There was no point in denying it. Despite her best intentions, Annie had fallen, and fallen hard.
She’d tried her utmost to convince herself (and the others) that she was playing it cool, but there was no pretending that she really missed Harry whenever they were apart and couldn’t wait to be with him.
Had Annie O’Doherty finally allowed her world-weary heart to be melted?
“Out again with lover boy tonight?” Kim smirked as Annie got ready to meet him that evening. “Should we wait up or just catch you in the morning?”
“I’ll be back later, smart-arse,” she replied archly.
“I wasn’t trying to be smart,” Kim declared, all innocence. “I was just wondering if we should lock up or leave the back door unlocked for you.”
“You can leave it open, I won’t be too late. Who knows, maybe I’ll bring him back with me,” she added with a wink.
“I wish you would. I’d so love to meet this hot stud who’s been keeping you so entertained. Between you and Colette, I’m starting to get lonely. Where is she, by the way?”
“Out with Luca. He did indeed call to pick her up while you were out. Maybe I was wrong about him being a chancer. But now I do feel bad for leaving you all on your own, actually. Do you want to come out with me?”
“Don’t be silly, I was only kidding. I’ve had a long day myself so am going to turn in early.”
A beeping horn outside the gates from the taxi she’d called sent Annie rushing for the door. “Honestly, I shouldn’t be back too late tonight, I promise. See you later if you’re still up. And Colette—that is if lovely Luca’s not ravishing her on his boat again.” She grinned and fanned her face. “Lucky girl.”
Kim laughed. “Have fun.”
Arriving at his hotel—their agreed meeting spot—Annie headed straight to reception to have them call up and let Harry know she was here, but to her surprise he was already waiting for her in the lobby.
“Hey there, handsome,” she greeted, kissing him.
“Hi,” he replied with a weak smile. “I thought we might grab a bite here tonight if that’s OK.”
“Of course.”
Straightaway, she knew something was off.
The meal was lovely and perfectly civil, but he kept his eyes on the menu or his plate most of the time, refusing to meet her gaze. Annie’s stomach tightened with disappointment and her heart automatically closed over. She’d been around the block enough times to know what was coming.
And just when she’d thought things were going so well.
“Is something wrong?” she asked eventually, as he mulled over dessert options, his face glum and somber and a complete contrast to his usual jokey demeanor.
“No,” he replied gently. “I’m just finding it so difficult to choose...”
“I didn’t mean the dessert,” Annie stated sharply. “I mean with you. You’re acting really strangely.”
He exhaled. “I just have some things on my mind, that’s all. It’s back to the real world soon and...”
Annie’s heart lightened a little. “And you’re worried about where that leaves us?”
“No, I’m not worried about that at all.”
Now she automatically felt relief fill her stomach. OK, so he seemed pretty confident about where they stood. That was good, wasn’t it?
After dinner, he walked with her down to the beach, where once again they found themselves alone. She couldn’t help but reminisce about the first time they’d done this and all that had transpired since.
“It’s so beautiful tonight,” she commented as they walked. “Then again it always is. Everything about this place is beautiful. I’ll miss it when we leave.”
“That’s true,” he replied. “A place where the unexpected happens, wouldn’t you say?”
It was. Annie hadn’t come to the Amalfi Coast looking for anything she’d found there. New friendships weren’t on her mind, and neither was falling in love, but she’d found both just the same.
Or maybe they had found her. Maybe, like Felicity said, this magical place really did have the power to change lives.
“Let’s sit,” he instructed as he pointed to one of the blue sun loungers. Annie did as he asked, and he sat beside her, but still seemed tense.
“What is it?” she asked, wondering why the mood seemed so strange tonight.
Was he maybe becoming maudlin that their time together was coming to an end? She hadn’t figured him for the sentimental type. He’d seemed quite laddish and macho from the outset, but then again a lot of lads were when they were in a group, weren’t they?
And she knew he had a much softer, more romantic side. It was the one she’d truly fallen for.
Now he squeezed her hands gently, rubbing his thumbs over the curve of her knuckles.
“Annie, I’m sorry. I haven’t been completely honest with you.”
Aha. So he was going to come clean about what had been bugging her since that night in the restaurant.
Well, this is good.
“It’s just... I’m sorry, because I care for you and I don’t want to hurt you.”
Hang on, no. This was something different. More than a silly misunderstanding or a mistake.
A sickening feeling once again began to fill her stomach and she held her breath for a moment to gather her composure before she spoke.
“What are you sorry about?”
He bowed his head. “I’m afraid there’s...someone else.”
This she hadn’t expected, and instantly she felt her hackles rise.
“Someone else? You’re telling me you already have a girlfriend? And you’re telling me now—after all this time?” Annie was incensed. “Don’t you think you should have mentioned something before?”
“I know...and it’s been great,” he replied. “But maybe things have started to get a little out of hand.”
“A little out of hand? It’s not as if we just had the odd drunken fumbling one-night stand. We’ve spent the best part of the last two weeks together and now you’re telling me you’re already taken. What kind of an arsehole are you?”
“It’s nothing like that,” he replied quickly. “Believe me, please. It’s not that. I don’t have a girlfriend, Annie, honestly.”
“Then what is it? If you don’t have a girlfriend, then what’s the problem?”
“It’s just... I’ve met someone else.” His voice was soft and his eyes couldn’t look at her face.
“Someone else—here in Italy?”
Now Annie felt as if the wind had been knocked out of her. This she didn’t expect at all. So he wasn’t cheating on some poor girl from back home. He’d taken up with another one here.
While screwing her at the same time.
“Yes,” he confessed. “Believe me, it wasn’t intentional, just a chance encounter, really, but I haven’t been able to get her out of my head.”
“A chance encounter? You make it sound like something from a romantic movie,” she spat. “So you’ve spent all this time with me, romancing and shagging me, then you meet this other girl and suddenly, bam! Just like that, everything changed?”
“Something like that. I didn’t expect it to, but it did. I’m sorry, Annie, like I said, it was completely unexpected, out of my control. Her spirit is just so bright and lovely that you can’t help but fall for it—”
Annie sucked in a jagged breath. “You love this girl?”
His eyes fluttered nervously, but he couldn’t look at her. She studied his face. He looked truly penitent.
She’d never seen that before. Every time she’d been dumped or blown off, the expression on the guy’s face was nonchalant—that’s if he bothered to tell her at all. Whereas Harry’s face now was full of regret and confusion, and somehow that hurt even more.
“Answer me,” she urged.
“It’s too early to know,” he finally replied. His eyes returned to hers. “But perhaps... I could.”
There was no holding back the rage now. “So what about me?” she spat. “What about us? What now?”
“Annie, please believe me when I tell you I never meant any of this. When I met you that first night, I thought you so vibrant and alive; it was like a shot of something electric in my veins, and I’ve loved the time we’ve spent together. I really care about you.”
He was breaking her heart while telling her how much he cared? It made no sense to Annie. His kindness in disappointing her was a million times worse than the harshness she’d received all the times before.
“Obviously it wasn’t enough,” she answered bitterly. He didn’t reply. “Not enough to compete with whatever this other girl could give you anyway.”
“She hasn’t given me anything. It’s not like that. I didn’t sleep with her, if that’s what you’re getting at.”
“No, you just slept with me. Multiple times. And now you’re just casting me aside because something better’s caught your eye.”
He didn’t even try to deny that. “I’m sorry. I don’t even know her that well, to be honest. But there’s something there, I’m certain of it. And for that reason alone, I have to be honest with you. I couldn’t live with myself otherwise. I think you know that I’m not the kind of guy to mess people around, or at least, I hope you do.”
“Damn you, Harry,” Annie cried as she marched away down the beach. That was part of the problem. She did know he wasn’t that kind of guy. And because of that, because she knew he was different, she’d purposely held back, treaded carefully, protecting her heart.
And then, just when she’d let her guard down, he’d sucker-punched her.
“Annie, wait—hold on,” he called out, hurrying after her as she raced back up the steps. “That’s another thing I wanted to tell you. My name’s not actually Harry—it’s just what the guys have always called me because of my surname. A nickname.”
She didn’t bother to stop walking. What was the point?
And she had no idea why he was telling this is her now, nor did she care.
Because Annie knew that already; she’d spotted it on his credit card the first night he took her to dinner.
His name wasn’t Harry at all, but Edward—Edward Hargreaves.