Illusion (Swept Away 1)

“I know. He’s an asshole.” Rosie went back to being supportive. “It’s his loss.”

“Exactly.” I sighed as I thought back to David. “Did he say anything to you when you saw him?” I asked casually.

“He said hi.” Rosie’s voice sounded awkward. “And something else, but it didn’t make sense.”

“Oh?” My fingers froze on the keyboard. “What else did he say?”

“He said that there was more than one way to skin a cat.”

“What?” I frowned. “What does that mean?”

“I don’t know. I’ve been thinking about it a lot. I think he’s trying to woo you.” Rosie’s voice became thoughtful. “I guess he figured out that just apologizing and calling wasn’t going to cut it. I bet he’s going to try to step it up a notch and really try harder to win you back.”

“You think so?” I stared around my bedroom and thought for a second. This was the one room in my apartment that David and I had never really spent much time in. I lay back on my bed and sighed. “I was an idiot, wasn’t I. I should have just had sex with him. I’m sure it would have been amazing. Maybe we’d still be together now.” I felt odd saying the words, as if I were playing a part in a play. You’ve been watching too many movies, Bianca, I thought to myself.

“Don’t blame yourself, Bianca. It’s not your fault. Maybe this is what he needed, to see how much you mean to him. Maybe he’ll be all romantic now. What if he takes you on a surprise trip to Paris or something? Wouldn’t that be cool?”

“You think he’d really do that?”

“Who knows?” Rosie laughed. “Hey, hold on. I just got a package from a new and very cute delivery guy.”

“Okay.” I laughed and sat back up, still looking through my e-mails for the deleted messages from Matt. I wanted to get away from the conversation about David.

I should have known from his screen name that he was going to be an asshole. I mean, Knight in Shining Armani? Only a pompous asshole would choose such a name.

“Thank you, Billy.” I heard Rosie speaking to the delivery guy and ripping open her new package.

I smiled to myself as I imagined her decimating the package so she could find out what was inside as quickly as possible. She’d always been impatient when opening packages and presents. I only hoped she treated any packages she received from me with more care. I stared at the plastic bag on my night desk and wondered if I was making the right decision to entrust my papers with her.

“Oh my God, are you there, Bianca?” Rosie’s voice was jittery and excited.

“Yeah, why?”

“Someone just sent me a present.”

“Ooh, what did they send?”

“A Tiffany’s bracelet and a note.” Her voice was growing louder with excitement.

“What does it say?” I asked casually as my stomach flip-flopped.

“It says ‘My dearest Rosie, you don’t know me yet, but I very much want to know you. Accept this gift as a token of my friendship.’ ” She paused. “And that’s it.”

“Who’s it from?”

“I don’t know.” Her voice was low. “I wonder if it’s Joe from accounting. I’ve seen him giving me a few rather obvious admiring stares recently, ever since I got those blond highlights.”

“But you know Joe. Wouldn’t it say ‘You don’t know my intentions yet’ as opposed to ‘You don’t know me yet’?”

“Who knows? Maybe he’s slow or didn’t think it through properly.” She laughed. “Who cares? I just got a bracelet from Tiffany’s.”

“I can’t wait to see it tonight.” I was slightly envious. No one was sending me gifts from Tiffany’s. Not even David, who might or might not be trying to woo me back. I thought back to my own, more ominous note and wondered if there was a connection.

“I can’t wait to show it off.” Rosie’s squeal interrupted my thoughts.

“Okay, I have the e-mails open. Are you ready to hear the craziness?”

“Yes, let me hear.”

“ ‘Dear CreativeGirlNYC, Have you ever been to Rome? It’s such a romantic city that I would love to fly you there in my private jet. I’d like to take you to the Trevi Fountain and Spanish Steps. Then we can share pasta and drink wine as we gaze into each other’s eyes. KnightInShiningArmani.’ ”

“What’s wrong with that?”

“It’s weird. He knows my name is Bianca, and I know his name is Matt, so why doesn’t he use our real names? And, well, we’ve never met. It’s too much too soon.”

“He’s trying to sweep you off your feet.” Rosie sounded matter-of-fact.

“Well, listen to the e-mail he sent me last night. ‘Dear CreativeGirlNYC, I was very disappointed that you canceled our date and now won’t accept my calls. I’ve been waiting for us to meet for a long time. In fact, I’ve been counting down the days until I can make you mine. I feel that you are playing games with me, and I don’t appreciate it. If you are willing to meet me tonight, let me know.’ ”

“Wow, he’s persistent.”

“Then today, he just sent me another e-mail. ‘Answer me, Bianca. If you would like to meet for lunch we can still make it work. If not, it’s your loss.’ ”