“I’m busy. I have to get settled in.”
“That’s a nonissue,” Leonardo informed her. “One of the servants can unpack your bags, and my assistant is taking care of the logistics. She’ll be calling you later tonight with the details.”
Making one more attempt to get out of the invitation, Alexa said, “It’s not a good time. It’s the end of the month, and I need to review the books for The Closet. Not to mention I’ll have to find something to wear, and I’m not so sure it’s a good idea for us to be seen together so soon. Do you really think I’m that good of an actress? Are you that great of an actor?” There.
She’d said it. Neither of them could pretend that well under the scrutiny of dozens of other people.
“It wasn’t a request, Alexa.”
She allowed silence to remain on the line for a few moments. Of course it wasn’t. Leonardo was in control, and he wouldn’t take no for an answer.
“Just drop whatever I have planned?”
“Precisely.”
“Is that what I can expect moving forward? This can’t go on indefinitely.”
“It won’t. As you reminded me before you left, it’s only for two months.”
“Fine. Since I don’t have a choice.” She wanted to sound angry, but instead her voice came out weaker than she intended. For some ridiculous reason, having him remind her that they were only back together for a short while made Alexa unhappy.
“You always have a choice. You had a choice of whether or not you should come back to me, and you chose to do so. I didn’t force you.”
She held back the laugh that threatened to ripple from down deep in her throat. How could two people have such disparate views of the same situation?
“I still have to find a dress,” Alexa said. “There isn’t much time. I’d have to spend all of tomorrow shopping if I’m going to find something appropriate to wear to the Simpsons’ party.”
“There’s no need to be concerned about what you’ll wear tomorrow,”
Leonardo said in a brisk voice, which was an indication he was ready to wrap up the conversation. “Everything you need is at the house. So you’ll join me tomorrow? I think everyone will enjoy seeing you and be pleased that we’ve reconciled.”
Except that they weren’t reconciled. It was a lie.
Alexa bit back the angry retort that hovered around her lips. Instead, she kept her voice neutral when she spoke again. “I’ll join you tomorrow night.
I’ll go along with your charade for the next two months, Leo. I’ll go to your parties, act like the perfect hostess when you throw your own, and run your home the way you like. But as soon as the time is up, I’m walking away as quickly as I can.”
“Don’t forget you’ll also have to share my bed every night,” Leonardo said.
Alexa felt her pulse flutter. Of course he would remind her of that part.
“I will see you tomorrow night at home,” he added.
At home.
Alexa froze as her neck muscles tensed. The words left his tongue with ease, but for her, it was difficult to imagine the sprawling mansion as home.
It hadn’t been home for some time, and she wondered what it would feel like to be back there and if anything had changed. No doubt Leonardo had worked to eradicate from every corner any evidence she had ever lived there.
“I’ll see you tomorrow, Leo.”
The well-tended lawn and shrubs looked the same when the chauffeured car Leonardo sent for Alexa cruised through the iron gates and made its way up the winding cobblestone driveway made of granite pavers. The grass looked like a soft green carpet, and the shrubs were rounded and trimmed into neat cylindrical shapes. Even the rose bushes she’d requested the gardener plant were still in place on either side of the imposing front door, adding a vivid splash of color against the stucco walls.
Upon entering the house, Alexa found that the furnishings and décor were exactly the same, too. She didn’t know if that was a good thing or not.
Because her surroundings were identical to when she left, she felt her old apprehensions resurfacing. She was back in the same imposing house she had fled because she was so unhappy.
“Good afternoon, Mrs. Silva.”
The housekeeper greeted her with a smile when their paths crossed.
Because of the housekeeper, the maids, the house manager, the butler, the cook, the gardeners, the pool man, and the chauffeur, the mansion operated like a Fortune 500 company. When Alexa lived there, her role as the woman of the house was to manage the staff, but they were so efficient she often felt superfluous.
Alexa returned the housekeeper’s greeting. If she was surprised to see Alexa, she gave no indication, and neither did the other employees. Everyone behaved as if she had never left. It made her wonder what exactly Leonardo had said to them.