“What else would explain you barging in here like a mad man?”
“The last drink I had was hours ago when you came waltzing in with your boyfriend and then proceeded to waltz out on your date. Don’t think I missed the kiss in the elevator either.”
“Have you been watching me?”
“Sì,” he said, mimicking me and making me itch to slap him again. Not that I did the first time, but I’d meant to. Instead, I put my hand on my heart.
Like in my dream, Mylos and I were shouting at each other. A profound sadness swept over me. I sat down on the sofa and put my head in my hands. “Please leave, Mylos. Just go away. We never have to see each other again.”
“Is it really that easy for you?”
I stared up at him. “What are you talking about?”
“To say you never want to see me again?”
“That isn’t what I said.” I put my face back in my hands, hiding my tears as I wept.
“Fuck!” he growled as he sat down beside me, pulling my hand from my face, gently this time.
I couldn’t look at him. My heart was breaking, and to look at his beautiful face, maybe for the last time, was more than I could stand.
The last thing I expected was for him to pull me into his arms, but that’s what he did. He held me close to him, murmuring to me as I cried.
“I can’t do this, Mylos.”
He put his hand on my chin and raised my face. “Do what, Pia?”
“I can’t fight with you. I can’t stand hearing you raise your voice at me. It hurts too much. The things you said to me…is that how you see me?” I stood up, weaving my fingers into my hair. “Who am I that two men in one night see me so differently than I see myself?”
He stood too and put his hands on my arms, gently lowering them. “I’m sorry. I was, I am…jealous.”
“But why? Why are you jealous of someone you don’t even care about?”
“What makes you think I don’t care?”
“If I hadn’t come to London with Paolo, when would I have seen you again?”
He let go and turned his back on me. “Would you believe that’s all I’ve been thinking about, even before I saw you walk in earlier?”
“No.”
“I didn’t think so, but it’s true. When Lily told me you were traveling with a man…I couldn’t stand it.”
“Because you were jealous?”
“Yes.”
“At least you’re being honest. B
ut, Mylos, you can’t just want me when you think someone else does.”
He turned back toward me and pulled me into his arms. “I know. I’ve handled things with you so badly. Like I said, Lily told me earlier that you were coming to town with Paolo. After she did, I took a long walk, and it led me here. I had no idea if you were staying in this hotel, and I wasn’t even sure that’s why I came. It was more that this place will always remind me it was you, Pia, who made me whole again.”
“I don’t want your gratitude, Mylos.”
“Can we sit?”
I nodded and sat down first.