He was slim, but muscular, and he shared similar facial features with Alexa. He was five feet eleven, and his brown eyes, in her opinion, were his best feature. She always teased him and told him he had kind puppy dog eyes.
“Turn the music down,” Alexa said loudly, dropping her purse onto the barstool on the opposite side of the island from her brother.
Xander nodded and then walked over to the wall near the sink and turned off the radio mounted there. He washed his hands and then turned to face her again.
“Well?”
He looked so young and worried, Alexa felt her heart squeeze in her chest. It only served to confirm she had made the right decision.
Although they were only minutes apart, she often felt like the older, more mature sibling. Their parents passed away in a car accident just after their graduation, and Xander hadn’t taken it well. She tried to be his rock, even though she grieved deeply herself. She’d been even more concerned when, only months later, he eloped to Las Vegas and married his high school sweetheart. Ten years and four children later, Xander was still happily married, despite his financial struggles. She, however, was headed for divorce. So much for being the more mature one.
“Good news,” Alexa said brightly, beginning her performance. “He gave me a check.”
Xander breathed a heavy sigh, flung his head backward, and cried out, “Yesss!” Without warning, he raced around the island and lifted Alexa from the floor, spinning her around in an exuberant hug.
She laughed. “Put me down!”
Dropping her to her feet, Xander looked at Alexa. “What did he say? How did he react? How did you convince him?” He was so excited his eyes were glowing with pleasure.
“Well…” Alexa hedged, making a show of getting up on the other barstool next to her purse. “It wasn’t hard. He was very open to it, surprisingly enough. I didn’t have to talk him into it.”
Xander looked stunned. “He just said yes—just like that?” He snapped his fingers. “I can’t believe it.”
Alexa lifted one shoulder. “Just be thankful he was in a generous mood.”
“See, I told you there was nothing to worry about,” Xander said, hitting her lightly in the arm with his fist. “So, what are the terms?”
“You’re not gonna believe this,” Alexa began, “but you don’t have to pay him back. Consider it a gift.”
The room grew quiet as Xander digested this bit of information. “Wait a minute. That doesn’t make sense, Lexie.” A frown of worry creased his brow. “Why would he do that? Leo’s a businessman. Why would he just give me almost a quarter of a million dollars?”
“He doesn’t need the money, Xander. It’s a drop in the bucket for him. Besides, you’re my brother, and he’s always liked you. I think he just wanted to help, that’s all.” She punched him in the shoulder this time, trying to make light of the situation before he realized there was more to it than what she said. “Isn’t that why you asked me to go instead of you—to make sure you got the money? I’m just a better negotiator than you realized, that’s all.”
Xander eyed her for a moment, then said, “Don’t think I don’t appreciate what you did, but I’m not a charity case. I can pay Leo back. I just couldn’t afford to pay the note in full. I was going to lose everything.”
A cloud seemed to settle over his face as he thought about how he could have lost the bakery once the finance company accelerated the loan. Alexa knew it upset him that he’d been so careless. The fact of the matter was, Xander didn’t have a head for business, and it was time he admitted it and got help.
“Xander, he did have one stipulation to releasing the funds.” Well, two, but she would only mention one. Alexa pulled the check from her purse. “He insists that you get an office manager, and I have to agree with him.”
Xander groaned. “Are you kidding me? Why would I want someone else in my personal business—”
“You don’t have a choice. You missed payments on your business loan, Xander. That’s why the finance company accelerated the loan payment.”
Xander cursed. “I still don’t understand why they would do that. The bakery’s doing well. I just missed a couple of payments.”
And the reminder notices they sent, Alexa thought. He also didn’t pay the electric bill at one point, resulting in a car-screeching dash to the power company so the bakery could be opened on time.
Alexa refrained from reminding him of that episode and all the other incidents she knew about.
“They have a right to do it. It’s written in the contract, so they exercised their right.” Alexa had been surprised, as well, but the clause was right there in black and white. It was a typical stipulation lenders included in loan paperwork. Xander had initialed right next to it.
“Now I have to get an office manager,” Xander grumbled.
“Yes, or you don’t get the check.” Alexa tilted her head. “Would you look at the bright side and stop pouting? You just got free money, and all you have to do is get someone to help you manage it.”
A guilty smile came over Xander’s face. “Sorry about that. I’m being a jerk.” He kissed her on the cheek, and she handed him the check. Looking down at it in awe, he said, “It must be nice to be able to just write a check like this and not have it put a dent in your finances.” He glanced up at Alexa.
“Man, I really owe Leo big time.” Suddenly, his face lit up. “Holy crap! I didn’t even ask you what happened when you two saw each other again. Did you talk about anything besides the loan—I mean, gift?”
This was the perfect opening to tell Xander about the “reconciliation” with Leonardo.
She had never fully explained the reason for her separation from Leonardo. All she’d told Xander was that they decided to go their separate ways because they found they were no longer compatible. He had no idea how insecure she’d felt or the depth of her aloneness as his wife.
“Well, as a matter of fact, things went really well.” Alexa forced a smile to her lips that she hoped looked genuine. “Leo and I talked, and we’re getting back together. I’m moving back into the house tomorrow.”
Xander’s eyes widened to the size of dinner plates.
Alexa kept talking, as he remained speechless. “He wanted…me back, and I recognized that it was a good thing I’d gone up there instead of you, or he and I would never have…realized how we felt about each other.” She stopped looking at him long before she finished the difficult sentence. It was always hard to be dishonest with her brother.
The tick-tock of the clock was loud in the quiet kitchen.
“Lexie—”
“Xander, everything worked out. You got the money, and Leo and I are getting back together again.” She had to stop him from prying, because she knew it was coming. He suspected, just as she knew he would, that something was wrong.
Another fake, bright smile was plastered on her face.
Xander looked down at the check. He didn’t look happy. He looked uncomfortable, concerned.
“Lexie,” he began again. “I appreciate—”
“You’re welcome,” Alexa interjected. She hopped down off the barstool and lifted her purse over her shoulder. “I just came by to give you the check and my good news. I’ve gotta run because I have a million things to do before I move back in with Leo.”
“Lexie, wait, just listen for a minute.”
Alexa touched her palm to her brother’s cheek. “Stop thinking so much,” she whispered. “You got what you needed. It was nothing. You’re my brother, and I’d do anything for you.”
“I don’t want you to do anything for me.” He placed the check on the counter. He wouldn’t look at her. “I should’ve gone myself, instead of you. Leo can be so intimidating sometimes. I just thought since you two were married…”
Alexa touched his arm and brought his attention back to her. “Xander, you’re back on track. Just make sure you keep baking those wonderful treats, and make sure you hire an office manager.”
Xand
er nodded. “Yeah, I obviously don’t have a head for managing a business,” he said sheepishly. Playfully, he reached out and tweaked Alexa’s nose with the knuckles of his forefinger and middle finger. “You’re sure everything’s fine?” His voice held a hint of humor, but his eyes were watching her closely.
She couldn’t allow him to feel guilty. She wanted him to jump back into the business without any worries. Leonardo was her problem, not his.
“Couldn’t be better,” she lied, ignoring the guilt in favor of telling herself there was a good reason for it: she was helping her brother and the five other people who depended on him.
The tension eased somewhat from his shoulders, and Alexa knew her job was done.
“I’ll send the two of you a special cake,” Xander announced, following Alexa out of the kitchen toward the front of the house. “I’ll create something really nice just for the two of you to celebrate getting back together and to thank Leo for what he’s done for me and my family.”
“I’m sure he’ll appreciate it, Xander, but don’t go to too much trouble. Leo will be happy with a simple ‘thank you.’”
They hugged at the door before Alexa took off down the sidewalk to a coffee shop a few blocks away from her brother’s home. She entered the shop and placed her order. Then she sat down in a corner with the hot brew. It gave her time to think, to escape reality for a while. Chewing on her lower lip, she made a silent request for forgiveness for not being completely honest with her brother. In the end, her actions would benefit him and his family. Her temporary return to Leonardo was a small sacrifice.
Alexa took a sip and allowed herself to drift back into the past and one of the arguments that had taken place not long before she made the decision to leave him for good. Leaving him was the hardest decision she’d ever made. She had loved her husband, but it was clear she was only secondary in his life. His business was his real wife.
* * * *
“A baby is out of the question. We’ve already had this conversation!” Alexa fumed. She stormed onto the balcony outside the master suite, barefoot but still elegantly attired in her black cocktail dress and the exquisite diamonds that graced her neck and adorned her ears.
She’d smiled and entertained more of Leonardo’s business associates who’d come to the house for dinner. She couldn’t remember the last time they’d actually had people over for fun, just for a dinner party that didn’t involve making a good impression so that millions of dollars could be transferred between large bank accounts.
The only reason he’d broached the topic again was because one of his guests had pulled out what could only be described as a mini photo album of his five-month-old son. The proud father had passed around the photos during the after-dinner drinks, and she’d known, as soon as they left, Leonardo would broach the topic of children again.
It wasn’t that she didn’t want children. She did. She longed for children of her own, in fact. But how could she bring children into their frayed marriage? How could she, when she herself knew what it was like to suffer through the pain of hearing her parents fight on an almost daily basis, and knowing how difficult it had been growing up never seeing her own father as he worked no less than a hundred hours per week running his bakery?
Been there, done that. It would be selfish to repeat the sins of her own parents and make her child suffer through the feelings of neglect she and Xander experienced growing up. The only good thing that came out of her dysfunctional family was the closeness she and Xander shared. They were downright inseparable.
Leonardo followed more slowly, no longer wearing his tuxedo jacket. The sleeves of his white shirt were rolled up onto bronze forearms sprinkled with fine, wiry hairs. He stood behind her as she looked down over the private courtyard. He placed one hand on the railing on either side of her, imprisoning her so she couldn’t get away from his words.
“We never talk about it, Alexa. You yell and stomp around. Then I’m left to wonder why there doesn’t seem to be a maternal bone in your body—something I completely missed before I married you.”
Alexa winced, happy for the darkness of the balcony and the fact that he stood behind her so he couldn’t read in her face the pain his words caused. Contrary to what he believed, she did have maternal tendencies. She enjoyed spending time with her nieces and nephews, and before their marriage, she was the go-to babysitter when Xander and his wife wanted a night out.
She could tell him the reason she didn’t want to have a child, but he wouldn’t understand. It would sound like she was nagging him, complaining about his work again when that was what allowed her to live in their luxurious lifestyle. She’d stopped complaining a while back, hating how she sounded. She didn’t want to turn into her mother, so she didn’t explain.
“You missed a lot. You were too focused on trying to get me into bed with you.”
That was probably the only reason why they were married. Because she’d had the fortitude to resist his persistent charm, they hadn’t made love until after they were married.
His hands roamed up her thighs and settled on her hips. She tried not to react, but it was impossible, and she knew this argument would end the way they always did—in bed, with no resolution.
“Do you blame me?” He pressed his lips against the soft skin of her bare back. “I’ve wanted you ever since I saw you in that boutique, and I knew I had to have you.” His hands slipped in front so that his fingers could splay across her flat stomach.
He never said the word “love.” “Want” and “need” were the only words in his vocabulary when he referred to her or their relationship. Before, she’d thought it would be enough, because she understood he was the type of man who never found occasion to express his emotions. But it wasn’t enough. It wasn’t, because she loved him and wanted to hear him say he loved her.
She ached to be closer to him and spend more time with him, and all he cared about were spreadsheets and dollar signs. She didn’t mean nearly as much to him as he did to her. It was the experience of her childhood all over again.
His hands exerted pressure and eased her back against his aroused body. “I want a child, our child, and brothers and sisters for him or her. I need you to understand that and how important it is to me.”
Alexa shifted away from him, pushing his hands away from her. He could so easily make her weak, so easily make her behave in an irrational way, no matter how much she thought through a decision. She wanted to remain rational tonight, because his seductive touch was meant to convince her to change her mind.
Licking her dry lips, she turned to face him. “I said no, Leo.” Her voice was firm. “I don’t want a child right now.”
His body grew very still. Looking deeply into her eyes, he asked, “Then when?”
“I…I don’t know,” she stammered. “I need time to think about it.”
“You’re stalling.”
“No, I’m not.” Alexa stepped away from Leonardo.
He didn’t let her escape that easily. One large hand grasped her waist and pulled her closer. He inched the hem of her dress up her thigh. “No matter. One thing at a time,” he murmured against the corner of her mouth. “Right now, all I care about is getting you out of this.”
* * * *
Alexa came back to the present with a start. No point in letting her mind wander in that direction. She had plenty to deal with before entering back into the life she had with her husband. Sighing, she placed her now empty cup in the trash and flipped open her phone to call another taxi.
Chapter Four
Alexa pulled open the door to Second Chance Closet, a charity she had formed, located in midtown Atlanta.
Despite losing their parents at a young age, both Xander and Alexa had learned the value of going into business for themselves. She had opened a boutique selling women and children’s clothing and accessories. He followed in their father’s footsteps and opened a bakery.
Not long after her marriage to Leonardo, Alexa sold her half of the
boutique to her business partner. Longing to do something more meaningful, she started the charity with the proceeds she earned from the sale. The store provided gently used career clothing and formal wear to women.
Working with the women’s shelters, a prison outreach program, and government assistance programs, Alexa accepted vouchers that were used to “purchase” clothing for various occasions, giving women who otherwise wouldn’t be able to afford these clothes the opportunity to make a good first impression. For regular customers looking for a good deal, the clothing items could be purchased with money, which helped to fund the program.
Donations were solicited from various sources, and Alexa herself had donated a number of her evening gowns to be sold, since being Leonardo’s wife meant she seldom wore the same designer outfit twice.
She greeted the older woman behind the cash register. “Hi, Edna.” She had hired Edna to work full-time, and there were also a couple of part-time volunteers. The Closet, as they referred to the five-thousand-square-foot store, had made quite a splash in the Atlanta area, and Alexa proudly displayed framed newspaper and magazine clippings on the wall behind the counter. They extolled the impact the store made on the morale and lives of the recipients of the clothing.
The store would be closing soon for the day, so it was empty except for Edna.
“Hi, Alexa,” Edna said, smiling. “I didn’t expect you in this afternoon.”
“I’m just going back to the office for a few minutes to check on some things since I won’t be coming by tomorrow.” On her way over, Alexa decided it would be best to concentrate her time tomorrow on reacclimating herself back into her life as Leonardo’s wife.
She noticed boxes stacked in the corner. “I see Ms. Johnson brought by her donation as promised.”
Ms. Johnson was an attorney who was retiring from her profession and had promised Alexa she would donate all her business suits and dresses to Second Chance Closet. Alexa was excited to see the boxes because so many women would benefit from the contents.
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