24
This can’t be real.
If you wanted a thing badly enough, you shaped it in your imagination, breathed life into it, and gave it space to live. July
was gone. She’d left with the others. That couldn’t be her down there. It didn’t stop Leo from bolting, rushing down the tower
stairs and out of his room, knocking over anything in his way. He had to get to her before she disappeared. He avoided the
lobby and the night clerk who called him “boss,” crept down the narrow hall, and slipped out the back door. His breath was
shallow by the time he knelt beside her, but there she was, his beauty, asleep, moonlight catching the angles of her diamond-cut
face.
He hesitated before reaching out and sweeping her short bangs to the side, the way she liked to wear them. How many times
had he seen her come out to this garden to get away from the others, searching for a bit of peace? Yet her brows were tightly
knit, and her hands balled into fists. She was combative even at rest. Her warrior heart never relented. Why come out here
at all? Honestly, at night, this garden was an inhospitable place. The trees harbored dense shadows, the night blooming flowers
gave off a heady perfume, and each blade of grass glistened like the sharp edge of a knife. And no matter the weather, an
unnatural chill prevailed.
What was she doing here tonight?
The question could wait. July was shivering in her sleep. Leo collected her in his arms and lifted her off the cold stone bench. He carried her into the house and up the grand stairs to his suite. Finally, she startled awake. Her eyes flew open, and her gaze raked him over.
“What are you doing?” she demanded.
“I could ask you the same question.”
Leo nudged open the door to the suite with his shoulder, crossed the room, and gently lowered her onto his bed. She rolled
onto her side and drew her knees up, like before on the bench. She looked so small and fragile, his heart ached for her. He
slipped off her soft leather sandals and set them at the side of the bed.
“What were you doing out there?” Leo asked.
“Why?” she asked. “What did it look like I was doing?”
It wasn’t a sassy reply so much as an exercise in caution. She was dodging his question. “Taking a nap on a garden bench at
night.”
She covered her eyes with her hands to blot him out.
“July, look at me.”
She sighed and lowered her hands. “What?” she said wearily.
“Are you alright?”
“Yes, I’m fine, Leo. I didn’t expect to find you here. It threw me off.”
“You’re not spiraling or anything?” he asked.
“What do you mean?” she retorted.
“I think you know,” he said.
“What did Vicky tell you?” she snapped.
Leo paused. What have we stumbled upon here? “Why would I need Vicky to tell me anything? If you’re spiraling, you’re spiraling. I’ve been there.”
“I’m not spiraling,” she said through clenched teeth. “Anyway, what are you doing here? Aren’t you on a road trip?”
You would’ve thought he’d crashed her party. “I never left,” he said. “I know for a fact that you did. Why are you back?”
“I missed my flight,” she said.
Leo was confused. “Weren’t you traveling with the others? Are they back, too?”
“No. Just me.”
“Let me get this straight,” he said. “You missed a flight departing Miami and returned to Key West?”
“I had my reasons,” she replied, dismissively.
“Which are?”
“I don’t owe you an explanation, but if you must know, I’m in no rush to return home. I thought the renovations would be done
by now, and they aren’t.”
That couldn’t be it. Wasn’t she staying with Vicky? He waited for more.
“I’m on deadline. All I need is a quiet place to work for the week,” she explained. “The Aurora might as well be it.”
The answer was rehearsed. This was what she planned to tell anyone who questioned her. Also, it didn’t explain why she was
sleeping in the garden, but he thought better than to press her on it.
As though she’d read his mind, she added, “I got back late this afternoon, got my room, and caught up with work. An hour ago,
I was feeling boxed in and stepped out for fresh air. I must’ve fallen asleep. That’s it. End of story. It’s been a long day.
I’m tired.”
All of this was completely rational on its face and yet unplausible, and even less so when her phone rang and, in a panic,
she silenced it. The phone buzzed violently in her hand and would likely go on buzzing if she didn’t answer it.
“Hey, you!” she said brightly. “Sorry, I didn’t call. . . . Yep! Still in Florida! Can you believe it? It’s spring break,
and the flights are booked. But it’s fine. I’m in no rush.”
Technically, she was telling the truth. The caller would assume she was camping at an airport terminal or biding her time at a hotel in Miami.
Why hadn’t she given them the spiel of the apartment renovations and only needing a quiet place to work?
She was glossing over the truth, and no one would get any answers out of her tonight.
“We’ll catch up in the morning. Good night.” She ended the call and tucked the phone away, out of sight. “That was Vicky.”
Better Vicky than Bobby, he thought.
He pulled up a chair to the side of the bed. “July, are you on the run?”
She let out a dry laugh. “Like, from the law?”
“The law isn’t the only thing that can push us into hiding.”
“I get that you’re concerned,” she said. “Finding me out there must have been shocking, but you got to live out your Prince
Charming fantasies, carrying me up the stairs. That’s a win, and that’s where it ends. I’m fine. Not spiraling. Not in hiding.
Not even sleepwalking. All I need is a bath and a glass of wine.”
“I can arrange that.”
“Don’t.” She sat up and slipped her feet into her sandals. “I’ll manage on my own. Thanks.” She froze a minute, her train
of thought seemingly rerouting. “How did you find me out there, anyway?”
“Saw you from my tower window.”
She glanced briefly over her shoulder at the winding stairs. “How long did you say that you were staying?”
“A week,” he answered. “You?”
“Same.”
Leo grinned. He couldn’t have dreamed up a better outcome. She had the opposite reaction. Muttering something under her breath,
she flopped back onto the bed, defeated.
“Whatever you’ve got going on is your affair,” he said. “You don’t owe me an explanation or even the truth. I was only trying
to understand. You still have the option of telling me it’s none of my business, but you can’t stop me from caring.”
This time things would be different. He would not tiptoe around her. Playing it cool hadn’t won him anything. It had allowed her to walk out of his life a second time. There would not be a third.
“I have the option of telling you to leave me alone, Leo White.”
“You could, but who would draw you a bath?” he asked. “This is the only room with a tub.”
July stared at the coffered ceiling as if plotting her next move.
“Do you want me to leave you alone?” he asked, quietly.
“No.”
Then, seemingly giving up an internal struggle, she stripped off the thick hoodie that no one in their right mind would reach
for in this tropical climate. Underneath, she wore the thinnest of cotton T-shirts that lightly veiled the curves of her breasts.
“I like my baths hot,” she said.
“And your wine?”
“Chilled.”