The Long Way Home (19 page)

I didn’t, but Mike had bought me a couple cute dresses and
skirts. I slipped on a skirt and blouse, and attempted to get myself close to
not puffy.

I ended up with so much eye brightener
,
I looked semi-high
.
I ran from the room, hoping a little exertion would get me looking better.

When I got downstairs, I was flushed and glowing when I passed
the mirror. I hurried into the breakfast room. The server sat me with a wink. I
didn’t know what that meant, but I smiled at the guys, "Morning."

They all nodded at me. Tex slapped me on the back, "How
ya
feelin
’, Jack?"

I caught an evil glare from Mike but smiled anyway,
"Great. Little jet lagged but that'll wear off." I leaned into Tex,
"You let me drink too much last night."

He beamed, "With a name like Jack, I figured you would
drink us under the table."

I laughed, "Wine, I bet I can. You guys drink wine with
me tonight." I waved at Romeo. He came rushing over. I smiled brightly,
"Can we do a post-game wine tasting for these guys, you and I?"

His eyes lit up, "Of course. What a fabulous idea. Yes.
We will make it wonderful for you all. Red and white?"

I nodded and clapped my hands, "Yes, please." I
grinned wide, opening my brunch menu.

Romeo winked at me, "Leave it to me."

"Thank you."

Tex gave me a scowl, "Now, I don’t drink wine."

Mike scoffed, "Me either."

Arthur shook his head, "More of a draft sort of lad,
myself." His accent was adorable.

I grinned wide, "You will all be converted by the end of
the night."

I bat my lashes at them all. They all blushed and joked,
apart from Mike. He scowled and grumbled. Daniela seemed to be compensating for
his horrid mood. She didn’t know he just needed a nap and some video games.
That always got him into a worse funk, and then even he couldn’t stand his own
self. Then he would go for a huge workout and come back a new man.

I avoided his face. I didn’t know what to say to him. He
didn’t believe I went to the Empire State Building. He thought I had used my
money and influence to get the sash back.

Screw him.

Daniela fed him a bite. His eyes darted at me before he bit. I
rolled my eyes and smiled at Luce, who was telling a story.

We finished breakfast and walked out of the dining room. I
was stuffed and ready for a nap, but Luce asked if I wanted to go for a walk
and sightsee a little.

I nodded "Let me just get my sweater. I'll meet you in
the lobby in ten minutes."

He smiled and I sighed. If I wasn’t so angry with Mike, I
would have paid more attention to the fact Luce was hot. He was dark haired and
green eyed and beefy, five
o'clock-shadow
gorgeous. He
had that foreigner hotness that Americans just couldn’t do. He wore Armani and
smiled with brilliance and confidence. I had a naughty thought as I stepped
into the elevator.

Mike climbed in after me.

He pressed his back against the wall and pushed the door
close button several times.

"So what's the plan for today?"

I shoved him, "No way. You can't be a dick to me
yesterday and today be all ‘hey Jack, what's shaking?’"

He smiled and I sighed again. I shook my head though and
muttered, "I hate you."

He grabbed my face and pressed his lips to my forehead. It
was seductive and more than a forehead kiss. "I am so sorry I suspected
you were here to ruin my chances after I ruined yours."

I pushed him back, "You're getting married. Just stop
this. No more kissing." When the elevator stopped on my floor, he got out,
walking me to my door. I sighed as I opened the door and looked back at him,
"You can't come in." I barred the way with my arms. He grabbed each
hand that was clinging to the frame and pushed me into the room. He closed the
door with his foot and looked down on me. I felt tiny.

"Just tell me that you love me, again."

I shook my head, "No."

He nodded, "Do it."

"I hate you. You did ruin my life, Mike. You ruined
everything and then you disappeared and left me there alone. I had no one.
My sister, my friends, no one.
My family doesn’t speak to
me. My father took my things from Phil's and burned them. I picked you, but you
were gone so I was stuck alone. Do you know what that felt like?"

His face was stoic, but I could see the pain in his eyes,
"I just assumed you picked him when you didn’t move."

I shoved him back, "You stormed into my wedding and
started a huge fight. I was terrified and shocked."

He nodded, "I know. I see that now."

I shook my head, "But now is too late. You didn’t answer
one phone call or one email or one message. You didn’t hear the message of me
calling from the Empire State Building? You had to have heard the sax in the
background on the message I left you."

He winced, "Jack…"

I shook my head again, "No. Don’t Jack me like that.
Screw you, Mike." I grabbed my sweater from the bed and walked out,
brushing past him.

He grabbed my arm, "Where are you going?"

I jerked my arm free, "To hang with Luce. He wants to be
with me." I didn’t mean it the way it sounded. I saw a fire lit in his
eyes.

I turned and ran for the stairs.

"Jack!"

I hurried down the stairs but his legs were strong, longer,
and in
considerably-better
shape.

He grabbed my
arm,
spinning me,
"Stop calling me Mike. I hate it when you call me that."

I shoved his huge hand from my arm, "I hate when you act
like I'm unreasonable. You came and ruined my wedding day and my life, and
somehow it's my fault that I never hopped down from the alter
quick
enough. You fucking started a brawl at my wedding. A
brawl. How did you think I was going to react?"

His dark eyes burned down on me, "I thought you'd see
the romantic gesture."

I moaned in disbelief, "You came drunk, romance was not
what I saw. I saw a drunk hockey player making a huge scene."

"What do you care? You don’t even like any of those
people."

I shoved him again, "THOSE WERE THE ONLY PEOPLE I HAD!
YOU LEFT ME THERE AFTER YOU MADE A FOOL OF ME! YOU DIDN’T EVEN GIVE ME A CHANCE
TO REACT!"

He grabbed my face and lowered his, but I shoved him off of
me and turned and ran down the stairs.

He didn’t follow.

Luce was waiting for me in the lobby. He looked like a model.
He looked like he and Daniela should be going sightseeing. He smiled, "You
ready?"

I nodded and followed him out of the hotel. The streets and
buildings were ancient looking. I loved it. It had a romantic feeling to it.
The crisp winter air was surprising. It wasn’t
New
-York cold but it was not as warm as I expected. The entrance to the hotel
wasn’t at all what a five-star hotel in New York would have for a grand
entrance. It was old and stone, and the cobblestone streets made it feel like I
was part of the history suddenly. We walked down the one-way street until we
reached a huge five-way stop. The traffic was nuts, it reminded me of Manhattan
but the buildings were amazingly old and beautiful. The smell of the old city
was interesting and surprising.

Luce pointed at the building next to us, "Gallery of
Ancient Arts. Let's go in."

I had been to Rome shopping many times but never had I seen
the side the tourists saw.

We walked through the huge iron and stone gates into the
plaza. It was stunning. When we got inside, it smelled old and dusty but the
paintings, ceilings, and woodwork captivated me. He paid and pointed, "My
favorite is down this way."

He took my arm in his and led me along, "You know the
painting we are about to see is my all-time favorite."

If I hadn’t been so angry, I might have liked the fact he had
a favorite piece of art in a gallery in Rome. He wasn’t just a hockey player.
He was a worldly man from a humble and war-torn country.

Each painting was more impressive until suddenly we stopped.
My eyes scanned the painting, overcome by it all.
St. John
the Baptist in the Wilderness.
The shadows and subtleties were perfect.
I was drawn into the dark places I couldn’t see and captivated by
the young man whose face was cast
to the side. He looked like he was
crawling from his bed. The date was the thing that struck me with overwhelming
awe, 1603-1604. It was over four hundred years old.

"Makes you want to see what else is there, what is in
the shadows, and what he is looking at.
"

I nodded, "It's stunning. It makes me sad and I don’t
know why."

"He was beheaded for speaking against King Herod's
marriage to his niece. He called it incestuous. He was the man who baptized
Jesus but refused to be more than him. He was a humble man, always trying to be
smaller and make Jesus bigger."

A tear grew in my eye and slowly trickled down my cheek. I
was certain it had very little to do with John the Baptist and more to do with
Mike the asshole, but I let the painting be the reason I was overwhelmed.

Luce looked down on me with a soft smile. He wiped my tear. I
smiled back, "Thank you for showing me this."

He nodded, "No, thank you." He pointed, "Do
you want to see another amazing one? The ability of the painter is
remarkable."

I nodded. He pulled me gently to a dark painting with a man
lost in his own reflection.

"Narcissus." I read. It was older than the one
before. It looked as if it was mocking vanity maybe, like the man was stuck
staring at himself.

We walked, not speaking, just taking everything in. There was
a stone archway that looked like a reproduction, sculptures, paintings, and
carvings. They started to blend into each other until we reached the
tapestries. They were like rugs held on looms high in the air. The art made of
thread was impressive in both size and detail. I felt like a different person
with Luce. Someone who could be quiet inside of
herself
and just appreciate the things around her.

We linked our fingers into each other's at some point,
walking like lovers in Rome, people we weren’t. He pulled me out another door
to a long corridor of arches. It was so big, and yet, ornate. I felt like I
could be that backpacking student who was seeing everything before her life
started.

He walked us to a column and pressed my back against it,
looking down on me. My heart was in my throat. He ran a hand down my cheek,
"You are so beautiful."

I swallowed hard, "I can't do this. I'm so sorry, Luce.
I am still recovering from something."

"France?"

I winced and nodded.

"He's engaged."

I looked down at his waist, "I know. I made a mistake
coming here. My sister and his best friend back home, they bought me the ticket
to come see him and set it up. I didn’t know he was engaged."

He lifted my
chin,
"You deserve
someone so much better than a man who would even look at a gold digger like
Daniela."

I laughed, "I think I drove him to Daniela,
unfortunately. France is the greatest guy in the world, but he makes terrible
choices when he's upset."

Luce smiled, "We will get a gelato and you will tell me
this terrible story of the breaking of Mike France."

I laughed, "Deal."

I linked my arm into his and pointed at the pillars, "If
we're both still single in six months, can I get a rain check for that pillar
kiss?"

He laughed, "Yes. But I don’t think I can wait six
months."

I laughed harder, feeling the blush taking over my face.

Daniela passed me a hot chocolate, which to Italians is a
thick and delightful thing you dip your biscotti into. You didn’t drink
it,
so much as savor it, with baked goods. She dumped some
Frangelico into both our small cups and winked at me, "It's good."

It turned
out,
it was pretty hard to
dislike her.

She was sweet. I saw the money grubbing she did, but she was
no different than the girls I had always hung out with. She was like a soul
sister to me, really.

My life had been spent in pursuit of a man to marry me and
buy me expensive things and get me into the right circles—oh and love me.

Daniela looked excited as we waited for the teams to hit the
ice.

"So you watch a lot of hockey?"

I shook my head, "No. Not so much."

She frowned, "But you're American."

I laughed, "I'm more of an after-party sort of
girl."

She nodded, "The after-parties are fun. That is where I
met Mike."