by T. C. Clark
“The sooner you get over him, the sooner you can move on.” He said in a driven tone. He realized his mistake when her eyes widened with apprehension.
“Luca I’ve told you, there can be nothing between us. I can’t even think of what another relationship would look like for me. So I need to keep whatever this is between us professional.”
“You have the eyes of a scared bunny and you are looking at me as if I’m the big bad wolf. I want you, Ada I’ve told you that… but I’m a patient man and I get you need time. I’m trying to help you as best I can.”
“But you have a vested interest in the outcome.” She said watching him closely surprised that he’d chosen to chase her. He was a sinfully sexy man who had the confidence of a king. She was sure he could get almost any woman he wanted.
“Yes, I do.” He answered easily. “But you have to admit… would you have wanted to miss one of your closest friend’s baby shower, just because of a bad relationship?”
“No, but…” she said as she reread the text message that said Nikos was in the building. Thankfully Ashley had done her best to help her by giving her updates on Nikos movements.
She swallowed down her guilt. She couldn’t put Ashley through a scene, this weekend was about her friend defeating infertility. She needed to get it together and deal with the reality of the situation.
They were staying in a suite together that was setup like a 2 bedroom apartment. Ada had nearly refused because she knew the gossip that would follow her sharing a suite with a new man. But Ashley and Michael had already paid for all the rooms and trying to switch with someone would add unnecessary stress to her friend’s tumultuous pregnancy. Ashley didn’t need any drama right now. So it was time for her to suck it up and be an adult.
“And don’t forget I’m here to act as a friendly buffer. Don’t worry so much,” Luca said standing and stretching his back. He was playing the long game here; he recognized that Ada had the potential to mean something more to him than the other women who’d recently graced his bed.
He also knew that if he helped her hide from Nikos, it would only prolong the explosion that was sure to come. He stared at her until she looked into his eyes once he had her attention he made his way to her. She moved back a step when he got too close.
“We will do this together and before you know it, this weekend will be a distant memory,” he said confidently.
Ada looked into his eyes and sighed loudly. Luca wanted more than she could give right now and eventually, she would have to figure out what that meant. Even knowing all that she was glad he was here and on some level he was right.
It was time to face Nikos, she knew he’d been looking for her and she couldn’t spend any more time hiding behind Eden and Luca. He was just a man. Granted he was the only man she’d ever truly loved. He was still flesh and blood. She would get through this. After all, they were broken up how much worse could it get?
* * *
She had her answer just a few hours later. When Nikos former love of her life walked through the front door with his very proper fiancé. For a second she couldn’t move, couldn’t breathe. Like prey caught out by a predator, all of her instincts screamed at her to be still. She only blinked when she felt a light touch on her back from Luca.
She swallowed down her pain and turned to him unable to hide her agony or surprise. He reacted as if she had spoken on it and grabbed her arm and led her from the room.
His eyes caught Nikos and he could actually feel his outrage. Whoever the fiancé was, she needed to take a second look at him. He knew from the emotion’s stamped clearly on the man’s face that whatever was between him and Ada; he believed it was far from over.
He couldn’t believe the dumb Greek had been thoughtless enough to bring his fiancé. That misstep on his part had just made his seduction much easier. If he’d learned anything about Ada, it was that she had a lot of pride in herself. Bringing that woman here had only emphasized the mistake she’d made with him.
He led her outside maneuvering them across the room in a way that didn’t allow for anyone to interfere. He knew if any of her friends saw her face right now it would only get worse. Once they made it outside, he pulled her limp body into his arms, offering comfort the only way he knew how.
She gripped him as she tried to slow her racing heart. The pain was so incredible that it had taken her breath away. This is what she needed, Nikos was no longer hers, hell he probably never was. She leaned back and looked into Luca’s face and smiled a watery smile.
“Sorry about that I didn’t expect him to show up with her. I think somewhere in the back of my mind I still hoped all of this wasn’t true. I’m okay now.”
Luca looked at her upturned face as she tried to put her mask of serenity back in place. He knew she was nowhere near fine. He didn’t have the time to give her the words to make her feel better because he knew the Greek would follow them out here. Any second now he would swing open the doors and….
“Get your hands off of her,” Nikos growled pulling Luca back from Ada. He’d come here to teach her a lesson, but seeing them together had destroyed all of his plans. Luca wasn’t hiding his feelings for Ada, he’d watched with disgust as he guided her from the room.
A part of his soul rebelled at the idea of another man touching what was rightfully his. He’d barely held his temper dropping Dabria off with a group of mutual friends. His expression so fierce that no one had stood in his way as he followed his former lover and her new friend out into the garden.
“Nikos, don’t talk to him like that and please don’t act as if I mean something to you,” she said bitterly. She stood between the two alpha men and shook her head. Why couldn’t she have been attracted to academics or intellectuals, instead of testosterone filled alpha males? She was sure if she left them on their own, there would be a fight.
“What do you mean, “like you mean something to me,” you know how I feel about you,” Nikos yelled snatching her arm from Luca. Luca let her go easily enough and waited patiently for the explosion.
“You didn’t even give me a chance to explain, you call that love?” He said directly to her his face full of anger.
“Yeah, I mean so much to you and yet you had a fiancé waiting in the background. I wasted two years… two very good years of my life loving you and you hid something like that. You made me the other woman… you made me less than what I am. If you think that saying I mean everything to you changes that, you’ve lost your mind. Now if you’ll excuse me, we did not plan to spend the evening hiding in the garden,” she said barely holding it together.
“Also, don’t ever touch me again, those rights you claim you have died a month ago,” she said grabbing Luca’s arm and leading him inside. She ignored the look of shock on his face as they walked away she knew it wouldn’t last, Nikos didn’t know how to lose.
Nikos stood there as they left surprise replacing the anger he’d felt so intensely. She hadn’t left because it was easy she’d left because of pride. He needed to reevaluate his plan of attack. Throwing Dabria in her face wasn’t going to work and it would probably drive her right into Luca’s waiting arms.
His jaw tensed when he thought of the interfering Italian. At first, he’d wanted to punish Ada for daring to leave him but now he just wanted to get her back where she belonged. Even as her signature scent tickled his nose and his mouth watered at the sight of her own, he still needed more. He didn’t just want lust from her; he wanted the warmth that he’d glimpsed in her eyes just a few weeks before.
She had been unable to hide the depth of her feelings for him when they’d first met and he’d taken advantage of her gentle and giving nature. Before she could blink he’d swept her off of her feet and into his home. Whenever he was around her she’d lit up like a summer fire always giving him what he needed in a way that brought him peace.
He wasn’t in a position to tell her why Dabria needed him to maintain the facade of his fiancé and honestly he wanted her to choose hi
m over everything else. The last month had really brought home how much power she had over him and the feeling left a bitter taste in his mouth.
He couldn’t imagine a life without her and that alone gave her the ability to hurt him. He could not have that. He remembered what it was like to be left at another person’s mercy. His mother had driven that lesson home over and over with them.
He needed her to admit her need for him outweighed everything else. He’d seen it in her eyes the same desperate hunger that lurked in his own. Once they’d established where the power was in the relationship and he had tasted her defeat he could be magnanimous and explain about Dabria.
His body grew hard as he remembered all the nights they’d shared previously, he missed his little woman. He would teach her this lesson and then put her safely back where she belonged, in his bed and well away from men like Luca Rossi.
* * *
Luca and Ada ate in silence. He knew she needed time to get over Nikos but dam he wanted her. Even with the air of sadness cloaking her she was the most fascinating woman in the room. He’d spent the last few weeks laughing at her quirky sense of humor and ridiculously soft heart. Seeing her react to Nikos had pissed him off, but he knew he had no right. She’d told him repeatedly that she wasn’t over her ex and he’d pushed to get closer anyway recognizing the jewel she was.
When she felt his eyes on her, she lifted her head and smiled apologetically her almond-shaped brown eyes crinkled.
“I’m sorry about that I thought I would be able to just ignore him at least until I was ready to talk without yelling but it seems as if that will never happen.”
“Don’t apologize, I included myself in this,” Luca said with a smile of his own. He needed to rein in his hunger and focus on playing the friend. They weren’t out of the woods, he’d expected the man to be upset that she left, not enraged. Enraged meant emotions and emotions meant problems. Just as the thought crossed his mind a shadow fell over the table and from the look on Ada’s face he knew exactly who produced it.
“Do you mind if we join you?” A woman’s voice sounded just to his right, and he turned and took in Nikos and his mysterious fiancé. She was an interesting looking woman with a strong jaw and a pretty face. Her dark brown hair was swept up into a severe-looking bun and her green eyes were wary and polite. He turned to look back at Ada whose color had fled and promptly took over.
There was no way he could tell them no without creating a scene so he just stood and scooted his chair closer to Ada and grabbed her shaking hand and brought it to his lips, the action forcing her eyes back to him and away from the couple.
“Of course you can join us, we have more than enough room for you two,” he answered his eyes on the Greek.
“I never caught your name,” Nikos said through gritted teeth seeing someone else touch Ada was something he would never get used to.
“Luca Rossi, but I’m sure you know that and this beautiful woman to my right is Ada Wright.”
“Hmmm, I’m Nikos Stravanos and this is Dabria Callis,” he said his tone icy.
“Yes, your fiancé right?” Luca felt compelled to add, wanting everything spelled out clearly for Ada.
“Something like that,” he said his dark eyes focused on Ada’s face. She looked as if she was seconds away from throwing up. She had yet to add anything to the conversation. He could tell it was taking everything she had to remain calm.
“Well, it’s nice to meet you both. Do you want me to call the waiter over?” Luca asked taking a long sip from his glass.
“I’ll get us some drinks,” Dabria whispered her body growing tense under the tension. The chemistry between Nikos and Ada nearly lit the room on fire. She didn’t want to hurt the girl any more than necessary and she knew now that whatever was between them was far from dead.
“I’ll join you,” Luca said ignoring the worried look from Ada. He needed answers about their relationship and Ada was too damaged to give them. Nikos’ eyes said he wanted to beat him to death. Surprisingly he sensed that Dabria was not in the least bit affected by the energy between Ada and Nikos, which made her a very interesting type of fiancé.
“I’ll be right back, Dolce Rosa,” he said once again taking Ada’s hand and kissing the inside of her wrist.
“Dolce Rosa?” Nikos asked through clenched teeth.
“Sweet rose,” she answered back absently. She forced her body to relax and turned to face Nikos with an overly bright smile on her face.
“I’m sorry for yelling at you earlier. What was in the past should stay in the past? I think it would be best… I would like to start over,” she said forcing the words out.
“No,” he said in an instant.
“No?” She asked frustrated that he was making this difficult.
“You want to pretend like we’re over but that’s not true.”
“You have Dabria,” she said.
“Do I? We aren’t here to talk about her, I would have explained her to you a month ago but now you will just have to trust me that our relationship has nothing to do with my engagement to her.”
“Trust you?” she said incredulously. “You have balls, Nikos I give you that. Whatever we had between us died the night I found out about her.”
“Do you want me to prove to you how much of a lie that is?” He challenged.
“Just leave me alone okay, I don’t know what type of sick game this is or why you are intent on playing with me… just let me go.”
“I tried to and I can’t. You belong with me and only me. I know this and I hate it because this need… it makes me weak, you make me weak,” he said darkly.
“Champagne,” Luca’s voice cut in before she could respond to his declaration.
“Thank you, Luca,” she said taking the drink thankful for the interruption.
He looked dashing in his fitted suit, more than one woman turned when they’d entered the room. Why couldn’t she want him instead of Nikos? She shook her head, she was sure she wasn’t the first woman to have that thought about someone who’d broken her heart.
For the first time, she turned and looked at Dabria. She was sure she would have found hatred in her eyes but all she saw was sympathy and she wondered again about the relationship between them.
“I’ve been rude. It’s very nice to meet you. Me and Nikos we used to… we were together not too long ago. I’m sorry if tonight had been weird for you,” she said remorsefully. Even though she’d been unaware of her existence, she still felt guilt eating at her conscience.
“It’s fine,” she said reaching over to put a hand over hers, “I know about the two of you and I want you to know it’s okay.” Somehow Dabria’s soft words made Ada feel worse, and she looked to Luca for help.
“Ahh, well this has been interesting for us all, but we have an early morning ahead of us. We are going to retire to our room hopefully we will see you two in the morning.” He emphasized the words our room, and a scowl appeared on Nikos’ face but something on Ada’s face must have stopped him from making whatever negative comment he was holding in because he merely looked away.
They both stood up and said their goodbyes. Ada had them stop and talk for a minute with Ashley and Michael. For just a moment she forgot her problems as she celebrated their miracle. She knew how long this had taken for them. Although Michael was Nikos friend Ashley and Ada had grown close during her battle with infertility.
When they got back to their room. Luca gave her the bathroom first and poured himself a glass of scotch. The spacious room was decorated with printed spring flowers. He smiled to himself as he recalled how excited Ada was when she saw the room. This weekend would be difficult but worth it. Soon they would be back in Chicago and Ada would officially be done with Nikos.
Ada slipped off her dress and took out the pins in her hair. Her mind on the conversation with Nikos. He seemed to believe that his relationship with Dabria didn’t matter. How could he be so stupid? He’d broken the only promise she’d wanted from him a
nd acted as if she had somehow destroyed them.
She didn’t step into the shower until it was piping hot; she wanted to wash the day away. She’d known this wouldn’t be easy but actually speaking to Dabria had nearly been her undoing. She needed to hate Nikos so that she could cloak that rage around her, but she’d missed him so much this last month.
As the water ran through her curly hair, she made a promise to herself. She would stay well away from Nikos Stravanos. As stupid as it was she could still feel the pull between them. She wished she was different; and that she was strong enough to just cut off an emotion but she knew herself well.
Her plan of action needed to be simple and straightforward… avoid Nikos at all cost. She let the water run over her body and blanked her mind. She could hear soft music playing in the living room and smiled.
Luca was a different kind of man, she wondered how he’d found such patience with her. She could sense how much he wanted her and yet he restrained himself, something Nikos had never been capable of. She shook her head it was time to let go of comparing everyone to him. He was no longer hers and she needed to remember that.
* * *
Nikos reclined on the bed with his hands behind his head. His mind filled with memories of Ada. It was hard for him to admit but the last two years had been the best of his life. Once he’d seen her face, he knew she was still within his grasp. He would bet his fortune she was keeping her distance from the Italian.
Knowing she was just a few doors down sharing a suite with Luca was almost more than he could stand. But he couldn’t make a scene. Michael had already warned him that Ashley didn’t need the upset.
Ada had filled his sterile world with warmth and laughter. Her body had provided him with comfort he could find nowhere else. It surprised him that she thought he would just let her walk away. Marriage wasn’t the only thing that could hold them together. Why couldn’t she see that?