25. Gabby
25
Gabby
“ W ow! It’s bigger than I imagined.”
“That’s what she said.” Alex is right on cue with his retort.
“I should’ve known better.” I sigh. I’m usually wiser at choosing my words and skirting around his sarcasm and innuendos.
“Gotta get it out of my system now, baby girl. We’re about to enter the crypt.”
“That does not look like a crypt.” I point to his childhood house. The three-story brick mansion sits upon a meticulously landscaped hill. Water cascades down from a stone garden fountain that’s surrounded by rose bushes of various pinks and reds.
“I hate that fountain. When I was a kid, it always gave me the urge to pee whenever I walked past it,” Alex grumbles as we exit the car and walk up to the ornate double doors .
“Do we knock?” I whisper to Alex while taking in the security camera above the entrance.
“No.” He snorts. “I have a key.” He produces it from his pocket and unlocks the door.
We step inside what feels like a home straight off a movie set. An enormous chandelier hangs in the foyer. The lit crystals make the pristine white tile floor look like it’s sparkling. Directly in front of us is a grandiose staircase that could make the one on the Titanic look tiny. I become mesmerized by two large marble statues of elephants that flank each side of the staircase.
“My mom has a thing for elephants,” Alex answers before I can ask any questions. “She says they bring good luck.”
“I actually think I’ve heard that before.” I turn to him. “But only if their trunks are up.”
“That’s correct,” a feminine voice carries through the room. I pivot to see a petite woman in a blue dress suit. Her dark hair is pulled back into a perfect chignon that shows off a diamond pendant necklace with matching earrings. She exudes class and professionalism, which confuses me a bit because it’s well after midnight. At this hour, I’m usually in a sweatshirt and leggings; if I’m not working the night shift, of course. This must be the one and only Elena Jones.
“Hey, Mom.” Alex walks over and gives her a hug. It’s then I realize how much of a size difference there is between mother and son.
“Mom, this is Gabby. She’s the one I was telling you about.”
I blush at the way he enunciates the words. His mom must pick up on it too because she takes a step back in surprise before introducing herself.
“Hello, Gabby. It’s so nice to meet you. Alejandro has never brought someone home with him before… Not that he visits very often.” A condescending look washes over her face, but within seconds, she shifts back to being all business.
“It’s lovely to meet you as well. I’m so sorry to keep you up. We hit a bunch of traffic on the interstate.”
“Oh, you’re not keeping me up, dear. I only sleep a handful of hours a night.” She turns to her son. “I’m afraid your father has retired to bed already. He had a long day.”
“No problem at all.” Alex picks up our bags. “We’ll let him rest and see him in the morning.”
“I doubt it.” Elena tsks. “He has to be at the station at four a.m.”
“He didn’t take tomorrow off?”
“Of course not. The weather doesn’t take a day off and neither does he. He’ll make a few recordings tomorrow so the station can play those while we’re at the hall.”
“Hall? I thought you said it was going to be a small gathering at the house with caterers.” Suddenly, I’m feeling the panic that Alex is now vocalizing.
“Yes, that was the original plan, but then the food bank contacted us and said they were running low on donations. We decided to make it a charity event and sell tickets.”
“You sold tickets to your own anniversary dinner,” Alex says flatly.
“It’s for a good cause, mijo. ” Elena’s face hardens. “There are people who need our help, and we are fortunate enough to be in a position to support them.”
“I know.” Alex’s shoulders tense as he adds, “I’m proud of the work you do.”
“It’s so good to have you back home.” Elena places a loving hand on her son’s forearm, then turns to me. “Gabriella, it was nice to meet you. I need to work on some final preparations for tomorrow and I’m sure you need to get some rest. You can stay in your old bedroom, but the guest house is also available. ”
“Perfect. We’ll stay in the guest house.” Alex picks up his bag and escorts me out a side door after we say our goodbyes.
I zip up my hoodie as we make our way through a path lit with small solar lights. It’s not terribly cold, but the brief meeting with Elena left me with a chill. I’m not sure what I was expecting, but it wasn’t that. Nothing went wrong with our introduction, but still, something just felt off. There’s something about the whole atmosphere of this place—it doesn’t give off warm and friendly vibes. Maybe I’m just tired from the drive.
“I’m kind of disappointed I don’t get to see your old bedroom,” I tease as we stop at a house that looks like an exact replica of the main one but on a much smaller scale.
“There’s nothing much to see. I took everything with me when I moved out. I only left some clothes in the closet in case I need them.”
I can tell meeting with his mother has left a mark, which makes me feel bad too. I want my fun-loving firefighter back, and I fear that this trip is going to be tough on him and I hate that. Alex drops his bags in front of the guest house and punches a code on the keypad next to the door. The lock unclicks and we walk inside.
“Wow.” I stop to take in my new surroundings. While the outside looks just like the main house, the inside to this place is much cozier. The place has an open concept with the living room and kitchen area sharing the same space. A dark blue sectional overlooks a beautiful stone fireplace, and built-in bookshelves fill an entire wall on one side. I’m disappointed to see that they’re filled with decorations instead of reading materials.
“The master bedroom is to the left and a smaller one is to the right. Both have their own bathrooms. You can have whichever one you like, or we can share.” I look at him and my heart flutters at the sound of sharing. Alex and I both had off the last few nights and have spent it cuddling on the couch watching TV. We have fallen asleep together each time and I’ve never woken up feeling so refreshed. It’s not a foreign experience for us to wake up together after a platonic night of rest. Well, except for a few kisses and did I say cuddling? Lots of cuddling.
“It would be nice to share. You know, considering I’m in an unfamiliar place and all.” It’s a total lie and he knows it. I just want to be close to him. “But just sleeping.” I feel the need to add that stipulation, not that we’ve ever done anything before.
“I know.” He holds out his hand and leads me to the master bedroom. “I know you’re not ready yet, but I’ll happily take what I can get.”
I change into a pair of purple pajama bottoms and a tank top while Alex goes for his normal sleepwear of boxer shorts. We slide beneath the fluffy down comforter where he wraps his arms around me and I fall into a sound sleep, feeling that all is right with the world.
***
“What was that?” I sit straight up in bed, clutching the sheet to my chest. I was sleeping so peacefully until it sounded like someone with a chainsaw was breaking through the window. My eyes dart around the room. Everything looks just like it did last night. Alex rolls over and mumbles something.
“What did you say?” I look down at his sleeping frame. The muscles in his arms flex as he adjusts the pillow under his head, clearly unbothered by the racket outside. I run my hand over his strong jawline that’s covered with a night’s worth of stubble. I’ve always been attracted to the strong, rugged type, and Alex? It’s like he’s stepped straight out of my dreams. But dreams don’t come true…do they?
“It’s just the landscapers.” He yawns.
“The landscapers? It’s like eight a.m. on a Saturday!” I hop out of bed and peek through the window blinds. There are about a half dozen workers weeding and pruning the already meticulous lawn. A man with a leaf blower clears some clippings from a pathway and I realize that’s the sound that startled me.
“Gotta keep up with appearances.” Alex sits up in bed and rubs his eyes. “They’re here all the time. I’m so used to the noise that I just sleep through it now.”
“I don’t think I could ever get used to that.”
A worker with hedge clippers begins to trim a rose bush directly outside our window. Feeling completely exposed, I make sure to close the blinds tight.
“It’s like an invasion of privacy.”
“That’s nothing.” He snorts. “Try having a housekeeper come in to dust your room while you’re just trying to live your life as a teenager.”
“That had to be rough.” Mari and I had our fair share of conflicts while sharing a bedroom, but I can’t imagine complete strangers just walking around your house.
“It was,” Alex confirms. “The only silver lining was that every employee of the Joneses has to sign a Non-Disclosure Agreement before they can step foot on our property. If they see you do something embarrassing, at least they can’t tell anyone.”
“I guess that helps a little.” I chew on my lower lip, feeling grateful for the simpler life I lived. I climb back in bed to Alex’s waiting open arms. He pulls me under the soft down comforter. While we haven’t been fully intimate with each other, we’re getting closer with stolen kisses and more cuddling. I love that I don’t have to make up excuses to touch him anymore. But just when I think I can fully dive into a relationship with him, anxiety rears its ugly little head and tells me that if I do, I’ll just end up brokenhearted. It’s still mostly fear of losing him in a fire, but the fear of rejection is also nagging at me.
“How’d you sleep?” He places a kiss on my shoulder. His lips linger on my bare skin.
“Great until I thought we were under attack.”
“Sorry about that. I should’ve warned you, but it’s just a regular day at the Joneses’. I didn’t think about it.”
“It’s okay. I—”
“Yoo hoo!” a voice from outside cuts me off.
“Lilli!” Alex leaps out of bed. He pulls on a pair of jeans and a T-shirt in record time and springs for the door before I can even get my bearings. I grab a white bathrobe hanging near the closet and wrap it around me before greeting our company.
“Careful, careful. I have hot coffee in my hands.” Lilli giggles and places a large brown paper bag and a holder with three to-go cups on the kitchen counter. “Now.” She spins around with her arms wide open. “Come here and give me a hug.”
Alex pulls her in for the biggest bear hug. He lifts her up and spins her in a circle before gently placing her feet back on the floor.
“I don’t think I’ll ever get over the fact that my baby brother towers over me.” She pulls back from their embrace while I study her features. She’s certainly shorter than Alex’s six-foot frame, but she’s taller than me. Her wavy honey-colored hair hangs just below her shoulders and when she turns to me, I see she shares the same light blue eye color as her brother.
“Hi, you must be Gabby.” She gives me a wide smile and a quick yet welcoming hug .
“And you are the famous Lilli.” I give her a quick squeeze back. I feel more at ease with her in the two minutes she’s been here than the whole meeting with Alex’s mom last night.
“Uh-oh, how much has Alex told you?” She gazes lovingly at her brother.
“Not much.” I rock on my heels. “While Alex likes to overshare a lot, he’s pretty tight-lipped when it comes to his family. I do know that you are one of his favorite people, though.”
“I think that’s something we both have in common.” She nudges me with her elbow.
“Truer words have never been spoken.” Alex puts his arms around each of us and squeezes our shoulders. “Now show me what you brought because I’m hungry and whatever is in that bag smells delicious.”
“Of course you jump right to the food,” Lilli chides. “I didn’t know what you would like, so I bought a little of everything from a new bakery in town.”
“Oh yeah?” Alex grabs a plate from a cabinet and begins putting an assortment of pastries out on display. “Where is it?”
“About a block away from the TV station. Mom and Dad were guests of honor for the grand opening. They helped the owner cut the ribbon with those big scissor-type things.”
“Of course they did.” Alex rolls his eyes and picks up what looks to be an apple fritter.
“They didn’t tell you?” Lilli tilts her head to the side.
“Mom probably mentioned it during one of her phone calls, but I tend to zone out when she starts going on and on about her latest public appearances.”
“Did she tell you that the anniversary dinner was moved to Manzanita Manor?” Lilli takes a cup of coffee and blows some steam off the top of it .
“Manzanita Manor?” Alex groans. “She told me they were selling tickets and mentioned a hall, but I didn’t think to ask her exactly where it would be held.”
“What’s Manzanita Manor?” I look between the two siblings.
“Only the most upscale hall in the area.” Alex runs an exasperated hand down his face. “I’m sorry, baby girl. I figured we’d lounge around here or I’d show you around town. Now that has to change.”
“I’m not following.”
“Manzanita Manor is black-tie only. I’m guessing you didn’t bring an evening gown with you?” Lilli asks.
“I—” I gasp. I only brought a regular dress for a small gathering. I don’t even own anything black-tie worthy. I’m not even sure I know what something like that would look like and it certainly is not in my budget. But the thought of being underdressed feels dreadful.
“ Relájate. Relax,” Lilli says reassuringly. “I figured that was the case. That’s why I came over early. I thought we could do a little dress shopping while getting to know each other, and do not worry about the cost. I got you covered.”
“Lilli.” I gasp. “I can’t let you pay for something like that.”
“It’s no problem.” She waves her hand. “Consider it a gift. My brother might be the happy-go-lucky type, but I’ve never heard a smile in his voice until he met you. That’s worth more to me than the cost of a gown. Plus, it will be fun. We can get to know each other better.”
“Well…” My eyes shift to Alex as if to ask for reassurance.
“I think you should go,” he answers my unspoken question. “I don’t want you to feel out of place. Especially with meeting my family…and half the town.”
“What about you?” I ask, realizing that he only brought a pair of dress slacks and a button-down shirt .
“I have a tux here in case I ever need it.” His eyes glance over to where the main house sits.
“This will be so much fun!” Lilli claps her hands, then turns to her brother. “I promise I’ll take great care of her.”
“I know you will,” he responds appreciatively.
“I guess I better go get dressed.” I look down at my robe. I have to admit, I’m kind of excited for this little shopping trip. I never got to go to my prom or anything, so now I’ll know what it feels like to get all dolled up.
“Yup!” Lilli grabs her coffee cup and another one for me. “Pick out a pastry and we can eat on the drive over. I know the perfect boutique that will have something to accentuate those amazing curves of yours.”
“But nothing too accentuating.” Alex gives a lopsided grin. “I prefer to keep those curves all to myself.”
“Yeah, yeah.” Lilli waves her hand. “We’ll meet back here at two to get ready, do our hair and makeup. The limo is coming at four to take us to cocktail hour.”
“Cocktail hour?” Alex whines.
“Yes. Once the party got upgraded to a larger event, they added in a cocktail hour.”
“Of course they did.” Alex’s tone deepens and the muscle in his jaw ticks.
“Everything will be okay,” Lilli soothes. “And just think, now you get to spend the evening with two of your favorite girls.”