An Immortal Valentine's Day by Monica La Porta

Author:Monica La Porta [Porta, Monica La]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2015-02-09T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter Four

Alexander couldn’t exit the car soon enough. Feeling caged, he needed to stretch his legs on the Milvio Bridge walkway. He breathed in the nippy air of the afternoon, and, closing his eyes, raised his face to the sky to be bathed in the bright light of the February sun. He heard his friends getting out of Samuel’s SUV but wanted to be alone if only for a moment.

The visit to the renegades had left him unsettled and morose. In truth, everyone in the car seemed to have suffered from the same spell, and no one uttered a single word to the others in the vehicle during the whole ride. Only Samuel had spoken, on the phone to Barnes, to ask for supplies and food to be sent to those kids. If anyone could do anything to help the Den of Rejects, it was Samuel’s boss and newly appointed archangel.

A sudden gust of wind had scattered the contents of an overflowing trash bin, and Alexander kicked a soda can that was underfoot. While Marcus had talked to the renegade kid, whose tough demeanor had cracked several times during their conversation, Alexander’s mind had brought back memories of his adoptive daughter. His Cherry.

Only his closest friends knew of her.

While traveling through China, he had met Samuel, who was roaming the world to heal his wounded heart. Alexander too was on the mend from the loss of his Eloisa, the English rose he had married a century earlier. Between the fallen angel and him, a friendship was soon born, fueled by heartbreak and their common passion for fine Asian art.

It was late spring in Peking, when, one afternoon, Samuel came to visit him and asked, “Have you heard there’s an estate for auction?

“How come?”

“The owner was a rich merchant. He committed suicide after the death of his young wife. The property is too large for the remaining family to manage and the heir prefers to sell everything and be done with it.”

Touched deeply by the tragic love story and still grieving for the loss of his own wife, Alexander proposed to go to the auction and see what they had to offer. At the end of that day, he returned home as the new owner of the entire estate. Samuel had tried to stop him, but he couldn’t help but think he was somehow preserving the couple’s love.

“You’re such a sentimental man,” Samuel commented when he caught Alexander looking at the golden keys in his hands, tears swelling in his eyes.

“You better keep your mouth shut.” Alexander swatted the man’s shoulder with his free hand. “First thing in the morning, we’ll go check my new house.”

The next day, Alexander found himself standing before the property at the crack of dawn—he had never made it back to his hotel suite that night, but entertained himself with a flute player who had skilled hands and an even more skilled mouth.

Samuel joined him a few minutes later. “Ready to take possession of your new toy?”

“I was born ready.

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