“So we invited a few of our mutual friends and she invited some of hers as did her fiancé.” For a moment Andrea felt flattered to have been included in his select group of friends.
“We had a crowd of maybe thirty.” He told her.
Maybe not so select. Still, she was honored that he’d asked her along all the same.
“I’m sorry we missed it.” She was more than sorry. That evening sounded infinitely more desirable than the one she’d had.
“You chose to go clubbing instead,” he commented. Amusement danced in his eyes.
“I’m not too old to go clubbing.”
“You told me you were sitting outside when I spoke to you.”
She put her coffee cup to her lips and said nothing even though she knew he was waiting for an explanation. Leo stared at her and she deliberately chose not to say anything. Instead, she felt slightly uneasy now that he was questioning her about her love life. How was it that they’d gone from having an easy-going purely work-orientated relationship, to a point where they were now discussing one another’s romantic situations?
“It’s fine now,” she said, not looking at him. She and Riley had had one of those normal lazy Sundays that she’d been accustomed to ever since he’d moved in with her. He’d made love to her for hours, left her feeling weak and listless, loose and floaty. They’d spent the whole morning in bed, woke up showered, had breakfast and ended up in bed again.
“Things are fine,” she said as though to reinforce it and this time she ventured a glance in his direction.
“How much do you know about him, Andrea?”
“I know enough,” she said, lifting her head up and looking at him with narrowed eyes. The thing was, despite Riley telling her that he would answer any question she asked, she hadn’t taken him up on the offer. Yesterday, when she should have made it a point to ask about Verona and Simone, and France and Switzerland and the other places he’d been to, when she could have unearthed more about his past, they didn’t talk.
They did everything but talk. He always left her feeling wanted, the way he made love to her slowly, taking time to pleasure her and when she later lay in his arms, it didn’t seem the right time to begin the inquisition.
“Leo,” she inhaled deeply. “Things are good with us. Sometimes I feel you’re looking out for me more than Dominic would have. I prefer to keep the two things separate: my personal life and my working life. Riley is part of my personal life and you are part of my working life. I don’t want to mix the two. In fact, it makes me uncomfortable that we’re discussing this at all.”
His probing questions had pushed her too far. He wasn’t Ava, and she didn’t feel comfortable with him prying so much. He was supposed to be her business partner not her psychologist.
Leo’s mouth tightened. He tapped his fingers on the table, moved the keyboard towards him, and sat up. “You’re right. I should mind my own business,” he said, and began to type, directing his attention to his PC screen and cutting her off as abruptly as that.
20
She didn’t want any awkwardness between her and Leo. As business partners they had to make daily decisions and she liked it when their interaction was easy-going.
So it was with relief that he didn’t mention Riley or her relationship again and this suited Andrea. If her comment about keeping her personal life and working life separate had caused awkwardness between them, it lasted a short while. Before long they were back to their usual easy camaraderie.
She looked back upon that weekend as a turning point. Riley seemed more mindful towards her feelings and on the odd occasion that anything came up related to traveling or the places he’d been to before, she noticed that he seemed more inclined to share more information than he had in the past.
She’d long since given up asking him about his quest for new business opportunities. The magazines and business papers she picked up for him went largely unnoticed as far as she could tell. She got the impression that his goals might have shifted. Lately he’d been more anxious, seemed slightly stressed out by his trading. She’d often go to bed to find him sitting ashen-faced at her living-room table, which he’d now commandeered for himself, with his many screens spread out in front of him and his laptop and mobile phone all in one concentrated area. Sometimes she’d wake up the next morning and he’d be going to bed.
When she questioned him he told her that it was a difficult time and he had to get through it.
He spent more time in her apartment and less time at the coffee shops these days. She sensed that his focus has changed from the trading being a side-line hobby to something that appeared to be more urgent. She was sure he’d told her that he made a good living so she wasn’t sure what the pressure was.
On a few occasions, less now than at the beginning, he sometimes wandered into town and she would meet him for dinner in the evenings. But she noticed that where, in the beginning, he’d often offered to pay or they would split the bill, as time went on, this soon stopped and she was often left footing the bill. It wasn’t that she counted what he did and what she did, but out of a sense of fairness, she considered it somewhat rude that he was beginning to rely on her more. He also no longer offered to buy groceries as he had done in the early days. They didn’t eat out as much as she wanted. By the time she finished at the warehouse she was in no mood to go home and cook, and she always had a couple of hours work to do in the evenings. He wanted to watch a movie or talk but some days she wanted to be alone and not have anyone around.
Lately, even him, sometimes.
It crept up on her like poison ivy, but before long, she became more conscious of the fact that Riley was beginning to encroach more upon her time and her life. That he was taking more than he was giving. She hated to think like this but she couldn’t help it.
She’d never lived with anyone before. Her lovers in the past hadn’t lived too far away, a couple hours at the most and in those cases she would spend weekends with them. Staying at one another’s place every once in a while was easy. Her romances had never lasted long enough for her to get to the stage of talking about a longer commitment.
With Riley, things had happened quickly and it had all been out of control. It had been the type of romance that most women might have secretly fantasized about—meeting a handsome stranger in an opulent setting and feeling hot urgent, uncontrolled passion that blossomed into romance and whirled her high up into the air. But the reality of it, a few months down the road, was that she was finding it hard being around him all the time. He was in her apartment while she was away and had all day to complete his work. But when she needed the table to finish off her work, he wasn’t done. That table was his, it seemed.
There were a few times when she found herself wondering how long he intended to stay. She still wanted him, still loved being with him, but there was something she wasn’t sure about and she still liked her boundaries. She still liked her own space.
She found herself wondering whether the best solution might be for him to get a pensione; assuming that he really did intend to stay around here for a while. A pensione might be better. She knew Ava’s sister lived in one, and she knew that Nico had many properties in and around Verona. She wasn’t sure if he had any close to where she lived. Riley couldn’t drive and even though Verona was about twenty minutes away by car, would it be practical for them? It would certainly give her the space she craved but Riley in Verona? Did she trust him—and if she didn’t, then what did that say about their relationship?
She let the idea go for now.
Her need to talk and get out all the pent-up frustration that was building up inside her gave her the conviction to speak to Ava. It was this thought, one sultry August day, which instigated her impromptu visit to the Casa Adriana.
Rona had come by a few days earlier to go through some new orders with her and even though Andrea had been curious about the man she’d seen her with that evening in Verona, she hadn’t said a word. Rona was married and what w
ent on in her life was none of Andrea’s business. It was strange how on the surface things appeared normal in so many relationships yet buried beneath were deeper, darker secrets. Even looking at Leo and his wife—she’d never met Gianna but from hearing Leo speak, they seemed perfect for one another, and they were still friends. And yet they had divorced.
Was it so odd then, that she wasn’t as sure about Riley as she had been? Maybe these rumblings were common in most couples? And perhaps she had a romanticized view of what a relationship was supposed to be like?
These thoughts were uppermost in her mind as she knocked on the door to Ava’s office. She felt a pang of guilt that she hadn’t seen Ava for so long either, or had offered to help with the wedding.
“Let’s go and sit outside in the pergola.” Ava suggested as soon as Andrea walked in. She wondered if there was a motive behind this.
“Hey,” she said to Rona who seemed busy staring at the figures on her computer screen. “How’s Tori? It must have been so scary, her going missing like that.” Rona had updated her on the scare they’d all had a few days ago when Tori had been missing.
Ava shook her head. “Scary doesn’t begin to describe the feeling.”
“After all that, can you believe my mom was the one who’d taken her? Not my mom, exactly,” Rona explained, “because Lizzi had Tori, but they’d all gone to the hospital to get my mom checked out?”
Andrea placed her hand across her cheek and shook her head in sympathy. “At least your daughter is safe and well now.”
“She was never in any danger, but we didn’t know that at the time,” said Rona. “It was the worst hour of my life.”
“How is your mom?” Andrea asked, concerned.
“Annoyed with the gardener.” Ava said, laughing.
“Why?” asked Andrea. “It sounds as though he only had her best interests at heart. What if she’d had another fall?”
“Imagine if something had happened to her on the wedding day,” said Rona.
“Salvatore is a good man and we’re all thankful that he was here and that he insisted she go to the hospital. But my mom doesn’t see it that way. Let’s go,” Ava said to her, taking her by the arm. Then turned to Rona. “I’ll be outside if you need me.”
Andrea immediately braced herself and wondered what it was that her friend wanted to tell her away from her sister. They wandered out into the gardens.
“How’re you feeling?” asked Andrea, eyeing her friend’s swollen stomach. Ava hadn’t been noticeable at four months but now, there was no denying the bulge that had suddenly sprung up, like a half of a watermelon. “How far gone are you?”
“Six months. I don’t’ think I was all that big the last time we met.” They sat down on the single seaters that were placed almost side by side. “Still,” said Ava, running her hands gently over her belly, “it could be worse. I could be seven or eight months pregnant.”
“You weren’t. It’s like you’ve sprouted all at once,” she said, then mindful of the fact that Ava was likely feeling huge, days before her wedding quickly added, “You look great, Ava. Pregnancy suits you, being with Nico suits you. Being Mrs. Cazale will suit you even more.”
“I consider all of these compliments to be euphemisms for ‘looking enormous’. Why did I not think this through?”
Andrea turned to her. “Think what through? Marrying Nico?”
“Getting married and being this shape.” Ava put a hand on her forehead then fluffed the top of her shirt, using it to fan her chest. “I get so hot all the time. I don’t understand how I’m going to wear my wedding dress for the whole day. I swear I’m going to slip into yoga pants and a t-shirt as soon as I can.”
“You wouldn’t do that,” grinned Andrea.
“You’re right, I wouldn’t. Nico doesn’t deserve that. He is so excited about the wedding now that the day is almost here. He says he can’t wait to get married. I’ve been putting things off because I’ve been so busy. I can’t say it’s been at the forefront of my mind.”
“But you’ve got less than a week to go.”
“Does my laid back attitude sound terrible?”
“Not laid-back. You’ve been busy with other things, Ava.”
“I was so involved the last time. It was the only thing on my agenda for months. But now,” she looked guilty. “I feel I should be more excited.”
“You have so much going on; so many business related things to think about. I’m expanding my business to accommodate you,” Andrea told her. “I merely supply the products. You’re juggling so much more and your business is in the US. You’re overseeing two employees, you’re pregnant, you’ve moved to a new country and you’re getting married. I’d say you’ve had more going on in a year than most people do in a couple of years. You should stop being so hard on yourself.”
Ava gave her a tired smile. “I love hearing your words of wisdom.”
“I’m sorry I haven’t been around much—I mean for you and for the wedding. When exactly do you plan to stop working? Let me remind you that you’re getting married in five days’ time.”
“I’m supposed to be slowing down. My mom will unplug my PC today or tomorrow, and it wouldn’t surprise me if she has asked Nico to hire security to evict me from the premises.”
“You’ll be fine then,” replied Andrea. She knew that Elsa and Nico wouldn’t let Ava work too hard and right up until the end. “How’s the dress coming along?”
“I went for a dress fitting a few days ago, and then of course there was the whole drama with my niece going missing, my mom being here, Rona and Carlos—” she looked away. “I don’t know. Something’s going on with those two and it’s the last thing I need to deal with around the time of my wedding.” Ava frowned and put a hand to her forehead. “I can’t believe the things my sister does. She doesn’t think.”
Andrea scratched her arm, finding it better than staring at Ava and waiting for her to say something. She knew this was the type of pause where she’d be expected to say something, but she didn’t want to mention a thing. Not about Rona, not about the man she was with, not about the way she’d seen the two of them walking so close to one another.
“Is there anything left to do that I can help with?” she asked, finally. “Even if I was busy I should have made more of an effort to help you. It was thoughtless of me not to get in touch sooner. Some friend I’ve turned out to be.”
“Don’t worry about a thing. It’s all taken care of,” said Ava, patting her hand. “The last time we spoke you had it bad about some sex-god you met when you went away. I hope you’re over that now.”
“Well,” said Andrea, beginning to smile. “He showed up at my warehouse a few weeks later.” Months of keeping the news from her friend hadn’t been easy.
“He showed up? Out of the blue?”
Andrea nodded.
“That was months ago,” exclaimed Ava. “You’ve been with him all this time and you only tell me now?”
“We didn’t get together until July.”
“You tell me now?” Ava reiterated, feigning anger. “Tell me everything.”
And she did. By the end of it all Ava was grinning widely and looking at Andrea with shiny eyes. “I am so happy for you! You said he was sex on legs. Is he?” Ava asked, lowering her voice as the gardener walked past and waved at them both.
Andrea smiled. He definitely was. And continued to be. She’d reached that place where she felt content. There had been a time where her emotions knew no bounds, where each day had been new and shiny and bright, and she never knew where it would take her with Riley. Perhaps she’d been so scared of him leaving that she’d treasured each moment. But now that they’d been together for a while, the sparkle had begun to wear off. It was still wonderful being around him, but sometimes, she longed for her own space and time to herself. The night at the club had been a turning point in their time together.
“Look at you,” said Ava, excitedly. “How’s it working out?”
“Good, mostly.” While she still cared for him deeply and loved being with him she wasn’t sure she could qualify it as love. She was more the observer these days, she thought, not as happy-go-lucky of late as she’d normally been.
“Good, mostly?” Ava looked at her.
“He’s…wonderful.” Andrea replied slowly.
“You seem unsure.”
Why did she have a friend who had a sixth sense? “It’s not that,” said Andrea quickly. “He’s wonderful, he really is.”
“But?”
“No buts,” said Andrea, speaking about it out loud didn’t sound right. She had doubts, small and petty doubts perhaps, but maybe people felt like this at some point. Perhaps it wasn’t all that uncommon. “He’s a great guy.”
Ava beamed at her. “Then you must bring him to the wedding.”
Andrea frowned. “Oh, no. That’s not necessary.” She hadn’t intended to wrangle an invite to the wedding. This hadn’t been her reason for telling her friend about him.
“It is necessary because I’d love to meet him and I know Nico would too,” said Ava. “You must bring him. I insist on it.”
“But you said you already have so many people attending.”
Ava wouldn’t hear of it. “What difference will one more person make? It would be lovely. And—,” she looked around from side to side, “You can both sit with Rona and Carlos. You’ll all know one another, sort of. Rona and Carlos aren’t exactly going through the best of times at the moment.”
Hearts on Fire: Romance Multi-Author Box Set Anthology Page 84