Chapter 12
I sat cross-legged on my bed, staring at my phone. Three days had passed since the disaster at Navy Pier. Three days of unanswered calls and texts. Three days of my heart cracking a little more with each passing hour.
“He won't talk to me,” I whispered to the empty room.
My fingers found the golden book pendant, tracing its delicate edges. I hadn’t taken it off since Leonard had placed it around my neck. Now it felt like both a treasure and a taunt—a reminder of what I’d gained and lost so quickly.
The worst part was that Leonard had been right to walk away. I had approached him with ulterior motives. I had kept my identity a secret deliberately. The fact that my feelings had evolved into something real didn’t erase my initial deception.
My laptop sat open beside me, the battle scene from my novel frozen on the screen. The flow of words had come to a complete and utter stop. The next sentence eluded me. Conscious thought ceased, and only my stupid heart beat with blood, none of it diverting to the higher regions of my body.
I picked up my phone and dialed a number I doubted would be answered. When Serena’s voice came across the cellular void, surprise flashed through me, quickly replaced by relief.
“Hi!” I breathed. “Can we talk?”
The annoyed tone from her greeting dampened my spirits. “What happened?”
“This is more an emergency, in-person thing,” I hedged, pushing my luck.
Serena sighed. “That’s not such a good idea. My brother has company over.”
“It will only take a few minutes.” I didn’t dare ask if we could meet somewhere for coffee—or better yet, a drink. Serena didn’t have a fake ID, but there were a few places where my Benjamins guaranteed service to minors.
“Hurry up, then,” Serena urged.
“I’ll be there in fifteen!”
“Don’t speed!” she warned, but it was too late. The phone was off, and so was I. If my friend was offering an olive branch, I was going to take it.
I bolted from the bedroom and rushed to my car. Thankfully, my parents hadn’t taken my keys. Oh, there had been threats. The past few days had been filled with shouting, with disappointment, and finally, their decision had been made. My immediate future was sealed.
And this conversation with Serena would end in a long goodbye.
I made good time thanks to every light being green. When I pulled up to the Mancini’s mansion, there was a matte black bike out front. Both her brother and his friend Dante rode them, so I didn’t think anything of it as I hurried inside.
Serena stood on the stairs. When she saw me, her stern look softened.
“Ah, shit, Anna, it’s bad,” she observed.
I managed to nod, not trusting myself to speak until we were in her room. She didn’t hug me, which was expected. Her family didn’t display affection in that way. She led the way, shut her door, and folded herself elegantly onto one of her chairs, but I didn’t feel like sitting.
“So…do you want the bad news first?” I began, my fingers fidgeting with the rings on the opposite hand.
Serena nodded. “Start with the good?”
“There isn’t any,” I laughed dejectedly. “The worst is that I’m single.”
“Your plans fell apart,” she sighed. “Can’t say I’m surprised. No boy in his right mind would want to deal with your parents’ displeasure.”
“I don’t think the man cared about that. He found out who I was and hasn’t spoken to me since.” I began to pace. “Oh, Serena, it was horrible!”
She only nodded.
The whole story came tumbling out. How Paul Preston found us at the Pier, and how the guy I’d been seeing left without a word.
“And now, the bad news.” I choked on another laugh. “I’m being sent to Germany!”
Serena let out a low whistle. “To your granny?”
“The strict one.” I nodded.
“What about your education? Your parents were so damn proud that you were going for a degree. They won’t want that laureate denied you, surely.”
“Oh, no, I’ll finish college,” I added ruefully. “I’ll attend university over there. My rusty German will have to suffice. But there will be no more dating. Gran will make sure of that.”
Silence fell. I made three more laps across her room, fighting back the tears that persisted on prickling my eyes.
“While this is rough, I don’t see how it’s the end of the world.” Serena shot me a leveled look.
“How can you say that?” I nearly wailed.
“Easy. You still are going to school. You’re traveling. And your parents will get over it in time.” Serena ticked off the reasons on her finger.
My pragmatic friend. From her vantage point, this had to be blessing!
“They’re still going to attempt to marry me off,” I grumbled. “My stunt proved nothing.”
“And you’ll have time to deal with that when it comes,” she countered.
“I will,” I agreed. “I’m not bowing to their pressure on that score.”
“Then I don’t see what—”
“I fell for him, Serena.” I stopped in front of her. “I thought I could do this without feelings, but the more time we spent together, the more I realized how much I liked him.”
Serena’s face softened completely. She shifted in her chair but made no other move to come to me.
“Leonard was the best thing to happen to me in a long time. I felt like we had something—he did too!” I threw my hands to the side. “And I can’t help but feel that if I’d been more honest, he would have stayed. He was the sort of man my parents wouldn’t be able to stand up against if only he would fight for me. He’s got a scary side, and— What? Why are you looking at me like that?”
Serena had shot to her feet as I’d been speaking. “That’s the first time you’ve told me his name.”
“Yeah, Leonard Baldwin. It’s an old-fashioned name, I’ll grant you, but— What is it?” I demanded.
Her face was decidedly pale. She hurried to the window, peered outside, and then turned toward me.
“Anna, I’m going to tell you something, but you have to swear never to reveal it.”
I nodded, inching toward her. “I swear!”
“I mean it, Anna. You can’t tell a soul.”
“I kept your secret for years, I think I can be trusted.” Another short laugh escaped my lungs. “Hell, Serena, you have every right to be pissed at me for keeping the secret from you, but even you have to admit I did a damn fine job.”
“You did,” she breathed. “Which is why I’m going to tell you that Leonard Baldwin is his legal name, but he was born Leonardo Mancini.”
I stared at her. The wheels in my mind came to a screeching halt. The implications of what she’d said fell into place. And then, I saw it. The same black eyes and inky jet hair as the don. The scary disposition that reeked of violence no matter how disguised Leonard was when he wore his suits.
“He’s my older brother, two years younger than Alessandro,” Serena whispered.
“Oh my word,” I gasped. “I see it now.”
Serena nodded. “It’s imperative that he stays away from our business in public, but he’s been running things with Sandro since they were boys.”
I rushed to the window. That bike—so familiar. How could I not recognize it?
“He’s here, now!” I pressed my fingers against the pane.
“He won’t be happy if you catch him here.” Serena grabbed my wrist and yanked me back. “You have to leave!”
“But—but—”
“No, Anna. You can’t speak with him. Not here.”
I rounded on her. “I leave tomorrow.”
Serena only shook her head.
“This is goodbye,” I whispered.
“Then say goodbye to me, but if you speak to Leo, make sure it is outside these walls. He can never know that I told you. Please, Anna,” she begged.
For once, real emotion, raw and vulnerable, spread across her features.
“If we’re still friends, you’ll do this,” she insisted.
“Of course we’re friends.” I wrapped her in a hug. She might not like them, but I needed one. “I’ll slip away before he sees my car.”
She nodded against my shoulder. “Stay in touch?”
“I will.” But I knew deep in my heart that the distance would affect us.
I let her hurry me away, sneak me out the side door. The last I saw of her was framed by the shadows of the house. Of all the hard things I had to do, leaving her was the worst. A part of my heart bled, knowing that it might be years before I came back to the States. And the damage to our friendship wasn’t properly healed, meaning it would fester with time and absence.
But there was nothing I could do about that. She’d asked me to leave, and I did. Her final request sealed our fate.
TO BE CONTINUED….