Free Plain Again by Sarah Price Page A

at restaurants and hotels. But I can’t do much for her while she’s staying on a farm in Pennsylvania and you’re traveling around the country.”
    “¡Ay, Dios !”
    Mike shook his head as he cleared his throat. “Look, you just got married and now you are apart. People are going to talk. Speculation is part of the game. What does it matter? It’s getting your name in front of people’s eyes, and we both know what that does: sells your music and your image.”
    Alejandro knew that it was true. Without Amanda by his side, the rumors wouldn’t stop. With more rumors would come more interest and more invasion of their privacy. But the bottom line was that the constant gossip and speculation did make money.
    “Why are they so interested? Why does it matter so much to them?” he said, more to himself than to Mike. He didn’t expect an answer.
    “She’s different,” Mike responded. “That’s the draw. If you were with any number of women, famous or not, they probably wouldn’t care so much. But she’s . . . Amish.” As always, the way that Mike said the word, with a hint of disdain and disgust in his tone, infuriated Alejandro.
    “She’s not just any woman. She’s my wife,” Alejandro interrupted. “And she’s not Amish. Not anymore.”
    Mike shrugged. “Whatever.”
    “There’s a difference and we need to make it clear that she’s no longer Amish!”
    “Would it matter?” Mike asked before sighing and rubbing his face with his hands. “Look, maybe it will die down in a while. How long can they just camp out at her parents’ farm taking photos of empty fields and cows?”
    Alejandro narrowed his eyes and glared at his manager. “It’s the intrusion on the entire community, not just the photos, that bothers me.”
    But he knew that what he had just said wasn’t entirely true. It bothered him that people were speculating about Amanda and the hired man. Such rumors would also be noted among the community. What little he had experienced of the Amish during his brief stays on the farm gave him no false hope that such gossip in the entertainment world would escape the watchful eyes of the bishop and his ministers.
    “She’s there, Alex. I can’t stop the photographers from intruding,” Mike pointed out. “Need I remind you that those people, the ones who keep your name in the tabloids and on the lips of your fans, are protected by laws, laws that don’t necessarily protect her anymore? Not now that she’s crossed over to celebrity status.”
    “Then get her here!” Alejandro snapped back. At least if she were with him, he could shield her better. “Send a car. Send a plane. I’ll arrange for more help for her parents for a few days; just get her to New York when I’m there next week!” He sank back into his chair, glancing at his phone. It was two in the afternoon. No calls. No texts. Where was she? Certainly she was home by now.
    “What time is that talk show today?”
    “You need to be there by three,” Mike answered after consulting his calendar on his phone. “You best get ready. Car service will be here in thirty minutes. They want to do a dry run before the taping starts at four.”
    He didn’t even have time to call her. “Well, do whatever it takes but get her to New York for next week. She can ride in the parade with me. That will quell the media,” he snapped, annoyed that he had to tell his manager what to do. But, then again, everything was annoying him this past week. He had hated answering the questions, hated seeing that the paparazzi were back at the farm, and, most important, hated being separated from his wife.

Chapter Seven
    Daed’s resting at home.
    Hope you can call before the show.
    Glad we talked yesterday.
    Avoid those photographers!
    <3
    A.
    When Elias arrived home, Amanda was stunned and saddened to realize that her father was still limited to movement via a wheelchair. She hadn’t been to the hospital for a few days and had thought that, upon his