Book 2: What Happens Here - Chicago (What Happens Here Series)

Chapter 38 - Carmen

Walking into her West Loop condo, Carmen walked over to her oversized red leather sectional sofa and sat down. She slid off her stilettos and laid her head back against the cushion and closed her eyes. Carmen had been going non-stop, and with one closing and three showings, she was exhausted, but she still smiled, because she loved what she did. Every day was an adventure and seeing the smiles on the faces of her clients when they were given the keys to their new homes was the best part. As she sat with her eyes closed, her mind involuntarily drifted to Giorgio Moretti and the time that they'd spent together since she'd met with him and Andy in New York almost a week ago.

Almost a week prior, as Carmen had sat with Giorgio and showed him the listing of homes that she'd put together for him while they were in Vegas, she'd found herself struggling to focus. When she'd gotten off of the elevator and had gotten her first glimpse of him from behind, she had been intrigued, but when he'd turned around and she'd seen the full view of him, she'd lost her breath. Giorgio was one of the most beautiful men that she'd ever seen, in real life. Granted, she'd had a huge crush on Henry Cavil ever since she'd first seen him in Tudors, but since meeting Giorgio, in her opinion, Henry and Giorgio were racing neck and neck to the finish line of the "Most Gorgeous Man Alive" contest. And of course, the accented voices of both men didn't hurt either.

The trip to New York hadn't gone quite as smoothly as Carmen had hoped. After she'd checked into her hotel and freshened up, she'd given Giorgio a call to let him know that she would arrive at his hotel within the hour to take him to meet Andy at his office in Manhattan. When Carmen had placed the call, the anticipation of hearing his accented voice filled her, and she'd found herself shifting in her seat as she'd slipped off her stilettos. "Pronto!" Giorgio's deep accented voice had rolled over her like a caress, and Carmen shook her head as she tried to get a hold on her senses. Placing a smile on her face, she'd forced the same friendly, yet professional attitude that she had with all of her clients into her voice as she said, "Hi Giorgio! This is Carmen Daniels. Did you get settled in okay?" There was a slight pause on the other end of the line, and Carmen heard material rustling, as if he were moving around. Had she disturbed his rest? Suddenly feeling uneasy, Carmen said, "Oh, I'm sorry, did I disturb you?"

Carmen heard Giorgio clear his throat before he said, "Ovviamente no, Carmen. You are not disturbing me. I was resting my eyes a bit. This is the first time, since arriving to the states for Daryl and Layla's wedding that I've actually had time to do so." Hearing that, Carmen truly felt bad for disturbing him, and she said, "Now I really feel bad about disturbing you." More rustling on the other end, and she heard Giorgio say, "Non potresti mai disturbarmi bellezza." Not understanding what Giorgio had said but loving the sound of the words as they rolled off of his tongue in his heavily accented Italian, caused butterflies in her stomach. Shaking off the sensations that his voice was causing to her body, Carmen cleared her throat before she said, "I'm sorry...I didn't understand what you just said." Clearing his throat, Giorgio said, "Oh...mi dispiace...it's no bother."

Accepting his explanation, Carmen said, "Okay, great. Well...I was calling to let you know that I should be at your hotel in an hour, so that we can meet Andy at his office. If that works for you?" When Giorgio replied, "Si", Carmen smiled as she'd said, "Perfect. I will send you a text when I'm heading your way."

An hour later, Carmen and Giorgio were heading to Andy's East Side Manhattan realty office. Once they'd arrive, they walked into the very upscaled, and posh office with its marble flooring and bright opened spaces, and seeing Andy, she smiled as he returned the smile and headed their way.

When Andy reached them, he pulled Carmen into an embrace, which she quickly ended before pulling away and turning to smile at Giorgio. Meeting Giorgio's intense blue gaze, Carmen thought she'd caught sight of something that resembled anger flash in the depths of Giorgio's blue eyes, turning them into chips of ice, but just as quickly the look was gone. Had she imagined it? Shaking off what she'd clearly imagined, Carmen said, "Giorgio Moretti, this is Andrew Michaels." And turning to Andy, she said, "Andy, this is Giorgio Moretti, and as I mentioned he is looking to relocate here to the States from Italy." Smiling at Andy, she said, "Thank you for fitting us in on such short notice." Andy smiled before he stepped just a bit too far into Carmen's personal space for her liking and placed his hand on her lower back as he said, "Of course. Anytime." The feeling of his hand on her lower back caused Carmen to tense, as she subtly took a step to the side to break contact with his hand.