Agonizing days had passed. As far as Michael was concerned, he had waited long enough. He needed to talk to her, hear the sound of her voice.
Her cell rang, speeding up his heart rate. When Pia answered, his eyes closed for a moment, absorbing the simple warmth of herhello.
“Pia? It’s Michael.”
Her voice hitched. “Michael...”
“I just... I called to see how you’re doing. I’ve missed you.”
A pause. “I’ve missed you, too, Michael.”
Hope swelled. “I’ve thought of you every day. Dreamed of you at night. I want to see you, honey. I’ll come to Miami. Just tell me it’s okay.”
Silence descended.
“Pia...?”
“I’m sorry, Michael. I’m just not ready. I keep having flashbacks. What happened... I can’t seem to get past it. All the fighting, men dying...other things. I’m seeing someone.”
His chest clamped down. “A man?”
He finally heard a smile in her voice. “No, silly. A psychologist. She’s helping me. She says I’ll be fine. I just need some time to work things out.”
Relief spilled through him. Time he could give her. Not that he wanted to. “I need to know, honey. Do you still have feelings for me? Or is it over?”
Pia sniffed and started crying. “I miss you, Michael. I tried to tell myself it was just a fling, but I...I miss you.”
“I want to see you. I need to see you, Pia.”
“Not yet. Please. It’s too soon. I need time to put everything straight in my head. Will you... Will you wait for me to do that?”
His throat felt tight. He’d wait as long as it took. He thought of Benito Velasquez, and his hand unconsciously fisted. It was his fault she was having so much trouble. He should have found a way to protect her. He should have done something, anything.
“I’ll wait, honey. You’re worth waiting for, Pia.”
She drew in a shaky breath. “I have to go now. Christy’s here. We’re going out to get something to eat. Take care of yourself, Michael.”
Michael still gripped the phone. He wondered if Pia’s feelings for him would last or if, little by little, they would slip away. His own remained strong. He could wait, he told himself.
But there was no way to know if Pia would do the same.
After leaving her father’s house, Harper drove to work. Elemental Chic was still a young company. Harper and Shana held the staff to a minimum to keep expenses down, so there was always plenty to do. The warehouse office was noisy with activity and there were always decisions to make, but with everything that had been happening, it was hard to concentrate.
Shana had known immediately that something was wrong. They’d grown close over the years, sensitive to each other’s problems.
“What’s going on, girlfriend? You’ve been a million miles away all day.”
Harper sighed. “I just... I’ve got a lot on my mind.”
“It’s more than that. Whatever it is, you can tell me, you know that. I’m your best friend. You can tell me anything.”
Fighting back tears, Harper walked away from the sketch she’d been studying on the worktable. “I know. We’ve always been able to trust each other.” Through the big glass window in the second-story office, she could look out across the parking lot, into the warehouse district where the building was located.
She turned to her friend. “Chase and I... Something happened and I’m not seeing him anymore.”
“Oh, honey.”
Harper took a shaky breath. “He never really cared about me, Shana. He was just using me to get to my father.”
