SO MUCH, FOR LOVE

Chapter 6

LizzyI am such a bad person, I should've just gone for a date and then implied I wasn't interested in him, butthat would be wrong too. I think I did the right thing, 'Markus is a nice guys he'll find someone betterthan me in no time' I think to myself but still a part of me wants him. I want to do everything I would'vedone if only I wasn't scared of the heartache, I wasn't always like this I lived in the moment until thatmoment became the most terrible one of my life and I couldn't take it anymore.That night after I very politely refused Markus on his date proposal I went straight home and drownedmyself in wine. How many genuine guys have I rejected in the past one year? And how many were ashot as Mark? I don't know but what I do know is that it's high time. I need to move on because Markmay not want me now but I need masculine support in my lonely life.I saw my laptop lying there on the table innocently starring back at me, out of curiosity I open Googlesearch and type the name "Markus Espinoza" just out of curiosity it's not like he's coming back for me,so why not? His face was the first one that flashed on the screen, I think I'm going to die of shock. He is aFucking Billionaire! A Billionaire! And he just asked me out and I said NO! Oh my god! I'm going to die ofshame. I stare at his face for a long time, contemplating how I might've missed it. He looks every bit thewealthy billionaire that he is, each picture looks better than the last one and I can't seem to take myeyes away from him. I come across a series of pictures where he is posing with different beautifulwomen on his arm, women who look like they belong there with him, women hundred times moreimmaculate in manners and women who are better than me. Here I thought I broke his heart, womenprobably swoon over him, a single rejection from me wouldn't even matter that much. I look moreclosely at the pictures this time, all of women are drop dead gorgeous but he doesn't seem to care, he'shad his face straight to the camera with an impassive expression while the women stare at him withpuppy love in their eyes. Why would this guy want me? After nearly two hours of stalking himvivaciously I finally stop. All the qualities the internet shows me are, 'billionaire, cold, ruthless andplayboy' none of these make sense, he has been nothing but kind, charming, sweet and helpful to me.Maybe he did that because he wanted to sleep with me? Or was I going to be one of his conquests justlike the other women in the report? I will never know but I have to stop thinking about him. He isdangerous for me and I'd rather stay away than regret my decision later.Despite my grave efforts to block Markus out of my mind I can't concentrate. His billion dollar smile,those lovely dimples and the eyes that shine brighter than the sun. I cannot forget his features becausethey are so striking people from ten feet distance could notice them. He is by far my favorite specimenof a man and he is practically off limits 'playboy Lizzy! Focus' I tell myself but to my utter disgust I stillneed to see him. So I do what I do the best, I channel my complicated emotions into my chocolates, theynever fail me.After four days, I lose it. Why is this happening to me? Why can't I erase him completely from my mind?"I need help Mia" I say in my most dejected voice, "Need help with what?" she asks from the other sideof the phone "I want to remove a guy from my system" I say matter of factly. She groans, "Not this againLizzy bear" Mia says dejectedly, "it's someone else actually" I say and dive into my two encounters withMarkus. "Wow! You got lucky Elizabeth" Mia says this as if it's some sort of good news because honestlyChapter 619it's not. "Tell me something worth listening to Mia" she sighs, "you weren't even dating him, why is it sohard?" she asks and I think to myself 'why is it so hard to remove Markus Espinoza from my system?'***MarkusI take in the vast expanse of innumerable flowers laid down in front of me, lavenders, roses, sunflowers,lilies, peonies and what not, I need to make a lasting impression on her and at the same time I've tomake sure it isn't too much. So I go with the universal favorite, red roses. The driver drops me in front of'Golosi' exactly at 7:45, and I wait outside with the bouquet of roses. While I wait, my mind wonders tothe inevitable 'will she accept my apology and this new proposal that I have for her?' the last time Imade a move she rejected me. This time around I'll make sure I take it slow. I look around her shop andmake sure there are no lingering customers in her shop and make my way inside. She's standing in thesame place trying to pick up the trays that most likely are heavier than her, if I thought she was beautifulbefore, right now she looks like a freaking Greek Goddess. One week of not seeing her has made meeven more hungrier for her, all I want to do is pin her to the wall and kiss the fuck out of her but thatwould just make things complicated so I need to be patient.She is humming to herself clearly oblivious to the fact that I'm watching her, so I clear my throat, sheaudibly gasps and places a hand on her heart. Her eyes widen when she recognizes me and she stutters"you.....you are here?" she croaks out, hmm...did she want to see me as much as I wanted to see her? Idoubt that but it does sound good to my ears. "Hey" I say in an overly enthusiastic voice and give her mymegawatt smile, "these are for you" I say handing her the flowers, she looks at them then back at meand finally takes it. "Thank you" she mutters and I sigh in relief 'at least she hasn't thrown me out of theshop, that's a good sign' she places the flowers in her vase and then saunters back to me. We look ateach other in silence just standing there until she lifts one of her perfectly trimmed eyebrow, I clear mythroat "yeah, right. I know I messed up the last I was here" I was about to continue when she cuts in"no, I'm sorry for hurting your feelings" now it was my turn to raise my eyebrows. "You mostly certainlydid not hurt me, I kind of pushed it on you, your reaction was acceptable" I rub the back of my neck andcontinued "I want to apologize, it was an impulsive decision" her face softens at that and she gives me asoft smile. Fuck! She's beautiful, "it's alright Mark," she says softly before adding, "the flowers arebeautiful but I like them white" she says with a teasing tone and I laugh 'this woman is going to be thedeath of me'."Next time I'll make sure they are white, do you need help with that?" I say pointing at the trays, "I feelguilty for asking you to help" she's adorable when she's being honest. I don't reply, I just start working"so....since you so gracefully rejected me last time, is there any chance we can be friends?" I asknonchalantly as if her answer doesn't bother me. She's quite so I look in her direction, she's nervous? "Isthere something on your mind?" I ask while carrying another one of her trays "yes actually, I kind ofsearched you on the internet, out of curiosity" no she did not do that. I stop in my track, "And what didyou see?" the whole point of me wanting her was because she didn't know about my identity, I don'twant another gold digger. "That you are some fancy pants billionaire, with women practically swooningat your feet" Lizzy said with a slight frown on her face, my lips twitched "you think I'm some playboybillionaire then huh? How judgmental of you Ms. Cooper" I say in a mocking tone.20She just stares at me as if words have failed her, but when she speaks again, my heart breaks just a tadbit "what am I to you Markus, am I just another conquest? Why are you so hell bent on getting to knowme? What is your motive here?" I blink back at her, when did she become so arrogant? It's like she'stalking to me as a different person, there is hurt in her eyes but why lash out on me like that?She's making it hard for me, so many layers protecting her heart. This is going to be difficult for me tobreak and I sure as hell am not going to quit now. Elizabeth Cooper, you are mine to claim.