Five Star Romance

Her hair is much shorter now, but that woman is most definitely Livi.

Blaze hesitated, torn by conflicting emotions. What he felt for Livi cast aside any doubt as he burst through the double doors of the boutique, walking with purpose.

Livi halted, shocked, but seemed to recover quickly. “M-Mr. Alexander,” she murmured. “What can I do for you?”

“Is there somewhere we can talk?” he asked, aware that everyone in the shop was watching them intently.

She gestured toward the back of the store. “Yes. My office is in the back.”

Blaze gently took her arm and escorted her to the office so they could talk in private.

Once they were in the office, he closed the door behind him. “I can’t believe that you’ve been here under my nose all this time.” He came close, looking down at her intensely. “I was just about to hire a private detective to try to find you.”

Her eyebrows rose in surprise. “I’ve only been back in Los Angeles for about a month now. I was living in San Francisco.” Livi hesitated, blinking with bafflement. “Blaze, you’ve been looking for me?”

“I wanted to see you again.” He eyed the nameplate on her desk. “So, Carlyle is your last name.”

“Oh,” she murmured. “I thought you knew that.”

Blaze gave a short laugh. “I might have, but for some reason I didn’t remember.”

Livi smiled. “You were quite the party animal.”

“So were you. But I’m sure you must have figured out that you worked for my father.” Blaze paused, then added, “Livi, why didn’t you let me know that you were here?”

She was completely honest in her response. “Blaze, I’ve only been back in Los Angeles a month. As soon as I got back, I wanted to contact you, but I didn’t know what to say. I considered it many times. My friend Sybil kept telling me to call you or send an email.”

“I still can’t believe that you’ve been with the company all this time.” Blaze hoped his tone concealed the mixed emotions he felt.

“Why have you been looking for me?” Livi asked.

“We had a great time in Vegas and then you disappeared. I feel like we have some unfinished business.”

Livi met his gaze. “What kind of unfinished business?”

He shrugged. “That’s why I’ve wanted to find you. Few women have left an impression on me the way you have, Livi. We have a connection.”

She smiled. “Yes, we do share a connection.”

“So you feel it, too?” he asked.

Livi nodded. “Blaze...”

“I only have one regret,” he quickly interjected before Livi could finish what she was about to say. “I really wish I could remember our last night together.”

* * *

Livi kept her expression blank as she replayed Blaze’s words in her mind.

“What do you remember about that night, Blaze?” she asked, alarmed.

“We partied and I remember our friends teasing us about spending so much time together.”

Livi smiled and nodded. “They kept saying that they thought we were going to run off and elope.”

Blaze laughed. “Now that would have been something.”

Her eyes wandered restlessly around her office. Livi could not look him in the eye.

“Livi,” Blaze prompted. “What’s wrong? You’ve gotten quiet on me.”

“Do you remember being in the hospital?”

He met her gaze. “Some of it. They said that I fell off a stage. The doctors told me that I suffered a traumatic brain injury. They said that I suffered from retrograde amnesia. I don’t remember anything that happened before I fell.”

“But you remember me?” Livi asked. “How is that possible?”

“According to the doctors, people with retrograde amnesia do not lose all their memories. From everything that I’ve read about it, usually it’s the events that happened right before the injury that are lost.” A smile tugged at Blaze’s lips. “I could have fallen from the second floor of this hotel and I don’t think I could ever forget you, Livi.”

She looked up at him, meeting his warm gaze. “Every time I thought about seeing you face-to-face, I could never get past this moment. It always stopped here.”

“I’m still somewhat shocked at seeing you,” Blaze said. “In the back of my mind, I always felt that I would see you again, but I had no idea that it would be like this.”

“I’m sorry for not coming forward sooner.”

Blaze met her gaze. “That would have been nice. You owed me that much.”

Hearing a noise, Livi gestured toward the door. She did not want her employees listening in on their conversation. “Blaze, can we finish this discussion at another place and time? I really have to get back out there. Martha may need some help. An employee called in sick and another one is on vacation.”

“Can you meet me for lunch tomorrow?” Blaze asked.

“I’m actually hosting a baby shower for one of my employees. She’s going on maternity leave in a couple of weeks.”

“What about dinner?”

“I have to check my schedule, but right now I need to help Martha close up.” Livi quickly wrote down her home and cell numbers. “Give me a call tomorrow and I’ll let you know about dinner.”

She handed the paper to Blaze.

“I’ll talk to you soon,” he said, then strode quickly out of the office without a glance backward.

“It was nice seeing you, too,” she whispered softly. She shrugged off her disappointment, and then headed out to the sales floor.

“Are you okay?” Martha asked.

Livi nodded. “Yes, I’m fine.”

Disconcerted, she crossed her arms and pointedly looked away.