Road to Casablanca (26 page)

Now that the celebrity gossip mongers obviously had their sexy sound bite for the night, Erick was finally able to carry on his private conversation with
Petra
.

“You look gorgeous.
 
I could never figure out why you weren’t big in movies in our country.
 
I know lots of people who would love to see you on the silver screen.”

“You are kind, as always, Erick, but my career is going fine and I am in love. I don’t want
them
to know about him though, you know? I want to keep it safe, private, to myself.”

“That’s great,
Petra
.”

Erick knew full well what she meant.
 
The media could crush love faster than a tin can and with about as much afterthought.
 
They didn’t care about the lives they destroyed in the process, either, as long as they had the scoop at the end of the day.

“That makes two of us. I’m in love too!”

“Fabulous! Tell me all about her.”

“She’s…beautiful, wonderful, sweet…what more can I say?”

“Why, Erick!
 
I don’t think I’ve ever heard you talk about anyone this way ever before.
 
How did you meet?”

“We met here, as a matter-of-fact.
 
On a blind date.
 
She’s masquerading as my wife.”

“Wife?
 
You?
 
That is funny!”

Erick’s mind drifted back to the tender moments of last night and this morning, to the walk through the town center yesterday afternoon and the desert camel rides.
 
He couldn’t wait to see her again.

“Yes, she’s my…wife…I think I want to make that a permanent situation,
Petra
.”

“You mean you want to marry her?”

Erick nodded and sipped the martini she handed him.

“Yes, that’s exactly what I mean.
 
She’s a wonderful woman, the best I’ve ever known.”

Petra
laughed, which didn’t make Erick feel any better. “Yes, I’m sure, but
you,
Erick?
 
Married?
 
I just cannot imagine it.”

“Look, I know I have quite the reputation, okay? I’m not trying to apologize for it or make any excuses either, but I do love this girl and yes, I am serious about marrying her.
 
I want to marry her.”

Erick smiled and felt a warmth move through him the more he talked about marrying Cindy.
 
He was beginning to realize she was the best thing to ever happen to him.
 
Ever.

Chapter Twenty-Four

Cindy returned from the spa earlier than expected and knocked on Erick’s door, but he wasn’t there so she went downstairs to look for him and happened to spot him in the bar.
 

She walked closer, but soon saw him talking to the most beautifully elegant woman she’d ever seen.

It’s not what you think.
 
He’s changed.
 
He’s going to be just fine.
 
Everything between you yesterday was real, I just know it.

The more Cindy tried to talk to herself about how her instincts about Erick were right and he was changing, the evidence to support that idea was quickly fading away.

First she saw the obvious familiarity between the two of them, the way Erick put his arm around her, the way she looked at him and they laughed.
 
It reminded her far too much of the way he acted just yesterday with her in the town square.

“Ouch!”

Cindy grabbed her arm and rubbed it, hoping she wasn’t bruised by the rude woman with the microphone that was pushing her way to the other side of the bar.

“Excuse me!”

A tall, dark- haired camera man hurried by too, and much to Cindy’s shock, they were headed straight for Erick and that woman.

Cindy watched as the lights shone on Erick and the woman gave him a kiss he didn’t seem to object to.
 

Cindy’s mouth fell open and the once warm spot she had in her heart for him turned instantly to ice.
 
She felt as if she would surely be sick, but there was nothing in her stomach.
 

Erick could have punched the woman, shoved her away, said something about the fact he was seeing someone. But from her vantage point, Cindy could see he did none of that. Instead, he smiled for the cameras and seemed to enjoy answering their questions.

Cindy wasn’t trying to check up on him; she thought she could trust him now after all that had gone on between them. She had simply finished with her massage and hair styling and wanted to meet Erick for a drink.
 

He had actually asked her to join him when she was finished, telling her he was going to be at the pool bar. That made the entire scene even more infuriating.
 
She wondered if he wanted her to see him flaunting himself in front of the cameras with someone so obviously more glamorous than she could ever be.

More than that, the image of Erick there with the dark-haired beauty brought back the bitter memory of the incident between them only a few nights earlier.
 
She thought she would never have to endure that kind of treatment again, but apparently, she was dead wrong about Erick.
 
He hadn’t changed a bit since the first day they met and probably never would.

Cindy’s blood ran cold at the sight of him.
 
She’d trusted him, forgiven him, believed in him.

How could he say those things to her, make love to her like he did and then come down here again, just like he did before, acting as if nothing had happened between them, as if he wasn’t committed to anyone?
 

The sight of him hugging, kissing and laughing with that woman made Cindy ill, and she couldn’t take another minute of it.
 
The thought of the two of them together on television in the States tonight was even more nauseating.

Although Cindy didn’t know what to do, she had no intention of making a scene like she did last time.
 
It wasn’t worth it, and would only hurt her, not him.
 
Obviously he didn’t give a damn about her or anyone but himself and his floozy models.
 

Cindy turned and dashed from the bar; she felt sure Erick never knew she was there in the first place. She ran upstairs sobbing, her vision so blurred from her tears she could hardly see the buttons on the elevator.

When she got to her room, she began shoving her belongings into her small suitcase, leaving behind every gift and article of clothing Erick had bestowed upon her these past few days.
 
She didn’t care at all about any of that stuff: all she wanted was him, his fidelity, his heart, and it was clear now that he was completely incapable of giving her any of those.
 
If it couldn’t be bought, he wasn’t able to offer it.
 
It was that simple.
 
He practically told her the other day his heart was unopen and unavailable, but she didn’t want to hear it at the time or think about it after the wonderful time they’d had yesterday in town.
 
She should have listened, though, but now it was too late.

She supposed the tenderness she believed she felt when they made love for the first time had all been just an act.
 
The unscrupulous man seemed to be willing to do anything to get in her pants.
 
Good for him, he succeeded
, Cindy thought, continuing to sob as she finished packing her makeup and toiletries.

Cindy could no longer allow this real-life American gigolo the keys to her heart and soul as she had these past few days, particularly after last night and the connection they shared. She’d been certain he loved her, really loved her, as she did him. Now, after all they’d been through, she felt like more of a fool than she did when she showed up here, hair all a mess and sick as a dog.
 
She should have turned back at that very moment and caught the first flight out of here.

Now it was not just her physical appearance that was in a state of turmoil. While that could easily be repaired, her newly found emotional disarray was something that would take quite some time to mend, if it ever fully did.

This relationship with Erick had been like an emotional roller coaster, full of ups and downs. This latest incident was the straw that broke the camel’s back.
 
She had to get off and stop this madness before it literally drove her mad.

She thought back to what Erick had said about how much weight the camel
 
could take before cracking under the pressure of the load on its back, and then about her own resilience through everything that had been happening with her new relationship, including her initial willingness to let everything roll off her back.
 

No more.
 
Enough was enough.

Several possible scenarios played out in Cindy’s mind.
 
Should she just leave now, no note, no anything?
 
She wasn’t capable of such cruelty, not even now, so she pulled out a piece of hotel stationary and jotted him a little note:

Dearest Erick,

These past few days have been the most magical of my life.
 
I have truly experienced what it means to love someone unconditionally and the adventure we shared will stay in my heart and soul forever.
 

Unfortunately, for me, this is where the story ends.
 
I cannot continue like this.
 
I left your belongings in my room and I wish you all the best.

Cindy

Cindy carefully rolled the paper up and was about to walk out when she looked at her hand and realized she nearly forgot to leave one thing behind – her ring.
 
She sighed as she stared at it and thought of all it meant to her, even if none of it was real.
  

Cindy curled up the note she’d written Erick and pulled the rings off her finger, carefully sliding both over the letter like a napkin ring. She slid the whole package under Erick’s door, sure that even if he stumbled in drunk in the middle of the night, alone or with company, he would eventually see it.

Cindy called the front desk and the attendant informed her that a car would be waiting. She grabbed the few personal belongings she’d brought along and went downstairs.

Within minutes a valet met her and drove her to the airport. Not once did she look back at the hotel; tears streamed steadily down her cheeks the whole way to the airport.

Once on the flight to
London
, Cindy felt surprisingly calm and relaxed, completely numbed by what she’d experienced.
 
The events of the past few days had taken such a toll on her, she barely noticed when the plane lifted off the ground and had no problems whatsoever with motion sickness.
 
Now, she was heartsick and it was a feeling far worse than any flight-induced nausea.

She took two bottles of free wine and decided to start drinking to numb herself even more, so she would be able to fall sleep before the grueling flight over the
Atlantic
began.

Her frail constitution allowed the wine to settle her easily. If her last flight was any indication, she should have been able to sleep until it was time to land. Instead, she simply sat and stared out the window, never bothering to take notice of the clouds, any bumps or turbulence, or even to consider how many thousands of feet they were off the ground.
 
She simply didn’t care about any of that anymore.
 

About midway through the flight, Cindy finally decided to rest her eyes and drifted into a fitful sleep, the restlessness a far cry from the tender security she’d felt in Erick’s arms just last night.
 
But now, all that was gone; Cinderella’s carriage had turned back into a pumpkin once again. The entire fairy tale was all over for her.

When she awoke, she looked around the plane, hardly remembering why she was here, where Erick was, and what had happened last night.
 
It all came rushing back to her in a wave of anguish and despair and she began to cry quietly in her seat until the plane landed uneventfully in
London
.

She got off the flight and easily made the transition to her trans-Atlantic commute back to
Dallas
.
 
She was exhausted, but able to settle into her comfortable reclining seat and rest her eyes before the plane departed.

The same flight attendant who held Cindy’s hands on the way over to
London
was on her shift back over to
Dallas
and was happy to see that Cindy looked like she was doing much better than before.

“Hello.
 
How was your trip?
 
How did you make out on your last flight to
Morocco
?
 
I was worried about you after you left.”

“Okay. Thanks for helping me.”

The attendant looked more closely at Cindy, her eyes now narrowed with concern. Cindy imagined she looked horrible and figured the flight attendant thought she was scared again.

 
“Are you going to be sick this time?
 
I can get you some ginger ale to settle you before we take off, if you’d like.”

“No thanks, I think I am okay this time.
 
Just a little…”
 
Cindy burst into tears, unable to complete her sentence.

The woman placed a nurturing hand on her shoulder.
 
“Oh, ma’am.
 
What’s wrong?
 
Are you scared?
 
You know it will be okay.
 
We have one of the best pilots in the air today.”

Cindy shook her head again and cried harder, still unable to speak.

“Are you sick?”

Cindy shook her head again.

“I can get you some Dramamine.
 
Just a second.”
 

She disappeared behind a curtain before Cindy had a chance to tell her she didn’t need it, and was back in a second with a glass of ginger ale, a pill, and a small candy bar.
 

“Here; chocolate always seems to help.”

“Thank you.” Cindy gratefully accepted all three, not wanting to cause any more trouble. This poor woman was only trying to do her job. Tears continued to silently stream down her face as she sobbed out more information.

“But I know I’m not going to be sick this time.”

“Well that’s okay, you just go on and keep all that.
 
We have nine hours, you know?”

Cindy already realized it would be nine hours and didn’t want to be reminded of it.

Chocolate just might ease the ache she felt in her heart, Cindy thought as she unwrapped the tiny candy bar, but after taking only one bite, she realized it wouldn’t quite cut it.
 

“Thank you.”

The flight attendant continued to watch her closely. “You feeling better?”

Cindy nodded again, unable to speak as more tears poured out of her eyes. She knew it was more than clear that she was not better at all. She attempted a smile and handed the Dramamine back to the flight attendant.

 
“It’s not air sickness. It’s something personal.”

“Oh. Just one minute, then.”
 
The flight attendant patted Cindy on the shoulder and came back a moment later with a few bottles of wine for her. “This will help with that.”

Cindy was nearly positive all this wine would surely give her a hangover, but she didn’t care right now. She quickly drank one of the little bottles and closed her eyes to sleep.
 
Heartsickness seemed to make her sleepy, and she definitely wanted to close her eyes and pretend this was all a bad dream.

Chapter Twenty-Five

It was nearly four in the afternoon before Erick returned to his room, slightly buzzed but well in control of his faculties.
 
After he’d looked for Cindy several times by the pool, he wondered where she had gone, but assumed her trip to the spa must have taken longer than either of them had imagined.
 
He thought about continuing to wait for her by the pool, but assumed she must have somehow misunderstood their plans. He finally came in to get out of the sun, which he was beginning to feel on his face.

As he reached inside the door and snapped on the light, Erick saw Cindy’s note and the rings lying on the floor.

“What the….”

As he read the words on the page, his stomach got a huge knot in it and he felt as if he would surely throw up.

“Oh no, Cindy; no!”

A million thoughts raced through his mind and he wondered what could have possibly upset her.
 
He’d never felt as close to anyone in his life, and his father’s demands aside, he had actually been contemplating a future with Cindy, especially after last night and after the great time they had in the city the previous afternoon.

Now she was gone.
 
Perhaps she wasn’t too far away, but he was still shocked and scared for her.
 
He wanted to find her immediately and make things right, however he needed to do that, as he still had no idea what she was upset about.

Clutching the rings in his hand, he let the note drop to the floor as he ran to Cindy’s door and began pounding on it with no answer.
 
He went inside his suite and unlocked the door connecting his room to hers, but quickly learned he could not enter her room since it was locked from the other side.
 
He pounded the door with his fists.