Love Like Ours. Sophie Love

last, the flashing lights stopped.

      “I think we’ve got it,” Stella said.

      Cristiano helped her down from the chimney step and they went over to see the digital pictures on Stella’s camera reel.

      “Imagine the Paris skyline,” Stella said. “We’re photoshopping that in.”

      If Keira hadn’t been in the photo, she’d probably love it. It was romantic, and the chemistry between her and Cristiano was very real. Even though she’d felt nothing but awkward during the whole shot, Stella had somehow managed to capture one perfect moment. But the problem was that it was her in the image. Not just Cristiano, who looked like the French movie star he was portraying.

      “Don’t you just love it?” Stella said. “You’ll be celebrities in no time!”

      Maybe Cristiano would, Keira thought. He was clearly the star of the shoot, and the star of the article by the sounds of it. What if he found someone better as a result of all this? She couldn’t help wondering what would happen if they broke up. These photos would be a horrible reminder. And awkward, for her to be on the front of a magazine declaring her love with a guy who had left her for someone better.

      Elliot took Keira to one side then.

      “I’ve been thinking about what you said in my office,” he said. “About this being your life. I think that maybe we’ve given you a schedule that’s been a bit gruelling. Why don’t you take the rest of the day off? There’s no need for you to be in the office and it would be better to have some time to get your ducks in a row, say goodbye to your family, that sort of thing.”

      “You’re just worried I’ll get home sick again and want to quit,” Keira said, seeing straight through Elliot’s intentions.

      “I just want you to be happy and relaxed,” he said, unconvincingly.

      But Keira wasn’t about to argue. She’d had about as much of people swanning around Cristiano as she could handle. She went over to where he was surrounded by a group of writers swooning over the photo, and took him by the arm.

      “We have the rest of the day to ourselves,” she told him. “Let’s get out of here.”

      “Oh, okay,” Cristiano said, giving in to her gentle tug. He waved at the Viatorum staff. “I guess I’ll see you all another time. Nice to have met you! Bye!”

      They watched him all the way out the doors.

      As soon as they were outside, Keira took a deep breath. That whole thing had been so stressful, she felt like she needed the rest of the day just to recover.

      They headed for the subway. But they’d barely made it down one street before Keira received the first of what was to become a succession of emails, some from Nina, some from Elliot, others from Heather with the Paris itinerary, flight times, boarding pass code, hotel details. So much for having the rest of the day off!

      They’d just reached the stairs and were about to head down into the subway when Keira’s phone pinged again, this time with a text message. To Keira’s surprise, it was from Zachary. For one brief second she allowed herself to feel excited that it may be confirmation that he’d returned her money, but those hopes were immediately dashed when she read it.

      Hey K. Bad news. My cousin said there’s a ton of renovation work to do on our old apartment so he’s going to have to keep the deposit. Sorry. Let’s go for a drink when I’m back in NYC, ok?

      Keira fumed as she read the message. The cheek of it! She was relying on that money to sort out a new apartment and Zach knew it. There was no way they had caused thousands of dollars worth of damage to the apartment; either Zach was lying or his cousin was conning them. Plus the way he so casually told her she wasn’t getting any of it back, like it was just a bit of an inconvenience. And then to ask her out for a drink after!

      Irate, Keira typed out a quick, harsh reply.

      A drink with you is the last thing I want. Get out of my life.

      A moment later, Zachary responded.

      You don’t have to be such a bitch about it. Should have known the only thing that mattered to you was the $.

      Keira slung her cell phone in her purse, furious.

      “What is wrong?” Cristiano asked her, sounding concerned.

      “Nothing. Just my bastard of an ex.”

      “Zachary?” he asked.

      “Yes,” she mumbled.

      “Did he do something to hurt you? Do you need me to punch him?”

      “God, no!” Keira cried. “I don’t want to talk about him. Or think about him.”

      In fact, all she wanted now was to get out of this city – no, this whole goddamn country – and have Cristiano to herself all over again!

      Chapter Eight

      Cristiano and Keira spent the rest of the day cramming in as much as they could of New York City before heading back to Bryn’s apartment to pack up their belongings. Luckily, Bryn was still at work when they got back and so they had the run of the place.

      For Cristiano, packing was relatively quick and easy. He only had one satchel, after all, plus one jacket he’d purchased on reaching New York and discovering how much colder than Italy it was and an almost identical designer version.