by Sarah Price
Praise for Sarah Price
“As soon as I neared the end of this book I intentionally started reading very slowly. I wanted to stay with the characters for as long as I could. Their love story is beautiful, emotional, and raw. Plain Change is the most romantic Amish fiction book that I have ever read, hands down. I fell in love with these unique characters in Plain Fame, only to fall deeper down the rabbit hole with this book. Why can’t I stop thinking about Amanda and Alejandro? Things are heating up between our unlikely lovebirds, and that’s all I am going to say! Sarah Price has written a book that will consume your every thought and literally sweep you up into the most endearing love story. I read Plain Change last weekend, and I already want to read it again just to make sure that I didn’t miss something! Usually I don’t reread books until months or even years later. Not so with this one. I will immerse myself back into a truly charming and delightful book in the not-so-distant future. The bar has been set with this book, and let me tell you, it is high. Plain Change is not to be taken lightly, so prepare yourself and hold on tight for the journey of Amanda and Alejandro has only just begun . . .” —Sue Laitinen, book reviewer from DestinationAmish.com
“After reading Plain Fame, I could not wait to get my hands on Plain Change and see what happened next in the lives of Amanda Beiler and Alejandro ‘Viper’ Diaz. I was not disappointed. This book lets the reader see the . . . world through the eyes of an innocent Amish woman, who just happens to be in love with a famous singer. We see all of the vulnerability in Amanda as she tries to adjust to the world that Alejandro lives in. Sometimes she adjusts, and sometimes trying to adjust triggers memories of something from her past. Will she finally adjust or will Viper’s world be too much for her? That and a few surprises are what make this book a wonderful read. I cannot wait for the [next] book in the series to find out how it all ends. I can tell you one thing: I will miss these characters. Ms. Price has done a wonderful job of helping the reader get to know the characters. I highly recommend this book!” —Lynne Young, review from Amazon.com
“Plain Change by Sarah Price deserves more than five stars, but since that is all I can give it, I give it five stars. Once again, Sarah Price leaves me wanting to read any book that she has written that I haven’t read yet!” —Book review from Debbie’s Dusty Deliberations
“Sarah Price delivers another great story in Plain Change, the second book of the Plain Fame series. As Alejandro and Amanda’s relationship unfolds, it all continually centers around this quote from the story: one thing is all that matters above all others—God. The story has surprises throughout, with an ending that you ‘didn’t see coming,’ but that prepares the way for book number three.” —Dali, review from Amazon.com
ALSO BY SARAH PRICE
An Empty Cup
Amish Buggy Ride
The Plain Fame Series
Plain Fame
Plain Change
Plain Again
Plain Return
Plain Choice
The Amish of Lancaster Series
Fields of Corn
Hills of Wheat
Pastures of Faith
Valley of Hope
The Amish of Ephrata Series
The Tomato Patch
The Quilting Bee
The Hope Chest
The Clothes Line
The Amish Classic Series
First Impressions (Realms)
The Matchmaker (Realms)
Second Chances (Realms)
For a complete listing of books, please visit the author’s website at www.sarahpriceauthor.com.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, organizations, places, events, and incidents are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.
Text copyright © 2015 Price Publishing, LLC
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced, or stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without express written permission of the publisher.
Published by Waterfall Press, Grand Haven, MI
www.brilliancepublishing.com
Amazon, the Amazon logo, and Waterfall Press are trademarks of Amazon.com, Inc., or its affiliates.
ISBN-13: 9781503945388
ISBN-10: 1503945383
Cover design by Kerri Resnick
In Plain Fame, I dedicated the book to the singers, performers, artists, authors, and entertainers who give so much of themselves for our own enjoyment. As for this book, it is dedicated to all of the people who adore them. Having fans is a great responsibility as well as a humbling honor. Without fans, fame would not be possible. We must never forget that.
Contents
About the Vocabulary
Behold, I shew...
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One
Chapter Twenty-Two
Chapter Twenty-Three
Glossary
Preview: Plain Again
About the Author
About the Vocabulary
The Amish speak Pennsylvania Dutch (also called Amish German or Amish Dutch). This is a verbal language with variations in spelling among communities throughout the United States. For example, in some regions, a grandfather is grossdaadi, while in other regions he is known as grossdawdi. Some dialects refer to the mother as mamm or maem, and others simply as mother or mammi.
In addition, there are words and expressions, such as mayhaps, or the use of the word then at the end of sentences, and, my favorite, for sure and certain, that are not necessarily from the Pennsylvania Dutch language/dialect but are unique to the Amish.
The use of these words comes from my own experience living among the Amish in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania.
Behold, I shew you a mystery; we shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed.
1 Corinthians 15:51 (KJV)
Chapter One
The sunlight shone through the sheer curtains covering the long windows in the bedroom. It cast a soft and golden glow throughout, painting the thick white comforter on the bed in dancing shades of sunrise. Small specks of dust floated, imprisoned in the sunbeams penetrating the room. But no one saw them. Not yet. The radiance of that particular early-morning phenomenon went unnoticed in the bedroom where Amanda lay, for she wasn’t yet awake.
Outside the window, a car horn blasted from the street below. Noise. A fluttering of eyelids. A bit of light. Slowly, Amanda rolled over in bed, lifting her arm to cover her eyes, shielding herself from the morning sunbeams, even if only for a few more seconds. The previous day had been long, and she’d had an even longer night. Sleep had not come easily, and what little she had was fitful.
Everything seemed strange to her as she began to wake up and take in her surroundings. Different indeed. From the brightness of the room to the high, vaulted ceilings with thick white moldings and fancy paintings on the walls, she knew that she was not at home this morning, and all of the memories from
the previous day started to flood her heart with emotion.
The drive from her parents’ farm to Philadelphia seemed to never end. She sat in silence in the back of the SUV, staring thoughtfully out the window, too aware that Alejandro was watching her. His eyes on the back of her neck caused the color to rise in her cheeks, so she kept her head turned away, not wanting him to see the effect he had on her or the tears that were gathering at the corners of her eyes.
As the farmland rolled away and the small meandering roads had turned into a highway, she sighed.
“Princesa?”
She wanted to turn to look at him, but she was afraid.
He reached out and touched her hand. For a moment, she froze. His touch was soft and gentle, reassuring her that he was going to take care of her. When his fingers finally entwined with hers, the warmth of his skin touching hers pushed her over the edge.
The tears fell.
“Princesa,” he whispered again and reached out to force her to look at him. He wiped the tears from her eyes, staring deeply into her face. “It’s going to be all right, sí? I came for you, and you will be fine.”
She nodded.
“You believe me, no?”
Again, the simple nod.
He smiled. “You have no words? That is unusual.”
She swallowed, wanting to say something, but the feeling of weightlessness hung over her. She felt as if she were floating above herself, watching the two people in the back of the SUV, being driven by a chauffeur who headed toward the big city whose skyscrapers were already visible on the horizon. It was surreal. Certainly this woman who sat here, with a white prayer kapp on her head, holding hands with a Cuban singing legend, was not her. Not Amanda Beiler.
“I have left everything I know,” she finally whispered.
“You have the future ahead of you,” he replied, trying to reassure her. “And there would be no future for you now at home, not with the paparazzi following your every move.”
She knew that he spoke wisely. She had known those words to be true. That was why she had finally sent the message to him. Her life was over in the Amish community. No one would ever believe that she had not been romantically involved with Alejandro. No man would want to court the most famous Amish woman in the world. And no community would welcome her to live among them, not with cameras gathering wherever she went.
“What will happen now?” she asked.
“You will change,” he said with a shrug of his shoulder as though it was the most natural thing to do. “And you will live.”
She tossed back the covers of the bed and sat up. Looking around the strange surroundings, she caught her breath as she took in the opulence of the hotel room. The high ceilings with thick, ornate moldings painted in high-gloss white with gold layered in between the carvings. There was a brass chandelier hanging from the center of the ceiling with crystal beads dangling from each arm. When the sunlight hit them, rainbow colors danced around the room. It was beautiful and mesmerizing, unlike anything she had seen before . . . dancing colors of red, purple, blue, and gold.
Amanda was wearing her white nightgown, her hair hanging down to her waist. Her small suitcase was on top of a dresser, where she had put it the previous night. It was open, and she could see where she had folded her dress and left it when she had changed. Her black shoes were on the floor, beside the dresser, exactly where she had left them.
Standing in the middle of the room, she turned around, inhaling the foreign ambience. Once again, she felt that floating feeling, as if she were watching someone else’s life. It was surreal, dreamlike, and certainly not happening to her.
The room was magnificent with a large vase of fresh flowers, mostly white roses and lilies, set upon a circular table near the door. There were white roses and lilies. She walked to the flowers and leaned over, breathing deeply. The sweet scent took her back to her parents’ farm. She had always loved gardening, spending long spring mornings tending to the vegetables but also to the flowers that Mamm had planted around the porch. Amanda loved to prune back the roses and clip the thorns. Sometimes her mother had even let her keep one or two roses in her own room. Always out of sight of visitors, since flower displays were prideful. Now she was surrounded by dozens of roses.
Indeed, she thought, I will change.
She hadn’t expected that the paparazzi would be at the hotel in Philadelphia. She had thought they would still be back in Lititz. So when they pulled up to the hotel, Amanda gasped and shied away from the window. She brushed against Alejandro as the people outside began to crowd around the SUV. Flashes went off as cameras were shoved close to the windows.
“Easy, Princesa,” he murmured. “We shall get you inside and settled into a room. Then it will calm down.”
“Calm down?”
“You can move about the hotel freely.”
She blinked. Hotel, she thought. She had never stayed in a hotel. She was nervous. What if she got lost? What if people stared at her? What if . . .
He put on his dark sunglasses and took a deep breath. “You wait for the doormen to open the doors. They will escort us inside and away from the paparazzi. Don’t say anything to those people, and if they touch you, don’t respond. Let the doormen handle it. They deal with this a lot,” he said.
“Touch me?” The thought horrified her.
“To get your attention,” he explained patiently.
When the door to the vehicle opened, Alejandro stepped out and, after straightening his suit jacket, reached his hand down to help Amanda out of the car. Hesitantly, she took his hand. Once outside, she was too aware that there were at least fifteen camera people stealing her image. Beyond them were screaming fans, mostly young girls clamoring for Alejandro’s attention. Amanda frowned and stared at them, remembering their visit to Intercourse, in Pennsylvania, a few weeks back when the crowd had started to recognize him.
The girls continued to scream and jump up, waving their arms in the air, anything to get his attention. Alejandro paused, looked at them, and nodded in acknowledgment. But he did not smile or stop to sign autographs or for photo taking. Instead, he placed his hand on the small of Amanda’s back and guided her through the crowd. There were five steps, and he held her elbow. He could tell that she was overwhelmed. Between the people and the noise, it was a new and not necessarily pleasant experience for Amanda. And he understood.
She wandered over to the doorway that led to her own private bathroom. It was dark in the room, and she left the door open as she turned on the water. The countertop felt cool to her touch. Marble. The floor was cool, too. No hardwood floors or area rugs made from old clothing to cover them.
She splashed cold water on her face. Her eyes stung. She had cried herself to sleep the night before, hugging the strange, fluffy pillow to her chest. It took an hour, but she eventually found her sleep, although it hadn’t been a restful sleep. She had awakened several times throughout the night, listening to the strange noises of Philadelphia that penetrated through the windows.
When she went back into the main room, Amanda took a deep breath, trying to decide what to do next. Get dressed, she told herself. Just like any other day.
The clothing that she had packed the day before seemed inadequate. Just three everyday dresses, her Sunday dress, and a nightgown. That was all she had. So she decided to wear her blue dress. As she pinned it shut, she smoothed down the fabric and glanced in the mirror.
It was a large mirror with a thick wooden frame painted gold. She had never seen a mirror like that before, and as she saw her reflection, she had to catch her breath. Is that really me? she wondered as she walked toward the mirror. With her bare feet and loose hair, she barely recognized herself. Usually, she only looked in the small mirror Mamm had hung in the washroom to make certain her hair was tidy. She hadn’t ever seen herself from head to toe. The image took her by surprise.
She was thin, almost too thin. Certainly she had lost weight over the past few weeks from the stress of living under the microscope of the media. When they had taken an interest in her relationship with Alejandro and found her father’s farm, Amanda had been too nervous to eat.
Her face looked gaunt, her cheekbones too high, and her skin too tanned. She wasn’t certain how that had happened because she hadn’t been outside too much during the past few weeks. Her dark eyes looked lifeless and scared, lacking the sparkle that she had always had. For a moment, the image of herself made her want to cry all over again.
Indeed, she realized, I am plain.
When they had first arrived inside the hotel, two men greeted Alejandro and escorted them through the main lobby, away from the peering eyes of the other hotel guests. Amanda stared as they walked, too aware that people were whispering to each other and pointing at her. Only this time, she realized, it wasn’t simply because she was Amish. It was because she was Amish and with Alejandro.
She cowered behind him, shielding herself from their gazes with his body.
When he realized that she was no longer next to him, he stopped walking and she bumped into him. He laughed lightly and turned around.
“Princesa? You are all right?” He reached out and put his arm gently around her shoulder. “I thought we had lost you.”
She shook her head and lowered her eyes. His arm on her shoulder felt light yet heavy at the same time. She was too aware that people were staring. She thought she saw someone take a photo. “Nee,” she whispered shyly, wishing people would just go away.
Taking off his sunglasses with one hand, he touched the bottom of her chin with his finger and tilted her face so that she had no choice but to look at him. When their eyes met, he smiled. “You will get used to this, Amanda.”
She glanced at the people. “I could never get used to this,” she replied softly.