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I sigh, and I don’t even know if he’s listening, but getting all this off my chest feels good anyway, so the door and I continue our heart-to-heart. “When I was with you, I didn’t feel like all there was to my life was my job. That’s how I’ve always felt. I think that’s why I never bothered with the outside world much. I didn’t think there was anything out there for me, which made it so much worse when I finally started working and no one really wanted me there.”
If baring my soul feels this good, maybe I should start seeing a therapist.For now, though, the door is a good listener.
“The thing is that I’m really good at my job. I pay attention to detail and I pick up on things that other people glance over, but I don’t have the respect of any of the other employees. Without that, I might as well quit while I’m ahead. When you and I were spending time together, I managed to forget all that. So maybe you didn’t have fun with me, but I had fun with you. I guess I should thank you for showing me that I had the wrong idea about staying in all the time.”
A soft chuckle comes out of me. “I never thought I’d be thanking you for anything, but now I’ll even admit that I miss going out and seeing things with you. You were right. Real life is happening out there while we’re stuck in here. Do you even know where we are? Because I don’t. That never would’ve bothered me before, but it sure is getting to me now.”
There’s a pause, but then he finally responds. “We’re in Italy. Then we’re going to Switzerland. Spain is up next, if you were wondering where we’re headed after that. We’re going to miss the beaches and bikinis because of this.”
A faint click sounds from somewhere after another brief pause, and then the door opens. It’s so unexpected that I don’t even have time to brace myself before I literally fall into his room.Wearing only my robe.
Hands flying up, I cross them over my chest to make sure I’m not flashing my boobs before I realize that it’s possible he can see everything else. Reaching down, I try to keep the two sides of the robe together over my private parts when my nipple suddenly feels a bit cold, so one of my hands flies back up. While I’m doing this awkward dance, I end up flopping over, and I’m pretty sure he sees my ass before I manage to yank the robe down all the way.
Dignity. Destroyed.
“You don’t need to throw yourself at my feet to beg for my forgiveness,” he says, and when I finally force myself to look up at him, there’s so much unshed laughter shining in his eyes that I can’t help but see a little bit of humor in the situation myself. “Do you want to have a drink with me? The sun’s about to set, and I’ve got an okay view from my window. It’s not the same as being outside, but at least it’s something.”
A slow smirk curves his lips and tugs one corner a little higher than the other. “You might want to get dressed first, but don’t do it on my account. It’s kind of fun watching you flop around like a fish on dry land, but if it’ll make you more comfortable, I’ll get the drink while you go take care of that situation.”
He holds his hand out toward me with his palm out, waving it around in my general direction, and I wonder if I would’ve been better off if I’d just kept talking to the door.
16
VINCENT
Olivia is sitting across from me, holding a glass of wine in one hand as she glances out the window we’re in front of with a small smile on her face. It’s like she really didn’t know where we were before I told her, and as I watch her taking in the beauty of Rome from a distance, my insides do this weird flop.Almost like the one she did on the floor just a few minutes ago.
The sun is just about all the way down now, but the last of its glow bathes her in soft light, and I suddenly find myself wishing that I had my phone nearby so I could take a picture of her without her knowing about it. If I get up to grab it from my nightstand, though, the moment will be ruined, and I’ll have to pose the shot, which is never the same.
It would be nice to have a picture of her that doesn’t bring the world to a fucking standstill.I still can’t believe that one stupid photograph triggered all of this, but because of that photo and the asshole who took it, I haven’t left any of the hotels we’ve stayed at in half a fucking month.
It looks like being cooped up has taken a toll on Olivia as well. She’s not wearing any makeup, and her hair is damp and loose. Her eyes seem to have lost some of their light, and she even looks thinner than she was when I last saw her—that night in Paris.
She declined my offer to go put on some clothes after she fell into my room. I think it’s because she’s trying to make it look like she’s not as embarrassed about the whole thing as she is, but that’s not really what I’m getting to. What I’m getting to is that she still looks beautiful, even in her robe, with her hair unbrushed and her face bare. She’s fucking gorgeous and sexy as hell. I don’t know how I missed it before that she grew up into a bit of a babe.
Okay, not a bit of a babe. A fucking bombshell.
I’m still pissed at her, but having had two whole weeks to think about it and now having heard her explanation, I’ve reluctantly come to the realization that I can’t hold it against her. She didn’t actually do anything by coming out with us as part of her job that she wouldn’t have done if she’d just come out with us anyway.
I asked Mike for the reports she sent back on me, and they’re harmless. Standard stuff. All she really said was that there was nothing of interest to report, and she put in the names of the places we went to, but they could’ve found that out regardless. It’s not like we visited secret clubhouses.
She was only doing what she had to do, and now that I’ve heard her side of the story, I realize that I even respect her for it a little. The fact that I now know she didn’t actually divulge anything that happened or anything I said to her helps too. It means that I wasn’t a complete idiot to have trusted her even the little bit that I did.
Bringing her glass to her lips, she tips it back as her eyes close. When she’s swallowed it, she smiles. “This is good. I’m not usually fond of wine, but this is a nice one.”
“It’s local,” I tell her. “I’ve been looking up places I’d have liked to go eat or drink at and having it delivered. It’s a cheap imitation of the real experience, but it’s the best I can do.”
Her blue eyes lock on mine, and for a second, it looks like she’s in awe of me. She blinks it away fast, but there was definitely something there.
“You’re taking this whole house arrest thing a lot better than I thought you would,” she comments lightly, but I can see there’s more to it than how casually she said it. “Honestly, I didn’t think you were really going to do it at all, and if you did, I thought you were going to bring the party to you.”
I laugh. “That’s not a bad idea actually. I might just do that at some point, but I hadn’t thought about it.”
“Oh no.” She plants her face in her free hand and chuckles. “I didn’t mean to give you ideas.”
If only you knew how many ideas you’re giving me just sitting there in that robe when I know for a fact you’re not wearing anything under it.“I won’t tell anyone you’re the one who came up with it.”
She arranges her features into a stern expression. “You’d better not. I know where to find you, Moore. You won’t like the retribution.”
