Her Heart's Desire (15 page)

‘
She will. If she
’
s the one, she will.’

* * * *

Marisa lay in bed crying until she felt raw. Only one night had passed since she left England, and it felt like an eternity.

Her heart was breaking, and yet, a glimmer of hope still flickered inside.

A part of her just wouldn’t, just
couldn’t
believe he did not love her. The way they were together, their intense lovemaking, their friendship, was it all false, just to get her into bed?

Melanie came in, holding a mug of steaming coffee. Placing it on the nightstand, she sat down beside her.

‘
I thought you might like a hot drink, hon.’

‘
Thank you,’ Marisa croaked.

‘
Has he called?
’
Melanie inquired tentatively.

‘
I
’
ve switched my phone off.
I’m too upset to speak to him, and it will just be lies, just like Mike all over again.’

Marisa rolled over in the bed and reached for her coffee. She sipped it then she sighed wearily, fighting back fresh tears.

‘
Hmm, but it might help, how do you know Mrs. Reed was telling the truth? He’s probably already tried ringing, don
‘
t you think you should switch your phone on now?
’
Melanie suggested.

‘
He must be really worried. After all, you did just sort of vanish,
’
she said, stroking her sister’s hair.

‘
I left a note.
’
Marisa started crying again.

‘Ok, I have to admit it doesn
’
t look good. If you’re sure he’s a liar, I think you did the right thing leaving, honey. I really do.
’

Melanie patted her sister’s shoulder.

‘
Come on, you can
’
t lie here all day! You know it only makes things worse.
’

Marisa didn’t move.

‘
Okay then, I can see we need to call the doctor,
’
Melanie said, sighing heavily.

Marisa felt a small smile beginning to play on her lips as she heard her sister scuttle out of the bedroom and return quickly. She knew what she was up to, Melanie always used ‘the doctor,’ a song by Dr. Hook her mother used to play when heartbreak caused misery.

Melanie put a CD on and started dancing. Marisa peeped over the quilt at her sister who was jigging around the room enthusiastically.

‘
Stop it, you freak, you look mental.
’Marisa sniffed and wiped her eyes.

‘
Well, the doctor is in the room, and I
’
m feeling good, baby!
’

Melanie danced around the bed then reached under the covers. Grabbing her sister’s arm, she pulled her out of the bed. Marisa squealed and fought her off, but Melanie persisted and dragged her shrieking to the floor.

‘
The one you love has let you down
…’
Melanie sang along to the lyrics.

‘
But
you
’
ll have better love next time, baby
!
’
Melanie screeched as she sat on top of Marisa, pinning her sister’s arms to the carpet with her knees, as she tickled her mercilessly under her armpits.

‘
Oh, my God, get off me, you loon. I can
’
t breathe!
’
Marisa squealed.

‘
Are you going to get dressed? Are you going to stay out of that bed?
’
Melanie continued her torture.

‘
Yes, yes, please…stop!
’
Marisa wailed.

Melanie released her victim. She pulled Marisa up off the carpet, and they flopped onto the bed, exhausted.

‘
Phew, I hope you don
’
t meet anyone else this year. I couldn’t take it!
’
Melanie laughed as her sister moaned.

‘
Nope, that
’
s it. I
’
m finished with men!
’
Marisa declared firmly.

‘
Yeah, right, whatever.
’
Melanie laughed.

Marisa looked at her sister lovingly.

‘
Thanks for always being there for me. I don
’
t know what I
’
d do without you.’

‘
Oh, don
’
t be wet. Come on, let
’
s eat then we
’
re outta here. We have shopping to do, the cure-all activity for any woman!
’
Melanie swept out of the room, pulling her sister with her.

James St. John arrived at JFK airport and hurried to get a cab. He realized he would have to track Marisa down as he didn’t even have her address; Mrs. Reed had all that information. He felt exasperated as he hailed a yellow cab and leapt in.

‘
The Plaza, please,
’
he told the driver. As the cab sped towards downtown Manhattan, James flicked through his BlackBerry, searching for William’s number. He called his brother.

‘
Listen, do me a favor, William, and ring Mrs. Reed.’

’What? I’m a bit surprised to hear you ask that. We just got rid of her!’

‘I need Marisa’s home address, a phone number, anything, she knows it.’

It
’
s four in the morning, James; I
’
ll have to wait a while. I’ll ring you back as soon as I can, okay?
’

‘
Oh, God, okay, ring me as soon as you get hold of her. I need Marisa
’
s address. I
’
m running blind here
.’

‘
Okay, will do, leave it with me.
’

* * * *

James hung up and stared out of the window at the chaos that was New York during rush hour. He groaned at his predicament, what if Mrs. Reed wouldn’t give him the address? He began making a plan B.

The cabbie pulled over on Fifth Avenue, and James paid him then strode into the Lobby of the Plaza hotel, his mind working fast to find a logical solution.

How to find one woman in the whole of Manhattan, or indeed, New York? A thought hit him suddenly.
Marisa used to work at First National Bank!
He would start there if Mrs. Reed refused to help.

He rushed to his suite and took a long, hot shower, the soothing water cascaded over his tired body, pummeling his back and neck, reviving him. He thought about Marisa and how he wished he had told her about Corinne when they first got together. He cursed himself for being so stupid. Now he was left in this ridiculous mess, and she probably hated his guts right now.

He wondered if she would believe his version of events. Corinne had meant nothing to him. He hadn
’
t felt anything for her at all. It had simply been convenient, and nothing like what he felt for Marisa.

He recalled the first moment he had seen Marisa, right here in the Plaza hotel. He was caught off guard. He had done a double take when she walked into the room. She exuded femininity with her golden blonde hair done up neatly in a loose bun, soft tendrils of silky hair framing her pretty face.

But it was her eyes that had really blown him away. He thought she had the most amazing eyes he
’
d ever seen, flickering green and mysterious yet with a gentle softness that seemed to caress him whenever she looked at him.

He wrapped a white towel around his waist and sat on the bed. Feeling desperate, he tried Marisa
’
s number again. It went straight to voicemail; she was clearly avoiding him,
no doubt
.

Maybe Clara was right, maybe he
was
making a fool out of himself after all.

* * * *

Melanie browsed the rails in Neiman Marcus as Marisa tagged along, feeling half dead. She sat on one of the large leather chairs and read a New Yorker magazine.

‘
Come on, honey, what about this one?
’
Melanie held out a flimsy black dress.

‘
I
’
m not in the mood to go out, Mel. Please, let
’
s just go home and watch a movie,
’
she pleaded.

‘
Nope, sorry, I can’t allow that, no brooding allowed.
’
She continued searching the rails.

Marisa appreciated her sister’s efforts to keep her busy and force her out of her depression, but all she really wanted to do was go home and sleep some more. She just wanted to stop thinking about James and that was only possible while she was unconscious.

‘
Oh no!
’
she exclaimed suddenly, letting the magazine drop.

‘
What is it? What
’
s wrong?
’
asked Melanie, panicking.

‘
They closed the Rainbow Room. Now I can
’
t ever dance to “Fly Me to the Moon” with a man I love in there!’

‘
Oh, I know, it’s so sad. We heard all about it at work. Cipriani didn
’
t pay their rent, owed over three million, and they
’
ve gone kaput.
’

‘
Oh no
…’
Marisa was utterly deflated. Was anything ever going to go right for her?

‘
Okay, come on. Let’s go home and spruce up.’ Melanie headed for the checkout, clutching the skimpy black number.

Marisa followed, feeling sick. She longed to be back under her quilt. At least she couldn’t cry in public. She knew that
’
s why Melanie had dragged her out. She decided to plead with her once more. It was worth a try.

‘
I
’
ll go out tomorrow night, Mel. Come on; don
’
t be so brutal, my heart’s breaking here!
’
Melanie implored her sister.

Melanie looked at Marisa and sighed.

‘
Okay, okay, let
’
s go for a quick drink then on our way home. I
’
m telling you it will help you relax, and then you can go home and sleep if that
’
s what you think is best.
’

‘
Okay,
’
Marisa conceded.
‘
One drink, then home.
’

They headed for the bar at Brown’s, and Marisa groaned as they passed the Plaza. She felt nauseous, a heavy, dull ache in the pit of her stomach. She wished she had never taken that damn job now.

She had been so vulnerable after Mike
’
s betrayal, she should never have gone to England; she could see that now. Melanie was right. She had been on the rebound.
Of course she had!
The thought hit her hard, and she gulped back a sob.

Mike, Adrianne, and now James, they had all betrayed her and played her for a fool.

If she had known James was so close at that moment, she would have been thinking about things quite differently. As she walked past the Plaza, James was standing in the hotel reception, just yards away from her.

* * * *

Marisa sipped her cosmopolitan slowly as she looked around the room. The place was full of lunching businessmen, all chatting noisily, wheeling and dealing, smooching with clients on expensive luncheon accounts.

She remembered her days at First National and sighed. Life was so simple then, before Mike had ripped her world apart, before James had stolen her heart. She could hardly believe so much had happened to her within six short months.

She glanced at her watch, three thirty, already. It would be nighttime in England. She thought about James, sleeping peacefully in his big bed, and the dull ache in her heart intensified.

‘
Hey, sad face, cheer up,
’
Melanie said.

‘
I can
’
t. I can
’
t stop thinking about him,
’
Marisa murmured.