The first thing Liz usually did in the morning was go over the things she had to do today and the amount of time she had to do them. That usually lasted throughout her morning routine of showering, brushing her teeth and getting ready. But on this morning, her busy schedule wasn’t the first thing to pop into her head. It was the man who had made sweet, passionate love to her over and over again last night. She wondered about his whereabouts when she noticed the bed was empty. She sprang upwards, looking around the room for any sign of him, listening to hear if he was in the bathroom, but there was nothing. For some reason, a bit of panic and disappointment pestered her, but she shook off the unreasonable feelings.
Crawling out of bed, Liz spotted the card on the bedside table. Marcus called. I had to go take care of something. I’ll be back for you tonight. The disappointment didn’t diminish, but at least she knew where he’d gone.
Liz set the card back where she found it, and made her way to the bathroom. There, she found his second note. You look beautiful when you sleep. That made her smile.
She found more little notes around the hotel room and she gleefully added them to the pile. Liz couldn’t contain her smile by the time she was dressed and ready. Maybe she should get him something? A congratulatory bouquet? A gift basket? God, those options sounded terrible. She didn’t know what to get him. She was used to buying gifts for clients, but that was from a professional standpoint where she didn’t need to get it right. This was personal. He needed something that would hit him in his soft place.
Michael even sent a note up with room service when she called for breakfast, reminding her that he loved her. Instead of cringing away from the reminder, Liz thought her heart would burst at how it swelled. She couldn’t keep the smile off her face as she accepted the food.
She was still wondering what she should do for him when her phone rang. Absentmindedly, she answered. “Hello?”
“Elizabeth?” came Harold’s gruff voice. “Why do you sound like that?”
“Like what?”
“Happy.”
“I can’t sound happy?”
“No, no, don’t get me wrong. I love when you’re happy. It usually means something went right with the job. I’ve just never heard you sound so... chirpy before.”
That was true, but there was no way she was going to let Harold know that the reason she was so over the moon was because of a man, not her job. “I got the painting.”
“Great! I knew you would be able to wear him down eventually. Elizabeth Harley is nothing if not tenacious.”
“Actually, I’m not the one who got him to sell the painting. I know a friend of his who was willing to help out.”
“Why would he do that?”
Liz shrugged, then stopped herself when she remembered he couldn’t see her. “Alessandro is… going through a few things. The friend thought it would be best if he got rid of the painting. He thought it would help him stop clinging to the past.”
The lies went over smoothly with Harold. “Sounds like Alessandro needs one of your gift baskets.”
“We can deal with that when I get back home.” Liz glanced over at the painting, still covered with the white sheet. “You should see this piece, Harold. It is, hands down, Alessandro’s best work. I almost… don’t think we should sell it to Mr. Grenville. It’s too beautiful.”
Harold sighed heavily at the suggestion. “He’s our client, Liz. You went to Italy to get that for him in the first place. You know we can’t just go over his head with this, especially since it’s likely we’re going to lose him as a client if we do.”
“I’m telling you, Harold, this painting needs to be in our gallery. We can sell it for much higher than Mr. Grenville will be willing to pay.”
“Elizabeth…”
“Alright, you don’t need to give your approval right now. When you see the painting, then you’ll know what I’m talking about.”
“Fine. Should I be expecting you back tomorrow?”
“Oh… I guess. I don’t have anything holding me here any longer.”
“I’m dreading seeing what you did to my card while you were there.”
“It was all in the name of good business, Harold. All in the name of good business.”
He grunted. “I’ll see you in a few days, then.”
He hung up without waiting for her farewell. Liz let the phone dangle between her fingertips. In all the excitement of securing the painting, and spending time with Michael, she forgot that it meant her job here was over. Which meant she had to leave Italy. Leave Michael.
The wave of sadness at that thought hit her hard. She knew it was going to happen eventually, but she had been so caught up with him that she hadn’t even allowed herself to think about the next step. Something very unlike her.
But what did she think was going to happen? She was going to follow Michael to Milan? Then around the rest of the world for his tour? God, she hated how good that idea sounded.
Leaving was bound to happen. She was only here for one thing. Now that she had gotten it, there was no reason to stick around any longer. With that thought motivating her, she quickly bought her plane ticket for tomorrow morning, before she could second guess herself.
She would tell Michael today. At least it would give them some time to say their goodbyes. And one final night together.
Night came quickly that day, something Michael was eternally glad for. Marcus had finally let him loose after drilling him with protocol and things to get done before they were to hit the road again tomorrow morning. Michael didn’t know he was going to be heading to Milan so soon. He thought he had more time with Liz, and now he was desperate to ask her to come with him.
A few days before, he wouldn’t have even entertained the idea. He knew who he was dealing with, and Elizabeth Harley wasn’t going to drop everything just to be with him. Before, she had taken a risk, yes, but ultimately, it was in the furtherance of her task here. But this time, he had no incentive to get her to come with him—not even the promise of more long, sweaty nights together.
Except—he thought there might be a small chance that she was in love with him, as well. He hated that he hoped she was, because it was only setting himself up for heartbreak, but he couldn’t help himself. Something nagged at him, told him that maybe she felt the same way about him, although she had never said those words. Maybe, just maybe, if he asked her to come with him, she would say yes.
God, please let her say yes.
Michael paused outside her hotel door, holding a single long-stemmed rose. It was another impulsive buy, but he felt it suited their plans for the evening. Plans she had no idea were going to happen. He was all dressed up and ready to spring it on her, but a sudden bout of nervousness had him faltering.
Taking a deep breath, he knocked.
He counted the seconds before she answered. Three long seconds that nearly had him fidgeting. Then she opened the door and stole his breath away.
“What…” Michael gaped at the sight of her. “How…”
“It seems I have a knack for making you speechless,” she said with a smirk. “Why don’t you come in?”
Michael didn’t know how he managed to step into the room on his leaden feet. The living area was washed with candlelight, casting a golden glow on the table set up right before him. A single rose, just like the one he held, sat in the center of the table, a trolley of covered platters sitting next to it.
“Surprised?”
“I, uh…”
That made her laugh, and she took his hand, steering him towards the table. Michael couldn’t take his eyes off her. She was in the sexiest green dress he had ever seen, where the hem barely touched her knees. There were only thin spaghetti straps to keep up the top. Since he was still too shell-shocked to function properly, Liz gently eased him into his seat, then claimed hers.
“How…?”
“The hotel helped me set it up. They’re really helpful guys. I should leave them a good review.” Smiling knowingly, she reached for the wine. “But what I really should have done was get your reaction on camera.”
“I can’t believe you did all this. Makes the plans I had for us look like kid’s play.”
“Oh?” She blinked in surprise. “You had something planned?”
“I was going to take you out for dinner at a restaurant nearby. I… I brought you this.” He unceremoniously pushed the rose at her. Liz rose her brows at him as she took it.
“You’re going to make it a habit of bringing me flowers, aren’t you?”
“Get used to it, woman.”
She chuckled. “Fine. I love it. It’s too bad your plans didn’t work out.”
“I’d rather be here, anyway. Makes it easier to get you straight into bed afterwards.”
“I hope you’re planning to woo me first.” She handed him his glass of wine, taking a sip of hers. Michael couldn’t fathom how someone could look so damn sexy drinking wine. “It takes a lot to get me into bed.”
“Oh, I know. You aren’t an easily impressed woman—”
“—and I’ve seen all your tricks.”
“And you’ve seen all my tricks. But you should know that I always have something up my sleeve.”
“Is that so?”
Michael only grinned at her, taking his own sip of the wine. “Patience, beautiful. Patience.” He jerked a chin at the trolley. “So, what’s for dinner?”
Liz reined it in, locking away the burning lust for later—but not before giving him one last sultry smile. “I hope you like lobster.” She uncovered the plates, revealing two very stuffed lobsters, oozing sauce.
“Are you kidding me?” Michael said, a bit excitedly. “Lobster is my favorite.”
“Really?” Liz sounded surprised. “I didn’t know that.”
“There’s a lot you don’t really know about me. For example, I used to wear braces up until I was seventeen.”
“You’re kidding me.”
“Nope, not kidding. I had terrible teeth and terrible, terrible eating habits. As long as it was made with either sugar or butter, I was there. Ideally both. Plus, I used to suck my thumb until I was eleven.”
Liz chuckled. “You grew up quite nicely then.”
“Trust me, back then, you wouldn’t have even looked twice in my direction. I gave people sore eyes.”
“You’re too hard on yourself, Michael.”
But she was laughing, and he was laughing right along with her. “Admit it. Would you have even looked at a lanky, braces-wearing guy with hair that was too long for his head?”
“I wouldn’t have.”
“Aha!”
“But,” she said quickly. “It wouldn’t be because of how you looked. I didn’t care about guys back then. I was more interested in getting good grades and getting into the school I wanted. You know, doing everything perfectly.”
“So, typical Liz stuff then.”
She shrugged, smiling. “I suppose you could say that.”
“So, didn’t you make any time for fun? For a social life?”
“My idea of a social life was watching movies with my sister and her best friend until midnight.”
“Wow, you were a real killer at that social life thing,” Michael murmured, earning him a kick from Liz under the table.
“They were my best friends. There was no place I would rather be. Besides, everyone else at my school was such a moron, you couldn’t stand to be around them for more than two seconds, anyway.”
“Damn, Liz, you’re harsh,” he said. She only shrugged, another smile playing around her lips. “We wouldn’t have gotten along.”
“Not at all,” she agreed. “But hey, I’m happy to know that the awkward-looking musical genius turned into such a lady-killer.”
“Oh, you flatter me, Liz. I think that’s the first time you’ve ever complimented me like that.”
“I’m sure I’ve said something like that before.”
“Yeah, you’re right. You said I was cute.” He beamed when she rolled her eyes.
“I regret saying that. Now, it’s gone straight to your head.”
“Any nice thing that comes out of your mouth about me goes straight to my head, Liz. I can’t help it. It’s your effect on me.” Liz rolled her eyes again. Michael reached forward and took her hand. “I like this.”
“Like what?” she asked.
“I like that you’re telling me about your past. I didn’t think I would ever be able to get it out of you.”
Liz blinked, as if she hadn’t realized she’s been doing that. “Oh,” she said. “Right. You’ve been hounding me to open up more.”
“Hounding isn’t the word I would use.”
“I don’t know,” she said with a shrug. “I guess you make me… comfortable.”
Michael didn’t expect such normal words to have such an effect on him, but suddenly, it was hard to breathe. God, he was so in love with his woman it was turning him into an idiot. Clearing his throat, he said, “I’m glad. Granted, it would have made things much easier if you had gotten comfortable with me sooner.”
“Meaning?”
“Meaning, you would have gotten Alessandro’s painting a lot sooner if you would have tried to let me help.”
“It was my job, Michael.”
“Doesn’t mean you have to do it alone. But hey,” he said, raising his hands in surrender, “it’s over and we have the painting. That’s all that matters.”
“You should be glad I didn’t ask you, actually.”
Michael raised his brows at her. “And why is that?”
“The sooner I got the painting, the sooner I would have had to leave.”
Oh, right. She had to leave. He hadn’t even remembered that. Michael glanced at the painting behind her and was suddenly mad at himself for interfering. Here he was, trying to build up the courage to ask her to come to Milan with him, when now she had nothing holding her here anymore.
He hadn’t noticed they were still holding hands until she pulled away. “I leave tomorrow morning.”
“Oh. I, uh… leave for Milan tomorrow, too. I guess this is a… goodbye dinner then.”
“And a congratulations on your great shows dinner. And a good luck dinner. And a thank you dinner.”
“Thank you for what?”
“For helping me with the painting. And for making this trip much better than I expected it to be.”
He huffed a laugh, though he didn’t feel it. “You came here for a painting and got an exciting new sex buddy as well. The powers of Italy.”
“No.” She took his hand again. “The power of you. You’re the one who made everything possible, so thank you. I wouldn’t have been able to do it without you.”
To his horror, he had the sudden urge to cry. He blinked the tears away, kissing the back of her hand. “It was fun, Liz. And I’m happy we have everything out in the open with each other. Makes this goodbye much cleaner.”
“Yeah.” Again, she pulled her hand away, but Michael didn’t miss the tone in her voice.
“What happened?” he asked.
“What do you mean?”
“Is there something else? Something you’re not telling me?” Hope blossomed in his chest. “Is it about Alessandro?” If it was about Alessandro, maybe it was serious enough for her to stay a bit longer.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about, Michael. Nothing’s wrong.”
“Bullshit. That just makes me think something’s wrong even more. You have your tells, Liz.”
She scoffed. “My tells?”
“Yes. As invincible as you think you are, Liz, you can’t look me in the eye when you lie to me. Not directly. You always look away for a second.”
“That’s crazy.”
“No, what’s crazy is that you said you’re comfortable with me, yet you don’t want to tell me what’s bothering you.”
“I’m over this.” Throwing down her napkin, she stood. “I have nothing more to say to you.”
“Liz.” Michael got to his feet too, but he resisted the urge to go to her. “I just want to make sure everything’s okay with you. It doesn’t look like it is.”
“Michael, I’m leaving tomorrow. And so are you. Let’s just enjoy the time we have and not worry about whatever’s bothering me.”
“Liz, I love you.” She looked away, but before he knew it, he was right before her, forcing her to look at him. “I love you, Elizabeth. God, this is the first time I’ve ever said that to you properly, but I know you knew that. I love you more than I ever thought it possible to love someone.”
She didn’t pull away when he grasped her arms. “What about Melody?”
“She’s my past. And she’s pathetic compared to you. I haven’t known you for a very long time, but the love I feel for you is nothing what I experienced with Melody. And I can’t just sit here and do nothing while you fight whatever battle you’re fighting alone. Please, tell me what’s wrong.”
Her eyes were so beautiful, he thought as he stared down at them. So big and beautiful and all-knowing. But now, they were clouded with uncertainty. An inner struggle shone clear as day. She searched his face, and he laid it all bare, let every bit of emotion sit on the surface for her to peruse. For her to see the truth in his words.
Yet, even so, she stepped away from him. The room suddenly grew cold. “We lead two separate lives, Michael. Don’t forget that, because I haven’t.”
Walking to her door today, he hadn’t been prepared to put his heart on his sleeve. He supposed it was his fault now that she had stabbed right through it.
“I understand.” His voice sounded worlds away. There were no tears, nothing. “I can’t force you to do what you don’t want to do. And you’re right. We do lead separate lives. I have to go to Milan and you have to go back to America. This was fun while it lasted.”
She stepped forward, but he didn’t allow himself to see what she would do. He turned towards the door. “Thank you for the dinner, Liz. I do love lobster.”
“Michael, you don’t have to go.”
“I do.” He paused at the door, wanting to turn around. Wanting so badly to see her one last time before he left. But he knew his resolve would have shaken. “I have to go live my life, Liz. Good luck with yours.”
He could have sworn he heard her step towards him. Maybe it was a figment of his imagination, but even so, he kept his head straight as he walked out and closed the door behind him. He listened. But there was nothing on the other end. And he stayed there for a few minutes, waiting for her to come after him. But there was nothing.
It was over.
The tears didn’t come. Even on the elevator when he was alone, the pain was dry and soul-sucking. He didn’t say goodbye to the concierge, nor the doorman. He didn’t notice the brisk Venetian night. He should have called a cab, but instead he turned down the sidewalk. He didn’t know where he was going. Heaven knew it was too far to walk to where he was staying. But logic wasn’t quite breaking through to him.
People passed by in a blur. Chatter droned in the distance. Before he knew it, he was down a lonely street, but he didn’t turn back. Hands tucked into his pockets, he kept walking, not caring where he was going.
Someone blocked his path. Michael blinked, his mind coming partially out of the haze it was under. “Excuse me,” he murmured. He was about to step around the man when something about him struck Michael as familiar. Frowning, he gave the man a second glance. “Do I know you?”
“I sure hope so.”
He didn’t get an opportunity to react. The man moved so fast that it caught Michael off guard. Before he knew it, everything had gone black.