“Is there room in there for one more?” Liam asks.
I open my eyes. “Definitely.”
Once he’s removed his clothes, he steps into the bathtub, and I move forward slightly, so he can sit behind me. He encircles his arms around me and then pulls me to his chest. I sigh in contentment, wishing I could freeze time and we could stay just as we are for a while.
Liam kisses my bare shoulder and massages circles over my flesh—my breasts, my arms, my sides—but he never takes it a step further. When I reach behind me to get things going, he catches my wrist and entwines our fingers. “I just want to sit like this,” he says, “with you.”
He kisses the sensitive spot behind my ear and I close my eyes, willing the tears that are filling not to fall. Why is it that the man who has me feeling all these emotions is the one man I can’t have?
Chapter Six
Natalie
I haven’t even opened my eyes, but I can already feel him gone. It’s crazy that only after two nights together I already know what his presence feels like, but I do. I peel my eyes open and glance around and, sure enough, his luggage is gone. His clothes, which were strewn all over, are missing.
I reach behind me and the sheets are cold. Wrapping the blanket around my naked body, I quickly search the place, but it’s void of all things Liam. It’s as if he never even existed. My heart feels as though it’s being squeezed in my chest. We were supposed to have one more day together.
Monday. He was supposed to leave Monday morning. Today is Sunday… Yet he’s gone.
I pad into the bathroom and, without bothering to shower, throw on the outfit I wore Friday night—he, of course, had it dry cleaned—grab my phone and the camera from the bedside table, and rush out of the suite, leaving the two cases of wine behind. As I run to the elevator, hot tears prick my lids. My chest is tight, and it’s hard to breathe. I knew better than this. Knew better than to open my heart up.
It was less than two days. I kept telling myself I knew the score, but my heart apparently wasn’t listening. When I get downstairs, I find my way through the lobby and step outside. The humid desert breeze hits my face and my tears stick to my cheeks as I wave down a cab.
The moment I get inside, my heart implodes in my chest and I choke out a sob. It shouldn’t hurt this much. Not after such a short time.
But it does.
“Where to?” the driver asks.
I give him the address and he takes off. The entire drive, neither of us speaks. I’m lost in thought about everything that has happened over the last couple of days. How happy and carefree I felt. My heart felt full and complete, and not just because of Liam, but because I was finally experiencing what this world has to offer. The thought of going back to La Stella’s and going back to my life has me feeling jittery, anxious. It’s not that this club hasn’t been good to me. It has. Giovanni, Aria, Nico, Amber… the women I’ve gotten to know. I will always be grateful to this place. It saved me from the streets, gave me a safe place to call home. But now, it’s time I begin the next chapter of my life. I have money in the bank and like Liam pointed out, I’m a young, single woman.
I use my phone app to pay the driver and once I’m inside, I waste no time finding Nico. He’s in his office with his wife. Even though the door is open, I knock.
“Hey! How was your weekend?” Amber asks.
“Okay,” I choke out, swallowing down my emotions. “I, um, I need to talk to you guys.”
My strained tone has Nico lifting his head. “Did something happen with that guy?”
“No. He was a perfect gentleman.” And I somehow managed to fall in love with him in under two days like a damn fool.
Nico’s shoulders relax. “Okay, good.”
“He left early…” I mention nonchalantly.
He nods. “The girls told me. They left a little while ago but still paid in full.” He shrugs. “I’m not going to complain.”
“What did you need to talk to us about?” Amber asks, eyeing me curiously.
“I know it’s really unprofessional to leave you hanging like this, but I’ve decided it’s time for me to leave.”
Her eyes go wide. “Leave, leave?”
“Yes, and I think it’s best if I go now before I chicken out.”
“Where are you going?” she asks, standing and walking over to me.
“I’m not sure, but I always wanted to travel, so I think I’m going to go to the airport, buy a ticket, and just go.” The idea of having no actual plan is both invigorating and scary as hell.
“If you need me to stay…” I begin, feeling like shit for leaving them on short notice without a madam.
“No,” Nico says, his eyes soft and affectionate. “You go. It’s been a long time coming. I’m surprised we got to keep you for this long.” He chuckles softly. “Go. Travel the world. We’ll handle things.”
“You sure?” I kind of expected them to ask me to stay and now that they’re not, I’m totally getting cold feet.
“Yes,” Amber says. “And please know you always have a home here. We can put the stuff you don’t take in the attic, so it’s here whenever you need it.”
“Thank you.” I hug her tightly, then glance back at Nico. “Thank you for everything.” Nico might not have been running the bordello when Giovanni first found me and brought me here, but he’s always been kind to me. Never treated me like an escort.
“I would ask if you need any money, but I know how much I pay you.”
“Nico!” Amber chides, slapping her husband on the arm.
I laugh, sniffling back my tears. “I’m good. I’m just going to quickly pack a bag and then I’m going to take off.”
After packing one luggage full of clothes, shoes, and my toiletries, since I’ll have to drag it everywhere I go, I say goodbye to everyone. I cry several times as each girl tells me how much she’ll miss me. And a couple times I almost consider not going. But I know deep down I need to do this. Being with Liam made me see there’s a whole world beyond the La Stella gates and it’s time I explore it.
On the way to the airport, I click through the photos I took this weekend. The plane, the vineyards, the estate. I stop when I get to a picture from last night. We had just gotten out of the tub. We were both naked and I made a joke about his shriveled-up dick. He attacked me from behind, throwing me down onto the bed and pinning me under him. He then proceeded to tickle the hell out of me, while demanding I take it back.
He grabbed the camera from the bedside table and started snapping pictures of me laughing as he continued to tickle me. I screamed and begged him to stop, but it wasn’t until I warned him I was going to pee the bed did he stop. He dropped onto the mattress next me and turned the camera around, snapping a photo of the two of us.
I didn’t think about it at the time, but he probably wasn’t thinking when he did it, lost in the moment, because if I wanted to, I could leak the photo, and whoever knows who he is will recognize him. I wouldn’t do that, though.
My finger glides across the small screen of the two of us. Our heads are close together. My cheeks are flushed, and I’m laughing, my eyes staring directly into the camera. Liam’s gaze is on me, though, and if I didn’t know better, I would think it was love shining in his eyes. And maybe it was… Maybe, even though he knew we didn’t have a future, he allowed himself to fall for me the same way I allowed myself to fall for him.