The Heartbreaker Series: Books 1-3 (41 page)

Chapter Four

Mila

I put my hair up in a twist, securing it with bobby pins. In my bedroom, I slip into my black shirtdress. It stops right above my knees. I secure a wide red belt around my waist and step over to the full-length mirror in the corner of my room. The outfit complements my figure. I’m curvy. When I was younger, I worked so hard to get rid of my curves or hide them, but I quickly learned to embrace them.

I slip into a pair of black sling back pumps and spritz a little perfume on myself. My heart is racing, so I sit down on the end of my bed. I take a couple of deep, cleansing breaths and try to calm myself.

The past two weeks, I’ve been trying my best to keep myself busy, partly to stop myself from stressing about my show and partly to try and get Brian out of my mind, but all I’ve done is think about him.

When we got coffee, I had such a great time with him. He was very easy to talk to. We both have experienced things in our past that were painful. He was attentive and really listened when I talked. I know sometimes my English is horrible, especially if I talk too fast, but he just listened.

I admit I may or may not have stalked Brian’s Facebook page. There wasn’t much to see, but there was a picture of him and his parents. I was surprised to see how young they looked even though Brian said they were both in their sixties. There were a couple of videos of him doing his martial arts, and I’ll never admit to anyone that watching him use that big long stick totally turned me on. The concentration on his face, the way his body moved and flowed did something to my insides.

The room was dark the night we had sex, so I didn’t catch a good glimpse of his body, but in a few of the videos, he had no shirt on and it was clear how well he takes care of himself.

I shake myself out of my lust-filled stupor and stand up. I check my makeup one more time before I head to the gallery. Back home, I was never nervous before a show, but this one is different. This is my first American show. What if they hate my work? What if no one shows up? Of course my brother volunteered to bring me, but I wanted to drive myself, maybe so I can escape quickly if the night goes bad.

The girls from the gallery told me I didn’t need to be there super early and to just be there a few minutes before everyone is due to arrive. I pull in the parking lot and park toward the rear exit. I take a deep breath and get out.

As soon as I step inside, all of my nerves disappear. The place is set up beautifully. I walk past several of my pieces and can’t help the giddy smile that graces my lips. These women did such an amazing job. The place looks great.

A waiter offers me a glass of champagne. I thank him and take a sip of the bubbly, cool liquid.

I spot Patsy and Regina coming toward me. They’ll be the ones handling any sales tonight. Patsy is tall, skinny, and blonde, and Regina is about my height but with more pronounced curves.

“
Ciao,
ladies. It looks wonderful in here.” I kiss both of their cheeks and let them show me how they’ve set everything up tonight. The cellist, who will add a soft ambiance to the place, is setting up in the corner.

Over the next hour, I mingle and talk about my pieces to various people that have stopped in. Jill, Nico, Gabe, and Jasmine are here as well. Nico has already bought one piece. I told him he didn’t have to, but of course he ignored me. I know Gabe is eyeing a piece himself.

I keep glancing at the door, feeling a little bit of disappointment that Brian hasn’t shown up. I know I pulled the let’s-be-friends card with him, but it’s truly in his best interest that it doesn’t go further than friendship, even if he seems like the type of guy a girl would want.

“Mila, your paintings are amazing.” I turn and smile at Jasmine, Gabe’s wife.

“
Grazie
. I can’t believe the wonderful turnout.” Several pieces have
sold
stickers on them. “How’s your sweet little boy?”

“Oh, he’s great. Growing like a weed already. Jordan’s actually watching him and Nicola tonight.”

Jordan is Jasmine’s twin brother. A couple of years ago, something bad happened to him, and since then he’s nothing like the guy he used to be, or at least that’s what Jill tells me.

“Well, I’m glad you could make it.” I kiss her cheek and watch her walk away.

I move to head the other way when I hear her say, “Brian! What are you doing here?”

I can’t help it. I smile widely when I catch sight of him. He’s wearing a dark blue fitted suit and brown dress shoes. Damn him, he’s wearing his glasses and I just love how they look on him. I watch him greet Jasmine with a hug and kiss on the cheek.

My feet automatically carry me to them. He sees me over her shoulder and gives me a small smile. He moves toward me and I toward him. “You came,” I say. My voice sounds all breathy and weird.

“Sorry I’m late. I had to fill in at the studio and the class ran over.” I grab his sides as I push up to kiss both cheeks.

“That’s okay. I’m glad you’re here.”

“Brian!” I pull away as Jill goes right to Brian. I back up further and turn to walk away, but a hand on my arm stays me.

I turn my head and see Brian is the one who has stopped me. “Will you show me some of your paintings?” Without even thinking, I loop my arm through his.

For the next twenty minutes or so, I take him to each piece. He’s very attentive while, I’m sure, I talk his ear off. When the waiter passes us, Brian grabs us both a glass of bubbly. He holds his glass up to me. “To a successful show.
Salute
.” He looks down at me and winks before taking a sip of his champagne.

“Mila!” I turn to see Patsy waving me over.

“I’m sorry. I have to go talk to the head of the gallery. Look around and I’ll come find you when I’m done.” I head to Patsy. “Hey, Patsy. It’s going so well, don’t you think?”

“Yes, we’re very pleased. You’ve sold quite a few pieces. We’ll keep taking sales through the weekend and then we’ll deal with all the financials. Go enjoy your night and I’ll catch up with you before it’s over.”

I grab her hand and squeeze it. I spot Brian with Nico and Gabe and make my way toward them, but someone grabs me.

Jill and Jasmine are both standing right in front of me. “What’s going on with you and Brian?” Jill asks.

“What do you mean?”
Play dumb
, I tell myself.

“What do I mean? Um, well, maybe the sexual tension between you two is off the charts and anyone who sees the two of you can see it and feel it.” She turns toward the men and then back to me. “Oh my God! You slept with him the night of your party, didn't you? You told Nico you were getting a ride home with someone.” She doesn’t look mad, just curious.

“
Si
, I did. Please don’t say anything. It was a mistake. I shouldn’t have done it.” I slam back the rest of my champagne.

“Why do you say that? He’s a great man and a total catch.” I look beyond Jasmine and find Brian laughing at something Gabe said. If only things were different, then maybe…well, who knows?

“He is, but-but I just can’t.”

I look at Brian one more time before stepping back and heading toward the back of the room. I take a seat on a stool and take a deep breath. Tonight’s been more successful than I could have ever hoped for. My friends and family are here, and the one man I desperately wanted to come, did.

Damn my father and that bitch. They’ve paved the way to fucking us all up. Nico turned to drugs, alcohol, and women. I go for men that I can walk all over and control, and Gaia? Well, Gaia is her own brand of fucked up right now.

I stand up, take a deep breath, and wipe my sweaty palms on the skirt of my dress. When I turn to head back out to the gallery, I find Brian standing just inside the door.

“Hey, I was just checking on you. You’ve been back here a while and I just wanted to make sure you’re okay. That’s okay, right? I know you said you just wanted to be friends, and friends check on each other.”

“
Si
, I’m okay. Thank you for checking on me. That was really sweet.” He wraps his arm around my shoulders and gives me a squeeze.

The rest of the night goes by in a blur. I can’t believe it, but I sell most of my pieces. Nico, Jill, Gabe, and Jasmine left a while ago and Brian shortly after that. I am a little disappointed that he didn’t stay, but I have no right to feel that way.

A thought hits me and causes an ache in my belly. What if he had a date? He was dressed up really nice. Maybe it was for someone else. I shake the pain off because this is what I wanted. Brian has the potential to make me feel too much and I don’t want to hurt him, which is what I would eventually do.

I say good-bye to the last patron and sit with Patsy and Regina. They hand me another glass of champagne and toast me and the success of the show. I don’t stay too much longer and Patsy tells me to come in Monday to go over my sales and discuss any future opportunities.

On my way home, I go through the drive-thru of a fast food restaurant to grab something to eat. I didn’t get much of a chance to eat earlier and I’m starving. One thing about America, they make it very easy to be lazy and not cook. I need to be careful. Otherwise I’ll blimp up.

Thoughts of Brian flash through my mind, driving me bonkers.

***

I pull into the parking lot at Applebee’s. Nicola’s sweet little voice chatters away happily in the back seat. Jill called me this morning and asked me to watch Nicola because the babysitter was sick. Nico had a meeting he couldn’t get out of and Gabe and Jasmine were out of town. Nicola and I have been to the park, the petting zoo, and my house. We’ve had a great time, but I’m exhausted. I climb out of my car and grab Nicola out of her car seat.

“Are you ready to see Mommy?” I ask her.

Jill asked me to bring Nicola to meet her for lunch. When we step inside, I don’t see Jill, so I get us a table and a high chair. Nicola babbles away as I set her in the high chair and pour some of her yogurt puffs on the table in front of her. With her chubby little hands, she picks up the pink treats and pops them into her mouth.

I order water and check my emails. It’s been a week since my art show. I sold seven paintings and one pottery piece. I know Nico and Gabe probably purchased most of the stuff. It’s sweet, and I’m flattered. My most expensive piece sold for a thousand dollars, but Patsy didn’t give me the name of the person who purchased it.

“Mommy, Mommy, Mommy!”

Nicola looks past me and starts bouncing up and down in her seat. I turn to where she’s looking to find Jill and Brian walking toward us. That familiar warmth he always invokes comes back with a vengeance.

Over the past week, Jill has been trying to get details out of me, but I’ve remained tight lipped. It’s no one’s business what happened between the two of us. Plus, if I talk about him, she’ll quickly discover that I really like Brian. Then she’ll start asking questions I don’t want to answer.

I stand up when they approach the table. Jill kisses my cheek before going to Nicola. Brian stops right in front of me. “I hope it’s okay that I tagged along. We were at an out-of-office meeting and she mentioned she was coming here and invited me.”

“
Si
, it’s fine. Thank you again for coming to my show. It means a lot to me that you did.” I can feel myself blush. I don’t know what my problem is. I feel like a teenager talking to her first crush. It’s too crazy. With my face buried in my menu, I sit across from Jill and Brian.

After we all order our lunches, conversation is awkward at first. Jill is the only one talking, but at least she’s not mentioning how uncomfortable it is.

One thing I do notice is that the women in this place have no problem checking Brian out, and he seems to be oblivious to it. If I was a nicer person, I’d encourage these women to come talk to him, but I’m not because I want him for myself. I’m selfish because I know I’m going to hurt him, but I want to see where this goes. Of course that’s if he even wants to go out with me. I did give him the lame let’s-be-friends speech.

Once our food arrives, conversation becomes a little less stilted. Brian and Jill talk about their meeting and how the new computer program could make things so much easier for them. I know I’m staring, but I can’t help it. He’s just so handsome, and I don’t think he realizes it.

“Mimi!” Nicola slaps the table next to my arm to get my attention.

“
Mia Nipote,
what?”

I grab her little hand and bring it to my mouth, pretending to eat it. Her little giggles make me smile. I tell her what a pretty little girl she is in Italian.

I’ve been speaking in English the majority of the time I’ve been in America. Occasionally I slip and speak in Italian. I sit back up and feel his eyes on me. I try to fight the pull, but I can’t. Our eyes connect, and he gives me a small smile. I feel my cheeks flush and look down at my plate.