Let It Be Me (Let It Be Me #1) (12 page)

Ryan greeted the two of them downstairs in his suit and tie. He laughed at Jenny’s remark. As a high school teacher, he also wasn’t used to these events. He wrapped his arm around Jenny’s waist and kissed her. Kayla almost sighed at the sight of them. 

Ryan and Jenny checked in on the babysitter and Trey before they headed out.

“Bye Kayla,” Trey greeted, also giving her a hug as he stood on the couch.

“Aww, bye Trey,” she said. She ruffled his hair. “Be nice to Rachel.” 

He nodded then sat down to read a Marvel picture book with Rachel. 

Jenny, Ryan and Kayla headed out, to see a shiny black Lincoln parked by the curb. 

“Fancy,” Ryan commented, but was obviously excited to ride the expensive car. 

The driver walked out to open the door for them. He was a large guy who seemed like he lived in the gym. He introduced himself as Roy.

Ryan rode at the passenger’s seat while the girls got in the back.

Kayla heard her phone buzz. She took her phone out from her purse and saw a message from Alex. “Where are you?” the text read.

“On our way,” she replied.

“See you, Kayla,” he replied quickly.

Kayla smiled. For someone who was so famous, Alex seemed to have all this time sending text messages and emails. And he seemed so needy. She then remembered what he said about the business to be full of phonies. She was quite moved that he trusted her for the short time they’ve known each other.

They were still on their way when Kayla heard her phone ringing. At first she thought it would be Alex, getting all impatient, but was surprised to see Chad’s name.

“Chad, hi,” she answered. Jenny quickly turned to her and grinned.

“Hi Kayla, I hope I didn’t catch you at a bad time,” he said. “I know you have that charity event.”

“It’s okay, we’re still on our way,” she said.

“Okay good, I just called to talk about tomorrow,” he said. “How about four o’ clock? I can pick you up.” 

“We can just meet there,” Kayla quickly replied, not sure why. It was like she was not yet ready for him to see her place.

“Oh okay then,” he said. “Can we meet at four in front of The Met?”

“That works for me,” Kayla said. “I’ll see you. Thanks.”

“Great, see you Kayla.”

When she ended the call, she waited for Jenny to say something. After half a minute of not hearing anything she looked to her right to see Jenny just looking at her with a scrutinizing look.

She raised her eyebrows in question but Jenny still didn’t say anything. Kayla just turned her gaze to her other side to see that they were nearing the hotel.

As Roy stopped the car at the hotel drop off, he and Ryan opened the doors for the two girls. They all thanked Roy before he drove away to park. The three of them then made their way to the ballroom, handing over their invitations to the ushers. 

As they entered, the sight of the fancy decorations and elegantly-dressed people made Kayla feel nervous. She paused for a while, tightening her grip on her clutch bag and fidgeting with the thin bracelet she had on her left wrist. It was so fancy – even nicer than most of the weddings she’s attended.

The usher pointed out their table but were led first to the cocktails area. They saw Bobby and Cynthia talking to some dignified-looking people. They also saw Brandon and Sara by the bar. 

Kayla, Jenny and Ryan were about to join Brandon and Sara when Kayla saw Ben talking to a couple other men in suits. 

“Excuse me,” Kayla said then made her way to Ben. 

Ben beamed when he saw her. He took her in for a hug. “Nice to see you again, Kayla,” he greeted, and quickly introduced her to the men he was speaking to. The two men excused themselves. 

Ben turned to look back at her. “You’re looking beautiful as always.” 

“Thank you,” Kayla said, flattered. “You look good too.”

“You stole my line, Benjamin,” Kayla heard from behind her. She turned to see Alex looking dapper in his black suit. The sight of him stole her breath.  

“Kayla, hi,” he said standing beside her. He put his arm around her waist and leaned down to kiss her cheek to Kayla’s reluctant delight. “You just made all the other women here look like drab.”

Kayla’s mouth opened in shock. “Alex!” But she couldn’t ignore she was enjoying having his arm around her waist. She suddenly felt at ease being in the sophisticated event.

Ben laughed.

“I had to one up what Ben said!” Alex argued, then grinned. “So where are the rest?”

“By the bar,” Kayla said. “I should join them in a bit.”

“Come on, we’ll say hi to them,” Alex said. He took her arm as the three of them headed to where her colleagues were. Alex and Ben easily chatted with everyone else. 

The two men had to excuse themselves after a while as the program was about to start.

They have just sat down on their seats when they saw Alex make his way to the podium.

“Ladies and gentlemen, thank you all for being here,” he started. “Please don’t think that all we want from you is your money -- ” People burst out laughing then. Alex flashed his crooked smile that looked so charming. “— but we honestly believe that everyone in this room share our vision. As some of you already know, twenty-six years ago I was adopted by a lovely couple named Robert and Helen Stone.”

This declaration surprised Kayla as she never knew he was adopted. She and Alex never got to talk about his earlier years. She also recognized that the foundation was named after his adoptive parents.

“They were volunteers in a soup kitchen,” Alex continued. “They gave me as normal as a life can be. I went to school and played sports. But they taught me the importance of sharing and paying it forward. Although they have both passed away, I am greatly blessed to have the means to continue with their legacy.”

Everyone clapped for him and the foundation.

“Thank you,” he said. “Since the inception of the foundation three years ago, we have sent twenty-four kids to school, and we have built homes for ten families. This year, we have started our biggest project to date. With the help of the architectural firm Flanders and Associates --” he gestured to our table, and beamed “— we are building an affordable housing development to house
one hundred
families.”

Another round of applause.

“May I present Stone Homes,” he said. The lights dimmed as they showed the walk-through made by the office. Jenny, Brandon and Kayla have worked with the animators to revise the original one to reflect the final design.

People clapped again after that as the lights were turned back on.

“The first of the four buildings will be completed by next year,” he continued. “The rest will be completed in another two years, if our projections are correct. So that means we do need you to bring out your checkbooks.”

Laughter broke out.

“Thank you in advance for all your help. This is our little way of bringing a brighter future for these families. Dinner is ready. Do enjoy the night. Thank you.”

The room thundered in applause as Alex made his way down the stage. 

They all enjoyed a meal prepared by a celebrity chef from the Food Network. After dinner, Michael Buble went up the stage to serenade everyone. People started standing up to dance. From their table, it was Bobby and Cynthia who first headed to the dance floor. 

Over the years, Kayla very much enjoyed watching Bobby and Cynthia during company functions. They loved to dance and remained to be very sweet to each other – a truly inspiring couple.

Brandon and Sara shortly followed, standing up to make a beeline for the dance floor.

“Come dance with us, Kayla,” Jenny called, standing up as Michael sang a fast song.

Kayla didn’t dance. But she thought Jenny and Ryan wouldn’t want to leave her alone. She didn’t want the two of them to miss out on dancing – Jenny loved to dance. She wouldn’t have been a cheerleader if she didn’t. Kayla wasn’t sure about Ryan though, she thought grinning.

“You guys go ahead,” she urged, composing a fib in her before she continued speaking. “I have to look for Henry.”

Ryan and Jenny bought it and headed to the dance floor. Kayla was making her way to the bar when someone called out to her.

She turned around and felt light-headed when she saw who it was.

“Kayla, nice to see you,” Deirdre greeted, leaning forward to hug her. Kayla barely had the chance to raise her arms before Deirdre stepped back. Kayla turned to face Barry. Barry also gave her a very awkward hug. Kayla wondered why he didn’t see them earlier.

“It’s awesome your firm is working with the foundation,” Deirdre exclaimed excitedly. Tonight she was dressed in a strapless red dress that of course looked great in her.

“Yes, it’s a wonderful project,” Kayla replied, her hold on her bag tightening. “And I’m glad both of you support it too.” 

“I met Henry Chapell playing golf,” Barry explained. “That’s how I learned about the foundation.” Barry was a successful finance manager, and it wasn’t a big surprise to Kayla he was in an event like this. Kayla noticed that although Barry was still attractive, he had aged a bit since she last saw him over a year ago. The nine-year difference between him and Deirdre was starting to show.

“That’s great,” Kayla murmured, she started fiddling with her bracelet again. 

“So you are coming to our wedding right?” Deirde asked. Kayla noticed Barry nudge Deirdre. Her cousin was never good with tact. 

To be honest, Kayla avoided thinking about the wedding since the day Deirdre dropped by her office. She took home the invitation to place on her console but she never got to look at it again.

Kayla was about to speak and confirm her attendance, when she noticed Deirdre’s eyes widen and her mouth drop open.   

“Kayla,” she heard behind her. She felt a hand on the small of her back, and she just knew.

She looked up at her right as Alex stepped beside her. She has never been more thankful for his presence.

“Alex, have you met Barry Flynn and Deirdre Hawkins? Deirdre is my cousin, and Barry is one of your donors. She and Barry are – umm -- getting married next month.”

Alex shook both their hands while keeping his left hand round her waist. Kayla saw Deirdre was apparently star-struck. Kayla also got the slight satisfaction to see Barry looking a bit uncomfortable.

Alex turned to her. “Kayla, was this the wedding you told me about? The one we were going to?”

If she thought it wasn’t possible for Deirdre’s jaw to drop lower, she was wrong. Deirdre was in shock. Barry also seemed quite surprised. It was a good thing Kayla was quick to recover from her own shock.

“Yes, it’s the one at the Hamptons,” Kayla pretended to remind, instinctively playing along.

“Right,” Alex continued with his charade. He turned to Barry and Deirdre. “Good thing I met you both tonight so you wouldn’t think I was crashing your wedding.”

Barry and Deirdre laughed – Deirdre’s laugh was a bit over-the-top. “Any friend of Kayla’s is a friend of ours,” she said.

“Good, good,” Alex said. “Congratulations to the two of you and see you then. Anyways I’m sorry but I have to steal Kayla away. I need her to meet some people.”

“Of course,” Barry said. “Nice to meet you again.”

Alex then maneuvered Kayla to walk away, towards the other side of the room. Kayla forced herself not to look back.

“I don’t know if I should thank or strangle you,” Kayla muttered. She was slightly shaking from the encounter with Deirdre and Barry. Why did it still affect her after two years?

“Hey I just sensed you were in a situation then I came up with an adlib,” Alex explained. “You played along so I assume my guess was right?”

“Fine, maybe you saved me a bit there,” Kayla conceded. “And I thought I was the one who was supposed to save you from rich matrons. How did you know I was in a situation by the way?”

“You have this habit of tightening your knuckles or playing with your bracelet when you’re uncomfortable,” he said. “I saw it when you entered the ballroom earlier and when you were talking to your cousin over there. I’m pretty sure the night we bumped into each other you were also holding on to your bag.”

“You noticed that?” she asked. She did have that habit of holding on to something if she was nervous or worried.

Amazing
. 

“I’m an actor. We kind of study every small movement of the body,” he replied simply.

“I think I have new-found respect for your profession,” Kayla teased. 

“So before tonight you thought I was just horsing around?” he shot back, but it was obvious he knew she was just joking. “So what’s the story?” he pried, as they stopped walking.

“It doesn’t matter,” Kayla brushed off quickly. 

“It seems like it does,” Alex said confidently. “You seemed bothered enough not to notice we’re already on the dance floor.” 

Kayla quickly looked around to see he was right. She didn’t even notice he led her there. He must have remembered that time they met when she told him she didn’t dance. 

“Care to dance?” he dared to ask. Michael started singing his version of an old slow song. Alex raised his arms.

Although she got slightly annoyed for being manipulated, Kayla considered his invitation. He was her host. And he was kind enough to save her from that bit of a situation.

She nodded, placing her hand on his shoulder, then the other taking hold of his hand. They started swaying to the music.

“So what’s the story?” he repeated. “If I’m going to the wedding with you, I need to know what I’m dealing with, right?”

Kayla’s head shot up. Was this guy insane? “I appreciate you saving me up there. That was more than enough. Even if I show up to the wedding alone and just make some excuse that you had to go for some movie, at least Barry and Deirdre know you were supposed to be there.”

“What did they do to you, Kayla?” Alex asked gently, and Kayla knew he really wanted to know.

Kayla collected her thoughts and managed her emotions.

“Barry and I dated for almost three years,” Kayla began. “If the relationship’s that long you would think the next step was marriage. But he meets my younger, prettier, more exciting cousin. Then I was doomed.”