“I have no idea. This was an interview with Simon, remember. He thought that it could be yours. He said that she’s never got over your relationship. She constantly talks about you, follows everything you do. He told me there were always three people in his relationship with her. You were the third person.”
Alex tipped his glass of whiskey back against his lips, swallowing it in one go.
“I can tell you categorically that I haven’t been near her since we split up. I hate having to even act with her. I can’t stand the woman.”
“Unfortunately, she doesn’t feel the same.”
“That’s her problem.” Alex spoke quietly, as if unable to believe what Anthony was saying.
“Well, maybe you need to be aware of what Simon is saying, huh?”
“There was no mention of this in the papers you just let me read.”
Anthony shook his head. “I’m not printing that. I’m not doing this to try and trick you, Alex. I don’t want to cause you any grief. I suspect printing Simons thoughts on you being a potential daddy wouldn’t be a great move for any of us.”
There was a silence in the room as Alex digested the news that Amy had never got over him.
I eventually broke the deathly quietness. “But you’re printing all the details about the way she aborted a baby at the beginning of her and Simons relationship? Letting them know that she got rid of it because she thought it was Alex’s?”
Anthony narrowed his eyes. “I know nothing about her aborting a baby, never mind that it could have been Alex’s.”
Alex rubbed his temple with both his hands before speaking. “It seems that whilst Simon has told you some of what happened, and how freely she sleeps around with practically any man she can, he has omitted many things.”
Anthony stared seriously at Alex before tapping the recorder.
“Speak,” he instructed. “Tell me everything.”
Alex took a deep breath before telling his side of the story to Anthony and the world.
Two hours later, Alex collapsed on my sofa. His legs sprawled out on the floor as he leaned back into the cushions. The interview with Anthony had drained him physically as well as emotionally.
“Ella, can I have a hug?” he asked as I locked the door, sealing us away from any further prying questions.
I walked over to the sofa to stand in front of him. “Where would you like me to sit whilst I cuddle you?”
Alex patted his knee. “Here, please.”
I leaned over him, placing my hands on the back of the sofa either side of his head before straddling him.
“Like this?” I asked as I lowered my weight onto him.
“Exactly like that.”
His arms circled my waist before rising up my back, pulling me toward him. I wrapped my arms around him, gradually moving one of my hands higher to pull his head against the top of my chest.
“You did really well downstairs,” I told him, kissing the top of his head. “You kept calm and told Anthony the full story.”
“Maybe I told him too much,” he muttered.
“I don’t think he’ll print everything. He’ll edit and condense it. He’s not printing everything Simon told him, is he? I think he’ll do the same with what you said.”
“I think I shocked him a bit.”
“Hmmm, I think he was a bit taken aback at the way Amy behaved with Simon behind your back, and the baby situation.”
He nodded his head, his hair ticking my chin.
“Ella, I could never have done this without you.” He tipped his head back. His eyes were glassy, the events of the past hours taking a hold.
“Shhh . . .” I offered, pulling his head back to my shoulder. “It’s okay. I’m here. I’m not going anywhere. Well, not without you.”
He sniffed, and the wetness of his tears soaked through my t-shirt. I held him tighter, never wanting to let him go, not wanting him to feel this pain at his memories. Amy would undoubtedly suffer enormously when Simon and then Alex’s stories went public this weekend. Alex and Anthony were sure it would end her career.
I remained quiet, stroking Alex’s hair as he silently wept. I hated Amy more than ever. I hated how she had hurt him all those years ago, and I hated her for hurting him all over again now.
We stayed in the same position, cuddling each other for several minutes. It was only when Alex kissed my shoulder, and then moved his mouth to my neck that the silence was broken.
“Make love to me, Ella?” Alex asked, hugging me even tighter to his body. “Please?”
I shifted from his vice like grip, and looked into his eyes.
“Ella, I need you. Help me forget all this . . . Please?”
He was hurting so much, and he was desperate not to feel this way. I dipped my head, capturing his mouth with my own. The kiss started slowly, a gentle touching of lips as we gradually melted into each other’s embrace. But as the kiss grew more heated, I stopped him, and pushed myself off his knee.
“Let’s go to bed,” I said, reaching my hand out.
I led him to the bedroom determined to help him forget things for at least the next couple of hours.
The next day, we made our escape from London. Another stealthily exit through Anthony’s window, a climb over the back wall and through the old lady’s garden and house had ensured we weren’t spotted as we left.
The airport was quiet as well, but Alex only relaxed when we were on the plane.
When we landed, we cleared customs quickly, having the preferential treatment that Anthony had explained to me when Alex arrived back from Los Angeles.
As we walked out of the airport, we were greeted by a middle-aged man who Alex obviously knew.
“Felix!” he shouted, and shook his hand before hugging him. Felix grinned as Alex released him from his embrace.
“You never age, and you look amazing. What is Helen, that wonderful wife of yours, feeding you these days?”
Felix rubbed his belly. “Never mind me, young man,” he said, glancing in my direction. “Is this the lovely Ella that Megan told me all about when sorting this trip for you both?”
Alex nodded. “Yes, it is. Isn’t she beautiful?”
I raised my eyes heavenwards. “I seriously doubt it. Three and a half hours on a plane with seats so uncomfortable I want to sue, must mean I look a real fright.”
Alex pulled me to his side. “She’s not usually this grumpy.”
Felix let out a loud laugh, and held his hand out. I immediately raised mine to shake his.
Alex introduced us properly. “Felix, meet Ella. Ella meet Felix, life-long best friend of my father. He’s lived on Sao Miguel all his life. Megan and I spent a lot of time here when we were kids.”
“Getting up to all sorts of mischief,” Felix said.
“When mum and dad died, and we were adopted by Charlie and Hazel, they sort of became best friends as well.” Alex explained. “He’s practically family.”
Felix nodded. “But, I know you better than they do.”
He moved forward, taking Alex’s bag.
“Travelling light?” he asked as he swung our only piece of luggage over his shoulder.
“Something like that?” Alex winked at me and I groaned inwardly. I had no idea what was in the bag. Megan had apparently gone shopping for me and her purchases were hidden away with Alex’s in this one bag.
As we settled in the back of Felix’s car, he continued chatting to us.
“So, Alex, I’ve never known you bring a female back to Lagoa Rasa. You normally come here to escape the maddening world and everyone in it.”
“Exactly,” Alex said.
“You never brought Amy here?” I asked. If he had known about this island since he was a child, and had a hideaway here since he’d become famous, I presumed he would have brought her here.
“No, she doesn’t even know it exists,” Alex said. “You are the first woman I have ever even wanted to bring here.”
Felix was quiet as he drove us away fro
m the airport.
“The villa, Escondido, belonged to Felix’s brother,” Alex explained. “He died about five years ago, owing massive amounts of money to people.”
“He was a fool with his money and his life!” Felix shouted. “He liked his women too much. They were his ruin!”
Alex grinned at Felix’s outburst. “As you can tell, they didn’t get on. But over here, the laws meant that Felix, as his only brother, became saddled with the villa, and his debt. My career had just taken off, so I offered to help Felix.”
“Alex, you know I could never have accepted your offer of money,” Felix protested.
“Hmm, you always were a stubborn man. But it worked out perfectly in the end. I decided to buy the property from him, which meant that he had the money to pay everyone off.”
“It was in a real state. He left nothing but the floor, walls and leaking roof,” Felix added.
“Hazel came over here, and with Felix’s generous help, they created a haven for me away from the real world. I hope you like it as much as I do, Ella.”
“I’m sure I will.” Alex had helped Felix when he desperately needed it. I was secretly very proud of him for thinking a way around being able to help him. And now he had what sounded like a beautiful villa, tucked away on a quiet island.
“I promise I will not disturb you. Helen may want to see you, but I will keep her away if you promise to come and see her next time you visit.”
“I’d appreciate that, Felix. Ella and I need some time alone.”
“I understand,” Felix said. “Have you told Ella what is so special about the lake?”
I was intrigued. What was he going to tell me?
“The lake, Lagoa Rasa, is heart shaped,” Alex said. “It’s one of the smaller ones in the old crater of a volcano. It’s far away from all the tourist sights, in fact, no-one visits it. But I think it’s quite a magical place.”
“Heart shaped, though?”
Alex nodded. “It’s perfect.”
I had to remind myself that I was actually here, not in one of my fantasy dreams. I grabbed Alex’s thigh, just to prove to myself that he was here, that this was happening, that it was real.
“You okay?” Alex asked.
“Just checking that I’m not dreaming.”
“Well if you are, so am I.”
Half an hour later, Felix brought the car to a stop at the edge of a lake. I couldn’t stop myself from gasping out loud when I climbed out of the car.
When we’d arrived at the airport, it had been raining, but now the sun was shining in a bright blue sky. The water in the lake reflected the colour of the sky, and it was the most incredible shade of blue I’d ever seen. The colour contrasted strikingly with the green trees that surrounded the edge of the lake and grew up the sides of the crater. It was a magical place.
“It’s beautiful, isn’t it?” Alex whispered.
I nodded, momentarily too stunned to speak. It was all too much for me to take in.
“You stay there, Ella. I’ll just sort things with Felix.”
His footsteps crunched on the gravel as he headed toward Felix. I didn’t listen to their ensuing conversation, I was too busy trying to soak in the beauty surrounding me. Apparently, the villa was somewhere on the edge of the lake, but I couldn’t see anything apart from the trees growing around it. As Alex had said, it was a true hide-away. Even if you stopped on this small area where Felix had parked, you wouldn’t know that there was anything else here.
I turned around to ask Alex to point out where we were going, only to be greeted with him waving at Felix’s departing car. He spun on the spot to face me.
“Are you alright, Ella?” he asked. “You’re not normally lost for words.”
“You brought me here?” I muttered, not quite finding my voice properly.
He closed the gap between us. “I wanted to share this place with you. Why? Would you rather be in a hotel somewhere with loads of other people?”
“No, of course not. It’s not that. It’s just that . . . well, this place.”
“Completely secluded. No-one will disturb us here. Come on, let’s get to the villa. I can’t wait for you to see it.”
He took my hand and led me to a small boat.
“Usually there’s only me. I’m sorry it’s so small.” He threw the hold-all into the boat before helping me into the vessel as it bobbed around in the shallow water.
It was the only boat moored at this point of the lake. “How does Felix get over to the villa, or anyone else when you’re at the villa and have the boat there?”
“Felix usually brings his own. He has a trailer for his boat. He didn’t bring it today. There was no need.”
“But you mentioned maids. How do they get there?”
“My maid is Felix, or rather, his wife, Helen. I have never had anyone else visit here, apart from them, and occasionally family.”
“And me,” I added, feeling like the most special woman in the world.
“And you, Ella.”
He gingerly stepped into the boat, rocking it dangerously as he balanced his weight. I shrieked out loud, expecting to be tipped into the water.
He sat down, facing me, before pulling a key out of his pocket and inserting it onto a small console next to the motor. The boat burst into life.
“Here we go!” he exclaimed.
As we travelled across the lake, I became even more aware of the beauty surrounding us. Were we really going to spend a full week here, alone? It sounded amazing—the sort of thing that only happened in dreams.
Alex left me to my thoughts as he steered the boat across the water, and even when we reached a small wooden pier that stretched out from a narrow stretch of golden sand, he remained quiet.
Alex helped me from the boat and walked beside me along the jetty. I peered through the trees in front of us, still curious as to where the villa was.
“This way,” Alex said as he took my hand. We only ventured a few metres, pushing through a few bushes and trees, before we stopped.
“Oh my,” I breathed as a white-washed building appeared through the trees.
Alex stood behind me, and wrapped his arms around my waist.
“Welcome to Villa Escondido, Ella.”
I raced to the villa, charging through the open glass doors to see if it was as beautiful inside as the exterior had promised. I needn’t have worried. The floors were polished wood, walls and furnishings were a soft cream, and nearly all the windows ran from floor to ceiling.
“Bedroom,” I muttered, seeing several doors to my left. Alex chuckled as I ran past him. The first door I opened was a bathroom. I wandered into the room, twirling in a circle as I held in an excited scream. The shower was big enough to have a party in. The bath was ginormous—raised on a low platform at the far side of the room, it was surrounded by glass windows.
“The glass doors open so you can sit in the Jacuzzi whilst outside,” Alex said.
I spun around to face him. He was leaning on the doorway watching my enthusiastic exploration.
“You’re kidding? A Jacuzzi?”
“A Jacuzzi, Ella.”
“Oh, my god!” I ran up to him and kissed him on the lips. “Where’s the bedroom?”
Alex inclined his head out of the room. “Next door on the left.”
I skipped out of the bathroom and opened the door he had mentioned.
“Oh. My. God!”
A four-poster bed greeted me. It was surrounded in muslin and netting, and the white linen bedding looked crisp and cool. Floor to ceiling glass doors were currently open, bringing in the surrounding lush greenery of the trees around the villa. I swallowed hard, fighting back the tears that were starting to build. Alex followed me into the room and I wiped my eyes, failing to stop the tears.
“This place is amazing,” I told him, my voice croaking with emotion.
“Hey . . .” Alex was immediately in front of me, kissing my forehead as he pulled me to his body. “Tears were not the r
eaction I’d hoped for.”
More tears rolled down my cheeks. “I think I’ve suddenly been reminded of just how ridiculously famous and rich you are. It seems like you aren’t my Alex anymore.”
It was a ridiculous statement to make, but somehow, seeing all this luxury, and knowing that it belonged to him, just made me realised that Alex was Alex Denton—film star, heart-throb, and a man lusted after by thousands of women across the world.
“Ella.” He tipped my face so that I had to look at him. “I am your Alex. I don’t want anyone else. I just want you.”
He leaned forward and kissed me. The kiss was slow, sensuous and confirmed his statement.
“Please, believe me. I want you, just you, nobody else,” he murmured as he swayed with me on the spot.
I nodded, the tears still not stopping. My excitement, and the rush of emotions that had crashed through me, making me question the realness of our relationship, were now replaced with my undeniable love for him.
“Crazy Ella,” he said, resting his head against mine.
“Crazy, but all yours,” I whispered.
“Definitely.”
We stood together, in the middle of the bedroom, hugging and rocking for several minutes. When we eventually pulled away from each other, he held my hand.
“Come and see the pool. It’s where I spend most of my time when I’m here.”
I nodded and let him lead me back into the main room of the villa. I had rushed through here so quickly when we had first arrived that I had missed the way the seating area was sunk lower than the rest of the room. The sofas were built into the sunken structure, and several rugs covered the floor in front of a large stone fireplace that dominated the area.
Alex guided me through the room and to the side. He turned me so that I was facing the pool. I was struck by the simplicity of the area, but also the care and craftsmanship taken in creating it. The pool was bordered by the villa on three sides, and trees hung over the remaining open side. The trees offered shade over most of the pool, but the poolside was bathed in bright sunshine.
“I like that I can skinny dip under the trees without the fear of someone snapping me from the air,” Alex said.
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