“I’ll tell you. You’re looking for a reason to keep her from getting too close. Only, my dear Leo, it isn’t working. You knew she was lying too, I refuse to believe you didn’t. Maybe during her interview, she was able to get it passed you, but I do not for a moment believe she made it through that first week without you figuring it out.

“You knew something was up, but you didn’t get rid of her for the same reason you still cannot leave her. You and Alexa belong together and not for some stupid sixty days you usually do, until the end of time.”

No, I shake my head searching for the words to refute her accusation. Yet the memories come tumbling back. During the interview, she talked about living off the money saved for her to live on while she wrote. The ways she stumbled whenever I asked her about her husband. Then the dinner we shared, her memories never included a man. More importantly the complete lack of awareness of her own appeal that had shown her as the virgin I saw and disregarded. Alexa was completely blind to our sexual chemistry, the heat between us so hot it ended up burning us both.

“Yes, Leo. It isn’t nearly as bad as you think it will be. But I’m telling you right now you will not leave her twisting in the wind for too much longer. She deserves to know you care for her. Vincent and I do love a Christmas wedding, it’s when we were married. Six months from now would be a perfect amount of time, the planning won’t take long at all. None of this waiting a year for a wedding business. You’ve been waiting to find Alexa for far too long to waste any time.”

As I put Victoria in a car to drive her home, I am still shaking my head at her words. A wedding, married, me and Alexa, forever. How could she know it was something I have wondered about since the night of the photo shoot? Leaving Alexa after we made love that night was something I was unable to do until she fell asleep. It spooked me how right it felt, how content I was holding her, how much I did not want to leave her. The very thought chased me out of bed and up to my condo.

While I undressed, I found the memory card from Graham. I could not wait until the next morning, hell it was already close to three in the morning. Plugging in the card once I pulled it up with every picture, I craved Alexa more and more. I could not take my eyes off her, I did not even want to blink. Her face shined with emotion, her eyes bright and glittering like sapphires.