ALEJANDRO SERRANO

"Neil." He greeted his newest employee when he picked up the call. "How are you?"

"I'm good, boss. Thank you." Alejandro smirked approvingly at the title. "And you?"

"Good, good." He leaned back against the sofa and lay his arm over the back of it as he patiently waited for Layla to finish getting dressed before they headed over to his brother's barbecue. "How is your first job going?" He asked, referring to Byron, a temporary assignment for now though detective Hardy had mentioned that Neil had been doing a great job, so maybe it would become less temporary and more permanent.

However, Alejandro preferred to hear it from the horse's mouth.

"It's going good, Mr Serrano. I'm following protocol and sticking with him at all times and making sure he doesn't try to contact any of the others."

Alejandro smiled. That was what he liked to hear. His instincts had been right about hiring Neil.

"The only time I left his side was that one evening a few days ago."

"To visit your brother?"

"Yes." Neil confirmed.

His brother was sick with cancer and once Alejandro had learned of this; he had decided to give his newest employee one evening off every week so he could visit his brother at the hospital while he remained on this case. He would personally make sure that the next case Neil was given would be less demanding, and possibly that allowed a rotation between bodyguards.

Alejandro himself knew what it was like to have a sick family member.

"I waited until the replacement bodyguard arrives before I left. And he stayed with Byron the whole night and we switched over when I returned in the morning."

"Good, thank you, Neil. Is there anything else I need to know?" It was a standard question he pretty much asked all his employees, in case there was information which he had missed or forgot to ask about. They were all human, after all.

"No, boss."

"That's what I like to hear." He grinned and when he glanced up, the grin was swept off his face as he gaped at the utmost beauty in front of him. "I need to go now, Neil. I'll call you tomorrow." He hung up without waiting for a response and dropped the phone on the sofa next to him.

Alejandro found himself standing to his feet as he took in the magnificent sight in front of him. He felt his breath knocked out of him as he gazed at her.

Layla came to stand in front of him with her lips twisted in a small smile. She was dressed in a cami sundress that was a warm yellow in colour and displayed a gentle pattern of pale blue flowers with lightly green stems, running over the entire material of the dress. The straps were thin and tied in cute little bows, resting on her delicate shoulders and the dress had a tight, ruched bodice which meant that she had gone without a bra. It lay flat against her stomach and waist, but then flared out at her hips, stopping about mid-thigh.

She had applied some natural makeup to her face. Some concealer to cover her blemishes, blush, bronzer, a heavy layer of mascara and a nude lipstick which she made sure to pop into her purse for later. The nude heels just emphasised her long legs and he couldn't help but stare. It was impossible not to.

Layla grinned at his speechlessness. This was out of character for him; Alejandro Serrano speechless was a rarity. He was always quick with his witty responses and innuendos, and always had plenty to say.

Her chest swelled with pride at the effect she clearly had on him.

The material skimmed across the top of her thighs as she twirled around in the dress, giving him a 360 view. "What do you think?" She murmured quietly to him. "You think I look okay?"

"Beautiful, you look way more than just okay." He groaned and enveloped her in his arms, pulling her body flush against his. He dropped his head to skim his mouth across hers, his tongue joining the party for a quick taste. "You look good enough to eat."

She grinned against his mouth and pulled away, patting her hand against his chest and smoothing it over the dark blue shirt he had chosen to wear, really making his eyes pop. "You need to control yourself, big boy. We have a party to get to."

"How am I supposed to control myself with you looking like that?" He ran his hands down her waist and cupped her ass under the dress, rubbing himself against her heated core to further prove his point.

"Alejandro," she whined and pressed her face into his chest, inhaling in his natural musky scent which she loved so much. He felt like home. "We need to go." She whispered even though her body was reacting opposite to what her mouth was saying.

He groaned and unwrapped his arms from around her to grab her hand instead. He raised it to his mouth and held her eyes as he gave it a quick kiss.

She was right. They had a barbecue to get to.

His brother Leonardo lived in Staten Island with his wife of 12 years, having gotten married just after they both graduated from college, and their 4 beautiful kids. All boys.

The drive was around 45 minutes from Layla's apartment, but it hadn't felt that long as light conversation passed between them on the ride over.

Levi had regretfully pulled out last minute as something had come up at work, but promised that he would be there next time. Hailey, on the other hand, had agreed that she would meet them there with Max as Leonardo's address was only about 10 minutes away from her parents' house, giving her the perfect excuse to visit them beforehand and then spend the night with them afterwards.

When they reached his brother's house and Alejandro parked the car in the driveway, Layla turned and reached for the back seat. When she couldn't quite reach, she raised her knee onto her own seat and pushed herself further, grinning when her hand wrapped around the neck of the bottle.

His eyes lingered on her shapely legs and the curve of the ample bottom that had been exposed at the abrupt action.

Dresses were dangerous.

While one part of him was more than happy to be rewarded with such a beautiful sight, the other part of him, the dominant part of him, reached over to pull her dress down where it had bunched up slightly at the waist, covering her ass before any people walking by decided to stop and watch the free show.

He didn't want anyone but him to know that she was wearing dark blue lacey panties, one which he hoped to be peeling off her later.

He couldn't help but wonder if she was wearing a matching bra.

"Thanks." She mumbled as she sat back in her seat with the chocolates and red wine in hand, a gift for Leonardo and Maya; their hosts for the evening. Also known as his brother and sister-in-law.

Once they stepped out of the car and he had locked up, he pressed a hand against the small of her back to guide her into the house and into the backyard where the party was already in full swing. It appeared that they were the last ones to arrive.

"Let me introduce you to my family first."

Alejandro guided her towards the barbecue where his eldest brother, Leonardo, was attending the grill while the rest of his family helped out and sat on the nearest bench, talking amongst themselves.

When they reached everyone, Alejandro let go of her and walked over to a woman with greying hair and a warm smile directed at Layla. She glanced between her son and the woman, her smile only growing in size as her second eldest leaned down to press a kiss against his cheek. He then turned to his papa and pulled them both in for a brief hug.

"Mama, papa, I want you to meet Layla." He didn't mention the fact that he was her bodyguard and that she was his newest client. He had mentioned that on the phone to his mother once and he hadn't been able to end all the pestering questions about how she looked and if she liked him back, having picked up on the longing in her son's voice.

Mama's knew best, apparently. And it appeared that his mother knew him better than he did, as she had predicted that he felt more than just physical attraction for her before he had figured it out for himself.

"Layla," he grinned and came to stand by her side once again. "This is my mother and father."

His mother stood up and grinned before drawing Layla into her arms. "I'm so happy you came, Layla."

Layla smiled and returned the hug. "Thank you, Mrs Serrano. I'm glad I came too."

"Nonsense. Call me mama."

When the woman pulled away from the hug, his father offered her a warm smile. "Nice to meet you, Layla. I hope you're hungry. There's a lot of food."

"It's nice to meet you too, Mr Serrano. Thank you for having me."

"It's not me you should be thanking." He gestured towards his eldest son who was watching the exchange between his brother and his client with interested, curious eyes.

When his wife nudged him with her elbow, Leonardo Serrano cleared his throat and held his free hand out for her, a pair of tongs in the other hand. "I'm Leonardo Serrano." He smiled. "This doofus' older, smarter, more athletic, more accomplished and better-looking brother."

She laughed at his joke and accepted. "It's a pleasure to meet you. Thank you for having me."

"Nonsense." Maya Serrano, Leonardo's wife piped up before walking over for a quick hug.

"If he bothers you then let me know. I'll be sure to whip him into shape for you." Leo winked at her.

"That's not necessary, brother." Alejandro chuckled dryly and grabbed her arm, turning her to look elsewhere.

"Those two over there," he gestured towards a handful of people kicking a ball about with a few children running in between them. "The two dark-haired ones in the white t-shirts are my other brothers. The taller one is Emiliano and the one with sunglasses on is Alphonso. Pretentious prick isn't aware the sun isn't out yet."

It was almost as if his parents had copy and pasted all of their children as they all looked eerily similar. The most notable difference between the Serrano men were their varying heights, all 6 foot or above, tell-tale signs of age and hair styles.

She was sure that a stranger would struggle to tell them apart if they were all to dress and fashion their hair in the same way.

His eyes searched the rest of the party as he searched for another brother. He couldn't help but grin as he saw him standing at the drinks table, chatting up a woman. When he shifted on his feet to get a better look, he was surprised to discover that the woman was Hailey with a toddler in her arms.

"And the one currently chatting up Hailey is Maximiliano."

Layla giggled. "Max and Max." Her eyes danced between both adults, not missing the way Hailey couldn't take her eyes off of him as he played with her son.

He chuckled. "It would appear so."

Maya looped an arm through Layla's and smiled warmly at her. "Come on, Layla. Let's leave the men to cook while we relax."

Once Maya had dragged off Layla along with his mother to save Hailey from Maximiliano and mingle with the rest of the party, Alejandro sat down on the bench and sighed, lifting a water bottle to his lips.

He smirked and ignored the knowing looks his papa sent him before joining his mama.

It was good to be back with family and the people that he loved. His job was very demanding, especially when he was working on a case and he often found himself away from his family for a lengthy period of time despite now having all his brothers living in the same city. It was only his parents that lived out of the city, but they always made a point of flying in for a weekend or entire week every other month or so.

This was the first time he had mixed business with pleasure. He had found himself having a lot of firsts with Layla.

Perhaps she was the exception to all his rules.

He tore his eyes away when he felt someone sit next to him, nudging his shoulder with theirs.

"Leo." He grinned as he eyed his brother and the youngest bundle of joy which he cocooned in his arms. "What do I owe the pleasure?" Alejandro reached out to take his youngest nephew, Osvaldo, lifting the cooing baby to place a kiss against his forehead. The baby giggled in response and reached up to grab his nose, finding it entertaining every time his uncle pulled away at the last second.

His three other nephews – Leonardo and Maya's other children, Hugo, Pablo and Antonio – were running about, wreaking havoc somewhere and everywhere. Every now and again he was able to spot one of them but in a flash, they would disappear again. The only time they really stopped was when they were eating, playing video games, sleeping or in trouble with their mother. It wouldn't be long before Osvaldo started walking and chasing after them to keep up.

Leo leaned back against the bench and eyed the direction, or woman, rather, that his brother had so openly been ogling since he walked through the door.

"Want to tell me what's going on?"

"I don't know what you mean, brother." He shrugged and lied, letting the baby in his arms play with his fingers.

"Bullshit."

He grinned evilly. "I thought Maya said we weren't allowed to swear in front of the kids."

Leo groaned, fully aware that his brother was now going to hold that against him. He had no doubt that his wife would have some colourful words of her own to say to him for his choice of words, or lack thereof, in front of their kids.

"It's not like he's even going to remember what I said."

"Try telling your wife that."

He snorted in agreement. His woman was a little spitfire but he wouldn't have it any other way.

"Fine. Tell her I swore and I'll tell mama you're in love with Layla."

His head snapped up fast to glare at his brother. "You wouldn't dare." He narrowed his eyes menacingly, but it was futile on another Serrano. He hadn't even told Layla he was in love with Layla/

"Try me."

He scowled, but it didn't last long. "Fine. We're even."

"So, you are in love with her?"

"I didn't say that."

"You didn't deny it either."

"It's too soon for love. I've only known her for a little over a month."

"It's never too soon for love, my dear brother." He grinned and clamped a hand on his shoulder. "You're absolutely smitten with the woman. I noticed it as soon as you both stepped foot into the garden."

He glanced down and made funny faces at his nephew. "I don't want to scare her."

"You also don't want her thinking you're not interested."

"She doesn't think that."

"You won't know until you speak to her."

Alejandro glanced up as he watched Layla heading towards his direction, or what he had assumed to be his direction. He handed his brother back his son and stood up.

"Layla." He called out to her, and when she chose to ignore him by swiftly walking past him with her head bowed, he reached out to grab her wrist. "What's wrong?" He asked, confused.

Layla lifted her head and glared at him, her eyes brimming with rage that threatened to spill over and burn everyone in her near vicinity. "Nothing." She spat, yanked her wrist from his hand and turned on her heel, heading into the house.

So taken with her rampage, she hadn't taken notice of the fact that he had paused the conversation he was previously engaged in with his brother and followed closely behind her, not daring to let her out of her sight.

Something was clearly wrong. Even the daftest of men would be able to see that.

Leaning back on the door, he crossed his arms and stared at her. His eyes lingered on her misty eyes and the one tear that had managed to make it past the barricade. His look visibly softened at the sight.

The things this woman did to him.

He reached forward and wiped it away with his thumb, his touch gentle and his gaze loving.

"Are you going to tell me what's wrong?"

-

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Layla Knight

25.05.2020