The Princess and the Playboy

Forty Five

"Alessandra?"

Lexi turned to Hamdan with a sincere apologetic look on her face and took his hands into hers.

"Please," she said softly. "Let me speak with him and see why he felt the need to do this...please." Hamdan looked to where the guards were escorting Leandro Vargas into a far back room of the church.

"You will be safe with him?" Lexi smiled at his concern and kissed him on the cheek,

"Of course I will, Leandro would never hurt me but I will have men with me any way."

"Good," he said leaning forward to kiss her forehead. As his lips connected with hers, he took a deep breath and said so quietly that no one but they could hear,

"Come back to me."

Lexi was momentarily taken back but when Hamdan pulled away, his face a blank sheet for the benefit of all the people watching them, she nodded and turned away from him to follow her guards into the back room.

----

Leandro was sat in a chair in the middle of a fairly large room waiting for Lexi to arrive.

He knew he had acted like a complete fool but it had been the only way to get into the cathedral. He had asked Lola to get an invitation but he had been blocked at every turn. He had to take more sinister means to even get close to the church and when he had and they wouldn't let him through; he'd lost it and barged in anyway. He hadn't meant to make such a spectacular scene but when he saw them at the altar he was terrified that he was too late; that the deed had already been done.

As he went over the embarrassing events in his head, the door suddenly opened and two armed guards stepped in followed by the angelic vision that was Alessandra.

She looked beautiful, almost ethereal like she didn't exist and his heart melted at seeing her in the flesh for the first time in six long months.

How could he have ever stayed away for so long, knowing how beautiful and wonderful she was? He had missed her terribly but until laying eyes on her in that moment, he had not realised just how much.

Her dress was beautiful but selfishly he realised it wasn't anything like the dress she'd been ready to marry him in. This one was more covered up; more princess like whereas her dress for him had been for a blossoming woman; a woman in love he now knew.

He stood up as she entered and she stopped just steps from him.

"Leave us," she said simply and the guards exited immediately though no doubt were on the other side of the door in case she needed them.

They stood there for a moment, just looking at one another: man to woman; one dishevelled and one pristine. Her entire energy was regal as she stood there looking...down at him.

"Lexi I'm so...so sorry."

She didn't say anything; she barely moved except for a distinct flicker of her eye that showed her interest that made him continue,

"I read your letter and I made my way here and I'm sorry for my behaviour just now but I...I just needed to apologise and make things right with you. You didn't deserve any of what I did or said and I need to make things okay with you because...because I love you Lexi. I love you so much that when I saw you were getting married; I couldn't...I couldn't let that happen."

He took a step toward her and in a ruffling of material; she took a step back from him. Andro went wide-eyed as his heart threatened to collapse in his chest,