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No matter how hard Yasmin wanted him back in town, Alessandro did not make Megan leap on the first plane out of Logan airport. Instead, Nelson and Terry arrived at The Rosette early the next morning and drove him to her apartment. He was going to miss these guys, and he told them so.
“Thank you,” they said in stony voices, but Terry looked back at him and smiled. What lives did they lead? Touching on celebrities’ worlds and then circling out to land in a new celebrity’s world? Who would Terry protect next?
At this time of the morning, no one was waiting for him outside Megan’s building. The concierge called up to Megan’s apartment, then Alessandro took the elevator and was knocking on her door within a minute.
“Hello,” she said when she opened the door.
“Cara mia,” he replied on a breath. In her loose pale-green yoga pants and a tight zip-up cardigan with a white tank peeping through, she looked ready for a cruise or a month at a spa. Old-school Adidas sneakers were on her feet, and she wore a tiny gold necklace with a moon pendant at her neck. Her hair was up in a high ponytail, showing off her slim neck.
“Good enough for the paparazzi?” she asked, her eyes sparkling.
“Good enough for the red carpet,” he replied.
“Don’t exaggerate.” She laughed and reached behind her for her purse and her suitcases. “I’ll be wearing something much better than this for the red carpet.”
“I do not doubt it,” he said. “Stop,momento.”
She looked back at him with a frown. He slid his hands on either side of her face and gently held her still while he kissed her. The hell with Nelson and Terry waiting downstairs. He hadn’t seen her in two days, and it felt like forever. He got to know her full lips again and her scent and the feel of her jaw against his palms.
“Good morning,” he said when he broke away.
She dropped her head to his shoulder. He took the opportunity to comb through her ponytail with his fingers. Still sleek and shiny, and the ends still curled in a way that tempted him.
“I will take care of you,” he whispered. “You will be safe with me.”
“I’m not afraid,” she replied. “It’s just a lot to say goodbye to. Even if it’s only for a few weeks.”
“I will bring you back when you are ready,” he promised. “For now, let’s see where you rise to.”
Nelson and Terry took them safely to the farthest end of the departure drop-off line where fewer people would see them, and Alessandro put on sunglasses and his baseball cap. Megan wore a wide-brimmed tennis visor that hid her face but let her ponytail bounce freely. Alessandro loved that visor.
A rep from the airline walked them through check-in and security as briskly as possible, but he still noticed heads turning, people wondering. Megan didn’t seem to notice, or she didn’t care. Her head was high, and she grinned at him after they got through security in five minutes instead of waiting in the long line.
“I feel guilty,” she said.
“Don’t. If you were in the main line, you would hold things up badly.”
And then a woman old enough to be his mother stopped their progress. “I’m sorry, are you Alessandro Roselli?”
“I am.”
“I told her! I told my daughter so. Honey!” she called across the corridor. “Itishim!”
The daughter in question, if that was her, rolled her eyes and then hid her face in her hands.
“Oh, don’t mind her,” the mother said. “Hey, congratulations! I loved you inThe Drummer!”
“Thank you,” he replied.
“Can I get a photograph?”
Alessandro glanced at Megan, who put her hand out in a go-ahead gesture. The woman pulled out her phone and grabbed his arm as though he belonged to her. But he kept his wince to himself and rewarded her with his signature glower at her camera. She took a couple of shots and then opened her mouth. But Alessandro smoothly drew his arm out of hers and said, “Thank you. Excuse me. We are late for our flight.”
He took Megan’s hand and all but pulled her along, the airline rep running in their long-legged wake.
“Oh,” he heard the woman say as he left. Then “Oh!” She must have recognized Megan.
