Page 71 of The Sound of Silence

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’dhadthat 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.

“Have you been playing me for a fool this entire time?” she whispered.

It crushed me to see tears glossing her eyes, knowing she thought I’d deceived her in some way. I lifted my finger to her lips to silence her, determined to get everything I was thinking and feeling out in the open.

“You’re not a fool. In fact, you have one of the brightest minds I know. I knew it from the minute we first met. I never stopped thinking about that day… about you. To me, you were the one who got away. I’d thought of so many questions to ask if I ever saw you again. When I finally had my opportunity in the hallway right outside here,” I said, raising a hand to point toward her front door. “I thought this is it, here’s my chance, but my mind came up blank. Just seeing your face again was like being struck by lightning. All that energy was back in a flash, and I could barely breathe. Over the past few months, that energy grew and grew. And now… now I can only focus on one thing—the very thing I’ve been holding back from telling you because I’ve been too afraid you’d bolt.”

“What are you afraid to tell me?” she breathed in a hushed voice, so quiet, I barely heard her. Her eyes were wide as if she was terrified of my response. I didn’t care. I could no longer suppress my feelings because of what her reaction might be. She had to know how deep my emotions ran.

“I’m falling in love with you.”

32

Gianna

---