“Why are you looking at me like that?”
William took a deep breath and hoped his next question would not be answered the way he feared it would. “Are you upset that this happened? About the potential consequences?” He was holding his breath. When she remained quiet, William looked over and saw Jillian was smiling. He raised a brow.
“Absolutely not. I came here voluntarily. It was my own choice.” She gave a contented yawn and snuggled in for another minute. Then it was the crash back to reality. “I do have to get back, however, before he comes home or the house begins to wake.” Jillian gracefully rolled out of bed, dressed quickly, and with one last tender kiss, vanished from his room, as if she really was a ghost.
~ ~ ~
Melissa looked around her empty room and couldn’t quite believe she was really leaving. After twenty-nine years, it was odd to see the room vacant. There were discolored areas of the wall where her artwork had been. Her footsteps echoed in the closet. Melissa wished she felt some type of sadness for leaving or at least a sadness for wanting to leave. But it wasn’t there. The fact that her jet wouldn’t be ready for another three hours slightly annoyed her. Melissa just wanted to be away already.
It had been a week since the debacle with Christian. He hadn’t spoken to her and when Conner had come home furious from the office saying that Christian had threatened to quit, in the midst of putting the company back together, she knew they would never talk again. Conner had burst into the library where Melissa was picking out her favorite titles to take with her, red-faced and demanding.
“What on earth happened, Melissa? Christian walks into my office with a look of murder on his face and says he’s done with Yards forever, both company and individuals, and walks out. Explain something before I lose my control.”
“You want to know what’s going on? Fine. For the past few years, Christian and I have been involved in a wonderfully enticing flirtation. A little sideline passion that did nothing but give us each a little tingle. Two things happened. At some point I fell in love with him, terrible mistake, apparently, number one, and number two, my world imploded and our father and sister died. During my world imploding, Christian realize that he loved me as well. So we began sleeping together. I’m getting ahead of myself. We began sleeping together and then realized we were in love. And in complete shock to me, Christian morphed into our mother. He immediately began demanding we get married and that I give up my plans to work and we’ll have a bunch of kids and that would be our life. He was actually stunned that I said no.” Melissa was so filled with righteous indignation that she walked over and sat on the library’s big leather couch, taking a breath before finishing her story. Conner kept his mouth shut, knowing that if he interrupted her, he’d just get yelled at.
“Our mother finds out and plots and schemes behind my back with Christian. She convinces him that I was just surprised and that I need all the trimmings to make it all work so they make a reservation at a fancy restaurant and they went ring shopping. I knew as soon as I saw the limo at the curb the night was going to be a disaster.
“We’re dancing under the stars and he gets down on one knee and produces a ring. He was again stunned I said no. Christian becomes furious and leaves me alone in the restaurant, to get myself home. It was humiliating. So the limo drops me off and mother is waiting in the foyer ready to pounce. Just try to picture her face when she sees my naked finger and impossibly sad eyes. More yelling. We stalk off in different directions. I leave for the rest of the night because just the thought of her coming back to say one more thing to me had my back twitching. I’m sorry he left the company. No one handled any part of the whole situation properly. I hope he comes back quickly.”
Melissa braced for the onslaught of angry words that she was sure were to pour out of her brother but was shocked when he walked over and hugged her.
Lost in the midst of her memory, Melissa had unconsciously wrapped her arms around herself, thinking of that hug. She hadn’t expected such a show of affection after the bombshell the lawyer had dropped on all of them. Melissa shook herself and tried desperately to bring her mood up. She had been preparing all her life for this moment. To be free to be her own person away from everything that was familiar. The feeling of true sadness was not something she wanted to feel.
~ ~ ~
James stumbled into his grand house wondering what would be awaiting him. His peaceful, subdued wife had yelled in his face. James was only trying to protect her. Apparently showing concern was not appealing to Jillian.
James had driven to his club, sat in the circle of his friends and poured out his lament. They, in turn, had poured whiskey down his throat. Dawn was breaking over the hills as they hoisted him into his carriage and sent him home. With bleary eyes, James was aiming toward the stairs, and managed to gracefully fall flat on his face. He grunted and less gracefully gained his feet. To see Jillian standing on the stair above him.
“Well, this is how you handle disagreements, I see. I so appreciated how you left when I showed that I have feelings about something. You smell like a saloon. I’ll have someone run you a bath. Maybe that will help the stench.” Jillian swept past her husband, barely resisting sending James flat onto his face again.
Hours later, feeling almost human again, James entered the library looking for Jillian. She was curled in a window seat, a book on her lap, her gaze focused on some unknown point in the distance. James cleared his throat. Jillian looked over, raised an eyebrow, waiting for her husband’s explanation.
“I want to apologize for yesterday. Not only the things that were said, but the fact that I left, rudely, and stayed out all night. It was inappropriate of me.”
Jillian nodded and rose. Placing the book back in its slot, she faced James and stood her ground.
In spite of her activities in the night, Jillian had been in immoral war with herself. Her stance in life was that of being honorable in all things. It was how she was raised, getting the example from her own moral mother. Jillian couldn’t escape the feeling of being dirty. She wasn’t directly involved in what her husband had done, but by association she was just as guilty. Jillian wanted honesty from the person responsible and would not rest until it was given.
“I appreciate the apology for your behavior. I will apologize for how I spoke to you. I am not going to apologize for what I spoke of. I am also not going to let this go. I demand to know what is going on. Are we planted on this land by wicked means? Are we starting our family by destroying someone else’s?”
James could feel the whiskey headache pounding in his skull. He wanted his quiet, dignified wife back. “What good is going to come from you knowing about the things I’ve done? I did them for us. For what we are going to build together. I am looking at a huge picture. Can you look with me?”
Jillian felt tears sting the back of her eyes. He was asking her to overlook what he had done to build an empire. The question Jillian was warring with was, could she overlook the transgression that kept her awake at night?
Chapter 11
A light rap on the door had Melissa turning around. Anna stood in the door way, her eyes red rimmed and her face blotchy with bright red patches. Melissa was astonished to see her mother look so unkempt.
“I didn’t think I was going to see you before I left.” Melissa saw the hurt pass over Anna’s face. “I didn’t say that to hurt you. I was just being honest. You’ve done everything in your power to stop this from happening.”
“Why wouldn’t I try to stop you from leaving? I’ve already lost my husband and my other daughter. Now you’re ripping yourself away from me as fast as you can. I’m essentially going to be alone now. Conner will want his own place now that he has the company. I was so sure I’d have you and your husband and your children to keep me company for the rest of my life. I won’t even have that now.” A tear trickled slowly down Anna’
s face before she dashed it away. Melissa felt as if her heart was being wrenched in two.
“I would like to point out that I am twenty-nine years old. I am not ripping myself away from you. This has been a long time coming. And it kills me to say this, but never say never, Mom. It won’t be happening anytime soon, but you said to me once that forever is a long time. You’re right. I have come to the conclusion that I do not want to spend forever alone. I don’t want a big society wedding. But I do eventually want a husband. Let that keep you company for now.”
Anna nodded and turned to leave the room.
“I shipped my car already.”
Anna turned back, a look of puzzlement on her face.
“Even though the house in Italy has two cars, I wanted the one Dad gave me there as well. Will you drive me to the airport?”
Anna smiled and crossed over to give Melissa the first of many goodbye hugs.
~ ~ ~
Melissa looked up at the plane. It stood gleaming, ready to take her to her future. Conner and Anna stood looking at Melissa and Liz as their travel bags were loaded near their seats. Anna and Liz were in discussion about how to best handle the terrible jetlag when the group was disturbed by the squeal of tires on tarmac. Four heads turned. Melissa was surprised to see Joshua’s hotrod come to an abrupt halt. She looked guiltily around the group as three pairs of eyes turned questioning expressions her way. Melissa sighed.
“Why don’t you guys give me a minute?” Melissa could see the look of desperate interest on each of her loved ones faces. She ignored the inquiries coming from their eyes and walked to a furious-looking Joshua. Melissa had a feeling she was going to need a lot more than one minute.
“It seriously seemed like a good idea to get on a plane and leave without saying goodbye?”
Melissa pulled Joshua farther out of eavesdropping range and met his rage head on. She answered his question with a question of her own.
“What is your first thought now that you know I’m really leaving?”
Joshua stared at Melissa so long she was afraid he wasn’t going to answer.
“My first thought is to come up with any reason to make you stay.” He saw by her immediate change of expression it was the exact wrong thing to say. Joshua held up a hand. “My replacement thought would be to make sure that you know I am here for you and that I’m strong enough to wait for you.”
Melissa narrowed her eyes in suspicion. “So you’re saying, if I come back in a year, wildly successful, you’ll still be here waiting for me?”
Joshua smirked and shook his head a little. “If you become wildly successful with a brand-new company takeover in twelve months, I’ll come out to Italy and be with you.” It was Melissa’s turn to smirk.
“Was that a challenge?”
Joshua realized the gauntlet he had thrown down and did nothing to dissuade her. “My mother asked me to bring you back for dinner.”
Melissa suddenly became wistful. Joshua’s family had enchanted her. Their loud and crazy conversations had, unbeknownst to Melissa, changed her views on family and what she really wanted for that part of the future.
“Tell her I plan on coming back as soon as I possibly can.”
Joshua nodded and smiled. He knew that if she boarded that plane, he might lose her forever, but he didn’t want to pressure Melissa into any commitment and risk scaring her.
Joshua sighed and pulled Melissa into his arms. She wrapped her arms around his neck and held on with all her might. They pulled apart and without a care for the onlookers, Melissa laid her lips against Joshua’s. He stood still for a moment, as if in pain. Then he wrapped his arms around her. One hand fisting in her hair, the other in her jacket. They poured their hearts into the kiss, each realizing what they were being too stubborn to hold on to.
Melissa pulled back and coughed to clear the tears from her throat. She smiled and nodded, stepping back.
“I’ll make sure the spare bedroom in my wing is all set up for when you come to live with me. Yards by Yard is going to be so successful you’re going to see my label everywhere.”
Melissa walked back to her family and with a last round of hugs and kisses, boarded the plane. She sat in the other huge cream-colored passenger seat and belted in. She looked over at Liz and felt something akin to panic rising in her chest.
“You’re holding yourself together amazingly well. If I was saying goodbye to the love of my life for what could be a possibly permanent basis, I’d be a big puddle of blubbering sad female.” Liz didn’t even finish her sentence. As the plane lifted off, Melissa let out a wail and sank from her seat to the floor. Liz gathered Melissa into her arms and rocked her friend as Melissa wept out her mangled heart.
PART TWO:
ITALY
Chapter 12
Melissa heard the last box hit the kitchen floor and swore she felt her very soul settle. Three days of craziness had brought her stress level to dangerous heights. Getting all of their belongings through customs and fighting with the movers so their boxes and furniture didn’t end on the curb was enough to make anyone want to find the closest café with lots of wine.
Melissa sank down next to the box she had dropped and looked around the room. The walls were a soft Tuscan yellow and with dark wood glass-front cabinets filled with blue dishes. It was exactly how she had always pictured her own kitchen. Light, airy, and full of color. Without knowing what was causing it, Melissa felt a smile spread across her face. She looked over at Liz with the dopey grin. Liz set her box down and stood hip-shot.
“That’s a look I haven’t seen in a long time.” Liz walked over and slid to the floor next to Melissa.
“This was so completely the right decision. Look at our kitchen. I can’t wait to cook in here.” Melissa felt Liz nod and both women sighed in contentment.
“Okay, back to reality. We have nine million boxes to unpack.”
Liz and Melissa hauled themselves up from the floor but instead of opening boxes, they walked out onto the balcony and watched Milan race from day to night. Liz took Melissa’s hand and dragged her back in the house. Grace was placing silverware into a drawer. She looked at Liz and subtly glanced over her shoulder at the phone sitting on the counter. Liz walked over and picked it up.
“Do we really need to hook that up?” Melissa was dreading the phone calls that would be pouring in the minute the number Grace had left was up and running. Her mother’s voice pleading with her to come home, get married, and give her grandchildren. Her brother demanding she stop trying to ruin “his” company and to come home and deal with their whiney mother. And the utter silence from the one person she did want to call would drive her completely crazy.
“I can practically hear the crunching noises of your brain working. Let’s see how well I know you. When your mother calls, and I do mean when because that woman does not let things go, we will check the caller ID, which will ensure we do not answer the phone. Conner can go jump off his corporate tower because this is your, you hear me, Lissa, your company now and he can’t tell you how to run it. As for Joshua, he will call Melissa. Did you see his eyes when you turned and walked toward the plane? I did. Complete devastation.”
Melissa nodded but still had an expression of skepticism on her face. Liz was about to argue but Grace shook her head. Grace knew Melissa was past the point of listening.
“I just don’t understand why he couldn’t understand why this was so important for me. I asked him on the tarmac. I asked him what his first instinctual reaction was to me leaving. His answer was to come up with a reason to make me stay. Why couldn’t he have the faith or acceptance to let me go and know I would come back to him?”
Grace and Liz shared a look.
“Did you try saying any of that to him?”
“Well, of course not.” Melissa rolled her eyes. “That w
ould have been the easy sensible conversation to have. Instead we had sadness and total non-comprehensible conversations about how we were not feeling.”
Liz laughed and Grace threw her hands up and walked from the room.
“He’ll come to it on his own terms, Lissa. He’s a guy. They are predisposed to not understand how the female brain works. This is not what we need to be worrying about right now. What we need to worry about is what are we going to do on the first night in our new city?”
Melissa and Liz grinned at each other and raced to their respective wings, each rifling through boxes to find the perfect party outfit.
~ ~ ~
After a few days of setting up the house and making sure the company was as ready for her wild ideas as she could, Melissa walked into the headquarters of Yards by Yards. She had on her best power suit and a fresh new pair of designer heels. No one but security knew who she was. They stared at her in the elevator and wondered what she was doing there, the American.
When the elevator doors slid open on the top floor, Melissa saw a bright-eyed, pen-always-at-the-ready assistant standing at attention by her office door.
“Hi, I’m Lynn. I am SO thrilled to be your assistant. I cannot wait to hear about all the changes happening around here. Can I get you anything?”
Melissa chuckled at the girl’s jovialness. She handed over her travel mug with a nod. “I’d appreciate some tea. No milk with four sugars. Then I’d like a tour of the whole building, top to bottom. I’d like a list of all the other property we own, as well. I have one but I don’t think it’s complete. After my tour I’d like face-to-face meetings with . . . everyone.” Melissa strode away, leaving Lynn to her duties.
Heartbeat Echoes Page 17