Chapter Twenty-Nine
Milo – Wednesday
A whole week alone. I didn’t think it’d turn out that way. I wasn’t sure why, but I was totally convinced that Eliza would find some excuse to come back and stay here. I’d prayed so hard that she would, but unfortunately, that phone call had never happened.
I’d considered texting her more than once, but I kept typing things out and deleting them at the last moment. I’d made my move; I’d gone into her shop. I felt like the ball was in her court now, and if she didn’t want to take it, then I just had to accept that.
God, why is that so hard to accept?
I swigged back my beer, enjoying the view from the back porch while the sun went down. It was nice enough here with Veil, but still, the colors hadn’t come back. Everything was dull. I needed that Eliza sparkle.
I’d actually been considering going back home early, just to get away from the torture, but I couldn’t make myself do it. First off, I didn’t like shutting the door on the possibility of ever seeing Eliza again. And secondly, I didn’t want to have to explain myself. There was no way she’d just let me leave without an explanation, and I just couldn’t do it. Thirdly, and maybe most importantly, I wasn’t quite ready to get back to real life. I was enjoying Florence far too much.
“Well,” I muttered to myself. “I guess it’s just another night of television and—”
A knock interrupted me.
“Was that the door?” I glanced down at my watch, pointlessly, because I wasn’t sure what difference the time would make, before moving toward the door. Who the hell is this? Justin isn’t here yet, he doesn’t arrive until Friday, and I’m not expecting anyone else...
I swung the door open with my eyebrows knotted in confusion, loosening them when I saw a true vision of beauty in front of me. Did I send one of those millions of texts without even thinking about it? Did I somehow manage to summon her up with my sheer desperation?
“Eliza? What are you doing here?” I ran my eyes up and down her body, drinking in those long, sexy legs, enjoying the way her denim skirt hugged her hips and loving the way her red, flowing top billowed softly over her curves. Her face was almost makeup free, and her hair had been brushed, but not styled. She looked natural, sweet, yet somehow sexy, too.
“Not that I don’t want you here, of course.” Am I stammering? Shit, I need to pull myself together.
“Erm, I brought some groceries.” She indicated backward toward her car, her cheeks reddening with embarrassment. “And wine. I just... For old time’s sake, you know? What with it being Valentine’s Day, I thought... you might not want to be alone.”
Does she actually think that I’d turn her away? Does she not understand how much I missed her? “Of course, that sounds amazing. Please, come in; we’ve missed you.”
Veil proved my point by racing up to Eliza and almost knocking her down. While they embraced and Veil lapped up the attention, I grabbed her car keys and went to get the bags. I hadn’t even realized it was Valentine’s Day – it hadn’t even occurred to me. Two seconds of Eliza’s company and it was already the best one I’d ever had.
She came here... to see me... That had to mean something.
As I brought everything back inside, I couldn’t stop the huge beaming smile from spreading over my face. The light was back, the color had returned, and Eliza had managed to make everything wonderful all over again. I actually felt like bursting out into song and dance with the happiness of it all.
“Actually,” I told her quietly as she stood back up to look at me. “I got you a gift.” It was supposed to be a thank you gift as I left Florence, but this seemed as good a time as any to give it to her. “It isn’t much, but I saw it in the store window and it just reminded me of you.”
My heart danced excitedly as I went into my bedroom to grab the box. It was a necklace, a simple, pretty one with a bright flower. It didn’t cost a fortune, it was nothing like the sort of money I would have spent on diamonds for Veronica, but this was different. It was better, more special. This gift had personality, just like Eliza.
“Here.”
Eliza’s eyes lit up in surprise when she opened it. “You... You didn’t have to...”
“I know I didn’t.” I nodded. “But it just reminded me so much of you.”
“I love it!” She handed it to me and turned around, lifting up her hair for me to clip it on. The sight of so much skin sent a shiver down my spine, but I forced myself to keep it in check. “It’s lovely, thank you.”
As she grinned at me, and I stared at the necklace against her skin, I wondered what it was about me that insisted on being so closed off. Why didn’t I just open up and tell Eliza everything about me, help her understand why I was being so weird about us? Why was I acting the way I normally did around women... well, everyone really, when I knew Eliza was special? She’d been open with me about a lot of things. She’d told me about losing her grandma, she’d told me a bit about her ex, and I’d done nothing to repay her.
And now she was here, and I finally wanted to just confess. If she’d understand why this couldn’t be serious, even though I wanted it to be, then maybe it’d make things easier.
But then she turned and flicked the stove on, breaking the moment. I would tell her, though; it was definitely time. I just needed to find the right moment to bring it up.
***
That moment didn’t come until a few hours later, when we’d finished our meal and we were sitting around chatting casually about life. I was a little tipsy, my lips felt a little looser, and she was giving me an intense look that made me want to open up my soul to her.
“You know, before I came here, my life was very different.” I felt like I was stumbling over my words a little, but it was too late now. I’d started.
“Yeah, I bet Vegas is much more fast paced than Florence.” She smiled lazily, not getting where I was going with this at all.
“Yeah, I guess so. But that isn’t all of it.” Shit. I hadn’t planned this out at all. There was so much to this story, and now that I’d started, I needed to get it all out. “I... There was this woman...”
She sat up straighter in her seat, looking as if this was something she’d been expecting for a while now. If only it was as simple as one little heartbreak.
“Veronica was her name. Before she came into my life, I’d never really cared about anyone, not like that.” I hated the idiot version of that man I had been. “I fell hard and fast, giving far too much of myself to her.”
I couldn’t look at Eliza; my eyes were fixed on the floor beneath me. “But it turned out that she was married, and that her husband was this dangerous criminal. I tried to back off, but she kept drawing me back in.”
“Oh, God, that’s horrible,” Eliza murmured sadly, sounding far too sorry for me for my liking. “I’m sorry that happened to you. How did you finally manage to break that vicious cycle?”
“I got sick,” I told her bluntly. “Really sick. I got diagnosed with a brain tumor, so my focus on the healing process totally took me away from that.” I sighed deeply, my breaths a little shaky now. “I got so focused on getting better that everything else took a backseat. I left most of the running of the casinos to the managers. I stopped caring about my friends, my lifestyle, Veronica... I didn’t think about anything else.”
I finally felt brave enough to drag my eyes upward, and what I saw in Eliza’s eyes sent a cold sensation coursing through my veins. She looked sad for me, but I got the sense that maybe there was some understanding there, too, which was the only thing that caused me to carry on.
“I only just got the final all clear just before I came here. I guess now that I actually have a future in front of me, I want to do something positive with it. I want to change everything, which was why I thought about looking into investing again. I like giving companies the chance they need, especially for people like Landon. He does deserve it.”
“Yeah, he’s a good guy – and you are, too.”
I pulled back a little, wanting her to understand where I was going with this. “That’s why I’ve been... keeping distant. I guess I’m scared of everything coming back. I don’t want anyone to have to go through the horror of chemo or radiotherapy with me. It was just too awful. Endless sickness, hours in the hospital, days of near death... It’s horrible.” Just remembering it made me shudder.
Eliza grabbed hold of my face and brought my eyes up to meet hers. My instinct was to pull away and get back on the defensive, just like I usually did, but I made myself resist. This wasn’t a normal person that I wanted to get away from – this was Eliza. I just needed her understanding.
I waited for her to say something, I even held my breath, but instead, she seemed to communicate everything with her eyes. Then, before I could do something stupid, like ask her what she was thinking, her lips met mine, and she kissed me with a sweet tenderness. She was actually kissing me. After all I’d just told her, she still wanted to be close to me. I didn’t know how to react to that.
“Are you sure?” I finally gasped, needing some clarity on the situation. “After all I just told you?”
She stood up and held her hand out to me, a deep burning fire in her eyes. I touched her fingers, electricity bolting through my system, and I allowed her to lead me into the bedroom. Maybe when Eliza first turned up, I thought the night might take an awesome turn such as this, but as soon as I started talking, I assumed I would kibosh everything. Yet here we were...
Eliza was special. There was no one else like her in the world. I got the impression that even if I told her I was sick again, she’d sit in the hospital with me until I was well, refusing to leave however much I begged her to. She was on my side and wanted great things for me, and it was becoming acutely obvious that I’d never had that before. No one had ever cared enough about me, and it was a little overwhelming to have that now.
“I don’t know what to say...” I started, but she instantly shut me down by kissing me once more.
Now that the desire had ignited within her, it seemed that the time for serious conversation was done. I liked that. I hated chats that made me feel down, and this had to be the worst one of all. Yet again, without me even asking, Eliza seemed to know exactly what I needed. It was almost as if she could read my mind.