“Yes, sir.”
Tossing his phone on the bed, he restlessly paced the length of his cabin, one of the three luxuriously designed bedrooms in Luca’s private jet. If only Eula had not fallen sick during her vacation in her Nonna’s home, he would have stayed behind to address her fears and assure her of his intentions.
But with Eula begging him to fly back to Tuscany, he had been left with no choice. He also hoped, once Vivian learned of his circumstances, she would understand why he had to choose his daughter over her.
If she did not, then she was not the woman he thought she was.
But if she did—-
Then she was the woman he had waited an entire year to appear in his life…
The woman he would hire to be his wife and a mother to Eula.
Chapter Three
Monday. It was the first day of the week, and as far as Vivian was concerned, it was also the beginning of a new chapter in her life. A chapter that was absolutely a Gian-free zone, she clarified firmly to herself as she stared at her reflection in the mirror.
“Got that?”
From the hallway, Maggie called out, “Are you talking to yourself again?”
“Nope.”
“Because I totally heard you, and it seems like you were warning yourself not to think about Mr. Photocopy.”
Ugh. Her roommate knew her too well.
Still, she lied, hollering out, “You heard wrong!” Then she quickly slammed the door shut before Maggie could get another word in. It took her about ten minutes to shower, and then just another five to change into her cleaner’s uniform. Running a comb through her hair, she hurried to the kitchen and caught sight of her dark-haired roommate still in her pajamas, complete with bed head and sleepy-looking brown eyes. Then again, Maggie was always in pajamas since freelance writing allowed her to write from home.
“I hate you,” Vivian said without heat as she took a seat.
Maggie laughed. “I told you, just quit your job and try doing what I do.”
“I did, Maggie. But what takes you about ten minutes to write takes me an hour. At that rate, I won’t even earn half of what I do with cleaning.”
“It takes time, but you’ll improve,” Maggie said encouragingly as she poured her friend some coffee.
Flashing her a thumbs-up sign for the coffee, Vivian closed her eyes as she took a sip. So good, she thought. This was what life was all about. The little pleasures, and it was something she had learned not to take for granted.
Without opening her eyes, she mumbled, “Thanks for the pep talk, but writing isn’t just for me.” Putting her cup down, she said with a sigh, “Maybe one day, I’ll be like you and I’ll find my dream job.”
Maggie said slyly, “Which is what? To marry Mr. Photocopy and have his babies?”
Vivian turned red. “Stop calling him that, and actually, stop talking about him, too! How am I going to forget him if you keep talking about him?”
“Oh hon, even if I stop talking about him, you’ll still think about him.” Maggie shook her head ruefully. “Whether you admit it or not, you pinned a lot of your hopes on that guy, and after finding out he may have a kid—-”
“He does,” Vivian said stubbornly.
“You’re still reeling from the discovery,” Maggie finished triumphantly. “It’s no good running away from your thoughts, Vi. I know from experience. You just need to embrace the pain—-”
Vivian mumbled her answer as she munched her toast.
Maggie frowned. “What?”
Hurriedly getting up from her seat, Vivian drank the rest of her coffee before answering, “I said, I don’t even get what you mean about embracing the pain. I told you, Mags. Stop using too pretty words that seem to say one thing but mean the other. It makes my head hurt.”
Taking her bag from the couch, she slung the strap over her shoulder and waved goodbye to her friend. “See you later, and yes, dinner and dishwashing on me tonight.”
“No need, I’m going out on a date.”
“Eric?”
Maggie snorted. “Eric who?”
She gasped. “Maggie!”
“I get bored easily, so sue me.”
Shaking her head, Vivian said with a sigh, “Just take care, and try not to take break any hearts tonight.”
“Yes, Mom,” she heard Maggie call out to her teasingly as she stepped out of their apartment.
Running down the stairs, Vivian shook her head at Maggie’s flippant attitude towards the other sex. Why couldn’t she find it just as easy to move on? She remembered her roommate’s advice, which she honestly still didn’t get. Did embracing the pain mean allowing the tears to fall while she listened to love songs or watched Romeo and Juliet?
That would only make her more depressed and get her to slow down at work.
She shook her head to herself.
No, it was just better to keep pushing all thoughts of him to the back of her head while she focused on her work. She had to just keep pushing and pushing until she completely forgot all about him.