* * *
The restaurant was crowded, the noise reaching their table although it was situated in a private alcove. He watched as Alana scanned the crowd again, her eyes alert for anyone she might know or want to know among the diners. Alex set down his silverware and sighed.
"I've settled on a designer for the dress. The location we were talking about has a couple of days open in December, so I think we should decide on a date and book it."
Alex nodded distractedly. He'd talked her out having the wedding in the Caribbean, and then had to persuade her away from New York. Portland was his adopted home town, and he stood firm in having the wedding here, where he lived and worked. Although she'd pouted for a week, not-so-subtly hinting that most of her friends and colleagues were in NYC, he hadn't been swayed.
Finally she'd given up trying to change the location and had set to spending his money as quickly as she could. The venue was a luxury hotel downtown with a spacious ballroom that was often the site of expensive weddings. He was sure Alana would shine in the lavish surroundings, and that was what was most important to her.
"The florist wants a deposit. I think five thousand should cover the down payment, but I want orchids, so I'd expect the final cost will be triple that."
"Of course," he murmured, taking a drink of water. Weddings weren't cheap, especially a wedding planned by Alana Morgan, a wedding that was sure to be the most expensive in recent memory. He'd be surprised if her dress cost less than the entire catering bill.
Maybe my offer to Lila was too low. He considered it, but knew there was no way she'd take more. Money didn't interest her. He wondered what did.
"I've talked to a travel agent about the honeymoon. She can get us a private bungalow at the most exclusive resort in Bali for a whole month, but I wasn't sure if we should confine ourselves to one island. I thought a week in Tokyo for shopping would be nice."
"A month is too long," he replied automatically. "I have to work." And he didn't know if he'd survive a month of doing nothing but doting on his bride.
Her lips turned down into a frown, an unattractive expression for her face. "Two weeks then. No negotiation."
He nodded absently and she returned to her list of demands. Alex tried keeping a running tally of expenses in his head, but soon realized the futility of such an exercise. Alana didn't care about the cost. Why should he?
Maybe because he knew exactly where the money was coming from. How hard he'd had to work to earn all the dough she was doling out so indiscriminately.
Multi-millionaire Alexander Drake came from humble beginnings. They were so humble, he'd not had a dime of his own until college. Any time he'd managed to bring home some cash, his father had quickly stripped him of it, spending the earnings on moonshine and cigarettes. Alex had gotten wise and began hiding any payments he received for odd jobs or pelts he'd taken while hunting. His father had gotten wise and started beating the money's location out of him. Finally Alex had given up on hiding and just turned his money over to his father. It was easier. It didn't make his little sisters cry.
Then he'd gotten to college on a full scholarship, away from his old man, and had finally had two nickels to rub together. A small smile crossed his face at the memory of his first taste of success.
"You're not paying attention to me."
Alex jerked back to the present, his eyes finding Alana's. Hers were cold, annoyed.
"Sorry, dear. I was thinking about college. Did I ever tell you how I started my first business?"
"No," she replied politely, her eyes leaving his to once again scan the crowd.
Alex leaned back, letting the memory wash over him. "The internet was just hinting at its potential my freshman year in college. Websites were popping up, and people were starting to trust their computers with such sacred information as their credit card numbers. I saved up the money I made working nights as a dishwasher to buy my first computer. I took a few classes on web design and writing code, and I figured out how to set up online funds transfers."
Alex drummed his fingers on the table, remembering the long nights he'd spent teaching himself how to build webpages and figuring out marketing angles. "I approached a few progressive local businesses and convinced them to build a web presence, as well as set up online orders. Most were skeptical at first, but that first year I got five businesses to contract their websites through me. All of them increased their profits, some doubled or tripled their business. After that, I hired a few more students, built my business up until half the big manufacturers and retailers in the region were contracting through me, and in my senior year I sold the company for a quarter of a million dollars."
"Fascinating," Alana breathed, and Alex looked up, realizing her attention wasn't on him but on the crowd. People like Alana didn't care where the money came from, as long as it could be spent freely. He bit back a sigh, motioning to the waiter to refill his wine glass.
Alana pushed away her plate, and he noticed that she'd taken no more than a few bites. The meal would cost him several hundred dollars and she'd barely tasted it.
"Now, the caterer is tricky," she began again, "but I've narrowed it down to two finalists."
"The caterer's taken care of."
Alana frowned. "What do you mean?"
"I've already hired the caterer." He took a sip of wine to fortify himself.
"You have? Who?"
"The same woman who catered our party has agreed to do the wedding." Another sip of wine. It did little to cool the heat inside him. His eyes bored into Alana's, telegraphing the message to move on.
She obviously didn't receive that message. "Her? I thought you didn't like her. I thought she was crying because you were firing her."
"She wasn't crying," he said too loudly, then took a breath and lowered his voice. "I thought she did a great job at the party. The guests all seemed to enjoy the food."
"Sure, it was fine, but our wedding? Do you think she can handle an event of that magnitude?"
Alex had to fight not to spit his wine across the table. An event of that magnitude? Who the fuck did she think they were, the Royal Couple? "She'll do fine. She catered the Masterson wedding impeccably. Don't worry about it."
Alana's eyes narrowed and a little worm of nervousness coiled in his belly. "If you say so," she said in her breathy voice, a voice he was quickly coming to equate with her disbelief.
"A week in Tokyo sounds nice," he said with a large smile. Maybe that would distract her from the caterer business.
Alana smiled back, then added a simper to her voice. "Oh Alex, it sounds wonderful."