THIRTY-FIVE
“OH MY GOD!”
Alessia’s exclamation brought her around in the kitchen. Not an unusual thing for her to say but given she hadn’t known her sister was even in her apartment, yeah, it was a surprise.
“What’s going on?” she asked, quickly washing her hands. “Did something happen?”
Alessia dumped her purse on the counter. “Yes, something happened.”
“What?” A million potential disasters rushed her senses. “Is Mom okay?”
“Lark broke up with her boyfriend.”
She deflated. “Really? That’s not a something happened.”
“It is! She told him how she really felt, sooo much tea. And did you hear about Roman?”
“No. Hear what?”
Instantly she regretted asking. The question just slid out in reflex to Alessia’s query. This week had been sans Roman Lowe so far, and she’d have been happy for it to stay that way.
“He posted this video online…” Alessia rummaged around in her purse and produced her phone. “It’s him, talking to the fans, talking to us. Showing us how much he cares. We mean something to him. He really puts himself out there, it’s just beautiful.”
Alessia turned the screen and there he was, as stated, close to the camera, not much background.
He started by clearing his throat. “This is a message you all deserve to hear; one I should’ve sent long ago. I’ll never be able to explain every incident in my past or justify my actions. Some of the things I’ve done have been… despicable. That doesn’t get me off the hook. I apologize, and I should’ve apologized many times already. Why did it take so long? I don’t know; there’s no justifiable answer to that. I was broken, in so many ways, unprepared for the trappings of fame, I guess you could say. Cliché, maybe, yeah, it went to my head. I took advantage of the faith and trust others put in me, you put in me. To anyone who ever watched a second of me on screen, to those who expected more, to those I’ve disappointed: I’m sorry. I hope you can forgive me and that we can move on… together. Thank you to those who have stuck by me, supported me, continued to follow me and my career even when it was a hot mess. You deserve better and I should’ve given you better. I’m sorry, to everyone, I hope you can all forgive me.”
The image paused then cleared.
Alessia snatched her phone to her chest and sighed. “Isn’t that amazing? He really put himself out there! He’s vulnerable, just like the rest of us. Can you believe he did that?”
No, actually, she couldn’t, though didn’t get the chance to say it, which was probably just as well. Zane appeared from the bedroom sparing her the confession, that one anyway.
“Sorry, babe, I—” He stopped when Alessia whirled around, shock written all over her loose face. “Hi, Alessia.”
“Oh my God,” her sister said again, jaw still swinging. “Zane Dyce is here.”
“Yeah, I noticed that.”
“You ladies need a minute?”
“No,” she said, gesturing at the stove. “You started with the sauce, finish before I ruin it.”
Accepting the task, he passed Alessia to take over at the stove. She moved on to gathering flatware and napkins. Her boot was just part of her life now, though on it, she was less than graceful.
“Are you living together now?” Alessia asked, coming in close as she went to work setting the table. “Is this permanent?”
“I don’t know,” she said under her breath. “We don’t know, it just is.”
“Have you told Mom?”
“Less, don’t make a big deal of it.”
Alessia prodded her waist. “Not so bad bagging yourself a billionaire.” Her sister whirled around and raised her voice. “You better plan to do right by my sister. It’s so weird, seeing you here.” Alessia bumped her with a hip. “It’s like you brought some of the island back with you.”
And if she could go back there now and let it swallow her whole, she would.
Her guy took Alessia’s reaction in stride. “How have you been doing since you got back home?”
“My life is completely boring,” Alessia said then squealed. “Oh! But Roman! Did you know about his video?”
“No.”
Though he didn’t look that surprised or question what she meant. Maybe he’d been enjoying the Roman-free zone too.
“That better be true. Thea, would he lie to me?”
“If he’d known, I’d have known.” Though that wasn’t necessarily true given Zane understood her opinion of his cousin. “Are you staying for dinner?”
“Not if I’m crashing your date.”
He’d been there with her for the last two days. It still felt new and thrilling, more so with this domesticity. They complemented each other, she’d never been in a relationship that felt so natural, where routine and intimacy slotted into place without effort. Or she was kidding herself and seeing things that didn’t exist, feeling things that didn’t…
“You’re more than welcome,” Zane said, tossing the pasta and sauce. “We should get to know each other better.”
That was a good sign, and one she welcomed.
“Why did you leave the island?” Alessia asked, seating herself as Thea went to get the wine. “You own it, why would you ever leave?”
“I had meetings,” he said. “And your sister is a powerful lure. We have a wedding to attend this weekend too.”
“A wedding? Whose wedding?”
“A friend of mine,” he said. “His fiancée’s expecting their first child.”
“Is that why they’re getting married?”
“I don’t think Kintyre would appreciate it being put that way.” He brought over the food, while she finished pouring their drinks. “He loves Lilya, very much. They hit it off straight—well, I guess I can’t really say that.”
“Say what?” Alessia asked, accepting her plate. “Oh, wait, Kintyre, you mean Julietta Ines-Kintyre, her ex-husband. Damn, he’s hot.”
“And taken,” she said, sitting when Zane pushed her chair in under her.
“I bet you have a lot of hot, rich friends.”
He descended to his own place. “The number of those single dwindles by the day.”
“Will Roxie be at the wedding?”
“Yep, and her best friend, Jane. My sister-in-law Roux. Merci, Rainie, plenty of women to keep her entertained. I’m not sure they’ve ever been together in one concentrated group.”
That could lead to all kinds of shenanigans. Maybe she should carry cash, in case bail was needed. With Roxie in the midst that wasn’t outside the realm of possibility. Nothing was outside the realm of possibility.
“You have such a cool life. Where do you stay when you’re not on the island?” Alessia asked without giving him time to answer. “Is Roman there? I mean, is he going back? Things must be so difficult for him right now.”
Her eyes met Zane’s. This was maybe something they didn’t want to get into.
“Don’t you think Roman deserves his privacy?” she asked really just as a way to move the conversation along.
Typical Alessia didn’t take the hint. “His video is so bold, so raw. It proves he cares about people.” Mm hmm, yeah, she was keeping her lips sealed. “Hey!” Something struck Alessia that jolted her like a bee sting. “When you get married, will Roman be there? Will he be part of the wedding?”
Keep on eating. Don’t even look Zane’s way. Eyes down.
“In the wedding party?” he asked. “No.”
At least he refrained from saying “not a chance.” Just because they were talking weddings didn’t mean he was referring to her. A sign, that’s what she needed. Something unequivocal from fate, or Zane, and then she’d broach the subject herself… when they were alone.
Alessia flopped. “No? Why no? He’d be a great best man.”
Zane laughed. “Ha, not a chance.”
Okay, so there it was. In his defense, there weren’t many options for answering that question. And she couldn’t say she didn’t feel the same way.
“I thought you’d be closer.” Alessia didn’t at all question the certainty. “You both live lives of expectation. People always want something from you. It can’t be easy to be chasing yourself all the time.”
The next big revelation. What would Dyce Technologies release next? It had to be secret, had to stay under wraps, yet all eyes and ears and grubby fingers wanted to pick through every word and communication in hopes of even a hint.
“We don’t have a lot in common. I prefer to live my life away from the limelight.”
“But you could, if you wanted to, be famous. Like Roxie and Zairn, they’re famous for being them and having a good time. And they know the CollCom people, they said it there on Talk at Sunset. You could be famous like them.”
“I don’t want to be famous.”
“And Kintyre, it’s Zachary, right?” Zane nodded once. “He was famous for a while.”
Like it was something easily shrugged off.
“His wife was famous, and he got caught in that trap.” Zane kept eating. “He’s not sorry to see the back of it.”
“People are still interested. Because his wife, his ex-wife, she’s having his baby, right?”
“It’s not his baby.”
Alessia angled her chin like she didn’t believe it. “They said that, or Kesley Walsh said it, but she didn’t say who the real father is. Most people still think it’s his. If it wasn’t, why not just name the actual father and be done with it?”
“It’s not their place to do it. That’s between Julietta and the father of her child.”
“Kesley said it was someone rich and influential. Is he a politician?” Alessia gasped. “Is it the President?”
Couldn’t get much more influential than that.
“No,” Zane said. “And that’s as much as I’m saying.”
“But you know, don’t you? You know who the father is?”
“Yes.” Thank God he was taking this with good humor. Someone more uptight might take offense or start a fight. “And no, I won’t tell you.”
“Aww,” Alessia moaned in disappointment. “That would be a cool thing to know.”
“What happened with Lark?” she asked, seizing the opportunity to divert the conversation. Zane smiled at her, right at her, was he grateful? So long as he wasn’t pissed or put off by her nosey sister, she’d take what she could get. “You said she’d broken up with her boyfriend.”
“Oh, well, yeah, she’s got this crazy idea of—well, not exactly crazy, but it’s, you know, she wants to find an adventure. Lark said her ex wasn’t an adventure, she wasn’t even with him because they were mad in love. They were just together. Like some couples get in a rut. If he wants her, he’ll prove it, that’s what I said.”
“Some relationships aren’t meant to be,” Zane said.
“And if you’re in one that’s not, there’s no point treading water.”
“Exactly! You want to be open to other opportunities that might present themselves, other guys. Like on the island, if she’d wanted to get involved, like you did, she had this guy at home holding her back.”
Involved like her? There were male staff on the island, and God, she hoped that’s what her sister meant. If Lark meant Roman, she wasn’t sure they could trust him not to take advantage of every willing woman. When left to his own devices, the guy just charged on in without thinking. Fool.
Though he wasn’t the only one. There she was sitting with a man she adored, hoping he saw a tomorrow. Ask. That’s all she had to do. This wasn’t a passing whatever for her, they’d said they wanted to make a go of it. What did that mean? What did it really mean? Forever, or until they sated their interest? Was this sustainable? Which, of course, took her back to the same point: ask. They needed to have the conversation, someone had to bring it up. Someone needed to take the leap. Ask. Converse. Simple… right?