“Alex, don’t be an idiot. Of course I do. But you have to get better at communicating your feelings.”“Okay.”
“Are you in the city today?
“Yes, why?”
“My work is being featured in an exhibition with my father’s. The show is going to film a segment there. Do you want to come along and help me by watching Bella Ann?”
Alex wasn’t sure, but he knew he had to say yes. If he said no, things were sure to be on a dead-end path for him and Fiona from this point on.
“Absolutely.”
“Great.”
“What time?”
“Noon," she said, rattling off the address. "See you there.”
Alex checked his clock. He had a little over an hour until he had to meet her. He wanted today to be perfect. The beginning of the new Alex. A man Fiona wouldn’t be able to resist as both a husband and lover for her and a father for her daughter.
Chapter Six
Fiona was coming to depend on Alex more and more. But she realized that she was hiding her real life from him. She knew part of the reason was how awkward he could be when they were together. She wasn’t sure how that would go over in her world. But another part, a bigger part, was that she didn’t want him to see the craziness of her life—the chaos that characterized the world of high fashion—and give him reason to walk away from her.
And she knew that would be his first instinct. She'd observed Alex in the pre-taping times of the show and notices that he was more comfortable by himself or talking to just one person. She had a large group of people she was surrounded by and she knew that her world wasn't one he was familiar with. But when they finished taping at the exhibition, and she saw Alex talking to Nichole Reynolds, the society reporter fromAmerica Today,she knew that she was going to have to start including Alex in some of her events. She wouldn’t be able to hide them from him. The man might not know what was going on in fashion, but Nichole probably would have clued him in that Fiona had a midseason presentation coming up soon. Now she’d have to invite him to the show.
“Hello, Fiona,” Conner Macafee said as he walked over to her. The owner of Matchmakers, Inc. had a smile on his face.
She’d known Conner most of her life: Their mothers had worked on some of the same charities when they were younger. That’s how she’d known of his matchmaking service to begin with. Though they weren’t close friends, she had danced with him at a few soirees and she knew most of his family history. ’
“Hey, Conner,” she said. “Watch out, that’s a reporter over there.” Conner was the son of a famous senator, who was driven out of politics by scandal. Fiona understood his reluctance to ever be in the spotlight.
“Thanks. Who’s that?” he asked her.
“Nichole Reynolds.”
“She’s been calling my office and pestering me for an interview. I appreciate your pointing her out so I can avoid her.”
Fiona laughed. “I don’t shy away from the press the way you do.”
“That’s right. You’re out there in the spotlight, like my sister.”
“Indeed. We know you need to maintain a public presence to make money,” Fiona said. Conner’s sister, Jane, was a lifestyle guru who had followed in the footsteps of Martha Stewart and was making a good name for herself with a popular cooking show.
“You do, I don’t,” he said. “Uh-oh, that’s my signal to leave.”
Conner walked away as Nichole and Alex started toward them. Fiona shook her head at Conner.
“You’ve got him on the run,” she said to Nichole.
“I’d rather have him tied to a chair so I could ask him some questions.”
“Good luck making that happen,” Fiona said.
“Maybe I can catch him outside,” Nichole said. “It was nice talking to you, Alex.”
Alex handed Bella Ann to Fiona as the redheaded reporter walked away. “What did you two talk about?”
“The show mostly and about one of the games I’m launching in a few weeks.”
