wouldn’t go to New York—that would be too painful.
Sadly, her life no longer included Lorenzo, she realized, as she left the elevator and used her key to get into his condo—probably for the last time, a nostalgic part of her realized.
If he wanted to talk to her, she would stand there and look fabulous. She had matched a flowing lime green dress she had created with black pumps and shocking fuchsia lipstick. Hey, if you’re going down, may as well go down in style.
“Mr. B?” she called, refusing to verbalize he was still Lorenzo in her heart.
The lights were off, and a path of tiny vanilla-scented candles lit the way from the entrance. Interesting. Was he expecting company? Maybe Cara had planned an intimate farewell party for her? She tossed her bag in the corner and continued to follow the trail of light. Nibbles squeaked. The French doors to the terrace were open, and her stomach started to sink to the floor, just like on that elevator ride at Six Flags. Cara was so sweet that she wouldn’t put it past her organizing a little get-together before they left for good. God. Alice ran her hand over her face. How could she face everyone? Maybe her mother was in on it. Hadn’t she insisted that she come here? Practically hauled her out the door?
It was strangely eerie when her high heels clicked on the stone floor. She expected people to yell “surprise,” and jump up from the bushes or something. Nope. Nothing.
She continued to follow the trail of candles and realized it wrapped around the pool that was lit from the inside.
“You came,” Lorenzo said, and his eyes lit up like he was a kid about to go on his first roller-coaster ride.
She peered around, turning her head to both sides to see if she spotted Cara or anyone else she may have invited. “Where’s Cara?” she asked to distract herself from the nauseating sensation floating up her throat. Being near him after a few days only worsened the organic response her body wickedly darted at her.
“She flew back with me today, and I arranged for a sleepover at a friend’s.”
That didn’t make sense. Lorenzo wasn’t the type to do anything spontaneous, let alone throw her a farewell party. Especially when they seemed to be the only ones attending. “Well. You wanted to talk about a package?”
“Yes. The full package.”
“O-kay.”
He grabbed a champagne bottle from an ice bucket. She was so tense that the sound of the cork popping made her jump. “Viola called. I have the paintings. I don’t think that would have been possible without you.”
“Thanks.”
He filled a flute and gave it to her. The moment their fingers brushed, a humming passed between her legs. Lorenzo glanced at the flute, then raised his gaze to her. She yanked the flute from him, not giving a damn about the liquid spilling. If he was going to mock their attraction or think she would agree to a farewell fuck, well, she had news for him. As much as her body wanted to entangle with his, she had way more self-esteem than that.
“I have something for you.” He produced a small velvet jewelry box from his pocket.
“What is this?” She held it in her hand before opening it. “Listen, Mr. B, if you think a nice pair of earrings will get me in bed with you one last time, think again. I’m done with the booty calls.”
He grinned. “Why did I imagine this would be easy? What, with me having a hard time expressing my emotions and you rambling on when you get upset?”
She tossed the box in the pool. “There. Easy enough? Give it to someone else who’ll agree to whatever twisted proposal will suit you.”
“I don’t want anyone else, Alice. I want you.” The way he enunciated every syllable tightened her chest as if she had on the dreadful corset from last weekend. God. Why was it so hard to resist him? She bit her inner cheek hard so she wouldn’t say things she couldn’t take back. She had done that once, right? And where had that led her?
“That’s nice, but—”
“You working as my nanny isn’t enough for me anymore.” He gulped his champagne and put the glass on the table. “The trip to New York helped me realize that. I tried so hard to put you in a box, and to see you as my nanny only, because I didn’t want to mess things up. I kept saying