“You’re hairy.” She wrinkled her nose. My face turned red with embarrassment. I hadn’t thought of it. I’d never shaved before in my life. She disappeared into the spare room and brought me a long sky blue skirt.
“Here, put this on instead. We’ll deal with your legs tomorrow.”
I went back to the bathroom and changed, praying that she wouldn’t find anything else wrong with me.
“Do you talk?”
She had her sunglasses in her hand with a concerned look on her face. I wanted her to like me. I smiled. “Yes, I’m sorry. It’s a bit much.”
She exhaled. “Of course it is. I can be a little intense sometimes.”
I wondered if she knew what my parents had done or why I was shipped off to live with the Yerdins.
“Do you know why my parents were arrested?”
“I don’t know much, but from what I understand they killed three people. But how the murders happened and whether they were premeditated or just a confrontation gone wrong, I don’t know.”
Murder. And not just one person, but three. I was strangely glad for that. It meant that I would probably never have to go live with them again. But those poor people. I wondered why they were killed.
Ginny spoke. “Let’s talk about happier things, shall we?”
I nodded.
She jabbered about the city all the way to her client’s home. He had a monster of a house. It had a ceramic tiled roof, stucco exterior and sprawled up and out like a fortress. I almost got out of the car when I remembered I didn’t have any shoes on.
My aunt opened the door.
“No shoes.” I said, not wanting to upset her. She looked at the pile of clothes in her backseat and creased her eyebrows. Then shrugged her shoulders.
“Not a problem. No one wears shoes at Alejandro’s. Most people don’t even wear clothes.”
“What?”
“Kidding. Come on though, you won’t need shoes.”
The pavement was warm on my feet. Ginny opened the massive front door and walked straight into the house without knocking. If she’d done that at my house, she would’ve been shot. No one was on the other side of the door. The wide entryway gave way to a long hallway. I felt self-conscious in my new clothes and bare feet, like my mother was going to come out of one of the doors and drag me in front of the Master for showing too much skin.
At the end of the hall my aunt pushed open another door and stepped out into the sunshine. I followed her, blinking. The door led to a large patio with a pool that seemed to flow on forever. She wasn’t kidding about the clothes. No less than ten women strutted around the pool and surrounding cabanas, most wearing nothing but teeny bikinis, and I wasn’t sure they could be called even that.
“Gigi, is that you? It’s about time,” a voice called from across the patio. He was hidden beneath a cabana.
Ginny grabbed my hand and I immediately pulled my hand out of hers without thinking. She cocked her head and looked at me with a frown, but shrugged and strode over to the voice. I followed, ashamed that I couldn’t hold her hand. The man that called out sat in a lounge chair wearing even less than the women. My cheeks reddened, I’d never seen so much of a man before. He had bronze skin and hard abs.
“Ale, I told you not to wear the Speedo.”
“You told me not to wear it in Fiji. I already had it on when I called.” He spoke with a slight Hispanic accent. What surprised me though, was how young he was. Someone with a house like this with servants and all, they had to be at least forty. But this man couldn’t have been a day over twenty-five. Perhaps looks could be deceiving. He took a drink from a waiter that appeared at his side. He handed it to Ginny and took another large glass off the tray.
He wiggled a finger at me. “Come here. I’ve been dying to meet you ever since Ginny got the call yesterday. We were together when Princess called. I thought she was going to faint. Here.”
He handed me the glass and I took it. But before I could take a sip my aunt grabbed it from me and poured the contents into the bushes behind her.
“No margaritas. Naomi, what do you want to drink?”
I shrugged. If I said water or orange juice they would probably laugh at me.
“Fine, um, why don’t you try a virgin daiquiri?” She looked at the waiter. “No alcohol. I mean it. You’ll let me try it before you give it to her.”
Alejandro winked at me and the waiter disappeared. His black hair fell into his eyes.
She tapped her foot impatiently and glared at Alejandro. “What’s the agenda for Fiji?”
“Mostly beach time and one black tie event, but I already have my tux,” he replied, not taking his eye off me.
Ginny stood and threw her hands in the air. “Then why did I give up my morning for you?”
“Because I wanted to meet Naomi.” He wrapped an arm around my waist and pulled me into his lap.
Climbers are fun to grow. They twist and curve around a pole, up a trellis, or over an arbor. One of my favorites is Don Juan’s luscious red roses. With the right training you can have an entire trellis bloom at once. But apparently my Don Juan wants to stay single because I can only get one bloom at a time.
WHAT ON EARTH DO YOU DO WITH your hands when a nearly naked man pulls you into his lap? I swiveled to try to get my feet on the ground and threatened to fall out of Alejandro’s lap, but he caught me. My hands landed on his bare chest. They tingled where they touched his skin. He smiled and I blushed.
“Gigi, she looks like you,” Alejandro said, pointing to me.
“She looks like my sister, actually, but close enough.” The waiter walked back up to my aunt. Ginny took a sip of the ruby red drink. “Mmm, perfect.” She handed me the glass and looked at Alejandro. “Seriously, the Speedo. Even when they were in style they were still tacky. Where are the shorts I bought you?”
“The shorts cover up too much. I like the Speedo, besides, who is here to see me?”
I stood up with the rich drink in my hand, not sure what to do or where to look. The girls from earlier had disappeared, leaving the three of us alone on the patio.
Ginny stood in front of Alejandro with her hands on hips.
“If someone were to see you, they’d tell you to fire your stylist. I want those so I can burn them.”
Alejandro grinned and stood up a few inches from Ginny. “Do you really want the Speedo?”
She raised her eyebrows and smirked.
“Okay.” He slipped his thumbs inside the front of the Speedo and began tugging them down.
“You idiot,” she said and smacked him with her purse. She grabbed his arm before I could see anything and pulled him into the house, with him laughing the whole way.
Alone, I sat next to the pool, dipping my feet into the water. The water wasn’t cool as I expected but cooler than the patio. I dug around in my purse in search of some gum and discovered the folded piece of paper and the letter from Kai. I put the letter back in my purse to avoid temptation and unfolded the paper.
The boy from the picture I had taken off my father’s office wall stared up at me. Goth Boy. His eyes were haunting. A deep piercing blue. How strange it was that he was the first person I met here in Vegas.
“Boyfriend from home?”
Alejandro settled himself next to me, brown feet splashing into the pool next to mine. I shook my head to indicate that “no” this was certainly not my boyfriend. Then tried to subtly inch myself away from him.
“I make you uncomfortable, no?”
I nodded.
“Why?” He scooted closer to me, closing the gap I had tried to create.
“You’re not wearing any clothes.” I muttered and moved away again. He may have lost the Speedo, but the swimming trunks Ginny bought him didn’t cover much more.
He laughed and moved closer. “I will go put on some clothes, but first you must tell me who the boy is that has so captured your attention.”
I shrugged, “The picture came from a magazine. It intrigued me.”
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“Why? Are you thinking of adopting his style? Your aunt can help you with that. She’s brilliant.”
I smiled, thinking about what my father would do to me if I came home looking like Goth Boy. Then shook my head.
“No, I’m trying to figure out what rose he’d be. He’s tricky.”
“What do you mean?”
“I grow roses, all kinds, and can usually put a person with a rose. But I can’t figure him out.”
Alejandro was quiet for a while. “What kind of flower am I?”
Without hesitation I responded, “A Don Juan.” Loud, flamboyant and obnoxious. But beautiful.
“Hmm. And your aunt?”
“She’s an Yves Piaget.”
“Why?”
“The blooms are enormous and when you stop to smell them, everything else disappears.”
He laughed and stood up. “Your boy, he’s a Tuscany Superb.”
I looked back at the picture. He was right. Tuscany’s were tricky to grow and sometimes never bloomed, but when they did they had an ethereal color. A red so deep it was almost black. Alejandro knew his roses. I looked around, searching for the telltale signs of a gardener. Finally I spotted it. The pool house was no pool house. Through the window in the door, green vines crisscrossed.
He stood next to me and a waiter brought him a robe. He tied it. Finally, I could look him in the eye without blushing.
Ginny approached. “You ready to go, Naomi? Alejandro obviously doesn’t need my help. Let’s get you something to eat.”
I wanted to say, “No, I’m not ready to go. I want to go explore in that greenhouse back there.” But that seemed disrespectful so I nodded.
“Ale, have fun in Fiji. When will you be back?” She took my hand and motioned toward the door.
“Two weeks, but I’m not ready for you to go yet. Why don’t you all stay for lunch?” He snapped his fingers for his waiter, but my aunt waved him away. The poor guy didn’t know what to do.
“No, Ale we really need to go. We’ll come back after your trip.”
“Okay, but can I at least give Naomi a tour of my greenhouses? I’m sure she’d love them.”
“Ale, you make Naomi uncomfortable. Let her get settled before you start spending time with her.”
I almost opened my mouth, but then remembered that these were adults. They made the decisions for me. Interrupting them would be rude.
“But, I put a robe on. Please, just a half hour.”
“No.”
He frowned. “Okay, but hang on for a sec.”
He disappeared into the greenhouse and my aunt sighed. I longed to go in there. What kind of plants lurked behind the door?
The greenhouse door slammed. He carried a pot with a long stem tied to a stake.
“Can you watch this for me while I’m gone, it’s your Tuscany.”
“Thank you. It has a bud about to bloom.” Few rose enthusiasts actually have a Tuscany. And even fewer had seen one bloom.
“Please take a picture of it for me, this is the first year I’ve gotten a bud and I’m going to miss it.” He sighed. “The bloom will be gone by the time I get back.”
“Of course.”
My aunt raised her eyebrows. “Plants?”
I grinned. It’d been a long time since someone had done something like this for me. Except for his lack of clothes, Alejandro seemed to get me down to the core. Gardeners thought alike. But there was something more that I couldn’t put my finger on. I trusted him almost instantly and I didn’t know why. I hoped we’d spend time here when he got back from Fiji. Those greenhouses had to be a gardener’s dream if he had plants like this.
Alejandro spoke. “Gigi, I’ll have my assistant call you and schedule a dinner when I come back. Naomi, bring the rose back with you when you come for dinner. I can let you have a few of my plants, but I’m afraid that one will need to come back to me after I return.”
He gave my aunt a hug and a kiss on the cheek. I squirmed, not wanting the same treatment. Of course this was Alejandro so whether I wanted a kiss on the cheek or not, I was getting one. He took the plant from me and handed it to my aunt who took it without question.
He wrapped his arms around me and placed his warm lips on my cheek. The sensation tasted of sugar cookies but smelled like oranges. My body warmed with joy and I returned the hug. I could feel the genuine affection coming from him. There was nothing sexual or wrong about it. He was giving me a gift, a moment of brightness in my otherwise dreary life. My fingers tingled a bit and I pulled away quickly. That feeling, the electrical pull. The taste. The smell. I’d only felt that way around one person before.
“You know Kai,” I said. A statement. Not a question.
His grin faltered a little and he stepped away towards the greenhouse, pretending not to hear me. Ginny walked the other direction, toward the front door, not noticing the exchange. I deliberated for a moment and then went after Ginny, not wanting to be disobedient. I almost called after him that I had a letter, but that seemed odd for some reason. Plus, I wasn’t sure I wanted to give it up yet.
But he was like Kai.
Holidays are rarely celebrated in my home so I created a holiday section of my garden. Soft pinks and purples for Easter. Bright red and Magenta for Valentine’s Day. Red, white and blue for Fourth of July. And a whole section of green roses for St. Patrick’s Day. No one ever pinches me because I always have a green rose pinned to my blouse. Green diamond is my favorite.
“WHO IS ALEJANDRO, REALLY?” I asked Ginny the minute we got into the car.
“He’s a client and a friend.”
With my parents, that would have been the end of my questioning, but before I could stop myself I blurted. “But how’d you meet him?”
How was it that both Ginny and I knew people that could change your world with a kiss? Unless they were more common than I thought. People probably wouldn’t admit it if strange boys came into their rooms in the middle of the night and kissed them. But maybe that was just Kai. Or me. Maybe, I was the strange one.
Ginny looked at me before she put on her sunglasses. “I didn’t think you knew how to ask questions. Why the sudden curiosity?”
“There’s something familiar about him. I like him.”
“Everyone loves Alejandro.” Ginny sighed and turned on the blinker. The road disappeared around a corner.
“How old is he?’
“Late thirties. I’m not exactly sure. He looks younger though.”
“How’d you meet him?”
“Right after your grandma died he sought me out in New York and asked me to come here to be a stylist.”
This puzzled me. I’d forgotten that Grandma had been her mom as well. “How come Grandma never told me about you?”
Ginny shrugged. “I’m not sure. She talked about you quite a bit when she called and I did see you when you were very young. Your mom was pretty angry that I’d left town so I expect that Grandma didn’t want to upset her. New York called to me. Becoming a stylist is all I’d ever wanted to do. After a few years, I’d gained a good reputation and Alejandro heard of me through a mutual friend. He claimed there weren’t enough stylists here. Before my plane even landed he had me lined up with six clients plus himself. He likes me so we do dinner once a week or so and I go with him to all his fancy parties.”
She did a pretty good job of changing the subject. I played along even though I was still curious about her relationship with my grandma. “Is he your boyfriend?”
Ginny blushed and laughed. “Alejandro is decidedly single. No girlfriends for him.”
Is it the same for Kai? Decidedly single? I knew nothing about him. I slumped back in my seat. The thought depressed me. Kai could come to Vegas and want to date a lot of girls like Ricki. What if I was just a fling? No, I couldn’t believe that. He loved me. He had to.
We stumbled back into our hotel, our arms full of Chinese takeout. A first for me. I didn’t like the egg rolls, but cashew chicken was delicious.
“You should probably sleep on the couch again. I use the spare room as an extra closet so there’s no bed. I did order you some furniture today, but it won’t arrive until tomorrow.” Ginny sat on the couch opposite me. “We’ll need to do something about your clothes as well. I’m taking tomorrow off. First we need to get your hair done, then we’ll hit the Forum and Fashion Show Mall.” She sighed and checked her phone. “I’m going to sleep, see you in the morning.”
And poof. She was gone. I’d gotten so used to having her close that it seemed odd to be alone. I opened the patio door and looked out over the strip. The air smelled stale and it was still noisy. Not a green leaf, besides the palm trees, was in sight. I hated all the metal. The small apartment had no plants. I would need to change that.
“She’s hopeless, Ginny. You really think a new hairstyle and clothes will make her hip? She a freakin’ hick. And she doesn’t talk.” Ricki’s voice came from the kitchen the next morning.
“Be nice. She’s overwhelmed and scared. Give her a couple of weeks and I bet she’ll be every bit as street savvy as you.”
“No. Flippin’. Way.”
“You will show her around though, won’t you? And let her hang out with you and your friends. Seriously, how is she supposed to meet people her own age unless you help?”
“She’s never going to fit in.”
I laid there for a little while listening. My stomach clenched hearing Ricki’s words. I didn’t want to be her friend if she didn’t want me around. Ruth was so much better than Ricki. I couldn’t wait to call her and tell her all about Vegas. She’d love it here.
“We’ll see. She hardly speaks. I can’t believe my sister kept her cooped up like that.”
Time to get up. No sense waiting to hear the horrible things she said about my mother. Not that I wasn’t curious about her past, but the details needed to wait. My head already hurt with this new world that I had entered. I didn’t think I could handle any more earth shattering news. I wandered into the kitchen and sat down on one of the stools. Ginny and Ricki stopped talking.
The Thorn Chronicles-Books 1-4: Kissed, Destroyed, Secrets, and Lies Page 9