home. But just like a toy, I won’t feel anything toward you. It will all be in your head. Do you understand me? Nothing but the imagination of a sad little rich man.”
We glare at one another.
“You drive me crazy,” he growls finally.
“Good,” I say as I walk past him to open my front door so he can leave. “Then I’ll consider my job here done. Good night.”
9
Bella
“How are you feeling about tonight?” Imogen asks over coffee at a quaint bakery on Charles Street.
“Like I’m walking the plank. Can you believe it’s my engagement party and I can’t stand my groom?”
“Correction. It’s not an engagement party. It’s an engagement gala.”
She’s right.
We’re not celebrating our impending nuptials with family and friends in a cute restaurant somewhere. We’re parading it in front of New York’s social elite at a gala being held in the Grand Ballroom at The Plaza Hotel.
I have a feeling it’s going to be completely over the top.
“You’ll definitely be there?” I ask.
I’ll need a friendly face.
“Of course. I wouldn’t miss it for the world.” She takes a sip of her cinnamon cappuccino. “I’m sorry I can’t come with you, but Aladdin is losing his mind about the show coming up. There’s no way I can get away any earlier.”
Imogen works for the newest darling of the fashion world, Aladdin Germaine, and he has a big show at Clarkson Square in under a week’s time.
“Listen, are you sure you’re okay with everything. I mean, this is a really unusual situation and… I guess I just want to make sure you’re okay.”
“You don’t need to worry about me. It’s a business transaction. Granted, it’s a ridiculously unusual one, but it’s only a twelve-month tenure. And it’s in name only. Time will literally fly by.”
“I know, but as your best friend, I need you to know that I am here if you need to talk, or vent, or hide a body.”
“Definitely. You’ll be the first person I ring and ask to bring a shovel.” I look at my watch. “Oh hell, I’d better go. I have to get ready. Alessandro has booked a room for me at the Waldorf Astoria and he’ll be waiting.”
I’m not sure why I can’t get ready at my own apartment, which is only a few minutes in a cab from the hotel. But when I signed on the dotted line, I agreed to his terms. And one of those was to keep specific business meetings. Apparently, this is considered one of those. I suppose he wants to go over what will happen tonight. How I will be expected to behave. Whom he wants me to meet. All the bullshit I’ve unfortunately agreed to.
I kiss my best friend and race out of the bakery.
Alessandro will probably be furious at me for being late.
But it’s not Alessandro waiting for me.
It’s Anastacia.
“You’re late.” She rushes toward me. “The car will be here in an hour.”
I see the dress I had delivered to the hotel room hanging on the back of the dressing room door. Well, it’s not exactly a dress. It’s a black pantsuit that will make my boobs look awesome. “Relax, I’ll be ready in twenty minutes.”
Anastacia looks at me with rampant disapproval. “You don’t get it, do you? You’re about to become Mrs. Alessandro Lastrantonio. Do you understand what a big deal tonight is going to be? He’s showing the world whom he intends to marry.”
There’s something in her voice. A terseness. An edge. I can’t really put my finger on it.
“If it’s such a big deal, then why isn’t he here?”
“He’s working. He will meet you at the gala.” Her eyes sweep over me. “And you’re wrong. It’s going to take a hell of a lot longer than twenty minutes to get you ready.”
“Excuse me?”
Anastacia doesn’t like me very much.
“Come on, we’ve already wasted enough time.” She ushers me into the dressing room where a short woman with pink hair, and a tall, flamboyant young man are waiting for me by the mirrored dresser. “Isla and Ziggy are going to help you get ready.”
I’m nudged toward my chair and forced to sit. Immediately, the pink-haired lady, whom I now know as Isla, starts wiping my face clean with little cotton pads, while Ziggy frees my hair from its ponytail and shakes it around my shoulders.
“Gorgeous!” he coos, his eyes meeting mine in the mirror and winking. “What are we going to do with these luscious locks tonight, honey?”
I open my mouth to reply, but Anastacia beats