“SHE dotted her i with a heart,” Zander said through a haze of tears. He wasn’t one to cry, ever. But in front of Pippa, he allowed himself this indulgence.
“Awww, Z, I don’t know what to say,” Pippa said. “I feel so bad. It all seemed to be working out so well. Maybe she’ll have a change of heart.”
Zander shook his head. “Doubt it. That one is a wildcat, and like any feral animal, they get scared and run far to get to safer grounds. I can’t see her changing her mind.” He frowned. For once, he’d opened his heart again, and look what it got him.
Pippa went into the room in which Andi had slept and returned with a garment bag.
“She left this behind,” she said. “Maybe you can return it? Or give it to Isabella?”
Zander waved it away. “Keep it, Pips. It’ll look great on you.”
“Ha!” she said. “Are you kidding? This is a dress for a woman with a great rack. My boobs are way too small for this thing. People would laugh. Or hold a contest tossing coins down the cleavage of it.”
Zander playfully hit his friend over the head. “Stop it. You’ve got a perfectly fine rack. Not that I’m looking. Though I am a guy, so how could I not. But seriously...”
“Keep it, Z,” she said. “You never know if maybe she’ll change her mind.”
Zander heaved a sad and heavy sigh.
“Whatever,” he said, wiping his eyes with his sleeve.
~*~
Zander had been moping around for days, completely out of sorts.
“Darling, why don’t you track down Lorenzo,” his mother said. “Perhaps you and he can go out on the town.”
Zander laughed a half laugh.
“I should get out my phone and record this for posterity,” he said. “You, my mother, who has tried desperately to keep me from going out with anyone lest I land in hot water, are encouraging me to hit the town.”
“I didn’t say you needed to get arrested, Zander. Only that it might be a good distraction for you to get out with a friend or two and have some fun.”
Zander shrugged, completely ambivalent. “Is this on order of the queen?”
His mother scruffed his hair lovingly. “If that’s what will get you out of your blue funk, then yes.”
~*~
Zander and Lorenzo had started with aperitivo at a restaurant on the waterfront in Porto Castello, at a place frequented by many young adults. Beautiful women milled about, many insinuating themselves into conversations nearby with the hope of attracting Zander’s attention. Little did they know, Zander’s notorious wandering eye had already become a thing of the past.
The two men sat at a table on a terrace that jutted out over the water, near a marina in which sat a historic tall ship from hundreds of years ago. Sailboats bobbed in the distance in the azure waters. It was a beautiful scene, but Zander could not have cared less.
“Basta!” Lorenzo said, slashing his hand through the air. “Enough already! This moping around is ridiculous! You act is if someone just ran over your dog with a truck.”
“I might be happier then.”
Lorenzo frowned. “My God. I never thought this day would come. His Royal Highness Prince Alexander, Duke of Garibaldi, Prince Charming himself, the very epitome of the untamed bachelor, is whipped.”
Zander glared at him. “I’m not whipped. That would suggest there is someone doing the whipping.”
Lorenzo. “Ahhh... It matters not whether she has a direct hand in it. It’s all up here,” he said, pointing to his head. “La testa. The head. Thoughts of this woman have permeated your mind, and now, alas, it is hopeless.”
“Hopeless, indeed,” he said. “Considering she’s gone and never coming back. My life scared her away.”
“It is only hopeless if you abandon hope,” Lorenzo said. “But as long as you have been hooked by her, there’s a chance she’ll come back. You never know.”
Two stunning, statuesque women sauntered by and asked if they could join them. Not wanting to be rude, Zander motioned halfheartedly for them to take a seat.
“Grazie,” the tall blonde of the two said.
Zander was shocked at his own ambivalence toward this beautiful woman with blue eyes clear as glass. Normally he’d have started working his charms on her, but he couldn’t muster up the give-a-care. Besides, her blue eyes only served to remind him of Andi’s, which were far more mesmerizing.
“You come here often?” her friend the redhead asked. They all laughed, knowing it was the worst of clichéd pick-up lines.
“Can I offer you a drink?” Lorenzo said, filling Zander’s void. He flagged a waiter down and ordered two Aperol spritzes. “Are you ladies from here?”
“No, said the blonde. “We’re visiting for a few days. And you?”
Zander refrained from rolling his eyes. If they didn’t know who he was, they must have arrived direct from underneath a very large rock.
“No, no,” he said. “We are from Rome. Only here visiting my mother.” He gave Lorenzo a wink.
The two women looked at each other and knit their brows, confused.
“Oh?” Blondie said.
Clearly neither of them knew how to ask if Zander was indeed Zander without looking a bit like gold-digging fools.
“Yes, just stepped out for a drink, but meeting friends for dinner in a minute,” he added.
The two women thanked them for the drink and got up and left the table.
Lorenzo sighed. “There is an old Italian saying: it takes but one hair from a woman’s pussy to sink a flotilla. It seems your ship, my friend, has been sunk.” He raised his glass and clinked it to Zander’s. “Here’s to my fallen comrade. It happens to the best of us. Cin cin.”
~*~
Zander feigned exhaustion and made an early night of it. When he returned to his palace apartment, he saw that he’d gotten a text message from Andi’s mother.
Hey there, Alexander. It’s me, Peggy.
Zander of course knew that already.
Wondering if you’ve had any contact lately with my daughter. She seems to have gone incommunicado.
Zander thought back to the contact he’d had with Andi but was pretty sure that was too much information for Peggy.
You mean with Andi?
He knew playing coy wouldn’t work, but he wasn’t quite sure how much to enlighten her with.
You know, my daughter. Andrea? Pretty girl, long blond hair. You found her phone a while back? For that matter, I believe you hastened her off to a romantic holiday. Which, by the way, I’ve yet to hear about.
I was just kidding, Peggy. How could I ever forget who Andi is? And how she tasted and how she felt and how perfect it was to be spooned naked against her from behind. And we had an amazing time. I thought we’d grown rather fond of each other. To be truthful, I have a lot of feelings for your daughter.
I knew you two would get along well! So then surely you have plans to see each again? It’s not like Andi to stay out of touch like this. And I thought you’d be the one who’s most up to date on her comings and goings. The only other thing she’d mentioned was that she was spending some time at her friend Pippa’s in Monaforte. If I’m not mistaken, that’s your country, isn’t it?
Zander laughed. It wasn’t often someone asked him where he was from. Usually they already knew that information.
You hit the nail on the head. Monaforte is my country, he wrote. I wish I had more information for you. Andi and I had an amazing time together. I think we hit it off, well, royally. But then she decided to go back to Africa, from what I was told. Maybe that’s why you haven’t heard anything?
Africa? I had no idea she was planning to return there. Any idea why?
Because I scared her off?
Maybe she was getting tired of Europe?
It’s just not like her to not let me know when she’s about to travel again.
Perhaps she left in a hurry and couldn’t contact you in time. I’m sure once she settles in and gets a new SIM card for her phone you’ll hear from her.
It just makes no sense. The two of you had a great time together. You like her, she likes you. And then suddenly she runs back to Africa. Why would she do that?
Zander sighed. Of course he liked her. Probably more than was good for him. After all, what wasn’t there to like about Andi? Except her propensity to run away, it seemed.
I’m afraid you’ll need to ask your daughter that question. And in the unlikely event that I do hear from her, I’ll be sure to tell her to you’d like to speak with her. Oh, and if she does contact you, please tell her I’ve been thinking about her. A lot.
Zander set his phone down and pursed his lips in thought. If he couldn’t get to Andi directly, perhaps some gently placed words from her mother might help.
Maybe there was more than one way to skin a cat after all.