Let It Be Me (Let It Be Me #1) (16 page)

Kayla laughed, but suddenly got sad that she has missed out on over a year of her niece’s and nephew’s lives

“We missed you, Kayla,” Nick said. “They would be happy to see you. Could have traded you for my bridezilla of a sister.”

They all laughed.

“I heard that, Nicholas,” they heard from behind them. They all spun around to see Aunt Heidi.

“Oh Kayla, sweetheart,” Aunt Heidi murmured then went to Kayla to hug her. “I’m so happy you’re here.”

Kayla tried her best to hold the tears, but a few tears managed to break free. “I’m glad I’m here,” she choked out.

Her aunt let go of her and smiled. “You’re the spitting image of you mom. She’s always been the beautiful one.”

Kayla smiled. She was reminded of how much she missed her mom. She wished with all her heart her mom was there with her right then.

And it was then that Aunt Heidi noticed Alex behind her. Her aunt’s eyes widened with shock.

“Aunt Heidi, Nick, this is Alex,” she introduced. 

Her aunt was speechless for a minute as Alex took her hand in a handshake. 

Nick was the one who managed to say, “Enjoyed High Alert, man.”

“Glad to hear,” Alex responded. “Thanks for watching it.”

“Thank you for being here with Kayla, Alex,” Aunt Heidi said when she managed to compose herself, and Kayla looked at her aunt knowing what she meant. She then turned to Kayla then. “I have to go back to Deirdre. I will talk to you later okay? We have a lot to catch up on.”

Kayla nodded, smiling, still overwhelmed with how much she missed her relatives.

Aunt Heidi hugged her again then walked away to look for Deirdre.

“We’ll see you later,” Kayla told Uncle Joe and Nick. With the ceremony about to start, Kayla wanted to distance herself a bit.

The two men nodded. Alex led Kayla to the side, still away from where the other guests were. 

“Are you okay?” Alex asked, peering at her. He raised his hand to brush the few tears on her cheeks. 

Kayla nodded.

“You did great back there,” Alex commended. 

“Thank you,” she said, and she meant it. Knowing he was there gave her the strength to face everyone all at the same time.

“Shall we head to the garden?” Alex asked.

Kayla thought for a minute then nodded. They walked to the portion of the garden where seats were lined up in rows facing the constructed archway adorned with flowers. They walked to the back row to remain obscure, but Alex’s towering height was hard to miss. They heard some squeals and whispers but both Kayla and Alex tried to remain impassive. Alex reached for her hand, and Kayla almost laughed thinking this time he was the one who needed her support. Kayla then thought having Alex with her worked out well, because she would rather think the other guests were whispering about him and not about her. 

Good thing Alex and Ben thought of the non-disclosure forms or people would have been bringing out their mobile phones to take photos. 

They were glad to see Henry and his wife Diane, whom Kayla has met in the fund-raising event. They sat next to them and chatted while the ceremony hasn’t started.

Before long, the first few notes of the entrance song started to play. 

The service was quick. Although slightly awkward, Kayla has realized that time has helped heal this particular wound. Seeing both Barry and Deirdre under the archway seemed bizarre, but she tried to be impartial and just be happy for them. 

It was only at the end of the ceremony that Kayla realized she was holding on to Alex’s hand the whole time. She looked up at him and smiled gratefully before gently pulling her hand away. 

Henry started asking Kayla about the shortlisted window suppliers for Stone Homes, which Kayla readily answered.

It was around ten minutes later when Alex said, “Shall we go in?”

Kayla nodded as the four of them headed in. Henry and Diane went first.

“Sorry about that,” Alex whispered.

“What are you talking about?”

“Henry has this knack for being all-business,” Alex apologized on his colleague’s behalf. “I guess that’s also why we hired him.”

“Don’t worry about it,” Kayla assured. “Especially today, even if it’s a bit cowardly, I don’t mind talking about business.”

Alex held on to her arm and squeezed gently as they entered the dining hall. Kayla noticed several people looking their way, with some of them pointing. One of the girls Kayla recognized as Deirdre’s friend from high school approached them to introduce herself. Alex was polite and said hi, but quickly excused Kayla and him. He steered Kayla to where Henry and Diane were. 

“As much as I hate what Barry and Deirdre did to you, I don’t really want them to think I’m taking the spotlight from them on their wedding day.”

Kayla looked up at him in awe. Maybe he has already learned to tone down the arrogance she saw in him before. 

“This might be the best time to approach the bride and groom,” Alex suggested, pointing his head towards the couple who were still at the side of the dining hall talking to Barry’s parents. They were still waiting for the program to start.

Kayla took a deep breath then nodded. 

Here goes nothing
. 

Alex took her hand again to lend some support. Kayla took it gladly. She felt some eyes on them as they approached Barry and Deirdre.

Deirdre was the first to see them and her mouth turned slack at the sight of Kayla and Alex. Kayla thought it was probably more because of Alex.

“Kayla,” she said in amazement. Barry turned and saw them too.

“Congratulations to the two of you,” Kayla said sincerely. Releasing Alex’s hand, she gave each of them a hug. Sometime during the ceremony she realized that things were for the best. Two years after, she couldn’t remember anymore how compatible she and Barry were. Looking at her life now, she wondered if Barry would have still fit in. If he and Deirdre were happy together, then good for them.

“Thank you for being here,” Barry said. He turned to Alex to shake his hand. “Alexander, good to see you.”

“Congratulations,” Alex said.

Deirdre faced Kayla. “Thank you, Kayla. I wouldn’t have blamed you if you didn’t come. But I’m really glad that you’re here. My family’s complete.”

Kayla nodded and offered her cousin a reassuring smile. She appreciated Deirdre’s words and sensed the sincerity in them. “I’m glad I’m here.” 

Deirdre enveloped her in a hug.

Kayla knew that in time things would go back to normal. Attending this wedding was some sort of closure she needed for that ugly phase of her life.

She reached out for Alex’s arm as they walked back to their table. He reached with his other hand to rest it over hers.

Dinner was served and the series of traditions started. 

It was during the slicing of the cake that Alex’s phone started ringing.

“Yes, Roy,” he answered. 

Kayla tried not to eavesdrop, but she sensed the slight change in Alex’s composure. He stiffened as he listened to Roy.

“Okay, good,” he said. “I’ll call you right back.”

Kayla looked at him curiously. 

“We have a situation,” he said. “The paparazzi still got hold that I am here. There is a bunch of them out front.” 

“Oh no,” Kayla said. For all the help and support that Alex has given her today, the last thing she wanted was to inconvenience him. “What should we do?”

“Roy found a side entrance the photographers haven’t discovered yet,” Alex explained. “We can exit there. But we would have to act quick to make it.” She felt he was worried but wasn’t trying not to show it.

“Okay, of course,” Kayla agreed. 

“I’m sorry about this,” Alex said. “I know you were still supposed to catch up with your aunt and uncle. Unless you want to stay? I can have Roy come back for you later.”

“I’ll go with you,” Kayla quickly responded. She didn’t want to have Alex go through it alone, especially after all he has done for her that day. “Don’t worry about it, I’ll just tell Aunt Heidi I’ll visit them soon. I’ve already done what I had to do for today.” She stood up. “Let me say a quick bye to them then we can go right away.”

She did just that, promising to visit them in New Jersey soon. Her aunt understood, and promised to relay to the others.

After another phone call to Roy and explaining the situation to Henry, Alex led Kayla to the entrance Roy was referring to. Before they could open the door and get out, Alex took out his coat and draped it over the two of them. 

“The car is at the end of the pathway straight ahead. Once I open the door we have to move fast. Okay?”

“Okay,” Kayla echoed, nervous. She’s never experienced anything close to it.

Alex opened the door then they rushed to the car waiting outside. All Kayla could see was the pavement, but she saw the lower portion of the side of the car at the end. Roy was waiting for them. He opened the door as Alex guided Kayla in, before going the other side of the car to enter. He had his coat over him the whole time. Kayla didn’t know what was going around them, or if there was any chance any of the paparazzi have seen them.

Roy started the car and drove at a normal pace so as not to call any attention. The car windows were heavily tinted so it wouldn’t have been possible for anyone to see them inside. When they rounded the corner Kayla looked back to shockingly see that there were over a dozen paparazzi outside Hedges Inn. She’s never seen anything like that except on television. 

“Good lord,” Kayla remarked. Her heart was beating wildly with the adrenaline of what they just went through. 

“Small price to pay,” Alex said, shaking his head.

“Do you think anything would come out in the press?” Kayla ask, worried for him. 

“I don’t think they were able to get a shot. Don’t worry about it,” Alex assured. He took out his phone from his jacket and dialed.

“Ben, there were some paps at the wedding venue,” he said without preamble. “I doubt there were any shots. But just in case there are any that shows Kayla or even mentions her name, handle it okay?”

Alex was silent as he listened to what Ben had to say.

“Okay, thanks, I owe you for this,” Alex said.

As Alex ended the call, Kayla reached out to touch his arm. “I’m sorry about this. Now even Ben is hassled as well. If anything comes out, I’ll deal with it. It’s the least I can do after all you’ve done for me.” She wasn’t really sure how she could possibly deal with it – she wanted to maintain a private life – but she didn’t want to be a burden.

Alex took her hand. “Don’t worry about it, okay?” he repeated. “Ben is used to it. He will just coordinate with the publicist.”   

Kayla nodded, slightly appeased. They were quiet for the rest of the ride back to Alex’s house. Kayla was just reflecting on the events of the day. 

As they entered the vehicular gate of Alex’s property, Kayla checked her watch to see it was a little past six in the evening.

She was a bit tired from the long day but still wired from the events that took place. And the excitement of their almost-encounter with the press made her really curious.

Alex walked to the living area and she followed him.

“Is it worth it?” she asked. “Losing some of your privacy because of your fame?”

She sat on couch and Alex walked over to the side of the room that displayed his obviously expensive set of entertainment equipment. Kayla watched as he played with some buttons until she heard a slow song start to play. She recognized John Legend’s sexy voice.

“I would be lying if I said it doesn’t bother me – the media attention, the rumors,” he answered as he turned and made his way to sit back on an armchair closest to where she was sitting. “There are just those times I’m having a bad day or just feel like being alone. Having them pester me then would really test my patience.”

He loosened his tie and leaned back, crossing one leg to rest his ankle on one knee. He stretched his arms over the armrests.

“But as I said earlier it’s a small price to pay,” he continued. “I love acting. I love the business. And the fame helps me and Ben with the foundation. I’ve learned to tune the media out a bit, but I have also learned how to use it to my advantage sometimes.”

Kayla nodded, understanding, then something else crossed her mind.

“And stalkers?” she asked. “You must have had your share too.”

He shrugged. “Had a few,” he admitted humbly, though Kayla guessed he was downplaying it. “Thankfully it hasn’t gotten out of hand though. A couple of them have gotten hold of my number, so I had to change immediately. Then once, a girl posed as a waitress in one of the foundation’s events. We’ve all idolized someone, you know? They get this idea that they know you because of what they watch on screen, but they really don’t. But it never really reached the point that I felt that my security or my life was threatened.”

“That’s good, I guess,” Kayla commented. She would already have felt threatened if someone she didn’t know was calling her personal number, but she saw his point. She’s heard of stories of stalkers breaking into the celebrity’s home or even following their children to school. It must be hardest when even loved ones were endangered.

“Good thing Roy told us immediately about the paps,” Alex said. “If we found out later, things would have been different. The press would have been curious who you were.”

Kayla wondered what if that happened, and agreed with what Alex said earlier. She wouldn’t have wanted Deirdre’s wedding disrupted by the commotion. 

“You’re right, it’s a good thing,” she said, and decided to just joke about it. “Anyways, if the press even saw me, they would have seen immediately how boring I am.”

Kayla grinned at Alex, but she was surprised when he looked at her with a stern look. 

“Kayla.”

“What?”

“You really should stop thinking that.”

“I was just kidding, okay,” she said defensively but lightheartedly. “I wouldn’t stand a chance against you and Jenny. I’ve now accepted that I’m a hotshot architect that can conquer the world and won’t take shit from anyone.”

They both laughed. Kayla was joking, but she knew she has made some progress in that aspect. With Jenny’s and Alex’s nudges, she has learned to try out new things. And she has been enjoying the ride so far.