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“Hmm?” Jan’s thrumming stopped. When her fingers came to rest, they unlocked the door. She turned as though remembering he was in the car with her.
Alex had never been a second thought to any woman. He always had their full attention. Whether he wanted it or not.
He wanted Jan’s attention.
“Oh, no,” she said. “I have everything I need from there. If Chris wants to trash or donate the rest ...” She shrugged instead of finishing the sentence.
Her entire life was packed into two suitcases. If he thought about it, he could probably pack the things that mattered to him most in a couple of suitcases, too. Material things had never mattered much to him. Perhaps because he knew he could replace them. He had the money to buy whatever he wanted wherever he was.
Relationships, those he couldn’t pack away. There was only a handful that he treasured. His brother and Pen, of course. Now Esme was added to his family circle. There were his friends, Zhi, the Duke of Mondego, and Carlisle, the soon to be Baron of Balansya. Other than that, there was no one Alex cared to carry around in his life.
He looked again to Jan and realized he could now count her in amongst that small circle.
Her fingers resumed their thrumming on the door handle. Alex reached over and reengaged the lock. Before removing his hand, he captured her fingers in his palm and brought her hand into the cradle of both of his. For someone who worked with her hands on a daily basis, Jan’s hands were surprisingly soft. She blinked up at him when he pressed his palm into hers and laced their fingers.
“How are you doing?” he asked.
Her gaze narrowed on him. Her right eye began to twitch as though there were something inside it.
“Whatever you’re feeling, I want you to know that we’re in this together.” Alex gave Jan’s hand a squeeze. “I couldn’t ask for a better partner. I know it’s going to be a huge success.”
The twitch stopped as her gaze widened. Her lips parted, but she didn’t say anything. Her gaze dipped to his mouth, and her pupils dilated. She swallowed, her throat working as though his words were hard to take in.
Alex knew it was difficult for Jan to trust men. She had to be after what he gathered her ex had done to her. Then he’d met her parents, who didn’t seem to believe in her. All the people in her life were blind and had no taste. Alex was staking his life on this woman, and he didn’t have a doubt in his mind that it would all turn out for the better.
A flash made him turn from her. Then there was another flash followed by another. He’d been so focused on Jan that he hadn’t realized the car had stopped. They’d pulled up to the private airfield, and the press had found them.
Alex let go of Jan’s hand. It was a knee jerk response. Anytime a woman was photographed with him, both their names got splashed across tabloids.
But it was inevitable with him and Jan. He’d already announced that she was his fiancée. It had only been to the three investors, her ex, and her parents. But that was a large enough group that someone would’ve contacted the media. Alex’s money was on the pretend-player Cody Walsh.
He turned to Jan, re-lacing their fingers. “You ready for this?”
“Ready for what?”
He didn’t have time to explain. “Just remember that you’re in love with me and you adore me.”
Jan made a sound of disbelief in the back of her throat.
“Okay,” he acquiesced. “Just be quiet and look at me with puppy dog eyes.”
“I’m a cat person.”
He couldn’t help but laugh. He liked this woman so well. “Don’t worry. I’ll take care of it. Just follow my lead.”
The driver opened the door on Jan’s side. Alex had wanted to hand her out himself, but he’d have to come around the other side of the car to do that. Unfortunately, Jan stepped out of the car on her own accord. They’d have to work on that.
The flashes blinded him as he rounded the car. The calls of the reporters with their questions deadened his ears. He reached Jan’s side to find that she stood frozen, catatonic before the cameras and the shouted questions.
His hand came to her back. She was as stiff as a board. He tried to urge her forward, but she would not budge. She only stared in abject horror at the crowd of press before her.
“Jan?” he whispered in her ear.
Her right eye was twitching again. He wondered if she were about to cry?
“Jan, my darling?”
She blinked, but her eyelid still twitched. She turned to him. Slowly, he saw the life coming back in her eyes. The twitch in her
