Alexander turns and walks to the door; he opens it and stops, looking back at me.
“Call Anna, and you have my number on your phone if you need me. But Isabella, you’re wrong about our wedding day.”
“Oh, and how am I wrong about that?” I snip at him.
His voice wavers, “I meant every vow I said. I will love, honorand cherish you. No matter how much you hate me.” He closes the door and leaves. I toss my pillow at the closed door.
Butterscotch smelling motherfucker!
Chapter 23 ~ Alexander
That didn’t quite go as I had planned. But then again, I deserved everything she had to say. I put the tray on the kitchen counter quietly. Every instinct in my body tells me to throw it across the room and smash every dish on the table. I look down at her plate and see she only ate some fruit and two bites out of her toast.
I’m such a dick.
I don’t even really know why I took her tray. She probably wasn’t done eating, but I wanted to get out of there before she said something she would regret later. Isabella doesn’t understand; she doesn’t have all the information, but she will. What she said about me was true, I did it all and if ordered, I would have killed her. I scrape her plate into the trash and rinse it under the tap. Piling everything back on the tray and drying my hands on a dish towel.
I lean against the counter and fold my arms over my chest. I hope she calls Anna; she needs someone to help her through this and right now it’s not me. After the weekend, I’ll probably drop off those letters and let her read them. I’m not exactly sure what I can do to make anything better but leave. It’s probably the best bet; she’s so pissed off right now. A smirk breaks out on my face, and I’m glad she can’t see it.
Butterscotch smelling, asshole?
Oh, man, that was cute. Even pissed and giving me shit, she was vibrant and alive; her eyes a bright jade green. Not the subdued little bunny that cowers. And I want her to be strong; I want her to have a voice she never got to use. I’ll make it up to her and keep my silent promise to Angelo.
I go to the door and take one look back at her closed bedroom door. I want to check on her again, but I might get a cup upside the head, so I’ll leave and head to the house.
I walk past the stacked lounge chairs, thinking about where I might have gone wrong, where I set her off. I thought the conversation was going smoothly until I mentioned her apartment.
I don’t know why she would want to keep it. She is not leaving me, not again, so what was the big deal? I’m bringing everything here for her. Sebastian and Carlos should be home on Sunday with the truck, and she can decide where she wants everything to go.
I wanted Sebastian to make sure the movers packed all her plants very carefully. I didn’t get much of a glimpse in there after she punched me in the throat, but Sebastian did send me a picture and she does have a lot of plants. I didn’t know she liked plants. Then again, there are probably a million things about Isabella I don’t know or didn’t take the time to know. But all of that’s going to change.
I go straight through to the kitchen with the tray and set it on the counter.
“Good morning, Rose.” I smile at her.
Rose spins around from the counter, and for once, she doesn’t yell or drop anything. I’ve been trying to be much gentler around her. Maybe she’s like Isabella. My demeanor makes her feel skittish, so I’m trying my best to be less aggressive and blunt around her.
“Yes, Mr. Russo, what can I do for you?”
“I was wondering if I could put it in a request for Isabella’s dinner tonight?”
Rose wipes her hands on a tea towel across her shoulder and says, “Yes, anything? What would you like?”
I can’t help the grin on my face. “She has a craving for butterscotch pudding. Can you make sure that she has a bowl sent with her dinner each night?”
Rose wrinkles her brow and looks at me with puzzlement.
“Of course, I can do that for her. Maybe now that she’s pregnant, she might crave different things. I’ll have to keep an eye out for that. Anything that she needs, anything that she’s craving, just let me know and I’ll make sure that she has it.” Her smile beams up at me, and I thank her and head to my office.
The smile on my face almost hurts my cheeks as I cross the foyer. She may hate me; she may not want me around. But she said I smell like butterscotch, and I’m going to make sure that scent never leaves her nose. Like the scent of lilies that haunted me, she will smell me every day.
I open my laptop and bring up my emails. Most of its organization work now since I sold the club to Christopher. He’s actually doing really, really well. I was quite surprised. He was pretty upset that one day when things went south, but he’s handling everything like a pro now. Marcus has a new manager, so he has more time off. I still run Silk, but mostly I just run in and do what needs to be done and leave. I don’t take in any performances, and I gave my apartment to Christopher. I want to be here with Isabella as close as she will let me be.
I send a quick email off to my father. I want him to know my plans for the letter and Isabella. I’ll let her decide if she wantsto talk about it, but I think it’s best if all three of us have a meeting. He can explain everything to her; he was there and was the one to find her and save her. My hands grip the arms of my chair. I want to punch Robert all over again. But I stopped for her. I stopped because she would be upset that I went that far and beat her father to death.
I will prove to her that I love her. Not for money or power, not for any of the reasons she thinks. I love who she is, how sweet and kind she is. She doesn’t believe me, and I don’t blame her. But I do love her now that I know and understand what love is.
An idea strikes, and I call up all the companies and start my strategy. This is going to piss her off even more or bring her to me. Either way, I’ll get her to talk to me one way or the other, but I’ll wait till after her weekend with Anna. I can almost say I feel like a kid when I would piss off one of my brothers. Oh, I’d love to be there to see her face.
