Chapter 74
ALEX
Iclose my eyes for a second before hitting the redial button, surprised when it doesn’t go straight to voicemail.
“Hello?” a male voice answers.
“Hi, is Brooke there? Sorry, I mean Harper. Is Harper there?”
“Who is this?”
“I could ask you the same question,” I say before I can stop myself.
“Well, it appears we’re at a standoff, so goodbye.”
“Wait. I’m sorry. My name is Alessandro Bianchi. I was— I am— Brooke’s… sorry, Harper’s boss in New York.”
“How do I know you are who you say you are?”
“Brooke was sent to my mother, Sophia Bianchi, in New York.”
There’s silence for a moment, and I hear mumbling in the background.
“Alessandro?” A woman’s voice comes over the line. “I’m Kat, Harper’s sister.”
“Kat, congratulations on your wedding,” I say, my upbringing coming to the forefront.
“Thank you,” she says. “You want to speak to Harper?”
“Is she there?” I ask. I’m now beginning to see what Brooke meant when she said her siblings are protective. “I flew in yesterday.”
“You’re in the UK?” she says.
“Yes, I’m at my brother’s in London. I got on a plane as soon as I read her letter,” I admit. “I saw yesterday’s press conference.”
“She’s currently sleeping. It’s been a tough week.”
“I can only imagine. Please, when she wakes up, can you tell her I called?”
“I can go one better than that. Come here, you can see her for yourself.”
“What? You’re inviting him here?” I hear a male voice say in the background.
“Keep quiet. This isn’t about you. Harper is a grown woman.”
There’s more grumbling.
Kat’s voice comes back over the phone. “Don’t come to the main entrance. We’re under siege by the press, as I’m sure you can imagine. Drive to Lofton House. A new road connects the two properties. Follow it to the gates that lead to our estate. We’ll buzz you through.”
* * *
“Mr Bianchi?” Anton, Enzo’s driver, asks, spinning in his seat to face me.
We find Lofton House and follow the new road. We’re now in front of a set of large metal gates. I get out of the car and press the intercom.
“Hello, how may I assist you?”
“Alessandro Bianchi for Ms Harper Frazer,” I say, hoping and praying Brooke… fuck, Harper, has not decided I’m part of her life she’d rather forget.
“Follow the road around, and it will lead you to the main house,” the voice says. “Someone will come out to greet you.”
I can’t read much from the voice, so I get back into the car. I’m not being turned away, so that must be a good sign. It’s been two hours since we left London.
The gates open, and Anton follows the road through beautiful grounds. Harper must have been so homesick. New York, even where my mother lives, has nothing on this. He drives us to the base of large stone steps.
A woman my mother’s age appears at the front door.
Francesca Frazer, Harper’s mother, the woman who was sat next to her during yesterday’s press conference.
Enzo and I exit the car and make our way towards her.
“Alessandro,” she says, holding out her hand, which I accept. “I’m Francesca Frazer, Harper’s mother. Welcome to my home.”
“Thank you, Mrs Frazer,” I reply. “It’s a pleasure to meet you. This is my brother Enzo.”
“Pleased to meet you, Mrs Frazer,” he says.
Francesca inclines her head, staring at both my brother and me.
“You’re both the spitting image of your father,” she says. “Sometimes fate really does have a strange sense of humour.”
She turns on her heel and heads back towards the house.
Enzo shoots me a look, one eyebrow raised.
“I’ll explain later,” I say, realising I haven’t updated him on the connection between our families.
We follow Francesca as she makes her way towards the house. Stopping, she turns to face us.
“A word of warning. The whole family is in residence. After the story broke, we decided it was safer to have everyone stay here,” she adds. “And they’ve been waiting to see their sister.”
Harper’s siblings are in town? Fuck, she warned me before that they’re protective.
But it depends on what, if anything, she’s told them about us.
I nod in acknowledgement. “If Gabbi had been in Harper’s position, Enzo and I would have reacted the same.”
“Ah, young Gabriella, how is your sister?”
“She’s with our father in Italy,” I say, surprised at how much Francesca Frazer knows about my siblings and me. But then after what Mother told me before I left, I shouldn’t be surprised. They were obviously very close at one point.
“Come this way. I’ll get Betsy to make us some tea.”
We follow her up the stone steps, entering an enormous hallway. This is a traditional house, nothing like Mother’s. It has stood here for centuries.
If only walls could speak, the history and secrets they could tell.
“Follow me,” she says.
We enter what I’m assuming is a drawing room.
“Everyone, this is Alessandro Bianchi, and his brother Enzo,” she says.
Three giant men jump up and turn to face me.
I square my shoulders.
These must be the brothers.
The largest cradles a tiny baby in his arms. Elijah. I recognise him from school.
“Please call me Alex,” I say.
They continue to stare.
“A long way for a boss to come?” one of two identical faces says to me.
“Harper left me a letter, explaining everything. I wanted to check she was okay,” I say, not sure how much her siblings know about us.
“As he said, quite the dedication to your PA,” Elijah says, rocking the child in his arms as it begins to grizzle.
“She’s a great PA,” Enzo says.
I want to groan.
A woman steps forward, one I instantly recognise as Kathryn Frazer, head of the Frazer Hotel Group. Brooke’s older sister.
“Hi Alex, Enzo, I’m Kat. We spoke on the phone. Why don’t you come in and join us?”
“Pleased to meet you, Kat. Congratulations again on your wedding,” I say. “Harper was devastated when she couldn’t attend.”
Another man steps forward and holds out his hand. “I’m Jaxson, Kat’s husband.”
I shake it as Kat turns to face her brothers, ignoring their scowls. “This is Elijah, his fiancée Pen, and their daughter Amelia,” she says. “Lottie is around somewhere with my mother’s puppy.”
She turns slightly. “This is Gabriel and Leah, and over there are Caleb and April.”
It was Caleb I spoke to earlier.
The twins are identical. Even their scowls match, making me wonder how their wives tell them apart.
“Pleased to meet you all,” I say, forcing my shoulders back and slowing my breathing.
“Why are you here?” Caleb says. “Does he know?”
April elbows him in the side, and I wonder what he was about to say.
“Ow,” he says. “He might—”
She shoots him a look that has him closing his mouth.
The door behind us opens and there is no missing the audible gasp.
“Alex? Enzo? What are you doing here?” Brooke says, with a slight quiver.
I spin on the spot, taking in the woman before me. My chest expands as I drink her in. She’s the same, yet different. Gone is much of the makeup she always wore. She was beautiful before, but now she is breathtaking.
I take a step towards her, a knot suddenly forming in my stomach.
“Where else would I be?”
Her hand flies to her mouth as she lets out a half-sob, before throwing herself at me. I catch her and bury my head in her neck, loving the feel of her in my arms as she grips me tightly.
There are numerous growls behind us, but I ignore them.
“Is he—” a male voice says.
“I think it’s time we all went for a walk,” Kat says. “Everybody out. Harper and Alex clearly need to talk…without an audience.”
There are grumbles, but I sense movement around us and open my eyes to see Kat and Penelope Dawson herding Harper’s brothers out of the room with their respective wives.
“We’ll be just outside, if you need us,” Gabriel says, looking at Harper before shooting me a look that tells me if I hurt his sister, he’s likely to string me up.
“Harper?”
Kat comes to stand next to her sister, whose head is still buried against me.
Harper turns her head, resting her cheek against my chest and smiling.
“We’ll be fine,” she says.
Kat pats her arm before following the rest of them out of the room.
“I think it’s time we had some tea,” Francesca’s voice cuts in. “Enzo, why don’t you come with me. Betsy has just finished baking scones.”
“My favourite,” Enzo says, squeezing my shoulder as he leaves.
I pull back, gently holding Harper’s upper arms.
Her skin is pale, her face gaunt, her normally glossy hair limp. She looks like she’s lost even more weight.
“Harper,” I say, pulling her towards me once again, needing her close.
She gives me a weak smile. “That’s me,” she says. “What are you doing here?”
“I came to see you. Mitch delivered your letter.”
Her eyes glisten, and I cup her cheek.
“Hey, it’s okay. I get it. I just wish you felt you could trust me.”
She bites her lip, a single tear tracking its way down her cheek.
“I wanted to… I came so close, but…”
“It’s okay, Mother explained.”
* * *
She motions to the sofa.
“Can I get you anything to drink?”
I shake my head, not wanting polite society Harper. I’m beginning to wonder if Enzo is right, and Brooke is the real Harper underneath.
“You need to sit down before you fall down,” I say, slightly more sharply than I intend.
Harper ignores me and makes her way to one of the sofas. I frown, unhappy with the distance she’s put between us.
“Brooke… sorry, Harper.” I run a hand down my face. “It’s going to take a while to get used to calling you Harper.”
“I can’t believe you’re here,” she says.
“I’m here to say… Fuck, Brooke. I’m so sorry. I know it wasn’t you. I don’t know what I was thinking. You should be raking me over the coals right now. I came to see you, but you’d already left. I saw Mitch, and he handed me your letter—”
She inclines her head.
“I’m sorry too. I should have told you about night school, but I thought you’d think I was like all those other women, the ones you said were using you.”
I smile and move towards her, taking her hand in mine. “I don’t think I would ever have thought that. Besides, you started it after you came to work for me.”