But I also can’t just forget the man. I’m not even sure how to stop loving him entirely, even after all that’s happened.
“I thought you ladies might like to go out and do some shopping,” Liam says when breakfast is over and the plates are cleared. He comes to stand next to my chair, holding out something in his hand. When I turn to look at it, I realize it’s a heavy black credit card—one of those ones that are actually metal instead of plastic. I’d heard of them, but I’d never actuallytouchedone before. I’m almost afraid to take it.
“Liam, I—”
“I know there are things you probably need that I haven’t thought to get you,” Liam says kindly. “Toiletries, other things that you might want to have. You know what you want better than I do. My driver will take you wherever you want to go—shopping, lunch, whatever you’d like. I have some business to take care of, so I won’t be back until this evening.” He smiles down at me, as easily as if this were completely normal—him giving me his credit card and sending me off for a shopping day with my friends.
“Oh,” he says, pausing and turning around halfway between the table where we’re still sitting and his room. “Make sure you get a bathing suit, so you can take advantage of the hot tub.” He grins at me and then disappears into his bedroom, the door clicking shut behind him.
“I think he wants to see you in a bikini,” Sofia says conspiratorially, grinning at me. “We should find you the sexiest one we possibly can.”
“I don’t think—”
“What?” Sofia raises an eyebrow. “I know you think he’s attractive. And you’re living with him.”
“I don’t know if I’m ready for something like that. After Alexandre—”
Liam’s bedroom door opens again, and I stop mid-sentence, wincing and hoping that Liam hadn’t heard me say Alexandre’s name. “I’m headed out,” Liam says, looking at the four of us. He reaches into his pocket, setting a slim black iPhone down on the bar counter. “I had this delivered for you this morning, Ana. My number is already in it if you need anything, as well as the driver and my head of security and the housekeeper. If you need something from any of them, all you need to do is text. They’ve been told to treat you with the same respect that they give me and prioritize your requests just as efficiently.” He smiles at me, and I notice not for the first time how it makes him even more handsome somehow, softening the angles of his face and lighting up his green eyes. “Have fun, ladies.”
He hesitates for just a moment, looking at me, and I have the sudden wild thought that he’s going to cross the room and kiss me goodbye. It almost feels natural that he would do just that. I can imagine it, his hand resting lightly on my cheek, his lips brushing chastely over mine, not wanting to make a scene in front of my friends, but wanting me to know how much he desires me, that he’ll be thinking of me throughout the day, that he’ll miss me.
But of course, he doesn’t. He just looks at me, with that unfathomable expression in those green eyes, and slips out of the front door, leaving the phone on the counter.
I can feel Sofia, Caterina, and Sasha’s eyes on me as I get up to get it. It feels light in my hand, too light for something that seems to carry so much meaning.
He’s doing so much for me, treating me as if I’m going to be a permanent fixture here, instead of someone who is just a guest for a few days.
And with every passing day, every passing hour, I feel more and more as if I could get used to it.
10
ANA
“What were you saying about Alexandre?” Sofia asks as I sit back down, setting the slim black phone down on the tabletop. “Liam’s treating you like more than just a guest, Ana—”
“I know,” I say softly. “I just—”
“You don’t have to talk about anything you don’t want to,” Caterina adds quickly. “I know this can be hard, Ana. And you’ve been through so much. From Franco to Alexei to Alexandre—you’ve been hurt deeply, more than we know. If you want to talk about it, we’re here for you. But you shouldn’t feel rushed.”
“I don’t,” I assure her quickly. “I just—I don’t know how to explain it all.”
“Start at the beginning,” Sofia suggests gently. “If you want to.”
“I don’t know what you want to hear—what you’re okay with hearing—”
“Anything you want to tell us,” Sasha says. “Anything youneedto tell us.” She gives me a small smile, reaching down the table to squeeze my other hand. “We’ve all been through various versions of the same thing, some worse than others, but we all understand. We’re all sisters in this. A good therapist helps, too,” she adds with a wry laugh. “Viktor has been paying for me to see someone back in Manhattan. I can see if she has any referrals in Boston. But for now, we’re here to listen to anything you need to share.”
“I know Max is staying here in Boston for the time being, too,” Caterina adds. “You can trust him, Ana. Viktor does, enough to extend his protection, and Liam is protecting him too, as far as I know. He might not be a priest in the eyes of the Church any longer, but he’s a good man, and he listens like a priest. He was very helpful to me when Anika was injured. It might be worth talking to him if you need an ear when we’re not here.”
I look around the table at the three of them, at their worried, earnest faces, and I feel my chest clench with love and gratitude—and a healthy dose of guilt, as well.
I’d thought, back in Paris, that they’d forgotten about me. I’d thought that they’d given up. I’d wanted to stay with Alexandre, in part because I’d truly believed that no one back here would care if I was gone forever—because I thought he was the only one left who would care.
I feel guilty for ever thinking that, for ever believing that they could have stopped caring.
“Just start at the beginning,” Sofia repeats. “And tell us whatever you feel like you need to talk about.”
So I do. It’s hard at first, going back to that dizzy, drugged night when Alexandre had bought me at Alexei’s party, remembering the way everything had been disjointed and strange, unsure of where I was or where I was going. I tell them about waking up in the Paris apartment, about the handsome dark-haired, blue-eyed man coming through the door like a vision, with food in his hands and a smile on his face, the Eiffel Tower outside of my window and the smells of Paris filtering through into my room.