Free A Change of Heart (The Heartfelt Series) by Adrienne Vaughan Page B

style department. Jeez, he looked like an out-of-work bit player.
    The man gave him a broad grin. Devastatingly handsome though. Franco smiled back, even a full-blooded heterosexual male like him could see, he was still a damn good-looking son of bitch!
     “Ryan O’Gorman, as I live and breathe.” The men embraced and Franco kissed him on each cheek. “You look like shit,” he said, slapping Ryan on the back, beckoning him to sit. Ryan thought Franco did not look too good either, but declined to comment.
     “Great to see you Franco, it’s been too long,” Ryan said, and then the smile disappeared. Slate-blue eyes looked directly into Franco’s warm brown gaze, “give it to me straight Franco, how much trouble am I in?”
     Franco resumed his splayed arm, crossed-leg position on the bench. He threw his head back and looked at the sky.
     “To be honest, O’Gorman,” he said, “It is I who is in the trouble my friend, big trouble.”
     Ryan frowned, sat back on the bench next to his boss, and waited.
     For a while Franco said nothing, just continued to gaze at the sky. Ryan knew him well enough, particularly under the circumstances, to wait for his boss to speak first. After a long silence, Franco fished around in his pocket and took out a pack of cigarettes. He gave Ryan one, put another between his own lips and lit them both with a slim, gold lighter. He took a long drag and blew the smoke out through his nostrils. Ryan did the same.
     “They told me to give up,” Franco said, rolling the cigarette lovingly between finger and thumb, “I never did do what I was told.” He gave Ryan a wry smile.
     “Me neither,” Ryan smiled back.
     Franco looked at the cigarette lighter as it lay glinting in the palm of his hand. He flipped it over and read the inscription out loud.
     “‘ Mira sempre alla luna, se la manchi, sarai sempre tra le stele. ’ My father’s saying: ‘ Always aim for the moon, if you miss it, you’ll land on the stars.’ I gave him this when I made my first movie. He treasured it, till the day he died. A lot of people think it refers to ambition, and maybe it does, but ambition takes many forms. Perhaps the greatest ambition is love; the love of a good woman, the chance to be together, share love and grow love, so you have something to hold onto all the days of your life. That’s one hell of a moon to aim for.”
     Ryan nodded. This was the Franco he liked best. The Franco who would seek him out when things were not going well on set; the Franco who would pull up a chair, sit beside him, smooth the troubled waters; the philosopher, the wise old sage, telling of what he has learned of life, what is in his heart.
     “Have you landed on your moon, O’Gorman?” Franco asked, looking him straight in the eye.           
     “I think so,” Ryan said.
     “Then you must grab it with both hands and hang on. Does she feel the same way?”
     “I think so,” Ryan repeated. “In fact, I know so. When we’re together, it just feels right, know what I mean?”
     Franco nodded, puffing gently on the cigarette between his lips.
     “She stops the churning inside, yes?”
     Ryan blinked at him. How did he know about the churning, the incessant whir of butterflies he felt whenever he was alone, without Marianne. He nodded.
     “My Sophia, she did that too. Fought like an alley cat with me all our married life, but she stopped the whirring inside, she made everything alright, even when it wasn’t. A good woman, my moon and stars.”
     They fell silent again, companionably smoking their cigarettes.
     “Angelique wasn’t right.” Ryan thought he would seize the opportunity, put the record straight.
    Franco raised his hands.
     “Hey, I knew that. Thought you were crazy getting mixed up with her. I will take care of her, of course. She’s family, but she’s real bad news. Sad, but true.”
     “I’m glad you see it that way. I never meant...” Ryan