Hard to Hold (True Romance) (14 page)

“So tell me, what sights are you hoping to see once we reach Luxor?”

“Are you offering to be our guide?” Adele asked, her tone sensual. Clearly, she recognized a good-looking guy as much as Anne had, but she had nothing keeping her back from making the most of it.

“I wish I could, but I already have a group counting on me to take them around. May I?” he said, asking for the travel guide Anne still clutched in her lap.

She relinquished the book, which he flipped through confidently as if he’d read the guide several times and had no need of the index. He produced a pencil from his pocket and proceeded to point out all the best spots for them to visit, including quite a few off-the-beaten-path restaurants and shops frequented by the locals that he sketched onto the removable map.

Anne found it increasingly difficult not to respond to his probing questions and insightful deductions. Under any other circumstances, she might have been inordinately flattered by his attention. She might have even flirted back rather than filtering every word she said through a screen of “what would Michael think if he heard me say that?”

Charming, intelligent, and knowledgeable, Sam was impossible to ignore, though she did try several times to think of a way to change seats with Adele so that her friend was the one noticing his powerfully built arms peeking out from the cuffs of his rolled-up, long-sleeve shirt instead of her. Looking at Samir’s arms only made her miss Michael’s arms—which made her want to slap herself silly.

“Would you ladies like a drink? I know the bartender,” he said, smile dazzling.

“Sure,” Adele answered.

The minute he left, Adele said, “He’s totally into you.”

Anne picked up her bag, stood, and forcibly moved her friend into her chair. The deck wasn’t overflowing with people, so she threw her stuff on the chair now on her other side so that when he returned, Sam would have no choice but sit beside Adele.

“I’m not into him,” Anne insisted.

Adele pursed her lips. “Because of Michael? He’s a half a world away. You haven’t even slept with him yet. There’s nothing wrong with a vacation romance.”

“No, there isn’t,” Anne said, securing every button on her sweater until she was covered up to her neck. “So you go right ahead and have one.”

Adele leaned over and undid the top two buttons before Anne could swat her hands away.

“You’ll thank me,” Adele said. “Buttoning up only emphasizes that bosom of yours.”

Anne looked down and agreed, so she undid one more button, just to be safe.

Before Michael, a fly-by romance with a sexy Egyptian man would not have been out of the question, though she wasn’t one to sleep with strangers. Ordinarily, she enjoyed socializing and flirting, knowing it wouldn’t lead to anything life-changing.

But Michael was in the picture. And on the canvas. And in the frame. He’d injected himself into every element of the portrait of her life—and probably without even meaning to. She couldn’t help but wonder if he’d worked his way in on his own or she’d simply put him there because she wanted so much to have a man in her life.

In the past few days, his e-mails had been a little less frequent and, though she’d pretended not to notice, shorter and without his trademark humor. He’d written about Sirus’s trip to the vet, but had not asked about the spa in Cairo where she and Adele had stayed for the first three days of their trip. She’d volunteered the information in her reply, but he hadn’t answered before they’d left Aswan. She wanted to believe that time differences and a busy work schedule kept him from responding, but she couldn’t help but wonder if in the time she’d been gone, he’d found someone new.

Or else, just lost interest.

Sam returned with the drinks and dutifully took his seat beside Adele, though he made a point to engage Anne in every conversation until it was time for them to change clothes for dinner. As they made their way to the stairwell that led to their room, he invited them to join him and his tour group for dinner. Anne had the refusal on the tip of her tongue when Adele enthusiastically accepted.

With a satisfied grin, Sam departed.

“What did you do that for?” Anne demanded.

“You said I could have him,” Adele reminded her. “I can’t do that unless I see him again.”

Adele dressed to the nines for dinner, and yet, once they reached the table set for twelve, Sam somehow managed to maneuver so that he was sitting beside Anne and Adele was on the opposite end of the long table with a Spanish man and his brother who were on their first visit to the area.

“You know,” Anne said. “I should probably tell you that I have a boyfriend.”

The words sounded incredibly foreign to her, but nice at the same time. The way that Sam’s eyes darkened with disappointment was nice, too. But he recovered quickly.

“Of course you do,” he said. “You’re quite beautiful.”

“And you’re quite good at this bilingual flirting.”

“I try,” he said, draping his napkin across his lap as the waiter brought the first course of tehina salad served with fresh baked flat bread. “And since full disclosure seems to be important to you, I’m engaged to be married in two weeks.”

She nearly choked on the water she’d just sipped.

“Wow,” she said. “I never would have spotted you for a dog.”

He laughed and shook his head. “I’m sorry, a what?”

She explained the American colloquialism.

“Then this is not a compliment,” he concluded.

“No,” she replied.

“Does it help if I tell you the marriage is to a cousin and it was arranged by our parents when we were five years old?”

She narrowed her gaze, trying to determine if he was telling her the truth, but then she decided that it really didn’t matter. Sam was charming and attractive and his attention shined a spotlight on Anne’s feelings for Michael, which she hadn’t quite realized had deepened so much and so quickly. His absence was like a constant ache in the pit of her stomach.

“Only if you accept that I’m not the type of woman who steals another woman’s husband, no matter the circumstances of their engagement. So, what if, since we’ve
both
established that we’re both unavailable, we enjoy our dinner?”

And they did. In fact, they enjoyed dessert too, and drinks in the nightclub. They crossed paths at breakfast the next morning and before she and Adele climbed into a taxi at their first stop, he chatted with their driver to make sure he not only was a great guide for the day, but also that he wouldn’t try to add any unexpected charges or trips into disreputable areas.

Anne couldn’t help but think that Samir’s arranged marriage was going to make a very lucky woman out of his cousin.

She and Adele spent the day sightseeing and shopping. When they passed a large hotel owned by a British conglomerate, Anne used the opportunity to pick up the strong cell signal from their tower and called Mike. She’d already punched in all the numbers when she calculated the time difference and realized she was calling him at seven o’clock in the morning.

But as it was a workday, he answered on the second ring.

“Michael, it’s Anne. I’m in Luxor.”

Was it her imagination or did he hesitate a long time before saying, “Hey.”

Anne’s mouth dried. That “hey” didn’t sound like the greeting that used to make her blood steam within her veins. It sounded uncertain. Maybe even disinterested.

“So,” she said, pushing aside her insecurities. “What’s going on?”

“Just getting ready for work.”

Another pause. Didn’t he know that connecting with him while halfway across the globe was no easy feat?

She turned the topic to one she knew he’d jump all over. “How’s Sirus?”

When he replied with, “Fine,” her heart cracked.

And until that moment, she hadn’t fully realized how deeply into her system that Michael Davoli had insinuated himself.

Now, she knew it was very, very deep. And under the circumstances, she couldn’t contain her rage—not only for Michael, for being so blasé about her long-distance call, but at herself for feeling so much for a man who after only a few weeks apart, no longer gave a damn about her.

Twelve

“
D
ID YOU FALL DOWN AND HIT YOUR HEAD
?”

Mike looked up. He’d been staring down into his beer, confessing his soul to Nikki, and this is how she treated his confusion? With insults?

“No,” he said, annoyed.

“Then where is this nonsense coming from?”

“I wish I knew,” he confessed. Ever since Anne’s call, Michael had been questioning his sanity. Every moment since she’d been gone had been like a kick in the gut and yet when she’d contacted him, he’d been dismissive, even a little rude. For nearly a week, he’d tried to figure out why he’d acted so strangely, but unable to come to any conclusion on his own, he’d asked Nikki’s opinion.

But from her expression, he doubted she was going to do anymore than tell him off for being such a jerk.

“You knew she was going on this trip,” she reminded him.

“I know! When she first told me about the trip, I was excited for her. Even a little jealous. You know I love to travel. But I figured I’d be busy at work and that missing her might be nice after being with her so much lately. I mean, what were three weeks in the scope of my whole life? She’s been looking forward to this for a long time.”

Nikki nodded in agreement as she fished a perfectly triangular nacho out of the bowl in front of them. She scooped salsa onto it, but paused before putting it into her mouth.

“See, that’s the Michael Davoli I know and love. Practical. Optimistic. Generous. This new selfish guy who blows off his girlfriend when she calls him from halfway across the world is really pissing me off.”

She ate the chip with a loud crunch, chewed, and washed it all down with a swig of beer while Mike pondered her words.

Never in his life had he been so confused by his own behavior. Mike didn’t consider himself a complicated guy. When good things happened, he was happy. When bad things happened, he was sad. When presented with an injustice or problem, he did what he could to solve the situation with minimal conflict and contention. His parents had always called him their peacemaker and lauded him for patience and insights beyond his years.

He’d always given his Tourette’s credit for this aspect of his personality. The disorder had forced him to grow up fast and develop keen negotiation skills when dealing with teachers, classmates, and friends who were often confused by his behavior.

But his reaction to Anne’s absence flummoxed him. He’d gone from missing her like crazy to resenting her phone calls and giving only short shrift to her e-mails. He couldn’t blame work. Things were no crazier than usual. He couldn’t put off his reactions on other social commitments, either. Since she’d left, he’d blown off every invitation he’d received. If not for Nikki hijacking his car keys and driving him to this Mexican joint for a serious talk, he would have been home alone with Sirus, staring at the television, and seeing nothing, saying nothing. Feeling nothing.

It was pathetic.

And it was all Anne’s fault.

“I’m not being selfish,” he said, remembering Nikki’s last insult as he motioned to the waitress to bring them a fresh pitcher.

“What do you call it then when you treat a girl like dirt just because she had the audacity to leave you?”

He shook his head. “That’s not what this is about. Maybe we just jumped into this relationship too quickly. I mean, I only moved into the building a little over two months ago. And if you count the two weeks before we actually started dating, we’ve only been together for four. The fact that I feel so strongly about her after so short a time . . . it’s crazy.”

“So you think the best way to counteract the craziness of love is by blowing her off?”

“I’m not blowing her off,” he insisted, knowing it was a lie. “And we’re not in love.”

Nikki looked skeptical, but remained silent as the waitress brought them new drinks and refilled the chip bowl. Mike reached for a warm, crispy tortilla, but then tossed it back. He shouldn’t be eating. He shouldn’t be drinking. Neither activity sat well with him. Everything in his body felt off. His eyes ached from over blinking. His neck had tightened so that each involuntary twitch sent a zap a pain down his spine.

“You could be in love,” Nikki said once the waitress disappeared. “At some point, I mean. She’s the kind of girl you could fall in love with, right?”

“Sure,” he conceded. “She’s independent. Intelligent. Beautiful, inside and out. She’s a little messy, but no one is perfect. But I don’t want to screw things up with her by jumping in too fast. Maybe we just need to be friends for a while longer. Get to know each other better.”

“Isn’t that what you’ve been doing?” Nikki challenged.

“Yeah, but, when I’m with her, I can’t help wanting more, you know?”

“So when you’re not with her, you treat her like she doesn’t matter,” Nikki clarified. “Yeah, that makes a lot of sense.”

Her sarcasm wasn’t lost on him, but if Mike couldn’t unravel the tangled web of his emotions, how could Nikki? Maybe he needed to get out. Not with friends, but alone. With Sirus. He should go hiking this weekend. Grab a tent and some provisions and do a vision quest of sorts. Maybe the crisp spring air, wide open spaces, and vigorous climbs through challenging terrain would help him see what to do next.