Part 44

Nadia sat up in her bed, confused and dazed.  She leaned over, checking the time. It was after midnight and she had four missed calls and 12 texts. 


She heard the knocking again and groaned, throwing herself back against the pillows. Just ignore it, just ignore it. She pulled a pillow over her head, trying to drown out the sound of the knocking but the doorbell followed. She wasn't going to go away, after all- why shouldn't the world just roll over for her? Nadia sat up with a frown. That wasn't very kind. Grace was her friend, her best friend... her only friend. 


Looking back, Nadia couldn't remember any one else who had been there for her as much as Grace. She'd defended her when the other kids played mean pranks, she'd never let her sit alone when people avoided her. She'd told her that there was nothing wrong with being as tall as she was and she'd supported her decision to go to nursing school instead of letting her parents place her in a really good marriage. Of course, the moment that Nadia told her parents she didn't want to get married, they'd backed off. She was grateful that they were so supportive, not like with other girls in the family. 


If Nadia really thought about it, it was only natural that she was a little alienated. Everyone she went to school with knew who her family was, knew who her uncle was and as much as they liked to snicker and whisper behind her back, she knew some of it was because she made them uncomfortable. Nadia could say, in all honesty, that she was the most overly protected and spoiled girl in the family. 


She stood up, dragging her feet as she picked up her glasses from the nightstand. Grace wasn't going to go away, she probably wanted to hear about what happened. Nadia didn't pay much attention to the gossip but she knew that the news of her adventure would circulate fast. Nadia had never been taken before, she'd never really had any problems of the sort. It was the sort of thing that her parents had to explain to her and prepare her for but that, luckily, did not happen. She knew that was because people feared Luke. She supposed that was the silver lining to being the don's only girl cousin. 


"Grace... you can't keep doing this." Nadia said as she pulled the door open and leaned against it. 


"What are you talking about? If you had answered my calls, I wouldn't be here. It takes just a few seconds to answer a text. Do you know how worried I've been?" Grace asked, reaching out and pulling Nadia into her arms. 


"I'm sorry... I've just been tired." Nadia said, closing the door and inviting Grace in. "Coffee?"


"Yes, please." Grace said with a shake of her head. "How are you feeling?"


"Well, I'm a little..." Nadia began to say but Grace sighed. 


"I couldn't believe it when I heard. I was so worried. I haven't been able to focus on anything." Grace said dramatically. 


"I'm fine, it really wasn't a big deal." Nadia said. "We were rescued right away."


"Of course, Luke is so efficient." Grace said. "I swear, every day I discover more and more amazing qualities... I can't believe I didn't see it all before."


"Yes, Luke is great." Nadia said, "I'm really glad Marco was nearby or who knows what would have happened."


"I'm surprise Marco was around with a team and ready." Grace said. "Do they keep an escort on you?"


"No but I wouldn't be surprised if Luke tries to." Nadia said. 


"Then I wonder what they were all doing there... luck." Grace said, thinking about it. Nadia sighed. It had become obvious that Luke wasn't going to seek out Grace anymore. She was wasting her time, completely deluding herself.  She had lost, she never had a chance.  


"They were there for Echo." Nadia said, making Grace turn to her wide eyed. She hadn't intended to tell Grace about that but she figured it was for the best. Grace needed to know just how serious Luke was about her.


"For Echo?" Grace asked, "That girl?"


"Yeah, I ran into her when I was in the department store." Nadia said. 


"Luke is keeping an escort on her?" Grace asked. "Why is he keeping men on her?"


"Why else, Grace? Because he wants to make sure she's safe." Nadia said.


"Why wouldn't she be safe?" Grace continued. "No one knows who she is."


"They will if he continues to be seen with her and something tells me, that's going to be the case." Nadia said. "Luke obviously cares about her."


"She wasn't hurt?" Grace said quietly, looking down at her hands. 


"No, she and I were rescued immediately." Nadia said, "he's serious."


"He even had Marco on her." Grace muttered. 


"She handled it well." Nadia continued, "didn't leave me behind, even got a punch in... although it was to poor Marco."


Grace raised her brow. 


"Why did she punch him? She thought he was one of them?" Grace said.


"Yeah, she didn't get a good look at him and it looked like he was taking me." Nadia said, "But she was fine once she realized it was him."


"She knows him well?" Grace asked. It really was a lot more serious than she'd thought. Marco had never spoken more than two words to her. 


"It looks like." Nadia said, reaching out and putting her hand over Grace's, aware that she must be processing what it all meant. 


"Just let it go, Grace. I think you just need to let it go." Nadia said. 


"Yeah, you're probably right." Grace said.


---


"Seriously? Another fitting? How hard is it to get a dress right?" Maru groaned.


"What are you complaining about? Your dress is ready." Romy said with a heavy sigh as she tossed a few garment bags onto the sofa.


"I don't know what you're complaining about, Romy. The dress should be ready, they just need you to try it on." Vera said, sorting through a small pile of mail. "Here."


"Great... now what?" Romy asked, taking the envelope. "Ugh, I'm over it."


"Is it from him?" Vera asked. 


"It's nothing." Romy said without  bothering to open the envelope. She stood up, ripping the envelope into tiny pieces before tossing it into the bin.  "Anything else?"


"ummmm no. That's all for you." Vera said, placing the envelopes into a neat pile but not before tucking one into her pocket. 


"What's that?" Maru asked, noting how Vera's eyes seemed widen as she looked at it. 


"Oh... that's just something for a client that got sent here by mistake." Vera said.  "So is it just your dress?"


"Echo's too." Romy said, putting a hand to her temples. 


"My what?" Echo asked as she walked in through the terrace doors, pup in hand. 


"He's getting big." Maru asked, running up to her and practically snatching him from her arms. 


"I know," Echo said with a smile, "Are those the dresses?"


"Don't get excited, ours aren't ready." Romy said with a frown. 


"Seriously?" Echo said, "What do they need?"


"Apparently just to fix the hem." Romy said. 


"Ewww..." Echo said with a shake of her head. "And when do we have to do that?" 


"Saturday." Romy said. 


"The wedding is on Saturday." Echo said with a raised brow. 


"So you two will go early and come straight back." Vera said, watching as Maru set the puppy down next to a sleeping Rocko. The little puppy jumped around energetically, climbing over the older dog and tugging at his ears. 


"That's right, he's your friend." Maru said to the puppy and Rocko almost seemed to roll his eyes in annoyance. 


"Where's Lena?" Vera asked, looking around the living room and noticing that she wasn't around. 


"Umm... I'm guessing she's probably upstairs." Maru said with a frown. 


"LENA!!!" Maru called out making Echo, Romy and Vera flinch as she did so. 


"Nice, Maru. Why don't you just text her?" Romy said.


"Speaking of texting... Echo, mom said she texted and you never replied." Vera said.


"Shit." Echo said, making everyone turn to her. "My phone broke." 


"The dinosaur finally broke?" Maru asked with a smile. 


"What broke?" Lena said, finally making an appearance. 


"Apparently, Echo's cell phone." Romy said. 


"The brick?" Lena replied with a sigh, walking over to where the garment bags were strewn about. 


"Yes, the brick." Echo said with a roll of her eyes. "I haven't gotten around to getting a new one."


"When did it break? HOW did it break? It's ancient." Lena replied. 


"It wasn't that old." Echo said. "I dunno- like four days ago? It's long story."


"Four days?" Maru and Lena asked in unison and surprise.


"How have you survived without a cellphone for four days?" Maru asked. Echo shrugged.


"And what about Mr. Farina?" Lena asked with a grin. "He's not upset at not being able to reach his girl friend?"


"Shit." Echo said with a frown, causing Lena and Maru to break out laughing.


"Really, Echo? Does he at least know your phone broke?" Vera asked. 


"Ughhh... I  think he does. I haven't talk to him..." Echo said and Romy smiled.


"In four days?" Romy said, "Our little Echo has a lot to learn about relationships."


"I think... I need to go out." Echo said, jumping to her feet. 


"Echo, I don't think you'll make it into the city on time to get a phone. Just do it tomorrow." Vera said, taking out her cell phone. "Here, why don't you just message him from my phone and let him know."


"Thanks..." Echo said, taking the phone and then stopping. "I don't suppose you have his number?"


The girls all stared at her blankly. 


"Yeah... at the office." Vera said with a shake of her head. Echo sighed, handing her back the phone. 


"Ohhh he's gonna be so mad." Echo said. 


"He'll get over it." Romy said with a shrug. "I can't believe you. Didn't wonder why he hadn't called or texted?"


"I mean... He's a busy guy." Echo said, thinking about it with a frown. "Damn it, he's gonna be mad."


"I'm sure it'll be fine." Vera replied, turning at the sound of a knock. "I wonder who that could be."


"I bet it's Mr. Farina coming to see why Echo hasn't answered his texts." Maru teased. 


"Stop calling him, Mr. Farina. You make him sound old." Echo replied. 


"He IS old." Maru replied with a grin. 


"He's not that old." Echo replied .


"Yeah... I'm not THAT old." Luke said, making them all turn wide eyed.


"Luke, so good to see you." Vera said, reacting first and walking over to him. 


"Likewise. Your housekeeper let me in, I hope I'm not interrupting anything." He said with a smile.


"Not at all, we were just scolding Echo for you." Romy said with a smile. 


"Good." Luke said, turning to Echo who was sitting red faced. "Saves me some trouble."


"Would you believe she actually forgot she didn't have a phone?" Maru said with a big grin.


"Did she?" Luke said, smiling. "It's okay. I figured that's what happened, so..."


Luke lifted up a bag and held  it out, prompting Echo to stand with a raised brow. 


"You did not go get me a cell phone?" Echo said, moving towards the bag but Luke held it up above her head. 


"Maybe I did... but I think you're forgetting something." He said with a playful grin. Echo blushed, remembering how Luke always insisted on being greeted. 


"People can see you." Echo muttered. 


"We're not people." Lena said, trying to contain a giggle. 


"Okay, officially too many people in this room." Echo said, looking around. "Come on."
Echo grabbed his hand and dragged him from the room and into the foyer.


"So?" He said, when they were alone. 


"I can't believe you came here." She muttered. 


"What was I supposed to do? I was worried." He said and she raised her brow.


"Really? That guy you have following me around doesn't tell you what I'm doing?" She whispered.


"Alright, fine. I was feeling neglected." he said, reaching out and wrapping his arms around her. "Now... I'm waiting."


"You need to leave before my parents get home." Echo said. 


"I will as soon as you..." He began and Echo sighed, sounding annoyed. 


"Of course." She groaned but she was smiling as she jumped up onto her tip toes and pecked him on the lips. 


"Missed you too." He said. 


"So..." She said.


"So?" He asked and she rolled her eyes.


"What's in the bag?" She asked, looking towards it. Luke laughed, he couldn't help it. 


"Yes, it's for you." He said, handing it to her. Echo smiled as she opened it. 


"Jesus, you really did get me a phone!" She exclaimed, taking out the box. 


"Yep, and I expect you to call and get that set up right away." He said, surprising her with another kiss. 


"I will... but you have to go." She said, walking him back towards the door. 


"Alright, alright." He said, turning to his left. "Nice seeing you!"


Echo glanced over her shoulder where her sisters were all pretending not to be watching them. 


"Hey..." She called out as he was walking out the door. 


"Yeah?" He asked. 


"See you Saturday." 



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