Her head swam.
She forced herself to take another step towards the door. A beautiful woman--tall and elegant--dressed in amethyst silk, stood so closely to Marco that no light passed between them. Her auburn hair curled gently around her heart shaped face, framing topaz eyes.
Mina had never seen anyone so beautiful in her entire life.
She stood there in the doorway, time a concept that had no meaning, and watched the two of them. The strange woman had her hand on Marco’s arm, familiar and possessive, and Mina could hear her heart pounding in her ears as she watched that delicate hand caress the arm, and then the shoulder, of the man she’d come to think of as hers. She met the gleaming topaz eyes over Marco’s shoulder and watched as a feline grin crept across the beautiful face.
Mina must’ve made a sound because suddenly both sets of eyes turned to her, Marco’s widened in surprise and the woman’s narrowed in dislike. She leaned in to Marco’s body, pressing her curves against him, and he looked down at her, only to have her reach up and catch his lips in a kiss.
That was all it took. The spell that had fallen over Mina was broken, and Time crashed back into place. She lifted her skirts, turning and running back the way she’d come, back through the crowd, back into the lounge until she ran headlong into Giovanni’s broad back. She imagined that she heard Marco call her name, but she didn’t want to speak to him, to hear his excuses, she just wanted to get away.
“Gio,” Mina started to explain but the words failed her. She gazed up at him, desperation in her eyes. “I have to go. Something has,” she swallowed thickly, “well, something’s come up.”
A flash of concern crossed Giovanni’s face. He looked in the direction she’d come from and saw Marco and the redhead come into view. Mina grabbed his arm, pulling him towards the other door. “Please. I need to go. Now.” Understanding lit his face, and then morphed into something that looked uncomfortably like sympathy.
“Of course you do,” he said, without question. “What do you need me to do?”
Mina looked across the lounge and caught Bianca Genovese’s eye. She saw the satisfaction, brutal and clear, on her face and realized that she’d known Marco was with another woman when she’d sent Mina upstairs to change. It was a beautiful set-up--as elegant as the woman herself--but Mina couldn’t blame her for it. It only worked if Marco was already guilty.
She took an unsteady breath. What was she going to do? There was a commotion at the lounge door, she saw Marco standing there, larger than life and angry as the Devil himself. She met his eye across the crowded room and purposefully looked away, turning back to the man standing beside her.
“Do you think you could take me to a hotel?” Mina swayed. Her voice sounded miles away, and she squeezed her hands tightly together to fight off the dizziness that threatened to bring her down. Giovanni glanced back and forth between her and Marco, watching as his older brother strode across the floor, ignoring everyone in his path. He straightened and pushed Mina behind him, setting himself between her and the whirlwind, his face hard as he answered.
“I think I can manage something.”
Chapter Three
“No, Dr. Peabody, there’s no problem. The artifacts should be arriving as scheduled, and I will be returning at the end of the week. I have a few details here to wrap up,” Mina’s voice cracked a little and she cleared her throat as she shifted the phone to her other ear, “but it shouldn’t take long.”
Not long at all, she thought sadly, thinking about flying home. She wasn’t going to bother with the few things she’d brought to Italy. She’d have to replace her laptop and her phone, but it was better than the alternative. She’d bought a few things--jeans and t-shirts mostly, but they were a comfort after her foray into haute couture--but once she got back to the States… well, she had to move all her stuff back out of Marco’s apartment, and that was going to be a pain, but at least she wouldn’t have to replace anything.
Except maybe her heart.
She listened with half her attention as her mentor rattled through his excitement over the first round of crates that had arrived. Mina knew the first shipment had gotten to Miami safely--she’d already spoken to Ivy--and the technicians were unpacking them and preparing them ahead of her return. The second shipment was arriving today, and the last few items had been shipped out this morning under Giovanni’s watchful eye.
Mina knew it was cowardly to send him in her place, but she didn’t have the strength to face Marco yet. Everything was still so raw. Every time she closed her eyes she saw him kissing that strange woman, saw his angry eyes as she hid behind his brother, saw his mother’s gloating face as he stormed out of the room.