Chapter Five

Eliza

My eyes just didn’t want to open. They could sense the sunlight coming in through the windows and were fighting me hard-core. My head was already throbbing, and I could feel that all-too-familiar hangover feeling swirling around in my brain. I opened my eyes and quickly shut them, feeling the room start to spin around me. God, why did I drink so much last night? I hadn’t even realized it with the wine since it was so sweet. I had just gone with the flow and had adrenaline running through the roof.

I couldn’t believe that I turned Anthony down. He had been so sweet and dropped the bad-boy routine as soon as I found out about his wife. Then, at the bar, he took my hands in his and asked me to come back to his place. I was actually pretty impressed that I said no considering how much alcohol was in my system already. Usually, that would have been a one-way ticket to his bedroom.

I groaned as I pulled myself from the bed, not wanting to join the land of the living. I shuffled out into the hall and turned on the kitchen light, shielding my eyes from the fluorescent lighting that was trying to kill me this morning. I walked over to the coffee maker and loaded it up, happy that I had bought coffee the day before. Maybe my subconscious knew that I would need the pick-me-up this morning. God, if I had just said yes to Mr. Handsome, I would be waking up in the lap of luxury, probably in some penthouse in Manhattan, feeling the soft blankets around my body. He probably had people to make his coffee for him.

I picked up the mug of hot coffee when it was done and sat down on the stool at the center island. My mind drifted off to the night before as I felt the hot steam billowing over my face. I never thought in a million years I would ever get to eat dinner at that restaurant—I mean, celebrities ate there, not yoga instructors. Everything had been so perfect, even down to the explanation of his ring, which was incredibly endearing, to say the least. He was so damn handsome too, with his strong muscles, his thick build, and his dreamy Italian eyes. His hair looked like it would take longer than mine to do, and his suit didn’t have a single wrinkle in it.

When we were walking down the street to the bar, I couldn’t help but take in his scent. It was so subtle but sent shivers up my spine. I was so used to men drowning in their cologne, trying to cover up the fact that they hadn’t showered in two days. Anthony was definitely a breath of really good-smelling air.

I set down my cup of coffee and walked over to the cabinet, pulling out the cereal and a bowl. I needed to get some food in my stomach so I could get rid of this absolutely terrible headache. I glanced down at my phone, which was plugged into the charger, and was slightly disappointed that there weren’t any missed calls or messages. Maybe Anthony was exactly the guy I thought he was, and after not getting any, he decided to bail on me. I went to pour more coffee when a knock came to the door. I glanced up at the clock wondering who the hell would be knocking on my door at eight in the morning.

“Hold on,” I hollered out.

I jogged down the hallway and grabbed my robe off the back of the door, not wanting whoever this was to see me without a bra. It was too early for this shit, and I knew it wasn’t the religious freaks; they were in church at that time of morning. I peeked through the hole in the door and scrunched my brow, recognizing the man as the one who drove me home last night. Maybe I’d left something in his car. I opened the door and pulled my robe closed, staring out at him.

“Yes? Can I help you?”

“Absolutely,” he said with an Italian accent. “Mr. Cartucci has sent me here to request your presence this morning. You are to accompany me.”

“And where would we be going?” I was kind of floored but didn’t want to give in so easily.

“Mr. Cartucci has asked that you have a little faith,” he said as if he memorized the words. “He said dress comfortably and wear or bring a sweater.”

“Okay,” I said, taking a deep breath. “I’ll need a few minutes.”

“Of course,” he said with a bow. “I will be waiting for you downstairs. Whenever you are ready is fine.”

I closed the door and stood there for a moment before tearing my robe off and running down the hall. This was so damn exciting, and I really loved surprises. I pulled on a pair of jeans, T-shirt, and a sweater over top. I wore my Keds and rolled up the bottom of my pant legs. I looked in the mirror as I brushed my teeth and smoothed down my crazy hair, feeling like I was in some kind of romantic comedy. I didn’t want to keep him waiting, so I spritzed on a bit of essential oil spray, dabbed a bit of lip gloss on, and headed down to the car.

As we pulled away, I grasped my purse in my lap, looking out the window as we passed the park. Where in the world could we be going? Anthony sure was full of surprises, and I knew they could all just be a trap, but hell, I wasn’t going to turn down being pampered by a super handsome billionaire that made my heart flutter every time I thought about him.

I watched out the window as the car slowed, pulling into the harbor where all the rich people stored their boats for the winter. He pulled up to the dock and got out, opening my door and helping me out of the car. I looked out at the water and then back at him, wondering where Anthony was. I joked in the back of mind that it probably wasn’t wise to go out on a boat with a New York Italian, but I tried not to laugh out loud. The driver showed me down the dock and stopped in front of a very large yacht. He nodded at me and walked back toward the car.

I stood there for several moments, wondering what I was supposed to do. Suddenly a young blonde girl dressed in a white polo, white chinos, and boat shoes popped up in front of me. She smiled and reached her hand out.

“Ms. Young,” she said. “We’ve been expecting you. Right this way.”

I took her hand and fumbled slightly on board, being familiar with boats, but nothing this large and luxurious. I followed the girl to the front of the ship and smiled as she stood to the side and motioned for me to sit down. I took a seat at a large wooden table that looked out over the ocean. There were staff of the ship walking everywhere, but I still didn’t see Anthony. The blonde girl came over and placed a coaster and a champagne glass in front of me, filling it with a mimosa. I smiled at her and picked it up, sipping at the sweetness in the glass. I wasn’t even sure what I was supposed to do at that point, so I just sat there waiting.

I crossed my legs and took in a deep breath, feeling the breeze off the water rush over my skin. It was pretty chilly, and I was glad that Anthony had thought to include instructions on what I should wear. Most men didn’t think about, much less care about, things like that. One thing was for sure, he was definitely thorough in his dating habit. I reached down and stabilized myself as the boat began to push from the dock. We aligned with the path out of the harbor and slowly moved forward.

I could remember being a little girl and going out on the boat with my parents. I had always loved being on the water, especially in the summer when my father and I would do a bit of fishing. I would always throw them back, feeling bad for them, but my dad would keep them for dinner. It really wasn’t about the fish for me; it was about spending some quality time with my dad. As I sat there and thought about it all, Anthony walked out from the cabin, smiling and looking debonaire as usual. He was wearing white slacks and a blue sweater, and his smile was more than charming. I was very impressed.

Anthony sat down just as the staff started to serve us a very large breakfast, which was definitely better than the bowl of cereal I was going to eat. As if we hadn’t seen each other in years, we both immediately broke into conversation, talking about our plans this week, talking about how we both loved the ocean, and just enjoying our time with each other. We talked about Missy and Mason a tiny bit, and I mentioned that we had a dress fitting on Thursday and how much I wasn’t looking forward to an entire day there.

We rode around all morning, and when we pulled back into the harbor, the car was waiting for us. He took my hand and led me off the boat, but I didn’t ask where we were going. At that point I trusted him, and I was just glad that he didn’t let my hand go as we walked down the pier. We drove off in the car toward the city, where it dropped us off in Times Square.

“What are we doing here?” I smiled and looked up at the large screens.

“You said you loved to walk around the city.” He smiled, taking my hand.

I couldn’t believe that he had remembered that tiny detail from the first night that we met. This guy was impressing me at every turn. As the hours passed and we explored the city as I always loved to do, our bodies ended up closer and closer together. If we weren’t holding hands I was clutching his arm, and when we stopped at a crosswalk, he would put his arms around my waist and rested them there, barely cuddling.

Around one p.m., he hailed a cab and I followed, not wanting to ruin whatever surprise he had in store. We pulled up in front of the Waldorf, and he led me inside. I looked at him with suspicion and smiled as we walked into their restaurant for brunch. It was really beautiful inside and very historic in nature. It was my idea of rich, everything perfect and very full of excess. We sat and talked, eating all kinds of different delicious foods that he had ordered ahead of time. I sat next to him in the chair and leaned my head on my hand, listening to him tell me stories about his first time living alone in New York. He may have been a billionaire, but he was still a normal guy, having experienced the same things everyone else did when they first lived in the city.

My legs were crossed through his, and his hands moved down, rubbing on my thighs. I could feel a heat in my belly as I stared into his beautiful eyes, and my resolve began to fade away. Anthony looked at me with a small smirk, reaching into his pocket and pulling out a golden card key. He slid the key across the table and smiled, reaching across and kissing me before standing. I stared down at the card and then back at him as he walked from the restaurant and to the elevators. Now was the moment of truth.