Drama

ALEJANDRO
I KISSED MY  MOTHER  ON  THE  CHEEK  BEFORE  CLOSING  THE  CAR  DOOR  BEHIND
her and watching as her driver turned out of my driveway. I’d suggested that she  spend  the  night,  but  she  wanted  to  visit  her  old  friend  while  she  was  in L.A.  She  also  made  it  clear  that  she  was  keen  not  to  intrude  on  the newlyweds.
The irony of that wasn’t lost on me. The fact was, Alana and I got along much  better  when  my  mother  was  around  –  even  if  it  was  all  only  for  her benefit.
I  walked  back  into  the  house  and  looked  for  Alana.  Whatever  I  thought about  her,  she  had  managed  to  convince  my  mother  that  this  thing  between the two of us was real, and for that I was grateful. I wondered what, or how much it might cost me, to repay that particular favor.
I  found  her  in  the  kitchen  helping  Magda  clear  the  dishes  from  our  lat

ALANA
ALEJANDRO HAD LEFT AFTER HIS MOM’S VISIT AND HAD STAYED THE NIGHT AT
the  hotel,  which  wasn’t  unusual  for  him.  He’d  been  true  to  his  word  about sending  me  some  candidates  though  and  I’d  already  interviewed  four  of  his security personnel.
Well, I say interviewed, but it was more like me asking them completely random  questions  and  them  giving  me  monosyllabic  answers  while  looking very  uncomfortable.  They  were  all  very  Hank-like,  and  I  wondered  if Alejandro  employed  anyone  apart  from  Magda  and  Jacob,  with  any  actual personality.
I  checked  my  watch  as  I  waited  for  the  final  candidate.  It  was  almost 11am  and  I’d  already  spent  my  entire  morning  interviewing.  I  was  due  to meet  the  charity  ladies  for  lunch  at  one  and  I  needed  to  choose  my  outfit.  I wanted to impress them, but I didn’t want to look l

ALANA
I  SMOOTHED  MY  DRESS  OVER  MY  THIGHS  AS  I  STOOD  AWKWARDLY  IN  THE doorway  waiting  for  Alejandro’s  mom.  I  was  surprised  I  was  feeling  so nervous. Meeting people and being charming had become kind of my thing in New  York.  I  was  accustomed  to  working  on  my  father’s  campaign  and  he often wheeled me out for interviews and PR events. 
I had no idea why I should be so bothered about impressing Alejandro’s mom. It wasn’t as though I even liked him. But, I knew from the change in his demeanor these past few hours that she obviously meant the world to him, and he was keen to protect her and make her happy. 
From  what  he’d  told  me  earlier,  she  believed  we’d  had  a  whirlwind romance and got married because we were madly in love. 
She  had  been  on  a  month-long  cruise  with  her  sister,  which  had  been orchestrated by Alejandro’s father, Mateo, to ensure his wife was out of the way when her only child got married. This was in case she became suspicious and asked too many awkward questions about our relationship. But, now that Alejandro and I were married, there wasn’t much that she could do about it. 
I  wondered  how  we’d  manage  to  convince  her  that  we  were  happily married  newlyweds,  when  we  had  barely  said  a  dozen  civil  words  to  each other in the past two weeks. But, I was willing to give it a try, and maybe I could even have a little fun while I was doing it? 
I  watched  as  Alejandro  walked  up  the  driveway  with  his  mom,  her  arm linked through his and a wide smile on her face. 
Maria Montoya was a stunningly beautiful woman. I knew that she was in her fifties, but she could have easily passed for a woman ten years younger. 
Her dark hair was swept up into an elegant chignon and she wore a simple, 
yet clearly expensive dress. 
I looked down at my own attire. I’d chosen a simple pink wrap dress that suited my skin tone and emphasized my curvier figure. 
I swallowed as they drew nearer. What if she hated me? What if she was one  of  those  mothers  who  never  thought  anyone  was  good  enough  for  her son? 
Why the hell did I even care? 
‘Mama, this is Alana,’ Alejandro said when they reached me. 
I  stepped  out  into  the  driveway.  ‘Hello,  Mrs.  Montoya,  I’m  delighted  to meet you,’ I said with a smile. 
She looked me up and down and I took a deep breath, bracing myself for a  potential  onslaught.  ‘So,  you’re  the  woman  who  has  captured  my  son’s heart?’ she said and her face broke into a huge smile before she held out her arms and beckoned me to her. 
I stepped forward and was enveloped in a cloud of her sweet perfume as she kissed each of my cheeks in turn. 
Then  she  stepped  back  and  took  another  look  at  me.  ‘Please,  call  me Maria,’  she  said  before  she  smiled  again,  and  I  was  sure  that  I  saw  tears  in her eyes. 
‘Maria,’ I said, returning her smile. ‘Come on inside, I’ve just brewed a fresh pot of coffee and there are cookies in the oven.’
‘Sounds delicious,’ she said as she linked her arm through mine. 
I looked up at Alejandro and he gave me a nod of appreciation before we all walked into the house. 
A  few  hours  later,  the  three  of  us  were  sitting  on  the  patio.  We’d  eaten  a beautiful lunch and Maria had regaled me with dozens of stories of Alejandro as  a  child.  He  had  rolled  his  eyes  throughout  and  admonished  her  for  the more embarrassing ones, but she had simply laughed and told him not to be so grumpy. 
I saw a completely different side to him when she was around, and it was a side of him I could learn to like. 
For  our  part,  Alejandro  and  I  had  played  the  adoring  couple,  and  I  took the opportunity to flirt outrageously with him every chance I got. 
He went into the house and brought out a fresh jug of lemonade. When he set  it  on  the  table,  I  placed  my  hand  on  his  forearm  and  rubbed  my  thumb
over his warm skin. I felt him stiffen at my touch and I bit back a giggle. 
I smiled up at him. ‘Thank you, darling,’ I purred. 
He flashed me a quick scowl before plastering a fake smile on his face. 
‘Oh,  you  two  are  just  perfect  for  each  other,’  Maria  said  as  she  clasped her  hands  together  and  looked  between  the  two  of  us.  ‘So  much  so,  that  I have  almost  forgiven  you  for  depriving  your  mother  of  her  only  child’s wedding,’ she said to Alejandro with a scowl. 
‘I said I’m sorry, Mama,’ he replied. 
As  soon  as  we’d  got  into  the  house  earlier,  Maria  had  spent  a  full  half hour  grilling  her  son  about  our  relationship  and  subsequent  wedding,  and admonishing him for marrying in secret. It had been a sight to behold and I’d had to bite the inside of my cheek to stop myself from smiling throughout. 
‘So  am  I,  Maria,’  I  added.  ‘But  we  just  couldn’t  bear  to  wait  a  moment longer. Could we, darling?’ I looked up and gazed at him adoringly
I  saw  the  wicked  grin  spreading  across  his  lips  and  wondered  what  was going through his mind. 
‘No.  I  couldn’t  wait  to  make  this  woman  my  wife,’  he  said  and  then  he bent his head low and kissed me. His soft lips pressing lightly against mine at first  before  he  licked  across  my  lips,  forcing  them  open  and  allowing  his tongue  to  slip  into  my  mouth.  And  what  could  I  do?  I  had  to  play  along, didn’t I? 
So,  I  melted  into  his  kiss,  letting  him  devour  my  mouth  with  his  expert tongue  as  his  hand  slid  down  my  back  and  onto  my  ass.  I  felt  a  jolt  of pleasure  shoot  through  my  body  as  he  squeezed  it  hard,  knowing  that  his mom wouldn’t be able to see. 
I should have been annoyed. But all I could think about was how good his hand and his mouth felt on me. When he pulled back, I gasped. 
I wanted more. 
So much more. 
Then I remembered his mom was sitting right there and I blushed, tucking a strand of hair behind my ear self-consciously before I turned to face her. 
She  laughed  softly.  ‘Montoya  men  are  very  passionate,’  she  said  with  a shrug and a knowing smile. 
‘Lo siento, Mama,’ Alejandro said as he took a seat. 
‘No  need  to  apologize.  Your  Alana  is  a  beautiful  woman,  son.  I’m  glad that  you’ve  finally  found  someone  to  share  your  life  with.  I  was  starting  to worry about you.’
He  took  her  hand  and  kissed  it  softly.  ‘You  never  have  to  worry  about me, Mama.’
Maria placed her free hand over mine. ‘Well, now that you have Alana to love you, I will certainly worry less.’
I  smiled  at  her,  although  I  felt  a  pang  of  guilt  for  lying  to  this  lovely woman who clearly adored her son. But, I supposed her believing that he was happy and in love brought her some comfort when she lived so far away from him. 
‘I’ll look after him, Maria. I promise,’ I said and in that moment, I meant it too. 

ALEJANDRO
I KISSED MY  MOTHER  ON  THE  CHEEK  BEFORE  CLOSING  THE  CAR  DOOR  BEHIND
her and watching as her driver turned out of my driveway. I’d suggested that she  spend  the  night,  but  she  wanted  to  visit  her  old  friend  while  she  was  in L.A.  She  also  made  it  clear  that  she  was  keen  not  to  intrude  on  the newlyweds.
The irony of that wasn’t lost on me. The fact was, Alana and I got along much  better  when  my  mother  was  around  –  even  if  it  was  all  only  for  her benefit.
I  walked  back  into  the  house  and  looked  for  Alana.  Whatever  I  thought about  her,  she  had  managed  to  convince  my  mother  that  this  thing  between the two of us was real, and for that I was grateful. I wondered what, or how much it might cost me, to repay that particular favor.
I  found  her  in  the  kitchen  helping  Magda  clear  the  dishes  from  our  late lunch.  They  were  laughing  at  something  but  stopped  when  they  saw  me walking into the ro

Chapter 6