Liam reached for her hand and squeezed it. “Have you heard from him since?” he asked softly.
She shook her head. “No. I haven’t tried to call him and he hasn’t tried to get a hold of me at all either. Maybe he was just trying to hurt me back. I don’t know.”
Liam’s eyes were filled with sadness for her. “Honey, I’m so sorry. Did he even say anything to you?”
Mia turned her eyes to Liam. “Yeah, he did.” She fought back some tears that threatened to show her friends just how hurt she truly was. “He said he wanted every part of me.”
Maddie looked at her in surprise. “He wants every part of you? What does that mean?”
Mia shook her head slowly. “No, he doesn’t still want it, he did want it. He wanted to be with me. I used him, and I hurt him, and he was letting me know just how much I had hurt him. I guess I wasn’t already riddled with enough guilt and pain.” She picked up her drink and took a sip of it. “Well, I sure as hell am now.”
Maddie sighed and reached her arm around Mia, hugging her from the side. “Lady, you are strong and you are filled with grace. You’re going to get through this. I promise. You’re going to get through it with all of us at your side.”
Mia smiled a little and nodded. “I will try.”
Liam leaned over and kissed her cheek. “You’ll do it. I know you will. We’ll help you.”
Ava tilted her head and gave Mia a smile. “Maybe you could use some time away. Perhaps it’s time for a break from all of this, right? You could use that ticket we gave you. Go to Italy. Take a break. Screw an Italian stallion. Have a bunch of orgasms and wine, and find yourself again. Right?”
Mia actually laughed out loud, she was so struck by what Ava had said. It wasn’t often, but Ava did have a good point from time to time. Mia reached across the table and took Ava’s hand in hers.
“You know what, you’re right. I could use a break, and I’m sure I would have a good time over there. I’ll see about taking that trip soon. Thank you, Ava.” Her smile spread further and she laughed, and then her friends laughed, and for a few minutes it felt like everything that should be right in the world was actually right.
She did need a break, and she had the ticket to use. She told herself that she might as well use it. When she left cocktails with her friends, she said goodbye to them at the door and decided to walk instead of taking a cab. It was a beautiful day, and the sunshine felt good on her. She wanted more of it.
Mia made her way down familiar streets, taking her time and looking in shop windows and at parks that she passed by. She let her thoughts go to Italy, thinking about where she wanted to go and what she would want to see when she got there. She had always wanted to go, and she had been to Europe a few times, but she hadn’t ever gotten to Italy, and now she was going to go. It had cost her someone she cared a great deal about, but that was over and done, and the best thing she could think of to do was to use the ticket and perhaps find some closure with all of it.
Maybe Ava was right and she would find some Italian lover to make her forget all the pain her heart had been through. She wandered along on her walk and paid little attention to where she was going, until she looked up and saw that she was standing across the street from the high rise that Alexander’s penthouse was in. She had walked right to his home without even thinking about it.
Feeling foolish, she felt her cheeks flush warm and she turned to walk back the way that she had come when she saw him. He was coming out of the front door of the building with Emily, and her hand was in his. They were laughing and talking, and if it was possible, Emily looked even more beautiful than she had in the restaurant. Her long brunette hair was hanging down her back and around her shoulders in soft waves, and she was in a pretty sundress.
Mia stared at them, watching silently as everything in her twisted hard.
Alexander wrapped his arms around her and kissed her cheek, and she embraced him in return. He pulled open a cab door and she slid inside and he shut the door behind her. The cab pulled away from the curb and drove off down the street and he watched it go, waving as it disappeared. Then he stopped and turned to go back into the building, but as he did, his eyes caught sight of Mia, and his mouth fell open slightly.
He stared at her for a moment, and she could easily see the surprise on his face. Her heart nearly stopped in her chest and she felt the pace of everything in her quicken. He raised his hand, and for a moment she was sure that he was going to cross the road and go to her, and she knew she wouldn’t be able to handle it with him. She couldn’t take any more pain and sorrow. She turned on her heel and hurried down the sidewalk, rushing away from him and into the people she passed until she knew she had gone far enough that he couldn’t still be behind her.