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In the middle of struggling to remember how much she had between her savings and her 401k retirement fund, exhaustion won the battle and her mind shut down.
****
The next day, with her luggage and personal items returned from their rental car, and refreshed after a hot shower, Halli was desperate for fresh air and a cup of caffeine that wasn’t tar-black and bitter as plain baking cocoa.
Earlier, she’d managed the detail of rebooking their flights, but when she inquired about a payment plan for all the medical services, the doctor told her not to worry. Easy for him to say. To her frustration, he avoided any further direct answers, stating he had patients to tend.
As if she could argue that. Instead of dwelling on the problem and driving herself crazy as she knew she was prone to do, she escaped. Armed with directions from Agente Gallo, or Evalina as she’d insisted, Halli located an almost-perfect cup of coffee a couple blocks from the hospital. She sipped the steaming brew on her way back, thinking nothing would ever compare to the cup of coffee she’d shared with Trent that first morning on his boat.
This past week had been life changing in so many ways. People passed her on the street, smiled and greeted her, and she began to wonder if she looked any different. She felt different on the inside, but did a person look different after the crazy week she’d survived?
She thought of the man who’d been beside her every step of the way.
Did a person look different after they fell in love?
In the light of day, she allowed an objective look, so as not to be swayed by delicious, seductive memories in the dark. The Trent she knew, the man she’d fallen head-over-heels for, was so different from the persona he presented to the media. Her heart wanted to believe they’d had a connection, and that he’d felt it, too. That she hadn’t misread the concern and caring she’d seen in his eyes.
Her practical side, Wisconsin Halli, told her anything she might have imagined between them was nothing more than an illusion. Wishful thinking by a gullible, lonely heart. Just because he said he wanted to talk in that serious tone and asked her to dinner, didn’t mean they’d have a happily ever after like in the movies. Shain never stayed with any of his leading ladies.
Yes, Trent had proved to be a genuinely nice guy. But he’d have helped anyone in the same situation. She was no one special.
Early afternoon sunshine warmed her bare arms. She only wished its heat could seep in and melt the chill taking over her heart. A hopeless endeavor, but her steps slowed anyway since she was in no hurry to go back inside.
A crowd had gathered at the visitor’s entrance to the hospital, so she bypassed the main doors to see what the low hum of excitement was all about. Her feet rooted to the spot when she saw Trent standing on the steps alongside a podium with a microphone, with Agente Tony Butelli and two other men dressed in business suits.
She’d watched enough press conferences on TV to understand the drill, even though one of the suits spoke in Italian and she didn’t understand a word. Most likely the world was being advised that international movie star Trent Tomlin had cooperated with police and been cleared of all suspicion in any ongoing cases with the Italian police.
Her gaze focused on Trent like the zoom lens of the paparazzi. Sunlight glinted off his dark hair, reminding her of that morning on the bridge in the Villa Melzi gardens. And yet, the difference was like night and day.
For the first time since she’d met him face to face, the line of his jaw was clean shaven. Despite the distance, the radiance o
f his smile flashed brighter than the multitude of cameras snapping his picture. It even eclipsed the sun. There stood the man she’d seen countless times in the magazines and on the movie screen, not the man who’d saved her, protected her, made love to her.
She lifted her hand for a sip of coffee, hiding behind her cup as a hard truth registered with the brutality of a bullet straight to her heart. This man was way out of her league…and he didn’t look any different for having met her.
Against her will, her feet carried her closer. The Italian man in the suit finished speaking and turned the microphone over to Trent. He fielded a dozen shouted questions, diplomatically working his way through each one. Effortless charm had the crowd of reporters eating out of his hand. After thanking the police for reopening his brother’s case, he proceeded to make light of the last few terrifying days.
Anxiety rose as Halli waited for him to say her name, but he didn’t mention her at all. The omission sparked mixed emotions. Though she didn’t relish the idea of the inevitable attention, it hurt he could so easily remove her from the events they’d endured together.
When he jokingly requested recommendations where to order a bigger, better boat, Halli backed away and headed for the hospital’s main entrance. The only greater illustration of the vast ocean that separated their lives was the immense waters of the Atlantic, and soon enough, it too would lie between them.
“What can you tell us about the woman who arrived at the hospital with you yesterday?”
Halli’s step faltered. She didn’t dare turn around. She thought it took him an extraordinary amount of time to answer, until she realized counting the beats of a racing heart was not an accurate measurement of time.
“Nothing, really,” he said. “She was a tourist in the wrong place at the wrong time. I barely even know her.”
Halli closed her eyes against the breath-stealing stab of pain. Well, what’d you expect? That he’d declare his undying love in front of the whole world? Get real. Trent Tomlin didn’t fall in love, and if he did, her practical side reminded, it wouldn’t be with someone like her.
“Sources say you invited her to dinner,” a female voice called out.
“Did your sources tell you her answer?” Trent shot back.
“She didn’t give one,” the reporter said.
“Guess I’m losing my touch, then, aren’t I?”
The crowd laughed, but it was Trent’s chuckle that mocked her all the way back to Ben’s room.
