Total pages in book: 56
Estimated words: 52105 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 261(@200wpm)___ 208(@250wpm)___ 174(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 52105 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 261(@200wpm)___ 208(@250wpm)___ 174(@300wpm)
“Will they kill you for being with me now? If they knew?” she asks, biting into her cone as the gelato has disappeared.
“They can try. Again… not afraid.”
“So is that why you followed me to Italy? Because you want them to know you aren’t afraid of them?”
I stand from the bench and extend my hand to hers. “Let’s get going,” I say to avoid answering the question.
The reality is I have no fucking clue why I’m in Italy. I don’t know why I followed her here.
Or maybe I do…
Maybe I know exactly why I’m here, with her…
I just don’t want to face that truth.
She shoves the last of her cone into her mouth and takes my hand. “That was so good. Sasha was right.”
“Is your life changed now?” I ask as we walk to the car.
“My life is most certainly changed. That’s for sure.” She sits in the car and looks up at me as I close the door for her. “I just don’t know what happens next in my life. I don’t know what changes are coming next.”
I give her a wicked smile as my answer. My go-to. My shield. My pause button when I don’t know how to stop what’s coming. I grin from ear to ear to unbalance my opponent. I morph from the Mad Hatter to the Cheshire Cat in my Wonderland. It’s what I do. It’s what I know.
I know she wants more. I know she wants answers.
For now, she gets the smile, a sports car, a night drive through the Tuscan countryside, and the unknown of what comes next.
Chapter Nine
Lyriope
Wild and free, my hair swirls around me as we drive in the most beautiful country imaginable. I believe, after what I’ve seen, that I’ve truly seen the most beautiful country in the world. If there are other countries that can top this place… I can’t see how that’s possible. The sun is rising in the distance, giving a warmth in the horizon that is greeting us as we drive closer and closer to its heat.
If I die today—which could happen considering my current life choices—I will die at least experiencing a bucket list of a lifetime. Tuscany and the rising sun. Priceless. Worthy of dying for.
There is no one else on the back roads we are driving. Just Nick and me. Alone and yet I’ve never felt less lonely. A war of emotions battles inside of me. He’s essentially kidnapping me again. I’m his captive like before. And yet, I want to reach out and hold his hand. I want to rest my head on his shoulder and cuddle up against him as the romance of my setting is washing over me. I want to call him honey or sweetie and whisper sweet nothings into his ear. I want to be gooey and sappy and be his girlfriend. I want to be the leading couple in a romance novel. I want the ooh and aah and the love story that keeps people turning the pages.
I want so much, and yet, the reality is we are not any of that. Not in this world. Not where I’m at. Nick and I are two people in a battle against others and in an entanglement with each other. His tattooed hand on the steering wheel, his dark eyes as he stares ahead, and his firm jaw line all remind me that this is not a man who cuddles. This is not a man who will call me terms of endearment as he takes the steps of ordinary. Nothing about this man is ordinary, and nothing about this man is a romance novel.
“Home sweet home,” Nick says as we drive down a dirt road toward a town that sits on the edge of a hillside.
“What is this place?”
“It’s a town called El Boro. I own the winery here, and I also own all the buildings.”
“You own the entire town? Who owns an entire Italian town?”
“I do,” he says with a laugh. “It’s a small town. There are only a few buildings. Other than the winery and restaurant at the base of the hill, there is an old medieval church, a few villas, and a couple of old shops. None of them are operational at the moment.”
“Why not?”
He shrugs. “I’m keeping it to myself right now. It’s mine.”
“You’re keeping an Italian town to yourself?” I ask in disbelief.
He laughs at my shock. “There are a lot of little towns in Italy that are vacant or nearly abandoned. Generations have died off and no one has come in to give new life. I simply bought one of these towns and not ready to jumpstart it yet. Someday.”
“Someday?”
“And it’s a good thing I haven’t yet,” he adds. “It’s going to serve as a good hideaway while we figure shit out.” He points to the view of what feels like all of Tuscany down below the town. “Back in history when all these Italian villages were at war, this village served as a lookout point. Italians would build these structures on the top of the tallest hill so they could see the approaching armies and prepare. As you can see, there is no way anyone could get to this town undetected. You could see them coming miles away.” He chuckles. “I’ll get us some security to man the towers and we’ll be able to see our enemies coming. No surprises.”