A Deal with Alejandro (Rival Brothers 1) - Page 69

In her role as his PR consultant, Elise was never far from his side during the day. And Alejandro’s inexhaustible demands ensured she was even closer to him at night.

The ride was undeniably thrilling, the sex even more so.

But in her rare quiet moments, she couldn’t silence the hopeful voice that questioned whether this could ever be more than just sex.

Alejandro didn’t show signs of tiring of it, which initially helped her to talk herself into believing that what they had was enough.

But with the slow passage of the weeks, and the stark realisation that their working relationship was winding down, fear had taken hold.

There had been no further mention of Kyoto, Alejandro finding effective ways of silencing her whenever she attempted to explain. And she...she’d taken the coward’s way out, protecting her heart for a little longer whenever she let him kiss away the subject of why she’d kissed Jason.

His avoidance tactic had bled into the subject of his family. The few times Gael had mentioned Spain, Alejandro had tensed and changed the subject.

To say he was still aggressively opposed to tackling his past was an understatement.

Which was why she ground to a halt after entering the study of the Kensington mansion they’d rented for their week-long stay in London.

The brothers glared at each other across the large George V desk, the strewn papers indicating tempers had been fraying for a while.

‘Umm...should I leave you two alone? I came to inform you that dinner with the Finance Minister is set for tonight, but I can go over the details later if you want?’

Alejandro’s gaze locked on her for a studying minute. Rounding the desk, he shut the door and slid his arm around her waist.

His features remained pinched but his flashed smile was genuine. ‘No, stay. My brother suffers from selective memory. Perhaps you should hear this, too, so I have a witness down the road the next time he feels like laying into me.’

Gael grimaced, but there was a whisper of apprehension in his expression as he eyed his brother. ‘I’m just trying to get a picture of what it was like for you.’

‘What good would it do to rehash everything?’

Gael shrugged. ‘Maybe none. But if those three weeks I spent looking for my mother were anything like you claim yours were—’

‘You think those three weeks were hell? I lived like that from the moment I was born until the day I walked away. Count yourself lucky you only got to spend a limited amount of time with our father, Gael. When he wasn’t playing away, he taunted my mother with the possibility of it. When he did stray, she tortured herself and everyone around her with her desperate unhappiness.’

Elise’s breath punched out in desperate sympathy.

Shock glinted in Gael’s eyes. ‘Madre de Dios.’

Alejandro walked her over to the grouping of sofas set before a roaring fire in the oak-panelled room and pulled Elise down next to him. Gael joined them, settling on the opposite sofa.

November in London was picturesque and quintessentially autumnal, with a light drizzle hitting the giant Victorian windows. But as much as she wanted to stand at the window and absorb everything British, staying at Alejandro’s side as he allowed his rigid facade to crack for a moment was the only place she wanted to be.

‘If ever there were two people more unsuited to each other, it was them. I used to go to bed at night praying they would tell me in the morning that they were divorcing.’ A rough laugh barked from his throat. The sound tore at Elise. Leaning closer, she placed a hand on his chest. After a moment, he absently covered hers with his.

‘While children around the world wished upon stars that their parents would stay together through thick and thin, I yearned for the opposite. Both sets of my grandparents were dead, my remaining relatives were spread far and wide, but I didn’t give a damn where I ended up. All I wanted was for the hell I lived in to be over.’

‘Alejandro, you can’t hate yourself for wishing for a better life. None of us can.’

He blinked, several emotions drifting through his eyes. ‘What about hating one’s own parents? Is that allowed?’

‘Sí, it’s allowed,’ Gael uttered grimly.

Elise sensed he was going through his own issues regarding his parentage, but her only focus right then was Alejandro.

‘The only person who can truly judge you is you. You’re also the only one who can determine how the past influences you. You told me that, remember?’

He shook his head, his smile tinged with sadness. ‘It’s not the same, amante.’

She lifted her eyebrow. ‘Isn’t it?’

Tags: Maya Blake Rival Brothers Billionaire Romance
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