The Aristocrat

My eyes widened as I looked up. “She did? How?”

“Years ago, I told her about you. She took one look and figured it out.”

“You told her about me?”

“Darcie and I were friends when we were younger, long before we became a couple. Her father is a dignitary and a friend of my dad’s. When she and I reconnected as adults, I confessed that I was still in love with someone. The one thing she didn’t know until now was that I’d written the letter. But I explained that today.”

“I’m surprised you would admit that to her.”

“I didn’t elaborate on the content, just said I had reached out to you before the wedding because things were left unsettled between us. I didn’t have to detail it. I think she put two and two together—enough to realize the inappropriateness of my actions.”

“She must have been upset that you came to see me.”

“She wasn’t happy. But I think she understood.”

“Well, she’s a better woman than I am. I would have beaten your ass if you left to go see some tramp who showed up at our door.”

“Darcie’s not thrilled, to say the least, but I had to be honest.” After a long moment of silence, he shook his head. “I’m sorry. I think I’m still in shock. I thought I’d come here with a million things to say, but I’m…speechless.”

“I understand that.”

Leo reached out and touched the ring hanging around my neck. The brush of his hand against my chest sent shockwaves through me.

“I noticed you wearing it earlier.” He put his hand by his side.

I ran my fingers over the ring. “I wore it for strength. I thought it would be a good luck charm. Apparently, it had the opposite effect.”

“Yeah,” he whispered.

I couldn’t keep staring into his eyes, so I suggested we sit on the couch.

Leo took a seat at the opposite end. “I want to know everything,” he said. “Tell me about the past five years.”

Taking a breath in, I composed my thoughts. “Well, after you left, I went straight to Pennsylvania. I was really broken up about us, but I focused on school and tried to block it out.” I paused, looking down at my fingers. “About a year into it…I started dating Matt again.”

Leo swallowed.

“To make a long story short, it wasn’t meant to be. It never was. I broke it off with him. I never got involved with anyone else after that. Soon after I graduated law school two years ago, Mrs. Angelini passed away.”

“What happened?”

“She died in her sleep. It was a heart attack.”

A look of sadness crossed his face. “You never got to say goodbye. That’s fucking hard. I’m so sorry.”

Tears threatened as I nodded. “There’s not much to say after that. In the time since she’s been gone, I’ve thrown myself into my job. But I quit last month because it was so unfulfilling. Something was calling me back to Rhode Island, even though Mrs. Angelini wasn’t there anymore. I used to think I wanted to live in the big city. But all I’ve wanted recently was to be back in Narragansett. I found your letter as soon as I got there, and everything started to make sense—why I felt such a pull to return. Or so it seemed.” I shook my head. “Now nothing makes sense at all.”

He looked tormented, and his hands were restless. My heart clenched at the jarring sight of the gold band on his finger. My Leo is married. Married. I remembered so vividly how that hand felt on my body. But no part of him, neither his gorgeous hands, nor his heart belonged to me anymore.

I cleared my throat. “Tell me how these past five years have been for you. I mean, obviously I know one major thing that happened.”

Leo blew out a breath and settled into the sofa. He stared off. “When I returned home, my father was in better shape than I’d expected. He bounced back fairly quickly from that infection. So that was a relief, of course. But aside from that, I felt…lost. The trip to America was supposed to have helped me clear my head, but all it had done was make me more confused about things. I struggled through that first year. Until I couldn’t take it anymore.” He looked up and met my eyes. “So I left and returned to the US.”

Adrenaline rushed through me. “What?”

“I realized letting you go was a huge mistake. I went to find you at Drexel.”

“What?” I repeated. My mouth hung open. He came back for me? “I don’t understand, Leo.”

“I planned to beg you to reconsider finding a way to be with me after you finished school. Mostly I just needed to see you again.”

“What happened?”

“I was staying at an Airbnb near the Drexel campus. I wasn’t sure how I was going to approach you, so I decided to get to town first and then figure it out. But before I had a chance to find you, I saw you.”