18. Alyx
Chapter 18
Alyx
S adly, they had to put off Big Bear for a couple of days. It turned out Daniel actually did have meetings he couldn’t just cancel. His grousing about being the boss made her laugh.
“It’ll be fine,” she told him. “It gives me time to pick out stuff to pack.”
“You don’t need to pack anything,” he said, tangling his fingers with hers. “I don’t plan on us needing to be dressed from the moment we get there until the moment we leave.”
Well, that sent a flutter through her. “I like an ambitious man.”
His grin was a flash of sunlight piercing his petulant mood and washing it away. When he leaned over to brush a kiss to her lips, she sighed into it. They’d been lovers for barely a week, but it felt so damn natural.
Natural and wanted.
More, she treasured the way he studied her face like he was trying to memorize it before he left. With a soft stroke of his thumb along her cheekbone, he sighed. “Theresa will be doing the shopping today. If you need anything…”
“I can go out and get it myself,” she reminded him. “In fact, I might go out today and see a friend.” The lessons with Victor had slowed the last three weeks. So that wasn’t something she had to worry about. “Do you think you’ll be late?”
“I better not be,” he said with a grumble. “But if I am, I’ll call or message.”
“That works,” she covered his hand on her cheek with his “I’ll message you if I’m delayed too. I figure I can call Rhonda and bribe her into lunch with me.”
She didn’t miss the way relief rippled through his expression. He hadn’t asked who she was going to see, but he’d wanted too. The tension that had ticked in his jaw also went away.
“Hmm, if you need reservations somewhere, call Lucy. She’ll get you in anywhere you want to go.” Still, he stood there, as though truly hesitant to leave.
“You’re going to spoil me,” she teased.
“You have discovered my nefarious plan.”
Now, she snorted. “Not particularly nefarious, but I’ll let it go this time. Yes, if I need reservations, I’ll call Lucy.” She liked Lucy. The older woman was actually entertaining when she scolded Daniel. The fact he clearly adored the secretary didn’t hurt.
“Well that’s a relief.” Then he kissed her hand. “Do something for me?”
Her stomach clenched a little tighter and an icy sensation skated over her skin. “If I can…”
“Take one of my cars instead of yours?” The fact she still had her car was a small bone of contention. He’d had his mechanic look at it and fix it up. He’d also had it cleaned, but he didn’t like the lack of amenities. “The Mercedes or the Volvo… or better, I can arrange a car for you.”
She held up a finger. “I don’t want a driver, but I will take one of your cars.” It was as far as she was willing to compromise. “I will also be careful. I don’t plan on alerting anyone to where I am going that isn’t you, Rhonda, or Lucy.”
Hell, she and Rhonda might just have lunch at Rhonda’s.
Blowing out a breath, he ducked his head to give her another kiss. “Okay, I’ll let you know if I’m late.” It seemed a concession, he didn’t like her going out on her own. But it was well past time. She’d spent the last few months either here or with Victor or Daniel.
There’d been no Alyx time and Alyx needed the time.
“I’ll see you later,” she called and he gave her one more smile before his phone rang and he answered it on his way out.
“Hey Martin, just leaving now…”
* * *
“So, this guy is a lawyer who works for the royal guy who is your cousin?” Rhonda asked as she stretched her legs out and propped her feet on the railing of her balcony. It was a gorgeous day out and the breeze just made it even better.
“Pretty much, said his name was Richard Prentiss. I googled him. So he’s the real deal. Well, at least real in the sense that he has a law firm and he is a member of the bar.” I tipped the icy bottle of soda back for a long drink. We’d walked down to a food truck we both enjoyed and grabbed Mexican food, sodas, and treats before coming back to eat lunch here. “I also found photos of him with Armand Andraste.”
Which had also quieted some nerves and ignited others. A part of her really hadn’t believed Daniel. Even all these weeks later, she still struggled to believe it was even possible. To have a man she’d never met acknowledge her that way was—she couldn’t really find the words to express it.
“No shit?” Rhonda said, tugging her sunglasses off. “Like for real, for real?”
“Yeah, for real. It’s crazy, right?”
Now she just gaped at me. “Moving in with some guy you just met and pretending to be his fiancee was fucking crazy, Alyx. This? This is some fairy tale shit.”
She wasn’t wrong and Alyx’s stomach did a crazy twist as ice coated the back of her neck. Instead of answering, she took another swallow of the pineapple Jarritos she’d gotten for herself.
“Hey…” Rhonda reached over to put her hand on Alyx’s arm. “You okay?”
“Yes?” she said, quite trusting her own voice at the moment. “No? I don’t know. Yes, you said I was nuts to take the gig, but Daniel’s been great. Even Victor, who is kind of a dick, is pretty good too.”
“But?” The older woman prompted, her gaze fixed on Alyx.
“But… you’re right, this is some fairy tale stuff and it’s hard to believe. Good shit like this doesn’t happen to me.” I raised the drink and took another long swallow. The sweet and the tart helped to quench the sudden dryness in her throat. “I haven’t reached out yet.”
“What does your guy think?” Rhonda never said his name. It was like she kept him at arms length. Complaining about it didn’t change her mind and it kind of let her look at everything from the distance. Maybe Alyx needed her to do that.
“Daniel?” She had to ask though because they’d been discussing Richard and Armand.
The bland look Rhonda shot Alyx made her laugh. Maybe Alyx shouldn’t think it was so funny, but it was damn entertaining on some levels.
“He hasn’t said anything, really.” After downing another swallow, she turned her gaze over the view of the parking lot and swimming pool. “We talked about it a little that night of the party, then he asked me if I wanted to go up to Big Bear.”
She rolled the bottle in circles between her palms.
“It’s like pulling teeth,” Rhonda complained. “What did he say?”
“Just he was, you know glad for me, and then did I want to go to Big Bear. It was a huge night for him, he’s got this deal going on with this Japanese company and there was a lovely party. Then Mr. Prentiss showing up and giving me that cameo…”
“Cameo? Wait, I think you left that part out.”
Had she? “Sorry.” She took a moment to bring her up to speed about the cameo and the family crest. “It’s really beautiful and it’s a really amazing acknowledgment. It kind of overwhelmed me. I almost burst into tears right there.”
“I bet,” Rhonda said with a sigh. “So you leave and your guy just asks about Big Bear? He doesn’t say call the attorney? Make an appointment with the duke or prince or whatever he is?”
No, he hadn’t. “To be fair, he’s been really busy since then. The deal with the Japanese company. The meetings and he had a lot of them or we’d have already gone to Big Bear.” A little laugh escaped her. “He’s kind of grumpy about that, but we’re going to go this weekend.”
“Wasn’t the whole point of this to get an introduction to this prince—Armand person?” She made a play out of his name and I gave a little shrug. It had been…
“That’s still a goal,” she said slowly. “But he’s not pushing me to reach out and maybe that’s better you know.”
“Uh huh.” Skepticism riffled through the word. “He stalks you, sets you up with the weird audition, then offers you a ridiculous amount of money to play Holly Golightly so he can make nice with aristocracy and get his foot in the door.”
She couldn’t really argue with Rhonda’s assessment. “That is the way it started, but we’ve become real friends?—”
“Oh, honey,” Rhonda said, a wealth of disappointment in those two words. Disappointment and sympathy. “Sweetheart, don’t tell me you fell for him?”
“I said we’re friends.” Even if she’d almost said I love you , she hadn’t. “He’s been really good to me. Not everything worked out, but he did try to help me get things from my parents.”
That whole episode still made her want to cry. Before Daniel, she’d stopped believing in good things and “fairy tale shit” as Rhonda called it. Maybe she was still skeptical now, but he’d tried .
It had to mean something.
Being lovers was…
Scrubbing a hand over her face, Rhonda shook her head. “Sweetheart, promise me if you’re sleeping with that man that you’re taking precautions. Yes, he might seem great right now, but you still have something he wants. Once he gets it? What then?”
Opening her mouth, she considered her response then closed it again. Finally, she just said, “We haven’t really talked about that. Not since we signed the contract. The contract is for a year.”
They still had another nine months…
“Yes, I’m being careful.” Irritation scraped through her now. “Maybe taking our time is a good thing. He’s not rushing to get to the prince. That could mean he doesn’t want this to end too.”
Rhonda said nothing but her silence seemed particularly heavy.
“I promise,” Alyx said, reassuring both of them. “I know what I’m doing and I’m being careful.”
“Has it occurred to you that no matter what you do, the life you used to have is done now?” The quiet words said aloud the things Alyx had been trying to not think about. “One month or one year with this guy and maybe you do end the contract, you with your spiffy new family and his with all his money and access—you both get what you want.”
The way she searched Alyx’s face made that last part seem far more of a question than a statement.
“I’ve seen you on the gossip sites. I’ve seen the little clips here and there… You won’t just be Alyx Dagmar, waitress and aspiring actress. That part is over.”
Alyx blew out a breath.
“I hope you’re ready for that, whether the guy is a part of it or not.”
As much as she wanted to assure her, Alyx really didn’t know the answer. That sinking feeling didn’t go away, even when they changed the subject. It circled her like dark water in a whirlpool, sucking down her mood. It lingered long after Alyx left to go back to Daniel’s place.
He pulled in right behind her. It was impossible to miss the wide grin he shot her. In fact, no sooner has she parked than he was at the driver’s side door and tugging her out of the vehicle.
“Hey,” she said.
“Hey.” His smile didn’t diminish as he pulled her close. His kiss absolutely robbed her of breath and smothered all the dark, restless thoughts. Wrapping her arms around him, she banished all those questions to a dark corner and locked them away.
They could deal with it later.