“Okay, here’s a truth for you, boy scout. My name is not Val Bonetti. It’s Gianna Valentini.”
31
Derek
I stood perfectly still. The look on her face said she expected me to be shocked, but all I felt was relief. I was tired of the charade, the hiding, and everything else in between. This was the moment of truth I’d been waiting for.
“Why don’t you look surprised?” she asked with a frown.
I closed my eyes briefly and exhaled a long sigh.
“Because I’m not. I knew your name. I always did.”
“What do you mean you always knew?” The words dragged hesitantly over her lips as she shook her head with disbelief.
Pinching the bridge of my nose, I looked up at the ceiling. It was time for me to come clean. When my eyes met hers again, I could see her genuine embarrassment, but I also saw a hint of betrayal. I had to make this right. I thought I’d been helping her by keeping her secret—by giving her the time she needed to deal with whatever it was she was battling—but seeing her face now made me realize how bad I may have screwed this up.
“Fuck, I didn’t want it to be like this.”
“Like what?” she demanded.
“Just wait here for a minute.”
“Wait here? But you—”
“Val, Gianna or… whatever. Just trust me on this. Please. I need to run to my apartment real quick. Don’t barricade this place up like Fort Knox while I’m gone. Give me five minutes and I’ll be right back.”
Without another word, I left her gaping after me and rushed across the street to my apartment. When I arrived, Maisie was bouncing around in her crate to be let out.
Shit.
I’d completely forgot she’d been alone for over five hours. She probably had to go out.
“I’m sorry, girl. I got too wrapped up with Val… I mean, Gianna, tonight, and I almost forgot about you.”
Gianna.
I smiled to myself, enjoying the sound of her true name coming from my lips for the first time. Moving as fast as I could, so I didn’t keep Gianna waiting for too long, I opened the end table drawer and pulled out the teardrop earring she’d lost on her wedding day. After stashing it into my pocket, I let Maisie out of her crate, grabbed her leash, and prayed the elevator to the rooftop patio would come quickly.
When we arrived on the roof, I rushed Maisie over to the grassy patch, running by a couple of people sitting in hand-in-hand on two of the Adirondack chairs. The man had his legs stretched out with his feet crossed at the ankles and quickly pulled them in as I hurried by.
“Dog really has to go, huh?” he laughed.
I glanced back as I opened the gated fence to usher Maisie inside.
“Yeah, I guess so.” I recognized him as a client from The Mill. Normally, I would have taken a few minutes to engage with him, but I didn’t want to get caught up in idle chatter. I just wanted Maisie to do her thing quickly, so I could get back to Gianna—but of course, she had to take her sweet old time, sniffing out every square inch of grass first. I puffed out an impatient breath. “Come on, girl. Hurry it up!”
I glanced back at the couple while I waited. They had resumed their conversation, already disinterested in what Maisie was doing, too wrapped up in each other to be bothered with anything else. I couldn’t blame them. The night was gorgeous. Upon another look around, I saw there were several other couples on the roof. One particular couple was sitting on a blanket, sharing a bottle of wine, while another strolled the perimeter, holding hands as they took in the spectacular view of the Queensboro Bridge. The thing I noticed most was how happy and content they all looked. I knew I could have the same with Gianna—no, I’d had that with Gianna.
I only hoped it wasn’t too late to get it back.
I’d gone against my instincts, staying quiet about her secret. I should have confronted her about her name long ago instead of carrying on with a cloud of secrecy over our heads. There had been plenty of opportunities to push her for the truth, and I botched every one of them. It never should have come out when she was naked beneath me. I’d waited to feel all that glorious, silky skin under my palms for far too long, only for it to be ruined by a past neither of us had any control over.
It hurt to know it had come to this. She didn’t feel she could trust me, and panic was the only thing that propelled her to reveal the truth. I couldn’t help wondering, if she hadn’t been triggered by what I could only assume was a terrible memory, would we still be living her lie?
After Maisie completed her business, the two of us headed back to the elevator. Rather than leave her home alone again, I decided it was best to bring her with me to Gianna’s, so I didn’t have to worry about coming back to tend to her before I was ready.
“You want to go see Gianna, girl?”
She hopped with excitement. I didn’t think Gianna would mind having her there. She’d been in Maisie’s company plenty of times when we were sightseeing outdoors, and they’d gotten along well. Still, at just under a year and a half old, she was still considered a puppy—and puppies chewed things. Wanting to be safe rather than sorry, I made a pit stop back to my apartment to grab a few chew toys and her crate. I had a feeling it was going to be a long night.
When I returned to Gianna’s apartment, I found her sitting on the sofa, sipping a glass of ice water, still wrapped in the bed comforter. She looked up to see me coming through the door with an armful of puppy paraphernalia and one excited pup. I unhooked Maisie’s leash and she bounded toward Gianna.
“Well, hello, Miss Maisie! I didn’t expect to see you tonight,” she said in surprise, then glanced up questioningly.
“I hope I’m not being too presumptuous. I thought we might be here for a while. This was just easier,” I explained as I set up a spot for Maisie in the corner of the family room.
“It’s fine. She’s welcome here,” she assured and lightly laughed when Maisie bounced off her lap and scampered down the hallway.
“Maisie, no!” I told her when I saw her scratching at a door. She whined, and I scooped her up, offering Gianna an apologetic look. “Sorry, new place. She just wants to check everything out.”
“Not much to see there. It’s just a utility closet for the electric panel and hot water tank.”
Setting Maisie down inside her crate, she immediately began to chew on a marrow bone I’d placed inside. Not wanting to mince any more words and drag this out longer than necessary, I crossed the room in three long strides and sat down on the sofa next to Gianna. Extending my hand, I opened it to reveal a single teardrop rhinestone earring.
“Recognize this?”
She blinked and it took her more than a minute for the shape to familiarize itself in her memory.
“It looks like the same earrings I wore on my wedding day. I lost one, but—”
“It’s yours,” I interrupted. “As in, it’s the very same earring you lost. I found it on the ground after you walked away that night. I went inside to return it to you but stopped when I saw you arguing with your husband just outside the doors to the reception.”
Her eyes widened, the betrayal on her face all too clear.