Some Like It Hotter (Sweet Life in Seattle #3) (48 page)

“But it turns out there’s one way you’re
exactly
like her.”

Giovanni doesn’t wait or watch Lindsay drive off. Instead, he turns and walks back toward the hospital, heading straight to his office. He’s waylaid by one of the nurses, who updates him on his patient from this morning’s surgery. His chest is tight, but he manages to bring it under control, manages to put everything back in its proper place.

Hiding a broken heart from the world.

It won’t be like last time, where he went off the rails and nearly wrecked his life.

I’m not a kid this time
.

Seeing Lindsay again today was a shock. His feelings for her haven’t diminished one bit. He’s not used to feeling helpless. Begging her to come back. Hell, he’d have fallen to his knees if he thought it would do any good.

I’ve survived this before and I’ll survive it again.

Ironically, Lindsay’s taught him how to not fear the very thing she’s running from herself. If only she’d learn it too.

He saw the panic in her eyes, and knows she isn’t there, maybe never will be. For all he knows, she’ll be like that song for years to come—collecting hearts, but always afraid to offer up her own.

He spent so many years hating Olivia, hating her for all the lies, for the power she had over him. He hated her for ruining his life once, and then more recently he hated her for ruining it again. But that was a waste of time.

I’m done with that
.

Lindsay owns his heart. And despite everything, he knows he could never hate her. It saddens him to think of all the years they could have had together. Incredible years. Because he already knows one thing with absolute certainty.

He’ll love her for the rest of his life.

“You sure are pretty.”

“Thank you.” Lindsay tries to act interested in the guy sitting across from her at the coffee shop.

Since seeing Giovanni last week, she’s gone on what you might call a dating binge. A bender even. This is the eighth guy she’s gone out with in seven days. After that meeting at the hospital, she decided it was time to move on, take back her life, and so she’s determined to get back in the saddle whether she likes the horses or not.

The current guy is named Dustin. He’s tall and lanky with a bleached blond goatee and plenty of ink. She met him while she was waiting in the return line at the university bookstore. He’s a photography major with high hopes of transferring to film school next year. As a result, he took her to see an art house movie that was so absurdly pretentious with its flashing lights and crazed cinematography that it nearly burned her eyeballs.

“For an older woman,” Dustin continues. “How old are you anyway?”

“What?” Lindsay blinks then stares at him in amazement. “How old are
you?
”

“Nineteen.”

Her eyes widen, and she nearly chokes on her dirty chai latte. Upon closer inspection, she realizes he does look awfully young.
What in the hell was I thinking?

In an effort to block out all thoughts of Giovanni, she’s been saying yes to every guy who made an effort. She hasn’t paid much attention to any of them though, since it’s more about quantity than quality.

“But I think you’re hot,” he says with a grin. “That’s why I asked you out.”

“How nice,” she murmurs in a dry tone.
My God, when did I sink to this level?

“
Really
hot.”

“Look, I’m sorry, but I’m going to have to cut this evening short,” she announces, reaching around for her purse. “I have a test to study for tomorrow.”

“Oh, yeah? That’s too bad.” Dustin strokes his sprinkling of chin hairs and leans forward in his chair. “Say, listen. Can I ask you a favor before you go?” His baby blue eyes are beseeching on hers. “Do you think maybe you could buy me some beer?”

Despite the dating binge—or maybe because of it—Lindsay’s sexual mojo has taken a nosedive. Not that she’s slept with any of these guys, or even kissed them. She’d never admit it to anyone, but the thought of another man touching her is repellent.

In the past, she would have already slept with someone new, would have already forgotten the last guy’s name even. She knows it’s going to be difficult finding someone who can match Giovanni’s intensity. Plus, all these guys seem like boys. Of course, it doesn’t help that the last one actually
was
a boy.

So it’s a little different this time. So what?
Eventually, I’ll find my groove again.

In the meantime, during the long nights, she’s back to hanging out with her temperamental old friend—her trusty vibrator.

Geez lady, not you again.

Yes, I’m back, so just deal with it
.

You’re killing me here
.

Luckily, between school, the commission for those two masks, and hitting some of the local poker rooms, it’s plenty to keep her occupied. She barely thinks about Giovanni, or so she tells everybody who asks.

The truth though is she thinks about him a lot. Never one to linger or get too sentimental, she finds these memories of him creeping up on her like some kind of ninja attack. Out of the blue, she’ll suddenly remember the way he smells or tastes. The way he loves to kiss and, of course, that magnificent cock.

Mostly, she remembers the way he looked at her, and how she knew he was seeing
her.

In her darker moments, she stares at the photos of him on her phone. The early ones from Berlin and then the ones she took of them more recently at the house. Giovanni with his toolbox and that delighted grin, or working outside in those soft jeans.

It’s only in her blackest moments that she imagines the children they might have had together. In a different world, one where she could actually give him those beautiful babies.

But that smartens her up, a splash of ice water bringing her back to reality. She wants him to have those babies someday, even if it’s not with her.

Plus, there’s the whole Olivia mess.
Did he really only fall in love with me because I look like that demented bitch?
Most of her says no, but there’s a small part that still can’t dismiss it.

A week later, while Lindsay’s working in her studio, she gets a phone call from an unknown number. She ignores it at first, but when it rings three times in a row she finally answers.

“Lindsay, I am so glad to find you!” a familiar woman’s voice says with a thick Italian accent.

She only knows one woman with a thick Italian accent.

“Francesca?”

“Yes, of course. We must discuss this terrible situation with you and my Giovanni.”

Lindsay is quiet, trying to make sense of this phone call. “I’m sorry, but how did you get this number?”

“It does not matter. What matters is you are wanting a divorce from my son. Is this true?”

“That’s right. Our arrangement is finally over, so you should be pleased.”

There’s a soft snort across the line. “But I am not pleased. Why do you wish to divorce?”

“Look, I’m sorry. I know you wanted an annulment, but we’ll never get one. I think Giovanni’s already told you that we were romantically involved.”

“
Sì
, he is telling me this. I also know he loves you, and that is why you must not divorce. You must stay
together!
”

Lindsay’s mouth opens. She’s stunned into silence.

“Of course, we will have to have another wedding,” Francesca clarifies, in a matter-of-fact voice. “Not this Las Vegas. That is just . . .
No
.”

“Maybe Giovanni hasn’t mentioned it to you, but one of the reasons we’ve broken up is that I can’t have children.”

Francesca doesn’t speak right away. When she does, her voice is softer. “He has told me this, and I am very sorry to hear it. But what he has told me of your condition does not sound so impossible. You should not lose hope.”

There’s a sick feeling in Lindsay’s stomach because she can’t hang her future on a bunch people hoping for something that might never happen. “I’m sorry, but it’s best for us both if we end it.”

“Do you love Giovanni
?
”

Lindsay goes quiet. “That’s not the point. It will never work in the long run. Believe me, I know.”

“No, you do not know.” Francesca lets out a frustrated breath. “Giovanni was always so serious as a boy, and now he is the same as a man. This is it for him. He loves
you
, Lindsay.”

“And eventually, he’ll love somebody else.”

Francesca tries to convince her, and she’s relentless, but Lindsay can be relentless too. She even tries to lighten things with a joke. She appreciates what Francesca is trying to do, fighting for her son’s happiness—or so she believes—but she’s not cut out for marriage.

Plus, Francesca doesn’t know about Olivia.

After the two of them hang up, Lindsay tries to put the conversation out of her mind. Oddly, in many ways she understands Francesca and suspects they’re probably more alike than they are different.

That evening, when she gets back to Natalie and Anthony’s house, she sits on her bed in the guest bedroom. She’s been so busy she still hasn’t found an apartment. Luckily, neither Natalie nor Anthony has complained yet. She tries to be helpful around the house but knows she’s pushing it and needs to move out soon.

Tucking some pillows behind her back, she opens her laptop and brings up Google, the conversation with Francesca replaying in her head. She’s been thinking about it all afternoon, that along with Natalie’s recent suggestion.

She doesn’t know Olivia’s last name, but figures how many women have been eaten by a shark in the past ten years?

There can’t be that many.

Amazingly, it only takes her a few minutes to find a news video with details of a shark attack on a woman named Olivia Cruz.

Her heart races as she pushes Play on the video. There’s a blonde news anchor discussing the attack on a female diver off the coast of Florida. They show a boat from the diving company, and then suddenly there’s a picture onscreen of Olivia.

Lindsay sucks in her breath and immediately hits the space bar to pause it, staring at the image.

Olivia has long wavy brown hair, brown eyes, and Giovanni was right—she’s very attractive. Beautiful even. It’s a casual shot from the shoulders up and looks like it was taken outdoors.

Does she look like me?

Lindsay manages to enlarge the paused video a bit and then finds herself studying it for a long time. Olivia is smiling as she looks off to the side, a confident smile, almost a smirk really, and all Lindsay can think is,
This is the monster that sunk its teeth into Giovanni, the one who wouldn’t let go.

She keeps staring at the image. Finally, she climbs off the bed, deciding to find Natalie and ask her opinion. Her sister is downstairs helping Chloe with homework at the dining room table.

“Can I show you something on my computer?” Lindsay asks.

Natalie looks up at her. “Sure, can it wait a minute?”

“No problem.” Lindsay wanders over to the living room where Anthony is sitting on the couch working on his computer as well. Luca has started crawling recently, so they have everything gated off.

“Did you by chance give your mom my cell phone number?” she asks Anthony from across the room.