So why is it that Liliana makes me feel this way? Why am I being like this?
I sigh deeply, tossing and turning in bed, trying to get comfortable. I gave her my number, but now that I think about it, it not enough. I should have taken hers instead. I should have taken her hotel room number, her address. Anything so that I could go to her right now, find her myself. Anything so that I wouldn’t have to wait. Why did I leave it all in her hands?
In business, I'm used to having all the power. So why did I give her power over me?
I didn't tell her where I live because I didn't want to see her judgment affected by my home. She and Frank don't seem to know who I am.
In certain circles, my name alone would be enough to tell everyone everything they needed to know. But they don't seem to have heard of me. I want to take advantage of that, make sure that she sees me for myself, not for what comes along with me.
But even so, even though there was a logical reason behind all of it, I can't help but think I made a mistake.
I should have found a way to stay in contact with her. But I'm not going to make that same mistake again. Tomorrow morning is a brand new day, and they still have the rest of the week here. That means there are plenty of opportunities for our paths to cross. I just have to make sure that it happens again sooner rather than later.
Monaco is a small place. How hard can it be to find one single tourist and her father? I have an army of employees at my disposal, and an assistant I can trust to be as discreet as possible. They can run down guest lists, call to leave a message to see if the receptionist recognizes the name, ask for a room number. Even if we can’t get the exact number thanks to privacy concerns, I can go and wait in the lobby and bump into them by accident. It could be that easy.
I will be able to find her. And when I do, I will make her mine. Nothing else will be acceptable.
I'm in deep, and the only way forward is to get inside her. I just need to get some sleep tonight, and tomorrow, it's going to happen.
CHAPTER TEN
Liliana
“Honey?” Dad calls out, knocking on my door.
It’s so familiar that, for the briefest of seconds, I forget that I’m in Monaco. I think that I must have overslept and I’m late for college because that’s what I would normally assume when my father knocks on my door like that. Like he has bad news.
But then I open my eyes and remember where I am, and frown. “What is it?” I ask, reaching for a robe that came with the hotel room, and which I left beside the bed last night.
“I need to speak with you about something.”
I groan inwardly. That doesn’t sound good at all. I’ve got this terrible feeling that we might be going home, but if that’s the case, I just don’t want to know. Still, it’s not like I can resist. I grab the robe and pull it on, getting out of bed and shuffling my still-half-asleep body to the door.
“Sit down, please,” Dad says, gesturing to the chair in my suite. He’s pacing the floor, which I can’t help but notice makes him a little hypocritical.
I do as I’m told, suddenly a lot more worried. “Dad?” I say, wishing he would get it over with and tell me instead of letting the tension build up like this.
“Darling, I’m sorry,” he says. “I honestly didn’t know this was going to happen. If there was any way to get around it…”
I rest my forehead in my hands. “You’re going to work,” I say, my voice muffled.
“Yes,” Dad says. “I’m really sorry. I know you’ve been enjoying yourself here, and I wish we didn’t have to end it so soon. But you know what my job’s like. And this is really urgent.”
I sigh, pushing my hair back from my face. “Dad, this is supposed to be our vacation.”
“I know – but the thing is, it’s my job that paid for us to come here in the first place. If I don’t work, we can’t do these kinds of trips, you know?” Dad sighs too, finally sitting down on a bed opposite me. “Ever since your mother and I divorced, I haven’t been able to keep up with the bills like I used to. This is just the way things are now. I can’t turn down the opportunity to make more money – and this is a lot of money.”
“Are you struggling that much?” I ask, worried now that we’ve wasted money by coming here.
“No, not struggling,” Dad says, shrugging his shoulders up and down helplessly. “I’m doing fine. It’s just that I got used to living in a household with two incomes, and now I just have one. I’m making it sound more dramatic than it is, probably. I can keep up with the bills. I can even save up for luxuries like this. But if I lose my job, that won’t be the case anymore. You see?”
I nod sadly. “I understand,” I say, giving him a wan smile. “Hey, welcome to adult life. That will be me soon, now that I’m done with school.”
Dad nods. “Sorry to say it, kiddo. And I know this trip was your graduation present. I feel terrible about cutting it short.”
“Well…” I look up at him, inspiration striking me. “It doesn’t have to get cut short for me, does it?”
Dad frowns. “What do you mean?”
“You have to go to work, and I get that. But I’m already here, the room is already paid for, my flight home is already paid for. Why change it all and incur more fees? I might as well stay and enjoy it.”
Dad narrows his eyes. “You want me to leave you alone in a foreign country?”
“I am an adult, Dad,” I point out. “Like you just reminded me. I can do this by myself. It’s not like we’re getting into anything complicated or dangerous. Just walking around Monaco. How much safer could I be?”
Dad hesitates. “But, what happened last night…”
I shake my head dismissively, even though the thought of it does make my blood run cold. “It was nothing. Nothing happened. Honestly, I feel safe. Nico was looking out for me, and I’m sure that there are plenty of Monégasque strangers who will be just as kind.”
Or exactly as kind as him, I think. Because if I’m here on my own, there’s no way I’m not calling him to see if we can spend some more time together.
“Well,” Dad says, thoughtfully. “I would feel a lot better if I knew that someone was looking out for you. And he did give us his number. Maybe I can give him a call…”
“Okay,” I say, nodding rapidly as I seize on this idea. “Sure, I’m okay with that. I don’t mind having a… a… chaperone. Or a bodyguard, or whatever you want to call it. I’m sure that will be fine!”
“Alright, I’ll see what he says,” Dad says, turning away slowly as he looks through his phone for the number.
I can feel my heart pounding fast and hard in my chest. This is it. My chance. Not only will I have the freedom to see Nico again, but my Dad is even helping to make it happen. I won’t even have to lie about who I’ve been with. Although, if I get my way, I will definitely have to lie about what we’ve been doing.
“Hello, is this Nico?” I hear dad say, watching him with wide eyes. I realize I’m clutching the end of my robe tightly, tension running through me. What if he says no? What if I end up having to go home after all?
No – if he refuses, I’ll just convince Dad that I’ll be fine on my own. That I won’t even go out, I’ll just stay in the hotel. If Nico doesn’t want to see me again, then I can still enjoy my vacation.
But I saw the way he looked at me. I saw the moment he realized that I want him. I think he knows it. And I don’t think he’s going to refuse.
Dad turns away from me, thwarting my attempt to listen in on the conversation by stepping out onto the balcony and sliding the door shut behind him. I try to read his body language. He glances back in at me once or twice, but I can’t read his expression.
What’s going on?
I need to know so badly…
At last, Dad ends the call and steps back inside.
“Well?” I ask him, almost at my wit’s end. How can he just step back inside silently without telling me what I desperately need to hear? “What did he say?”
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Nico
When the call flashes on my screen, I barely think anything of it. I get so many calls a day I don’t even look before answering, most of the time. If it’s an unknown number, so what? This kind of thing happens a lot when you’re in business. Someone calls you to discuss something, and you don’t always have their number yet.
“Hello?” I say, still paying attention to the forms in front of me. I’m trying to get everything signed off as quickly as possible so the deal we discussed last night can go ahead.
“Hello, is this Nico?”
I almost drop my pen. It’s Frank – I’m sure of it.
“It is… Frank? Is that you?”
“Yes, it is,” Frank says. “I’m sorry to call you out of the blue like this…”
“No, no,” I tell him quickly, not wanting to let go of this opportunity. Here I was, trying to think of a way to track Liliana down. Now he may just be giving me a clue about where they are. “I gave you my number so that you could use it – please, what is it that you need?”
“Well…” Frank huffs awkwardly, and I hear the sound of a door closing somewhere near him. “The thing of it is, I’m getting called away on business unexpectedly. You know how it can be.”
Of course, I certainly do. Many times, I’ve had to change my plans at the drop of a hat. Admittedly, I didn’t have anyone else depending on me for anything but business. “That’s a shame,” I say, my heart sinking. “I suppose the two of you are leaving?”
“Not exactly,” Frank pauses, and I want to reach down the phone and shake him until he spits it out. What, damn it? What is it that he wants to tell me? What is it that has my heart rate shooting through the roof with potential hope? “I’m going back. Liliana wants to stay here. It’s just, I’m not sure – especially after last night – that I’m comfortable leaving her here on her own.”
“Ah, I see,” I say, overjoyed to hear that she isn’t going. And then, a split-second later, I really do see. “Wait. You want me to watch over her?”
Frank sighs. “I’m sorry, it’s too much. I knew it would be. I shouldn’t have even asked you. I don’t know what I was thinking.”
“No, no,” I exclaim. “That’s not it. I just – well, of course, I will. It’s important that she stays safe, right?”
“Are you sure?” I can hear Frank’s brain seesawing from one side to the other like he’s still not sure he should even have made the call. “I know it’s short notice, and I’m sure you have work. I just don’t like the idea of her walking around on her own.”
“I do have work,” I confirm. “But because of that work, I also have access to a number of private suites and lounges where she won’t be bothered at all. She can last out the rest of her stay in luxury. And when I finish my work for the day – which is quite often after lunch, since I like some free time to mentally prepare for my evening meetings – I can show her around the city a little.”
I hear Frank exhale softly with relief. “You’d be doing me a real favor,” he says. “Even if she doesn’t get to do too much more, I think she just wants to be here and away from it all for the week, you know? You’re a lifesaver, you really are. Literally, after last night, too.”
“Don’t think of it,” I tell him. “I’m just happy to help. And to protect the reputation of my nation, of course.” The last part is a flourish made up on the spot. He needs some nice, convenient, easy excuse he can believe as to why an older man would want to look after his daughter. That with our shared alma mater, I hope, will be enough to persuade him not to look too much closer at the whole arrangement.
“Well, thank you,” Frank says. “I’ll let her know, and pass her your number so you can arrange everything. I’ve got a flight to get ready for, unfortunately.”
“Before you go – give me her number, too,” I say, clicking my pen. “I don’t want to miss her call or message. I’ll give it to my secretary so he can screen the calls and talk to her on my behalf if I’m in a meeting.”
Or, translation I will use it to message her first and meet sooner rather than later. I’m not making the same mistake twice.
With the number scrawled on a pad on my desk, and the phone call finished, I quickly press the intercom to call my assistant into the room.
“Sir?” he asks primly, pushing his glasses up his nose as he walks right up to the front of my desk, brandishing a pad of paper. I like Henri, he’s eager to work and eager to please. He wants to have my job in twenty years, and he’s starting at the bottom now. I don’t doubt that he will get there in eighteen.
“I need you to cancel everything on my schedule for the rest of the week,” I tell him. “I mean, everything. I won’t be free again until Monday.”
“Yes, sir,” Henri nods. To his credit, he doesn’t question me or try to argue. Maybe he should – after all, this is a lot of important work I’m pushing to the side. But he knows by now that I know what I’m doing. If this is a flight of madness, so be it. It’s nothing that I won’t be able to fix next week. “Would you like me to cancel them completely, or reschedule for next week?”
“Next week, or the week after,” I nod, thinking about how full my schedule already is. He’ll be hard-pressed to fit it all in, but I think he’ll manage it. “After I leave the office today, please don’t call me about anything. I’ll be ignoring my emails, too. Something important has come up, and it needs my full attention.”
“Yes, sir,” Henri nods again. He pauses, looking up from the notes he has neatly scratched on his paper. “Something exciting?”
I give him a slow smile, glancing out the window at the harbor. I think about the days ahead. “Yes,” I tell him. “Something very exciting indeed.”
CHAPTER TWELVE
Liliana
My heart is in my throat as I wait for him, awkwardly standing by myself in the lobby. I cross my arms over my chest, then let them hang loosely by my sides so I’ll look more approachable, then fold them again because I don’t know what to do with them.
Dad left in a hurry over an hour ago, and shortly after that, I got a text from Nico telling me to go downstairs and meet him at a certain time. I’m early, but I just couldn’t sit upstairs in the hotel room waiting any longer. I had already second-guessed my outfit five times.
I picked out my flirtiest dress, a little lower cut than usual, with a flared-out fifties-style skirt that flatters my shape. It’s the only good dress I have with me, really. I’ve spent so much time in front of the mirror already, lamenting the fact that I didn’t bring this outfit or that outfit. This is my only option, so it’s going to have to do.
Still, I’m on the verge of marching back upstairs and changing again – when I see him.
Nico is unmistakable, coming across the lobby towards me with a flash of white teeth and tanned skin. He’s setting his expensive sunglasses on top of his dark hair, and I can’t help but notice the three receptionists all snapping to attention when they see him. But he ignores them all, walks straight by them, and comes up to me.
I won’t pretend it’s not gratifying to think that this person – who everyone wants to look at them – is only looking at me.
“Hey,” he says, stopping in front of me with an easy smile that sets my stomach flip-flopping inside me. I’m on fire from the moment our eyes meet. I want him badly, and that hasn’t changed in the night since I saw him last.
He was literally my hero last night. He’s smart and cool, and suave, and drop-dead-gorgeous levels of handsome. How is a mere girl like me supposed to resist?
“Hi,” I say, smiling back at him. I try to batter down the shyness that threatens to rear its head, even as I feel myself flushing slightly. He’s so far out of my league. What am I even hoping for? “Thanks so much for saying you’ll look after me. Dad wasn’t going to let me stay on my own unless someone was keeping me safe.”
“It’s my pleasure,” Nico says. “By the way, you look lovely.”
“Thank you.”
<
br /> I feel the blush spreading over my cheeks and even further. I think I should give him a chance to get out of this, even if I want him to stay. It would be the right thing. I don’t want him to hang around with me all week just out of guilt.
“You don’t have to stay here with me if it’s too much. I know you must be busy with work. We can just tell my Dad that you were with me every day if you want. I won’t be mad.”
“You don’t want me to spend time with you?” he asks, raising an eyebrow.
I swallow down my nerves and look him in the eye. That should make me feel even more nervous, meeting him head-on like that. Somehow, it doesn’t. When my eyes connect with his cool grey gaze, it makes me feel anchored, at ease, like there’s no chance of me drifting away while he’s here. “I’d love to spend some more time with you,” I tell him, opting for honesty. “I enjoyed yesterday a lot. I just don’t want you to feel obligated.”
“Well, I don’t,” he says, shifting slightly closer as he smiles down at me. He captivates me with that look of his, that slow and sexy smile that starts at the corners of his mouth first, curling steadily more and more. “I liked yesterday, too. So, what do you want to do today?”
I keep his gaze for a moment and then look away, shy about what I’m about to say. Still, I know that I’m going to say it anyway. “Actually, I’m kind of tired of walking around,” I say. “I was thinking we could go up to my room, look at some maps, plan out where we’ll go for the next few days.”
“You want me to come up to your room with you?” Nico asks.
I look up to realize he’s watching me with a smirk, but not a cruel one. A smirk that kind of hints he wants the same thing, too.
“Yes,” I tell him simply.
“Alright,” he says. We’re near the elevators already, and he leans over past me to press the call button, his body heat passing over me for just a brief moment.
Meet Me In Monaco: A Steamy Standalone Instalove Romance Page 4
