Page 67 of LA Reign

“Hmm.” She gives me a knowing smile. “I’m sure you do. I see the way my Alejandro looks at you, Alana. You have put a fire in his eyes that I have never seen before. I used to worry about all of those women he dated, the ones with the fake everything, including their personalities. He never once brought one home to meet us, but I’m not stupid. I saw the caliber of girl he was choosing. Ones that would never come close to reaching his heart. I started to wonder if he had closed his heart off completely, perhaps seeing it as a sign of weakness. But then he met you, Alana, and everything changed. I have never seen him so happy…so fulfilled as he has been these past few months.”

My heart almost bursts from my chest, it’s suddenly so filled with happiness and gratitude. “Thank you, Maria,” I say as I blink a tear away.

“You are most welcome my cariño,” she replies as she pats my hand. “Now, tell me about this young lady who is staying at your house with you now. Mateo tells me she is from Philadelphia ?”

“Ah, that would be Lucia,” I say, her name bringing a smile to my face. I fill Maria in on some of it but don’t go into detail about her Ramos family history, as I’m not sure how much Alejandro has shared with his parents. I do, however, enjoy sharing how I’ve noticed the teenager working her way into Alejandro’s affections, the two of them becoming close without either of them really noticing.

“She sounds magnificent,” Maria announces, clapping her hands with glee. “And I cannot wait to meet her.”

Chapter

Twenty-Seven

ALANA

Iwalk onto the patio and place a bottle of wine and two glasses on the table before taking a seat opposite Kelsey, who has her face tilted toward the sun and a huge smile on her lips.

She glances up at me as I join her. “This is some amazing place you’ve got here, Alana. I could get used to this,” she says with a sigh.

“You can stay forever as far as I’m concerned, but I know you’d never leave New York,” I say, laughing as I pour the wine.

She shrugs. “Maybe I would. For a house like this.” She grins at me. “Or the right guy?”

“What?” I smile at her. “You’d seriously consider moving to LA?”

“New York isn’t as much fun without you. The landlord has put the rent on the apartment up again. I hate my job. There are no decent men left in the entire borough of Manhattan. At least none I haven’t dumped at the penguin enclosure anyway. I don’t know. I kind of feel like I need a fresh start.”

“But you love the city,” I remind her.

“So do you. Or at least you did. Would you move back there now?”

“No,” I shake my head. “I hated it here when I first arrived, but now it feels like home.”

“I can see why you love it. It’s beautiful. And Alejandro, well, he’s beautiful too, in his own grumpy way,” she laughs. “And he has so many hot bodyguards.” She winks at me, and I know exactly who she’s talking about.

“Hmm. So, you and Hugo? Tell me everything.”

“Oh, he’s as hot as hell. And when we were on the plane over here, while you and the panty melter were otherwise engaged, we had a bit of a kiss. It was damn fine. But since we landed in LA he’s been super professional, and as much as I try to tempt him, he’s not biting. I suppose he has a lot going on with trying to find out what happened to Alejandro’s father?”

“Yeah. I guess they’re all kind of busy right now. Including the panty melter.”

“Does Alejandro have any idea who is responsible yet?”

“No,” I shake my head. “At least not that he’s told me anyway. And I’m sorry that you’re practically on house arrest here. I’d love for us to have gone out while you’re in LA. Alejandro has an amazing club, but he says it’s just too risky right now.”

Kelsey nods. “He has a club?”

I shrug. It’s amazing how quickly I’ve become used to such things. “Yeah. And one day, I promise, I’ll take you there. We’ll do the whole LA thing. Hollywood sign, Pretty Woman clothes shopping, the beach. The lot.”

She leans across and pats my hand. “Don’t worry, honey. I totally understand. It’s no hardship being confined to this house anyway. It’s basically a luxury vacation resort.”

“I know. But you’re only here for a few days. I’d have at least liked to have shown you some of the sights.”

Kelsey shakes her head. “Will you stop worrying? This isn’t your doing. There’s a full-scale family crisis going on. I’m a big girl and if I want to get out of here, I will, but I’d rather spend my last two days here with you, by this beautiful pool. Do you think we could encourage Hugo to come out here and have a swim? I mean, I promise not to touch, if he doesn’t want me to. I could just watch…” She lifts her sunglasses and gives me a cheeky wink.

“I think he might consider that a dereliction of duty,” I laugh.

“But he’s your bodyguard. If you’re in the pool too, then isn’t he doing exactly what he’s paid to? Oh, how I wish he’d offer to guard my body,” she sighs.