Page 75 of LA King

Forty

Alana

It’s the day of the new center opening, and my nerves are in full swing, fizzing around low in my belly. Alejandro opens my door and helps me from the car. I’m sure he senses my unease and has been charming all morning. He told Jacob to park down the block so we weren’t pulling up in his fancy car outside the shelter. The fact he thought of that impresses and surprises me. He’s not the ruthless monster my father made him out to be at all.

He isn’t dressed in his usual suit either but is wearing jeans and a polo, so his muscular arms and some of his tattoos are on display. Even dressed casually, he still looks hotter than the sun.

He keeps hold of my hand, and as we get closer to the shelter, my heart rate increases and my stomach grows increasingly fluttery.

“Are you nervous, princesa?” he asks, squeezing my hand.

God, why does he have to know me so well? “A little,” I admit.

He flashes me a grin. “Do you think I’m going to embarrass you?”

“No, of course not. It’s just that this has been my world for the past couple months, and now you’re going to see it. It feels kind of strange to share this part of my world with you.”

“It will be fine.” He leans in and gives me a gentle kiss on the cheek. It’s such a normal couple thing to do, and it makes my insides light up. This isn’t like him. It certainly isn’t him and me. We have hot, explosive sex, and we occasionally fight. We don’t usually do this real husband-and-wife stuff. But it means so much to me that he’s here today.

“You ready?” Alejandro asks when we get to the shelter.

I take a deep breath and nod.

As soon as we walk through the door, we’re accosted by Kristen. “Alana!” she shouts, pulling me into a hug.

I hug her back. I love Kristen and her warmth and kindness. When she steps out of my embrace, she smooths her hair back from her face and directs her attention to Alejandro.

“Kristen, this is my husband, Alejandro,” I say, and it’s accompanied by such a rush of pride that it completely blindsides me.

“Kristen.” Alejandro takes her hand and kisses it. “It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

She blushes, because he does have that kind of effect on people. “Oh, the pleasure is mine.”

“This place looks great,” he says, glancing around. “You must be doing an excellent job.”

Kristen puts an arm around my shoulder. “Well, there is no way we’d be standing here in this fine building if it wasn’t for your incredible wife. I think she must be our guardian angel, because before she showed up, we were about to be evicted from a building that was, quite frankly, falling apart.”

Heat creeps over my neck and cheeks. “I only filled a small gap; Kristen here does everything else.”

She flashes my husband a conspiratorial grin. “Is she always this awful at taking compliments?”

“My wife is very humble. She has no idea how incredible she truly is.” He winks at me, and I’m sure my bones melt.

“I can’t thank you enough for bringing her here to LA and into our lives, Mr. Montoya. I honestly don’t know what we’d do without her. You must be very proud.”

He slips his hand around mine and squeezes, and my heart slams against my melted ribcage. “Like you wouldn’t believe,” he says softly, and I think he means it.

“Alana!” Lucy shouts behind us, breaking up the moment. I still haven’t figured out how to help her. For now, she seems happier simply to have shared the burden of her secret, but I can’t keep it from Kristen for much longer. Thing is I haven’t been able to get any details of the father of her baby, other than he’s older than her and his name is Blake—and he sounds like very bad news. But Lucy and I have become close over these past few weeks, and I’m growing to care for her deeply.

“Lucy, you’re here.” I give her a smile and a quick hug and introduce her to Alejandro.

“This is your husband?” she says, giving him a once-over.

“I certainly am.” Alejandro slips his arm around my waist, almost like he can’t bear to not be touching me.

“Way to go, Alana.” Grinning, she fist-bumps me.

Alejandro’s fingers dig lightly into my hip, pulling me closer. It’s possessive and reassuring, and it sends a shockwave of electricity right through me. “How about you show me around this place?”