by Grace Kagni
Milania took Serena’s old bedroom while Liam slept in the guest room. They said good night and went to bed since both were exhausted from the events of the last few days. It was late during the night when Milania woke up hearing noises so she got out of bed and walked out her bedroom. The noise was coming from Liam’s room so as she got closer, she saw through the open door that he was dreaming. It seemed like a nightmare and he was shouting – commanding someone to do something.
She stood by the door watching as she wondered what he was dreaming about. Milania slowly went into the bedroom to see if she could gently wake him up but when she tried to tap him on the shoulder, he grabbed her and pulled her down so quickly that she nearly suffocated from the pressure of his hands. Then he woke up and realized what he’d done to Milania, releasing her from his grip. He was straddling her on the bed so he got off immediately and pulled her into his arms.
“I’m sorry, Baby. Did I hurt you?” he asked, worry clearly marked in his eyes. “Don’t ever do that again. I could have seriously hurt you.”
“You were dreaming but it seemed so real that it scared me. What was it about?” she asked.
“I was remembering the past,” he whispered.
“I don’t understand. What happened in the past that made you have a nightmare?” She was confused.
“I’ll explain it to you one day but for now, please go back to bed.”
“Are you all right now?” She didn’t want to leave him if he still felt shaken by his dream.
“I’ll be fine. Go back to bed, Sweet Pea.” He leaned over and kissed her on the temple.
She got up and went back to her room for the rest of the night. When she woke up in the morning, he was already making breakfast.
“Good morning, Doll. Did you sleep well after I attacked you last night?”
“Yes, I slept just fine. You’ll have to tell me what you were dreaming about. It seemed so real,” she said, sitting down at the kitchen table. “Where did you get the ingredients to make breakfast? I can’t imagine anything in Serena’s fridge since she doesn’t live here anymore.”
“I’ve been out for my morning run while you were sleeping and on my way back, I stopped at the grocers to pick up a few things to make breakfast. I hope you’re hungry. I’ve made plenty to eat.”
“I can see you’ve been cooking up a storm. I’ll have a taste,” she grinned at the sight of him in the kitchen cooking.
“So after we have breakfast and wash, we should get you a new passport. I’ve already spoken to our attorney in the US who will deal with the paperwork to get you an urgent visa to enter the country so after we get you a passport, we’ll be flying to the US.”
“Listen, I’ve already told you that you don’t need to take care of me. I’m sure Serena will offer me a job so please don’t worry about me,” she said, hoping to convince him that she didn’t need to go anywhere. She didn’t want him to leave but she knew he needed to get back to work so there was nothing left but to make him believe she didn’t need him anymore. Truth was she needed him more now than ever but she couldn’t tell him that and she wasn’t going to force him to take care of her. She wasn’t that type of person no matter the reason. She needed to find her feet again and pick up the pieces of her life.
He felt his legs give in metaphorically speaking. She needed to understand that he needed her more than she needed him and it was time he told her. He sat down at the table and took her hand in his. “Baby, I already told you before all this happened that I had feelings for you and now those feelings are stronger. I can’t live without you so I’d like you to come back to the US with me.”
She wanted to stay with him but she knew she could not do that. Not even under the current circumstances. She needed to make a new life for herself and she had to do it on her own. “I understand but my life is in Italy and I am sure that when you return to the US your feelings will change when you meet a wonderful American woman who will stand equal to you. Right now I have nothing to offer but my best wishes that you find the right person to share your life with.” It was breaking her heart to let him go but she needed to do it for his sake. He’d been her savior as well as a gentleman in every sense of the word.
“Well, I’ve already spoken to James about it and we want to offer you a job in our marketing department. Since Serena will be out on maternity leave shortly, why don’t you work for us in the meantime and when Serena goes back to work after the baby is born, you can make arrangements to come back to Italy.” He truly hoped his words would change her mind. If not, he would have to find another way because he wasn’t leaving Italy without Milania.
She thought about what Liam said and it made sense because Serena would be out on maternity leave soon. It would leave her out of a job for a while and since she didn’t have anything holding her back, she decided to give it a try for six months to a year.
“Okay.”
“Okay? Really?” His eyes sparkled when he realized she’d agreed. It changed everything. He would be returning home with Milania and it made him feel like shouting out his joy. “We’ll start on the paperwork and passport today. We could be back in the US by next week.”
She needed a change and this could be the change she needed. She would talk to Serena to hear what she thought about it. In the meantime, she watched as Liam finished preparing breakfast for the two of them.
Chapter Four
When Milania arrived in Malibu, she couldn’t get over the beauty she saw. Liam’s house was like a palace on the white sandy beach and the three-story house had wall-to-wall windows overlooking the water. The ground floor living area went straight out onto the beach, through bi-folding doors that opened up onto a long terrace smack on the sand. The terrace was decorated in Moroccan style with white sofas and white canvas drapes creating privacy when needed. There was a corner bar along with a huge barbecue that could cook for an army. She couldn’t believe what she saw - it was an incredible property. The middle floor had a kitchen, guest bathroom and a second living area leading to another large terrace. The terrace was decorated similarly to the one on the ground floor but the colors were terra cotta and red. On the third floor were four bedrooms, each with a private bath and doors that opened up onto a balcony, running along the beach side.
She was taking in the spectacular sounds and view from the balcony outside her bedroom, feeling tranquility for the first time in many days when Liam walked up to her.
“Do you like it?” he asked, knowing the answer by her grin. He had hoped his house would bring some peace into her life.
“Like it? Liam, I love it here. Thank you for bringing me and giving me this room with this beautiful view,” she turned to look up at him. “I could sit out here for hours listening to the sounds of the waves. It’s so relaxing.”
“I’m happy you like it, Sweet Pea.” He smiled at her enthusiasm and felt relief knowing the place made her happy. She needed a change in her life and he was hoping this would be the change she needed. “Are you hungry? My housekeeper has left a fridge full of food. I can put a couple of hamburgers on the barbecue and we could sit out on the terrace the rest of the afternoon.”
She smiled up at his beautiful blue eyes and looked at his face a moment. She was grateful for his presence and for the way he’d taken care of her since the flood. She needed to tell him because she felt she’d been distant the past week. “Liam, can we sit a moment?”
“Sure, are you not feeling well?” he asked, worry starting to creep into his gut as he led her to the love seat on the balcony.
“No, I’m fine. I just need to talk to you a moment. I need to thank you for all you have done for me. I know I haven’t been the best company.” Actually, knowing how she treated him in the beginning, it was a wonder that he put up with her and went out of his way to help her.
“You don’t need to thank me. It was fortunate I was there when the flood happened.”
“Yes, I wouldn’t be here if you hadn’t risked your life to sav
e me and I’ve completely forgotten what you must have gone through rescuing me like that. I know I’ve brought back some demons within that you’ve carefully put away. I’m sorry that you now have to deal with these emotions again,” she said knowing he was having nightmares every night. She brought these demons back into his life and she needed to tell him it wasn’t for nothing. She was grateful for what he did.
Liam looked at Milania’s emerald eyes a moment and knew he had done the right thing no matter if his demons never go away. He took her hand and brought it to his lips. “My darling Sweet Pea. I would do it a thousand times over.” Then he pulled her close and they sat listening to the sound of the waves for a little while.
“Okay, now I’m hungry,” she laughed.
“That’s what I like to hear. I’ll go light the barbecue. Take your time coming down,” he said, getting up.
“Thank you.”
He turned to caress her face with his fingers. “No need to thank me.” Then he was gone.
She sat on the balcony a little while longer until she smelled the meat cooking and went downstairs. She’d decided it was time to change her attitude toward life. She’d been given a second chance and she wasn’t going to waste it.
She found Liam hard at work at the barbecue and as soon as she walked up to him, he turned and smiled. She loved seeing his smile and when she thought about how she couldn’t stand him in the beginning, she really didn’t know why. He was a good person on the inside and out. He was someone whose actions spoke a thousand words.
“Hey, Doll, I hope you’re hungry because I’ve made enough for an army.”
His mention of the army made her think back to the night of the flood. Just before going to rescue her neighbors, he’d said he’d done it plenty of times and then the way he’d attacked her the night he was dreaming was like from a movie. What did he do before that he would have to do such a thing? Had he been in the army or special police force?
“Sweet Pea, you’re really quiet. Is everything all right?” he asked, wondering if it was simply jet lag or something else that bothered her.
“I was wondering when you’d tell me where you learned to rescue people like that. It’s not something people do on a regular basis. You were trained to do that.”
“Yes, I was trained.” He continued to watch the meat on the flame, hoping she wouldn’t ask more questions.
“Where?”
“In the army,” he responded, letting out a long breath. He had to tell her the truth and it was now or never.
“You rescued people when you were in the army?” She wanted to understand why he had these demons to try to help him get over them. It was the least she could do after what he did.
“Not quite.”
“What did you do, Liam?” She waited for a response but when he didn’t answer, she walked up to him and rested her hand on his arm.
He shut his eyes a moment, not wanting to tell her the truth because he was afraid he’d scare her away.
“Liam?” her voice was so soft that when he opened his eyes, he saw compassion in her eyes, which he’d not seen before.
“I was in the special forces unit of the army.”
“Doing what exactly?”
He turned to look at her beautiful green eyes and knew he couldn’t avoid the question. If he wanted to gain her trust, he had to tell her the truth. “I’d been trained to rescue when needed but mostly to search and kill.”
Her eyes widened at the thought of Liam killing anybody.
“Baby Doll, I was trained to kill the enemy. Not innocent people.”
“So you’ve actually killed someone?”
Her question was a valid one so how could he tell her he’d killed more than one person. It was his job, his team’s job, to keep the country safe and that meant going out to kill the enemy. “Yes, I’ve killed.”
She looked at the sorrowful expression on his face and took it in her hands to caress the soft skin. “I just wanted to know the truth. I’m not judging you for it. Your skill and training helped save me as well as others so please don’t believe I think any differently of you because of this. I actually admire you for it and would like to help you overcome your emotions at night. Tell me what I can do?”
“Thank you for caring but there is nothing anybody can do. Time will heal as in your case.”
“Well, it will be something to think about if you let me help you. I want to do something for you since you’ve done so much for me,” she said, hoping he would let her help. The hardest thing in life is accepting help from others. She learned the hard way that everyone needs help, sooner or later.
“You don’t need to worry that pretty little mind of yours. So how about we set the table and sit down. The food is ready,” he said, placing the meat on a large service plate.
She walked to the table and set it for two with what he had brought out from the kitchen earlier. She looked out at the beach and noticed it was deserted. “It is so peaceful here.”
“That it is. Do you swim?” he asked.
“I don’t actually. I know how to wade in the water but I can’t go deep or I will drown.”
“Then it means I’m going to have to teach you how to swim while you’re here.”
“I don’t know if I could learn. I’m a little old to learn at my age.”
“It’s never too late to learn,” he said, placing the meat on the table. “Tomorrow I need to go back to work but you can take the rest of the week off before starting at the Miller offices.”
“I’d like that. I’m starting to feel the jet lag setting in so I think I’ll take a nap after lunch.”
“I think that would be a great idea,” he said, placing some food on her plate. “First, you need to eat.”
They had a pleasant lunch while they talked about Malibu and California. She was interested in knowing more and was looking forward to exploring the area while Liam was at work the next few days. After lunch, they relaxed on the terrace while Milania had an herbal tea and Liam had a beer. Liam explained to Milania a bit about the work the Miller family did and when she started to yawn, he told her to go upstairs to have a nap.
Liam sat out on the terrace a while on his own, happy that Milania was finally under his wing. He felt life was changing and it was the right moment he settled down. He would give Milania the time to get to know him well and hopefully before next summer, he would convince her not to leave.
~~~
The first day Milania started work, she went in with Liam to the Miller offices. He accompanied her to the HR office and then told her he would call later. She was processed immediately and given a contract to sign. When she looked over the contract, she was shocked to see the six-figure salary she was being given. It couldn’t be right so she asked the HR manager to check it and when she was told the salary was correct, she needed to call Liam to tell him she couldn’t sign the contract. There was no way she was receiving that kind of money for a graphic designer job. She was so upset over the phone that he hung up and ran down to talk to her face to face.
“Doll, in the US people are paid higher wages than in Italy and I assure you that your salary is what other graphic designers earn.”
“Liam, it’s not possible. I earned one tenth of this in Italy so you can’t tell me it’s a normal wage. If you’ll pay me what you pay others, I will accept. If not, I’ll walk away. This is my condition.”
He suddenly feared she would return to Italy if he didn’t pay her an Italian wage but how could he do that knowing others earned much more? While he weighed the pros and cons of it, he decided since she is staying with him and has very little expenses, he could give her what she wanted to keep her in the US but he wanted one condition – that he would pay for all her expenses while working for him.
“Alright under one condition and that is that I pay for all your expenses while you are here. I won’t back down on this because I can’t bear the thought of paying you a dishonest wage for US standards. Deal?” he said,
putting his hand forward to shake on it.
She narrowed her eyes while she thought about it and then extended her hand. “Deal.”
He went to speak to the HR manager to make the changes to the contract and then left to go back to his office.
Milania signed the new contract and then went with the HR manager to her new office. She was introduced to the new team and was given an assignment before the end of the day. Milania was happy to be doing the job she liked and felt the need to study the past marketing approaches before going home. The rest of the team had left for the day when Liam found her reading through what was on file.
She didn’t hear him walk into her cubicle nor did she hear him when he crouched down by her chair. “Baby Doll, it’s time to go home.”
She jumped from the sound of his voice and dropped the file, scattering papers everywhere.
“I think it’s time we leave. You’ve had a long first day. Come on,” he said, taking her hand.
“Wait, I want to take this home to read.” She bent down to pick up the file.
“No, we don’t bring work home – especially not the first day of work. The file will still be here tomorrow morning when you come back.” With that, he picked up the file and placed in on her desk before taking her hand to lead her out.
There was quite a bit of traffic driving home and as she sat in the passenger seat, she felt her eyelids become heavy. She decided to close her eyes for five minutes and drifted off to sleep.
The traffic stopped a few blocks from Liam’s street and as he waited for it to move again, he looked over a Milania as she slept. He never thought a woman would step into his life and turn it upside down as Milania had. She was the sunshine in his turbulent world. He wished he could do more than hold her but he needed to respect her religious beliefs as well as give her time to get to know him.
The traffic finally started to move and as he drove on, he passed an ambulance and police car explaining the reason for the traffic. As soon as he pulled into his drive, he pulled out the remote control to open the gate and pass through. He parked his convertible Corvette Stingray in the front and turned off the engine before waking Milania.