The Arrangement .(18)

“Only for a moment,” Leonardo chided.

“I haven’t seen her in so long, I need to catch up.” Joan then carted Alexa off to a corner of the room. She grabbed two glasses of wine and handed one to Alexa before they both sat down in two thick-cushioned armchairs with a small table between them.

“How’ve you been, darlin’?” she asked finally, taking a sip of the fine wine. Her well-manicured fingers were covered in jewels.

“Well, I’ve been really busy the past few months.” Although she and Joan were friends, Alexa wasn’t sure what she should and shouldn’t say.

Considering she would be out of Leonardo’s life in a couple of months, she almost felt guilty at the pleasure their reconciliation gave to Joan.

“Busy, huh?” Joan looked at her out of the corner of her eye while keeping her gaze trained on her guests circulating in the room. “That’s good to hear, I suppose. If I were you, I would have been falling apart over missing that fine specimen of a husband you have there.”

Alexa shifted, unsure of the direction in which Joan was taking the conversation. “I did miss him,” she admitted, which was the truth.

“I know you did.” Joan nodded her head and placed her glass on the table. Resting her elbow on the arm of the chair, she leaned toward Alexa.

“He missed you something awful, too. I tell you what, whatever happened to make the two of you separate, I hope it never happens again. That poor man looked like death warmed over right after you left.”

This was news to Alexa. Joan was implying that Leonardo had missed her and their separation had been difficult for him.

“Death warmed over?”

“Mhmm.” Joan waved a greeting at someone nearby. “I wanted to call you, but I didn’t know if you’d even take my call. Russell and I were friends with Leonardo first, and since y’all were no longer together, I assumed that you had washed your hands of his friends, as well.”

“No, nothing could be further from truth!” Alexa reached out and touched her friend’s arm. “To be honest with you, Joan, I missed you. I wanted to call, but like you, I wasn’t sure if I would be welcome to contact you since you were Leo’s friends first.”

“Well, isn’t that something?” Joan laughed, squeezing Alexa’s hand between her own. “You never have to worry about calling me, darlin’. I’m always available.” Joan picked up her glass again and took another sip. “Oh, before I forget, I’ve got some things for The Closet I think you’ll love. I was going to give them to another charity, but I’d rather you have them. I can have them brought down to the store in a couple of days.”

“That would be wonderful, but we have a van available for large donations if that would be more convenient.”

“Oh, no, I won’t hear of it. It’ll give our driver an assignment that doesn’t include us so he can take care of some personal errands. He likes getting a break from us once in a while.” She winked.

“Thank you so much, Joan. Your donation will make a lot of women so happy.”

“Don’t thank me yet, until you see the loot.” Joan sucked in her stomach with a deep breath, and then she let it out with a huge whoosh. “I’ve done lost my girlish figure, and there may not be that many women who can benefit from clothes that size.”

Alexa thought Joan was being too hard on herself. She was certainly not fat, and her womanly figure was appropriate for a healthy woman in her late fifties. “I’m sure Russell’s not complaining, so I wouldn’t worry about it.”

Joan had the grace to blush. “Well, I suppose you’re right.”

“Congratulations, Joan,” a woman said, stopping to plant an air kiss near Joan’s cheek. “I hope the two of you have thirty more years together!”

Alexa almost choked on her wine when she recognized the red hair. Her hair was in an updo tonight, but it was definitely the woman she had seen outside the restaurant with Leonardo.

“Thank you, darlin’.”

“Who was that?” Alexa croaked when the other woman floated away.

“Oh, that’s one of the attorneys in Russell’s firm. Smart girl.” A look of embarrassment came over her face. “Smart as a whip, but I can’t for the life of me remember her name. Russell assigned her as the lead attorney on the Latin American expansion.”

Alexa felt the tension drain from her body. At least there was a reasonable explanation for why Leonardo had been with the other woman.

They really had been working. She vaguely remembered Leonardo working on the deals to enter the markets in Central and South America.