AllFreeNovel
Share Us
That ugly word reared its head as he watched Alexandra circle the counter and examine the flowers from another angle. He had hired Alexandra to rub his wealth and success in her face. If she had picked up on that, she hadn’t given any indication. No, she’d done something much worse; she’d poured herself into her work and made him look far better than he was.
Light from the Edison-style bulbs hanging from the ceiling cast a golden hue over her skin. Even though he had instructed Jessica to act as if the clothes she’d picked up in New York were from her, it had pleased him, to a concerning degree, when Alexandra had stepped out in the white-and-blue dress. Not only had she looked stunning, but also seeing something he had picked out on her body had made him feel like she was his.
When he’d first sent the clothing order to Jessica, he’d told himself it was because Alexandra flitting around the Hamptons house in her jeans and T-shirt wouldn’t be appropriate. But there had been a part of him that had wanted to do something nice for her, something to assuage his guilt at his own desire to show her up and flaunt his success when she had repeatedly done nothing but go above and beyond in helping him wow his guests. She had always enjoyed dressing up in the past. Judging by the clothes he’d glimpsed hanging up in the little recess in her tiny apartment, not to mention her attractive but threadbare outfit she’d worn to his office when she’d come to deliver her proposal, she didn’t have the money to spend on things like that anymore.
When he’d spied her running her hand over the skirt of her dress, a tiny smile playing about her lips, the jolt of satisfaction he’d experienced had bordered on the ridiculous. Unfortunately, the appreciative glances thrown her way by some of his guests had elicited a jealousy he’d managed to temper as he’d dived deeper into the various investment funds and options the Pearson Group was offering its clients.
But it had been hard. Hard to keep his attention centered on the conversations that could make or break his career instead of grabbing Alexandra, hauling her inside and finishing what they had started in the kitchen last night.
When he’d seen Lucy Hill rush out of the house, he’d been prepared for a battle. He knew through the gossip vine that wound its way through New York’s upper crust that the Hills had been having marital problems. But Harry had also been funneling millions of dollars into various funds. Not inviting him would have been foolish.
Still, with Jessica inside dealing with the caterers, Grant had been prepared for the worst when he’d seen Lucy’s red eyes and ruined makeup. He’d been concerned when he saw Alexandra walk Lucy back into the house, but it had taken a while to wrap up his conversation with the Friedmans without seeming rude. By the time he’d made it inside, it had taken several minutes to track the women down. He’d found them in the breakfast nook just as Alexandra had said,I once gave up on something I should have fought for...
He knew, deep down, that she had been talking about them. He’d wanted to burst into the nook and ask for—no, demand—an answer. But he’d hung back, partly out of respect for Lucy and her crisis, and partly because he wasn’t sure he was ready to hear Alexandra’s response. He’d been debating whether to go in after Lucy had gone to clean up when Harry had entered the fray so he’d hung back, just around the corner, then followed them to the pantry where Alexandra had pulled a bouquet from the spare fridge and told Harry to take Lucy out to a small restaurant up the beach.
“Open until midnight, and the seaside tables are perfect for an anniversary,” she’d said with a kind smile.
That smile had slammed into his chest with a force that had almost stolen the breath from his lungs. He could acknowledge now that his so-called quest for revenge had been nothing but a cover. What he’d wanted—no,needed—was to understand what had happened all those years ago. How someone with a kind smile and generous heart could have such a cruel side.
Judging by the look of ecstatic happiness on Lucy Hill’s face when she and Harry had come back out on the deck ten minutes later and expressed regrets that they weren’t staying for the rest of the dinner, Alexandra’s kindness had once again helped someone in need.
He had to ask her, he decided as he stepped into the kitchen. He had to know what truly happened, how the woman who gave up a bouquet she had worked so hard on to a man who had forgotten his anniversary and was on the verge of losing his marriage could say such vindictive and hurtful things to someone she had claimed to love.
“It’s almost midnight.”
Alexandra jumped, one hand flying to her chest as she whirled about.
“You have to stop doing that,” she said with a smile that took the sting out of her words.
“Still working?”
She glanced back at the flowers. “Yeah, I needed one more arrangement for the guest rooms tomorrow.”
“Because you gave the one you’d prepared to Harry Hill.”
Her face clouded for a moment, then cleared as understanding dawned.
“You were out in the hallway, weren’t you?” At Grant’s nod, she grimaced. “When Jessica asked me to come to the dinner, I didn’t think I would end up playing therapist to New York’s elite.”
“You did more than any three-hundred-dollar-an-hour counselor could have done with those two. They’ve been having problems for a couple years.”
Alexandra looked away.
“Yeah, Lucy mentioned that.”
“It wasn’t your fault, you know.”
Alexandra’s head snapped up.
“What?”
“What your father did. It wasn’t your fault.”
Her throat moved as she swallowed hard.
“I don’t...” She sighed and kicked off her white heels before sitting down on a stool with a heavy sigh. “It’s hard not to take responsibility. For a long time I didn’t pay attention to anything my father did. I just took everything he gave me.”
“That’s not true.” Grant advanced into the kitchen and sat on the stool next to her. “I met you working in the gardens, Alexandra. You weren’t just some spoiled, lazy brat. You remembered people’s names and helped them out. Do you remember Louis?”
