Dexie: People wear clothes there.
Sophia: Text me when you land?
Dexie: I will. I’m turning off my phone now to conserve the battery. I forgot my charger.
Sophia: They have chargers there, but not a best friend like me. I’m just saying.
I laugh inwardly as I slide the phone to its off position, toss it back in my purse and close my eyes.
***
I thought I’d spend my day in Los Angeles with Suzanne, but I’ve been delegated to one of her assistants.
I can’t complain. Suzanne is funding this trip so I can get a better sense of how Belese works and where I fit into their big picture.
I brush my hair back from my face.
So far this trip has confirmed what my heart had been telling me since Suzanne made her offer.
I belong in New York City.
“As you can see the boutique is divine.” Marla, the redheaded assistant, twirls in a circle in the middle of the small store that is home to Belese in L.A.
“It’s lovely.”
“Suzanne’s vision is a corner over there for Dexie Walsh.” She motions to where a purple velvet chair is. “I’ll be working hand-in-hand with you to get your collection set up.”
I sold most of my collection to Gina yesterday afternoon.
My phone beeps again. It’s been non-stop as notification after notification sounds.
I woke up in the uncomfortable hotel bed to dozens of missed calls, more than a hundred emails, five hundred text messages, and tens of thousands of new Instagram followers.
Gina has done more for my business with one social media post than I’ve been able to do in years of trying.
Another text message comes in from a New York based number.
I removed my phone number from my website before I left the hotel this morning, but a few messages are still landing on my phone.
I only read a handful before I gave up.
I already have enough potential handbag orders to keep me busy for the next two years.
“You seem preoccupied.” Marla juts her hip out. “Should we do this later? Is tomorrow better for you?”
“I’m going back to New York tomorrow morning,” I point out. “I’ll silence the phone.”
She gives me the once-over again. I’m still wearing the same white maxi-dress and red flats that I put on this morning.
I could tell from her expression when I arrived at the boutique that she didn’t approve. I didn’t care.
I drop my phone back in my purse.
“Suzanne is thinking five bags a season to start.” She claps her hands together in mock glee. “Do you want to head over to the design studio?”
I want to absorb every ounce of information I can about how Suzanne Belese runs her business because when I get back to Manhattan, I plan on finding an investor who will fund my replication of it.
Chapter 58
Rocco
“Your mother used to bring you here,” my dad says as he gazes up at a tree, the branches whipping in the light wind, sending a leaf floating down. “It was in the afternoon after lunch at Calvetti’s.”
My memories of those days are spot-on. I can draw up an image of Nash in a stroller and my pregnant mom walking along one of the paths here in Bryant Park.
After her death, my dad kept the tradition up, bringing us down here every week.
He’d sit on a bench and weep. My brothers and I would kick around a soccer ball and then we’d go home and have dinner.
“It’s just us four men now,” my dad would comment before we’d fall asleep.
“How’s April?” I rest a hand on his shoulder.
We’re stopped in the middle of the park. I dragged him out of the hospital to shower and change his clothes. It was his idea to take a walk here.
I needed the fresh air too. I’ve been trying to reach Dexie since I left Calvetti’s last night. I haven’t heard a word back.
“It’s going to take time, Rocco.” He bows his head. “Time for us to adjust.”
Adjust to a diagnosis that will ultimately leave him a widower again.
A tumor is sitting at the base of April’s brain. It’s inoperable. She has time. No one can guarantee how much, but treatment will give her more days with my dad.
Chloe’s husband, Evan, is a doctor. He’s been helping my dad and April understand it all.
“I’m sorry, Pop.” It’s the first time I’ve said it since he was given the news.
He turns to look at me. “I talked to Marti this morning.”
It’s always been my job to deliver bad news to the family.
I was the one who called everyone to gather at Marti’s restaurant after Irena passed. I broke down when I told them that my mother had died.
Irena was my mother as much as Gaia was.
April is a friend. I’ll do whatever I can for her.
My money affords the luxury of the best medical care.
“She told me about Dexie.” A half smile tugs at his mouth. “Her name is Dexie, right?”
“Dexie,” I repeat back.
“You haven’t brought her around.” He looks up at the blue sky again. “I want to meet her.”
I can’t promise him that will happen. I don’t know what Dexie feels, or what her future holds.
I’ll pack up my life tomorrow and follow her to California if she’ll grant me that privilege, but she’s not answering any of my calls or text messages, so my suitcase is still in the hall closet, and my heart is on hold.
“I need to say something to you.” Looking up at me, my dad shields his eyes from the morning sun. “Listen. Don’t interrupt.”
I dig my hands into the pockets of my jeans. “Go for it, Pop.”
“You are the son.” He pats the center of my chest with his hand. “I am the dad.”
I bite my lip to avoid a terse remark about that obvious fact.
“It was my job to help you grieve.” His voice quakes. “I gave you that job and I shouldn’t have.”
I shake my head. “Pop, I...”
“No interruptions.” He reaches up to grab my shoulders. “I put too much on you. These shoulders are strong, but mine are too.”
I nod.
“Don’t be afraid to love this woman, Rocco.” A smile spreads on his face. “A father’s joy in his children’s happiness.”
“You’ll bring her to meet me,” he goes on, “I’ll love her too and you’ll never take one day with her for granted.”
“I won’t,” I respond quietly. “I’ll cherish every single one of them.”
“We’re going to be all right.” He pats his palm against my cheek. “You go and be happy. That’s what I want.”
It’s what I want too. I hope to hell it’s what Dexie wants.
***
Dread seeps into my belly as I stare out the windows of my apartment.
I can’t see into Dexie’s place anymore.
Sometime between my stop here last night and now, Harold must have installed blinds over the three windows that used to give me a clear view into the life of the woman I adore.
I tug my phone out of my pocket and try and call her again.
It goes straight to voicemail with a warning that her mailbox is full.
I can’t even fucking leave her a message.
I scroll through the logged calls on my phone and pull up a number I have no right calling.
I press the number to dial it.
“Hello.”
“This is Rocco Jones. I apologize for calling you out of the blue like this, but we need to talk.”
Chapter 59
Dexie
I turn my phone on once the plane lands at La Guardia.
The chirp of notifications is endless, so I silence it while I scan the screen.
The last text message to pop up is from Sophia.
My heart stops as I read it once and then again.
Sophia: I’m at Lennox Hill Hospital Emergency. Please come as soon as you lan
d.
I ignore the flight attendant’s warning not to use any phones until we’re settled at the gate.
As the airplane taxis on the runway, I call Sophia’s number.
Nothing.
I try again and it shoots straight to voicemail a second time.
I type out a message to her.
Dexie: What’s wrong? Is it Winter? Did something happen to her?
I undo my seat belt even though we’re at least two hundred feet from the gate.
One of the flight attendants waves her finger at me from where she’s sitting, buckled into her seat.
First class, courtesy of Belese, is lovely but it puts me in direct eye view of the flight staff.
The woman leans forward, her voice barely more than a whisper. “You need to buckle back up.”
“My best friend is at the hospital,” I whisper back, my voice shaking. “I can’t get in touch with her.”
She taps her hand in the air. “We’ll get you on your way as soon as possible.”
It’s not going to be soon enough.
I type out a message to Nicholas, Sophia’s husband.
Dexie: Is Sophia all right? Is Winter okay?
The battery light in the upper corner of my phone flashes before the screen goes dark.
***
I rush through the doors of the hospital. I have my overnight bag slung over one shoulder, my black tote over the other.
I’m racing faster than my sneakers can keep up with.
I almost trip as I round the corner to the waiting room.
I spot Nicholas immediately. He’s standing near the admittance desk.
I rush over to him.
“Nicholas.” His name comes out in a broken voice; my broken voice. “Who is it? Tell me everyone is all right.”
“Dexie.” He pulls me into his chest, his strong arms wrapping around me. “I got your text. You didn’t get mine?”
I step back and look up at his face. “My phone battery died.”
“Ah.” He nods, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose. “We’re good. We are all good.”
I bend over from the rush of relief I feel. “Is it Sophia?”
“She fainted.” He leans his hand on my shoulder. “She was having coffee with your friend. He literally caught her and brought her in.”
“With my friend?”
“Rocco Jones,” he answers casually as if it’s the norm for Sophia to have coffee with the man I love.
“Why were they having coffee together?” I run a hand over my forehead to push my hair back.
He shrugs a shoulder. “He called her when we were eating brunch. She took off after that to meet him.”
I glance around the waiting room, hoping to catch a glimpse of Rocco.
“Sophia’s in exam room five.” He gestures down a corridor. “She’ll want to see you.”
I drop my bags at his feet.
He picks them up and slings them over his shoulder. “I’ve got these. Go.”
I take off down the corridor, smoothing my hand over my T-shirt. I march into the exam room to see my best friend tucking a white blouse into a pair of red shorts.
“You’re okay?” I rush to her.
She takes me into her arms. “I’m good, Dexie. I’m so good.”
Something breaks inside of me and I sob in her arms. “I was so scared when I got your text.”
“The nurse told me to shut off my phone when I got here.” She points at her phone on the gurney. “I’m sorry I didn’t have a chance to clarify what was going on.”
“What is going on?” Wiping tears from my face, I take a step back and look her over.
Her hands land on her stomach. “I’m pregnant.”
“You’re pregnant?” My mouth drops open.
I knew they were trying, but it’s been months since she’s talked about having another baby. I didn’t pry because I knew that if there were news, I’d be one of the first to find out.
“I was at Palla on Fifth with Rocco. He called me because he’s been trying to reach you.” She fans herself. “That man is a dreamboat, Dexie. He is so crazy about you.”
I stand in stunned silence, unsure what to say to that.
“He loves you,” she goes on, “I’m telling you he is so in love with you.”
“He loves me?”
“Enough to move to California with you. He told me that he wants to.” She tilts her head. “I think you should stay here and be the godmother to this baby.”
“You want me to be the baby’s godmother?” I look down at her flat stomach. I know it’s early, but the prospect of watching Sophia go through another pregnancy is exciting.
“I want you to have everything you want.”
“I want Rocco,” I say without thinking.
“Go get him.” She points at the corridor.
I do. I set off to find the man I can’t live without.
Chapter 60
Rocco
I step out of the shower and wrap a towel around my waist.
I took the time to shave before I got under the hot water. I needed it.
My morning was spent at Lennox Hill Emergency with Sophia and her husband, Nick.
He’s as good of a guy as his brother, Liam.
I was glad I was there to help when Sophia lost her balance at Palla’s.
She fainted briefly, so I got Palla to flag down a taxi and I took her to the hospital.
On the way there she told me that Dexie belongs with me.
I told her she was damn right.
After a visit with my Pop and April, I dropped in to see Marti.
She fed me, asked me if I had put a ring on Dexie’s finger yet and laughed when I told her to slow the hell down.
I’ve thought about it more in the past twenty-four hours than I care to admit.
Marriage has never been part of my plan, now it’s all I want.
It’s fast. It’s soon, but that pink-haired beauty owns my heart.
My only job now is convincing her of that.
I walk out into the living room as dusk cloaks the city. I fell into bed after I got home from seeing Marti. Sleep came easily although it only lasted a couple of hours.
My heart stops for a full beat when I gaze out the window toward Dexie’s apartment.
The blinds are up, the overhead lights are on and she’s sitting on the windowsill dressed in a pair of jeans and a pink T-shirt.
It’s exactly what she was wearing the first night she saw me.
I rest my forehead against my window. “Look at me, my love.”
Her head turns slowly in my direction, a smile blooming on her lips.
“I love you,” I say as loud as I can.
She looks down at her phone.
Mine chimes in the bedroom. I ignore it.
She raises hers in the air and waves it at me.
I turn on my heel and race to get mine.
I read the text message she just sent.
Dexie: What did you say? I didn’t quite get that. Say it again.
I don’t text her back. I dial her number as I stalk back into the living room.
She glances at her phone when it starts ringing.
“Rocco.”
Jesus, I will never tire of hearing my name come from her lips.
“I love you,” I say the words I’ve been longing to say for weeks.
Her hand leaps to the window. “I love you too.”
I press my hand to my window. “I’m moving to California with you.”
“I’m staying in New York with you,” she sounds back.
“You are?”
She nods. “You’re here. My life is here. I’m not going anywhere.”
“You’re wrong about that.”
The corners of her lips dip into a frown. “I’m wrong about what?”
I laugh. “You’re coming over here, unless...”
“Come here.” She curls a finger at me. “I have blinds now.”
I turn my back t
o her and drop the towel.
“Holy shit!” she screams into the phone. “Turn around.”
I start to, but her voice stops me in place. “No, don’t. I don’t want anyone else seeing that. You’re all mine.”
“Get undressed.” I hurry toward my bedroom to pull on a pair of sweatpants. “I am three minutes away from devouring you.”
***
She swings her apartment door open to jump into my arms.
I catch her easily as she wraps her legs around my waist.
“I know.” She rains kisses on my cheeks. “I went to Calvetti’s this afternoon. I was trying to find you. Marti told me you had just left to go home to sleep. She told me everything. I know about your mom, and Irena and April.”
It was my story to tell her, but I’m damn glad Marti saw her way into the middle of this.
“I’m sorry, Rocco.” She rests her forehead against mine as I push her apartment door closed with a shove of my foot.
“The day you came to my place, so much was happening.” I heave a sigh. “I was scared, Dexie.”
“I’m here for you.” She slides down my body to her feet. “I will always be here for you.”
“That works both ways.” I cradle her face in my hands. “You need anything, I’m right here.”
Her hands crawl down my stomach to the waistband of my sweatpants. “I need to make love with you.”
I glance behind her at the windows. The blinds are down, the city shut off from our small world.
I drag her T-shirt over her head to reveal her perfect breasts.
“I’m learning how to love.” I lean down and take her nipple in my mouth. “Bear with me while I figure it all out.”
Her hand dives into my sweatpants to circle my aching cock. “I’m learning how to love too.”
I don’t have to question her. Whatever she felt for anyone else doesn’t compare to this. The look in her eyes tells me that.
“Come to bed with me.” She tugs on my hand and takes a step back.
I follow her because this is my destiny. This woman is my every tomorrow.
Chapter 61
Dexie
“It’s nice to meet you.” I clear my throat. “It’s so nice to meet you, Mr. Jones.”
“What the hell is going on in there?” Rocco calls from my bed.
I laugh as I swipe mascara over my eyelashes. “I’m putting on my makeup.”
THIRST Page 19
