Diamonds Are Forever - Brooke St. James Page 0,37

mailing me a box from Italy, anyway. I wasn't thinking straight.

It was difficult to get through two layers of tape with my bare hands, and I almost gave up and went to get some scissors, but I finally got it open. There was a VHS tape inside. It had a sleeve, but it wasn't marked. It was a blank tape, SONY brand, with no indication of what was on it.

I stared at it, feeling a bit like I was in an action movie and there would be a ransom video on it. I had a small entertainment center in the living room, and I went to it instantly and put the tape into the VCR. I could tell it was ready to go because all the tape was on the left side of the spool.

I turned on the TV and got it set on the proper channel. Maybe I should've hesitated or been wary, but I was too curious for that. I stuck the tape into the machine and waited anxiously to see what would play.

It was Drew.

The image of him from the waist up came up on the screen within the first few seconds, and I felt a lump form in my throat the instant I saw him. He was smiling broadly and looking more handsome than ever.

I had no idea where he was, but his surroundings were gorgeous. He was standing outside, and there was an old-world looking cityscape behind him. It wasn't like any place I'd ever been to. I figured he was in Italy, like the package suggested.

He was smiling as he cleared his throat.

I stared at the screen, transfixed.

He smiled and waved.

"Hi Lucy. It's me, Drew." He looked at the camera sincerely. I felt like he was looking straight at me. "Hey, I wanted to let you know that I'm doing what you said. I had a friend from law school, Dylan, who is spending a year in Naples to celebrate finishing law school. He has family here, and as you can see, it's wonderful, and they have a beautiful home." Drew turned and glanced behind him as he spoke, but then he looked at the camera again. "Lucy, listen, I'm all the way over here on the other side of the world. I'm trying to do what you said. I thought about it, and I realized maybe you were right. Maybe I just needed to forget about you and Mac for a while. Dylan had invited me on this trip months ago, and I wasn't planning on coming. But here I am. I called him and made plans, and so far, I've been here a week. And let me just tell you it's wonderful. I'm happy you asked me to—"

I reached out and pressed the stop button on the VCR when Mac yelled my name for the second time. My heart was in the middle of breaking, but I just smiled and did my best to remain patient.

"Yeah, baby?"

"I need to potty."

"Okay, go ahead," I yelled.

Mac was potty-trained and could handle himself in the restroom, but he liked to announce that it was going to happen. I could hardly wait to reach out and hit the play button.

"…try to move on. I go out every night with Dylan. He knows some locals, and they take us different places. Naples is amazing, and we're able to hang out with some really cool people." Drew sighed and adjusted, staring into the camera like he was really trying to look at me. "But here's the deal, Lucy…" He got up close to the camera and whispered. "I still want you. I'm still over here, on the other side of the world, thinking about you. No matter how far I get away from you physically, or how much I try to distract myself, I just can't stop thinking about you. I just keep thinking, why am I trying to get over this girl? Why should I get over you, Lucy? That's ridiculous. I don't want to. So, listen. Please listen. I know it's only been like a… week-and-a-half or so, but I'm telling you, I tried to make myself do it, and I'm just not going to change my mind. Being over here without you only makes me realize one thing, and that's that I wish you were here with me. So, here's the deal, Lu, now it's your turn. Now you need to get out on a limb for me. I'm going to New York, and I