Keira woke the next morning feeling groggy. But the moment she rolled over and caught sight of Cristiano's gorgeous face, she sighed with content. Last night had been wonderful, and put all her fears to rest. It was just a shame that she would have to leave him and go to work!
She slid out of bed, careful not to wake him, and headed out into the corridor. Everything was very dark as she padded across the floor towards the bathroom.
Showering at her mom's felt so strange. Keira couldn't remember the last time she'd had cause to stay the night here. It certainly hadn't happened in the last two years because she'd been living with Zachary.
As warm water ran over her skin, Keira wondered if her mom was right. Maybe she didn't pay her as much attention as she ought to. Cristiano's relationship with his parents was admirable. It was only the fact Keira put her career at the forefront of everything she did that she didn't share a similar relationship with her own mom. There was a lot she could learn from him, she realized.
She finished showering quickly and emerged with sopping wet hair, then wrapped herself up in one of her mom's bamboo towels before heading back out into the hall. As she shuffled through the apartment, a noise caught her attention, coming from the kitchen. Curious, she walked over and peered her head around the door.
"Mom?" she asked, when she saw her mother standing there in her robe.
Her mother yawned. "Morning, darling. Coffee?"
Keira smiled at her mom. "Did you wake up early just to make me coffee?" she asked, touched. She'd just been planning on grabbing one on the way to work.
"It's not every day I get the chance," Mallory replied.
Keira went into the kitchen and kissed her mom on the cheek. "That would be great. Thank you," she said.
Mallory looked surprised. "I think Cristiano is a good influence on you," she said.
"I think you're right," Keira replied.
She went back into her room and dressed in the darkness as the smell of coffee began to seep in from beneath the door. As she emerged back out, daylight was just beginning to break.
"Is he still sleeping?" Mallory asked as Keira came back into the kitchen.
"Yes," she confirmed, taking the coffee her mom offered her. She took a sip. It was a bit bitter but she could hardly expect her mom to make a perfect cup at this time of the morning! "You won't bombard him with questions when he wakes up will you?"
Mallory make a tsk noise. "Darling, we need to know who he is. You can't just declare your love for a new man every month and expect us not to be a little bit suspicious."
Keira sighed, a little exasperated. "Okay, mom. I get it. I'm acting all crazy lately. Just don't scare him away." She downed her coffee then kissed her mom on the cheek again. "I love you. Thanks for dinner."
Then she hurried off to get the subway to work.
*
An hour on the subway was never the best way to start the day. When Keira finally disembarked, she felt grubby, as greasy as if she had not even showered that morning. And her clothes were creased. It wasn't the sort of impression she wanted to give off on her first day back at the office.
But when she walked in through the large glass doors of Viatorum she needn't have worried about her appearance at all. Her colleagues leapt up from their seats at the sight of her and hurried over.
"Keira!" Denise cried, hugging her tightly. "You did it."
"Did what?" Keira asked.
"Saved all of our jobs!" Denise replied. "Now we're turning a good profit, Lance doesn't think we need to change anything. No advice columns or recipe pages." She grimaced.
"Well that's great," Keira replied, smiling, not really certain her one article could be held entirely accountable for that.
"When do we get to meet him, then?" Denise asked sounding eager and excited.
"Him?" Keira asked.
"Cristiano!" Denise cried.
Keira noticed the way she swooned as she said it.
"Well, I wasn't planning on bringing him to the office," she quipped, a little bemused.
Denise frowned. "But you have to. You can't make us fall in love with the guy and then not let us meet him! I mean, from your description he sounds gorgeous. Is he gorgeous?"
"Well, yes, but…" Keira began.
"Then you have to let us meet him!" Denise continued. "Please, Keira!"
Keira frowned. Cristiano wasn't just some prop for her article. He was her real life lover. She felt like Denise had blurred fact and fiction. Had Keira accidentally turned Cristiano into some kind of romance protagonist?
Just then, she noticed Nina at her desk, tapping away at her keyboard, and waved. Nina finished what she was doing and came over. They embraced.
"Nice work of the article, Keira," Nina said. "Again."
Keira blushed. "Thanks."
"It's nice to have you back."
"It's nice to be back," Keira grinned. "It's been so long I even enjoyed doing my laundry."
She went to head towards her office but Nina took hold of her arm, stopping her in her tracks.
"Not so fast," she said. "Elliot wants to see you."
"Oh?" Keira asked, glancing towards the open door to his office. She couldn't help but feel anxious. Even though she and Elliot were on good speaking terms, he was still an imposing figure, thanks in no small part to his huge six foot something frame. "Now?"
"Yup, now," Nina said, smiling.
There was something in her eye, a secret she was keeping from Keira. It only increased Keira's feelings of trepidation.
Taking a breath, she changed course and headed for Elliot's office.
When she entered through the door, he looked up. To Keira's surprise, he stood and opened his arms to hug her. Keira awkwardly moved into his embrace, feeling like a kid hugging a distant uncle. Friendliness didn't suit him.
"My hero returns," Elliot said, taking his seat again. "I'm sure you've heard the news?"
"What news exactly?" Keira asked.
"About the subscription increase."
"No…" Keira admitted.
Elliot continued. "They're soaring. Lance is thrilled. He said as long as we can keep this up he'll have no need to intervene in the magazine's direction at all. Everything can stay exactly as it is. As long as you keep doing what you're doing."
Keira wasn't entirely sure how to interpret that. "In what way?"
"The love articles," Elliot said. "The Romance Guru."
Keira felt a sudden heaviness in her chest. Hadn't Elliot actually read her last article? She was in love now. Genuine love with a real human man who wanted to be with her. Not like Shane who had other priorities. This time, Cristiano had traveled across the world for her, leaving his home, his family, his work and his country behind. There was no more Romance Guru, not if it required her falling in love again!
"I'm sorry," Keira began, "Are you saying that you want me to write another Romance Guru article?"
"Of course," Elliot replied, looking confused. "It's all anyone wants. Our readers. They love it. Can't get enough. Insatiable. And we need to keep up the momentum. So we'll have to send you away again immediately."
Keira's heaviness turned to panic. "No," she gasped. "You can't. I've only been back two nights!"
How long would it take for Bryn to get her claws into Cristiano? For Maxine to start sniffing around? For her mom to terrify him into leaving? She couldn't up and go again!
Elliot looked confused. "Keira, everything's planned," he said flatly. "Heather has got the flights booked already. Paris, Keira. PARIS. This is the best assignment yet and we're handing it to you on a plate. The rest of the staff out there would kill for this."
"I'm sorry…" Keira stammered. "But I can't. I truly love Cristiano. This isn't a game for me. I don't want to leave him. And I don't want to go somewhere else and try to find love." She took a deep breath. "If that's what you need me to do, I'd rather quit."
Elliot was shaking his head, his eyes averted. To Keira's surprise, his shoulders began to shake. Was he crying? She knew how close things had come at the magazine to imploding, and she knew how much Elliot had given up for Viatorum, how much it meant to him. But this was her life as well. Surely someone else could take up the Romance Guru mantel? They could even pretend to be her for all she cared! What would it matter to the readers after all?
But then she realized his shaking shoulders were not tears, but laughter. She frowned, annoyed, unable to understand what could be so amusing to him.
"Keira," Elliot finally said. "I'm not asking you to leave Cristiano. I want you to go together."
Keira paused, stunned by the revelation. "Together?"
"Yes!" Elliot cried. "Our readers love him. People are painting pictures of him and putting them on the internet! He's all anyone can talk about on the forums."
"Forums?" Keira repeated.
She couldn't believe what she was hearing. Had her descriptions really painted such a good picture of her Italian tour guide that she'd inadvertently made him into some kind of hero?
"I don't get it," she said. "You want us to go together?"
"Your love story is a hit, Keira," Elliot told her. "People want to know how it works out. Hashtag Team Shane or Hashtag Team Cristiano. Who will she marry?"
"MARRY?" Keira cried. "What is going on? I think you're all getting a bit ahead of yourselves. I've only known Cristiano for a few weeks. I'm not thinking about marriage. And he isn't either!" She folded her arms, feeling defensive, like some kind of spectacle.
Elliot softened his voice, clearly picking up on her distress at last. "Keira, what we want to see is more of you and him. What would it look like in Paris? Can your love last in a new place? Of course in Italy, on his home turf, it worked. And back here when you're surrounded by your creature comforts it works. But somewhere new? What about that? Neutral, equal ground. Can love last in a foreign place?"
Keira blinked at him, stunned into silence. "You want to…put my relationship under stress to see if it breaks?"
Elliot tipped his head to the side. He clearly hadn't thought about it that way. "Well, I mean, I wasn't expecting it to break you up. Just curious."
"Curious," Keira repeated, feeling more and more put out. "This is my life, Elliot. My real, actual life. I'm not a lab rat."
Elliot shook his head. "I'm saying this all wrong," he said. "Look, the whole idea is that you guys get to spend a month in Paris. You do the travel thing, the love thing. Write it all up. The readers are happy. You two are happy. I'm happy. Period. The End."
"Except it's not the end, is it?" Keira challenged. "Because you want some kind of conflict. You want the stakes to be raised."
"It's just the best angle," Elliot told her calmly. "To see if you can come back with your love just as strong."
Keira had no doubt that a month in Paris wouldn't break her relationship. It would stay strong, she was certain. What she objected to was the way that Elliot talked about it. Like she was part of an experiment or a story book, rather than a real person with real emotions.
Elliot leaned his arms on the table in a more open stance. "Keira, what does your New York City life look like at the moment? No apartment of your own. Staying at mom's."
"How do you know about that?" Keira stammered.
"I have my ways" he said, shrugging.
She remembered the time her mom had called her in Italy to convince her to stay on the magazine. Elliot had prompted that call.
"Have you been speaking to my mom?" she asked suspiciously.
He looked guilty but replied innocently enough. "Mallory and I chat occasionally."
Keira took a sharp inhalation of breath. Why did her mom feel the need to interfere so much in her life?
"So," Elliot continued, sweeping it under the carpet. "Really, being in Paris would give you the privacy you need. A whole month just the two of you. No sister in the way, no mom interfering."
It did sound good, Keira thought. What difference would it make if they embarked on their relationship in New York City or Paris? Other than the fact that here they were crowded with people all eager to meet Cristiano. At least in Paris it would just be them. They'd be anonymous again.
"After this article," Elliot added. "I might be able to loosen the reins a bit here at Viatorum. Promote you. Then you can pick your own assignments. If this works, and we get the angle right for the Romance Guru, I'll let you take control of the whole thing. No more last minute postings. No more Antonio's."
Keira grimaced as she remembered the first tour guide she'd been paired with in Italy, the pot bellied, cheese-smelling, perpetually-gruff Antonio.
"You really mean that?" she asked. "One more assignment, with Cristiano, and then I'll be able to set the path for the Romance Guru as I choose to?"
"As long as you're still going abroad and writing travel articles," Elliot said, "I don't care where you do it."
Keira wanted to test this theory a little. "Australia?" she asked.
"Why not?"
"China?"
"If you so desire."
"Antarctica?"
"As long as you're in love while you do it, that's all I care about. All the readers care about. And who knows, perhaps afterwards we can collect all your pieces and turn them into a book?"
Keira sat back, mulling over the prospect properly for the first time. If she could nail this, things would be significantly easier for her going forward. One more assignment under Elliot's control then she'd be free-wheeling. And becoming the author of a book was a real draw! She and Cristiano could tour the world together. No more gimmicks about matchmaking or testing love. She could really write their love story.
Besides, things in New York City were a bit strained anyway, with their options either Bryn's apartment or her old childhood bedroom. There was nothing romantic about either setting. But Paris. Paris! For the first time, she felt a tingle of excitement at the thought of she and Cristiano in the world's most romantic city. She pictured French windows and billowing lace curtains, kissing under the Eiffel tower, rain splattered sidewalks, croissants in ancient cafes overlooking the Seine, museums, art, culture, architecture. And then a mental picture forced its way into her mind with sudden ferocity: Cristiano down on one knee, a beautiful sparkling ring held out to her.
She hadn't thought of marriage until Elliot mentioned it. But what if a month in Paris ended with a ring? It certainly couldn't hurt.
"Okay," she said, at last. "I'll do it."
