‘The Beau-Rivage again.’
‘We’ll stay here long enough to be polite, and then you can get your bags and check out. You’re staying with me.’
A shiver of excitement ran through her as Luca smiled and greeted someone from the museum, propelling her gently forward as someone cleared their throat to declare the exhibition open. She should have told him thatshewould decide whether or not she wanted to check out of the hotel, but he’dgiven her exactly what she wanted: proof that he felt the same way about her as she did about him.
Luca stood behind her still holding her hand, and she leaned back just a little so that she could feel his breath against her cheek, so her bottom brushed his hip as she stared at the tiara twinkling under the lights. The pink stones were radiant, and she shared in the collective gasp of those around her as it began to turn inside the glass display case, its beauty second to none.
‘As soon as everyone starts clapping, we’re leaving,’ he said. ‘How long are you in town for?’
‘Two days.’
He whispered directly into her ear. ‘Then we’d best make the most of it.’
What they had was nothing more than a holiday romance. Being with Luca was impossible; they lived in different countries for a start and she had no interest in a long-distance relationship, but that didn’t mean they couldn’t enjoy two more days together.
An hour later, the exhibition long forgotten, Georgia held Luca’s hand as they walked along the lake. She had his tuxedo jacket slung over her shoulders, snuggling into it as he walked in his shirt. It wasn’t particularly cold, but in the dress she’d been wearing she was grateful to have something else to put on.
‘I can’t believe you’re back here,’ Luca said as they strolled.
‘Honestly? Neither can I,’ she replied. ‘I just…’
She didn’t know what to say, and it seemed as if Luca didn’t either.
They stopped and stared out at the water, and she tucked herself into him, his chin resting on her head as they stood together. Luca rubbed her arm and she finally felt brave enoughto ask the question that had been burning inside her since she’d first realised she was falling in love with him.
‘Luca, would you ever leave Geneva?’ she asked. ‘Could you ever see yourself living anywhere else?’
He didn’t answer, but he did hold her tighter. ‘My life is here. I want to say that I could, but I’ve always had a sense of walking in my great-grandfather’s footsteps, of my father’s footsteps,’ he said, his voice growing deeper as he spoke. ‘There was an expectation when I was growing up, knowing my destiny, knowing that I was being trained to take over the family business one day. And that was always fine with me, it’s what I wanted.’
‘And now? Is that still what you want?’ she asked, too scared to look up at him, holding herself tightly against him instead.
‘I want more than one thing, Georgia,’ he said, kissing her forehead and drawing her even closer. ‘I want to fulfil my family’s expectations of me, that’s not something I could ever walk away from, but what you and I have here?’
He didn’t need to say anymore, because she felt it, too. But there was no easy answer to what was keeping them apart.
‘And you?’ he asked. ‘Would you ever leave London?’
She hesitated. It wasn’t so much that she wouldn’t leave, it was more that she’d grown up thinking she’d never sacrifice her dreams, her future, for a man. Especially a man she barely knew.
‘I don’t know how to answer that,’ she eventually said. ‘I have a whole life in London, my friends, my home…’
He cleared his throat and looked down at her. ‘Then we make the most of the time we have together,’ he said. ‘Whatever is supposed to happen, will happen.’
She swallowed, on the verge of changing her mind and telling him that she would leave it all behind. But that wasn’t who she was. She’d fought to be independent, been determined to stand on her own two feet and prove that she was capable, that she wasn’t defined by what had happened to her in the past.
‘The time we’ve spent together, Luca…’ she began.
‘I know,’ he said. ‘You don’t need to put it into words.’
So she didn’t. Instead, she slipped her arms around his neck and let him kiss her. If they couldn’t be together, then all they could do was enjoy what they had in the here and now. After that, she’d have to figure out a way to forget all about him.
Which would be much easier said than done.
Georgia stood beside the bed and looked down at Luca. He had one arm flung out, an arm that had only minutes earlier been across her body as she’d snuggled to his side, trying to commit the feel of him to memory, not ever wanting to forget him.
They hadn’t left Luca’s house since the night of the exhibition, staying in their own little cocoon and not wanting to think about her leaving. But her flight left in three hours, and instead of a drawn-out goodbye, she’d decided to let herself out of the house and make her departure less traumatic.
She leaned down and pressed the softest of kisses to his cheek, inhaling the smell of him one last time, before quietly picking up her bag and tiptoeing down the stairs. Tears streamed down her cheeks as she stopped in the kitchen and found a piece of paper and a pen. She took a deep breath, trying to think of what to say and struggling to know how to say it to the man whom she’d fallen for so hard and so fast.
