Greta wasn’t a girl that should be kissed in the shadows, like a dark secret. She deserved to be center stage. Guilt had no place in my life, but kissing Greta in the dark as if she were nothing but an affair made me feel like dirt. This woman before me deserved so much better than what I could give her.
“What now?” I rasped.
Greta smiled sadly. “I don’t know.”
“You could stay here with me.”
“I belong in Las Vegas.”
You belong with me.
“When will you return to Las Vegas?”
“In two days. Since this is my first trip to New York, I wanted some time to discover the city.”
In two days already. Too fucking soon.
“Fabiano’s invited to dinner at your parents’ house tomorrow night. Fabiano said I could come as well. I think he’s worried Nevio will get me in trouble. But Nevio would have to stay away.”
Mom must have spent days convincing Dad of that dinner. He and Fabiano still couldn’t stand each other. And it really wasn’t a surprise that Dad didn’t want Nevio under his roof.
“Will you be there?” Greta asked.
“If you come, I’ll be there as well.”
“Then I’ll ask Fabiano to take me with him.” The thought that Nevio would be roaming the streets, my fucking streets without anyone to control him didn’t sit well with me, but if this gave me the chance to see Greta again…
But a family dinner didn’t give us much time to be alone. Everyone would be watching, especially Fabiano. “Is there any way you can sneak out to meet me tonight?”
Greta worried her lower lip. “We have the presidential suite but with separate rooms.”
“I know. You have the entire floor in the Mandarin Oriental.”
“Fabiano made sure the hotel staff locks the stairwell to our floor and to get off the elevator on our floor you need a keycard. Nobody’s allowed to go up or down without notifying Fabiano.”
I smirked. “I’m sure Fabiano gave the staff those orders. But New York is my city, not his, and my word trumps his by far. If you can get out of your room and make sure neither Fabiano nor your brother notice, then I can get you down to the lobby and out of the hotel.”
Greta thought about it for a while and I was sure she’d say no. Finally, a small determined smile tugged at the corners of her lips. “I’ll find a way.”
“Good,” I murmured, leaning down for another kiss. “Meet me at midnight in the stairwell, okay?”
“What are we going to do? We can’t go out and I didn’t pack anything fancy.”
“I’ll think off something, don’t worry.” Then a thought crossed my mind. “Can you wear your ballet clothes? I’d love if you could give me a private dance.”
Greta’s smile broadened and she nodded.
Heavy steps rang out. I leaned down quickly and pressed another kiss to Greta’s lovely lips before I pulled away and disappeared in the shadows, slipping away before we got caught together.
I had trouble being close to other people but the first time Amo looked into my eyes, the chaos in my head quieted. And his touch? It didn’t feel as overwhelming and confusing as every other touch felt. The kiss we’d shared today? It had awakened something in me that terrified and excited me. And suddenly I realized that only Amo could fill the void in me that I’d never known I had.
I wanted more. But deep down I knew our shared kisses had to stop. Eventually.
Not today though. When the clock struck five minutes before midnight, I crept out of bed and left my room through the door that led to the corridor, not the connecting door that would have forced me to cross the living room of our suite. If Fabiano or Nevio caught me, I’d simply tell them I was looking for a place to dance. They knew of my obsession to dance at night, especially after a stressful day like today.
The emergency exit wasn’t locked, just like Amo had promised, so I could enter the stairwell. I headed down one floor then left the stairwell to board the elevator that took me down all the way to the second floor where I switched back to the stairwell once again. Down on the first floor of the stairwell, Amo leaned against the wall, waiting for me. Relief flashed across his face when he spotted me. Maybe he’d thought I wouldn’t come.
“Security cams,” he said as a way of greeting and motioned for me to follow him. He led me through a few empty corridors then out a delivery entrance at the back of the hotel. A black SUV stood right beside the door.