Love in the City, an erotic romance novel

by Hall, Heather

  The ride back to Brooklyn was alive with happy chatter. Both Sarah and Barry had been incredibly impressed by how genuine, nice, and down-to-earth the Tsarkopolis brothers were. Not at all what they had imagined, based on how well-off they were. They could also see the deep bond that had grown between Giorgio and Anabelle and both said that he definitely looked like a man in love around her.

  *****

  The next few weeks were total bliss for Anabelle. She and Giorgio were spending the night together from time to time, most often at her place, because she didn’t want to leave Jasper alone too often. Giorgio didn’t seem to mind at all, he was comfortable in her modest place and since they both worked in Manhattan, he gave her rides to work. Anabelle also saw that he adored Jasper, playing with him with strings and toy mice every time he visited. Anabelle loved seeing him so playful and affectionate with her feline companion, he was very tender and cute with him.

  She was pleased to see that Giorgio did indeed enjoy the simple things and wasn’t all about expensive, fancy surroundings and outings all the time. They spent most of their time just hanging out, going for walks in the parks, cooking together, watching movies, cuddling, and making love. They’d talk for hours about all kinds of things, current events, business results, hopes, dreams, values, philanthropic ideas, movies, food, wine, music and on and on.

  In the meantime, Anabelle continued to look for positions at other ad companies. Giorgio had encouraged her to take her time to find the right one and not just jump at any chance to get away from Raquel.

  To Anabelle’s great delight, they had also started double-dating with Sarah and Barry and the two couples often got together with Nikolas. They had introduced the Tsarkopolis brothers to Painter’s Cove and they loved it. They enjoyed getting out of Manhattan. It had become their collective favorite haunt.

  Throughout this time, Giorgio had also been giving Anabelle gifts of jewelry, perfume, accessories, silky nightgowns, candles, and more and introduced her to some very fine, high-end wines. He put a lot of thought into everything and she loved it all, but she told him it wasn’t necessary to keep showering her with gifts. She emphasized that she just loved him for who he was and most valued spending time with him.

  Then one day, he came over to her apartment and handed her an envelope.

  “What’s this?” she asked.

  “A gift, of course,” he said.

  “Giorgio, I told you that you didn’t have to keep…”

  “Just open it,” he said, nodding towards the envelope.

  She turned the envelope over. Across the front it said: In honor of Anabelle and Jasper Parker…with love…xo

  She smiled. “Interesting,” she said, then proceeded to open it. She gasped as she read the letter inside; her hand flew to her mouth. She looked up at him with tears in her eyes. “I can’t believe this.”

  He smiled. “Believe it,” he said. “You inspired me.”

  The tears streamed down her face and she hugged him, squeezing him with all her might.

  He wrapped his arms around her, kissing the top of her head. “I love you and your little furry fella. It was just something I wanted to do. Plus, it’s partially for the times when his mommy spent the night away from him, my way of making up for that.”

  Anabelle re-read the letter. He’d arranged for the donation of a substantial amount of money through the Dream Trust to ‘Kitty Haven’, the no-kill cat shelter where she had adopted Jasper. The money was going towards the purchase of a second building so that they could expand their operation to meet demand. The new facility was going to be nicknamed ‘Jasper’s House’.

  “Thank you so much,” she said, wiping away her tears. “I’m utterly blown away by this. By your kindness, compassion, and thoughtfulness.”

  He smiled. “I remembered you mentioning that you support them with monthly donations, so I did some research and called them up to talk and ask a few questions. I met with them in person with one of our lawyers, and we talked about their needs. The most pressing one was space issues for the growing number of kitty-cats they were taking in and trying to find permanent homes for.”

  “I know,” she said, shaking her head in disbelief at the magnitude of the gift. “They’ve been fundraising for that for the last couple of years. Last year, I hit up everyone I knew to donate. It looked like it was going to take forever to reach their fundraising goal for the new building. I just can’t believe this!”

  He shrugged his shoulders. “They made it easy. They’d already identified an appropriate building and I had the lawyer do his due diligence. Then I presented it to the Dream Trust committee for their approval. They thought it was a great fit, so did Nikolas. The committee also agreed to keep the same message as well: a place for kitties to find their human soul mates. I like it,” he said. “It’s meaningful to me, since I found mine.”

  She hugged him again as her tears of joy kept falling. “Giorgio, you are the most amazing man I have ever known. I love you so much. You are my soul mate,” she said. She kissed him passionately on the lips. She broke away, wiping her tears.

  She kneeled down. “Jasper! Honey, come look!” she said, holding out her hand.

  He came over to her, curious, and meowed. He rubbed her hand with the side of his head and body.

  “It’s for kitties,” she said, petting him. “Giorgio found a way to help lots of kitties, just like you.” Jasper started to purr.

  Anabelle laughed. “He’s happy, too!”

  Giorgio bent down to pet Jasper as well. Then he kissed Anabelle on her cheek. “A man wants to take care of his family and make them happy.”

  *****

  A week and a half later, Giorgio had another big surprise for her. He told her he had been speaking with Nikolas and they both agreed that they still had a lot of work to do to fix the damage that Portia had caused to their business. They wanted to create a long-term strategy for communicating with their investors and other business partners and realized the two of them couldn’t be everywhere at once. As such, they decided to expand the Investor Relations arm of Tsar Enterprises. With the success of Anabelle’s ad campaign for the company and her warning them of Portia’s duplicity, the two Tsarkopolis brothers came up with a plan and Giorgio proposed an idea to her.

  This new in-house combined marketing and communications division would be responsible for all of Tsar’s public relations, ongoing ad campaigns, all of its official communications, as well as its charitable and community involvement, including the annual Dream Ball.

  Anabelle nearly fell off her chair when he told her that he had conceived of calling the division ‘BellStar’, which was a combination of her first name and a play on both his last name and the company name, and then asked her if she’d be interested in a position there. He was careful to emphasize that if she wanted to maintain more of her independence, she was free to turn it down and he would understand. She took a few days to think about it and talk it over with Sarah and Barry and then she excitedly accepted the offer.

  Giorgio suggested a night out at Painter’s Cove for all of them to celebrate.

  Chapter 33

  Three weeks after Anabelle had enthusiastically accepted the offer of a future position within the soon-to-be newly formed BellStar division of Tsar Enterprises, Giorgio arranged a celebratory evening at Painter’s Cove on Saturday night. Along with Sarah and Barry, who was taking the night off to just enjoy himself, Giorgio brought Nikolas along.

  Painter’s Cove was three quarters full at this point and felt warm with colorful lights strewn about, giving a soft glow over the murals. Nikolas commented how it was a welcoming place, not pretentious, just comfortable and artsy.

  The five of them sat down at the best table in the house, with a good view of the stage, which Barry had taken the liberty of reserving. Anabelle snuggled into Giorgio, his arm wrapped around her shoulder. His thick, dark hair had his usual tousled look. He was dressed in casual black jeans, a dark grey jacket and light blue butto
n down shirt that set off his eyes nicely. His shirt collar was open a tasteful three buttons, showing just a hint of dark chest hair.

  Anabelle wore a fitted light green Calvin Klein taffeta sheath cocktail dress, with a more daring V-neck than she usually wore, with nude pumps, her diamond heart pendant and Versace watch. Her dress complemented her hair and flattered her figure. She wanted to dress up for this special occasion, so she had taken some of her Kinetic bonus money to buy the new dress and shoes, as well as to get a mani-pedi and blowout at her local salon. She was glowing and felt on top of the world.

  Candles were lit on their table and they had wine with dinner, toasting to BellStar’s future with Anabelle on board. Anabelle looked forward to giving her notice to Raquel in the not-too-distant future, and suggested they bring Jennifer on as well in an administrative role that would also be opening up within BellStar. She knew what a fantastic worker and genuine person Jennifer was. They all thought it was a great idea. Their conversation was happy and lively, talking about the future, as the establishment filled to capacity.

  Anabelle noticed that Nikolas was seeming a little lighter in spirit as the weeks had gone by. Giorgio had been very supportive of his brother, helping him through this difficult time and told her earlier that Nikolas was slowly bouncing back from everything. She was glad for that.

  After a leisurely dinner and dessert, the ladies went to freshen up. When they got back, Barry announced to the table, “We’ve got a special act tonight.” He looked at Sarah, who gave a sly grin and looked away.

  Anabelle raised her eyebrows. “Oh really, who?” She looked at the stage, which had a mic stand, stool, keyboard and bench set up.

  “You’ll see,” was all he would say.

  She looked to Giorgio who just shrugged his shoulders.

  Nikolas smiled and said, “Cool, sounds interesting.”

  Just then a waitress came by to ask if they wanted anything else before the entertainment started.

  Giorgio suggested they share a couple of bottles of their best champagne.

  Everyone liked that idea.

  The conversation turned to Sarah’s latest work projects.

  “So, how’s your story going?” Anabelle asked Sarah.

  “Good, just a few more details to go and I’ll be submitting it to my editor next week.”

  “I hope he promotes you to full-time staff reporter,” Anabelle said. “You deserve it. You’ve been working there for two years now and have always delivered the goods. It’s time you were recognized.”

  Barry nodded. “She’s a great catch in every way,” he said as he kissed her temple.

  Sarah smiled proudly. “Thanks guys, it’s nice to have people in your life who believe in you.”

  “It’s everything,” Giorgio said. He looked at Anabelle. “Without it, we’re all lost.”

  “I found you,” she said, smiling. He leaned in to give her a warm kiss. His lips were soft, inviting, warm.

  “Ahem,” Sarah said, clearing her throat. “Room?”

  Nikolas laughed. “These two never stop.”

  Anabelle and Giorgio smiled at one another, and he kissed her again. He gave her a knowing smile. “Later, beautiful girl,” he said playfully. His lips were parted.

  Anabelle wanted to keep kissing them, but she was aware of their tablemates staring at them. “Later, sexy,” she said, placing a hand half way up on his muscular thigh. She squeezed it gently.

  He dropped his gaze to where her hand was suggestively placed and took a deep breath. “So,” he said, realizing he needed to change the subject before he lost all focus. “It’s getting warm in here, where are those drinks?”

  As if on cue, the waitress came by with their champagne and five champagne flutes. She set them down and proceeded to fill the glasses, ladies first.

  After she left, Giorgio lifted his glass. “To good friends and new beginnings.”

  “Here, here,” they all answered back and clinked their glasses for the toast. They all took a sip of the fine bubbly.

  Giorgio leaned over to look at Anabelle. His eyes were full of passion. “And to finding one’s soul mate,” he whispered, then kissed her again, a little longer this time.

  Her heart was aflutter. “My soul mate,” she whispered back.

  He held her close.

  A spotlight shone on the small round stage.

  “That’s my cue,” Barry said, as he got up to head to the stage.

  Anabelle looked over at Sarah. “Do you know who it is?”

  Sarah just shrugged her shoulders and kept looking at the stage as Barry took the mic.

  “Ladies and gentlemen, Painter’s Cove has an extra special guest tonight. This is the most popular act we’ve ever had the privilege of hosting.” He was beaming from the stage like a proud papa. “Before I announce who it is, I wanted to thank another special guest in the house tonight, Giorgio Tsarkopolis, who made tonight’s entertainment possible.

  Anabelle was stunned. “What?” She looked at Giorgio, but he just winked at her.

  Barry continued, “In the tradition of Top Secret shows, I present to you, recording artist, Shanna Ray!”

  The audience erupted in loud cheers and clapping, thrilled at the top caliber talent they were being treated to.

  Anabelle’s eyes went wide. “What? No way! I love her!” She looked to Giorgio, who was beaming at her. Then he held her hand, squeezing it, and pointed to the stage.

  Shanna walked out, followed by her two bandmates. Barry gave Shanna a big hug, then shook the hands of the two men, one who carried an acoustic guitar, and the other who took a seat at the keyboard. Shanna sat down on the stool in front of the mic. Her waist-length thick black hair was braided to one side, falling in front of her shoulder. She wore a light purple paisley blouse and jeans with black boots. She had long dangling earrings and only a hint of makeup. She was the epitome of indie rocker chic.

  Barry left the stage and rejoined his friends.

  Anabelle wanted to ask what was going on, but the audience was cheering loudly for the popular singer. There were lots of comments abounding regarding the surprise act. They didn’t usually get bonafide recording artists of her caliber at this low-key place.

  Shanna smiled and waved, accepting the warm reception from the audience. She leaned forward and spoke into the mic, “Hello people of Painter’s Cove! What a lovely place this is!”

  They cheered even louder for the young indie artist who had recently been burning up the charts.

  “It was an honor to be invited to play here,” she said. “My band and I love finding gems like this. It brings back fond memories of our early days on the road.”

  Barry beamed.

  “And thank you to Giorgio Tsarkopolis for bringing us here.” She clapped her hands, looking at Giorgio.

  Giorgio nodded as Nikolas, Sarah and Barry all clapped along with the band and the audience. Nikolas whistled. Giorgio smiled and gave Anabelle’s hand another squeeze.

  “How? Why?” she asked, astounded at what was happening. No one else at their table seemed surprised by the turn of events.

  “I gather that’s Anabelle?” Shanna spoke into the mic.

  Giorgio nodded.

  Anabelle gasped. “What? She knows my name?”

  Shanna smiled, nodding at her. “This is for you, Anabelle, from Giorgio.” She tapped her foot and the music started.

  Annabelle’s jaw dropped in total shock. She recognized the tune right away. She looked to Giorgio. “This is my favorite song!”

  He smiled. “I know. Sarah was kind enough to provide me with some valuable intel.”

  Sarah winked at her.

  The guitarist and keyboardist started playing the familiar melody. It was instantly recognizable to the audience, who again cheered.

  Shanna closed her eyes, and swayed to the music. She started singing her song: Dreams Carried Me Through. Her distinctive, rich voice was clear and soulful.

  “Days of longing

 
Hopes that were dashed

  I thought the rain would never stop

  Never stop

  I felt so lost

  I tried to find my way, but the road was dark

  As though the light could never reach me

  I thought the rain would never stop

  I had dreams

  They seemed so far away

  Ever out of reach, ever slipping further away

  I thought the rain would never stop

  I walked on alone

  No one saw me, no one understood the pain I felt

  I thought the rain would never stop

  Never stop

  I cried alone, wrapped by the cold night

  Dreams carried me through

  ‘til I found you…

  Then I knew

  Dreams do come true…”

  Anabelle’s eyes began tearing up as she listened. She loved this song. She couldn’t believe this was happening, what Giorgio had done for her. He saw her reaction and held her close, kissing her cheek.

  Nikolas was swaying to the music.

  Sarah and Barry smiled at them and held hands. Sarah knew how much that song meant to Anabelle. She had talked about it often, how it spoke to her.

  The audience was rapt, listening to Shanna’s unique and beautiful voice singing the well-known song. Couples embraced.

  Anabelle leaned into Giorgio. “I don’t know how I could ever thank you for this,” she whispered. “This is the most amazing, incredible night of my life. I’ll never forget it.” She wiped a tear away.

  “I love you, Anabelle Parker, with all my heart,” he said. “I can’t imagine my life without you.”

  “Me too,” she said, looking up at him as another tear spilled down her cheek. “I love you so much.” Her lips trembled.

  He kissed her, his lips tentative at first, then passionate.

  The song ended and the band bowed over the loud applause and cheers.