Page 76 of Adoration: Isn't What It Seems (Love Isn't What It Seems 2)

Alexander had a large blanket mat set for us and our picnic food brought over from the castle, all waiting for us. There were platters of salad, pasta, warm bread, desserts, champagne, and wine. I wouldn’t have called this a picnic by a long shot, more like a gourmet meal out on the lawn.

“I can’t take another bite,” I complained. “I’m stuffed. That was way too much food for just the two of us.”

He seemed relaxed, his blue eyes sparkling and watching my every move. But he wasn’t saying much. His old reserved self was back.

I glanced back to the sea, awed at the beautiful views.

“Wow,” I sighed again. “Tell me again why do you bother going back to London?”

“There is work to be done,” he said simply.

“Yes,” I mumbled. “As far as the excuses go, that one sucks.”

“Why did you move to London?” he asked and I was surprised. I guess it made sense he would ask questions too. I just didn’t expect that one.

“My mom died seven years ago,” I told him, my eyes roaming the beautiful scenery. “We were close. Three of us-- Lena, Mom, and I were all close. Anyhow, she died,” Even after all this time, it was hard to talk about her, “and I just decided, it was time for a change. My mom was actually born in the United Kingdom. It felt like a new beginning. Lena decided we should do this adventure together, and Layla was from Scotland anyhow. So we all finished our last semester at college and moved. Lena met Larry not too long after we got to London, and they hit it off right away. Layla knew Callen,” At the mention of his name, I felt his body stiffen lightly, but I continued because Callen was nothing but a far and distant memory. I had never felt a fraction with him that I felt last night. “So she got me a job at his company. He was desperate enough to allow me to work from London and travel back and forth. Layla shifted between London and Edinburgh. She was very popular with a few British boys, but then she got it into her head that Lachlan was for her.”

“And you?” he asked.

Was he asking me whether I thought Callen was for me? I looked at him pensively, wondering if it made sense to venture into our personal past and thoughts. Sleeping with him was one thing, opening my heart quite another. It invited the possibility of heartbreak.

I shrugged my shoulders. I didn’t want to bring up my past with Callen. I didn’t want to think about him at all. Instead, I just dodged the bullet. “When we first moved, Lena and I were busy trying to adjust. It was hard losing… losing Mom. She met Larry and they hit it off right away. I buried myself in work and got Callen’s publishing firm back on its feet.”

“Did you start the company with Lena?” he asked, going back to my phone conversation with Lena on the day I met Alexander in the elevator.

“Hell no.” I gave him a sheepish smile. “She knew it was not for me. We were so different but still similar.” I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. “When we would hang out with Mom at the publishing company, I would devour all the manuscripts and stories. Lena had no interest in even opening the first page. Instead, she’d organize them all by genre, alphabet, gender.” I chuckled. “She was crazy.”

It hurt to think about all the people I loved being gone.

“Life definitely didn’t turn out the way I thought it would,” I murmured. I opened my eyes and looked at Alexander. It was weird to think of him as my husband. “And here we are.”

The man from the office that didn’t share many words was back. I just couldn’t reconcile the passionate man from last night to this one. It was like two different individuals.

“How about you?” I asked, trying to find out a little more about him. “Were you close to your parents? Seems Maxim and you are close.”

“No, I wasn’t close to my parents,” he answered. “Our parents were busy with various activities so we rarely saw them growing up. My mom died when I was a teenager; my dad is still around. My grandfather mainly took care of us.”

“Oh, I’m sorry about your mom.” I felt like he hadn’t really told me anything, but then he said a lot. His parents weren’t a big part of his and Maxim’s life. Weird, I didn’t remember mention of his father during the wedding, nor did I see him. I didn’t want to seem nosy so I changed the subject.

“You mentioned your grandfather’s publishing house,” I tried to find a more neutral subject. “What kind of a publishing house is it?”

“It was a news publishing firm,” he replied, something about his demeanor standoffish. “We switched to fiction publications.”

“Really?” That was a curious and interesting coincidence. “My mom had a news publishing house, super small. Occasionally she’d take on a new author. I remember spending hours with her in the office when I was a kid. I thought it was the best place in the world.”

I thought back to my mom. She loved her little publishing company. She wanted to make a difference, publish stories nobody else dared to touch. She was so passionate about it. And then, something happened and she lost it all.

“Anyhow, she ended up selling the company,” I returned attention to Alexander.

“How come?” he asked. He looked tense, and I studied him pensively. He usually hid all his tension and emotions so I wasn’t sure whether I was reading him right.

“I’m not sure,” I told him. “It was little over seven years ago and I was in college. We didn’t get along great those last few months. One weekend I came home, and she told me she made a mistake and had to sell the company. It was her life, our life for as long as I could remember. It hit her hard.”

I didn’t help our situation either. I was hung up on knowing who my father was and needing to know it. Now, I no longer wondered about my father, but I often wondered what mistake she made that made her sell the company she loved.

I shrugged my shoulder and pushed the past out of my head.

I switched the subject back to him. “So how is it that you are so,” I tried to find the right word. “I guess calm, and Maxim is all over the place and always happy? Too happy, if I might add.”

---