Italian Billionaire's Black Love (BWWM Interracial Romance) (6 page)

Chapter Seven

A week later, Alessandro was still in Seattle. The problems at the hospital were taking longer to resolve than he’d anticipated and his presence was required. He’d spent so much of the past two days scraping his fingers through his hair that it stood up like he’d been electrocuted.

Worst of all, he missed Eve something fierce and she hadn’t returned his calls in three days. He knew something was wrong even before he boarded the J.C. Scotti jet. The nights he spent in her bed had dwindled and their conversations had grown stilted. The easy conversation was gone and the only thing that remained was passion. It was normal for his relationships, but this time it left him cold.

He needed to see her, dammit – to talk to her and hold her in his arms. He wanted to tell her his secrets, all of them, so they could be together properly. So he could stop breaking her heart. He knew he was, even if she never said a word. He saw it in the sadness lurking in her eyes and heard it in the soft defeated sound of her voice. He felt it when she gave him every ounce of herself in the bedroom.

His time with Eve were singularly the most satisfying and most excruciating moments of his life. And, he couldn’t wait to experience it again and again – for as long as she would have him.

He picked up and dialed her number.
Voicemail
. He listened, like a lovesick puppy, to the cheery message that no longer matched the woman. He hung up before the tone, unwilling to leave a message and let her hear his weak, pleading voice.

“Sir, you can go in now.”

He nodded at the pretty nurse and stood, stretched his limbs from the hours spent sitting. Then, he slipped into the room, mostly unnoticed.

***

Sleep did not come easy to Eve over the past week and she knew at least part of the reason. She had been avoiding Alessandro and his constant calls. They both knew where this was heading, so there was no reason to drag it out. He was still in Seattle and she was still sick, so talking now would only prolong the agony.

Her dreams were littered with thoughts, images, and scents of Alessandro. He was everywhere she turned, from her salons to her dry cleaners and even her gynecologist. Escaping him was impossible, even in slumber. But last night’s dream had tortured her the most.

Alessandro walked into the bedroom, fire burning in his eyes, but he said nothing. He strode to the bed where she lay naked under the sheet, eagerly anticipating his touch. When he leaned over, he kissed her lips so softly tears sprang from her eyes. His touch was feather light everywhere – on her breasts, her stomach, and the backs of her knees. He tortured her with faint kisses that increased her passion and her need for him.

She reached out to him and took a step back with a smile. “This is for you,” he told her.

“But touching you is for you and for me,” she pleaded as his hands roamed down her thighs and back up, whispering over the soft hairs of her mound. ”Alessandro,” she called to him softly.

“Yes, my love,” he answered, and his tongue left a cool wet trail up the inside of her thigh and slipped inside her slick heat. Even his tongue was gentle as it coaxed her towards her a climax so long and powerful, she’d passed out for a moment. When she came to, those big brown eyes shone down on her with love and affection.

“You’re here.”

“You sound surprised.”

“I thought you were just a dream.”

“No, sweetheart, you’re the dream. My dream.” He plunged deep inside her on the sweetest words she’d ever heard. They soothed her soul the way his body soothed hers. The long slow strokes he favored were used over and over again, until they were both sweating and panting and crying out. Her hand rested over his hammering heart and she’d never felt closer as they floated up into the heavens together. It was only them and their love keeping them bound in the atmosphere. And, it was his strength that guided them slowly back to earth.

She woke to sweat slicked sheets, tears in her eyes, and a blaring alarm clock.

Sometimes, life was just so unfair.
So what else is new
, the snarky voice that recently took up residence in her cynical heart asked.

***

Two weeks after he left for Seattle, Alessandro returned to Los Angeles. His business there was still unsettled, but he felt better about it, and now, he couldn’t wait to see Eve. He stopped home and showered after the short flight, picking up an overnight bag, flowers, and wine for their sweet reunion.

He was so giddy about seeing her again, he’d driven his Tesla and gave Cal the night off. He wouldn’t be beholden to anyone’s clock but his own. His plan was to spend the next two days in bed and then get to the bottom of whatever was bothering her. He was surprising his woman with a night of good greasy Chinese takeout, vintage wine, and as much sex as her magnificent little body could handle.

Skipping up the stairs, he knocked gently and waited. She didn’t answer, so he used his key and entered the unusually dark house. “Eve,” he called out, taking note of the magazines cluttered on the counter and the layer of dust that covered everything. “Eve, where are you?” Then he heard it, a quiet sobbing coming from the back of the house. Sitting down his bags he jogged to the bathroom and found Eve with red rimmed eyes and sobbing, hugging the toilet.

“Alessandro,” she cried. “Hospital,” she forced out before passing out on the floor.

The next few hours were the most stressful of Alessandro’s life. Seeing Eve passed out on her bathroom floor shaved about a decade off his life. Holding her still body for long moments while he figured out what to do – call an ambulance or rush her to the hospital himself – shaved off a few more years. Ultimately, he decided to get her there himself. He didn’t want something awful to happen while the ambulance battled traffic.

Once he reached the hospital, the emergency doctors had swept her away and out of sight. Here in the hospital, his billions meant nothing. They wouldn’t get him the answers he needed. They wouldn’t get him in the room with Eve. All they
had
gotten him was a stack of papers asking for information he didn’t know. “Carla!” He needed to get in touch with her best friend. Eve would want her here, and she could probably fill out the information the hospital required.

An hour later, Alessandro spotted the determined walk and bounce of black curls that made Carla unique. “Alessandro! There you are, thank God. What happened?”

He gave her brief rundown of how he’d found her and the condition she’d been in. “And, that’s all I know. They won’t tell me anything because I’m not family.”

She shook her head and mumbled something about
idiotic men
. “You could have told them she was your fiancé, but I guess that’d be too close to actual commitment, right?” Carla turned away and went to the nurse’s desk. She talked quietly with the woman with long gray braids down her back, the same woman who wouldn’t give him the time of day. She walked back and took the clipboard from him. “She’s fine. They’re running tests right now, but they think she’s dehydrated.”

Alessandro took in the tense set of Carla’s shoulders and he knew there was more she was holding back. “And,” he prompted, annoyance weighed heavy in that one word.

She sighed heavily and looked at him. “And, they won’t know more until they can do more tests, which they can’t do without these forms.” She held his gaze a moment before returning to the paperwork and Alessandro got the feeling Carla found him lacking in some way.

“What’s the problem, Carla?” He was tired of her side looks and snide remarks.

“I’m just curious what, after two weeks of radio silence, were you even doing at Eve’s place?”

“Is that the story she’s been telling? I’ve called. Constantly. It seems that whenever I call, she’s mysteriously unavailable and I’m forced to talk to her voicemail.”

“Well, it sure made things easy for you, didn’t it?”

Before Alessandro could respond, a nurse approached. “Carla Macklin?”

“That’s me,” she stood, casting one last dirty look Alessandro’s way.

“Eve would like to see you now. She’s a little dehydrated, but we’re going to keep her here for at least another day. Follow me, please.”

Carla cast a pitying look at Alessandro. “Don’t worry, I’ll be back with an update and I’ll let her know you’re here.”

He frowned. “You will? Why?”

She smiled at him. “I’m disgusted with you because you hurt my friend, but if she didn’t care about you, there’s no way you could hurt her. Got it?”

Strangely, he did. “Got it.”

Chapter Eight

Eve spent most of her first night in the hospital pretending to sleep so the nurses would leave her alone. How anyone was supposed to sleep in a hospital was beyond her. Every hour, someone came in to poke her, prod her, and ask her how she was feeling. She was feeling like a tired dehydrated mess, but saying that would be rude.

So when a nurse came in, she’d close her eyes and feign sleep, answering the questions in a groggy way to appease them. Finally, daybreak arrived and she could sit up and stare at the wall just below the TV. “How are we doing today?” a plump nurse with kind eyes asked.

“I’ve been better.” Even to her own ears, her voice sounded depressed and tired.

“I’m sure that’s true, dear, but there’s a handsome man threatening to buy the hospital and fire everybody if he can’t see you,” she said with a smile. “So, are you going to help an old woman keep her job?” Her smile softened her defensive stance with her hands on her hips.

Alessandro.
“I suppose I owe you for keeping me alive,” she deadpanned and sighed. “Let him in.”

The nurse sighed. “Poor you. Young and gorgeous with a fine young man who cares about you. Life must be tough.”

If only she knew
, thought Eve with a bitter smile. “He’s only here because he came to my house to break up with me and I was deathly ill.” She turned her head away from the door.

“If that’s what you need to tell yourself, honey.” With that, the nurse exited the room and Alessandro quickly entered.

“What’s wrong, Eve? Tell me. I need to know.” He wrapped his arms tightly around her body, his head buried in her midsection. “Are you okay?” He patted her shoulders and arms looking for injuries and looked in her eyes, cupping her face. “You scared the shit out of me.”

“I’m fine.” Looking at his handsome face brought tears to her eyes. She would miss him and those fathomless dark brown eyes, now shining with concern and affection. “You didn’t have to stay.”

His brows crinkled in confusion and his eyes sparked with anger. “I didn’t have to stay? Where the hell else would I be when my girlfriend is sick to death in the hospital?”

Her breath caught at the sincere look in his eyes.
No, he couldn’t mean it. He’d been gone for two weeks, allegedly at work
. “It’s okay, Alessandro. You don’t have to say this because I’m in the hospital. I know you were coming by to end things with us.”

He stared deep into her eyes for a short moment and then barked out a laugh. “You crazy damn woman. Why would you think that?” He shook his head. “Do you think I come whistling into the house with an overnight bag when I intend to call it quits?”

She gave him a blank stare because she didn’t know what else to do. His words made sense, but was she reading into it what she wanted to hear? He’d been distant and unavailable for the past two weeks. She hadn’t imagined that. “Why have you been so distant?”

“I’ve just had a lot to deal with. Several projects going at once and problems with nearly all of them.”

She didn’t doubt there were problems, developing large commercial properties came with a lot of complications. But she could also tell by the way he failed to look her right in the eyes that he was still hiding something. “Sure. I’m tired.” She snuggled into the scratchy hospital linens and feigned sleep until she heard him leave. Then she let herself cry.

***

A week had passed since Eve left the hospital and she was no more broken up with Alessandro than she had been before. He still came over every night after work, usually with dinner, and they talked about their days. Her shop was close to completion and ready to open and his Macao deal with smoothed out considerably.

Their nights together were spent watching TV or making love, sometimes a combination of both. Despite her recovery from the severe dehydration, Eve still felt immeasurably tired and rarely up for going out. Alessandro didn’t seem to mind, but she often caught him looking at her with worry in his eyes. Things weren’t back to normal with them, but they were no worse, either. She just tried to enjoy every day she had with him, always preparing herself for heartbreak. Alessandro, it seemed, was content with the exclusive casual dating arrangement they had but never spoke of.

She had accepted that she was in love with him. But she’d already decided she wouldn’t tell him. Couldn’t tell him. Alessandro didn’t want anything serious and he never spoke of their future together beyond a few weeks, so she kept it to herself. Soon enough, their relationship would run its course and she could work on putting the walls back up around her heart.

She would have to break it off soon if he didn’t. She felt increasingly tired lately, couldn’t stay awake most nights past nine or ten, her appetite had taken a nosedive, and in general she felt like crap. She knew what it was. She had watched as her grandmother withered away and died from it, same as two aunts and an uncle. Eve was certain, as she sat in the doctor’s office, that she was about to get news that would change her life. Her stomach clenched as she thought about chemo treatments, wigs, and home health workers. She couldn’t ask Carla to abandon her lucrative real estate business for her and with no other family, she was on her own. A heavy sigh escaped just as Dr. Walcott entered his office.

“How are you today, Eve?” His smile was gentle as he sat behind the desk and folded his hands.

“Still tired every second of the day, Dr. Walcott, so please, just tell me where it is.”