I smile. “You were, but your apology is accepted.”
“Thank you. It won’t happen again,” he says.
And although it is a relief to hear him say it, I find I am more disappointed than not by his words.
“When do you leave for Italy?” he asks.
“First thing tomorrow morning,” I reply.
“All ready to go?”
“Yes, more than ready. Thank you for this, Michael. I promise I will behave and be careful.”
“I know. That’s all I ask.”
Ice steps up and nods, interrupting us. “Hey, got a minute?”
“Yeah.” Michael turns back toward me and says, “Zaira, if you will excuse me.”
As they walk away, I hear Ice say, “Just got word that the girls got home.” I realize then that I don’t see Emma. That must be whom he is talking about.I wonder why they left before the party.
I don’t think much more about it and decide to go find my brother and sister. They are talking with Ricco and Sal when I approach.
“Zaira, good to see you, sweetheart,” Sal says and gives me a hug.
“Nice to see you too, Sal.”
“Hey, doll,” Ricco says.
Sal raises an eyebrow. “You better watch it, Ricco. You better not let Michael hear you speak to her like that.”
Ricco laughs. “It’s all good.”
I spend quite some time talking with them and then move on to mingle with some of the other guests I know. I notice Darius is always close by. He takes his bodyguard duties quite seriously.
After a couple of hours at the party, Darius approaches me. “Zaira, we should go.”
I’m a little disappointed because I was actually having a nice time. Better than I had expected, especially since things started off on a good note with Michael. “What time is it?”
“It’s after ten.”
“Oh goodness, I didn’t realize it was so late. Let me say good-bye to Vince and Mia, since I probably won’t see them in the morning.”
He nods, and we make our way back to my brother. I say my good-byes and then scan the party for Michael. Last I had seen him, he was going off with Ice.Damn, I really wanted to see him before I left.I won’t interrupt his meeting; I know how busy he is. I can’t shake the urge to see Michael before I leave, and I linger a few more minutes, hoping he returns.
“Z, we need to go.” Darius tugs on my arm. I give the party one last look as Darius and I make our way back out and toward the car. Freddy is already waiting in the circle drive for us.
As we drive off, a melancholy feeling washes over me. As excited as I am to get away, my heart is tugging at me to stay. I’m heartbroken I couldn’t tell him good-bye, so I do the next best thing. I pull out my phone and send him a quick text:
Hey- Just wanted to say good-bye and thank you.
Good-bye, Michael.
