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The call from her Dad, telling her that he’s coming back to Monaco in order to spend the last day of his vacation with her. The way he put it, he paid for everything, so he might as well still enjoy it. The original booking for his flight was still in place, as it would have taken more money to cancel it than to fly back here and catch it. The hotel still had them booked until the end of their stay. So, why not come back?
I have to admit it makes sense. That doesn't mean I have to like it.
“What are we going to tell him?” Liliana asks, for what must be the fifteenth time.
I take her hands and kiss them one by one, feeling how she shakes against me. “I told you, Lili. We just tell him the truth. That’s all.”
“There’s no way he’s going to accept it,” she says. She’s been fretting ever since she got the call. We both knew that tomorrow was going to be her last day here, no matter what. Or, at least, we hadn’t discussed any way to make it not her last day. But I think that call really brought it home for her. The fact that tomorrow, her father will take her away from me.
Or, so he thinks. But there’s no way I’m going to let him. She’s mine now. No one, and nothing, can change that. And she belongs at my side.
“Just breathe,” I tell her, seeing the panic in her face. She breathes deeply, but it quickly comes out shaking, and she bites her lip as she squeezes her eyes shut. I pull her against me until her face hits my chest and then hold her tightly there until she’s at least not shaking quite so badly.
“Tell me we’re going to figure this out,” she says.
“We’re going to figure this out,” I promise her. In fact, I already have an idea.
When I look around my house now, I can’t imagine it without Liliana in it.
She's brought so much life to this place. She’s made my house a home. How can I go back to living without her?
I'm not letting her go. It's as simple as that. A man of my means has options. And I haven't got to where I am in business without having a few tricks up my sleeve.
I’m in the process of helping Liliana pack. Over the course of the week, she has more or less moved in. Everything that was hers at the hotel gradually came over here, as she needed it. And all of her new belongings are here, too. I let her go to continue gathering things from the bedroom, but when she doesn’t come back down for a while, I end up going after her.
“Lili?” I ask, finding her standing and staring at the rack of dresses and skirts and blouses that I bought for her over the last couple of days. There were so many excuses. A new dress so that she wouldn’t feel out of place at this upscale restaurant. A new blouse and skirt because we spent the morning on the boat and she had no clean clothes left at the house. It seemed easier to get new ones than to go all the way back across the border to the hotel.
“I can’t take them,” she says, and there’s a catch in her voice that makes my heart ache.
“What can’t you take?”
“The clothes,” she says, turning to face me. “How can I? I can’t just hang them up in my closet. Dad will notice. He’ll ask how I got them. And even if he doesn’t – my friends – people at home – they’ll wonder why I suddenly have these fancy clothes. They won’t even get any use over there. There’s no point in taking them.”
“They’re yours,” I tell her sadly. “You should have them.”
“But, I can’t,” Lili says, desperation in her voice and her face.
I take her by the shoulders, making sure that she’s paying attention to me. “Lili, there is another option, you know.”
“What?”
“You stay. And the clothes, too.”
She swallows. “I don’t think my Dad will let me.”
“And how old are you?” I ask gently.
She shakes her head. “That’s not the point. He’s still my father. I can’t do this if he’s against it. I… I love my family. And my Mom, she won’t even get the chance to meet you.”
“We can fly her over,” I say, bending to kiss her forehead. “And your aunts and your uncles and your grandparents and your friends. Anyone you need. I’ll charter a jet.”
“Be serious,” she says, staring up at me as I trail kisses across her cheek. “He’s never going to agree to it.”
“Well,” I say, pausing to nip at her neck. “Is your father not a fan of you being happy?”
