Italian Kisses: A Billionaire Love Story (27 page)

I cringed, all my nice thoughts still not enough of a buffer against my nerves. "I hope it works."

T
hose final three days passed both faster than I thought possible and slower than I feared.

It didn't help that Liam kept getting calls. On his cell, on his hotel line. They came half a dozen times each day.

"It's about Mass Systems, isn't it?" I asked once.

"Yes. Sometimes it feels like I run the whole show myself. Like I used to when it first started," he replied.

We were in my flat, him on my bed, me in my chair, notes for my Raphaelite Painters class exam glowing on my laptop screen.

I kept cycling through everything. Study for an exam. Work on a paper. Go over the details of the fundraiser plan in my head. It never ended.

A tray of fresh rolls and buns sat on my desk beside my laptop. Studying gifts from Mrs. Rosselini, who insisted (flour drifting from her apron the whole time) that the key to being prepared for any big task meant being well fed.

The baked goods smelled delicious. Mouth-watering, even. I wanted to eat the whole tray myself, but I couldn't.

Normally I couldn't resist the warmth of fresh-baked goodies, but nerves and worry both compressed my stomach down to the size of my fist.

This was unfortunate, because even though I felt hungry I didn't have an appetite. This, combined with the aforementioned nerves and a short fuse, mixed into a mood I like to call Hangry. Hungry and angry at the same time. It's about as pretty and pleasant as it sounds.

"Why don't you just go if you're so important to them?" I snapped. I regretted it right away, but in my stubbornness I didn't apologize.

This earned me a solid, unblinking stare. "Because I made sure to hire capable people, for one. And more importantly, I want to be here with you."

I wilted beneath the heat of that gaze. "Fine. You're right. I'm sorry. It's just getting to me, is all. It's all piling down on my shoulders and it feels like it’s about to crush me."

Liam stood up, my bed springing beneath him. He came around to my side of the desk. Then he plucked a roll from the tray and offered it to me. It smelled so good.

"Eat. You'll feel better."

"I don't think I can keep anything down."
If it even goes down in the first place
.

"You can. Here, take it."

I decided to humor him. I took one bite, then another. Mrs. Rosselini used a closely guarded family recipe. I swear the secret ingredients included illegal drugs. Before I knew it I'd finished that first roll and started a second.

"How'd you do that?" I asked.

He winked.

There was no way I would have made it through those last few days without Liam. I would have spontaneously combusted.

In addition to being my personal waiter, he also made sure I took lots of study breaks. They usually started with a kiss and quickly progressed to the bed. Or any flat surface that could hold us.

And in my desperation for some sort of escape, I ended up taking a lot of study breaks.

I wanted that stupid fundraiser to be over with. However, I also wanted it to never happen. Maybe make time freeze in place so that I could avoid in indefinitely.

But time dragged me closer and closer no matter how unwilling I became. And then Friday turned into Saturday.

I
wore the same red dress that I had on at the fundraiser where I met Liam. He'd offered to take me out and buy me a new one, but I declined. It felt right to wear this one.

I liked it because it reminded me of where I'd been and how far I'd come. The last time I wore it I'd been a different person. A person I hadn't liked very much, a person about to give up.

However, it also reminded me that it is possible to change. To become a better version of you. Besides, I thought I looked pretty cute in it. Especially with my hair done up.

This fundraiser didn't take place in the same hall as the last one, though. That one had been grand and decadent with its faux Classical styling.

This one took place in the main hall of the St. Regis hotel. Another five star place. Also classically presented, but I found myself liking it more than the last place. It was sumptuously decorated, the many tables covered in lush, creamy tablecloths with candelabra set in the middle.

I couldn't help but look at the lovely crown molding, the heavy drapes the accented the arched windows. Even the staircase was better, winding up and up with a rectangle of space in the middle so that you could see the fresco on the vaulted ceiling.

Unlike the last shindig, this one didn't have a dance floor. I wondered if Dr. Aretino had anything to do with that. I suspected that he might have.

Then you also had your standard fare tuxedo-wearing waiters. A small orchestra played beneath the stage against the far wall, the backstage covered by curtains bearing the logo of Sapienza University.

At the moment, the microphone stand stood by itself on that stage. The wires leading from it to the backstage area caught my eye, but I couldn't watch for long.

"Stunning, Emma. Yes, so very stunning," Dr. Aretino said. He'd applied extra oil to his hair tonight so that it gleamed under the light. He'd insisted that we walk in arm-in-arm. Now that we stood in the hall he didn't want to let go, either, his hand holding mine to the crook of his elbow.

"Thanks," I said, trying to look out through the crowds of people for those familiar faces I wanted so much to see.

If Isabella and her baron beau had arrived, I couldn't find them. Liam had yet to arrive as well. And Dr. Aretino's wife was also absent. Though that made sense. Liam had the invitation sent to her doctored slightly to make sure she arrived in the middle of things.

Though I was quite pleased to see that most of the Arts faculty had showed up. Professor Di Cenzo chatted with a knot of well-dressed people over to our left. My other professors also made themselves known. And I saw the dean sitting at a table in the far corner.

The stage was set, it seemed.

I wished then that things were different. That there was no scheme. That it could be just me and Liam out to a nice dinner together, enjoying each other's company.

"I am so glad you decided to accept my invitation," Dr. Aretino said. He pulled me closer. "You are the most beautiful woman in the room," he continued, not bothering to hide the look in his eyes.

Where are you, Liam?
I thought, looking back towards the entrance. "Thanks. That's nice," I said.

"Come, our seats are this way," he said. He lead me past several groups of people, winding between those tables with their white cloths until we reached ours. It was close to the middle of the room. He pulled out my chair for me and I thanked him again. He took his time, and also made sure to pull it out a little too far so that I had to bend more than I wanted.

It all really added up to me feeling no pity for him and what he had coming.

And that leads me to the plan. It was simple. Really simple. So long as Isabella and Dr. Aretino's wife arrived.

It was a two-pronged attack. First, his wife would get to see what sort of man he really was. Second, and this was the more complicated bit that depended on just how good Isabella was, his work colleagues would get an earful of what he really thought of them.

And with an arrogant, self-absorbed man like Dr. Aretino, I knew that they wouldn't like what he thought about them.

"Perhaps after this you would like to accompany me for some champagne?" Dr. Aretino asked. His hand slipped beneath the tablecloth and his knuckles brushed against my thigh.

I jerked and stood up.
It's okay, just get through it
, I thought. "I'm sorry. My leg went numb. The chair biting into my thighs, I guess."

"Yes, they are cruel to your flesh, are they not?" Dr. Aretino said, smiling as I sat down.

I swallowed against my rising gorge, suddenly happy that I hadn't been able to eat anything before coming out.

I wondered how long I'd have to sit there and wait.

Thankfully, not too long. Liam arrived not long after that. He caught my eye from across the room and nodded. My heart started racing, and I let myself really begin to believe that this could work.

With Liam here, that meant that Dr. Aretino's wife couldn't be far behind. Which meant that Isabella needed to hurry up and be here, too.

"So you have been studying for your exams?" Dr. Aretino asked. I realized I'd been looking away from him for several minutes now.

Don't make him suspicious
, I thought. Even though I knew that he couldn't know anything about this, I still worried.

"Yes. I think I'm about ready," I said, trying to keep our snatches of conversation as brief as possible.

"You know, I could arrange it for you to receive top marks in all of your courses. In addition to continuing your semester here..."

He thinks my studying for the exams means that I'm giving in!
I realized. And now he already wanted more than he thought he had.

How many other young women had he run this sleazy proposition by? How many more would have to deal with it if I didn't deal with him that night?

I had to go through with the plan. I looked at Liam across the room. He felt my searching eyes and turned to me. He seemed so calm and collected, so sure I could do this.

I hoped he was right.

Then it all started happening so fast.

Most of the other guests arrived and sat down, so I could see over them more easily. Isabella appeared in the doorway, hanging from the arm of a handsome, richly dressed man I assumed was the baron.

She looked around, noticed the stage and the set of stairs that led into the area behind the curtains. Even from here I noticed her smile. It was almost exactly like we'd discussed.

She saw me and waved, keeping her hand low. I didn't wave back. Dr. Aretino would definitely be suspicious if I did that.

She whispered in the baron's ear and he smiled at her and then stepped back out of the room.

I could see it all coming together. All the pieces of the puzzle fitting themselves into the final image.

Any second now, Dr. Aretino's wife would arrive to first see him flirting with me at the table, and then stolen away from me by an even more beautiful woman and brought backstage.

Any second now
.

And then a lone woman did step in through the entrance doors. Except it wasn't Dr. Aretino's wife. It was Liam's former secretary, Abigail.

W
hat is she doing here?

In my shock, I started standing up again. She started sweeping the room with her eyes, and I knew that she couldn't be allowed to see me.

She wore her business stuff, that grey skirt and the matching blazer. Professional. She'd pulled her hair back tightly again, really emphasizing that false perfection of her face.

She didn't fit in here, not with the tuxedos and the evening gowns and the fancy waiters. Everyone else noticed, too, turning and watching her.

My blood ran icy through my veins.

"What? What is it?" Dr. Aretino said, "Do you know her?"

"No, no I don't," I said. Then I turned and looked Dr. Aretino in the face, holding his attention. If his wife did decide to show up now, I couldn't let him see her. Not yet. It would ruin everything.

Except then she did see me. I can't explain it, since I kept my eyes firmly on Dr. Aretino. I suddenly went cold. I couldn't help looking over my shoulder. We saw each other.

She started towards me.

Right away, this wave of despair passed over me. Voices followed in its wake.

You're not good enough for him. What do you have that any other woman in here can't offer him?

You aren't worth anything. Especially not to him. Why don't you go buy another plane ticket?

Trust me, I knew him better than you do. He's going to drop you when he's done using you.

I regressed back several weeks to my earlier self. Inadequate, going nowhere, not worth anyone's time. Not the school's, not Liam's. She brought all of that out in me.

Dr. Aretino peered over my shoulder. "Ah, I see your dancing teacher has showed up."

Turning, I saw what he meant. Liam had seen her. He stood, buttoning his jacket, and went to intercept her.

I couldn't tear my eyes away. This wasn't as big a problem as it sounded. Everyone else watched her, too.

She needed to leave. She couldn't be here. I knew she wanted to confront me, I could tell that as soon as she entered. If she did, the timing would be thrown off. Dr. Aretino's wife would come in too soon.

Liam knew this, too. He spoke to her calmly, even as she became more and more agitated so that the tightly-bound hairs began escaping from the bun on the back of her head.

I couldn't hear what they said, either. The murmur of all the other rubberneckers and the distance between us turned it all into gibberish.

Go. Leave.
I urged, hoping that suddenly I might become psychic so that I could order her out of here.

She said something and Liam shook his head. She slapped him. Tried to, anyway. Her hand flew through the empty air where his face had been.

This amused the crowd more than anything, their murmurs increasing.

Isabella, I noticed, had stopped halfway to my table, not certain what to do. She caught my eye, and I shook my head at her. It wasn't time.

I kept glancing at the door, waiting for Dr. Aretino's wife to step in. She didn't. Not yet, at least.

"It looks as though someone didn't appreciate his dancing lessons very much," Dr. Aretino chuckled behind me.

I managed a, "Hnh," in response. I wished he would stop with the whole dancing teacher thing.
Couldn't he think of another joke?

Finally, when it I thought for certain that the wife would show up and Dr. Aretino would see her, hotel security arrived. Two men in white shirts with radios on their shoulders and duty belts around their waists with flashlights and handcuffs.

Abigail didn't want to go, though. They had to drag her out. Liam watched, his hands on his hips. Then he shook his head. He turned back to return to his table, his eyes sweeping the room.