Love Redesigned - Jenny Proctor Page 0,94

Before I could shove them into my pockets, Dani reached out and took one, squeezing it gently, before lacing her fingers with mine.

I glanced at her, catching her eye, and she smiled, just slightly. “You look like you could use a little steadying.”

Without dropping Dani’s hand, I rang the front bell. A long moment later, it swung open.

“Deliveries for the wedding are to be taken to the—Oh.” Alicio’s long-time housekeeper Elaine shot me a dour look. “Alexander. I didn’t expect you,” she said.

“Hello, Elaine.” I offered her my best smile. She’d always liked me, but there was no telling how much the family’s overall discontent with me had trickled down to those in their employ. “Can we come in?”

She backed up and opened the door wide, motioning us into the entryway.

“This is my girlfriend, Dani,” I said, proud that I hadn’t hesitated on the word girlfriend.

Dani reached out and shook Elaine’s hand. “Hello,” she said.

“How are you?” I asked. “I hope everything is going well for you.”

She shrugged, crossing her arms across her chest. “Things are fine.”

So I was on her bad list. Might as well get right to it then. “Right. Well, I was hoping we could use my old rooms tonight. Will that be a problem?”

She furrowed her brow. “You’re staying? For the wedding?”

“Yes, of course,” I said. “I did RSVP that I was coming. And I ran into the family last week in New York. They know to expect me.”

“Oh. I saw that, but, well, it’s just that Victor told me not to expect you.”

“Because I didn’t think he’d actually show.” Victor descended the stairs and stopped in front of me, narrowing his eyes as he looked from me to Dani. Instinctively, I pulled her closer, putting an arm around her waist.

“You remember Dani,” I said pointedly.

Victor looked her up and down in a way that made me uncomfortable. I could only imagine how it made Dani feel. “Right. So, an ex-employee, and an ex-stepbrother. Tell me why you’re here again?”

“My mother didn’t divorce Alicio, Victor, she died. It’s not the same thing.”

A shadow passed over Victor’s eyes at the mention of my mother and he looked to the floor. When he looked back up, his face had softened somehow. “I don’t understand why you would even want to be here,” he said. “Because of Mom. After what Sasha—” He shook his head.

“I’m not here for Sasha,” I said. “But the rest of you are the only family I have. I came to support Alicio.” It was the truth, though not in the way I’d implied. I did want to support Alicio. And telling him of Sasha’s deceit was the very best way I could think to do it.

Elaine cleared her throat. “The pool house is free.”

Victor nodded. “Fine. But you better not cause a scene. There are a lot of important people coming to this wedding.”

“Should I add two more for the rehearsal dinner?” Elaine asked, her question aimed at Victor.

“That won’t be necessary,” I said before he had the chance to answer. “We’ve been traveling all day and don’t want to impose on plans already made. We’ll be fine seeing everyone at the wedding tomorrow.” Traveling all day was a stretch. But attending the rehearsal dinner would be too dangerous for Dani. The less Sasha saw of her the better. At least until Dani was ready to make her move.

We were silent as I led Dani through the house and out the rear door, just beyond the kitchen. The back lawn and patio had been transformed into a wedding wonderland. Several large tents filled the space, their sides open and tied back. It looked as though the ceremony would take place in the smallest tent, while the other two were set up for the dinner and reception. Several workers were busy constructing the centerpieces on the tables. They looked like giant, leafless trees draped with cascading flowers and what looked, from a distance, like peacock feathers.

“Wow,” I muttered under my breath.

“Oh, just wait,” Dani said. “There’s an actual peacock here somewhere.”

I paused and looked her way. “Are you serious?”

“Absolutely serious. For the photographs. I had no idea there were people who rented out peacocks until Sasha asked me to find her one.”

“Did you do a lot of the wedding planning?”

“Not too much. She had an actual wedding planner, Roberto somebody, so I just ended up with the overflow stuff. When she would get wild ideas and wanted to prove to Roberto they were possible.”

“Like renting