But when shown her grades for the last semester it appeared that she had been failing half her classes. Probably because, from the special note at the bottom of the grade card, she hadn’t even shown up half the time for the first semester of her sophomore year. That didn’t make since at all. All her life, Alexis had excelled at school, always attended class even when she was sick.
The drinking was worrisome, of course. But what had really bothered her father, mother, and stepmother, was the fact that she had obviously been cutting herself. What was so wrong with her life that she had cut herself—and deeply at that—repeatedly?
Alexis sat in the doctor’s office, alone for the first time that day. Her therapy sessions with Dr. Reid were completely private. She had met him back in New York when her mother and father decided that it was better to get her away from whatever it was that could have caused her erratic behavior in the first place—whatever that might be. Dr. Reid was an older man, with a receding hair line and deep wrinkles around his grayish blue eyes and mouth. She couldn’t be sure if they were from smiling or frowning so much, perhaps even both, because he tended to do both while in her company the two times he had seen her back east.
Now he was sitting in his chair while she had taken a place on the leather sofa across from him. He had one leg crossed over the other and an iPad on his lap, which he scribbled on every now and then with the soft padded pen. There was soft music playing in the background, classical. He had said that sometimes music could trigger memories, so he liked to play different music during his session. His iPod was on across the room at a docking station and he held the remote to switch songs from time to time.
“Our last session back in New York you said that you were glad you couldn’t remember. I know that your parents have informed you about what was going on in your life at the time…But what if there was more to it? Do you wonder?”
Alexis shrugged. “A little. I just can’t figure out what would make me act like that. It just isn’t me.”
Dr. Reid nodded. “Yes, I have gathered that. I spoke with all the members of you immediate family. Your father, stepmother, and brother have told me that you were always so careful. Never broken any rules; never put a foot wrong. A perfect little girl. Almost to perfect. That is something that I think we should go into at a later time. Your grandfather, who I found spends more time working than at home, didn’t know too much about what was going on in your life other than the fact that he had gotten a call from the dean at Yale saying your grades had considerable dropped…Then there is your mother who informed me that because she has been flying back and forward from Milan and New York so much she hadn’t been able to confront you on what was going on in your life at the time…” He sighed. “But that she thought that you might have been seeing someone at the time. Someone who had meant quiet a lot to you, but that you hadn’t confided in her about it.”
Her heart clenched. “There had to have been someone in my life, Dr. Reid. How else do you explain…” She broke off and glanced away, still unable to say the words that hurt her the most.
The doctor scribbled something again, but didn’t push her to finish her sentence. He knew from the last session they had had not to push her on that subject just yet. “Maybe we should explore that. Have you ever been in love?”
“I have had a few crushes.” She admitted with a shrugged. “But no, I don’t think I have ever been in love.”
There was a buzzing from the desk which told them that their session was over. The hour had gone by quickly. Dr. Reid was scribbling again. “I want to pick up right here next time, Lexi. I want to explore these crushes.” He offered her a kind smile as he stood and assisted her to her feet. When she had her crutches snapped around her forearms he released her. “Also next week I want to start playing music that was popular during the time you cannot remember. All genres.”
“Okay.” She let him open the door for her and walked through it before turning back to him. “See you next week, doc.”
“Bye Lexi.” He waved at Melissa and then turned back into his office, closing the door behind him.
Melissa stood. “I don’t know about you but I could use some lunch.” She opened the outer office door for Alexis and they moved down the corridor. “Want to stop by and see if your father would like to join us?”
“Sure.” But she knew that it was just an excuse for Melissa to tell her father what the orthopedic surgeon had said earlier. If he hadn’t had an important meeting with one of his biggest clients that morning she was sure he would have attended her doctors’ appointments with them.
Chapter 3
The older woman sitting behind the desk had been Max Shepard’s secretary since before Alexis could talk. When she saw Alexis and Melissa coming off the elevator she quickly stood and crossed to embrace the girl. “Lex!”
Alexis offered her a tired smile. “Hello, Mrs. Travis. It’s wonderful to see you again.” She had always liked the older woman with her wise eyes and gentle smile. Every time Alexis would visit her father over summer breaks and holidays the woman had always treated her as a granddaughter. With her gray hair in a tight bun, that soft voice—that could turn hard as steel within a blink of an eye—and her rounded figure, she looked the image of a grandmother even in her business dress.
Melissa gave her husband’s secretary a warm smile. “Is he free, Mrs. Travis? We thought we could plead for his attention for an hour or so while he treated us to lunch.”
“He’s just finishing up with Mr. Giordano. They asked for some coffee a while ago, so I think it is pretty safe that business has been concluded.” She turned to lead them down the corridor to Max’s office, the only office on this floor. Max liked to have plenty of space while he was working. He owned four of the thirty plus floors in this building. His office and a large conference room were the only rooms on the floor. “I’m sure that you two will be a welcome diversion from all the testosterone in there.”
Alexis had to grin at that. “A little estrogen never hurt anything.” The secretary opened the door for her with a wink and she thanked the woman before following her stepmother inside the spacious office that belonged to her father.
“Liss!” Max sounded delighted at seeing his wife.
Alexis didn’t bother to look at him or the man seated in one of the leather chairs before the desk. She concentrated on getting across the room without embarrassing herself by falling. She was becoming exhausted and had to take extra care with each step she took. “You remember Gerardo Giordano don’t you, love?”
“Of course. Signore Giordano, it would be hard to forget you.” Melissa sounded slightly breathless and Alexis raised her head to see what had put that breathlessness in her stepmother’s voice.
Pain like a knife slicing through her chest shot through her as she took in the man standing with Melissa’s hand in his. She could see why her stepmother had gotten breathless. The man was so devastatingly sexy that it would make any female with a pulse catch her breath. And the smile that he was bestowing on the gorgeous Melissa was almost swoon worthy. That smile should be deemed illegal. It made his dark molasses eyes lighten and the lines around his eyes crinkle in a way that would have detracted from another man’s handsomeness.
He was the embodiment of what Alexis would consider pure male perfection would be. He wasn’t exceedingly tall, perhaps a little over six feet. His shoulders were lean, but none the less muscular. She would have put his age at mid to late twenties, perhaps younger than her brother Vince. With his Italian heritage coloring that would contrast with her lighter complexion she ached to put her hand on his arm and compare the two. His dark, melting eyes were veiled in thick long lashes that some women could only attempt to replicate with thickly applied mascara. He was sensual with his every movement telling Alexis that he was confident with his body.
“Call me Jared, Mrs. Shepard. Signore Giordano is my father. It is lovely to see you again. Your beauty has only grown since the last time I saw you. Max is a luck
y man.”
That voice! At the first caressing sound of his deep voice a shiver went through Alexis. Tiny goose flesh popped up all over her body. But there was another shot of pain that went through her chest and she paused to catch her breath from the effect it had on her.
“That I am.” Max hugged his wife to his side, sharing a loving glance between the two. But after a moment he turned his head and saw her. “Lex, you look tired.” He crossed to her and dropped a kiss on her cheek.
“Just a little.” She lied.
“Jared, I would like to introduce you to my daughter. Alexis, this is Gerardo Giordano. He and his father are my biggest clients.” Max handled multi-billion dollar mergers for other companies. When someone wanted to take over another business without letting the world know who was taking it over, or they needed a go-between who could make the whole transfer of power go smoothly, they called Max Shepard.
“Ah, the mysterious Alexis.” Gerardo came forward to shake her hand…But stopped a foot or more away. He seemed shocked, surprised when he finally got a good look at her. The ball cap she had worn all day kept her face in shadow, something that she found comforting to an extent. But when this man really saw her he looked as if he had seen a ghost.
Then he took her in fully, his eyes traveling from her face down her body until they landed on her metal crutches. As his eyes had moved her body had begun to warm, as if with every inch that his eyes took in was catching fire. But as soon as those molasses eyes landed on her forearm crutches she turned cold. She had never really thought about them before. Not once had she been self-conscious about having to use them. Yet now, with this male god standing in front of her, his eyes darkening with some unknown emotion she hated them.
Alexis watched him swallow hard before moving forward the last foot that separated them and offering her his hand. “I…” He cleared his voice and shook his head as if to clear it. When he smiled this time it appeared forced to her. “I have heard so much about you from your father I feel as if I already know you. It is a pleasure to finally meet you.”
For some strange reason, the longer she looked at him the more her chest hurt. “Signore Giordano.” She murmured, leaning on her father so that she could free her hand to shake his. At the first brush of his fingers against hers she felt as if she were electrocuted. She jerked her hand back before he could completely clasp it and gripped her crutches tighter.
“Jared.” He was frowning down at his own hand, but looked up after a slight pause. “Please call me Jared.” The way he said it, he made it seem like a caress down her spine.
“I hope we weren’t interrupting, Max.” Melissa, seeming to sense the tension between the two stepped forward in an attempt to diffuse the situation. “But Alexis and I were hoping to have company for lunch.”
“Of course. I’m starving.” Her father turned to the younger man. “How about it, Jared? Feel up to taking these two lovely ladies out for a decent meal? Or will we be keeping you from something?”
“It must be my lucky day.” Jared Giordano said with a charming grin, all signs of surprise now faded. “Such an offer doesn’t come my way often enough.”
Alexis snorted, and then blushed when they all looked at her. Her father frowned, as if he couldn’t understand why she had made such a noise. Melissa hid a grin as she pulled Max toward the door. That left her standing there with Jared staring at her with a raised eyebrow. “Shall we?” He murmured after a moment of just staring at her.
She shrugged. “Might as well.”
“Ah, such enthusiasm.” He put his hand to the small of her back and that electrocuted feeling at his touch zapped through her body and she stiffened. His touch sent an ache through her body, one that both excited her and pissed her off. She stopped and glared at him.
Clenching his jaw he dropped his hand and moved to hold the door for her. “After you.”
Chapter 4
Lunch was delicious.
They went to a little Bistro just around the corner from Max’s office building. Alexis had been there several times in the past, and had always enjoyed the food and service. It was the type of place where a person could sit and people watch while they ate or just had a glass of wine or cup of coffee. Today she was more into her food than what was going on around her.
Alexis ate with an appetite for the first time in months. She devoured her soup, even using her crusty roll to soak up the last of the broth in the bottom of the bowl. If she had been alone she might have even licked her fingers. When her lobster BLT arrived she barely looked up from her plate as she engulfed the sandwich.
The few times she had managed to glance around her father was gazing at her with delight. Obviously this was a sign to him that she was truly getting well. Melissa had given her a small trembling smile, but hadn’t made much of a comment. But it was Jared Giordano who had captured her attention. He had been staring at her as if he was thinking about devouring her. Her heart had begun to race and she had quickly looked away as she felt a blush creeping into her cheeks. After that she had refused to look in his direction.
The conversation among the other three at the table started off about business. Melissa, who had been a corporate lawyer just like Max up until a few years ago, when she had decided to take on a position for an organization that provided legal aid for civil suits to the less fortunate who needed good legal advice, was able to keep up with the two men as they talked about the merger that Max was handling for Jared. Alexis gathered that it was a difficult deal and that after nearly a year of trying to be reasonable with the company owner that Giordano was attempting to acquire, the merging company had turned nasty. But now that Max was dealing with the entire transaction things were moving smoothly once more.
Half way through the meal, however, the conversation took a wide left turn and became more personal. Alexis was just taking the last bite of her incredible sandwich when Max asked her how her appointment with the orthopedic surgeon had gone. She took her time, wiping her mouth, taking a sip of her water. She didn’t want to discuss this in front of Jared. Already he had seemed turned off by her crutches.
“Lex?” Max urged.
She sighed. “I start my physical therapy tomorrow morning at nine.”
“Good.” Her father nodded. “An hour every day like back in New York?” He had watched a few of her therapy sessions, seen firsthand how hard she had had to work to get to where she was now.
“No. Two hours every day. Dr. Bradford said that he thought the therapists were going too easy on me. He praised me for making such drastic improvements in such a short time. But he felt that I could have already been further along if the therapist had not treated me with kid gloves.”
Her voice shook with anger and suppressed emotion that she was unable to hide as she remembered the conversation with Dr. Bradford. Apparently the old coot had no idea just how painful physical therapy was when someone was learning to walk again after having a steel rod shoved in to act as part of her spine. Or that trying to walk with a crushed pelvis was excruciating. And now he wanted her to have two hours of the pain filled exercises that his physical therapy team would put her through, five days a week!
“Well if that is what Dr. Bradford thinks is best then that is what you have to do, sweetheart.” Her father told her in his calm voice. She hated it when he used that calm tone. It meant he was siding with anyone but her and trying to make her see his reasoning.
But she knew, on this at least, that he was right. She would have to have the two hours if that was what one of the world’s leading specialists in his field thought was best for her. And she would go every weekday without as much as a small complaint. “Yes, Daddy.” She murmured, taking a larger sip of her water.
“So, you were in a car accident?” His tone was filled with questions, but he seemed to be containing himself to just the one.
Alexis turned to him, not wanting to talk to this piece of male perfection about her very un-perfect body. “Yes.” She muttered before
glancing away. The pain in her heart increased with each glance.
“My brother and his wife at the time were in one a few years back. Dr. Bradford did wonders for my brother.” She glanced back at him, curious now. “One specialist in Milan told him that he would never walk again. Ricco, stubborn to a fault, refused to believe it and sought out a second opinion here in California. He still walks with a cane but at least he is walking.” There was something dark in those molasses eyes of his; an emotion that he was trying to keep hidden. Pain? Anger? For what his brother went through…or something else?
Alexis remained quiet. Why does it hurt to look at him? Why does the sound of his voice make me ache for something I feel I have lost? Those questions flitting through her mind disturbed her. Her heart was literally aching, like something was wrapped tight around it, constricting blood flow. It hurt, but at the same time it made her feel…Alive?
Max cleared his throat. “How is Ricco?” He asked when it appeared that his daughter was not going to comment. “Your father said that he recently got married again.”
Jared held her gaze for another moment before turning to Max with a grin. “Yes. He is considerably much happier now that he has finally found ‘the one’. Of course he spent so much time before he married her being an idiot, trying to convince everyone that she wasn’t the one.”
Max laughed. “So much so that you nearly married the woman if memory serves.” Melissa murmured something but Alexis didn’t hear what it was. Jared had nearly gotten married to his new sister-in-law? Why did that make her angry? Hell, she had only just met this man and was feeling…Possessive? No, that just was not her! She was not the type of girl to go all scratching claws at the thought of someone else being with her man…Jared Giordano is not you man, Alexis Moreitti!