Chapter 40
Chapter
Forty
Alana
It’s the day of the new center opening, and my nerves are in full swing, fizzing around low in my belly.
Alejandro opens my door and helps me from the car.
I’m sure he senses my unease and has been charming all morning.
He told Jacob to park down the block so we weren’t pulling up in his fancy car outside the shelter.
The fact he thought of that impresses and surprises me.
He’s not the ruthless monster my father made him out to be at all.
He isn’t dressed in his usual suit either but is wearing jeans and a polo, so his muscular arms and some of his tattoos are on display. Even dressed casually, he still looks hotter than the sun.
He keeps hold of my hand, and as we get closer to the shelter, my heart rate increases and my stomach grows increasingly fluttery.
“Are you nervous, princesa?” he asks, squeezing my hand.
God, why does he have to know me so well? “A little,” I admit.
He flashes me a grin. “Do you think I’m going to embarrass you?”
“No, of course not. It’s just that this has been my world for the past couple months, and now you’re going to see it. It feels kind of strange to share this part of my world with you.”
“It will be fine.” He leans in and gives me a gentle kiss on the cheek.
It’s such a normal couple thing to do, and it makes my insides light up.
This isn’t like him. It certainly isn’t him and me.
We have hot, explosive sex, and we occasionally fight.
We don’t usually do this real husband-and-wife stuff.
But it means so much to me that he’s here today.
“You ready?” Alejandro asks when we get to the shelter.
I take a deep breath and nod.
As soon as we walk through the door, we’re accosted by Kristen. “Alana!” she shouts, pulling me into a hug.
I hug her back. I love Kristen and her warmth and kindness. When she steps out of my embrace, she smooths her hair back from her face and directs her attention to Alejandro.
“Kristen, this is my husband, Alejandro,” I say, and it’s accompanied by such a rush of pride that it completely blindsides me.
“Kristen.” Alejandro takes her hand and kisses it. “It’s a pleasure to meet you.”
She blushes, because he does have that kind of effect on people. “Oh, the pleasure is mine.”
“This place looks great,” he says, glancing around. “You must be doing an excellent job.”
Kristen puts an arm around my shoulder. “Well, there is no way we’d be standing here in this fine building if it wasn’t for your incredible wife.
I think she must be our guardian angel, because before she showed up, we were about to be evicted from a building that was, quite frankly, falling apart. ”
Heat creeps over my neck and cheeks. “I only filled a small gap; Kristen here does everything else.”
She flashes my husband a conspiratorial grin. “Is she always this awful at taking compliments?”
“My wife is very humble. She has no idea how incredible she truly is.” He winks at me, and I’m sure my bones melt.
“I can’t thank you enough for bringing her here to LA and into our lives, Mr. Montoya. I honestly don’t know what we’d do without her. You must be very proud.”
He slips his hand around mine and squeezes, and my heart slams against my melted ribcage. “Like you wouldn’t believe,” he says softly, and I think he means it.
“Alana!” Lucy shouts behind us, breaking up the moment.
I still haven’t figured out how to help her.
For now, she seems happier simply to have shared the burden of her secret, but I can’t keep it from Kristen for much longer.
Thing is I haven’t been able to get any details of the father of her baby, other than he’s older than her and his name is Blake—and he sounds like very bad news.
But Lucy and I have become close over these past few weeks, and I’m growing to care for her deeply.
“Lucy, you’re here.” I give her a smile and a quick hug and introduce her to Alejandro.
“This is your husband?” she says, giving him a once-over.
“I certainly am.” Alejandro slips his arm around my waist, almost like he can’t bear to not be touching me.
“Way to go, Alana.” Grinning, she fist-bumps me.
Alejandro’s fingers dig lightly into my hip, pulling me closer. It’s possessive and reassuring, and it sends a shockwave of electricity right through me. “How about you show me around this place?”
“Of course, I’d love to.” I’m so pleased that he’s taking an interest and didn’t simply show his face because it would be “good for business.”
I’ve almost given Alejandro the full tour of the new facility, which has taken some considerable time as I had to introduce him to every person we came across along the way.
He’s been charming to everyone, dripping with the kind of magnetic charisma that has people eating out of the palm of his hand.
I feel like I’ve gotten a real insight into how the outside world must see him—the king of LA.
We’re walking down the hallway when Alejandro pulls me into a storage closet. He closes the door, presses me against it, and kisses me hungrily. His hand slips down to my ass, and he squeezes hard.
My body reacts on instinct, yielding to him as it always does.
Remembering where we are and where his kisses usually lead, I manage to wrench my lips from his. “We can’t do this in here.”
“I know.” He dusts his knuckles over my cheek. “I just had to kiss you. I can wait until we get home to fuck you—or at least until we get in the car.”
I pull him closer and can feel his growing hardness through his jeans. “You’re obsessed with sex.”
“I’m obsessed with sex with you, Mrs. Montoya.” He nips my shoulder. “And seeing how much these people love you is only making me want to take you home and remind you that you’re mine.”
I rest my hands on his muscular chest, hard as steel under the soft cotton. “How could I ever possibly forget?”
He cups my jaw and gives me another quick peck on the lips. “So, how much is this place costing me?”
“What do you mean?”
“This new shelter. How much did you put me down for investing?”
I can hardly believe the arrogance of this man. Does he seriously think I’d take his money like that? “Nothing.” I say, crossing my arms over my chest to create some distance between us.
“Nothing? Not even a cent?” Why is he shocked? He’s never shown an interest in my work before.
“We have fundraised every single cent spent on this place. I haven’t used any of your money.”
“Why not? You have the Amex card.” He insisted I keep that, but I only use it for essentials, like panties and cocktail dresses for him to ruin. “I expected you would at least commit to a donation on behalf of the business.”
“Why would I do that? I had no idea you’d be interested in donating.”
His brow furrows. “You didn’t think that I’d be interested in helping abused women and children?”
“No, I didn’t,” I snap. It’s probably harsh, but it’s rooted in truth.
He grinds his jaw and reaches behind me to open the door. “Let’s go,” he growls.
I step out of the closet, and he follows close behind.
Before I can say anything to ease the unexpected tension between us, he pulls out his cell phone and has it pressed to his ear.
A few seconds later, he starts barking orders in Spanish.
I feel like I might throw up as those fluttery feelings from earlier make a reappearance, only this time it’s ten times worse.
Alejandro is clearly upset about our conversation, and like he usually does with any kind of unpleasant emotions, he’s channeled them into anger. Is he going to leave now? Go back to his hotel and ruin what was a wonderful day? This is why we shouldn’t do normal couple things.
Kristen and one of the workers, Casey, approach us, and I bristle, hoping Alejandro doesn’t snap at them. But he ends his call and gives them a reassuring smile, his public persona firmly back in place.
“Alana, I need to show you the TV in the rec room,” Casey says. “It’s huge!” She grabs my hand and urges me to go with her. I can only offer Alejandro an apologetic look as I leave him talking to Kristen.
Twenty minutes later, I’m chatting with a few of the kids in the den when Alejandro finds me. This is probably where he tells me he’s leaving.
“Alana, it’s time to for us to leave,” he says instead. His tone is light, but that’s no indication of anything with him. He could be a raging inferno underneath that cool, calm exterior.
It is getting late, and I suppose I’ve taken enough of his time today. I nod my agreement and say goodbye to the kids.
After we bid our goodbyes to Kristen and Lucy, we head outside. The car is idling beside the curb a little way down the road, but when I turn that way, Alejandro grabs my arm and shakes his head. “Not that car, princesa.”
He’s leaving because I offended him. Asshole.
Jacob approaches and hands Alejandro a set of keys. “Be gentle with her, Boss, won’t you?” he says.
Be gentle with who? Me?
Alejandro claps his driver on the back. “Have I ever not been?”
If you’re talking about me, then um, yes. But I sense they’re not, and now I feel lost, like they’re in on something I’m not.
Jacob laughs. “I believe her body work will tell a different tale, sir. Have a wonderful evening, Mrs. Montoya.” Jacob gives me a polite nod and jogs back to the car he drove us here in.
Alejandro takes my hand. “Our ride is this way.” He guides me in the opposite direction, and we come to a stop beside an old green Mustang.
So the she Jacob was referring to was a car. Alejandro has a whole garage full of cars—all high-end and top spec. I have no idea who this beat-up Mustang belongs to or why we’re driving home in it. That nervous fizzing in my stomach is back.
“Why aren’t we taking your car?”
He unlocks the passenger door and opens it for me. “This is my car, Alana. My first car, in fact, which is why she’s a little worse for wear. Jax and I used to drag race her before we were old enough to have a license.”