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"What type of cheese would you like with that?"

"Um...no cheese. Thanks." Kel smiled up at the brunette waitress.

"Yes cheese— Are you serious right now?" Miles showed his protest with scrunched brows and a horrified look. He sat next to her, his simple dirty green shirt matching the restaurant's lack of finesse.

It was a small resto-bar outside of Brescia, pretty old and rustic, but the place felt and smelled like home. Truth was, she was sick of pricey Italian restaurants—the kind Miles always took her to dine in. Today, their lunch date would be as simple as possible. She missed home, and Miles made her choose the venue, so...

"You'll be working long hours tonight," Miles reminded her with a stern look. He then glanced at the waitress with the steno pad. "Three of whatever types of cheeses you got. I'm feeding her real food today. Thank you." He curtly smiled at the waitress.

"Fine. Lotsa cheese for him, Miss." Mykaela smirked at her date after the waitress repeated their orders and left.

It was past lunchtime. She felt like she could use two more hours of sleep before the casting calls, but Miles wanted to eat out. Saying no to his invitation would upset him. She wanted to hang out with him, too, knowing he'd be holing up in his basement again later. His latest paintings would definitely use up a lot of his time and energy all week.

They'd be lucky if they caught a glimpse of each other the next morning.

"Kel, 6am on set. Trix likes to start early," her agent informed her. She'd scored a two-day photo shoot with an Italian magazine. They paid well, the photographer was Italian and famous, and Mykaela just couldn't decline the offer. She needed the cash, basically.

"I miss you with long hair."

"I've had it straight and long all my life, man. It needs some variety."

"Remember when Paul introduced me to you?" Miles smiled lopsidedly and stared at something on their table. "Summer of 2012?"

"Has it been three years? Wow." Kel squinted at his pleasant expression, unsure of the exact date of their very first meeting.

"We were the only Americans in the lineup. You were the prettiest on that catwalk."

"It wasn't a catwalk," she recalled with a smile. "Two lines of cherry red carpet in the middle of a garden. Like an X."

"Was staring at you the whole time we were backstage, 'cause you were so reserved."

"Painfully shy." She giggled at the not-so-distant memory. "Had a crush on Jax Kramer—he was standing right behind you and Paul. I was so uncomfortable. Couldn't say much when you were askin' me about my hometown and stuff."

"Still remember your bad jokes about country life, though. Only thing that convinced me you aren't antisocial." Miles chuckled.

"Honestly expected you to have a thick Italian accent." She recalled the scene. "You miss living in California?"

"Sometimes. I miss the early jogs and hiking."

Their water was served with the garlic bread appetizers. For a moment, Kel caught the girl checking out his profile while handing him the glass of water. Then the waitress left when she caught her staring.

"I think she likes you, Maestro," Kel mumbled with a small grin.

"She's cute," he said with nonchalance. "You left Andrew before Christmas, right?"

She nodded faintly after a moment of silence, quite confused by the abrupt topic change. They were having such a chill and effortless lunch date. She even thought Miles was in the mood for reminiscing.

Did he really need to bring up Drew?

For a year now, she had been doing pretty well. She'd been pretty good at forgetting; some nights she would even get to bed without having spared the guy a single thought. It was more than progress, she told herself day after day. She was over him. She was getting over him. Finally.

Until that day.

Ugh. Why...

She was doing so well. But he just had to show up that day.

As much as she'd tried to convince herself that it was just her wild (and sometimes nostalgic) imagination playing tricks on her that evening, Mykaela eventually came to terms with the reality of Drew being here, in Milan. Alone. Eager and "bloody desperate" to talk to her, as Jill and David had put it.

From what she'd heard, her former fling seemed to have been exerting efforts just to keep tabs on her. She tried to understand the possible rationale. Andrew was just that caring and thoughtful—even to an ex.

But, actually hiring a private eye? The idea itself was more than a red flag. It bothered her to a degree. Now that they were starting to talk again, Mykaela thought Drew's reappearance in her life was definitely cause for immediate concern.

"Why'd you ask?" Kel grabbed her glass and looked away from Miles' inquiring stare, noting how his eyes were studying her every move.

"You wanna see him again," Miles supposed. His faint grin widened when she kept mum. "Don't even try to lie."

At his teasing, Kel couldn't help but muse over her emotional state at present.

Sure. There was once a time she wanted nothing but to be with Andrew, every hour of the day, every day of the week. Then again, a lot of things have changed over the past two years. Miles wanted her to keep away from Andrew, too, and lately, she trusted Miles' judgment more than hers.

"You wanna keep talking to him 'cause you think you owe him a pretty good explanation," Miles muttered with a raised brow. "I mean, a year of no contact..."

"I'm just...concerned," Kel replied halfheartedly. Truth was, she worried about Andrew. He might still be in the city, looking for her, eager to talk things over. Perhaps because she had not given their relationship any proper closure. "I'm not used to seeing him so...down and...not himself. Jill said he's been distraught, maybe even depressed."

"Not in the same way, though." Miles scoffed. "You were starving yourself just months ago. Even tried cutting yourself once. Don't forget about that. And what does he get? Million-dollar movie deals, more promotional interviews, even international magazine spreads, might I add, and you're worried he might be depressed?" Miles weakly shook his head and reached for his drink.

Her silence lengthened as he sat next to her closely, a slight awkwardness keeping her still after his retort.

"Here's your pizza—Pepperoni Supreme—and cheese sticks, barbecue wings, and Pesto Real." Their waitress wore her nice smile as she served their handful of orders. "Enjoy."

"Thanks, beautiful." Miles playfully winked at the waitress. "Ugh! Starving."

"Wow. Everything smells scrumptious." For a second or two, Kel pretended to be in total awe of the mouth-watering dishes laid out on their small table for four while she watched Miles' interaction with the tall brunette. She swore she saw the girl blush a bright red shade, even with all that layers of foundation. Cute. "Thank you."

"Let me know if you need anything else," the girl said before leaving them alone again.

"I miss this." Kel kept a grin on and regarded the heaps of comfort food in front of them now. While she watched him dig in, she took a sauce-dipped chicken wing, a cup of cheesy sticks, and two thin-crust pizza slices—for good measure.

Miles would make her eat more than that—even force her, if he was in a mood—if she showed any hesitant looks at the amount of food on their table right now.

"Dessert. Ice cream or pie?" Miles then tried to fit in two cheese sticks into his busy mouth.

"Pie?" Her stomach objected. She wasn't even past her second bite of the thin pizza slice she held. Nonetheless, Kel tried her best not to make a face. "Too heavy. But if you want some..." She nodded to the diner counter, which was currently full with scrambling servers and shouting cooks.

Their table was quite far from the busy kitchen, but her sleeves now stuck to her sweaty skin.

"Let's get takeout later." Miles smiled warmly at her.

Their late lunch kept them preoccupied for another half-hour. She wished they had more free time, but great thing Miles seemed to enjoy her company today. Lately, they hadn't really been talking to each other. Kel had a few hunches, but his best friend hadn't mentioned anything new, and she didn't want to pry just yet. "Can I have some of that sauce, please?"

Miles stopped chewing, reached for the barbecue sauce, and poured some on her plate. "Enough?"

"Yep. Thanks."

"Hey." Miles leaned in, his smooth cheek almost touching her nose now. Then he used his thumb to carefully wipe something off her lips. "Sorry about this."

"About what?"

Miles lifted her right palm to kiss the side, where one of his carving knives had left quite a distinct, inch-long mark.

"How was that your fault?" she muttered with a nervous smile. It was that weird night in his art studio. "It's fine. Just a scar now." Kel backed away from his seat and continued eating, puzzled with herself.

It was normal for him to make sweet gestures; he was just that way. Especially since they'd become close friends. But there was something in the way he talked to her today that got her thinking about her recent dilemma. Something about the way he stared at her every reaction also felt kinda odd. To her Drew-laden consciousness, at least.

"Are you seeing anyone lately?" she asked out of the blue.

Miles almost choked on his water, swallowed, and then glanced at her. "Where'd that come from?"

"I just feel like...you're keeping something from me."

"We may be living in the same house for a while now, but you're not my wife yet, honey. Don't be so sure of yourself." Miles wore a slanted grin and eyed her.

"You're so full of it."

"I like you just enough to make you my roommate, but, don't let it get to your head. Capisci?"

She slapped him on the arm. "I'm serious, Falco! Are you dating anyone?"

In response to her questioning, Miles put his glass back on the table, hurriedly wiped his hands with a tissue, and then turned in his seat to face her. "None of your business." He leaned forward to give her a noisy kiss on the cheek.

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New message

[+02 **** ****802]

"K, where r u exactly? Meet up today, yeah? Anywhere in the city. Just to talk. -D"

Received 2:19PM

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Just to talk.

Just to talk. Nothing else.

It wasn't a total lie. But Mykaela knew better than to respond. It seemed Jill wasn't overreacting when she'd told her Andrew was "at the end of his tether" and that he just wanted to find her.

Undecided, Kel put her phone away and resumed her pretense. She was pretty positive Miles wouldn't notice anything if she just acted like she was still busy with the piles of greasy food on her plate.

Yeah. She could just ignore his text. It wasn't like it was some sort of emergency. Drew wanted to see her just because he wanted someone to talk to. She was sure it could wait.

She was about to get lost in her own thoughts again when she heard someone belch.

"Scusami," Miles muttered, his Italian sounding so natural to her ears. He drank more water and belched again.

"You're such a guy sometimes." Kel suppressed a chuckle. She also noticed he'd hiked up his short sleeves that bared the top of his arms. "D'you need air?"

"No; I need dessert." Miles ignored her hand fanning his face. "Who was it?"

"Huh?"

"Drew?"

Wow. Her jaw almost dropped open. Was he psychic? "Um...yeah." She looked away.

"What'd he say?" Miles asked coolly.

"None of your business," she joked with a tentative smile. She avoided his gaze. Her hand mindlessly scraped her fork against her sauce-stained plate.

"You didn't text back?"

Mykaela faintly shook her head. Were they going to argue about Andrew again for another half hour or so? She almost frowned at Miles for the prompt and rather pushy questions. She honestly wanted to spend quality time with him today. With him and no one else. Spending an afternoon alone with him but talking about other people didn't count.

"You gonna see him again?" Miles stared at her, his brows slightly raised. For a moment, he did nothing but wait for her to reply, knowing she was still stressing out about Drew following her around.

"I dunno..."

"You want to, but you didn't really wanna tell me." Miles sighed, looked elsewhere, and put on a tight smile.

"What?"

"You're so screwed."

"Don't be mean." Kel lightly swatted his hand away when he playfully pinched her cheek.

"Fine." Miles put his arm on top of his seat's backrest and budged to face her again. "You want real talk?"

"Um...yes?" She bit on her lip, lazily sat back, and crossed her arms. "I don't wanna encourage him or anything, but I...I don't think I can just ignore him forever," she muttered.

"You would if you don't feel the same about him anymore."

"I don't." Mykaela glanced around, feeling somewhat cautious all of a sudden. There was no way Drew could be here in the same restaurant, or anywhere near this part of the city, but...

Better safe than sorry. "Drew Mihhailov" was a household name now, apparently. Even Italian tabloids seemed to have gotten wind of him being here in Milan.

Miles didn't speak another word. For minutes, he just watched her contemplate and bother herself with more thoughts of Drew.

"Before I moved here, I would just find myself lying in bed all night, questioning my decisions over and over. Insomnia is the worst, man. It's why I thought I should skip town," Kel narrated to no one in particular, the guy beside her seeming nearly disinterested. "Before I met him, I liked living my life on the sidelines, y'know. School. Part-time job. Go home. Study." Mykaela smiled to herself. She really was a simple country girl, before she'd tried her luck in the city, and before everything in her personal life just started to fall apart. "I actually liked the routine."

"I'm afraid I'm way too 21st century for that." Miles grinned at his retort, glanced at her, and went on eating the chicken wings on his plate.

With delight, Kel just watched his big appetite turn into a carbs overload fest. She sat back in her chair and wondered. What did Miles actually think of her persistent ex now? "Why don't you like him?"

Miles paused and furrowed his brows. "Come again?"

"Why don't you like him? He's not that bad."

Speechless and with barbecue sauce-smeared lips, Miles stared and blinked at her disbelievingly.

"D's a real nice guy." Mykaela dropped her gaze. "His wife would say the opposite, of course. I'm not trying to sway you or anything, but...he's always been nice to me."

"Wife? I thought they're getting divorced?" Miles scoffed and leaned forward, his tan forearm resting on the edge of their table.

"Yeah. That's...what he said."

"Great." Miles shifted in his seat and shook his head weakly. "And still you feel the need to ask me why I don't like him."

"Hey." Kel pouted at his reply. "They've been separated for years— I mean...pretty sure divorce is where they're headed."

"You can't be serious, Mykaela."

"But tell me why you don't like him."

"Sorry," he said with a neutral shrug. "Just don't have a definite answer for you. Not one you'd like to hear, at least." With another frown, Miles reclined and looked around them, the early afternoon sun highlighting parts of his face. "I mean, sure. I've met him. But I don't know him. And I don't want to."

"But..." She took her phone out and searched Google for any recent pictures of her ex. Then she just stared at a gallery of Drew's photos on her phone's screen. "Look at that face, though..."

"Too white for my taste." Miles even snorted.

She tried not to laugh out loud. "His fashion sense, then?"

"Does he have any? Pretty sure he doesn't wear a shirt unless it's at least a little transparent."

Kel giggled. "You're such a jerk sometimes." Then she kept staring at him, realizing Miles still wasn't at ease with the thought of Drew still pining for her, or the possibility of her feeling the same. "You're a very instinctual guy."

"What now?" Miles scoffed.

"I just need your advice..." she murmured, placing her cheek on his arm. "Reply to him once? Or ignore him for eternity?"

"He'd stay away if we just showed him more of this."

"What?"

Miles' shapely lips tried not to scowl at her. "Just keep showing him you're invested in this relationship."

She got quiet.

"Let's keep it up," he suggested with a quick shrug. "Eventually, he'll take the hint after a while of you just rejecting him over and over."

"But, it's not that easy." She scratched her forehead. "I can't just—"

"So you can't do it?" Miles squinted at her diffident reaction. "Can't or won't?" He stared at her for a quiet moment, his tone stern.

As expected, she was the one to look away first, embarrassed about something she didn't want to put into words.

"Mykaela, come on..." Miles sighed and took out his credit card. "It's nothing to feel guilty about all your life. It happens..." Miles handed the card to the waitress when the check arrived. They were left alone again in mere seconds. "But like I said, don't make the same mistake twice if you don't wanna end up feeling like shit again every single day. 'Cause I'm not sure I'm gonna be around long enough to haul you out of that mental state every time you need me to."

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◇ Brescia ◇

"Been calling your phone for an hour now. You home?"

"Yeah." Kel yawned and dropped her blaring phone on the covers, stretching her limbs afterwards, the glue in her eyes making her regret staying up late the previous night.

The digital clock on the nightstand said it was way past lunch, and she should be busy in the kitchen right now, making meals for her roomie.

"What? Something up?" she mumbled in her stuporous state, putting her phone closer to her face.

"You talked to Drew?"

"Why? Few days ago." Kel let out another yawn. She'd been dreaming, thus her deep sleep, and, strangely, she could still recall details. It was not a happy dream, put it simply.

"Oh. He keeps asking me if you're still in Milan."

"After hiring those PIs, surprised he doesn't know my exact address yet," she muttered while rubbing the grogginess off her eyes.

"No work today?" Jill asked on the other end after a few seconds of silence.

"Later."

"You alone in the house?"

"Why? Miles didn't wake me up." Kel hauled the thick covers off of her and tried to sit up, her back and head feeling sticky with sweat. "Probably finishing a painting in the basement. I was reading till four in the morning."

"A book?"

"Endocrinology Volume Two," Kel replied monotonously. "Why'd you call?"

"Still studying?" was what her sister asked next.

"You know I don't like going out. And I get bored when he's too busy with his projects," Kel mumbled. Miles hadn't hung out with her all week due to their respective workloads, and he'd been busy finishing his paintings for another art show in Milan. She shouldn't complain, but...he barely talked to her all week since that last lunch date in the city.

"Been tryna reach you all morning." Jill sounded quite annoyed now.

"Why? I'm tired," Kel sighed. "I think I read five chapters. And I was dreaming, like, heavily." In the dream, they were all at their Daddy Jim's funeral. Yikes.

"Nightmares again?"

"Dreamt about you and mom."

"What about?" Jill inquired, her tone now more impatient than curious.

"We were at the cemetery with G. Then we went home. Next I was back here, but, not in Milan or here in Brescia." Kel squeezed her eyes shut as she tried to recollect the other parts of her bizarre and lengthy dream sequence. "Miles was fighting with his dad about something, talking in Italian, and I was hiding in the car. Miles was yelling...his hair was longer, darker. Blood on his hands..."

"Really. Cemetery?"

"Yeah. Weird. Why'd you call?" Kel repeated the question before her head fell onto her pillow again.

"Mom called."

Her sister's tone wasn't ominous or anything, but Kel couldn't ignore the sudden impression of malaise that snuck into her thoughts. Did something happen to their parents back home? It had been months since she'd talked to them, and now Kel had a gut feeling she needed to give her mom a call. "Why?"

"Dad's back in the ICU."

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