Calliope hadn't come back. Michael sat in the hotel room for a few hours, wondering if she would. She’d packed and left so fast that his head spun. Once he realized she was truly gone, he’d ordered his plane to be fueled. It was time to go. He packed the few items he’d purchased into a plastic bag and then his phone rang. He read his sister's name on the screen. "Sandy."
"Michael, why weren't you on the ship?"
The cruise. He had forgotten. He peeked out the window and saw no car. It was clear that if he stayed, he'd be alone. "I helped Calliope get out of the hotel. Did you get my bag?"
"Yeah, of course." She sounded as though she’d stopped typing something. "Where are you now?"
"Still in Mexico but I ordered my flight home tonight." The last person he'd tell about today was his sister. Like Calliope, all he had was one sibling left, only his was about to get married and live a happily-ever-after with the man she always wanted. He was the one who’d never deserved that and wouldn't put himself out there.
"I want to talk to you about Colt’s and my wedding. Will you give me away?"
Good. She hadn't asked. He swallowed and then picked up the plastic bag. The headlights of a taxi came into view. "Yes."
"Michael, what's wrong?"
"Nothing." At least she couldn't see him. His thoughts raced that Calliope deserved better.
"It's in your voice."
How? He’d said one word. He walked toward the lobby and handed in his key. They passed him a receipt and he nodded as he said to his sister on the phone, "Nothing's wrong, Mom."
"Don't be sarcastic. How was Calliope? She must have been mortified. I'd have wanted to punch Chris, right in the middle of the wedding."
He wished she had. Instead he’d put all his energy into the one thing he’d wanted, the bride. "She's..." The words never formed for his sentence. He swallowed and then walked outside and opened the car door. "My cab is here. One second."
He slid in, slammed the door and spoke to the driver about the airport. The moment the man drove, he sat backwards. He held his phone in his ear but had nothing to say. The past thirty-six hours were not up for discussion.
"Continue."
He should have said he had to go earlier. He stared out the window and imagined Calliope's face. "Continue what?"
"How was Calliope?"
No. Again he wouldn’t tell his sister. He rubbed his eyes. "She was rebellious. I took advantage."
"How?"
Calliope, his sister Sandy, even Eva... none of them should trust him and deserved better. "I'm not a good guy. I shouldn't have been the one who helped her escape."
"You slept with her on her wedding night."
He winced. "That sounds bad when you say it."
"Michael, I thought you liked her."
His chest constricted as the car turned onto the runway, nearing his plane. "Why would you think that?" The name Marshall was clear on the side and someone waited next to the ramp. He narrowed his gaze to see through the newly formed fog. "I'm arriving at the airport, Sandy. I need to go."
"Answer the question. Do you like Calliope?"
The car drove closer. The figure that waited was a woman, but from the outline he understood instantly that it wasn't Calliope. "I like all women."
"Fine. Don't answer. Guess you won't mind if I ask her to be a bridesmaid."
"Don't get involved." The cab stopped and he could see the dark hair and icy blue eyes of his ex. He paid the driver as he said, "Wait. Eva is here."
"Oh yeah, that's why I called."
"What?" So this wasn't to check on him. He grabbed his plastic bag.
Sandra smacked her lips together like she was still a teenager though neither of them were. "She wanted a ride home and felt embarrassed about staying on the cruise. I told her that you weren't on the ship either, so I told her to stay near the airport and that when I heard from you, I'd let her know."
Once again his sister directed his social life, and ignored the fact he now ran Marshall Investments. He stood and nodded at Eva as he said to his sister, "Fine. Bye."
As he approached and put his phone in his back pocket, Eva walked toward him and wrapped the blue shawl tighter around her neck. "Sandy said I could hitch a ride."
"You could have asked me yourself."
She crossed her arms. "We didn't part on the best of circumstances."
He waved her to go up the stairs on the plane. "We agreed to stay friends."
The moment she was on the top step, she turned and looked down at him. "But we haven't really talked."
He waited till he made it to the top and stared down at her. "What's to say? You started dating someone else."
"You were never open with me."
"Guess we'll never know." Then he waited for her to go inside and pick a seat. He handed his bag to his staff and followed her to take the seat across the aisle from her.
Sandy's words about liking Calliope replayed in his head. If Calliope was here, he'd have found a way to seduce her and have her join the mile-high club. Now his body felt spent as he sat near one of the most physically beautiful women in the world. As the plane ascended, he closed his eyes and once again imagined Calliope's smile.
Eva's words screeched in his ears and brought him back to the present. "Michael, I am sorry. Being pregnant has really made me reassess a lot of my life. As I can't work as an actor for the next year, I really had to buckle down and figure out what's next for me."
"You're pregnant?" His eyes widened as they opened. No wonder she took the two million dollar bribe to try to stop Jay and Penny’s wedding. Eva hadn't saved a dime.
She pushed her hair out of her face and let her shoulders relax. "Yeah. Don't worry. It's not yours, but please don't tell anyone."
"I didn't think it would be. I didn't know you were."
She patted her belly that seemed flat to him. "I won't be able to hide it much longer. I feel like I'm showing already. The only person I told was the father."
"I couldn't tell."
She lowered the blue shawl she wore. "Power of my shawl. Promise you won't say a word to anyone."
"Okay. It's your life, not mine."
"Where did you go after the wedding?"
To heaven at least for a few minutes. None of this was information that he'd share with Eva. "I helped check Calliope out of the hotel."
"You helped anyone but yourself?"
Another reason. "Don't be crass."
"I'm impressed. Michael, I think we've both grown up since the last time we talked."
She lowered her chair to lie down. "Fair enough. Why don't you get some sleep? I want to check in with work."
Soon, the plane was quiet and he used his laptop to check on the proposal from Morgan Enterprises for his investment firm. Then he remembered Calliope lived in a building he owned. If he knew she was home, he'd relax and not think more about her. So he opened the account files and checked for activity in #2412, where she lived. She must be home as the power usage fluctuated in her unit of the building he owned. He quickly closed the computer. She wouldn’t appreciate him checking on her, but he didn’t care. He had to know she was okay.
As he returned to work, his shoulders lost some of the tension. Calliope was safe at her home, safe from him. Now he could soon sleep as well.