“Okay, you’re taking being nice a little too far.” I smiled at him. “What happened Saturday night? After you kissed me, you shutdown. What did I do wrong?”
He exhaled a deep breath. “I don’t want to talk about it.”
“But if I—”
“You did nothing wrong. It’s me, not you.” He squeezed my hand, and it felt nice.
I believed Fabio. If I did nothing wrong, then okay. There was no reason to press him about it.
“Then tonight. Is Lucia going to be at the concert too?”
The corner of his mouth twitched. “I don’t think so, but honestly, I don’t know.” His mood instantly changed at the mention of his ex.
Nice going, Cyndee.
“I shouldn’t have asked. That was insensitive of me. You still have feelings for her, and I just rubbed salt in your wound.” Registering my own words put an ache in my heart. I was doing my best not to fall for Fabio. But every minute I spent with him put me closer to falling in love with him.
The choir concert should be easy. No kissing or the like should happen again. Then, there was his sister’s gala in Seattle next weekend.
I could do this and hopefully come out unscathed.
“Can I ask you something?” His question pulled me out of my thoughts.
“Sure.”
“When you went to the bathroom, it seemed to take long. Was everything okay? I was about to go check on you when Lucia arrived.”
Oh, crap. I’d prayed every night that he didn’t ask me what happened…
Needing a minute to clear my head, I excused myself to freshen up in the bathroom. Maybe talk a little more with Zia since she knew what Fabio and I were doing.
Strangely, I felt Fabio’s eyes on me as I went toward a hallway that had an arrow pointing toward the bathroom. I didn’t turn back to confirm my suspicions. No, that would have been embarrassing for both of us.
A cool breeze made the hair on my arms stand. I noticed an exit and figured someone had left.
Entering the bathroom, it was small. Very small. Only three stalls and all were empty. Zia wasn’t there. Had she been the one to go outside?
To be sure she was okay, I went out the exit door, which put me in an alley.
A gasp shot out of my mouth. I couldn’t believe my eyes. Zia and Ross were sharing a passionate kiss.
Ross heard me and pulled away from Zia.
“Oh my gosh, Cyndee!” Zia rushed over, dragged me inside, and into the bathroom. “You can’t tell Fabio or anyone else you saw me kissing Ross. Please. Please promise me you won’t say anything.”
“I promise but why?” I was so confused and a little dizzy. Why was she being so dramatic?
“Because my family wouldn’t approve of me and Ross. He’s hired help. Fabio’s driver and bodyguard. He’s beneath me.”
I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. But then, I guessed Fabio would feel the same if he and I were a real couple. I was the hired help. Beneath him.
“Do you understand? If my family found out, I’m afraid to think what they might do to Ross.”
“If it’s that bad, then why are you kissing him?”
She smiled and a tear rolled down her cheek. “I love him. It just happened. I fell for my bodyguard last summer. Ross had been assigned to me when I traveled with my ballet company.”
“Do you have a plan to be together?” Surely, they’d thought everything through like how to make their secret love affair real.
