THE SECOND THEY stepped off the private jet in New York, Eleanora smelled fall. It was the most beautiful season as far as she was concerned. The temperatures were mild, leaves turned from green to red and gold, then floated away in the November breezes, and the air smelled fresh and invigorating.
They entered the limo, and the driver took off without instruction. Marco usually texted his plans, so it didn’t surprise her that he didn’t tell his driver to take her to the Grand York before he took Marco to his penthouse.
She got comfortable on the seat, relaxing. The long plane ride had made her sleepy. Still on Italian time, her body believed it was almost seven o’clock at night. In Manhattan it was one in the afternoon. She knew she should stay up another nine hours to adjust to the time change, but a wave of tiredness swept over her. She’d read about the first trimester need to sleep and suspected that was kicking in.
Taking advantage of the short pause, she closed her eyes as Marco fiddled with his phone. She must have fallen asleep because it seemed like seconds before he was waking her.
“We’re here.”
She forced her eyes open. “Okay.”
She exited the limo, expecting to be in the heart of the city, but the sidewalk was almost empty, the area quiet. As she glanced around, realizing they weren’t at the Grand York, a doorman hustled out of the big white brick building.
He touched the rim of his cap. “Afternoon, ma’am.” Grabbing the handle of her suitcase, then Marco’s, he hurried inside.
“We’re at your house?”
He shrugged. “We want privacy to figure this out, don’t we?”
Still groggy from her nap, she thought it through. “Yeah. I guess.”
“I know,” he said, putting his hand on the small of her back to direct her into the lobby.
Walking through the ultramodern space with black metal light fixtures hanging from the high ceiling, simple red sofas flanked by glass tables and shiny marble floors, she wondered if Marco didn’t have an ulterior motive in keeping her with him.
They’d barely spoken on the plane as each used their laptops to work through the seven-hour flight. But she knew the scare that had sent her to the hospital the night before had caused him to be overly protective. And it looked like he hadn’t gotten over it.
They stepped into the private elevator and rode nonstop to the top floor, the penthouse. The doors opened on a floor plan that housed a kitchen, dining area and a living room with a wide-screen television over a stacked stone fireplace. In the far corner was a game area with pool and foosball tables, a dartboard on the wall and a wet bar.
Like the building lobby, all the furniture was sleek, black and white with chrome trim and legs on the tables. Beyond that was a floor-to-ceiling window with a view of Manhattan that almost made her head spin.
The place was gorgeous. Pristine. It was so different from his former condo, the one he’d bought before he was promoted into upper echelon management. That one had been comfy. This one dripped with wealth and privilege. It was so pretty she worried about sitting on the chairs.
The realization of how different they were rippled through her. They might have begun as what felt like equals when they’d met because of their fathers’ friendship, but while her father had finished out his career and retired comfortably, Marco’s dad had gone on to build an empire. She was simply an employee of that empire. Someday Marco and his sister would inherit everything that Marco and their father had built.
Two orange cats raced in from a long corridor that she assumed led to bedrooms. They wound themselves around Marco’s ankles.
He stooped down to pet them. “Hey, dudes!”
“Hey, dudes?” She peered at him. “You have cats?”
“Eleanora, meet Sunrise and Sunset.”
Still confused, she made a face at him. “You named your cats Sunrise and Sunset?”
“Well, look at them.” He nudged his chin in the direction of the orange tabbies as he petted them. “Aren’t they the color of a sunrise or a sunset?”
She frowned. “In what part of the world?”
“The Taj Mahal? The Isle of Skye in Scotland?”
As he easily recited places where he’d seen the sun rise and set, the uncomfortable feeling rolled through her again. He’d passed her career-wise and financially. While some people might say that shouldn’t affect their friendship, how could it not? She traveled, but not like he could and obviously did. She could never afford a penthouse in a building like this with a doorman.
He laughed as he rose. “We’ve got to work on getting you to relax.” He headed for the kitchen. “But right now, everybody gets a treat.”
He ambled toward the cabinets. The cats gracefully trotted behind him. Two gorgeous tabbies with sleek fur and fluffy tails, they were probably the prettiest cats she’d ever seen.
He retrieved a bag from one of the white cabinets and she noticed the pearly gray backsplash that pulled gray tones from the marble countertops.
Using both hands, he set two piles of bite-sized treats on the floor, a small stack for each cat, spaced an arm’s distance apart.
He glanced up at Eleanora. “To avoid fighting.”
She laughed. “Seriously?”
“Have you never owned a cat?”
“I personally haven’t. No.”
“Did you parents have a cat?”
She shook her head.
He rose from his stooped position by the cats. “So much to teach you.”
He sounded like the Marco she knew, but though he was teasing, that strange feeling tumbled through her again. Except this time, it wasn’t about how different Marco was. This time, being in his penthouse mixed with his sudden desire to get back to New York, and she wondered if he didn’t have plans he wasn’t sharing.
Testing that theory, she carefully said, “I’m only going to be here a few days. No need to get all fussy about teaching me.”
As the elevator door opened again and the doorman entered with their luggage, Marco said, “It’s optimistic to think we only need a few days. We could spend a month figuring out everything we have to discuss.”
A month?
Marco faced the doorman. “Good afternoon, Arnie.”
“Afternoon, sir.” Arnie rolled their luggage a few feet in front of the elevator, tipped his hat and was gone in seconds.
Eleanora felt like a deer in the headlights, as Marco easily, happily directed her down the hall.
“This is your room,” he said, opening the door onto a lovely, spa-like space. Pale brown wood floors were protected by a huge handwoven white area rug. A dove-gray bedspread accented the multi-wood headboard. Lamps with drum shades and aqua bases matched the aqua and white drapes. A coral-colored pillow gave it a pop of whimsy.
She pulled her suitcase inside. Mixed feelings or not, she loved this space. “This room is lovely!”
“Thank you. But I can’t take any credit. I hired a decorator.”
Of course he had. Her weird feelings returned as another piece of the Marco she knew fell away.
He took a step to the right and opened a door with a light tap. “Your bathroom.”
She smiled and nodded at the aqua, white and gray bathroom. Stunning and spa-like, it was nothing like what the old Marco had in his former condo.
“Now, let’s both change into something comfortable because I’m guessing Sunrise and Sunset want a walk.”
She snapped out of her worry that something more was going on here and peeked at him. “A walk? You walk your cats?”
“Yeah. They love a good walk. I’m sure the pet sitter took them out this morning, but I’m also guessing they missed me. And after all those hours of sitting on the flight and the drive here, I wouldn’t mind stretching my legs. I’m sure you could use a walk too.” He headed for the door but turned back again. “Jeans are good.”
He left and she opened her suitcase. She pulled out her favorite jeans and it hit her again that soon she wouldn’t be able to wear any of the clothes she loved—
The craziness of her situation froze her.
She was in New York instead of Rome.
She’d soon swell up and pee when she laughed.
Because she and someone she considered her best friend were going to have a baby together.
And Marco was Marco but not the same.
She’d thought her life had changed when she read the pregnancy test. But this right here? Being swept off to New York? Seeing differences in Marco? Walking cats? Her world felt like it had flipped upside down. She’d thought Marco would accept the fact that she was pregnant, but distance himself. She kind of pictured herself going through pregnancy alone.
And childbirth.
And raising their son or daughter with only sporadic visits from Marco—who, let’s face it, was extremely busy with his job.
But he’d flown her to New York, slid her into his house and soon would have her walking his cats with him—technically sucking her into his world.
She slipped into her jeans. The truth she’d been avoiding couldn’t be ignored anymore. No matter how much her inner planner wished it, this situation wasn’t going to be easy. It was going to get complicated. Because Marco was a more obsessive planner than she was. Worse, he was also accustomed to getting his own way.
She had to stop him before he made radical plans like move her to New York—
As her boss, he could take away the managership of the Grand York Rome and put her in the corporate office!
No.
She had to get control of this now. They had to start talking now. The longer she waited the more she risked that he would decide to keep her in New York.
What better time to start the discussions than while he was unwinding walking his cats?
Thinking of walking cats made her laugh and shake her head. But, hey. If he wanted to walk his cats? Fine. No matter how silly, it was an opportunity to get the ball rolling on the discussions they had to have.
Though sunny, it was a chilly November afternoon. She pulled a thick sweater over her T-shirt and grabbed her sunglasses from her purse. Returning to the front room, she found Marco and Sunrise and Sunset waiting for her by the elevator. While the cats were decked out in harnesses attached to leashes, he wore jeans and a fisherman’s knit sweater. Ordinary clothes. But on him? Wow.
She swallowed hard. Keeping control of her life was reason number one to immediately begin the discussions they needed to have about their baby. But the attraction she felt to him was reason number two. He was so damned good-looking and so physically fit. She needed to get the hell back to Rome so she could stop going breathless when doing ordinary things like seeing him in a sweater and nice-fitting jeans.
Especially since he didn’t seem to be fighting the same attraction to her.
When they reached the quiet street, she said the first thing that came to mind. “I thought you’d be a dog person?”
He laughed as Sunrise and Sunset trotted along in front of them. They didn’t sniff like dogs or pause for potty breaks. It almost seemed the two tabbies were people watching.
“No. I’m a cat person. My mom had a German Shepherd that drove me crazy. Though I like a pet, I went for a simpler animal. Cats aren’t as needy.”
She laughed. “Yet you walk your cats. I think you liked some stuff about owning a dog.”
“I guess.”
“So—” She gave him a second to glance at her. “Where do we start?”
“Where do we start about what?”
“We need to discuss the elephant in the room.”
“There are so many elephants in our room, I’m not sure which one you’re talking about.”
She almost suggested they start their baby discussions with his thoughts on visitation but realized that was something a couple worked up to. She considered asking how he thought raising a child together would work when she lived on one continent and he lived on another, but that took them right back to visitation and she’d already nixed that.
Besides, the most obvious elephant in their room was their living arrangements. She and Marco weren’t people who played games. They discussed things openly. But he hadn’t mentioned bringing her to his penthouse.
“Okay, let’s start with this. Why did you bring me to your house instead of letting me stay at the hotel?”
He didn’t even hesitate. “I told you. Privacy.”
A few snowflakes fluttered around them. Given the cold, Eleanora wasn’t surprised. But she wished she’d brought a jacket. Her thick sweater might be warm but the early November sun was deceptive.
“Not only will we have more time to talk things out, but also there’s no worry about anyone overhearing.”
“But I have work—”
“Which you can do from the penthouse.” A look of comprehension suddenly lit his face. “You want time away from me.” He shook his head. “That’s easily handled. I can set you up in the corporate office.”
She blinked. Giving her a place in the corporate office was the first step to installing her there permanently. She’d walked right into that! But she could also fix it.
“With virtual meetings and video calling I can work from the penthouse, thanks. I’m just surprised you think it’s going to take us so long to make our decisions.”
He cut her a look. “I’m surprised you don’t.”
The wind picked up. The snowflakes grew in number. She shivered.
“Come on. Let’s get you back.” Shifting the leashes to his right hand, he slid his left arm across her shoulders and nestled her against his side to warm her.
The sweetness of the gesture and soft tone of his voice shot her back to their night together. Making love had been so simple, so effortless for them that she had been sure they’d started something. With his arm around her, she wished they had. She wished she could snuggle against his warm fisherman’s sweater, wished they’d go back to his apartment and set a fire in the beautiful fireplace and make love in front of it.
Maybe rebelling against staying at his penthouse was wrong? Their night together had been so wonderful that spending more time together might be what they needed. Laughing, talking things out, might get him past his doubts and regrets. Living together might show him what she’d felt the night they’d made love. That they were made for each other.
She shook her head to clear it.
Really? Was that actually what she believed? Or was she wishful thinking?
They’d had their shot at shifting from friends to lovers and he hadn’t wanted it. She must have been a letdown as a lover for him to stay away from her as he had the week after the grand opening, and then to succinctly tell her that what they’d started wouldn’t go on.
Not couldn’t go on—as if there was a choice. Wouldn’t go on—as if he’d made an irrevocable decision.
Bringing her to New York, being concerned about her, even drawing her to his side to keep her warm, was only for their baby.
Marco’s voice broke into her thoughts. “The decisions we have to make are about more than child support, custody or even visitation. Right now, those might seem like the most important things. But they aren’t. We are about to raise a child. There are so many things about childrearing that we don’t know. I’ve never envisioned being a father so I’m starting at square one. You were raised by normal parents. You might be okay. But my dad was always working—traveling to look for new spots to expand. When I got old enough, he gave me little jobs at the hotel—but I felt like I had to grow up from that day on. Then my mom got sick, and our family totally changed. I’ve never envisioned being a father, so all this is new to me. I’m sure I have a boatload of wrong beliefs about raising kids.”
“I’m sure you do.” She knew that because she’d watched him grow up. The differences in their worlds and their ways of thinking were beginning to show up now, proving his fears about raising a child together weren’t unfounded. Worse, those differences also pointed out that they did not belong together. There’d be no more daydreaming or wishful thinking. She couldn’t afford the risk. Not when her child’s future was at stake. And her friendship with Marco. If their discussions brought out disagreements that turned into fights, their friendship could be over.
She tried to imagine her life without Marco. Without his wit and wisdom. His charm. The way he listened when she talked. The way he pushed her to be her best.
The emptiness that shuddered through her soul was almost unbearable.
He might not want her as a lover, but they were good friends. They shared history and experiences.
She did not want to lose him.
Before they made it back to Marco’s building, the snowflakes had all but disappeared and the sun came out from behind a cloud, warming the air a bit. Eleanora slid herself out from under his arm and shifted away from him.
He wasn’t sure if he should be happy or disappointed. The strangest feeling had risen when he’d put his arm around her, a click of rightness that he’d first thought related to their friendship. But he’d realized the only other time he’d felt it was at the grand opening celebration. That click caused him to open a door that he should have left closed. He allowed the feeling to take him back to that night and everything he’d felt. The breathless anticipation as he’d undressed her. The bliss of feeling her skin brush his. The thunderbolts of need when they’d kissed.
It was insanity to let himself remember and she’d reminded him of that when she’d shifted away as soon as the sun provided a wisp of warmth.
Because they were friends who’d made a mistake when they’d crossed the line and slept together.
Arnie greeted them as they walked Sunrise and Sunset to the elevator. Neither said a word on the ride up to the penthouse.
After removing the cat harnesses, he suggested a fire. She’d shrugged and said she wanted to shower before dinner. Suddenly he was alone with the cats, who sat in front of him like sentries, poised in anticipation.
“Red light?” he asked.
They perked up. He found the laser light in a drawer and watched them run around chasing it.
This was his life. A single guy with the best job in the world who was making his family wealthy. He had cats for company because dogs were more work. And he dated. He had relationships. He simply would never marry, never commit long term. Not just because relationships ended. Because he was too busy.
More than that, he was happy. He’d chosen this life. Circumstances in his past had informed that decision. The loss of his mom. Needing to help his dad take the business to the next level. But most people didn’t get opportunities like his. He would never forget that.
His brain whispered that sleeping with Eleanora had been an opportunity too. But he shut it down. Eleanora was a woman who believed in happily-ever-after. She’d never find it with a guy more committed to his family’s business than her. She wanted moonlight walks and kisses in the rain. He was not that guy.
What might have been an interesting opportunity for him was a dead end for her.
He liked her too much to forget that.