Flying Backwards (31 page)

The roses fell to the ground. Antonio grabbed Nora’s arm.

“Hey, let her go!” yelled a heavy Russian accent from across the street.

“Oh shit!” Bree’s voice caught everyone’s attention. And the group once more watched with open mouths as a large man crossed the street and faced Antonio with fury.

“Is there a problem here?” Sergei said in his thick accent to the Italian man, who swept Nora behind him, out of the way.

“There is no problem here, friend. Why don’t you mind your own business and go back over there?” Antonio gestured in the direction from which his opponent came. The two large men were puffed up like peacocks, staring each other down. Nora, now released, held up her hands and stepped between them.

“Stop!” she shouted. Her anger at the ridiculous situation was mounting. Nora looked down the sidewalk for Ben, but he was walking away. Corrine sent Nora an accusing look before following her brother. Evan left too. Bree and Ashley waited to see how this was going to play out.

There were tears in Nora’s eyes when she looked at Antonio.

“Nora, I am sorry.” Antonio’s voice was tender, and he reached for her.

“No.
No
!” she repeated louder. “My answer is no. Antonio, please, just go home. I’m sorry you came all this way.”

Sergei stepped back, dropping his eyes to the red roses strewn across the ground. Nora moved to stand next to him, once again her protector. She hadn’t seen him step out of his house across the street or heard his car door close after he’d placed his gym bag inside. She guessed he’d watched the scene unfold and figured there was trouble.

Antonio looked like a wounded boy. His dark eyes were questioning her choice, and he said a quiet “Oh.” Sergei watched the guy’s gusto deflate. Nora clamped down on her upper lip, trying not to cry, but hot tears spilled from her eyes when she blinked. Antonio gave her a curt nod and turned to stride away. He didn’t look back, just crossed the street a block up and got into a rental car. He pulled out and sped away. Sergei was the last man standing. Ben was out of view now.

Nora turned to Sergei and allowed him to fold her into his arms. She cried for a few minutes before Bree and Ashley approached. Nora felt safe and cared for in Sergei’s arms, her protector and friend. The thought flickered briefly across her mind:
Why didn’t it work out with us?
But Ben’s hurt expression resurfaced in her mind.

“We’ve got it from here,” Bree said to Sergei. Sergei let Nora go reluctantly. He crossed to his car and watched Bree usher Nora inside. Ashley looked back curiously at Sergei before disappearing inside.

Ashley closed the door and stood in front of the sofa, looking down at Bree and Nora. Nora sat with her face buried in her hands.

“What the bloody hell was that all about?” There was anguish in Ashley’s voice.

Nora knew all too well how deeply her friends cared about Ben and that they would protect him at all cost. They’d been so happy when he took a liking to her. Nora felt terrible. This farce was not her fault. But it didn’t matter. She worried that Ben must hate her now.
They must all hate me!
she thought.

Bree knew the whole background story and defended Nora. She cautioned Ashley to calm down, holding up her hand. “Ash, that guy with the roses was an ex-boyfriend.
Ex
. Nora broke up with him a while ago.”

Nora peeked over the top of her fingers at Ashley and rested her elbows on her knees. She felt sick and was grateful that Bree was explaining things.

“
She
broke up with
him
?” Ashley accused doubtfully.

“It’s complicated,” Bree stated flatly. “He’s been pursuing Nora since she broke up with him. Ash, that guy was engaged and basically asked Nora to be his mistress.” Bree let out a frustrated breath. “I’m telling you, he’s messed up!”

“What?” Ashley plopped down next to Nora and nudged her for more information.

Nora had stopped crying. She dropped her hands from her face and sat back against the cushions, folding her arms over her chest and hugging her broken heart. She gave a sarcastic chuckle. She explained the saga of Antonio to Ashley.

Ashley whistled. “Sweet Fanny Adams.” Nora had never heard that phrase but got the gist. Ashley cocked her head to the side so her auburn curls bounced on her shoulder. “And the other guy? The Russian?”

“That’s Sergei, our neighbor and good friend,” Bree answered. “Do you remember meeting Alexei the other night? He and Sergei are roomies. They’ve been our friends since we moved to Philly. They are both great guys,” Bree said emphatically.

Nora exchanged glances with Bree; they would not soon forget how Sergei had stood up for Bree with Tyron. They left the subject of the Russian at that.

“I need to talk to Ben.” Nora pulled her phone out of her back pocket and dialed his number. It went to voice mail. She hung up and headed for the door. “I need to find him. We need to talk.”

“Hold on,” Ashley said, digging in her purse for her phone. “I’ll call Corrine and see where they are.”

Corrine said they were back at the hotel and reported that Ben was upset and didn’t want to talk to Nora. Nora decided she would walk over to the hotel anyway and the three of them walked the few blocks in silence. Evan and Corrine were in the lobby, having a heated conversation.

Corrine saw them come in and marched over to Nora. “My brother doesn’t want to see you.” There was a mixture of anger and hurt in her voice. Nora and Corrine had become good friends, but Ben was Corrine’s brother. Nora did not blame her for her raw, mixed emotions.

“Corrine, I’m sorry that happened. That guy is my ex. We broke up ages ago. I don’t know why he came all this way. I told him it was over before your brother and I ever got involved. I swear. I would never deceive him–or any of you,” Nora pleaded. Bree nodded emphatically, backing up Nora in her dilemma.

Corrine’s shoulders visibly dropped as she exhaled. She was clearly relieved to hear her friend say so, but Nora understood she was still hurting on her brother’s behalf. “I’m sorry, but he doesn’t want to see you,” she said with more sympathy.

Nora looked at Bree, Evan’s arm around her shoulder.

Evan confessed, “He left.”

“What do you mean? Where did he go?”
Surely if he is out walking, clearing his head, I can catch up to him
, thought Nora.

“He grabbed his things, checked out, and took a cab to the airport. He said he got the last seat on the five o’clock flight.” He glanced at his watch.

Nora didn’t hear Evan telling them that he and Corrine had just been arguing about whether to leave on a later flight tonight or wait for their original flight tomorrow afternoon. The pounding in her chest had elevated to her ears. She trembled with panic.
He’s so upset that he just left! He left without any explanation!

Nora’s head snapped up. “Right!” she declared, interrupting Corrine, who was talking about leaving on the eight o’clock flight. “I’ll come with you, Corrine. I can make the eight o’clock flight.”

“No. I don’t think that would be a good idea. If Ben chose to leave, then he’s choosing to be alone, probably for a while.” The rest of them nodded and murmured in agreement.

“I have to explain this to him. He’s going to end our relationship without even knowing what happened. He won’t even hear me out? You are saying he will refuse to talk to me? To see me?” Evan and Corrine looked at her sheepishly.

“He’s like one of his animals. He’ll need time to lick his wounds,” Corrine reasoned. “Knowing Ben, he’ll brood and throw himself into his work. If and when he is ready, he’ll contact you,” Corrine said softly. “He will reach out to you in time.”

“Ben really likes you, Nora. Probably this was a wakeup call as to how much,” Ashley added. The girls nodded in unison.

“Yeah. He watched another man profess his love and propose to you. That was a blow to his ego,” Evan added matter-of-factly.

Nora felt tears of frustration well up, but she swallowed them back down. “Fine.
Please
tell Ben that I am
truly
sorry that my
ex
-boyfriend showed up out of the blue and proposed to me
in front of him
–and that I obviously said
no
.” She paused, taking in a shaky breath before she went on. “And I would very much like for him to call me so we can fix this.”

“Of course.” Ashley rushed over and hugged Nora. “I’ll explain everything you told me to Ben when I see him.”

Nora nodded mutely into the fall of hair that tickled her face.

Ashley’s hug was replaced by Bree’s. “Come on, I’ll walk you home.” Bree squeezed her roommate around the shoulders. Nora apologized to Ashley, Corrine, and Evan for ruining their visit and said her good-byes.

At home, Nora went to her room and traded her jeans for pajama pants. She dropped her cropped knit sweater on the bedroom floor and pulled a hoodie sweatshirt over her tank top. She tossed the bracelets that tangled in the sleeve of her sweater on her small nightstand.

When Bree knocked briefly before pushing the door open, Nora was lying in bed. “Hey, I made you some chamomile tea.” She held a steaming mug with a geometric pattern on it, the tell-tail string and tea bag label hanging over its side.

“Thanks,” Nora murmured, but she didn’t move to sit up. Bree set the mug on the windowsill and sat on the bed. “Bree, what am I going to do?” Nora had rehearsed in her mind what she would say to Ben. Surely he would realize that none of this was her fault! “He’s being childish,” Nora accused. Defensively she added, “Maybe it’s for the best. If he’s acting like this now, then maybe our relationship wasn’t going to go any further anyway.”

“Nora, remember how long it took Ben to get to know you and show interest? He is a deep thinker. He has to mull everything over before he decides on anything. He’s always been like that.” Bree mused, “He probably left so he could give you space to make your choice.”

“What choice? I wanted him to stay.”

“I mean about Antonio. Maybe Ben thought you might still have feelings for the guy and might want to say yes to his marriage proposal. Ben’s like that! If Ben thought you’d be happier with someone else, then he’d back down. I’ve seen it happen before,” Bree warned.

Oh Ben, so sweet and sensitive.
Nora hated the woman before her who’d broken his heart. But now she’d probably done the same thing! Her anger slipped away, and she curled into a ball on the bed.

Bree’s phone rang. She pulled it free from her back pocket glanced at it. “It’s Evan,” she said without answering it.

“Oh, it’s their last night here!” Nora remembered, lifting her head slightly off the pillow.

“Yeah, they were looking to go to dinner, but I’m staying with you. I’ll call him back in a few.” Bree rested her hand on Nora’s arm. Nora felt the prick of tears again. She was very grateful to have a friend like Bree.

“No, Bree. I
insist
you go with them tonight. It’s their last night! And besides, I already feel terrible for ruining their visit. I’ll feel even worse if I keep you from them.” She dropped her head back onto the pillow. “Honestly, I just want to wallow alone.”

Bree looked as if she were considered and finally nodded in agreement. “Okay, if you’re sure.” Nora smiled with relief.

“Promise you’ll call me if you need me for anything.” Nora agreed, and Bree slipped off the bed, calling Evan back as she left the room.

Chapter Twenty-Three

After crying herself to sleep, Nora woke in near darkness. She had been dreaming of the drumming of horse hooves down a dirt road. It was Ben on horseback, galloping down a dusty road toward her. She stood against a white fence, shouting and waving her arms to catch his attention, but he acted as if he didn’t see her and galloped right past. The loud drumming of hooves had drowned out her shouts.

Nora sat up in bed and listened intently. Someone was knocking on the front door. The persistent knocks sounded much like the horse hooves in her dream. Nora raced down the stairs.
Can Ben have changed his mind? Or maybe Antonio is back
.
No, not Antonio–I can’t repeat that again
.

“Sergei!” Nora’s surprise was evident in her voice when she swung open the door.

He displayed a bottle of vodka in one hand and a six-pack of beer in the other. “I saw Bree leave earlier and figured you needed some company.”

Why not?
she thought. At this point she was all cried out, and Sergei had always proven to be a good friend, always managing to cheer her up. She waved him in and went to collect two glasses.

The next morning, Nora squinted at the bright sunshine pouring through her window. Her bare arm was chilly, and she yanked the sheet, to no avail. She wiggled back, trying to dislodge the sheet, but it wouldn’t budge. Then she heard a male grunt behind her. She bounced away as Sergei rolled onto his back. The sheet suddenly gave way, and she yanked it over to cover her body to her chin.

“Oh my God, Sergei, what are you doing here?” she whispered fiercely.

His blue eyes opened briefly and then fluttered closed. “We fell asleep.”

“I can see that!” Nora glanced nervously at the closed door. Her head ached, and she had a bad taste in her mouth. She peeked under the sheet she held with white knuckles and breathed a sigh of relief to see that she was wearing her pajama pants and tank top. She sprang from the bed, bumping the nightstand and sending her bracelets clanking to the floor. Her mind flashed back to the hotel room in St. Petersburg where she had disregarded that same set of bangle bracelets.

Thank God she was still wearing her clothes and nothing had happened. But why were they in bed together? And what if Bree saw them?

“Sergei, get up! You have to go. Sergei!” Her whisper was more of a hiss.

He mumbled something in Russian.

“Shh!” Nora warned. She climbed back into the bed and got close to his face. “Sergei. Please! You have to go before Bree sees you and thinks…” She didn’t finish her sentence. Sergei had opened his eyes. She realized the hungry look he was giving her was filled with desire. She sensed he was ready for her under the sheet. She stood. A glance down the length of the sheet confirmed her suspicion.