Perfect Match (Vice Club Nights #2)

22. Tori

Chapter twenty-two

Tori

G io’s name flashes as an incoming call on my phone, and I swipe to decline it. I’m not ready to talk to him. Seriously, the man is delusional if he thinks showing up stinking drunk like he did yesterday at Ryan’s place is going to make me run back into his arms after three months of nothing. I said goodbye to him that day at the club, and since then, I’ve not spoken to him. No texts, no calls, no nothing. I know I told him to lose my number, but I’d hoped that he wouldn’t.

Instead, I’ve had to endure seeing his face popping up on my social media feeds, attending all these fancy events with a glamorous Italian redhead on his arm. She’s everything I’m not. Wealthy, from the right family, and an internationally recognized fashion designer. I love my new job as the gym manager at The Vice Club, but it hardly compares.

Why couldn’t he have told me that his brother was marrying Lucia? Especially when it was planned all along. I’d have been pissed but not to the extent I am now after three months of not knowing.

My phone buzzes with another incoming call. This time, it’s Charli, and I swipe my thumb over the screen before grabbing my bag and throwing it over my shoulder.

“Hey, sis. How is domestic bliss with your boss going?” I joke, hoping to turn the conversation in her direction rather than toward me. Yesterday was meant to be a celebration of her moving-in day with Ryan, a big step in their relationship. Sadie and I had organized flowers, champagne, and some fancy snacks for after the unpacking. But instead, Gio’s surprise visit ruined it.

“Perfect,” she sighs contentedly, and I can hear the happiness in her tone, but when she continues, her voice sounds strained. “Are you doing okay? You know Ryan had no idea Gio was even back in the city; if he had, he would have told you.”

“I know. I’m just sorry that you’re both stuck in the middle of this mess. I get that Gio and Ryan are close, and I don’t expect that to change just because Gio and I are …” I struggle to find the words to describe what Gio and I are now, but I’m coming up empty. “Oh, Charli, I don’t know what to do. When he told me his brother had married Lucia, I was glad. But he broke my heart by not telling me the truth before we met at the club that night. And I don’t know if I’m prepared to give him another chance in case he completely shatters it next time.”

My brow crinkles with the memory of seeing Gio yesterday. The immaculately dressed businessman I knew had been replaced by someone who looked like he’d spent the previous night sleeping on the street. It was a shock, and I almost felt sorry for him until I remembered his last words to me, and my heart cracked a little more under the weight of rejection.

I can’t let myself care that he’d been on a bender, finding his way to the bottom of a bottle of expensive whiskey, a distinct possibility given the way he reeked of alcohol. He might be hurting because I wouldn’t agree to meet him, but so am I. And I wasn’t the one to ruin everything.

“Tori, there’s something you need to know,” she murmurs, and dread forms an uncomfortable ball in the pit of my stomach. A myriad of worst-case scenarios fill my head.

“Ryan told me last night that Gio is one of his silent partners in the club.”

Well, that wasn’t one of the scenarios.

“Can you say that again more slowly?”

Charli repeats the revelation.

“I can’t believe he never told me.” But then I ground to a stop in the middle of my kitchen and stare down at the phone. “Hang on, was he one of the silent partners who signed off on my business proposal?”

“Oh, I guess,” she mutters.

“And he knew that by offering me the gym manager role, he would have to see me again!” My head now aches along with my heart as I try to put the timeline together.

“Maybe you should speak to him,” Charli says, and the suggestion doesn’t seem as crazy as it did yesterday.

But when a call from Gio lights up my phone shortly after, I ignore it. I’m not ready yet.

***

Hours later, and I’m still not ready to take his calls.

With the final warm-down stretch done, the Pilates group gives themselves a round of applause. This has become one of the most popular classes that I run and the part of my business plan that has been the most successful.

As the last of the group leaves the room, I wipe the towel across my brow. My skin tingles and my hand stills midair, the towel dropping from my limp fingers. I feel him before he says, “Tori!”

I spin on my heel, my hands pinned to my hips. “Seriously, Gio, you’re tracking me down at work? I thought ignoring your calls would have been a clear enough message. I’m not ready to speak to you.”

“I got the message. But if you don’t want to speak now, when?”

“Honestly, I don’t know. And in the meantime, I’ve got a job to do. I wouldn’t want my boss to have a reason to fire me.” My glare tightens. “Although, I don’t really have to worry when you’re my boss.”

He blinks once slowly, then takes two steps closer. “I should have told you that and about the fake engagement. I’m sorry.” His gaze is downcast, with a wrinkle pulling his brows together.

“You made me think that we had something special. Was any of it true?” I whisper, needing to know but fearing his response.

“We did have something special, and it can be again.” He glances down and then back up, holding me frozen in his cloudy blue gaze. “I know I fucked us up, but I want to make things right. How can I make things right?” He takes a step closer, and I don’t back away. It appears to give him the confidence to continue as he pulls his shoulders back and takes a deep breath. “Tori, I want us to be everything we were in Florence. Everything that felt right for the first time in my life.”

“But what about what I want?” I ask, wrapping my arms around my waist.

“What do you want, Tori?” he asks in a low, soft voice that I have to lean closer to hear.

You, I scream in my head, but that’s where I leave it. It’s difficult to think straight when he’s standing only a few feet away.

“The way I treated you was unforgivable, and I’m sorry.”

My resolve is weakening, and I’m sure he senses that too, but I’m not ready to forgive him just yet. I straighten and look him in the eye. “You asked me what I want … Well … it’s time. I need more time to process everything that happened. For three months, I thought you had deceived me, and it’s only been twenty-four hours since I discovered it was a fake engagement.”

He nods, his eyes searching mine for more hints of softening, but I force steel into my heart and spine. I want to trust him, but I don’t know that I can.

“Okay, that’s fair. I’ll wait for you. I’m back in the city for good this time, so when you’re ready, just call me.”

“Does this mean I’m going to keep running into you?”

“I’ll give you the space and time you want.”

“Thank you.” I turn to roll up my yoga mat, and by the time I’m done, he’s gone.

***

Tonight, I’m going to call Gio. It’s been three days since he visited me, and true to his word, he hasn’t contacted me or come anywhere near the gym since. However, I do know that he’s been at the club to see Ryan each night, and the two of them have remained holed up in his office for a couple of hours before he leaves again.

As I go through the nightly routine of checking that the gym equipment has all been put away in each of the areas, I run through the words I’ve practiced in my head. A couple of sleepless nights and numerous chats with Charli and Sadie have made me rethink Gio’s actions. And the conclusion is that I want to be with him. He’s worth a second chance here in New York, away from the family pressures that he’s had to endure these last months. I think we can work, but still, I’m going to be clear with him that I want to take things slow.

The cleaners shout out goodbye and bundle their gear out the door. Finally, I can turn off the lights and head home. I flick the switch as a yawn stretches my mouth wide, and the accompanying ahhh echoes around the silent darkness. I love this time of day after the constant whir of cycle machines and the clanging of dumbbells being hit against metal. It’s peaceful.

Today has been long and exhausting but in a good way. Now if I could get a decent night’s sleep, life would be perfect. And that’s my plan after I call Gio.

My trainers scuff against the dusty sidewalk, each footstep heavier than the last, but thankfully, I’m nearly home. I probably should have taken an Uber tonight rather than the subway, even though it’s only a few stops.

The sound of a car door slamming echoes through the building canyon. But it barely registers. All I can think about is how good my bed will feel when I finally make it home and sink under the covers. I pick up my pace, then swipe my thumb over the screen to call Charli as I promised I would. She couldn’t talk earlier, and I need a little confidence boost before I call Gio. I tuck the phone into the waistband of my leggings and pop the AirPods in my ears.

The call connects, and Charli’s “Hi, sis” is still ringing in my ears when a strong, muscular arm wraps around my body, squeezing the breath from my lungs and pinning both my arms to my sides, effectively rendering me unable to fight. A frisson of panic chills my bones, and a high-pitched screech squeezes from my mouth. Nowhere near loud enough to be heard.

A sharp sting in my upper arm ratchets up the pounding in my ears. What the fuck was that?

My training has taught me not to fight the chain-like restraint, and instead, I drop my body weight to loosen the bear hug hold. Dizziness makes my movements heavy, but I manage to free my elbow and strike the attacker in the gut.

“Oomph” is the only sound to indicate it connected. My head is woozy, and the lack of strength in my limbs is making them as useful as wet noodles.

The fucker has drugged me. And for the first time, real fear grips me. I continue to pummel my elbow into his hard body, but the repetitive blows are having no impact as I begin to fade in and out of consciousness.

My last sensation is the sidewalk rushing up to meet me. Then blackness.