Plain Return (The Plain Fame Series Book 4) (24 page)

He missed her. That was something he had anticipated when he made up his mind that space was what she needed. Leaving her had been the hardest thing that he had ever done. Her face, her tears, and her pleas haunted him at night, and he found himself taking a strong nightcap each evening to avoid struggling with sleep. Many times, especially at night, he longed to pick up his phone and call her.

But he knew that he couldn’t.

For all the awful things that his former manager, Mike, had done to disrupt his relationship with Amanda, Alejandro was now starting to see the wisdom behind the actions. How could he have anticipated that Amanda would adapt to his lifestyle? With her Amish upbringing, she had handled it as well as anyone could have expected. And when Isadora was thrust into their lives, she had taken to the role of mother better than any other woman would have.

The only problem was that he didn’t want children. Not yet. And dragging a small child on tour with them was not only taxing, it was also inappropriate. When Amanda left Rio de Janeiro, his first feelings of anger at her abandonment were soon replaced with enlightenment at the situation. His alter ego, Viper, would always be a playboy in the minds of the fans, even now that he was married to Amanda, the princess of social media. Just as Mike had predicted, the fans quickly devoured any controversy over love. And as Justin Bell had played the media with his relationship to Celinda Ruiz, the social media gobbled it up, so Alejandro realized that they wanted the return of the old Viper.

Perhaps they merely wanted to see how that played out, a philandering Viper with innocent Amanda. At first, he had no intention of giving the public what they wanted. His love for Amanda was unquestionable. Even before his rise to fame, people always wanted something from him. Always people surrounded him with ideas and schemes, trying to become a part of the story. His story. Alejandro had learned long ago to proceed with caution and to ensure that his own reward far outweighed anyone else’s.

With Amanda, he had finally learned how it felt to be loved and supported with no expectations in return.

He ran the faucet to fill the Keurig water reservoir. Coffee. That’s what he needed. Something strong to jump-start the day.

As he waited for the liquid to pour into his mug, he leaned against the counter, rubbing his forehead and wondering what Amanda was doing at that moment. Perhaps sharing breakfast with Isadora? Or milking the cows with Jonas and Harvey?

He grimaced as he thought of Harvey. For the past two weeks, he had tried to abolish the memory of Harvey carrying Isadora and hearing the soft banter between Harvey and Amanda. When the media published photos of Harvey protecting Amanda from the paparazzi a few months earlier, he had never given it a second thought. The photographers hadn’t wasted any time before speculating about a possible relationship between the two, a thought that Alejandro easily dismissed.

But when he saw them together and the ease with which they worked side by side, Alejandro saw something that made the pieces of the puzzle come together: What if Amanda was not meant to be his wife? What if all of this was God’s plan for her to return to the Amish community and find a husband more aligned with her past?

His phone vibrated, and Alejandro broke free from his thoughts. He looked around the kitchen to locate his cell phone; it rested on the counter near the stove. He hadn’t remembered placing it there. When he glanced at the clock and saw that it wasn’t even six thirty yet, he sighed. Probably Geoffrey confirming that a car would be waiting downstairs for him in forty-five minutes.

He reached for the phone and answered the call.
“Dígame, chico.”

“Alex! You’re up already?”

“Sí, sí,”
he responded.
“Claro
, Geoff.
¿Qué pasa?”

There was a brief pause on the other end of the phone. For a moment Alejandro wondered if the call had dropped. When he heard Geoffrey clearing his throat, he knew something was going on, something that his manager hesitated to tell him.

“You asked me to alert you if there was . . . uh . . .”—another hesitation—“any word from Lancaster. My guys just saw photos hitting the social media circuit. I wanted to alert you.”

Alejandro took a deep breath. If Geoffrey was calling him, the photos were not good news. Geoffrey would not bother him with photos of Amanda hanging out the laundry or sweeping off the porch.

“You want me to send you copies?”

Alejandro nodded, even though Geoffrey could not see him. Behind him, he heard the hissing noise of the coffeemaker finishing the brew for his coffee. He didn’t need it anymore: he was wide awake. “Send it to my private e-mail,
sí
.”

“There are more than one, Alex.”

Bracing himself for the worst, Alejandro hung up the phone, set it on the counter, and started pacing. He kept his hands clutched behind his back, his thumbs tapping nervously. Other than that, he tried to maintain his composure as he waited for the digital photos. Geoffrey’s voice said it all. Whatever was being sent would most likely be the one thing he did not want to see: his wife assimilating back into the life of the Amish. Still, he knew that it was her choice. He had given that to her: the gift of choosing which life she wanted.

When his phone made a noise, Alejandro picked it up and prepared himself for opening the e-mail. One tap of his finger on the link, and the images began to display on his screen.

His heart fell.

The photos confirmed his suspicions. As he swiped through them, seeing Harvey Alderfer talking with Amanda on the crest of a hill, Harvey opening the car door for her, and Harvey guiding her through the parking lot of a store, Alejandro knew what her choice would be. When he saw the final image, the one of Amanda staring up at the Mennonite man, with that look of innocence on her face, he shut his eyes.

Maybe he had known from the beginning that she belonged there, with her family and community. If it wasn’t Harvey, it would be someone else to accept her for who she was and who she should become: a hardworking farmer’s wife and doting mother. He had fooled himself to think that he could settle down into the role of loving husband.

“Ay,
Dios
mío,”
he muttered, clicking the phone so that it shut down. He shoved it into the pocket of his robe and stood at the counter, both hands pressed down on the granite top. With a lowered head, he took several deep breaths. He didn’t want to leave her. Losing Amanda would be the single most difficult thing he would ever do. He knew that. His fans would greet a divorce with mixed feelings: some supporting the decision because they missed the old Viper, and others hating him for leaving Amanda. But she deserved better. She deserved happiness.

Alejandro needed time to think through the decision before making a final choice. He knew she loved him. There was no reason to doubt that. The only problem was that he loved her more, and from the look on her face in that final photo, he knew that his love was just not enough to maintain her. Not with his lifestyle. Now, if he could only get Amanda to arrive at the same realization.

About the Author

The Preiss family emigrated from Europe in 1705, settling in Pennsylvania as part of the area’s first wave of Mennonite families. Sarah Price has always respected and honored her ancestors through exploration and research about her family’s Anabaptist history and their religion. For over twenty-five years, she has been actively involved in an Amish community in Pennsylvania. The author of over thirty novels, Sarah is finally doing what she always wanted to do: write about the religion and culture that she loves so dearly. For more information, v
isit her blog at
www.sarahpriceauthor.com
.