WHERE WAS HE?
Stasia had walked the entire length of the deck twice now, but there was no sign of Roberto. She was beginning to wonder if she’d gotten their plans mixed up in her head. But the more she thought about it, the more she was certain they’d agreed to meet up here.
So where was he?
She tried his cell phone, again. And once again, it went directly to voice mail. That was strange. That man lived on his cell phone. He never turned it off.
The touring party had already departed the boat about fifteen minutes ago. It was too late to catch up with them. And honestly, she didn’t want to. She’d been looking forward to her private, guided tour with the sexiest man on the boat.
In fact, she’d had the hardest time getting to sleep last night and it was all his fault. Every time she’d closed her eyes, she saw his face. And then she would relive the moment when his lips pressed to hers. Even though it was only a memory, her heart would race.
Maybe she was so anxious for today because she hoped he would follow up that all-too-short kiss with a much longer one. Was that wrong? After all, she was supposed to be on this ship figuring out her next step in life.
She knew Xander wouldn’t approve of her hitting it off with Roberto. But what her brother didn’t know wouldn’t hurt him. She knew her brother’s heart was in the right place, but she was all grown up and it was up to her to figure out what came next. And who she did it with. Well, if he showed up.
She sighed. Where was Roberto? She sent him a text. And she waited and waited. There was no response to it either.
Roberto wouldn’t ignore her, not unless something was wrong. Could that be it? Was he sick?
She took off toward his cabin. With most of the passengers having departed the ship in order to go on a tour, she didn’t have to wait for the elevator or have to wade her way through a throng of people in the passageway.
Once she got to Roberto’s cabin, she rapped on the door.
“Roberto? It’s Stasia.”
She waited. When he didn’t immediately open the door, she pressed her ear to it. She didn’t hear any movement inside.
She knocked again. “Roberto, are you okay?”
Thunk. Crash.
“Roberto? What’s going on?”
“Coming.”
She breathed easier, hearing his voice. Thank goodness he was safe and sound. Though she had absolutely no idea what had kept him and what caused him to forget that they had a date today.
At last the door swung open and Roberto stood there. His hair was mussed up. His normally clean-shaven jaw now had a shadow of stubble. He was still wearing the same clothes as last night, but they were a bit disheveled just like the rest of him.
“Are you sick?” She’d never seen Roberto unprepared. She’d have sworn he was born ready to take on the world.
He ran a hand over his face and then his hair, scattering the dark strands every which way. “Uh, no, I’m not sick.” It took him a second as though she’d literally just roused him from a deep sleep. He glanced at the time on his wristwatch. “Eight twenty. Oh, no. I was supposed to meet up with you at eight o’clock.”
“Yes, you were.” She crossed her arms and looked at him. Part of her wanted to be angry with him for standing her up and making her worry. The other part of her was relieved to see that nothing was the matter. Which led her to her next question. “Why are you still in your dress clothes?”
An older couple passed them in the passageway. The woman’s eyes widened as she took in Roberto’s appearance. And then she turned her attention to Stasia and gave her an approving nod. “Good for you.”
Stasia stifled a laugh.
He cleared his throat and opened the door wider. “Come in.”
She wasn’t sure what to expect as she entered the luxury cabin. Everything about Roberto struck her as him being neat and orderly. But the room didn’t appear to be as she would have expected.
Though the bed was perfectly made, there was a black suitcase tossed on top of it. The case was open. Clothes and accessories were strewn across the bed as though he had been in a hurry to get out the door and didn’t have time to put things where they belonged.
And then there was the table. It was covered with a laptop, portable printer and tons of printouts. Some of the pages were lying flat on the tabletop and others were crumpled and tossed toward the garbage can but had missed their target.
“I don’t understand.” She turned a puzzled stare his way. “What’s going on? It looks like you worked all night.”
“As a matter of fact, I did. Not all of it. But a lot of it.” He rubbed his neck and then rolled his shoulders.
“I’m guessing you didn’t make it to bed.”
He shook his head.
“You work too hard. And too often.”
“I’m fine.”
Her gaze narrowed in on him. She saw the tired lines etched around his eyes. And the way his broad shoulders sagged ever so slightly as though he were carrying a heavy burden.
Someone had to be honest with him. Someone had to tell him to slow down—that there was more to life than work. And she knew all too well how fleeting life could be.
She lifted her chin ever so slightly. “You’re not fine.”
Roberto crossed his arms over his chest as his steady gaze met hers. A muscle in his jaw twitched. “I’m sorry my life isn’t to your liking, but it’s the way I like it. My work is important to me.”
“Even though you’re all alone?” She hadn’t meant to say that out loud. But she never understood why such a good-looking, successful man would choose to be alone.
His gaze darkened. “Did you ever consider that I like it that way?”
Her mouth opened but nothing came out. She hadn’t meant to say that. What was wrong with her?
“I’m good this way. Love and marriage, that may be the way for other people, but it doesn’t work for me.”
That was one of the saddest things she’d ever heard in her life. “I’m sorry you feel that way because you don’t know what you’re missing.”
His gaze searched hers. “How can you say that after all you’ve been through?”
“And what? By not falling in love, by not marrying, that I would be better off?”
He hesitated as though realizing he too had said more than he’d meant to. And then he gave a nod.
Was this what everyone thought? That she’d have been better off by never loving Lukos? Well, it was time to set the record straight.
“I am better off for having known and loved Lukos. He showed me how great love can be through the good times and the really rotten, horrible bad times.” Tears pricked the backs of her eyes as moments from their life together flickered through her memory. “But I wouldn’t trade one single moment I had with him. Not any of it. He helped me to become a better person—at least, I’d like to think I am.”
Remorse reflected in Roberto’s eyes. “Of course you are. I shouldn’t have said that—I shouldn’t have dredged up the past. I know how hard this is for you.”
“How hard what is?”
He shrugged. “Moving on alone. Mourning his passing.”
She wanted to argue and tell Roberto that it wasn’t hard, that she was doing just fine. But that would be a lie. It was like waking up one day and having everything you knew about your life and routine being totally altered. It had taken her a while to find her footing again, but she was now able to stand on her own two feet. Now she just had to find a new path to walk down.
“I did mourn Lukos for a long time. He had been such an important part of my life. But I’m moving on now.” And then she wondered if she should share her thoughts with Roberto. She wanted to tell someone—someone who wasn’t her brother, who thought he had all the answers where she was concerned.
“Do you really think you can do that? Move on, that is?” Roberto’s gaze searched hers as though he could see the truth reflected in her eyes.
“Lukos will always have a place in my heart, but he made me promise him that I would move on. That I would have a life and all it entails. And that’s what I’m trying to do. It hasn’t been easy and there were days when I really regretted making him that promise because all I wanted to do at that point was to wrap myself up in his memories and stay there. But now, well, I’m feeling a little more confident and I know I have to move on, for the promise I made and most of all for myself.”
Roberto reached out to her. His fingers gently stroked her cheek. “You are the strongest person I know.”
His kind words made her heart swell. “Thank you. But I’m not anything special.”
“You are to me.”
Her pulse raced and she longed to lean forward and press her lips to his. But perhaps she was reading this moment all wrong. And she didn’t want to mess up this special friendship.
After an awkward moment of silence, Roberto said, “I need to get ready for our last day in Venice.”
“I... I should go.” She moved toward the door.
“You can wait here.” He grabbed some clothes from the bed and headed to the shower. “I’ll only be a few minutes.”
Stasia felt guilty for dragging Roberto away from his work. It was so evident last night that his grandfather was looking forward to Roberto’s findings. She remembered her own grandfather and the close link she’d shared with him. She would do anything to have him in her life again. She missed him dearly.
Stasia’s gaze turned to the table with the stack of papers and Roberto’s laptop. She felt guilty for coming between him and his bond to his grandfather. She moved to the table and sat down. She had to admit she was curious to unravel the mystery.
Her gaze moved to the bathroom door. It was closed and the sound of running water could be heard. Would Roberto mind if she took another look? She didn’t think so.
She opened his laptop and one of the files she’d worked on the other day appeared on the screen. In fact, she noticed that Roberto hadn’t gotten much further. She set to work. Maybe, just maybe, she could uncover something more than a transposed number.
“What are you doing?”
Stasia’s head jerked up. Her gaze met Roberto’s questioning stare with his arched brow. A guilty smile pulled at her lips. She felt like she was back in primary school reaching for a second cookie when only offered one.
“I was bored. I thought I’d look at the spreadsheet some more.” As their gazes continued to connect, she said, “You really care, don’t you?”
His eyes widened. The color drained from his face. As time passed without him saying a word, she realized how her words might have sounded.
“I meant you care about the company.”
The worry lines on his handsome face smoothed. He shrugged, just like he’d done when they’d had a similar conversation. “I’ve tried to tell myself that I don’t care, but the more I work on this project, the more I realize how much I enjoy this business.”
“Maybe it’s time you went back.”
He shook his head as he slipped on his socks and shoes. “I offered to help, but I couldn’t work for my grandfather again. We disagree too much.”
“Maybe it’ll be different this time.” She was hoping during the cruise that the two men would repair their relationship—maybe it was too much to hope. “Show me what needs to be done.”
“You don’t have to do that. I told you I would take care of it.”
“I know I don’t have to, but I want to.” She thought about mentioning how it would please his grandfather to finish this project early, but then she decided to tell him the honest truth. “The thing is, I’m curious. There has to be something here that we’re not seeing.”
His eyes widened. “You’re really that curious?”
She nodded.
“Maybe you found your calling,” he said, coming to stand next to her. “Maybe you are meant to be an accountant or perhaps a forensic accountant.”
She thought about it for a moment. She did like numbers, but not enough to devote a large portion of her life to it. “I don’t think so. I just can’t imagine me sitting and staring at numbers day in and day out. But right now, the curiosity is eating at me.”
He ran a hand over his still-damp hair. “What about Venice? It awaits us.”
She worried her lip. She was torn. Was it wrong that she wanted to do both things?
He held his hand out to her. “Come on. There’s gelato to taste and perhaps another gondola ride.”
“But—”
“And if you still feel like it when we get back to the ship this evening, we’ll work on the reports—together. Deal?”
She liked the idea of working alongside him. They did make a pretty great team. She closed the laptop and placed her hand in his. “It’s a deal.”
He gripped her hand as she got to her feet. She expected him to let go once she was standing, but instead he laced his fingers with hers and headed for the door. For the first time in a very long time, she didn’t feel alone, even when she was in a crowd of people.
When Lukos had gotten sick, she hadn’t noticed it at first, but over time, she started doing everything alone. When he’d been resting, she would grocery shop. When he’d been awake but had no energy, she would clean and cook. As time had passed, she’d grown used to going it alone. She’d forgotten what it was like to be part of us.
Roberto was helping her to remember how life could be. And for that she was grateful. And when it was over, she would help him with his project. Together it would be a good day.