“No, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have blundered into this the way I did. Elise warned me. I’m just so excited and happy for the both of you. Especially Leo, he’s needed someone for a long time. Miguel told me all about you, and he thinks you’re awesome. I trust Miguel’s opinion. What’s the matter?”
The door opens, and a pretty woman with long black hair and bright blue eyes comes in. “What are you guys doing in here?”
“Alexa, this is Elise. Elise, I screwed up like you said. I made her cry. I could totally tell she’s in love with Leo, and it was totally obvious he was in love with her too.”
“Ah,” I’m enveloped in a hug by Elise. I give in and hug her back needing the reassurance. “It’s okay, sweetie. Is Leo being an asshole and behaving badly?”
I shrug, as I pull away. “Yes, but it’s all my fault.”
They both shake their heads.
“It is. It really is. This is on me, I screwed up. I lied to him, and I don’t know if he’s ever going to forgive me for it.”
Ria’s eyes are wide. “What did you lie about?”
Closing my eyes, I hide from what will no doubt be disgust. “I said I was married so I could get the job of being Leo’s assistant. At first, I totally did it for the money. I wanted to save money to write full time then the minute I met him I kept lying and took the job because I kind of had one of those stupid love, at first sight, things happen. Which I swear I never believed in.”
Both women hug me. I give up and cry.
“It’s okay. It’s going to be okay.” Ria is saying.
“How can it be okay? He’s never going to forgive me.”
Elise nods. “It’s not going to be easy, you picked the wrong man to lie to. Leo is the epitome of proud and anything that threatens that threatens him. He’s going to struggle with letting his pride go in order to forgive you, but he’s already doing it without realizing it.” I’m confused.
Ria sighs as she starts wiping me up. “This book launch, hiring Miguel, that stunning necklace. Leo is going out of his way to make you happy. Sure, he’s throwing money this way and that, but he’s also putting in time. He was here all morning driving Miguel crazy. Drake is a little tired of hearing about you and what you think and how intelligent you are and how great your books are—”
“Same with Dmitri.” Elise is going through my bag pulling out my makeup.
“Until I told Drake that Leo took the day off to take you shopping and standby at a photo shoot. When we both heard that we knew it was game over. Leo takes a vacation like once every five years and it’s for like two or three days tops. The man redefines workaholic. Him taking the day off for you was a big deal for Leo, it means you’re important to him. You just need to give him a little time to come to that conclusion.”
“Yeah, but don’t let him get away with too much on the you screwing up thing. Trust me when I tell you from experience with Dmitri, being disgustingly handsome and a billionaire buys them their own way too often. They need not so subtle reminders you aren’t going to be treated like everyone else because you aren’t everyone else.”
Elise is firm. “You screwed up, it happens. I have no doubt whatsoever Leo has screwed up with you too. I’m also a hundred percent positive you let it go in an instant because you get no one is perfect and shit happens. You’d rather forget it and let it go so you can enjoy the good stuff. Leo is holding onto your screw up because no doubt he still finds it hard to believe anyone dared to lie to him, but it’s also a way of keeping the upper hand.”
“I hurt him though. I k
now I did.” I want so badly to believe what she’s saying. But after him pulling away, I just don’t know anymore.
Ria tugs me to look at her. “Alexa, I cannot believe our stories are so similar and we did it for the exact same reason. I lied to Drake and told him that I was married to keep him at bay. You lied to Leo to keep him close but we both did it for the same reason, we loved them. Drake was pissed I lied to him, but he didn’t even blink. Because deep down he knew the truth about why I lied. It’s not about the lie, it’s about the truth behind the lie. When Leo stops and thinks about it, really thinks about it, he’ll forgive you.”
Elise bumps Ria from in front of me with her hip. Then starts fixing my makeup. “Come on, Alexa, you got this. We’ll talk about this later. Right now, you need to get it together so we can send you out to enjoy your night. You should be smiling and happy, not in here crying with us.”
“Man, life is weird. I never thought I’d meet someone who did the same crazy thing I did.” Ria muses as she hands over a tissue to Elise.
Elise laughs, “What, meet a gorgeous man and fuck up? I’m pretty sure every woman does that. One day I’ll tell you about how I was stupid enough to walk out on Dmitri. I was trying to push his buttons to get his attention. Only I pushed him a little too far. Learn from me, Alexa, push their buttons but don’t push them away. There’s a difference.”
“Huge difference, oh yeah. Crap, Drake is texting me. Come on, you look great. Let’s go.”
We open the door to find Leo waiting, looking angry. His hand goes around my arm, pulling me close. “What is going on? Why were you in there for so long?”
“I’m sorry. I was just a little overwhelmed and got cold feet. They were helping calm me down. Please don’t be mad.” He looks really mad.
Shaking his head, he sighs. “I am not mad. I am frustrated I could not find you and was concerned about you. Are you sure you are okay?”
With Elise and Ria’s words echoing in my head I can see it now clearly. Leo is worried, it isn’t anger I’m seeing. Now I’m wondering how often what I thought was anger in the past was actually frustration or worry. The tightness in my chest eases. Ria and Elise could be right, about everything. “I’m better than okay. I’m sorry I’m being such a baby today, thank you for being so patient.”
His relief is clear. “You are not being a baby, it’s normal to be nervous, I understand. It’s going to be amazing though because you are, and tonight is all about you.”