“Come for me,” he moaned, and with his body blanketing her completely, she did, feeling light limbed and boneless as he pulled his hand out of her panties.
“Riley?” She thought she heard a woman’s voice but in her disorientated state she closed her eyes, unsure if the voice had been hers.
“Riley?” This time she opened her eyes as she felt him turn around to look behind him. She smoothed down her dress straightened up against the wall, trying to still her breathing.
“Up to your old tricks, again?” The woman asked him.
18
She stopped breathing for a split second and her body stiffened as she processed the intruder’s words.
The shock—not only at the fact that they had been discovered but that the woman appeared to know Riley—cut her to the bone. She appeared to know him intimately, by the sounds of it.
“Sabine?”
“Simone. You’ve forgotten already,” the woman chided him as she swatted his arm playfully. “It hasn’t even been that long.” Tall and broad, she had a face like an eagle and kissed him on the cheek. Andrea stood shell shocked and silent against the wall. The quickening in her stomach from a few moments ago at the height of her arousal, vanished like a shot.
“This is Andrea,” said Riley, turning to introduce her. She felt like an elf between these two and felt Riley’s hand slip easily around her shoulders. Her heart raced as questions preyed on her. There were things going on between these two that she could sense; things she didn’t want to question too deeply for fear of finding answers she was scared of.
“What happened to you? One minute you’re here, and then you disappear.”
“I was busy. Business. I told you. I wasn’t going to stick around.”
She heard their words as she listened to their exchange, and yet her mind refused to believe it. Had he been with this woman? When?
“It is good to see you again. Maybe you will come back sometime?”
Riley shook his head. “I don’t think so,” he told her, clearly annoyed that she had sought him out.
He gave Andrea an apologetic glance but she was in no mood for his explanations. What she wanted was to run out of this hovel as fast as she could but the desire to find out more about this woman and her connection to Riley made her stay. She thought it might cast a light on the things about Riley that she’d failed to see. It was evident from the way that the woman looked at him that these two had shared more than a drink and a dance.
“It’s too hot in here,” she whimpered, finding it too overwhelming. Extricating herself from his arm, she rushed out, not stopping even though she heard him call out her name.
Her only thought was to find the light and the music and she emerged from the darkened hallway into the thick sweat and stench of the club now heaving to its full capacity.
The dancing crowd had spilled over to the seated areas and she jostled her way forward as best as she could. In a moment of confusion she forgot the way out until she saw a crowd of people pour into the club at one of the entrances. Heading in that direction she stumbled through the thick crowd, treading on a few feet and feeling slimy hands on her body as she made her escape. She pushed past them, desperate to escape.
The rush of the cold night air slapped into her and she inhaled deeply, holding onto the iron railing outside. Chilled metal cooled her overheated body as she found sanctuary in the darkness. Small clusters of happy people were outside; some making out, some drinking, some smoking, others talking.
She walked away a few steps and sat on concrete steps further down. With her hands resting on her knees, she looked out into the darkness and tried to unravel what had happened.
She didn’t know Riley at all yet she had allowed him into her home and her heart. She had trusted him blindly and realized that she didn’t know much about him.
‘Up to your old tricks, again?’
A heaviness settled in her stomach making her even more miserable. Only the sound of her cell phone ringing punctured her misery.
“Where are you, Andrea?” The sound of Leo’s voice comforted her and his accusatory tone took a while to register
“I—I’m—” What could she say? With dread, she realized he sounded as though he was waiting for her to turn up.
For them to turn up.
“Are you coming?” It sounded quieter where he was compared to where she was. Every so often a car would drive past and noisy car horns sounded as people were dropped off outside the club.
She rubbed a hand over her forehead. “Sorry Leo. We won’t be able to make it.”
He made a noise that sounded like disappointment, if disappointment had a sound, she thought.
“You’re not?” A silence followed and she didn’t know what to say to fill it.
He spoke again. “That’s a shame. Dominic thought he might see you.”
“I’m sorry, Leo.” And she really did feel awful, to think he’d been waiting for them. “I’m sorry to let you down. I didn’t realize you’d be waiting for us.” She felt guilty that she’d not even had the decency to let him know, but she’d assumed it was a casual invite; a sort of see-how-you-feel-on-the-day type of invite.
“Say ‘hi’ to my brother.”
“Where are you?” he asked again.
“At a club in Verona.”
“I see,” he said, quietly. “It sounds very quiet.”
“I’m outside.”
“Where’s Riley?”
“Inside.”
A pause and then he asked, “Why are you outside?”
“I had to get some air.”
“Why? What happened?”
“Nothing.”
“There you are!” Riley exclaimed. “I’ve been looking for you everywhere.”
She looked up at him and felt her jaw tighten.
“Who are you talking to?” Riley asked, his words sounding louder than usual. She was sure that Leo had heard everything.
“I have to go now. I’ll speak to you later.” She slipped the phone away.
“Who was that?” he asked, looking annoyed and sitting down beside her on the steps.
“A friend.”
“Yeah?”
“Where’s your friend?” she asked, wondering when to ask him the million questions she had lined up.
“She’s not a friend so much. She’s someone I met.”
“Someone you met? She didn’t seem to recall it that way.” Her ears burned but she held onto the courage that was trying to bolt away from her.
“She’d like to think it was more.”
“Where did you meet her?”
“Here, in Verona.”
“But where? The club, in the street, at a party?”
“At the club if you must know.”
“And when did you come here?”
“A few weeks before I went to Montova. I already told you.”
No wonder he’d been so reluctant to mention anything about coming here. It hadn’t been her paranoia—there had clearly been a reason he hadn’t wanted to talk about his visit to Verona earlier.
“What did she mean by ‘up to your old tricks again?’” Andrea’s imagination had already served her an image of Riley and that woman locked in a sordid embrace.
He raked his hands through his hair in irritation. “What do you think she meant? I’ve been here before. It’s where I met her and we danced. That was it.”
“You came to this club alone?” To pick up women? The silent voice inside her head wouldn’t quiet and her fears were further compounded, not allayed by his words. “Or were you here with someone?”
“What is this—the fifth degree?” The defensiveness in his voice alerted her first. “I wasn’t with you then, Andrea. I’ve never hidden from you that I’m single and I travel. Sometimes I meet people, sometimes things happen. Sometimes they don’t.”
“She seemed to know you well and she seemed to know exactly where to find you.” The words balanced delicately on the tip of her mouth
but she couldn’t bring herself to say anything. Did you do that with her? And others?
He turned to her with narrowed eyes. “What is it you have a problem with exactly?” There he was again, making it out to be a problem she had caused.
“Did you do to her what you were doing to me?”
“No. Who do you think I am?”
“I don’t know, Riley. Who are you?”
“Don’t do this,” he said, as the muscles on his neck tensed up. “I kissed her. I won’t lie and say I didn’t kiss her. But that’s about it. Look, Andrea. I wasn’t with anyone then.”
She sank her face into her hands. What he’d done before he’d come into her life was his business. What upset her was the idea—and she couldn’t get rid of it no matter how hard she tried—that there were parts of his life, parts of him that he chose not to share with her.
It wasn’t meant to be like this, sharing a bed, and her heart and her life. She didn’t want to know every piece of his former life but the way he would sometimes spring things on her, and the way, like now, that she’d seen a glimpse of something that didn’t happen so long ago either, it made her wary. It made her think that she’d jumped into this too quickly. That a bit more time and going slower, the way she usually did, might have been wiser. Because now that she was slowly getting to know him, she wasn’t sure she liked all the parts that she was beginning to discover.
“I’m with you now. I don’t notice other girls. I didn’t go looking for her. She found me. I wasn’t a saint. I was traveling, I wasn’t practicing celibacy.” He slipped his arm around her shoulder.
“I love being with you, Andrea.” He kissed the side of her head but his words did nothing to make her feel better. “I’m sorry I upset you.”
She stared out into the darkness. “Sometimes I feel as though I hardly know you.”
“What do you want to know?” She felt his lips brush her hair.
It was no good asking him now. But all the times in the past when she’d wanted to know about his travels or when she asked about his life back in America, he’d close up. She knew he was only asking her now because she’d raised the subject.
He scratched his jaw and inhaled deeply. “I kissed her. But I swear to god it didn’t go beyond that.”
“It’s not my place to ask if it did or not.” She said, rubbing her hands together. He thought she was still hung up about the woman. But she’d moved beyond that.
“I didn’t know this was going to happen, Andrea.”
She looked up sharply. “What?”
“This,” he said, showing her the palm of his hand to indicate her and him. “Now that I’m with you, I don’t want anyone else.”
She looked up and wondered what he meant. He didn’t want anyone else ever? Or for now? For this leg of his journey? She rubbed her hands against her arms in a bid to warm them. He unbuttoned his shirt, and she looked at him as though he’d lost his mind. Without saying a word he placed it around her shoulders. “You’re cold,” he said.
The tight white t-shirt he wore underneath glowed like a beacon in the darkness. She dipped her head and closed the edges of the shirt around her and said nothing, still mulling things over in her mind.
“I didn’t practice celibacy. But I was careful. If you want me to tell you that I never slept with anyone on my travels—I can’t lie to you. But me and her…hell, I didn’t even remember her name. I swear it was nothing.”
She doubted that it was nothing, and her intuition pricked at her, telling her that something probably had happened. Was it her business to be so demanding of his every move before they’d met? He didn’t owe her a thing. She’d asked him to stay with her and he had. She ought to be thankful for what she had so far and enjoy every moment of it.
Jealousy clouded her thoughts and she decided to think things over in the morning. His fingers stroked the sides of her arm and without meaning to, she automatically leaned in against him. His body felt so familiar to her, just like him, and she was desperate for the touch and feel of him.
After a quiet couple of minutes he unfurled her fingers which were still clutching onto the edges of his shirt and took her hand, bringing it to a rest on both of their knees which now knocked together.
“Who was that on the phone?”
“Leo.”
“Leo?”
“He wanted to know where we were. I think he was still expecting us to turn up.”
“He was?” Riley sounded surprised. “We could still go.” It had been the last thing she’d expected him to say.
“It’s too late. Let’s go home.”
“I can stay in a hotel tonight.”
His words caught her unexpectedly. “Why would you do that?”
“To give you some space. I think it’s only right. I can’t impose on you forever.”
She didn’t like the idea of him not being around. “Riley,” she said. “Because of this? You don’t have to go.”
“I’ll sleep in the spare room then.”
She said nothing, because having him in the spare room was better than having him leave. A part of her hated that she felt this way, needing him to be around when clearly there were so many things that bothered her. But it was late, and maybe things would look better in the morning.
True to his word, Riley slept in the spare room. She’d mellowed out by then, had reconsidered the events of the night and his explanations and decided that she had been rash, had jumped to the worst conclusions. But she still had enough sense of mind not to beg him to come into her bed.
Except that before morning fell, she walked into the spare room and slipped into his bed.
19
“Dominic was hoping to see you.”
“How was he?” Her brother needed to make more of an effort rather than relying on friends’ invitations to see her. She’d invited Dominic and his girlfriend to dinner plenty of times, but the offer hadn’t been reciprocated.
“He was as charming as ever,” Leo replied.
Andrea nodded. That sounded about right.
“It’s a shame the two of you didn’t make it.” Leo continued.
Andrea crossed her arms. “Like I said, it was a last minute change of plans. I’m sorry we missed it. Maybe next time?” She would make sure that she turned up no matter what.
“Were you celebrating something?” She asked since he kept going on about it so much.
“It’s been a year since my divorce,” he replied cheerfully.
She uncrossed her arms and laid her palms flat on the table. “You were celebrating your divorce? I didn’t even know people did that.”
Leo slapped his thigh. “You believed me?”
“You weren’t?” she asked, now completely confused. It was a lame joke if that was the case. “I don’t know what to believe, Leo. I don’t think I know you at all.”
“My ex-wife and I might not be married any more but I would never be so callous as to celebrate the break-up of our marriage.”
Andrea relaxed, eased into her chair and picked up her lukewarm coffee cup.
This type of comment was typical of Leo.
“How long were you married for—if you don’t mind me asking?”
Leo twiddled his thumbs as if he was considering a weightier answer. “Three years and eight months.”
Watching him, she didn’t detect a flash of anger or regret at his admission. If anything she thought she saw a hint of sadness.
“Three years and eight months?” She echoed. It was as if he was marking the days off on a calendar. “I’m sorry.” She didn’t know why she was sorry, since she didn’t know the complete story of their divorce, but his voice had lost its gaiety.
“It didn’t work out.” He said, as if anticipating her next question. “There doesn’t have to be a reason for two people not to work out.”
“That’s true enough, but if you loved one another surely you would have tried to make it work?”
“We tried, otherwise we would have divorced
after two years. We tried to make it work for a long time. But there comes a time when you have to admit defeat. You have to accept that the love you had has run its course. I think we’re all guilty of making the same mistake and thinking that people are constant, that they don’t change. We change from moment to moment but we don’t realize it. You aren’t the same person you were when you first tied the knot. We change every single day. Slowly, over time, it adds up. We cared for one another and we still do. But it isn’t love. I’m not sure what you’d call it exactly. It was time to go our separate ways.”
“I’m sorry.”
He shrugged easily. “She’s with someone else now.”
Andrea’s eyes must have showed surprise because he continued. “We still keep in touch. I’m invited to their wedding. The get together that you missed was for their engagement.”
“You were celebrating her engagement?” Andrea was surprised. She imagined it would have made for an odd gathering.
“It was very small, very impromptu. Gianna thought it odd that I would suggest they have a small gathering at least.”
“You invited me to her engagement party?” She barely knew the woman.
“It wasn’t an engagement party. But we’re still friends, and we have friends that are still our friends. Because we parted amicably our friends didn’t have to choose sides. I know it sounds strange to you but it’s not. People make their life to be about bitterness and regret and all those negative things. I choose not to, and neither does Gianna.”
Andrea considered it a very grown up thing to do and a commendable way to behave and so very typical of Leo. She didn’t know many of her brother’s friends. Five years older than her, Dominic’s circle of friends and hers didn’t mix but there was a small group—of which Leo was a part—that she would hear about and sometimes see over the years, more because Dominic had business dealings with them. Of them all, Leo seemed the most down to earth and approachable. There was something very likeable about him. Perhaps that was why she’d actually considered Dominic’s suggestion of taking Leo on as a business partner. He certainly seemed the better option compared to borrowing money from her parents. Back in college she’d been in student debt and had learned a valuable lesson and ever since then she avoided borrowing at all costs.
Hearts on Fire: Romance Multi-Author Box Set Anthology Page 83