AllFreeNovel
Share Us
"Michael?" she says after what feels like an eternity.
"Serena," I reply, "What are you doing here?"
"I could ask you the same thing," she says, raising an eyebrow.
I swallow hard, and suddenly I become acutely aware of how close we're standing. "I'm here on business. John and I are partners."
She looks confused momentarily, and then something clicks in her head. "John? As in, my uncle John?"
Uncle John?My heart sinks as I realize what it means. Serena is John's niece. She's the one John was talking about earlier.
Fuck!
"Yeah," I say, clearing my throat and pretending to be unfazed. "John is my best friend and business partner."
There's an uncomfortable pause as we both process this new information.
I can feel my emotions pressing down as I reflect on that night with Serena.
Hel, I haven't completely stopped thinking about her since that night….
Serena clears her throat awkwardly, bringing me back to this moment.
Michael, stop thinking with your dick.
"I should probably get back to my party," She mumbles, more to herself than to me, turning around to walk away.
"Are you here to see John?" I quickly interject, stopping her. "We are done with our meeting,"
John comes out from the study on cue, interrupting our tense and awkward conversation.
"Hey, you two!" he says cheerfully, putting a hand on my shoulder. "I see you have already met. Serena, this is Michael. He's my partner in the hotel business. Michael, this is my niece, Serena."
I grin, trying to appear nonchalant as I shake her hand like I'm just meeting her for the first time, "Nice to meet you, Serena."
"Likewise," she responds, pretending nothing is wrong, but I can see in her eyes that she's not as calm as she's pretending to be.
Who am I kidding? I’m not calm, either.
She finally takes her eyes away from me and looks at John. "Uncle John, can I talk to you privately for a minute?" She asks.
John nods, giving me a friendly smile. "Good to see you, Michael. We'll catch up later."
I force a smile in return as John disappears into his study with Serena. Alone now, I let out a sigh and turns to walk away.
I make my way down the hallway, through the sea of bodies again, out of the house, and into the driveway where my car is parked. But I can't focus on anything else. All I can think about is how screwed up this situation is and how impossible it might be to keep our past a secret.
Bumping into an old flame is the last thing I expected today. Actually, Serena is not so much of an old flame. It was only a one-night affair, two and a half fucking years ago.
Yet, I can’t figure out why seeing her again gets me all riled up like this. And the fact that she's John's niece means I'll see her around more often.
I'm left with a sense of unease. I know this is only the beginning of a complicated situation for the three of us, and I have no idea how to navigate this.
Chapter 3
What Happened In Milan Stays In Milan
Serena
