A Waltz With Wolves (Book II in The Harrison Inc. Series) | ✓

Chapter Twenty: The Truth Will Set You Free

**

"I can't believe you came by!"

This is said with no trace of discontent but contrarily with gratefulness instead. Alejandro and I are in the kitchen, having excused ourselves from the group (finally) to reconvene. I'm still flabbergasted at his presence.

"Your text sounded as if you were in trouble," he replies, taking more bruschetta from the tray and pops it into his mouth. He chews slowly, savoring the taste. His jaw is strong and defined when he eats.

"You literally saved my ass," I tell him. He laughs even though I'm serious. "I knew it wasn't a good idea, coming here."

"Well, now we're here. The least we can do now is enjoy ourselves."

He's right. Well, partially—it's impossible for one to enjoy themselves once around an entity as cold as my mother.

"I owe you for this one," I say to him while leaving the kitchen. He walks beside me.

"Maybe the date you declined?" he proposes. I stop and look at him with a disapproving yet amused face, but he isn't joking. He wants to go on a date with me and believed that this was the best opportunity to get me to say 'yes.'

"Is that why you came?"

He shakes his head, "No. I came because I thought you would want some company. But it wouldn't hurt for us to enjoy champagne and appetizers by ourselves, no?"

He's right. Again. I want to go on a date with this man, but the cons outweigh the pros, the pros being: he's kind, charming, sexy, generous, mysterious, sexy, considerate, sexy again, even though I've said it twice already. But the cons? I work with his family. His family works with Harrison Incorporated. My love life has been against me ever since it began. And truthfully, the last man I fell for was almost exactly like Alejandro, just with green eyes and an American accent. It makes me wonder if Alejandro and I will end up like me and Sebastian if it gets serious?

Still, the pros outweigh the cons instead of the other way around, my mind counter-argues. You were the one who said that it was time to start doing for you, right?

Right.

"Alright." I raise a finger up at him. "One date. And anything but Italian."

That smirk of gratitude is more descriptive than words. Samantha approaches us and introduces herself to Alejandro independently from my mother's group. They talk in Italian briefly before they both realize that they're fluent in English.

"By the way, I got you a gift," he tells her.

"Me? A gift? You didn't have to do that, Alejandro—"

"No, I insist."

Out of his pocket, he pulls out a black box midway before stopping himself and narrowing his eyes at Samantha.

"You have an iPhone, right?" he asks Samantha, and when she nods her head 'yes,' he hands her a box containing an Apple watch. Her mouth is to the ground.

"Thank God you have an iPhone," he mumbles quietly. We all laugh.

"You can't be serious! I don't even know you, but I love you already!"

Samantha has always been quite the hugger, so Alejandro is taken back when she wraps his arms around him and thanks him many times over.

"He's a keeper, Leslie," Samantha tells me before returning to our cousins to show them what Alejandro brought her as a gift. I almost tell her that he isn't my boyfriend, but exposure would ruin the legendary moment we had with my mother's entourage moments before.