The sound of the lock turning makes my stomach twitter. Alex calls my name.
“In here!”
His shoes tap and clack against the hardwood and I straighten my dress one more time. He stops in the doorway, a stunned look on his face.
“Do you like it?” I touch the loose bun at the back of my neck.
He drops his briefcase on the floor and steps into the room. His hand reaches for my waist and I let him drag me in. “You look stunning.”
I bite my lip and smile up at him.
“You didn’t have to go to any trouble for them.”
“I know. I just want to make a good impression.” I place a light kiss on his lips. He chases after me for more, but I put a hand out to stop him. “You’ll ruin my makeup.”
“I’m okay with that.”
“Stop,” I laugh, dodging clear of him. “Now go get ready or we’ll be late.”
He looks as though he’s willing to risk it, but ends up turning into his immaculate bathroom and leaves me alone.
I pick up the briefcase and take it into the kitchen. I’m so nervous I can’t stand still. What if his father throws us out, or worse, disowns him? How can I ask him to risk everything for me?
The briefcase vibrates beneath my hand. It’s chocolate brown, made of buttery cowhide leather. I pull open the front flap and see the bright screen of Alex’s cellphone light up. Sliding the phone free of an interior pocket, my heart skips a beat.
*Cadence Spelling Calling*
Goddamn. What’re the odds?
This time I do what I should’ve done two years ago. I answer it.
“Hello? Alex?” Her sweet southern-drawl rings in my ear like a sledgehammer on a church bell.
“No, it’s Charlie.”
There’s no response for several long seconds. “Charlotte, what’re you…”
I’ve got no idea what to say or why I even answered, I just know I’m done being her doormat. “Alex can’t come to the phone right now. Do you want me to give him a message for you?”
More stilted silence. “Oh, well I…” The sigh at the other end of the line is of someone truly resigned to her fate. “I wanted to tell him I didn’t get a chance to talk to Daddy about us calling off the wedding. I ran into his mother in town earlier and I knew he was going over for dinner. I just wanted to, well…warn him I guess.”
“Thank you. I’ll let him know.”
I’ve got the phone pressed so tightly to my ear it hurts. Whenever I’ve thought about confronting Cadence about my relationship with Alex, I always assumed I’d feel some measure of victory. But this just feels awkward and uncomfortable. I pull the phone from my ear to check if she’s hung up. The call’s still connected.
Her voice returns softly. “He’s a good man, Charlotte. I’m still not sure you...” she stops herself, letting the words fall off. She begins again, strong and clear this time. “Take care of him. He deserves to be happy.”
The silence on the other end changes and I know she’s ended the call. I place the phone on top of the briefcase. That’s not how it was supposed to go. She was supposed to be mean and taunting and I was going to give as good as I got.
“Who was it?”
I nearly jump out of my skin at the sound of his voice. His chest is naked and glistening from the shower. A fluffy white towel is secured around him.
“Who was it?” he repeats, looking seriously at me.
“Cadence.” I lower my eyes to the hands on his hips. “She wanted me to tell you that her father doesn’t know about you calling things off. She wanted to warn you.”
I see Alex’s body tense in my periphery. His sleek muscles contract reflexively, like he’s preparing for a fight, which I guess he is.
“I’m sorry I answered your phone,” I say, embarrassed.
He pads silently toward me. No wonder I hadn’t heard him coming down the hallway. He places a warm hand beneath my chin and forces me to look up at him. “It’s going to be okay.”
I swallow painfully and wrap my hand around his. “I know.”
He stares at me for a long while.
“I’ll finish getting ready and we’ll go.” His hand drops and I let go of him. His back and shoulders are strong and broad. Surely broad enough to carry us through tonight… and back home again?
He turns at the entrance to the hallway and looks back at me. “Promise you won’t hate me because of them.”
Surprised, I shake my head. “Of course I won’t.”
He stares at me very carefully then nods once. “I hope so.”
To use Cousin Willy’s words, holy fucking shit balls. These people are rich. Or,
were rich
, anyway. Alex opens the passenger side door and offers me his hand.
The house is magnificent. A sprawling Spanish-style mansion on a rolling hill overlooking endless fields dotted with trees and small round ponds. It’s like something you’d expect to see in the movies, not twenty minutes out of the city.
The natural gravel drive makes a mockery of my effort to walk in high heels, so I lean against Alex for support. Before we reach the rounded stairs leading to the double front door, which is as wide as my kitchen, he comes to a stop.
“Are you sure you want to be here for this? I can tell them on my own.” He looks down at me.
Alex is the most confident man I’ve ever known. His hesitation worries me. I turn into him and flex up on my already sore feet to reach his lips. I grab the back of his head with one hand and use the other to pull the lapel of his jacket toward me. Every ounce of love and courage is thrust into the kiss. He’s slow to respond. I wait until his body has relaxed before letting go.
His lapel is wrinkled so I smooth it out as I smile at him. “Did you know it’s my birthday next month?”
The question throws him. He smiles. “Really? And you’re telling me now because…”
“Because I’ve already decided on what I want you to get for me.”
His eyes sparkle in the inky light as he waits for me to continue.
“I want to go up in a hot air balloon.”
Again, I can tell I’ve surprised him.
“See when Paige and I were little this man we called Dumbo Bill owned a hot air balloon. It was gorgeous. Red, white, green and blue stripes. He let Paige and I play under it during the slow season. We’d grab a corner and snap it as high as we could a few times then duck inside and pull it over our heads. It didn’t work too well because the thing was so big and we needed a lot more people to help throw it up, but it didn’t stop us from trying.”
His dimples are so deep I wonder where they disappear to when he’s not smiling. “It’s a great story, but why are you telling it now?”
I place both palms against his chest and let him wrap his arms around me. “Dumbo Bill’s hot air balloon ride cost seventy-five dollars for an hour long flight. I saved every dollar I earned for a year to buy a ticket.”
“And you finally bought your ticket?”
“Nope.” I shake my head. “Dumbo Bill got drunk and accidentally lit the damn thing on fire.”
His laugh is strong and hearty, and I can tell he’s ready to face his parents now. “So you never got to go up on the balloon?”
“Never. But I think I’d like to try again. With you.”
His eyes linger on my lips just before he leans in to kiss me. “Thank you,” he says, pulling back.
“I don’t know why you’re thanking me.” I walk toward the stairs. “You’re going to have to buy the tickets. Hot air balloon rides have gotten really expensive.”
The door is locked so Alex presses the bell. Baritone chimes announce our arrival. Through the glass panels set in the door I can see the silhouette of a someone walking toward us. A truly beautiful woman with long black hair, ruby lips and the same caramel-colored skin as Alex opens the door.
“There he is,” she coos, stepping over the threshold to envelope Alex in a hug.
“Mom.” He releases her. “This is Charlie Davies. Charlie, this is my mother, Helena.”
Helena Ramirez smells like wild gardenia wrapped in lilacs and red wine. Her half-full glass sloshes dangerously as she leans in close to cheek-kiss. I’m suddenly overcome by indecision.
Do we kiss once? Twice? Three times? Are your lips supposed to actually touch each other’s faces or just pretend to?
Luckily, she seems to have mastered the air kiss, and lets go of my shoulder after one brief ‘mwaw’.
“Lovely to meet you,” she says.
“Great to meet you too,” I stutter a little too loudly. “What a beautiful home.”
She waves dismissively. “Oh, thank you.”
I want to tell her to enjoy it while she can, but Alex’s hand on my back guides me inside.
The foyer is richly decorated with statues, art, and fresh flowers. But the true attraction is a massive mahogany stairwell, which curves gracefully to the floor above. I look at Alex over my shoulder and raise my brows.
This is where you grew up?
Paige was right, this place make’s Ken’s familial home look like the set of
Sanford and Son
.
Helena leads us through the main room and into a marbled hallway. “I’m so glad you came for dinner tonight, Alex. Pamela was able to get the most delicious looking salmon today.” She smiles back at me. “Salmon is Alex’s favorite.”
As soon as she looks forward again I mouth silently,
“Salmon? Pamela?”
He whispers against my ear. “She’s our cook.”
I almost trip over my feet.
“You’re father’s in the study. Why don’t I go fetch him and you can show Charlie--” She almost trips over my name. “--into the dining room?”
Helena bestows another dazzling smile on us before turning down another hallway.
I look up at him. “I have questions.”
“Alright.”
“Is salmon really your favorite?”
“No. I’ve never liked it but she insists on having it made every time I come by for dinner.”
“Is Pamela an indentured slave here? Do we need to smuggle her out with us?”
He chuckles. “No.”
“Have you ever slid down that bannister?”
“Yes. But only when no one was looking and only when it had recently been polished.” He wiggles his eyebrows at me.
I follow Alex into the dining room and try hard not to gasp. The table is absolutely enormous. It could sit twenty people comfortably. The walls are covered in a deep red and gold paper and heavy velvet curtains are drawn back along each of the four windows. A beautiful antique walnut buffet takes up three-quarters of the wall on one side of the room and two smaller matching bureaus adorn the other. A real crystal chandelier illuminates everything in a soft glow, and sets the china and crystal glasses beneath it glittering.
“You’re willing to risk all this for me?” I grab the back of an ornate dining chair.
Alex runs his index finger down my arm. “
You’re
the most beautiful thing in this room.”
I am very tempted to jump onto the table and play master-servant with him right now.
Juan, with Helena on his arm, walks into the room from a door on Alex’s right. He wears the same mysterious smile he wore the last time we met.
I pull in my stomach and stand up straighter, determined to make a better impression this time.
“Charlie, how nice to see you again.” Juan leans in and unlike his wife, makes contact with my cheek. “You look beautiful.”
I wonder how much he’s going to regret that compliment in an hour. “Thank you. And thank you for having me. I was telling your wife how much I love your home.”
“Thank you,” he says, a note of pride in his voice. “Please, let’s sit down and have some drinks and appetizers before dinner.”
Juan places a hand on my back and leads me to a seat two down from the head of the table. I sit and thank him for pulling out my chair. Alex shows his mother a similar courtesy before coming to sit between his father and me. A sharp pain moves through my knee. I hadn’t realized I’d been bouncing it nervously but I’m paying for it now. Alex’s big hand comes to rest gently on top of it. As Helena and Juan consider the appetizers and discuss the wine selection, he leans into me, whispering quietly.
“Did you know it’s customary to drink champagne after a hot air balloon flight?”
I place my hand over his. We got this.
We so don’t ‘got’ this.
Juan’s face is purple with rage as he stands opposite Alex in the opulently decorated family room. “How dare you come into my house and threaten me.” He spits out the words and points a finger at his son’s chest.
“Funny. A minute ago your argument was that I’d destroy the family legacy. So, forgive me, but as your only son and heir, that makes all this--” Alex encompasses the entire room with a broad gesture. “--as much mine as it is yours.”
Juan shoves a hand through his hair and turns away.
Surprisingly, dinner was a complete success. Juan shared a long family history. Alex seemed, if not relaxed, at least confident, and Helena complimented me several times on my table manners. I suspect she was more amazed than impressed but I’ve decided to take what I can get out of her. She’s currently sitting across from me in a very puffy chair, enjoying her second bottle of wine and not saying a word. I think it outrages me more than Juan’s reaction. What kind of mother doesn’t come to the defense of her own child?
Alex drags a hand down his face and looks over at me. He tried to get me to leave when the shouting started but I refused. I want to be here for him now more than ever. It’s clear he’ll get no other support in this house.
Juan observes his son watching me. “Why are you here, huh? This is a family matter. You have no business here.”
The full focus of his aggression is now on me and I squirm under his hateful stare. “I’m here for your son. I love him.”
His smile is sarcastic and cruel. “Oh, you love him, do you? You love him enough to see his family penniless? Turned out of the house that has been theirs for two hundred years?” His voice gets louder and louder with each word. “You love him so much, you’re willing to see him disowned and disgraced, just so he can be with you?”
Alex grabs his father’s arm roughly and pulls him away from me. “You brought disgrace on this family. Not her. Not me. You.” He matches Juan’s dangerous tone. “She has nothing to do with this.”
Juan yanks his arm out of his son’s grasp. “She has everything to do with it. Before you invited her into your bed, you had no problem going along with things.”