The surprise had been Liz in the sexiest red lingerie she had ever worn. She wouldn’t ever forget the moment he had walked through the doors, partially confused as to why she had left without saying anything after his show. He found her on the bed, sprawled out in a way that left nothing to the imagination, even in the red arrangement of strings and lace that barely covered a thing. The way his eyes darkened, the way he had slowly walked into the room, placing the bouquet of flowers he had gotten her to the side—she would never forget it. Liz could tell that he wasn’t able to say anything, she had rendered him utterly speechless.
But she didn’t mind. She had done most of the talking. And most of the action as well. She had taken care of him, gave and gave and gave until Michael was the one screaming her name.
Now, light streaming in through the partially drawn shades, she stared down at his sleeping face. Again and again, she had been hit over the head by the crippling realization that she was in love with him. The thought of it should have made her shudder, but instead her heart swelled. She was in love with him. Oh, dear God.
It really came home last night during his serenade. He hadn’t called her name, but by the time he was done speaking, Liz knew, without a doubt, that she was done for. She couldn’t even feel good about it, with pure fear bleeding into her very core. She had sat there, frozen, watching as he made his way to the grand piano that had appeared in the center of the stage. That song had touched parts of her she hadn’t thought existed. So many emotions had rushed through her, leaving her speechless. Shock, denial, happiness. She had been utterly overwhelmed.
She hadn’t recognized the last one until he was already storming off the stage. She hadn’t missed the look in his eyes before he did, the acute disappointment. He must have thought she was unimpressed by his performance, but he couldn’t have been more wrong.
She was in love with him. Wow, even now she still couldn’t get over that fact. She loved him… which meant she couldn’t be with him. Not with Hunter haunting her every step. He already thought there was something more going on between them. He couldn’t find out that she had given her heart to Michael as well, the one thing Hunter had wanted and couldn’t get. It put him right in the line of fire. She couldn’t let anything happen to him.
What she needed to do was get back to the US as quickly as she could.
Sighing hard enough that her breath tickled his hair, she brushed it aside. “I should have been the one to bring you flowers. With everything going on, I forgot.”
Michael popped one eye open. She knew he was awake and was merely pretending to be asleep. He smiled slowly. The sight of it nearly staggered her. How could he be so beautiful early in the morning? “It’s fine,” he said, running a hand over her back. “You had other things on your mind.”
She felt her own smile at the reminder of last night. “I’ve never done anything like that before.”
“Wear lingerie?”
“Put on a show for someone. Go the extra mile like that.”
His hand was making lazy trails down her spine. “How did that feel?” he probed gently.
For some reason, Liz had no qualms telling him how she felt. It came naturally to her tongue. “We should do that more often.”
Impossible as it seemed, his smile widened. “I like the sound of that.”
“Breakfast?”
“Breakfast.”
Liz rolled out of bed, not bothering to pull the sheets with her. Naked, she padded over to the curtains and pulled them most of the way closed, leaving some amount of light in the room. Aware that Michael was watching her every move from the bed, she made her way over to the phone to call room service. Once she was done, she came back to him. “So,” she began. “What are your plans for today?”
“Last night was my last show in Venice so I’ll be off to Milan in the next couple of days.”
“How long will you be in Milan?”
“About a week? I don’t know,” he said with a shrug. “I haven’t really studied the schedule Marcus gave me.”
She rolled her eyes.
Michael, grinning at that for some reason, smacked her on the ass. Liz had to restrain herself from getting on top of him.
“And what about you, Liz, dear?” he asked, rubbing the spot he had just slapped. “What will you be up today?”
She nearly told him she was going to find Alessandro and have another go at convincing him to sell the painting, but she held back. The last time she’d mentioned Alessandro, he had gotten upset. She didn’t want a repeat of that, especially since she didn’t want to Hunter seeing her out with Michael.
Suddenly, a thought occurred. Had Hunter witnessed Michael serenading her last night? A shiver raced down her spine.
“Liz?”
Liz blinked, looking at Michael who as frowning at her. “Are you okay?”
“Yes, I’m fine. Why wouldn’t I be fine?”
“You looked really freaked out for a second.”
“It’s nothing.”
Michael nodded at that, clearly not convinced. “Are you going to tell me what you’re doing today? Maybe we could go out later.” He pulled himself out of the bed, coming to stand next to her, also naked. Liz let him pull her into his arms. “We could go for a ride on the waterways. Orrr, or, or, or, we could just stay here and, you know, spoon.”
Liz chuckled lightly. “While the thought of spooning sounds so… actually, I don’t know how that sounds right now. But I can’t.”
“Why?”
“I…” She nearly looked away. “I just have something I need to take care of.”
“Oh.” He stepped away.
Liz didn’t linger to see the hurt to flash across his face. She made her way to her robe draped over a chair and hurriedly put it on. Michael’s shadow fell over her. “I assume you’re not going to tell me, huh?”
“There’s nothing to tell.”
“Bullshit, Liz!”
Liz didn’t flinch at his bark. She turned to face him, crossing his arms. “Michael, there’s no need for us to share every detail about ourselves. We still lead two different lives.”
“That doesn’t mean you can’t at least tell me where you’re off to today.” He stepped forward, his eyes desperate. “Don’t I deserve at least that much?”
She hadn’t meant… “Michael, you know I didn’t mean anything by that.”
“Actually, I don’t know anything, Liz. You’re a closed book. How the hell am I supposed to know what’s going on through your head, or what’s true or not, if you don’t tell me anything? I thought we were getting closer. But it’s always two steps forward, three steps back with you.”
“Michael…” She stepped forward, wanting to tell him. For the first in her life, she wanted to tell him everything. But she knew she couldn’t. She couldn’t get him wrapped up in the drama—the danger—of Hunter.
He waited for her to say something. But Liz couldn’t bring herself to do it. So, she stepped away, turning her back to him. “I need to get ready. I think you should go.”
She didn’t let him see the hurt on her face. She hated that she had to be so cold. She hated that it always seemed he was always receiving the harsh end of the stick. He was the one waiting for her, expressing his love for her, the one always being hurt because of her. Another time, with another person, she wouldn’t have cared. She would have told herself that he was the one to blame for his fragility. But Michael wasn’t fragile. He was merely kind, sensitive, and loving.
She walked into the bathroom, not looking back. She knew he was watching her, perhaps waiting for her to turn around and apologize, but she didn’t allow herself to. She let the door close between them, then sat down abruptly on the edge of the tub. It hurt her to hurt him. But it would hurt even worse if he got hurt because of her.