked him into your lie in front of his friends. The man looked like he was shell-shocked.”
“Well, if he was, he certainly kept his cool better than I expected.”
“There’s no doubt in my mind you offended him tonight.”
“How?”
“Seriously? Didn’t you see him? He could barely look at you. I don’t think he said four words all night. Then you mentioned covering the bill as though he couldn’t possibly afford it…What were you thinking?”
“Was that bad?”
“Of course it was…Before you go back to his place, tell me more about him. Maybe we can figure out how he’s known it was you all along. That’s the only reason he would go along with what you did to him tonight. He’s a firefighter, right?”
“Yes. He’s been off work for the past few weeks with a knee injury.”
“You’ve never actually seen him going to work?”
“No, but he definitely is a firefighter. He saved Dad and me that night the house caught fire, and he knew all the men from the fire department who responded when someone called 9-1-1. I went out with him and a few of them too. He even knew the paramedics. Wait. What are you getting at?”
“I hate to sound paranoid, but I just want you to be sure.”
Alexandra paused, thinking back. She shook her head. “Sure of what?”
“Well, you’re famous, and…you never know, Lex.”
“No, Eva. He’s trustworthy.”
“Unlike someone I know.” Eva squeezes my hand. “He doesn’t have to be a reporter to sell a story. How juicy would that headline be? Lexxi Rock secretly leads double life.”
Alexandra groaned, bending over to pull on her shoes. “Don’t give me this now, Eva. He would never do that. There’s only one conniving person in this friendship, and I’m afraid it’s me.”
She got to her feet and shook her body to loosen up. Bouncing back on her heels, she tried to get back in character as Alex Roberts.
“This should do it,” she said, testing out her lower, more masculine voice.
“What in the hell are you doing? Who is that voice even for now?” Eva marched over to the hotel vanity and passed her a makeup remover wipe.
Alexandra looked in the mirror and flushed. “Crap. I missed a lot of that makeup, didn’t I?”
“Among other things…Lex, darling. You have to talk to him anyway. A proper conversation this time. Find out how long he’s known. Find out his intentions. Do that before you lose a decent guy. You need to be responsible about this. It’s not the same as when you were dating Wilkes and he two-timed you. There’s more at stake.”
“What are you talking about? Bash doesn’t care about money or recognition the way Wilkes did.”
“I was not talking about money this time, Lex. It’s about your heart.”
***
Alexandra climbed out of Eva’s limousine after leaving Eva back at the hotel to relax. She sauntered up the walkway to Bash’s front door, bracing herself to knock before she remembered she had the spare key he had given her. She dug it out of her wallet and gazed at it. Having his key was such an intimate detail, something that was usually only exchanged between friends, or lovers.
Sebastian trusts me.
Well, he trusted me.
Sighing, she unlocked the door and walked in. All the nervous energy of the day descended around her. She shivered as she made her way through the quiet, dark house to the only source of light—the blue glow of the muted television. Sebastian was probably waiting in the living room.
She stood at the entrance and waited. She would tell him everything, answer whatever questions he had, and see where that would lead. After tonight, she was sure there was no chance Bash would want to remain friends, let alone anything else. Still, he deserved to hear her reasons, and she deserved any wrath that came in the aftermath of surprising him as Lexxi Rock.
She quietly slipped in the room, and noticed the small sticky note stuck to the TV screen. She walked up to the TV to get it. It read, ‘Alexandra. Turn off the TV. Come up to my room.’
She assumed he wanted her to come up to him because he had mentioned his knee was bothering him again since the fire at Dad’s house. In all honesty, she had no idea why. Finding the remote, she turned off the TV and headed up to his bedroom on the third floor. She had not been up there before. There were only two doors on the landing. One was ajar, and there was barely audible country music coming from inside.
She tapped gently on the door. “Bash? Are you still up?”
“Yes. Come in.”
She took a step inside and looked around the large room. It was dark. The only light came in from the street light outside. It poured in through the half-open horizontal blinds of two bay windows. From what she made out, there was a king-size bed to her left. Two doors were to her right, which she assumed were his walk-in closet and bathroom. In the middle of room at the farthest wall was a sofa, two ottomans, a coffee table and a flats screen television mounted on the wall.
Bash looked back at her from his spot on the sofa. “I’m glad to see you made it back safely,” he said with a tired half-smile.
Alexandra cleared her throat, deepening her voice. “Can we talk?”
“Alexandra…” He paused.
“Yes?” She waited for him to speak. A sense of dread tingled down her spine.
Everything will be different after I explain my reasons.
“Just tell me…and cut the crap with that voice.” Sebastian forcefully shoved himself up from the couch and crossed the room to her. “You went about this all wrong, Alexandra,” he whispered heatedly.
Bash cupped her face between his palms, looked her in the eyes and gave her a gentle shake.
“W-what?” she stammered.
She pulled away from him, stepping back to put some distance between them, but Bash did not let her retreat. He took a step toward her and gripped her face again.
“Just tell me!” his deep voice boomed out.
“All right! Okay! I’m sorry I didn’t tell you I was Lexxi Rock,” Alexandra all but screamed out.
The panic in her chest became a tight squeeze, and she clenched her eyes shut to avoid his glare. He seemed so angry. This was exactly what she had feared. The intensity of the moment was larger than life because she knew what she had to say, and what he wanted to hear. She thought she could tell him on her own terms, but this was not going well.
She slowly opened her eyes and waited for him to say something in response. He said nothing, so she went with, “I wanted to tell you, but I didn’t know who to trust.”
He glared down at her. “So you throw on a pretty dress and a wig, bring me out into a patio full of people…in front of my friends? You make Alex into a whole other person in front of them, and lie abou
t flying in from France? Who the hell was I spending time with…and are you asking me to lie for you too?”
Alexandra tried to be calm, but the time for calm was over. She did not know why, but she burst into tears. The moment was too emotionally charged. Tears slipped soundlessly down her face. They were her admission of guilt. She fully expected Bash to turn and walk away, but instead, he wrapped his arms around her shoulders and pulled her close.
She leaned into him, burying her face in his chest. “It was never supposed to go this far,” she sobbed. “I didn’t mean to hurt you, Bash.”
“Before tonight, I would have believed you,” he whispered. “After that little restaurant game…I just don’t know you, Alexandra.” He walked her over to the couch and sat beside her. “What were you thinking?”
A burst of short, loud inhales broke her sob out of nowhere. She wiped her hand across her face, trying to compose herself. When she could speak again, she told him, “I don’t know if ‘thinking’ is a good word for what I was doing, to be frank.”
“You got that right,” he chuckled.
“Bash, how long have you known? You knew, didn’t you?”
“Yes. Since the beginning.” He shook his head. “You don’t remember me?”
She looked over at him. “What?”
“We went to high school together, Alexandra. I have lived here, right next door to you for most of your childhood. I recognized you the second I laid eyes on you when you got here as Alex.”
Alexandra snapped up to her feet. “Sorry, what?”
She stared at him curiously, rifling through dusty, faded memories of high school.
“Maybe you bumped your head while you were out in Los Angeles, Alexandra. Don’t you remember anything at all about growing up with your neighbors, Mr. and Mrs. Sullivan and their two sons, Samuel and Sebastian? You used to call us Sullivan one and two when you were little. My parents put us in private schools during the elementary school years, so I don’t hold it against you too much if you don’t remember that time, but we went to the same high school, Alexandra.”
Reveal: A Contemporary Romance (Billionaire Rock Star Romance Book 2) Page 7